When Gary Gould stood to present an award to Brett Owen, acting chief of the Tampa Police Department, he spoke about something every Jewish institution in the city now thinks about.

“His willingness to work collaboratively with our community and help address our security needs demonstrates a genuine understanding of the importance of protecting our institutions, gathering spaces and the people who come together in them,” said Gould, CEO of the Tampa JCCs and Federation.

Owen received the Maril Jacobs Todah Rabah Award, one of more than a dozen honors given at the federation’s Community Leadership Awards, held last month at the Shanna and Bryan Glazer JCC. The awards, named for past and present leaders of Tampa’s Jewish community, recognize people whose work reflects the values of tzedakah and tikkun olam.

The evening’s top honor, the Leo Levinson Award for Leadership Excellence, went to Harvey Mackler for his dedication to Israel and the Jewish people, his work with the federation’s Parkinson’s program and his support of the Florida-Israel Business Accelerator.

“Our community is exceptionally fortunate for Harvey’s quiet leadership, hard work, humor and kindness,” said Jeffrey Berger, the federation’s immediate past president.

Lia Mandelbaum, who leads programs for Holocaust survivors across Tampa Bay as senior director of Jewish Family Services at Gulf Coast JFCS, received the Charles Adler Young Leadership Award. Judy Van Der Stelt, who has taught preschool and Judaic studies at Congregation Schaarai Zedek, was named Educator of the Year.

Among the other honorees were Emily Eisenberg, who advocates for the Jewish community in Tallahassee and on Capitol Hill through the Jewish Federations of North America; Joan Wadler, a former president of the Weinberg Village assisted living residences; and Michele Norris, founder of Connecting Cultures for Peace, whose award was accepted by her daughter.