By Times staff
At its annual meeting on May 20 at the Firehouse on Mt. Vernon Street, Hill House honored its 2025 Award Winners for their contributions to the organization and the community.
This year’s Duane Lucia Instructor of the Year Award was awarded to Hill House’s karate instructor, Noah Lucia.
This award is named after Duane Lucia, who started the karate program at Hill House and taught for more than 25 years. Duane’s son, Noah, took over instructing from his father in 2020 and has brought enthusiasm, professionalism and program development as Sensei Noah.
The Ellen Heath Plapinger Board Award went this year to Sarah Donovan and Laura Ziewacz.
Donovan has served on the Hill House board for 10 years, providing crucial leadership as the Development Committee chair and a as a member of the Development Committee. She has volunteered across many signature Hill House events including the Fall FUNdraiser, the Tree Sale, the HHOP council, at Hillfest, and the Halloween parties, among countless other outings.
Ziewacz has served on the Hill House board for four years as a member of the Development and Nominating Committees. Most recently, she demonstrated outstanding leadership as Chair of the Executive Search Committee to hire a new Chief Executive Officer to lead Hill House into a sustainable future.
This year’s Meredith Clapp Community Outreach Award was awarded to Colin Zick.
Zick has been a longtime supporter of Hill House. His sons participated in Hill House programs for several years, and he and his family were early supporters of the renovation of the Firehouse at 127 Mt. Vernon St.
He is a longstanding board member of Beacon Hill Civic Association, where he currently serves as its president, as well as a board member of the Friends of the Public Garden. He has also been active in on the Board of Visitors for Trinity Boston Foundation for years.