The B-Sides of Leadership: Lessons from the 2026 McNulty Prize Winners
In the face of strong headwinds, how do we find—and maintain—the courage to act? And how do we step up when it matters to shape our shared future?
At the 2026 Resnick Aspen Action Forum, three new McNulty Prize Winners—Rudy Espinoza and Inclusive Action for the City, Anna Novosad and savED, and Tom McDougall and 4P—were welcomed into a global community of more than sixty leaders tackling the world’s most urgent challenges.
In a conversation moderated by Stace Lindsay, Executive Vice President for Leadership at the Aspen Institute, the honorees reflected on the b-sides of their leadership journey: the moments beyond the highlight reel that compelled them to act, what keeps them going, and the values that continue to guide their work.
Watch the full conversation here, and read on for key takeaways.
The Winners with Brynne, Johnny, and Anne Welsh McNulty.
Each of you recognized a need or opportunity where you could make a difference. What made you take action?
For each, the decision to lead began with a deeply personal reckoning that reshaped their understanding of responsibility.
Anna Novosad co-founded savED to provide safe educational spaces for children and support for communities in Ukraine affected by war. As the country’s former Minister of Education, Russia’s invasion forced her to confront the question: what duty does she have to her country at its most vulnerable? She believed that preserving humanity through education, socialization, and shared experiences was just as essential to securing peace. Anna's unique experience, expertise, and network enabled savED to restore access to education for more than 250,000 students.
No one is coming to save us. That's the bad news. And the good news is that no one is coming to save us, so we get to build it ourselves.
As President & CEO of Inclusive Action, Rudy Espinoza is unlocking capital for the street vendors, micro-entrepreneurs, and small businesses routinely shut out of the formal economy. But the genesis of his leadership journey was rooted in the promise of the American Dream: he wanted to break his family out of poverty and become upwardly mobile. He came to understand that he and his single mother were not alone in their struggles, but part of an all-too common experience for many Americans.
This became a window into questioning how money flows—or doesn’t—through communities and, with it, who holds power. Since then, from fighting predatory lenders to securing landmark legislation, Inclusive Action has deployed more than $11 million in loans and grants, provided thousands of hours of coaching, and secured commercial properties that help anchor businesses in Los Angeles communities.
Anne Welsh McNulty and Rudy Espinoza
Tom McDougall
As Founder and CEO of 4P Foods, Tom McDougall is building the food system of the future. But his turning point came through witnessing the hidden costs of the global economy.
In a previous role, Tom spent weeks at a time in China overseeing the production of merchandise and managing supply-chain logistics. There, he saw firsthand what an “externality” looks like within a global capitalist system. The price of materials failed to account for their true costs: environmental degradation, exploited workers, and fractured communities. This changed the way he understood food systems, inspiring him to build one rooted in regeneration instead.
To date, 4P has expanded markets for farmers in the United States, sourced local food to hundreds of thousands of families, and directed more than $100 million to the regional economy.
In the face of uncertainty, what keeps you going?
Though their work spans economic justice, education, and food systems, each leader returns to the same source of strength: the communities they serve.
Rudy is drawn to big problems, and as a major city, Los Angeles is a microcosm of some of the most defining challenges of our time. He firmly believes that a different economy is possible, but only if we are willing to surrender our privilege, talk to one another, and work together. And when he needs perspective, he turns to the micro-entrepreneurs and community members whose resilience grounds him, and whose often-overlooked wisdom continues to fuel him.
There's never going to be a right time to do the right thing.
Resilience, in particular, has been tested for Anna. Now five years into the war, she feels its weight physically. Constant drone and ballistic attacks manifest in the form of exhaustion, anxiety, and sleep disorders. Yet she’s reminded that she also belongs to the first generation of Ukrainians in more than three centuries with the opportunity to preserve their country’s statehood. Through savED, she is helping ensure that Ukrainian identity, culture, and hope endure for generations to come through education.
As the father of three young children, Tom is motivated by the world he is leaving behind for them. As the number of global harvest seasons dwindles and the window to act narrows, he reminds us that the decisions we make today will be felt by generations to come.
Anna Novosad
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Dele Olojede and MacArthur Foundation President John Palfrey opened the plenary.
Each of you have changed our understanding of what’s truly at stake. What’s one takeaway for leaders who are charting a new path?
Tom credits Ram Dass, the late American spiritual leader, as a lasting influence as he takes on the challenge of changing an entire system. Such work can feel daunting for any one person. Yet Tom believes that each of us carries an ember within us. First, we must tend to it until it becomes a flicker. Then, as many small flames come together, they form a roaring bonfire that offers both direction and communal safety.
Leadership is rarely accompanied by certainty or answers, Anna reflects. When savED was founded, the organization didn’t fully develop their strategy until nearly two years after incorporating. Her advice: act anyway, as clarity is often the result of taking the first step.
The war has taught me that a sense of purpose helps us endure. I have come to understand that safety is not my sense of purpose.
To have courage means to also know where one stands, Rudy declares. Most recently, Inclusive Action joined a lawsuit as a plaintiff against the IRS over a data-sharing agreement with ICE. In the US, undocumented immigrants pay more than $100 billion in taxes every year, yet lack legal protection, fair wages, and access to opportunity. At moments like this, ambivalence fuels injustice and division.
Across each leader’s B-sides runs a common thread: leadership begins in close proximity and partnership with the communities they serve. It also requires the courage and vision to imagine just futures we have not yet experienced, but know are possible. The McNulty Prize, awarded in partnership with the Aspen Institute, now equips these leaders with tailored resources and connects them to a global community to expand their impact and realize new possibilities.
Watch the full conversation at the Action Forum to delve deeper into these remarkable stories: