Awardees
2017
Richard Pan
Civic Leadership Award
In recognition of his abolition of non-medical exemptions of legallyrequired vaccines for school students, thus restoring community protection against preventable contagions.
2018
Jerry McNerney
Civic Leadership Award
For co-founding the Congressional Freethought Caucus that fosters science and reason while defending the secular character of our country’s government.
Judy Saint
Community Award
In recognition of her vigorous promotion of secular values to the Sacramento community, the media, and elected officials, while tirelessly defending secular rights.
2019
Chris Holland
Community Award
For quickly and selflessly responding to the worst examples of humanity byorganizing a counterprotest that unified a city under a banner of love and acceptance.
Jerry Sloan
Lifetime achievement Award
In recognition of his lifelong work vigorously defending the rights of the LGBT+ and secular communities and being critically involved in the start of multiple advocacy organizations.
Jared Huffman
Civic Leadership Award
For co-founding the Congressional Freethought Caucus, for publicly representing secular values, and for defending the secular character of our country’s government.
2020
Arlene Ríos
Community Award
In recognition of her work founding the Fresno Latino Atheists, normalizing non-religion in the Mexican and Latinx community and for her service in the U.S. Navy.
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Evan Clark
Community Award
For promoting inclusion and intersectionality in the atheist community and selflessly leading the Secular Student Alliance while inspiring the next generation of Humanists.
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Zoe Lofgren
Civic Leadership Award
For championing immigration reform, digital rights, affordable internet access, and the rights of the LGBT, while representing secular values and respecting science-based legislation.
2021
Karina Quintanilla
Civic Leadership Award
For advocating for fair and equitable district elections, lobbying for healthcare, addressing housing insecurity, and representing the secular community while serving on Palm Desert’s city council.
Mynga Futrell
Lifetime achievement Award
For decades of commitment to science, freethought, and civil rights through tireless leadership and exemplary vision, and for cofounding California Freethought Day in 2002.
Margaret Downey
Community Award
For unifying the secular community throughout California while demonstrating positive leadership through a creative combination of unique events and talented people.
Bruce Gleason
community Award
For the founding of Backyard Skeptics, for lending his talents to the secular community, and for promoting science,
freethought, and secular values throughout Southern California.
2022
Eugenie Scott
Lifetime achievement Award
For serving the National Center for Science Education, defending the teaching of evolution and climate change in public schools, for nearly three decades and for being a fierce critic of Creationism.
Susan Gerbic
Community Award
For leading a team that greatly improved the accuracy of Wikipedia articles relevant to our Core Values and for organizing elaborate sting operations that exposed charlatan “mediums”.
Jimmy Gomez
Civic Leadership Award
For his efforts in advancing electric vehicles, affordable housing, and reproductive rights, assisting students in debt, and protecting employee unions while sharing our vision of a secular government.
2023
Ryan Bell
Community Award
For his statewide advocacy towards tenant rights, housing justice, and social justice while demonstrating the values of secular humanism.
Nancy Skinner
Civic Leadership Award
For her history of activism and policy in criminal justice, income equality, environmental preservation, and healthcare access (including gender-affirming care).
2024
Susan Talamantes Eggman
Civic Leadership Award
For her history of legislative activism and policy bolstering LGBTQ+ rights, education in public schools, and healthcare, including authoring the End of Life Options Act.
James Underdown
Lifetime achievement Award
For serving the Center for Inquiry West for twenty-five years while advancing the public’s awareness of humanism, critical thinking, and pseudoscience while demonstrating secular values.
Laura heywood
Community Award
For her work helping to build the secular community that is Sunday Assembly San Diego, and for extending her talent and time to Sunday Assembly USA.
Don knutson
Community Award
For selflessly dedicating his time to improving our planet, including serving on several local boards, providing meals to those less fortunate, and facilitating Highway Cleanup for over twenty years.
john de lancie
Community Award
For being an advocate for secular rights while building awareness of the Kitzmiller v. Dover court case whose decision bolstered scientifically accurate text books on the theory of evolution.
