Honoree Sven Beckert Sven Beckert Professor of American History Harvard University Born in Germany, Sven Beckert wanted to be a historian ever since he was a child. After studying history, economics, and political...
Honoree Afsaneh Mashayekhi Beschloss Afsaneh Mashayekhi Beschloss Founder and CEO RockCreek Afsaneh Mashayekhi Beschloss was born in Iran in the 1950s. Her father, Mohammad Mashayekhi, was a prominent education reformer and presi...
Honoree David Byrne David Byrne Musician and Filmmaker David Byrne was born in Dumbarton, Scotland, to a Protestant mother and a Catholic father. Byrne’s parents decided to leave for Canada because of the employ...
Honoree Miriam Merad Miriam Merad Director of the Precision Immunology Institute Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Miriam Merad was born in Paris, France, where her Algerian parents were finishing their medi...
Honoree Ana Navarro-Cárdenas Ana Navarro-Cárdenas Political Strategist and Commentator, CNN; Cohost, The View Ana Navarro-Cárdenas was born in Nicaragua, and came to the United States with her mother and three siblings i...
Honoree Catherine O'Hara Catherine O'Hara Actress Catherine O’Hara grew up in a suburb of Toronto, Canada, in a family of Irish descent. The sixth of seven children, she loved to impersonate people to make her family...
Honoree Teresa Romero Teresa Romero President United Farm Workers Teresa Romero was born into a large family of Spanish and indigenous Zapotec ancestry in Mexico City, and grew up in Guadalajara. Her father, who wo...
Honoree Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Vincent Stewart Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Vincent Stewart Former Deputy Commander, U.S. Cyber Command; Former Director, Defense Intelligence Agency Vincent Stewart was born and spent his childhood in 1960s Kingstown, ...
Honoree Christine Folch Christine Folch Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology and Assistant Professor of Environmental Sciences and Policy Duke University Christine Folch is assistant professor of cultural ant...
Honoree Adria L. Imada Adria L. Imada Professor of History University of California, Irvine Adria L. Imada is professor of history at the University of California, Irvine, where she also teaches in its medical human...
Honoree Sonali Shukla McDermid Sonali Shukla McDermid Associate Professor, Department of Environmental Studies New York University Sonali Shukla McDermid is a climate scientist and associate professor of environmental studi...
Honoree Léonce Ndikumana Léonce Ndikumana Distinguished Professor of Economics University of Massachusetts Amherst Léonce Ndikumana is Distinguished Professor of Economics and director of the African Development Polic...
Honoree Stefanie Stantcheva Stefanie Stantcheva Professor of Economics Harvard University Stefanie Stantcheva is professor of economics at Harvard and founder of the Social Economics Lab. She studies the taxation of firm...
Honoree Susan C. Stokes Susan C. Stokes Tiffany and Margaret Blake Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science, and Faculty Director of the Chicago Center on Democracy University of Chicago Susan Stokes is t...
Honoree Carlos del Rio Carlos del Rio Public Health Advocate and Professor of Medicine Emory University Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Carlos del Rio has appeared on hundreds of TV and radio shows and bee...
Honoree Katalin Karikó Katalin Karikó Scientist and Senior Vice President BioNTech Katalin Karikó is no stranger to adversity and rejection. Her university’s research program once ran out of money, she has seen her ...
Honoree Kamlesh Lulla Kamlesh Lulla NASA Scientist (Fmr. Chief Scientist for Earth Observations, Space Shuttle/ISS), Senior Advisor for University Research and Technology Collaboration at Johnson Space Center NASA ...
Honoree Vija Celmins Vija Celmins Visual Artist None Vija Celmins’s meticulous paintings and drawings focus on objects found in nature, such as oceans, night skies, deserts, and spiderwebs — and often take years t...
Honoree Olga Korbut Olga Korbut Olympic Medal–Winning Gymnast None Olga Korbut was a pigtailed teenager and not even five feet tall when she dazzled the world at the Munich Olympics in 1972, winning three gold me...
Honoree Michael Mina Michael Mina Chef and Founder MINA Group Growing up in a Middle Eastern family, Michael Mina fondly remembers his mother’s falafel, and the hours spent around the dining room table. Mina, who ...
Honoree Ivan Poupyrev Ivan Poupyrev Director of Engineering and Technical Projects Lead Google Ivan Poupyrev has helped make orchids sing and doorknobs “smart” (programmed to lock, unlock, or even leave a message a...
Honoree Jorge Pulleiro Jorge Pulleiro Idaho Teacher of the Year and U.S. Army Veteran None Jorge Pulleiro’s widowed mother worked 12-hour days as a seamstress and maid in Argentina to ensure that he could get a qual...
Honoree Ali Zaidi Ali Zaidi Deputy White House National Climate Advisor None Ali Zaidi grew up in America’s Rust Belt, going on to serve in the Obama administration for eight years and later becoming the highes...
Honoree Sarah Cameron Sarah Cameron Associate Professor of History University of Maryland, College Park A historian of Russia and the Soviet Union, Sarah Cameron is associate professor of history at the University ...
Honoree Sarah Elizabeth Lewis Sarah Elizabeth Lewis Associate Professor, Department of History of Art and Architecture and Department of African and African American Studies Harvard University Sarah Elizabeth Lewis is an a...