Announcing the 2026 Winners of the McNulty Prize
The $450,000 McNulty Prize is awarded to three leaders who are stepping up to shape the future. Each Winner will receive $150,000 to support bold models for the future of the economy, food, and education.
As the world becomes more uncertain and communities seek new solutions to persistent challenges, these individuals are bravely stepping up to lead the way forward.
“We all want to believe things can get better—these leaders are showing us it’s possible to shape the future we need now,” said McNulty Foundation president and Aspen Institute trustee Anne Welsh McNulty. “Instead of backing down, they’re daring to be even bolder. Whether it's overcoming entrenched interests, standing up for under-resourced communities, or creating safe spaces amidst war, their courage is contagious.”
The 2026 McNulty Prize winners are fundamentally reshaping how the world works—from the economy to food to education. Rudy Espinoza at Inclusive Action for the City is creating an economy that unlocks opportunity for small businesses in Los Angeles and beyond. Anna Novosad at savED is building a resilient education system for children across Ukraine, a model for preserving education amidst disruption anywhere. Tom McDougall at 4P Foods is building the food system of the future so that families, local farmers, and the planet can all prosper.
We all want to believe things can get better—these leaders are showing us it’s possible to shape the future we need now. Instead of backing down, they’re daring to be even bolder.
Meet the 2026 McNulty Prize Winners
Since 2008, the McNulty Prize has recognized more than 60 breakthrough leaders for their moral courage, vision, and lasting impact. Created in honor of John P. McNulty, the award is given in partnership with the Aspen Institute to recognize the exceptional impact of leaders across their programs. The McNulty Prize targets outstanding mid-stage organizations whose leaders have proven their models work. The Prize invests in them at a critical juncture on their path towards bringing bold and replicable solutions to the world.
Meet the Winners
We're transforming our communities by investing in them and advocating for an economy that works for everyone.
Inclusive Action for the City | United States
Rudy Espinoza grew up seeing his mom struggle to support his family after coming to America, and experienced firsthand how millions of workers are excluded from protections, a living wage, or fair access to small business loans. Now, Rudy is the President and CEO of Inclusive Action for the City, expanding economic opportunity in Los Angeles and building a national model for economic inclusion.
Inclusive Action was at the forefront of advocacy to legalize street vending in California, creating landmark legislation that became a blueprint adopted by other states. The organization has grown in response to the evolving needs of Angelenos. They’ve doubled down as communities face economic uncertainty and increased ICE activity to bring capital, business coaching, and pathways to ownership to immigrant and under-resourced microentrepreneurs, who drive the economy but are routinely shut out of upward mobility. To date, Inclusive Action has deployed more than $11 million in loans and grants, provided thousands of hours of coaching, and secured commercial properties to anchor more than 20 businesses in their communities. By focusing on the intersection of capital and community building, Inclusive Action offers a beacon for an economy where everyone can prosper.
"Inclusive Action is advancing economic justice for people who have had the odds stacked against them: street vendors, micro-businesses, and vulnerable workers,” said Espinoza. “We're transforming our communities by investing in them and advocating for an economy that works for everyone.”
War is ongoing, but so is life, we have to invent. When people have a chance to build connection through education, through socialization, through joint activities, when the world falls apart, they can still somehow navigate in it.
savED | Ukraine
Anna Novosad returned to her home country of Ukraine on the day of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. As the war progressed, thousands of schools were targeted and destroyed by Russia, and 4.6 million children now face barriers to education. Mobilizing her expertise and her network from her time as Ukraine's minister of education, Anna stepped up to rethink what learning could look like on the frontlines of conflict, and co-founded savED to provide safe educational spaces and support for communities affected by war.
savED has built the infrastructure for children to go to school in retrofitted bomb shelters, learning centers, and remotely online. As the war has gone on, savED has developed programs to overcome students’ learning loss, provide training and support for educators’ well-being, and nurture the next generation of leaders for Ukraine’s long-term recovery. Today, savED is a lifeline for communities to connect and maintain their identity. savED spaces are hubs for communities to gather and children to learn, make friends, go to prom, and graduate. Since 2022, savED has opened more than 160 learning centers and 70 shelters, restoring access to education for more than 250,000 students and reaching 30,000 educators. The organization’s work and research spotlight the overlooked impact of war on education and daily life, and provide a global model for education and community resilience wherever childhood is disrupted.
“War is ongoing, but so is life,” said Novosad. “We have to invent. When people have a chance to build connection through education, through socialization, through joint activities, when the world falls apart, they can still somehow navigate in it."
We are creating a blueprint that produces stronger local economies, healthier communities, and a more sustainable planet.
4P Foods | United States
Tom McDougall's earliest memories are from working on neighboring farms in the rural communities of the Hudson Valley. He watched them shutter one by one as industrial mega-farms consolidated the food industry. Small farmers continue to be squeezed out by long, fragile supply chains, and by reduced government support. Fresh food remains out of reach for communities, especially rural ones, farm workers routinely face exploitation, and industrial farming drives more human-caused climate change than almost any other industry. Now, as Founder and CEO of 4P Foods, Tom is building a food system for the future.
4P works as a regional food hub in the Mid-Atlantic, connecting more than 200 local, regenerative, and family farms to K-12 schools, Food-is-Medicine programs at hospitals and health clinics, restaurants, grocery stores, and more. This shortens the supply chain from more than 10 transactions to just two: from farmers to 4P to customers. 4P has created a food system that’s more fair for farmers, delivers better food to families, and is healthier for the planet. Their farmers earn nearly five times the national average, and to date, they have served more than 300,000 families experiencing food insecurity. As the number of growing seasons diminishes and the window to act narrows, he’s showing that the future of food systems is already here.
“The food system of today is not working,” said McDougall. “We have an opportunity to design it differently. We are creating a blueprint that produces stronger local economies, healthier communities, and a more sustainable planet.”
About the John P. & Anne Welsh McNulty Foundation:
The McNulty Foundation inspires, develops, and drives leaders to solve the critical challenges of their time. Created in 2008 by Anne Welsh McNulty in honor of her late husband, the John P. McNulty Prize is awarded in partnership with the Aspen Institute and has now recognized over 60 visionary leaders for their courage and lasting impact. The McNulty Prize strategically invests at the critical point between proof of concept and global scale, where few other supporters operate, to position leaders and mid-stage ventures for greater impact. McNulty Prize winners receive $150,000 over two years, plus the equivalent of $200,000 in media and communications, coaching and strategic advising, and convening support. Winners are selected by a distinguished international jury that has included Madeleine Albright, John Palfrey, Darren Walker, Cheryl Dorsey, Mary Robinson, and Sir Richard Branson, among others..
Learn more at mcnultyfound.org
Watch the winners share more about the moments that catalyzed them into action on July 22, in a livestream from Aspen, Colorado, at 3:15pm MT.