Celebrating Bala Cadambi: 2026 Sarah Cohen-Doherty Community Impact Award Recipient

5 days ago

3 min read

At this year's Summer Social, SVP Portland gathered to celebrate community, connection, and the people who make our work possible. Among the highlights of the evening was a moment of deep meaning: the presentation of the 2026 Sarah Cohen-Doherty Community Impact Award to Investor Partner Bala Cadambi.

Honoring Sarah's Legacy

Sarah Cohen-Doherty was a beloved SVP staff member and a warm and passionate advocate for community and for children. When Sarah tragically passed away in 2020, her parents, Ruth and Jerry Cohen, created the Sarah Cohen-Doherty Community Impact Award and Fund to continue her work and to recognize SVP community members who embody her values.

Each year, the award goes to someone who reflects:

Warmth, compassion, and genuine care for others
A focus on developing strong, meaningful relationships
A personal commitment to equity and supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion work
Being a changemaker in the community to ensure that all children thrive

Alongside the honor, the award carries forward Sarah's commitment to opening doors: a $2,500 donation from the Cohen family to SVP's sponsorship fund, which enables SVP to diversify its Investor Partner community with individuals of different ages, financial capacity, and lived experience, helping us live out our commitment to equity and inclusion.

A Track Record of Advocacy and Action

Bala has spent years putting these values into practice — including two Board terms, serving as SVP co-Lead Partner for the Bright Futures' push for universal childcare and pre-k in Washington County, as well as Lead Partner for Threads of Justice Collective, a grassroots organization that equips early childhood educators and parents with anti-bias practice, social justice resources, and community learning to interrupt bias before it takes root.

“I’ve had the opportunity to see Bala in all of his engagements. He always shows up with true cultural humility with Community Partners and with a sharp, strategic mind when it comes to systems and Board input. Common to both is his deep care and commitment to increasing access and quality early learning for those who need it most.” - Carolina Castañeda del Río, SVP Director of Community Impact

Sarah's father, Jerry Cohen, presented the award at the Summer Social. Jerry recalled meeting Bala at an SVP dinner, when Sarah pulled him aside and insisted he had to meet him. By then, Bala had already started his Lead Partner work with Threads of Justice Collective. Bala, she told her father, was everything she looked for in a leader: someone who shared her passion for social justice and equity, with a clear-eyed understanding of power dynamics, doing the systems-change work that inspired her most.

Sarah's father, Jerry Cohen, presents award to recipient Bala Cadambi.

The 'How' Behind the Work

Accepting the award, Bala reflected on his history with Sarah and Threads of Justice — recalling what it was like to see that group of volunteers immersed in their collective passion and advocacy, and how it inspired him. "I realized my work as Lead Partner was to show up. To question systems that have been set up to discriminate, and practice ways to check bias whenever it raises its head. And for that never-ending opportunity, thank you, Sarah."

He also spoke to what he's come to believe about SVP's approach to engaged philanthropy: "I strongly believe that it is the 'how’, more than the 'what’, that truly embodies the work that we do. It's easy to get caught up in the details of the 'what' because it's simpler to measure. Yet it is the 'how' that's truly behind the work. 'How' is about showing up consistently, about centering the community in everything we do, building new relationships and leading it together. And SVP's 'how' is its own superpower as a catalyst: convening, connecting, caucusing, and maybe even codifying at a systems level."

Carrying the Legacy Forward

Sarah's spirit continues to shape SVP Portland through this award and through Investor Partners like Bala who show up, again and again, for children and families in our community.

Congratulations, Bala, and thank you for embodying everything this award represents.