Jane Bagley Lehman Awards Honor 5 Immigrant Justice Heroes

One person’s activism can meaningfully shape social change. That’s the principle behind Tides Foundation’s Jane Bagley Lehman Awards for Excellence in Public Advocacy, which recognize leaders who exhibit a deep and exceptional commitment to social justice.

For 2024 — the 20th anniversary of these awards — the Jane Bagley Lehman Awards honor five heroic advocates for immigrant rights. This year’s winners have led movements that made it possible to obtain professional licenses regardless of immigration status; defended DACA and worked to establish pathways to citizenship; directed statewide campaigns to register and engage voters; and worked tirelessly to dismantle oppressive systems. Individually, these leaders show the impact one person’s advocacy can have on a larger social justice movement. Collectively, they are meeting the moment.

2024 Jane Bagley Lehman Award Winners

Elianne Farhat, Executive Director, TakeAction Minnesota

“I believe in a world where people know peace, joy, abundance and safety no matter where they live. For the past 20 years, I’ve organized for it every day in neighborhoods across the United States because the power we build locally matters globally. This past year has been a very hard one, filled with horrors and attacks here at home and abroad. But, in the midst of it, I found hope in the power of communities, newcomers and Natives, coming together to demand a better world. We have not won it yet, but I believe we can build it together.”

A leader in the immigrant justice space for over 15 years, Elianne Farhat got her start organizing for the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant & Refugee Rights in their non-partisan voter registration and mobilization campaign and has worked on workers’ rights issues at the national level. In her current role as executive director of TakeAction Minnesota, she organizes with members and allies to build a powerful movement across the state that wins real improvements in peoples’ lives. Recent victories include passing paid sick days and family & medical leave, as well as major healthcare wins that expand access to public programs and protect billions of public dollars from being converted to corporate profit.

A bold risk-taker in the service of social justice, Farhat has led TakeAction Minnesota in advocating for immigrants’ rights, police accountability, workers’ rights, and Palestinian solidarity. Under her leadership, TakeAction Minnesota was a key player in 2024’s Uncommitted movement and the fiscal sponsor to the Black Visions Collective during Minnesota’s 2020 uprisings. She is known as an advocate who spends all her time organizing and mobilizing resources for marginalized communities, especially immigrant and refugee communities.

One supporter noted that Farhat is so successful because she understands that organizing is about listening. “She runs an organization that deeply listens to the needs of parents, students, tenants, and workers to understand which problems TakeAction Minnesota should dedicate its time and resources to solve. Elianne is a leader who holds both the big picture of what type of world we deserve to live in and the small details that build trusting relationships.”

Jung Woo Kim, Co-Director, NAKASEC

“Receiving this award is an incredible recognition of our collective work and journey. It is a reminder of the resilience and strength within immigrant communities.” 

As co-director of NAKASEC (National Korean American Service and Education Consortium), Jung Woo Kim works to establish a pathway to citizenship for undocumented community members and to defend the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program. In addition to leading NAKASEC’s network of five Asian American community-based affiliates across six states, he is also a board member of the Fair Immigration Reform Network (FIRM), a coalition of over 40 state-based immigrant rights coalitions, and is a Steering Committee Member of Home is Here, a national coalition formed to champion the DACA Program.

Diana Maldonado, Maldonado Strategies, Former Texas State Representative

“I am indebted to my ancestors in taking the first steps to transform change and provide me the opportunity generations later to help in giving voice and representation to others around me.”

250,000 Latinos turn 18 in Texas every year — facing climate catastrophes, voter suppression, the possible deportation of loved ones, discrimination and harassment by police, and other challenges. As Interim Executive Director of Jolt Initiative (July 2022-Nov 2024), Diana Maldonado led the organization in registering thousands of young Latinos to vote. Under her leadership, Jolt became so influential in registering young Latinos at scale that the group was targeted for politically motivated investigations by the Texas Attorney General — a challenge which only underscored the urgency of their work.

Maldonado’s work at Jolt is only the most recent chapter in a trailblazing career of public service that has spanned 20+ years. As the first Latina elected to represent Williamson County in the House of Representatives, she advocated for education, business, and safe communities and authored/co-authored 88 bills. She served in an executive role for the Mexican American Legislative Caucus, was appointed to the State Affairs and Defense & Veterans Affairs Committees, served as President of the Round Rock ISD Board of Trustees and spent two decades building a career at the Texas State Comptroller’s Office.

Lisa Sherman Nikolaus, Executive Director, Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC)

“It’s a privilege to represent the immigrant justice movement in Tennessee, but this award is about so much more than me or any individual. Many progressive grassroots organizers are building power across the Southeast – the most hostile political climate in the country. But, it is here, in our region, that the fight for our multiracial democracy in the US began, is being waged, and will ultimately be fulfilled.”   

As executive director of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC), Lisa Sherman Nikolaus has worked alongside TIRRC members and organizing committees to defeat dozens of anti-immigrant bills, pass an act allowing allowing any Tennessean with a work permit to obtain a professional license for careers ranging from nursing and bartending to real estate and social work, win a historic class action lawsuit, and influence Nashville’s sheriff to end a decades-old agreement with ICE. She is described by those who know her as someone who is never truly “off,” routinely making sacrifices in order to deliver for immigrant communities.

Under her leadership, TIRRC led the largest grassroots GOTV campaign in Tennessee in 2022, reaching over 200,000 voters across the state. Incredibly, TIRRC was able to reach every single registered immigrant or refugee voter in the state, along with a subset of low propensity non-immigrant community members. The voter turnout for these voters contacted by TIRRC was six percentage points higher than the average Tennessee BIPOC voter turnout, and in specific counties, the impact was even greater: in Montgomery County, TIRRC-contacted voters outperformed the average BIPOC Montgomery County voter turnout by 14 percentage points.

Acknowledging that the struggle for immigrant justice has never been more critical, Sherman Nikolaus has emphasized the importance of rooting her work in the movements which have come before. She is committed to building grassroots power that drives meaningful policy wins for immigrant families.

Carolina Canizales Ramirez, Senior Texas Strategist, Immigrant Legal Resource Center

“Over the years, one truth has stood out: immigrant communities know our worth. We embody humanity at a depth no racist could understand. Despite the fear and division sown around us, we will carry on with our posadas, dance to the next salsa song, and rejoice in our traditions. Thousands will continue to join us, forging a larger movement rooted in love and larger than their hate.”

It’s impossible to tell the story of the fights for DACA and against SB4 and Operation Lone Star in Texas without discussing the work of Carolina Canizales. Described as “the organizer behind all the other gifted organizers,” Canizales is a trusted, beloved, and respected leader who has played a key role in advancing immigration justice in Texas and beyond.

As Senior Texas Strategist at the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, Canizales created a long-term strategy plan for Texas and has led statewide responses to anti-immigrant bills and Operation Lone Star. By advocating for local and state policies, she works to dismantle the oppressive mechanisms of the criminal legal and immigration enforcement systems. At the same time, she is constantly training field personnel on campaign strategy, advocacy, legal analysis, and grassroots organizing in Texas, often doing so in both English and Spanish. Previously, she led United We Dream’s Deportation Defense Program, helping more than 500 people facing deportation or detention.

This work is personal for Canizales, as both she and her family members have had to navigate oppressive policies and systems with the risks of mixed status citizenship. Asked to describe Canizales’ work, one colleague noted her ability to galvanize despite fear: “Her personal experiences have instilled in her a profound understanding of the struggles faced by impacted communities because she is not on the outside looking in, but instead fights for herself by fighting for others.”

Learn more about the Jane Bagley Lehman Awards or meet last year’s JBL Award winners.