Human Relations Committee

• Bismarck Human Relations Committee Brochure (PDF)
• Bismarck Human Relations Committee Comment/Complaint Form
• Bismarck Human Relations Committee Strategic Plan (PDF)
• Career and Technical Education
• Job Service North Dakota

• 2024 Annual Report (PDF)
• 2023 Annual Report (PDF)
• 2022 Annual Report (PDF)
• 2021 Annual Report (PDF)
• 2020 Annual Report (PDF)
• 2019 Annual Report (PDF)
• 2018 Annual Report (PDF)
• 2017 Annual Report (PDF)
• 2016 Annual Report (PDF)
• 2015 Annual Report (PDF)
• 2014 Annual Report (PDF)
• 2013 Annual Report (PDF)
• 2012 Annual Report (PDF)
• 2010 Annual Report (PDF)

Each year the Human Relations Committee awards the Humanitarian of the Year award to one youth, adult, and organization. Do you know an individual or organization that has exhibited leadership in the areas of human and civil rights with a focus on recognizing persons in the community that educate, identify issues and address human rights? Nominate them for recognition through the  Humanitarian Award Nomination Form. 

2024 Humanitarian Award Recipients 

• Youthworks
  • Youthworks, a nonprofit organization, provides safe spaces where young people feel heard and supported. The organization follows the Positive Youth Development philosophy, using a strengths-based approach that emphasizes safety, positive adult relationships and opportunities for youth to contribute to their communities.
• Mika Stokkeland
  • The HRC selected Stokkeland as the Adult Human Rights Award recipient. Kerry Beck submitted the nomination. Stokkeland, a military human resources specialist with the North Dakota Army National Guard, has volunteered with Designer Genes for the past four years. The nonprofit organization, based in Bismarck-Mandan, supports individuals with Down syndrome and their families.
• Lauren Zent
  • The HRC named Zent as the recipient of the Youth Human Rights Award. Rob Peske submitted the nomination. Zent has worked extensively with individuals with special needs through both volunteer and paid roles. She has volunteered with United Sound, a program that teaches music to students with disabilities, and provides respite care through the local Pride Inc. team.

