Awards Program
2025 Awardees
Celebrating 90 Years of Social Security
To mark this significant anniversary in 2025, the Frances Perkins Center honored James Roosevelt, Jr. and Maine Women’s Lobby in recognition of their notable work to preserve and strengthen Social Security.
James Roosevelt, Jr., former Associate Commissioner for the Office of Retirement Policy within the Social Security Administration and member of then-President-elect Barack Obama’s Social Security Administration transition team, in recognition of his work to strengthen and preserve social security programs. Throughout his career, Jim has worked across sectors to protect the most vulnerable Americans, tirelessly carrying forward the legacy and work of his grandfather, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Maine Women’s Lobby, a local, state, and federal public policy advocacy organization that works alongside the MWL Education Fund to convene organizations to meet shared policy goals, build feminist leaders, and advocate for an expanded and inclusive social safety net for Mainers. Their work was pivotal in securing Paid Family Medical Leave in Maine, a program that builds on New Deal-era economic and social reforms to support even more caregivers and Maine workers.
Inuagural Frances Perkins Next Generation Award
In 2025, The Frances Perkins Center and the National Academy of Social Insurance were proud to partner in recognizing outstanding young leaders who are carrying forward Perkins’ courage, imagination, and devotion to common good with the inaugural Frances Perkins Next Generation Award.
This year, the award was presented at the academy’s annual Robert M. Ball Award Gala in Washington D.C. to Johntrell Bowles, Taylor Carty, and Zane Snyder Cox.
Pre-2025 Awardee Spotlights
The Frances Perkins Center recognized individuals whose work in the areas of social justice and economic security exemplifies the spirit of Frances Perkins.
Intelligence and Courage Award: The name of this award comes from a speech given by Frances Perkins in 1929 when she was New York State Industrial Commissioner, in which she pledged, “I promise to use what brains I have to meet problems with intelligence and courage. I promise that I will be candid about what I know. I promise to all of you who have the right to know, the whole truth so far as I can speak it.”
Steadfast Award: Named from the motto of Frances Perkins’ Mount Holyoke class of 1902, “Be ye steadfast.” This award is given to someone who works tirelessly in one of the areas to which Frances Perkins dedicated her career.
Open Door Award: Named after the advice given to Frances Perkins by her grandmother, that when a door opens to you, you must walk through it. This award is given to a person whose work reflects the commitment and aspirations of Frances Perkins and her response to opportunities that positioned her in roles where she could advance social justice and economic equity.
Intelligence and Courage Awardees
Fall 2023: Earle G. Shettleworth, Jr., Maine’s State Historian, an avocation spanning 52 years. Mr. Shettleworth has lectured and written extensively on Maine history and architecture. He has served as president of the Maine Historical Society, president of the New England Chapter, Society of Architectural Historians, chair of the State House, Capitol Park Commission chair of the Capitol Planning Commission, and chair of the Blaine House Commission. He has served on the Maine Lighthouse Selection Committee and the State Facilities Master Plan Commission. The Maine Historical Society’s auditorium in Portland is named for him. We honor Mr. Shettleworth for his work in single-handedly enriching and informing Maine’s understanding of its past and present through historic preservation.
