A parole law passed last week in Virginia effectively mooted the U.S. Supreme Court case of notorious Washington, D.C., sniper Lee Boyd Malvo, who had challenged four life-without-parole sentences he received as a teenager for his role in a series of shootings that terrorized the Beltway region in 2002.

In this vast field, there are those who are at the forefront of leadership, and there is also a group of up-and-coming leaders. This award will be presented to a deserving candidate who stands out when it comes to leadership. Consider those colleagues who are role models and mentors, who set the standard for their organizations, who makes things better for those they work alongside as well as the youth they serve. Also think about colleagues who are just beginning to grow into leadership, who are demonstrating the ability to have a myriad of positive impacts on their organizations. This person may be someone in a current leadership position or someone who you believe is on the road to a leadership role.

The program, founded in 2000 in Chicago, uses a public health approach that treats violence like an infection that begins with a shooting, spreads to family and friends seeking retribution, then to others and so on. To stop the infection, it hires violence interrupters like Ervin — people with credibility in the streets, some with a criminal past — to try to stop violence before it occurs.