Prince George's County Councilwoman Andrea Harrison received the 2011 Phyllis Campbell Newsome Public Policy Leadership award Tuesday for her support of nonprofit organizations.

The Center for Nonprofit Advancement, a Washington, D.C.-based group that provides advocacy and networking services to area nonprofits, presented the award to Harrison (D-Dist. 5) of Springdale at the organization's annual celebration in Washington.

Harrison was selected for her support of county nonprofit groups including United Communities Against Poverty, which provides emergency housing services, job training and food drives, and Melwood, which works to provide jobs to people with disabilities, said Glen O'Gilvie, CEO of the Center for Nonprofit Advancement.

Harrison has consulted with nonprofit groups on how they can best serve the residents of her district, and provided information about the groups at community meetings, O'Gilvie said.

Gwendolyn Ferguson, CEO of United Communities Against Poverty, said Harrison had been promoting the work of the organization for years, supporting grant applications and making personal donations to the agency.

"[I was] truly honored, but very surprised," Harrison said, adding that she felt strongly about supporting nonprofits because they can fill in gaps in services that governments can't.

Other 2011 recipients of the award include Mayor Vincent Gray of Washington, D.C.; Bruce Adams, director of Montgomery County's Office of Community Partnerships; and the Fairfax County, Va., Office of Public Private Partnerships.

Harrison is the third County Council member from Prince Georges to receive the award, which has been given annually since 2002. Former councilman David Harrington (D-Dist. 5) of Cheverly received the award in 2004, Will Campos (D-Dist. 2) of Hyattsville received the award in 2006, and Eric Olson (D-Dist. 3) of College Park received the award in 2008.

Award recipients are nominated by the center’s nearly 1,000 member organizations, who then vote for a winner from their respective jurisdictions, O’Gilvie said.

dleaderman@gazette.net