The ACLU of Vermont presented housing advocate Brenda Siegel with its highest honor, the David W. Curtis Civil Liberties Award, at the organization's 2023 annual meeting celebration Oct. 25.
The Curtis Award recognizes changemakers in Vermont who have meaningfully advanced human rights and civil liberties in the state. Siegel was cited for “her courageous advocacy on behalf of people experiencing housing insecurity in Vermont.”
Siegel has twice run for governor of Vermont, advancing to the general election in 2022. In that race, she made solving the state's housing crisis a major plank of her campaign.
“We are pleased to honor Brenda Siegel in recognition of her persistent and inspiring advocacy on behalf of the many Vermonters who are unhoused, facing eviction or struggling to pay their rent,” said Bill Boyd, president of ACLU of Vermont. “With great integrity and compassion, she has centered their voices and lived experiences, acted where the state has failed to act and focused attention on these injustices in our communities — and the urgent need for solutions.”