Announcing the 2022 Winners of the John P. McNulty Prize
The 2022 Prize Winners are three leaders and organizations driving bold solutions to end hunger, thirst, and poverty.
The McNulty Foundation and the Aspen Institute today announced the three winners of the 2022 John P. McNulty Prize, each of whom will receive $150,000 towards their organization.
Edesia, founded by Navyn Salem, is striving to end malnutrition worldwide. Magnolia Mother’s Trust, founded by Aisha Nyandoro, is the longest-running cash transfer program in the US that has sparked a national movement around guaranteed income. SOURCE Global, founded by Dr. Cody Friesen, uses renewable technology to bring clean drinking water to communities around the world, even in the most remote locations.
Tune in Live on July 27th at 5:30pm MT to watch the Winners share their bold visions at the Resnick Aspen Action Forum.
In a time of war, pandemic, racism, poverty, and social injustice, these ventures are mitigating despair with new and innovative models that promote human agency.
Since 2008, the McNulty Prize has identified leaders and ventures with innovative models of change, and put them on a fast track to greater recognition and support. "The McNulty Prize elevates global leaders who have answered the call to respond to the injustices of our time,” said McNulty Foundation president Anne Welsh McNulty. “Each of these breakthrough solutions represent a powerful model to ensure the essential elements of a life with dignity: food, water, and basic funds."
Meet the Recipients
Edesia | Global
Navyn Salem founded Edesia after witnessing the fatal effects of childhood malnutrition in her father’s homeland of Tanzania. To date, Edesia’s specialized therapeutic foods have treated 17 million malnourished children in 60 countries. Their foods are distributed in partnership with USAID, the World Food Programme, UNICEF and local nonprofits to children at the frontlines of war, natural disasters, and other emergencies.
We do not have time to think, we need to act at this very moment to end malnutrition.
Edesia works to increase the resiliency and sustainability of the world’s emergency food system by driving research, innovation, and providing technical assistance to others, and advocates for prioritizing nutrition on the US and global policy agenda. They are doubling their production capacity to address the growing disruptions caused by Ukraine, climate change, and other crises.
Magnolia Mother's Trust | United States
Dr. Aisha Nyandoro launched the cash transfer program Magnolia Mother’s Trust to break the cycle of poverty in Jackson, Mississippi. Magnolia Mother’s Trust replaces an adversarial system of welfare with one that trusts mothers to do what is best for their families. The program gives Black mothers in federally subsidized housing $1,000 a month for a total of one year, with no strings attached.
When we invest in our most vulnerable, that is when society flourishes.
This one-year cash infusion enables families to reach longer-term stability: mothers increased their ability to pay all bills on time (from 27% to 83%), families with health insurance rose by 25%, and families with emergency savings increased from 40% to 88%. The model has inspired over 100 similar programs around the country, and its evidence has shaped practical and popular policies like the US Child Tax Credit.
SOURCE | Global
Materials scientist Dr. Cody Friesen founded SOURCE Global, whose innovative Hydropanels use the sun to transform water vapor in the air into high-quality drinking water, even in remote, low-humidity locations. A public benefit corporation, SOURCE has brought clean drinking water to over 450 projects in 50 countries, focusing on Indigenous communities and others that have been historically neglected.
Through technology, communities around the world can regain ownership over water access and security.
SOURCE’s impact goes beyond water—enabling women and girls to go to school or work instead of traveling to fetch water, and employing local community members to install and maintain the panels. Savings are generated from an alternative to bottled water, and health improves with a reliable, safe, source of water. In 2021 alone, SOURCE water offset over 3.6 million plastic water bottles.
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About the Prize
Each McNulty Prize Winner receives $150,000 and support to amplify their efforts. Winners are selected by an international jury that includes Darren Walker, Cheryl Dorsey, Olara Otunnu, and Brizio Biondi-Morra. Previous juries have included Madeleine Albright, Richard Branson, Mary Robinson, and Bill Gates, Sr. The McNulty Prize is given in partnership with the Aspen Institute, to recognize exceptional leadership ventures undertaken by their Fellows.