Dr. Gail C. Christopher and Professor john a. powell
Dr. Gail C. Christopher and Professor john a. powell have been named the recipients of Independent Sector’s 2021 John W. Gardner Leadership Award. Dr. Christopher is Executive Director of the National Collaborative for Health Equity. Professor powell is Director of the Othering & Belonging Institute at the University of California, Berkeley.
Since 1985, Independent Sector has presented the John W. Gardner Leadership Award annually to visionaries who exemplify the leadership and ideals of John W. Gardner (1912-2002), American statesman, educator, author, and IS founder. The award honors extraordinary social sector champions whose collective work has transformed the nonprofit community and mobilized and unified people, institutions, or causes to positively impact the ability of all Americans to thrive.
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. In her role as the 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. In 2015, she received the Terrance Keenan Award from Grantmakers in Health. She chairs the Board of the Trust for America’s Health. Dr. Christopher is also a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and Senior Scholar, George Mason University, Center for the Advancement of Well-Being.
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 is the author of several books, including his most recent work, 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.
Dr. Christopher and Professor powell will each formally accept the Gardner Award during the Upswell Summit, October 20-22.
Independent Sector (Washington, DC)
Contact: Debra Rainey at 202.467.6119 or debrar@independentsector.org.