"Diane is a shining example of what it means to stand up for your beliefs," said Kris McCracken, President & CEO of Amoskeag Health.

McCracken said she has seen Fitzpatrick's dedication to improving the wellbeing of families firsthand, working with her on youth initiatives in Manchester.

"I'm very surprised and humbled by it," Fitzpatrick said of the honor. "No one person can accomplish things without others."

Fitzpatrick said she moved to Manchester for school when she was 18, and she fell in love with the city. She began her career as a kindergarten teacher before working in higher education, including as Dean of Admissions at New England College. She went on to work for nonprofits, first at the NH Center for Nonprofits, and then pivoted her career to service.

At the helm of the Boys & Girls Club, Fitzpatrick helped create new programs to respond to families' needs, including a weekly Food Pantry and a "Zen Den" to foster mindfulness and provide access to a mental health counselor, skills that can reduce stress and increase attention span as young people are increasingly online.

"We recognized the need for meals and how our families were struggling, so we opened up our food pantry to be for all families every Friday," Fitzpatrick said. Families can come to the pantry and "shop" for pantry staples including meat, eggs, milk, and produce, with no questions asked.

Fitzpatrick said more families have used the pantry in the past year, with about 2,700 families served amid statewide concerns about food insecurity as pandemic-era relief programs have ended. She said part of her role is connecting struggling families with organizations and agencies around the state that can help.

"If we can be a connector, if we can just be that light in that moment, it's pretty powerful," she said. Moving forward, her goal is to expand the Boys & Girls Club to reach more children in the Greater Manchester community, especially those on the west side of the city where she said there's the greatest need. "There's a lack of resources, and it is a food desert," she said.