Spring 2023: Joseph E. Stiglitz, American economist, Columbia University professor, co-chair of the High-Level Expert Group on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress at the OECD, and the Chief Economist of the Roosevelt Institute. Mr. Stiglitz is a former senior vice president and chief economist of the World Bank and a former member and chairman of the (US president’s) Council of Economic Advisers. In 2011, Time magazine named Stiglitz one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Stiglitz’s work focuses on income distribution, risk, corporate governance, public policy, macroeconomics, and globalization. He is the author of numerous books including People, Power, and Profits; Rewriting the Rules of the European Economy; Globalization and Its Discontents Revisited; The Euro and Rewriting the Rules of the American Economy. Watch: Ending Economic Inequality Virtual Forum
2021: Heather Cox Richardson, Answering Big Questions about America Right Now: Bestselling author of six books on history and politics, Dr. Heather Cox Richardson of Maine, and professor of 19th century history at Boston College, has amassed hundreds of thousands of followers with her series of columns published on Substack and Facebook called “Letters from an American.” In May 2021, Dr. Richardson also launched a weekly podcast, “Now and Then,” with fellow historian Joanne Freeman. “Every Tuesday, two of the country’s most incisive interpreters and chroniclers of the American story will make sense of the week in news and politics by looking back at historical parallels” Vox Media, May 20, 2021. Watch: Cox Richardson remarks
2021: MA Senator Elizabeth Warren, a fearless consumer advocate, Senator Warren has made her life’s work the fight for middle class families. She is one of the nation’s leading progressive voices, fighting for big structural change that would transform our economy and rebuild the middle class. This award recognizes her work, like that of Frances Perkins, in advancing democratic principles to ensure the best possible life for all Americans. As a law professor for more than 30 years, Warren taught courses on commercial law, contracts, and bankruptcy. She has written over a hundred articles and eleven books, including four national best-sellers, This Fight Is Our Fight, A Fighting Chance, The Two-Income Trap, and All Your Worth. Watch: Senator Warren remarks
2019: Liz Shuler, Secretary-Treasurer and CFO of the AFL-CIO, the second top-level officer for the federation, the first woman elected to the position and the youngest woman to sit on the federation’s Executive Council. Shuler leads at the AFL-CIO on initiatives around the future of work, workforce development and training, industrial union councils, and women and young workers’ economic empowerment. She is committed to showing the labor movement’s diversity and innovative approaches to the workplace of the future, and the meaningful improvements a union voice on the job can bring to working families and our economy. Shuler chairs both the AFL-CIO Executive Council Committees on Finance and Women Workers, and represents the AFL-CIO on the boards of the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust, the International Trade Union Confederation, the National Women’s Law Center, Global Fairness Initiative, and the Solidarity Center. Watch: Shuler award remarks.
2017: Jane Mayer, a New Yorker staff writer since 1995 covers politics, culture, and national security. Previously, she worked at the Wall Street Journal, where she covered the bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, the Persian Gulf War, and the fall of the Berlin Wall. In 1984, Mayer became the paper’s first female White House correspondent. She is the author of the 2016 Times best-seller “Dark Money,” which began as a 2010 New Yorker piece about the Koch brothers’ deep influence on conservative politics, and 2008 Times best-seller “The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals,” and was named one of the top ten works of journalism of the decade by N.Y.U.’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. Watch: Mayer and 2015 Intelligence & Courage Honoree, Bill Nemitz
2015: Bill Nemitz, a news columnist for the Portland Press Herald and Maine Sunday Telegram where he began writing his thrice weekly column in 1995. While focusing on Maine people and issues, his work has taken him three times to Iraq and once to Afghanistan, where he was embedded with members of the Maine Army National Guard and the Army Reserve for which the Maine Press Association named Nemitz Maine Journalist of the Year in 2004. Nemitz is a past president of the Maine Press Association and teaches journalism part-time at St. Joseph’s College of Maine in Standish. In 2007, he received the Distinguished Service Award from the New England Newspaper Association. Watch: Nemitz award remarks
2013: Ai-jen Poo, co-founder of Domestic Workers United (DWU), which helped pass the nation’s first Domestic Workers Bill of Rights in 2010, extending basic labor protections to over 200,000 domestic workers in New York State. She directs the Domestic Workers Alliance, promoting labor rights for millions of domestic workers in the United States, including nannies, housekeepers, and caregivers for the elderly.
2012: Franklin D. Roosevelt III, a progressive economist who has spoken eloquently on the efficacy of New Deal programs and the relevance of progressive economic analysis in responding to the challenges of today’s economy. He is Professor Emeritus at Sarah Lawrence College. Watch: Roosevelt award remarks
David S. Ferriero (2022), Robert D. Putnam and Shalyn Romney Garrett (2022), Allison Kessler-Harris (2020), David Weil (2019), Robert Reich (2018), Thomas A. Kochan (2018), William E. Leuchtenburg (2016), Former Congressman Barney Frank (2014), Ellen Bravo (2011), and Brooksley Born (2010).
