By Jenna Jarrah
The Fernando Award Foundation has announced the five finalists for its prestigious Fernando Award. The award goes to an individual who has a lifetime of civic leadership, philanthropy, and volunteer work, and is considered to be the highest honor a person can receive for a lifetime of volunteer leadership in San Fernando Valley.
The five finalists are Armida Colmenares-Stafford, first vice president and senior relationship manager at Columbia Bank; Dennis DeYoung, certified financial planner, Western International Securities, Inc.; Steve Fazo, chief financial officer, Fazio Enterprises; Jorge Rabaso, owner of Rabaso Insurance; and Sharon Udkoff, a certified public accountant.
The finalists have been selected for their impact in the Valley through their significant volunteer efforts and leadership with civic organizations and programs, as well as social and community causes.
“The finalists we have this year speak directly to the heart of what the foundation stands for, and why it’s been around for so long,” said Vahid Khorsand, the foundation’s board chair.
The finalists:
— Armida Colmenares-Stafford became the board chair for the Valley Economic Alliance in December, is board co-chair of the Annenberg School of Nursing, and is on the board of Proxy Parent Foundation, supporting Californians with developmental disabilities.
Susan Du Brin, the 2024 Fernando Awards honoree, helping a boy with a craft project at Child Development Institute. (Courtesy of Fernando Foundation) Located at Warner Park in Woodland Hills, this obelisk monument lists past winners of “The Fernando Awards,” that is awarded to local business owners and citizens for their leadership in the San Fernando Valley. Photographed on Friday, July 18, 2025. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Four of the five Fernando Foundation finalists for the 2025 Fernando Award, L-R, Armida Colmenares-Stafford, Dennis DeYoung, Jorge Rabaso, Sharon J. Udkoff. Not pictured, Steve Fazio. The recipient of the award, for a ‘lifetime of volunteer leadership in the San Fernando Valley,’ is announced on Nov. 7 by the Fernando Foundation at a gala dinner at the Skirball Cultural Center. (Photo by Jay Ross) Steve Fazio is one of the five finalists for the 2025 Fernando Award. The recipient of the award, for a ‘lifetime of volunteer leadership in the San Fernando Valley,’ is announced on Nov. 7 by the Fernando Foundation at a gala dinner at the Skirball Cultural Center. (Courtesy photo) Show Caption1 of 4Susan Du Brin, the 2024 Fernando Awards honoree, helping a boy with a craft project at Child Development Institute. (Courtesy of Fernando Foundation) Expand— Dennis DeYoung is the past president of the Northridge West Neighborhood Council and a former American Heart Association board member. He continues to be active with the Volunteers Cleaning Communities and Northridge Beautification.
— Steve Fazio serves as chairman and CEO of the California Reserve Peace Officers Association, vice chair of the LAPD Operations Valley Bureau Foundation, and is on the boards of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center’s Board of Governors, Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center, and the Valley Economic Alliance.
— Jorge Rabaso is the founder of the Hispanic Business Network, and has also served as a volunteer advisor to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles where he has worked with thousands of parishioners on the importance of financial planning.
— Sharon J. Udkoff has been on the Los Angeles Valley College Foundation Board for over 20 years. She has served on “The Executives” a support group for Los Angeles Jewish Health, and she has served on the Land Use Committee of Studio City Neighborhood Council and Studio City Beautification Association.
The recipient will be selected through a secret ballot managed by an independent CPA firm. The ballot is sent to current board members, prior recipients of the award, members of the Valley Chambers of Commerce, patrons and benefactors of the Fernando statue organization, and to dozens of community organizations who partner with Fernando to promote volunteerism in the region.
In 1963, the Fernando Awards Foundation unveiled a life-size bronze statue of a Native American in the Van Nuys Civic Center known as “Fernando,” symbolizing the early settlers of the San Fernando Valley. In 1996, the organization added a 19-foot statue and marble obelisk in Warner Park.
“The Valley is an amazing palace to live and work. There are so many incredible organizations and nonprofits, and there are so many people donating time and money to better the community,” says Susan Du Brin, who was the 2024 recipient and now serves as secretary on the Fernando Award Foundation Board of Directors. “To be selected by those people, peers and colleagues is rewarding,” she said.
Of the five finalists, one will be named the 2025 recipient of the Annual Fernando Award at the 67th annual Fernando Foundation gala to be held at the Skirball Cultural Center on Friday, November 7th.
Ticket and sponsorships information can be found at fernandoawards.org/2025-event/
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