The Aspen Institute

Above, watch the announcement of the 2016 John P. McNulty Prize laureates.

The Aspen Institute and Trustee Anne Welsh McNulty today announced the ninth annual group of John P. McNulty Prize Laureates, four extraordinary leaders who have brought the spirit of innovation and excellence of their diverse careers to bear on some of the most intractable problems facing our world.

The 2016 Laureates are impacting their communities and the globe in innovative, scalable and replicable ways:

• Bridging conservation and inclusive development to drive job creation in rural South Africa
• Empowering women in the Himalayas to take control of their livelihoods
• Demobilizing gangs and shifting community attitudes on criminal justice in Panama City
• Introducing a group model of prenatal care in South Carolina that is revolutionizing healthcare outcomes

The John P. McNulty Prize of $100,000 is given annually to honor the visionary work of one Fellow of the Aspen Global Leadership Network; each Laureate receives $10,000. An international jury, including former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, international statesman Olara Otunnu, and international development expert Brizio Biondi-Morra, will select the winner, who will be announced in November 2016 in New York City.

The Laureates for this year’s Prize are:

Isimangaliso Rural Enterprise Accelerator Program
Africa Leadership Initiative – South Africa

A beautiful and vital UNESCO World Heritage Site, iSimangaliso Wetland Park in Kwazulu-Natal is also situated in one of the poorest regions of South Africa. Park CEO Andrew Zaloumis founded this program to transform an aid-dependent economy by providing entrepreneurs with training, mentorship and seed capital to start small businesses in and around the historic park to ignite a cycle of job creation and economic growth.

Mandakini Women Weavers (India)
India Leadership Initiative

In the wake of massive floods in 2013, Mukti Datta applied her experience improving rural economic situations by replicating the Panchachuli Women Weavers model she pioneered. Mandakini provides women with sustainable livelihoods linked to global markets, the success of which has catalyzed the creation of a new hub for handlooms to scale opportunities for women weavers across India’s Himalayan region.

Esperanza (Panama)
Central America Leadership Initiative

Working at the individual, group, and community level to address the root causes of gang violence in Panama City, real estate developer KC Hardin is succeeding in demobilizing street gangs and reintegrating members into society through a holistic curriculum of education and entrepreneurship, followed by supporting them in finding alternative, productive sources of income and a sense of dignity in the historic city center.

Centering Pregnancy South Carolina (South Carolina, US)
Liberty Fellowship

An evidence-based, innovative group prenatal care program brought to South Carolina by obstetrician and medical director Dr. Amy Crockett, Centering Pregnancy is decreasing rates of preterm birth and eliminating racial disparities in health outcomes. Furthermore, it is changing the face of healthcare by influencing insurance and public health agencies to put preventive care first by making it economically sustainable and accessible to patients.