Mary Brent Wehrli

Mary Brent Wehrli is an extrordinary woman who has made great strides in the field of social work. She is a professor at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), and is a role model to her students and to her community. Mary pioneered a program for first year grad students at UCLA giving them hands on experience working on Skid Row. She is also co-founder and convener of the Southern California chapter of the Bertha Capen Reynolds Society, which is a national organization of social workers. Through this, she has helped organize a series of grassroots coalitions that fought for Los Angeles to declare itself a sanctuary for Central American refugees, for the city's living wage law and to mobilize regional service agencies in response to welfare reform.

"She is an exceptionally dynamic, charismatic and passionate individual with an extraordinary ability to motivate and to inspire others to become involved in changing the world around them," said Michele Prichard of the Liberty Hill Foundation.