Category: New Nominees

Founded in 1989 by Bryan Stevenson, a widely acclaimed public interest lawyer and bestselling author of Just Mercy, EJI is a private, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides legal representation to people who have been illegally convicted, unfairly sentenced, or abused in state jails and prisons. We challenge the death penalty and excessive punishment and we provide re-entry assistance to formerly incarcerated people.

EJI works with communities that have been marginalized by poverty and discouraged by unequal treatment. We are committed to changing the narrative about race in America. EJI produces groundbreaking reports, an award-winning wall calendar, and short films that explore our nation’s history of racial injustice, and we recently launched an ambitious national effort to create new spaces, markers, and memorials that address the legacy of slavery, lynching, and racial segregation, which shapes many issues today.

EJI provides research and recommendations to assist advocates and policymakers in the critically important work of criminal justice reform. We publish reports, discussion guides, and other educational materials, and our staff conduct educational tours and presentations for thousands of students, teachers, faith leaders, professional associations, community groups, and international visitors every year.

Catalyzing realistic solutions for climate change.

Our task is to reduce climate change by applying an overwhelming amount of force to some of the biggest levers to reduce carbon and other climate warming emissions.

Through technology innovation, policy change, and thought leadership, the Clean Air Task Force drives impact to prevent catastrophic climate change through realistic solutions.

CATF is a group of climate and energy experts with decades of collective knowledge and experience.

We are scientists, engineers, MBAs, policy experts, lawyers and communications professionals who achieve impact through technology innovation, policy advocacy, and thought leadership.

The Maddie Potts Foundation was established in November of 2017, less than 2 months after Maddie's sudden death on the soccer field of an unknown brain aneurysm. This 501(c)(3) foundation was founded in order to carry on Maddie's legacy of kindness, compassion, hard work, inclusive leadership and perseverance, aka Maddie Mentality. We look forward to giving back to the community each year with scholarships, facility upgrades and opportunities for individuals ​with disabilities. #WWMD

The Maddie Potts Foundation was started in order to carry on the legacy and memory of a healthy, young, female athlete, taken acutely from this world at the age of 17. Maddie exemplified all attributes that a student athlete should possess. She always led by example, and dedicated her free time to helping her teammates, fellow art students and all others around her to be the very best they could be. She stood up for and reached out to new students/teammates that were not as likely to be able to stand up for themselves. She was often referred to as “my very first friend at Chariho,” or at her Speed and Agility Training group, Higher Level, LLC. Her humility spoke for itself as she always tried to keep the spotlight off of her and instead directed it to her team, coaches or friends. Her year round work ethic as a 3 sport athlete, honor student and member of VAASA ( Varsity Athletes Above Substance Abuse) is unsurpassed by any her age. To quote her athletic director, “She just had a way with the kids on her team. They idolized her. They looked at her like she was a superhero - like she was Wonder Woman. Any time we went into any game, no matter who the other team had, our girls would be like ‘Well, we have Maddie Potts.’”

Maddie was also very active in the Kidsgrow Community Garden that was started and run by her father. They have donated over 20,000 pounds of produce to local food banks and homeless shelters over the past 17 years. She worked with her mom in fundraising for cancer awareness and treatments, and was also very interested in opening a dog rescue, one of the many things she was taken from and too young to accomplish.
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All donations will go directly into the foundation to give back to athletics, art and other areas near and dear to Maddie’s heart, with scholarships and annual awards. Her family is hoping that one day they will raise enough funding to build “The Maddie Potts Fieldhouse and Indoor Practice Facility.” Maddie lived by the focus and importance of team building and practice every bit as much as game day. The Foundation will also continue to emphasize the importance of “paying it forward”, anonymously, strictly as it is the right thing to do to help others. Again, Maddie was never about her own recognition, only about making others around her better.