Steadfast Awardees
2023: Jennifer Abruzzo, General Counsel for the National Labor Relations Board. Appointed by the President to a 4-year term, this position is independent from the Board and is responsible for the investigation and prosecution of unfair labor practice cases and for the general supervision of the NLRB field offices in the processing of cases. Ms. Abruzzo has worked for the NLRB for over two decades in capacities including Field Attorney, Supervisory Field Attorney, Deputy Regional Attorney, Deputy Assistant General Counsel, Deputy General Counsel, and Acting General Counsel. Immediately prior to her appointment as General Counsel, she served as Special Counsel for Strategic Initiatives for the Communications Workers of America. The Center honors Ms. Abruzzo for her work to ensure that American workers achieve their fundamental right to join together in union and bargain collectively.
2022: Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, President & Senior Lecturer of Repairers of the Breach, Co-Chair of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call For Moral Revival, Bishop with The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries, Visiting Professor at Union Theological Seminary, Pastor of Greenleaf Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Goldsboro, NC, and the author of four books. In 2018, Barber helped relaunch the Poor People’s Campaign—which was begun by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968—starting with a historic wave of protests in state capitals and in Washington, D.C.
Rev. Dr. Barber served as president of the North Carolina NAACP from 2006–2017 and served on the National NAACP Board of Directors from 2008–2020. A former Mel King Fellow at MIT, he is Visiting Professor of Public Theology and Activism at Union Theological Seminary and a Senior Fellow at Auburn Seminary.
2022: Janet Dewart Bell, Founder, LEAD, Intergenerational Solutions, and author of Lighting the Fires of Freedom – African American Women in the Civil Rights Movement and Carving Out a Humanity: Race, Rights, and Redemption. Dr. Bell is a communications strategist and management consultant with a multimedia background, as well as experience in policy advocacy, strategic planning, fund development, media training, and education. She is a social justice advocate, activist, executive coach, and motivational speaker, with a doctorate in Leadership and Change from Antioch University.
2021: Manli Ho, A journalist and biographer from Maine and San Francisco, Ms. Ho is the daughter of Feng Shan Ho (1901-1997), a diplomat for the Republic of China and consul-general in Vienna during World War II. Her father, often hailed as “the Chinese Schindler,” issued thousands of visas to Shanghai to help Jews emigrate from the European Holocaust. A keynote for the FPC 2021 Public Policy Forum, Ms. Ho’s publications include: On the Wings of the Phoenix: How Shanghai became a Refuge (2019); Diplomatic Rescue, Shanghai as a Means of Rescue and Refuge, A Century of Jewish Life in Shanghai (2019); Feng Shan Ho and the Rescue of Austrian Jews, Diplomat Rescuers and the Story of Feng Shan Ho (1999).
Bat-Ami Zucker (2021), Maria Mossaides (2019), Maria Echaveste (2018), Kevin W. Concannon (2017), Ron Phillips (2016), Barbara Mikulski (2015), Christine Hastedt (2014), Sally Greenberg (2013), Dale McCormick (2012), Peter Crockett (2011), and Nancy Altman (2010).
Open Door Awardees
2023: Mufalo Chitam, Executive Director, Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition, and community leader improving the lives of Maine immigrant community members. Raised in Lusaka, Zambia, Ms. Chitam received her BA in Public Administration from the University of Zambia. There, she worked for an American based non-profit, Child Fund International, providing health and educational support for families. Ms. Chitam has worked for the University of Southern Maine, United Way of Greater Portland, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, National Kidney Foundation, Easter Seals Maine, American Red Cross, and Granite Bay Care. She has served as Vice Board Chair of Prosperity Maine, Maine Women’s Policy Center, and Creative Portland. She founded Empower the Immigrant Woman Conference, Empower Maine Women Network Group, and Beauty in Colors Hair Show to benefit WISE Zambia. She is former owner of Etukis LLC and was the consultant for Black Month Maine’s Hidden Figures. The Center honors Ms. Chitam for her leadership in advocating for Maine’s immigrant community.
