Announcing the 2024 Leaders for a New Chicago
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 11, 2024
CONTACT:
Maria McCandless
Field Foundation of Illinois
(312) 560-0004
mmccandless@fieldfoundation.org
FIELD AND MACARTHUR FOUNDATIONS ANNOUNCE 2024 LEADERS FOR A NEW CHICAGO COHORT
10 Leaders Committed to Diversity Across the City to be Awarded $50,000 for Exemplary Work in their Communities
CHICAGO – The Field Foundation of Illinois, in partnership with The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, today announced the recipients of the 2024 Leaders for a New Chicago Award. As advocates, artists, educators, organizers, storytellers, and community development experts, these 10 leaders from diverse backgrounds and neighborhoods are bringing transformative change to their communities and advancing the racial and social justice movement in Chicago.
Now in its sixth year, the Leaders for a New Chicago Award seeks to build a more inclusive city by recognizing leaders who are designing new and impactful approaches to civic discourse and action. Each of the 2024 recipients will receive a no-strings-attached award of $25,000, and their affiliated organizations will receive an additional $25,000 general operating grant.
“We are proud to support these impressive leaders who are shaping the future of Chicago,” Field Foundation President Daniel O. Ash said. “We applaud the important work they do and the way they work in service to their communities. They exemplify community power building.”
Since the Leaders for a New Chicago Award launched in 2019, the partnership has committed a total of $3.25 million to support its recipients and their affiliated organizations. The leaders’ work aligns with Field’s grantmaking areas with a focus on organizations addressing systemic issues in the city’s historically underserved communities. Leaders from the Field Foundation’s grantee organizations and the MacArthur Foundation’s Chicago Commitment and Chicago-based Journalism & Media grantees are eligible for the award.
“We are proud to recognize leaders from across the city with a wide variety of interests and backgrounds, who increasingly influence civic decisions, and apply their leadership skills to advance policies and practices that contribute to a more equitable Chicago. By supporting these leaders in their fields with a ‘no-strings-attached’ award, leaders can pursue their personal and professional goals however they wish as they continue to shape the future of our city,” said Tara Magner, MacArthur Foundation Director, Chicago Commitment.
Previous recipients of the Leaders for a New Chicago Award include Grace Pai, Executive Director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago, who led a successful campaign to require Asian American history to be taught in all Illinois public schools; trina reynolds-tyler, Data Director for Invisible Institute, whose investigative journalism with Sarah Conway of City Bureau recently won the Pulitzer Prize; and artist avery r. young, who currently serves as the inaugural Chicago Poet Laureate.
A committee comprised of previous awardees, facilitated by Field and MacArthur staff members, oversaw a rigorous process of reviewing nominations and recommending the 2024 award recipients, who reflect the diversity of Chicago residents and the complex issues they face.
“Our 2024 awardees are exceptional individuals who have demonstrated outstanding leadership,” said Field Foundation Leadership Investment Program Officer analía rodríguez, who directs the Leaders for a New Chicago Award program and was a member of its inaugural 2019 cohort. “They represent a diversity of backgrounds, programs, and leadership journeys, as well as a shared love for their communities and Chicago.”
Congratulations to the 2024 Leaders for a New Chicago cohort and their respective organizations listed below. Headshots and bios available upon request.
2024 Leaders for a New Chicago
Alia J. Bilal, Chief Executive Director, Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN)
Jordan Campbell, Co-Founder & Director, Alt Space Chicago
Timmy Châu, Board Member, Prison + Neighborhood Arts/Education Project
Cassidy Dimon, Director of Programs & Accessibility, Full Spectrum Features
Malcolm Evans, Director of Farms, Urban Growers Collective
Nedra Sims Fears, Executive Director, Greater Chatham Initiative
Miranda González, Producing Artistic Director, UrbanTheater Company
Carlos Hernández, Executive Director & Founder, Puerto Rican Arts Alliance
Ed Marszewski, Director, Public Media Institute
ángela munguía, Executive Director, AMPT: Advancing Nonprofits
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About the Field Foundation of Illinois
The Field Foundation of Illinois is a private and independent foundation that, along with its strategic partners, distributes more than $10 million annually in grants to organizations working to address systemic issues in historically marginalized areas of Chicago. To support community power building, the Field Foundation directs dollars to grantmaking in Chicago’s civic infrastructure, creative sector, local news outlets, and organizers. Learn more at www.fieldfoundation.org.
About the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation supports creative people, effective institutions, and influential networks building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world. MacArthur is placing a few big bets that truly significant progress is possible on some of the world’s most pressing social challenges, including advancing global climate solutions, promoting local justice reform in the U.S., decreasing nuclear risk, revitalizing local news, and reducing corruption in Africa’s most populous country, Nigeria. In addition to the MacArthur Fellows Program and the global 100&Change competition, the Foundation continues its historic commitments to the role of journalism in a responsive democracy as well as the vitality of our hometown, Chicago. Learn more at www.macfound.org.
