The Carnegie Corporation of New York has named its 2018 Great Immigrant Award recipients—with Bernard Cherkasov among them.
Cherkasov (who is from Azerbaijan) is a former CEO of Equality Illinois, and is the current executive director of Cradles to Crayons Chicago, a nonprofit that provides underprivileged children with clothes, school supplies and other essentials.
A 2018 NBC Out #Pride 30 honoree, which recognizes 30 LGBTQ individuals, Cherkasov lives with his husband and daughter in Chicago.
For 2018, the honorees represent 30 different countries of origin, a range of personal immigration experiences, and high-level leadership in numerous fields. A few of the other honorees included actor Oscar Isaac (Guatemala), singer Regina Spektor (Russia), architect Daniel Libeskind (Poland), actor/writer Kumail Nanjiani (Pakistan), actress Yvonne Orji (Nigeria), New York State Supreme Court Justice Carmen R. Velasquez (Ecuador) and biophysicist Joachim Frank (Germany).