DeKALB – Laura Vazquez, media studies professor in the Department of Communication at Northern Illinois University, received the prestigious Distinguished Service and Leadership Award from the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth.

Vazquez was honored Monday, Oct. 29, at the association’s national conference in Albuquerque, N.M.

Since 2006, Vazquez, an accomplished documentary filmmaker, has made films in collaboration with Diane Nilan, president of a national nonprofit “giving voice and visibility to homeless children and youth,” to tell the stories of homeless women, children and youth.