Previous Award Recipients

2023 Humanitarian Award Recipients

• Sanford Health 
  • Sanford Health has prioritized diversity, equity and inclusion since 2021 to mature and expand the initiatives that provide, expand and scale lasting and meaningful impact to its employees, clients and community. This helps underrepresented populations feel valued and comfortable to seek out preventative healthcare and impacts health disparities in a community.
• Micah Olson
  • Olson is an attorney for the North Dakota Protection and Advocacy and has served as an advocate at Independence Inc. Center for Independent Living in Minot. He uses his own experience with his disability to motivate his work and give a voice to issues affecting individuals with disabilities. He has testified on bills before the state legislature on issues such as accessible housing and transportation.
• 2022: Dream Center Bismarck | Sister Kathleen Atkinson
  • The Dream Center Bismarck opened in June 2019. Every week the organization helps about 1,000 households receive groceries. They provide 750 Great Start Breakfasts to families and disseminate 1,100 sack lunches while providing 1,800 banquet meals to the community.
  • Atkinson is a Benedictine Sister of Annunciation Monastery who made life vows in 1985. She has authored two books, “God is Always There: Psalms for Every Moment,” and “Letting Go & Letting God” and is the founder of Ministry on the Margins, an organization that assists individuals and families going through transitional times in life, re-entry into society and after serving in prison or homelessness.
• 2021: Bismarck Veterans Memorial Public Library | Geraldine Ambe
  • Bismarck Veterans Memorial Public Library was nominated for its many services and welcoming atmosphere available for the community and residents. The Library provides equal service and a safe gathering space for citizens of Bismarck and Burleigh County, regardless of social standing, race, color, sex, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or mental or physical ability. 
  • Geraldine Ambe was recognized for her many accomplishments and strong involvement in the community as a human rights activist. She created a dance group with members of a bible study class called Youth in Action. This group gives kids from different parts of the world a sense of belonging, where they can come together, express themselves in a safe environment, and share their culture in the community they now call home. 
• 2020: Dakota OutRight | Rachael Howard
  • Dakota OutRight Dakota is an LGBTQ-focused organization located in Bismarck-Mandan. Their mission is to serve the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual (LGBTQIA) community of North Dakota with a focus in the capital city and surrounding area by increasing visibility, providing resources and information, advocating for equality, and creating safe spaces for connection, support, and celebration. Their goal is to sponsor a variety of events that speak to the diverse interests of LGBTQIA people in central and western North Dakota.
  • Rachael Howard is the founder of Closet 127, a charitable organization in the Bismarck-Mandan area that provides furniture and household items to individuals and families who are starting over, or leaving unhealthy situations, and embarking on a new path in life. Their vision is to encourage all individuals to gain their independence and to embrace their capabilities while living a healthy and joyful life, being their best self.
• 2019: Dr. Robert Roswick
  • Dr. Robert Roswick was nominated when he "put his career and reputation on the line to speak out, stand up and defend a fellow colleague facing racial discrimination and undue termination," according to the nomination letter. Roswick claimed he was unjustly fired the year before for speaking out against alleged racial discrimination against an Indian-American physician at a clinic.
• 2018: Leah Hargrove: Bismarck Global Neighbors | Heaven's Helpers Soup Café
  • Leah Hargrove is the director, board president and co-founder of the nonprofit Bismarck Global Neighbors. The organization was founded in 2015 to address the lack of services for the growing population of immigrants in central North Dakota. It operates the city’s only New American mentorship program.
  • Heaven's Helpers Soup Café is a soup kitchen that is set up as a restaurant where people come in, seat themselves and a volunteer will take their order and bring them their food free of charge. Patrons can eat as much as they want as long as they don't waste food, the organization makes sure no one goes away hungry. 
• 2017: Lynnette Horn: Anne Carlsen Center
  • Lynnette Horn was nominated and selected because of her numerous efforts as a tireless advocate for individuals with disabilities and as a mentor to staff and countless members of the community. Lynnette, is the Director of Community Based Services at Anne Carlsen Center, Bismarck and currently serves on the AKtion Club Kiwanis Program for Adults with Disabilities. She also serves on the local Behavior Supports Committee to ensure fair and authorized restrictions are utilized, and within the agency is actively involved with the Human Rights Committee to ensure all individuals served, staff and community members are educated about their universal rights
• 2016: Christina Sambor
  • Christina Sambor was recognized for her work as chair of the North Dakota Human Trafficking Task Force and the nonprofit F.U.S.E. Her efforts are credited with improving the ways law enforcement in North Dakota interacts with children who are being sold for sex and with adults forced into sexual activity.
• 2015: Judith Roberts: Hope Manor
  • Judith Roberts serves as the founder and Administrator of Hope Manor, a sober living home for alcoholic women. Hope Manor was started in 2014, when Judith Roberts, a recovering alcoholic, was inspired to create a home for alcoholics who desperately needed a safe, stable and alcohol and drug free environment to recover from a life-threatening addiction, and to be able to cross the bridge to sobriety and health. Hope Manor offers sober living homes for women who are struggling with alcohol and/or drug addiction.
• 2013: Nan Johnson: Crescent Manor
  • Nan Johnson was selected for her outstanding support, friendship, advocacy and humanitarian efforts that serve to preserve the dignity of the residents of Crescent Manor and bring joy to their lives. Nan Johnson serves as the site manager for Crescent Manor, an affordable senior high rise in Bismarck. She dedicates her time to serve friendship, support and advocacy to all residents within the facility.
• 2012: Century 21 Morrison Realty
  • Century 21 Morrison was selected for their outstanding humanitarianism, support, and generosity in helping Pride Manchester House, a private, nonprofit psychiatric residential treatment center serving North Dakota’s youngest children with severe emotional and behavioral problems.
• 2010: The God's Child Project
  • The God’s Child Project, led by international educator and human rights leader Patrick Atkinson, was selected for their leadership and continued efforts to educate others in the areas of human and civil rights. The God’s Child Project is a worldwide social movement that involves thousands of volunteers in dozens of countries to permanently remove individuals, families, and entire communities from the crushing cycle of generational poverty. The Project maintains a strong presence in North Dakota and around the country. Each year, hundreds of Americans volunteer to build homes in Guatemala and countless volunteers help the Project’s Bismarck office collect food, clothing, and medical supplies to distribute to nearby Indian reservations and local homeless shelters.
• 2009: Carrie Grosz: Carrie's Kids
  • Carrie’s Kids believes that all children/teens are created with a purpose and provides outreach, clubs, groups, events and programs that promote dignity, build social and life skills, nurture potential and instill self-sufficiency to children/teens who are homeless or at risk, in the Bismarck-Mandan community.