Boston, MA – Freedom for Immigrants co-founders Christina Mansfield and Christina Fialho will be honored with the John F. Kennedy New Frontier Award for their tireless efforts advocating for immigrants rights and protections. Washington State Lieutenant Governor Cyrus Habib also will receive the New Frontier Award for his work on progressive issues for his constituents, including sponsoring bills that would guarantee paid sick leave for almost all workers and the Washington Voting Rights Act, which would prevent racially polarized voting systems. The awards will be presented by Jack Schlossberg, President Kennedy’s grandson, during a ceremony on February 7 at 5:00pm at the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School.
"The youngest man ever elected President, JFK led a generation toward a New Frontier and to answer his call to service” said Schlossberg, who is the Chairman of the New Frontier Awards Committee. “Lt. Governor Cyrus Habib has answered that call today, bringing the energy and optimism of his generation to the politics of Washington state. Christina Mansfield and Christina Fialho have done the same outside of politics with years of dedicated service and advocacy on behalf of immigrants and immigrant communities. Each of these three people embody President Kennedy’s legacy, and I’m honored to celebrate them with the 2020 New Frontier Award."
Created by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation and the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School, the New Frontier Awards honor Americans under the age of 40 who are changing their communities and the country with their commitment to public service. The awards are presented annually to two exceptional individuals whose contributions in elective office, community service, or advocacy demonstrate the impact and the value of public service in the spirit of John F. Kennedy. A distinguished bipartisan committee of political and community leaders selected Mansfield, Fialho, and Habib based on their contributions to the public and their embodiment of the forward-looking public idealism to which President Kennedy hoped young Americans would aspire.
“For us, the New Frontier is a world where no person is imprisoned for crossing a border,” said Christina Mansfield and Christina Fialho, co-founders and executive directors of Freedom for Immigrants. “President John F. Kennedy inspired and challenged a generation to live the values our nation professes. We are so honored to accept this award that uplifts President Kennedy’s legacy, as we continue to battle as he said ‘problems of ignorance and prejudice’ as well as ‘unanswered questions of poverty and surplus.'”
“It’s a tremendous honor to receive this award from the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library Foundation and the Institute of Politics at Harvard University,” said Lt. Governor Cyrus Habib. “President Kennedy was a bold leader who took us to the moon and put the morality of the civil rights struggle at the forefront of our national consciousness. I’m humbled to be counted alongside the distinguished past recipients of the John F. Kennedy New Frontier Award, and I look forward to celebrating President Kennedy’s life and legacy in Boston next month.”
Past recipients of the New Frontier Awards include Pete Buttigieg, the Mayor of South Bend, Indiana; Cory A. Booker, U.S. Senator and former Mayor of Newark, New Jersey; Eric Garcetti, Mayor of Los Angeles; Stacey Abrams, House Minority Leader for the Georgia General Assembly and State Representative for the 89th House District; Wendy Kopp, Founder and CEO of Teach for America; Michael Tubbs, the Mayor of Stockton, California; Kirsten Lodal, Co-Founder and CEO of LIFT; Svante Myrick, Mayor of Ithaca, New York; Nina Dudnik, Founder and CEO, Seeding Labs; Charles Best, founder and CEO of DonorsChoose.org; and Zainab Salbi, Founder and CEO of Women for Women International.
For more information visit the Kennedy Presidential Library’s website at www.jfklibrary.org or the Institute of Politics’ website at www.iop.harvard.edu.
The New Frontier Awards is open to the press, but space is limited. If interested in covering this event, please RSVP to Kelsey Donohue (Kelsey_donohue@hks.harvard.edu) by 5PM on February 6, 2020 at 4:00 PM EST.