Nominees must live, work, or contribute to Montclair. Nominees may be individuals or organizations. You may self-nominate or you may nominate someone else. Nominees may be acting in either or both of the following roles: Agents of Curiosity “Curiosity about the inner life of other people’s day-to-day work is one of the most fundamental of human impulses.” –Malcolm Gladwell Sparking new inquiries into how things are and could be different. ​Observing and asking questions that open new viewpoints and are disruptive to current ways of seeing and thinking. Demonstrating a relentless desire to discover and understand “why?” Agents of Change "The role of the designer is that of a good, thoughtful host anticipating the needs of his guests.” –Charles Eames ​Focused on identifying new possibilities and potentials. ​Listening and inviting exploration of areas that have been overlooked, underemphasized, or stuck. Spearheading the development of new services, products, environments, and ways of organizing groups and people that have resulted in positive change or improved quality of life. We are looking to receive nominations: Across a broad spectrum of ages, incomes, ethnicities, and education. This includes everyone from people who see what a particular community needs and simply steps in to respond, regardless of whether they have a formal leadership position or formal design education, to people who have significant formal design background and are making contributions in Montclair and beyond. For those who have a focused dedication within a particular field of expertise, or have exhibited wandering passion to explore beyond the bounds of any field. For those who are making meaningful contributions on either small or large scales, in any field of human endeavor.

August 1: Call for Nominations opens August 31, 11:59 pm EST: Call for Nominations closes. September 4: AC² Committee sorts through the nominations and develops list of finalists for jurors. September 8: Jurors deliberate with AC² Committee to choose award winners. More than one finalist may receive an award. September 10: Awardees are notified.

We are pleased to announce that Kathy Stephenson, Owner of Focus Therapy, and Amy Tuininga, PhD, Director of PSE&G Institute for Sustainable Studies, will be our jurors for our first ever AC² Awards. Please read more about them on our Jury page.

We are in the process of finalizing our list of nominees. Please stay tuned for our upcoming announcement!

All finalists must have availability during Montclair Design Week, October 20-28, 2018. Finalists will be asked to participate in at least one piece of programming during the week so that their contribution to the community can be highlighted. Finalists will also be honored during Montclair Design Week. ​ Finalists will be interviewed and included in our MDW 2018 website and events publication.