2025 Honorees
Habitat for Humanity Central Arizona
ASU MLK Community Servant-Leadership Award recipient
Accepting this award on behalf of Habitat for Humanity Central Arizona is Jason Barlow, president and CEO.
Habitat for Humanity Central Arizona is a local charity that renovates and repairs homes for eligible families. With renting, buying, and repairing homes being expensive propositions, many Arizona families are struggling to make ends meet and often forced to choose between essentials such as groceries, rent, healthcare, and transportation.
Habitat for Humanity Central Arizona aims to help seniors, veterans, and single parents in need of affordable housing and works towards building a stronger community through programs such as home repairs, neighborhood revitalization, aging in place, veteran services, construction training, and the Habitat ReStores. HHCA believes in giving everyone a decent, affordable place to call home in Phoenix, Tempe, Glendale, Peoria and all of Maricopa County.
Since 1985, Habitat for Humanity has built over 1,200 homes, completed more than 3,800 repairs, and improved living conditions for more than 5,000 Arizona families, all thanks to the generosity of donors and volunteers.
Cordero Holmes
ASU MLK Student Servant-Leadership Award recipient
Cordero Holmes is a Phoenix native, a proud member of the Tohono O’odham Nation, and a committed community leader who has made significant contributions to his college and community. His journey is a testament to resilience and growth, having overcome a decade of incarceration to become an advocate for justice-involved youth and a champion of racial equity. Cordero’s educational path began while he was incarcerated, where he enrolled at Rio Salado College. He earned multiple degrees, including certifications in Addiction & Substance Use Disorders, an Associate in Applied Science, and an Associate in the Arts with an emphasis in Psychology. His academic achievements were marked by prestigious awards such as the Phi Theta Kappa Hites Transfer Scholarship, Coca-Cola National Scholar, and Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship.
After his time at Rio Salado, Cordero continued his education at Arizona State University (ASU), where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Public Service and Public Policy, and is currently pursuing dual master’s degrees in Criminology and Criminal Justice and Public Administration.
As the Director of Operations for Progress Pushers Arizona, Cordero mentors and trains youth aged 12-24 who have been impacted by the justice system. He also serves as a mentor at the Durango Juvenile Detention Center and regularly volunteers with the unhoused population. In addition, Cordero speaks at national events and serves as a STAR Fellow for the Urban Institute, traveling to various tribal nations to facilitate caretaker groups and share his experiences as a parent navigating higher education.
Cordero's advocacy extends to education policy, where he has worked with the Arizona Department of Education’s Indian Education Advisory Council, advising the state’s Superintendent of Education on policies impacting Indigenous children. He has also partnered with the Computing Alliance for Hispanic Serving Institutions and served on the Maricopa Council on Black American Affairs.
Cordero continues to inspire others with his story of perseverance, advocacy, and his unwavering commitment to making a lasting impact in the lives of others.
Charles St. Clair
ASU MLK Faculty Servant-Leadership Award recipient
Charles St. Clair is an Emmy-Award winning professor of practice on the faculty of Arizona State University West Valley where he teaches acting and directing and serves as the technical director for the School of Humanities, Arts and Cultural Studies, (SHArCS) in the New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences.
In 1991, when many Arizonans wanted to officially adopt a Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday after a governor had controversially rescinded it, Charles St. Clair and a few other faculty members gathered a group together to listen to Charles deliver MLK’s stirring “I Have a Dream” speech in its entirety right next to a reflecting pool on the campus of ASU West Valley in Phoenix. Since then, hundreds and then thousands of middle school students, ASU students and community members have gathered on campus every January to learn about the Civil Rights movement and re-enact the famous March on Washington at the free event called MLK March on West.
Charles’ devotion and commitment to teaching students about the importance of racial equality drives much of what he does. For decades he also served as a leader on the Black History Month Committee at ASU West Valley. Charles has served as an advisor for the ASU Black Student Union guiding their efforts. He encourages ASU students to create, volunteer and participate in Black History Month as well as take part in the tradition of the MLK March on West.
Charles has produced and directed many plays and productions celebrating the Black and African experience. He has also curated art exhibits at ASU West Valley featuring local Black artists. Charles is a three-time recipient of the Fulbright-Hays Group Project Abroad grant for cultural study in Ghana, West Africa and hosts study abroad trips with ASU students. In addition, he is a five time ariZona award-winning director.
In the nearly 30 years of driving the tradition of the MLK March on West, Charles has touched the lives of 20,000+ school children, teaching them about civil rights history and the importance of judging people “not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” It’s a message that more than 60 years after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke those famous words, are more relevant than ever.
Shawn Banzhaf
ASU MLK Staff Servant-Leadership Award recipient
As the executive director of the Pat Tillman Veterans Center since 2022, Shawn Banzhaf leads, directs and inspires a department within Academic Enterprise Enrollment at Arizona State University. His team of 20 staff and over 70 VA work-study employees provide services to over 18,000 military connected learners attending the university.
Banzhaf served the United States in the Army National Guard for 21 years. He retired as the acting First Sergeant of the 1057th Transportation Company. He is an Iraq War Veteran, during which he earned the Bronze Star and Combat Action Badge during 100 combat missions in and around Baghdad, Ramadi and Fallujah. His unit, the 1074th Transportation Company, was awarded the Meritorious Unit Citation during their yearlong campaign.
Banzhaf is the creator and author of the “5 Ls: A Practical Guide for Helping Loved Ones Heal After Trauma”. He has trained thousands of individuals on how using this method is a tool anyone can use with a loved one struggling with PTSD, whether veteran or not.