Baden-Powell Council names Leslyn McBean-Clairborne Distinguished Citizen

The Baden-Powell Council, Scouting America, is proud to announce that Dr. Leslyn McBean-Clairborne, Executive Director of the Greater Ithaca Activities Center (GIAC), has been selected as the 2025 Tompkins County Distinguished Citizen Award honoree. She will be formally recognized at the Tompkins County Distinguished Citizen Award Dinner on Dec. 11, 2025, at Our Venue (formerly Coltivare), 235 S. Cayuga Street, Ithaca.  

Dr. McBean-Clairborne is a transformational leader whose decades of service have shaped Tompkins County’s commitment to equity, inclusion, and community well-being. A respected mediator, facilitator, certified mediation skills trainer, and community organizer, she has built her life’s work around the belief that meaningful change requires active participation, courageous conversations, and unwavering advocacy.

For more than 12 years, McBean-Clairborne has provided consulting, coaching, and speaking engagements to agencies, universities, and government bodies, guiding organizations in strengthening communication, navigating conflict, and building cultures rooted in equity and human dignity. Today, as Executive Director of GIAC, she continues to steward one of the region’s most impactful community institutions, championing youth development, family support, and accessible programming for all.

Dr. McBean-Clairborne’s public service includes over 20 years on the Tompkins County Legislature, where she made history as the first Person of Color elected to serve as Chair. She also founded the Legislature’s Workforce Diversity and Inclusion Committee and guided Tompkins County through the unprecedented challenges of the global pandemic—ensuring policies were implemented with transparency, collaboration, and fairness for residents across the community.

Her academic credentials reflect her deep commitment to lifelong learning and leadership. She holds dual bachelor’s degrees in Education and Intercultural Communication/Adult Education, an MBA, and a Doctorate in Organizational Change and Leadership from the University of Southern California. Her dissertation—now archived by the Library of Congress—explored the mental health impacts on Black women following unjust killings of unarmed Black relatives in America, underscoring her dedication to addressing historical and contemporary racial inequities.

Among her many honors, Dr. McBean-Clairborne received the Harriet Tubman Humanitarian Achievement Award(2011) and the Finger Lakes PULSE LGBTQ+ Ally of the Year Award (2017). In 2021, the Tompkins County Legislature created the Leslyn McBean-Clairborne Strength in Diversity Award to honor individuals whose work advances equity and justice—an enduring tribute to her leadership and legacy.

“The Distinguished Citizen Award recognizes individuals whose character, leadership, and service reflect the values of Scouting,” said Matthew Bull, Scout Executive, Scouting America – Baden-Powell Council. “Dr. McBean-Clairborne’s impact on Tompkins County has been profound. Her leadership has strengthened institutions, elevated community voices, and inspired a generation of changemakers. She is a powerful example of what dedicated, inclusive, and visionary service looks like.”