The San Francisco-based James Irvine Foundation has announced the recipients of its 2025 Leadership Awards.

Launched in 2006, the program provides recipients a $350,000 grant and additional resources in support of efforts to improve lives, create opportunity, and contribute to a better California. This year’s cohort includes include Shantay R. Davies-Balch, CEO of BLACK Wellness & Prosperity Center, to improve Black maternal health by training doulas and promoting culturally competent care; Nayamin Martinez, executive director of Central California Environmental Justice Network, in support of justice and resiliency for those most impacted by pollution and extreme heat; and Skye Patrick, county librarian and CEO of LA County Library, to redefine the role of libraries as hubs of inclusion, innovation, and impact.

Additional recipients include Cutcha Risling Baldy and Kaitlin Reed, co-directors of Rou Dalagurr: Food Sovereignty Lab and Traditional Ecological Knowledges Institute, which aims to improve community well-being through Indigenous knowledges and food sovereignty; Stacy L. Smith, founder and director of Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, which is championing representation in entertainment through actionable research and advocacy; and Helen Iris Torres, CEO of Hispanas Organized for Political Equality to advance democracy and strengthen communities through Latina civic leadership.

(Photo credit: Getty Images/filadendron)