John W. Gardner Leadership Award
Independent Sector presents the John W. Gardner Leadership Award annually to visionaries who exemplify the leadership and ideals of American statesman and IS founder John W. Gardner.
About the Gardner Award
The John W. Gardner Leadership Award, established in 1985, honors outstanding Americans who exemplify the leadership and ideals of John W. Gardner (1912-2002), statesman and founding chair of Independent Sector. We present the award annually to one or more individuals whose leadership in or with the nonprofit community has helped transform, mobilize and unify people, institutions, or causes that help create a nation where all can thrive.
Dr. Gail C. Christopher
2021 Recipient
Dr. Christopher is an award-winning social change agent with expertise in the social determinants of health and well-being and in related public policies. She is known for her pioneering work to infuse holistic health and diversity concepts into public sector programs and policy discourse. As Senior Advisor and Vice President at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF), she was the driving force behind the America Healing initiative and the Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation effort. She chairs the Board of the Trust for America’s Health, and is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and Senior Scholar, George Mason University, Center for the Advancement of Well-Being.
Prof. john a. powell
2021 Recipient
Professor powell has written extensively on a number of issues, including structural racism, racial justice, concentrated poverty, opportunity-based housing, voting rights, affirmative action in the United States, South Africa and Brazil, racial and ethnic identity, spirituality and social justice, and the needs of citizens in a democratic society. He has authored several books, including “Racing to Justice: Transforming our Concepts of Self and Other to Build an Inclusive Society.” Professor powell also founded and directed the Institute on Race and Poverty at the University of Minnesota.
