With the Whitehall Award, Rocking the Boat is proud to recognize exemplary community leaders and prominent individuals and organizations with a demonstrated commitment to experiential education, the environment, and youth development. The honor is named for the distinctively elegant and practical wooden boat design that forms the majority of Rocking the Boat's hand-built fleet. The Whitehall represents a "golden period" of maritime design and craftsmanship, its reliable and beautiful form remaining largely consistent since 1690.

Majora Carter, Majora Carter simultaneously addresses public health, poverty alleviation, and climate-adaptation as one of the nation's pioneers in successful urban green-collar job training & placement systems. She founded Sustainable South Bronx in 2001 to achieve environmental equality through economically sustainable projects informed by community needs, and led the organization until 2008.

She currently runs her own consulting firm (Majora Carter Group, LLC), hosts the special public radio series: "The Promised Land", and serves on the boards of The Wilderness Society, CERES, and the USGBC. Her includes advising cities, foundations, universities, businesses, and communities around the world on unlocking their local economic potential.

Her work has earned numerous honors including Fast Company's 100 Most Creative People In Business, a MacArthur "genius" Fellowship, Essence Magazine's 25 Most Influential African-Americans, and NY Post Liberty Medal for Lifetime Achievement.

Rocking the Boat uses boats to help young people challenged by severe economic, educational, and social disadvantage develop into empowered and responsible adults. Participating during the school-day, after-school, and summer in hands-on wooden boatbuilding and on-water education programs, young people in the South Bronx develop the self-confidence to set ambitious goals and the skills needed to achieve them. The organization serves over 2,700 young people and community members annually. Kids don't just build boats at Rocking the Boat, boats build kids.