David Rothenberg, Founder of The Fortune Society, honored by University of Denver with Lifetime Achievement Award

The University of Denver Division of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences has honored David Rothenberg, founder of The Fortune Society, with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his work as a criminal justice advocate over the past 50 years. The award was presented at a ceremony on May 8th at the Livingston Lecture and Alumni Reception on the University of Denver campus in Denver, Colorado. Rothenberg, class of 1955, was selected from a pool of over 60 nominees by members of the AHSS Alumni Advisory Board.

The Lifetime Achievement Award, which was created in 2013, is granted to an alumnus/a who has demonstrated special career or personal achievements, is a leader in their field, and has made outstanding contributions to their field. Rothenberg has spent a lifetime as a vocal activist and supporter of fair treatment and equal rights for the disenfranchised, including the formerly incarcerated and LGBTQ communities. Fifty years ago, he founded The Fortune Society to advocate for current and formerly incarcerated men and women. Fortune has evolved into one of the nation’s most formidable advocacy and service organizations in criminal justice.

On his award Rothenberg said, “I’m incredibly honored to be recognized by my alma mater with this Lifetime Achievement Award. It represents an evolving national attitude towards the importance of criminal justice advocacy, and I am proud to bring the spotlight to my life’s work—The Fortune Society. I thank my fellow University of Denver alumni for this incredible recognition and hope that others are inspired to learn more about the rights and fair treatment of people with criminal justice involvement.”

“When walking around NYC and The Fortune Society building with David—seeing what he has done and meeting the people with whom he works—it becomes clear that David is a visionary force of nature, a person who is always working to make a difference in big ways, changing society, and in small, personal ways, affecting individual lives. His life and career exemplify the breadth and impact a liberal and creative arts education can have. That’s why we are proud to celebrate his accomplishments and present him with this year’s AHSS Lifetime Achievement Award,” said Daniel McIntosh, Dean of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences.

Founded in 1967, The Fortune Society has advocated on criminal justice issues for five decades and is nationally recognized for developing model programs that help people with criminal justice histories to be assets to their communities.  Fortune offers a holistic and integrated “one-stop-shopping” model of service provision. Among the services offered are discharge planning, licensed outpatient substance abuse and mental health treatment, alternatives to incarceration, HIV/AIDS services, career development and job retention, education, family services, drop in services and supportive housing as well as lifetime access to aftercare.

Previous Lifetime Achievement Award honorees have come from the professional fields of psychology, communications, music, and politics. Daniel McIntosh, Dean of the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Division presented this year’s awards along with the AHSS Alumni Board. In addition to the Lifetime Achievement Award, alumni were also honored for alumni service, recent achievements, and community engagement and all honorees will also be recognized on May 20th at a university-wide alumni awards gala.