Recipients
29th Awards2024
Arts
%20230829_0006_Joshua%20Franzos.jpg)
Jennie C. Jones
Sonic and visual artist Jennie C. Jones creates work that engages with the history of American modernism and minimalism while investigating the cultural contributions of African Americans of the same era, specifically sonic practitioners. Her deeply contemplative, multidimensional compositions invite audiences to be present for and sit with connections to sights, space, history and sound.
Learn More“Those who encounter my work will hopefully experience a need to pause and be inspired to investigate further — rewarded with close looking. With or without a sonic element, it is my intention that these acoustic panel paintings create a hush in the spaces they occupy. I consider them to be always ‘working,’ active not passive, my artworks lean into the objecthood of painting with nuance and grace. In doing so, I hope to expand the viewers expectation and pre-conceived ideas about what Black cultural production looks and sounds like.”
%20240808_0007_Joshua%20Franzos.jpg)
Gala Porras-Kim
Gala Porras-Kim creates works spanning drawings, sculptures and installations that challenge institutions to reassess their role as stewards of history and culture. Through artworks that are often informed by direct engagement with museums and their staff, she aims to shift policies regarding the ownership, display and presentation of objects.
Learn More“I often approach a project by paying close attention to the practical limits of institutional policies, where the logic of conservation and registration often breaks down. My work with these institutions aims to recognize that in the same way they form the understanding of objects in their collections as historical, these objects also redefine the places and people that interact with them depending on their past. ...”
Economy
%20240822_0022_Joshua%20Franzos.jpg)
Aisha Nyandoro
Aisha Nyandoro, Ph.D., is dedicated to equipping mothers to exit poverty and to changing the narrative around who is deserving of our trust and care. She launched the first guaranteed income program for Black mothers in the U.S. and works to connect families living in federally subsidized affordable housing with resources to thrive and achieve economic mobility.
Learn More“My work may seem like it’s solely about financial security, but that is only one piece of the puzzle. What I’m really aiming to do in providing Black women experiencing poverty with resources is to shift deeply held, harmful narratives about who is deserving of dignity and trust in this country. That goal not only informs how our policies are shaped, but it is also transformative for the individual. ...”
%20240724_0007_Joshua%20Franzos.jpg)
Jessica Sager &
Janna Wagner
Jessica Sager, J.D., and Janna Wagner are founders of All Our Kin, a national nonprofit dedicated to training, supporting and sustaining family child care educators. All Our Kin provides home-based providers with the resources needed to create critically needed, quality early childhood environments and run successful small businesses, and advocates for fair compensation of child care educators.
Learn More“... Numbers don’t drive our economy – people do. When we provide quality child care to families in their own communities, when we make sure educators have the tools to run a business, and when we advocate for those educators to get a living wage, everyone wins. Children are supported, parents can work and the economy thrives.”
“From birth to 3 years old, children’s brains develop at an unbelievable rate. Understanding how to make the most of these rich opportunities requires dedication and expertise. Whether it's through educational coaching, training on social-emotional development or preparing for national accreditation, All Our Kin supports home-based educators who want to see young children develop and thrive.”
Environment
%20240815_0018_Joshua%20Franzos.jpg)
Amira Diamond &
Melinda Kramer
Amira Diamond and Melinda Kramer are founders of Women’s Earth Alliance (WEA), which works to ensure a just, thriving world by empowering women-led climate initiatives and eco-enterprises. WEA programs provide women leaders — who are often most affected by environmental issues but underrepresented in decision-making processes — with mentorship, skills, business training, funding and a global network of support.
Learn More“... And during times like this when we are being pummeled by compounding crises — wars, floods, fires, earthquakes and pandemics — these women’s networks kick into gear with brilliance and foresight. It’s these moments when it becomes clear that these leaders aren’t just saving each other, they’re saving all of us. ..."
"... As the climate emergency intensifies, so does the burden on our world’s women. WEA provides a powerbase for women leaders around the world who are leading critical local environmental fights, and who are too often facing marginalization, persecution and deep inequity. ...”
%20240814_0008_Joshua%20Franzos.jpg)
Scott Loarie &
Ken-ichi Ueda
Scott Loarie, Ph.D., and Ken-ichi Ueda are co-organizers of iNaturalist, considered the largest citizen science project in the world. Millions of observations through iNaturalist’s open-source platform allow the collection of biodiversity data at unprecedented scale, informing conservation priorities, measuring species response to climate change and acting as an early warning system for invasive species.
Learn More“For the general public, iNaturalist provides a gateway to expert knowledge and a meaningful way to engage with nature through biodiversity monitoring and stewardship. For researchers, it offers a global network of ‘eyes and ears,’ enabling the collection of extensive data that would be impossible to gather independently.”