Leah Daughtry ’84, community organizer, two-time chief executive of the Democratic National Convention committee, and pastor of the House of Lord Church in Washington, D.C., returned to Dartmouth to receive the Rockefeller Distinguished Public Service Award.

Presented by the board of visitors of the Nelson A. Rockefeller Center for Public Policy, the annual award was established 1990 to honor Nelson A. Rockefeller ’30 for his dedication to service in the public and private sectors.

Curtis Welling ’71, Tuck ’77, chair of the Rockefeller Center Board of Visitors, said Daughtry, in her work as a pastor, organizer, leader, and political strategist, has demonstrated a depth of commitment to the same ideals of public service, leadership, and civic engagement that marked Nelson Rockefeller’s career. Welling presented the honor to Daughtry at a dinner hosted by the Rockefeller Center on April 28.

Daughtry, a longtime friend of the Rockefeller Center and a former member of the center’s board of visitors, spoke on “Building the Bench: Educating and Training the Next Generation of Political Leaders.”

During her visit to campus, Daughtry also attended Associate Professor Deborah Brooks’ “Women & Politics” class and joined students at the Tucker Center for lunch.

Members of the Rockefeller Center Board of Visitors, who serve as advisers to the director of the center, are all Dartmouth alumni and represent academia, business, non-profit organizations, and the law.