Meet the Special Achievement Winners of the 2nd Annual Anthem Awards
This year’s honorees have long championed social issues and change, their legacies undeniably creating a strong foundation for today’s social impact work.
Each year, The Anthem Awards selects a group of individuals to honor with Special Achievement Awards for their longstanding advocacy and transformative social impact work. We are thrilled to recognize trailblazing changemakers Gloria Steinem, Billy Porter, the founders of Ben & Jerry’s Ben Cohen & Jerry Greenfield, Gabrielle Giffords, Oleksandra Matviichuk on behalf of the Center for Civil Liberties and the People of Ukraine, Quannah Chasinghorse, Abigail E. Disney, Founder & CEO of Chobani Hamdi Ulukaya, and Amanda Gorman. This year’s recipients are a remarkable group of revolutionaries who have used their platform and knowledge to advance social issues, even in the face of hardship. Take a look at what they had to say about their achievements below.
Gloria Steinem – Anthem Lifetime Achievement Award
Gloria Steinem has long been part of the inception of critical social constitutions. In 1971, she co-founded the National Women’s Political Caucus, providing training and support for women seeking elected and appointed government offices. She also co-founded the Women’s Action Alliance, and the initiative Take Our Daughters to Work Day. Steinem has spent decades organizing and lecturing on issues of equality, with a focus on the shared origins of sex and race caste systems, gender roles, and child abuse as the roots of violence in society. We’re honored to recognize Gloria Steinem with a 2023 Anthem Lifetime Achievement Award.
Ben & Jerry’s – Anthem Vision Award
Before it was commonplace to see businesses taking a position on social issues, Ben and Jerry were already using their platform to support racial equality, climate change, and voting and reproductive rights. They’ve long supported organizations like The Children’s Defense Fund, Rock the Vote, and Black Lives Matter, transforming what consumers expect from corporations. Today, businesses center corporate social responsibility in their core values, largely due to the example set by Ben and Jerry. For these reasons, we honor Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield with the 2023 Anthem Vision Award.
Billy Porter – Anthem Beacon Award
For some people, Billy Porter may have burst into their consciousness in recent years, but Billy Porter has pushed to challenge convention for several decades. And his topics of discussion are more urgent, relevant, and important than ever. From breaking boundaries in his acting career to advocating for Black queer lives to destigmatizing HIV diagnoses, Billy Porter has been ahead of the curve in his activism and discussion. Recognizing his life’s work leading from the front, we honor Billy Porter with the 2023 Anthem Beacon Award.
Gabrielle Giffords – Anthem Advocate Award
In 2011, Gabrielle Giffords was left partially paralyzed after being shot by a gunman at a constituent event outside Tucson, Arizona. Following the 2013 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut, she co-founded the Giffords Organization, a leader in the national gun safety movement. She helps gun safety champions win the ballot in local, state, and federal races while working hard to pass lifesaving legislation at the state and national levels. For demonstrating what can be achieved with determination and belief, we are delighted to honor Gabrielle Giffords as Anthem Advocate of the Year.
Amanda Gorman – Anthem New Icon Award
At just 22, Amanda Gorman has used her voice to gracefully bring attention to important social justice issues. She is a Harvard University alum, writer for the New York Times, author of 3 published books, and the “National Youth Poet Laureate.” Amanda Gorman has taken an art form – poetry – that felt inaccessible to many and, through the strength of her talent and the power of her message, made it universal. For empowering women and girls around the world, we honor Amanda Gorman with a 2023 Anthem Special Achievement Award.
Oleksandra Matviichuk – Anthem Movement of the Year, Accepting on Behalf of the Center for Civil Liberties and the People of Ukraine
Oleksandra Matviichuk and her colleagues documented Russia’s war crimes against Ukraine since 2014 through the Center for Civil Liberties (CCL). Matviichuk supported fellow Ukrainians’ heroism, collectively demonstrating their resistance to Russia’s barbaric invasion of their country. This work continued in 2022, as the CCL documented Russia’s attacks and the forced relocation of Ukrainian civilians. Matviichuk and the people of Ukraine remind us who we can be, and who we need to be to stand up for what is right. For this reason, we honor Oleksandra Matviichuk, the Center for Civil Liberties, and the people of Ukraine with a 2023 Anthem Movement of the Year Award.
Quannah Chasinghorse – Anthem Special Achievement Award
Quannah Chasinghorse has often spoken about the near absence of authentic indigenous representation in the fashion industry and the challenge that this posed to her perception of accessibility. Quannah’s traditional Hän Gwich’in tattoos are a ready reminder of how she has rejected the ‘blank canvas’ trope of fashion modeling to redefine beauty standards to include her indigenous culture whilst staying true to herself. For her advocacy in this space, we honor Quannah Chasinghorse with a 2023 Anthem Special Achievement Award.
Abigail Disney – Anthem Special Achievement Award
Following her acclaimed documentary, ‘Pray the Devil Back to Hell,’ Abigail Disney founded ‘Peace is Loud,’ a non-profit organization that uses media and live events to spotlight women leaders and build a culture of peace. Disney has been outspoken throughout her career about the way wealthy families game the financial system to protect their dynastic wealth, and frequently speaks out about unfair and exploitative labor practices at large corporations such as Disney. For her philanthropic efforts and commitment to critique capitalist structures, we honor Abigail Disney with a 2023 Anthem Special Achievement Award.
Hamdi – Founder & CEO of Chobani
Hamdi Ulukaya built Chobani from the ground up with social impact at its core. He credits much of Chobani’s meteoric growth to what he calls “the anti-CEO playbook.” It emphasizes taking care of employees, helping the communities in which the business operates, and being accountable to consumers whilst taking courageous positions on social issues. Some of these positions include actively seeking opportunities to hire immigrants and refugees and providing them with the support they need to succeed. For these reasons, we honor Hamdi Ulukaya with a 2023 Anthem Vision Award.