2021: Juana Rodriguez-Vazquez, Celebrating Diversity while Building Community: Interim Executive Director, Migrant Education Director, and Rayitos de Sol Childcare Director at the Maine nonprofit Mano en Mano. She moved with her family to the U.S. at age five from Mexico eventually relocating to Milbridge, Maine. She earned a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Maine and General Elementary (K-8) Teacher Certification from the Maine Department of Education.
In 2015, the National Migrant Education Conference awarded Mrs. Rodriguez-Vazquez the Vida A. Rivera, Jr. Award recognizing one parent across the U.S. who demonstrates model parental involvement and exceptional commitment to their children’s education through personal sacrifice. Watch the FPC 2021 Virtual Garden Party to learn more
2019: Saru Jayaraman, Co-Founder and President of the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (ROC United) and Director of the Food Labor Research Center at University of California, Berkeley. After 9/11, together with displaced World Trade Center workers, she co-founded ROC, which now has more than 30,000 worker members, 500 employer partners, and 23,000 consumer members in a dozen states nationwide. She was listed in CNN’s “Top 10 Visionary Women” and recognized as a Champion of Change by the White House in 2014, and a James Beard Foundation Leadership Award in 2015. Jayaraman authored Behind the Kitchen Door (2013), and Forked: A New Standard for American Dining (2016). She has appeared on CNN with Soledad O’Brien, Bill Moyers Journal on PBS, Melissa Harris Perry and UP with Chris Hayes on MSNBC, Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO, the Today Show, and NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams.
2018: M. Patricia Smith: is Senior Counsel at the National Employment Law Project where she plays a central role in developing and implementing advocacy strategies, including litigation, to fight attacks on workers and to advance a pro-worker agenda at the federal land state level. From 2010 to 2017 she was the Solicitor of Labor at the U.S. Dept. of Labor. In that capacity she served as chief legal advisor to the Secretary of Labor and directed an office of over 650 attorneys across the country. January – April 2014 she was the Acting Deputy Secretary of Labor.
Smith served as NY State Commissioner of Labor for three years and was responsible for enforcing labor laws, administrating the unemployment insurance system, and overseeing the public workforce system, and for eight years as Chief of the Labor Bureau in the Office of the NY State Attorney General. In that position, she developed a system of labor law enforcement that became a model for other Attorneys General and enforcement agencies across the country. Watch: Smith award remarks
2017: Joelle Gamble, is a principal with the reimagining capitalism team at Omidyar Network, where she focuses on topics related to building the power of working people and shaping a new economic paradigm. Prior to joining Omidyar Network, Gamble worked on international economic priorities at the US Department of the Treasury and assisted Princeton faculty with labor economics research while pursuing her graduate degree. She served as the national director of the Roosevelt Institute’s network for emerging leaders in public policy, advancing advocacy campaigns related to economic justice and human rights in the U.S. Gamble has been an organizer for economic opportunity and higher education access in the state of California, running campaigns related to tax reform and the CA Dream Act. Gamble writes on race and economics and has been featured in places such at Fox Business, The Nation, Salon, The Hill, The Huffington Post and NextCity. Watch: Gamble award remarks
2016: Sarita Gupta, executive director of Jobs With Justice and the co-director of Caring Across Generations. She is a nationally recognized expert on the economic, labor and political issues affecting working people across all industries, particularly women and those employed in low-wage sectors, as well as the changing nature of work in America. Gupta has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and Politico, as well as on MSNBC, Al Jazeera English, PBS, CNBC and Fox, and writes regularly for The Huffington Post, The Hill and BillMoyers.com. As a key leader and strategist in the progressive, labor, economic justice, women’s and caregiving movements, she speaks regularly at conferences, panels and events. Recent appearances include the White House Conference on Aging and the Department of Labor Fair Labor Standards Act Anniversary. Watch: Gupta award remarks
Monica Rhodes (2022), The Founders of the Frances Perkins Center (2020), Steven Huffnagel (2019), Elisa Walker (2015), Lindsey Davis (2014), Lynn Pasquerella (2013), Kathryn Edwards (2012), Hilary Doe (2011), and Megan Williams (2010).