Omaha, Neb. — Dalhia Lloyd from the Buffett Early Childhood Institute will be one of nine people honored June 24 at the 2018 Young Black & Influential Awards.

The awards recognize good work being done in the black community. The awards are the brainchild of Ashlei Spivey, a community organizer who sought to bring more recognition for emerging black leaders in Omaha—“people that are on the ground, head down, doing the work day in day out.”

Lloyd is being recognized for her work with three local barbers and three Omaha Public Schools employees to create North Omaha Building Brains in the Barbershop. The literacy program provides children the opportunity to read stories about children who look like them or share the same experiences. Each barbershop has a bookshelf filled with culturally relevant books. Barbers also encourage kids to read while in their shops and volunteer at Pinewood and Mount View Elementary Schools.

“The North Omaha Building Brains in the Barbershop is magical,” Lloyd said. “We set out to change things in our community, and we are doing just that—one culturally relevant book at a time.”

Lloyd joined the Buffett Institute in 2015 as a program specialist, overseeing family and community facilitators as part of the Superintendents’ Early Childhood Plan. The Kansas native previously served as director of early childhood education services at the Child Saving Institute in Omaha. Earlier, she worked for Cedars Youth Services as program manager, developing and implementing training for early childhood staff. Lloyd earned a bachelor’s degree in family science at the University of Nebraska ̶ Lincoln, and a master’s degree in early childhood studies at Walden University. She is working on a Ph.D. in human sciences with a specialization in early childhood education at UNL.

The awards event will be 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, June 24, at The Venue at Highlander Accelerator, a community building/meeting space that opened earlier this year at 2112 N. 30^th St.

The other 2018 Young Black & Influential Award winners are Katrina Adams, Ravan Charles, A’Mariyon Green, Michael Hughes, Chetekia Morris; Danielle Powell, Richard Webb, and Tommy Young-Dennis.