About the Award
Named in honor of Barbara Jordan—trailblazing public servant and advocate for equality—this award honors one graduating student at Harvard Kennedy School for their commitment to building community and for serving as a role model for women aspiring to be leaders.
Overview
- Eligibility: Graduating HKS student
- Focus: Leadership, service, and impact on women’s advancement
- Selection: WAPPP committee
Candidates are evaluated based on:
- Their commitment to building community at HKS
- Their contribution to furthering issues of public importance beyond HKS
- How they serve as an example of leadership and as a role model for women aspiring to be leaders
- How they display excellence in academic achievement and/or community service that Barbara Jordan embodied as a public servant
- How they have leveraged leadership to advance women and gender equity
2026 Recipient
- 2025 - Anjali Nair
- 2024 - Safira Putri
- 2023 - Raie Gessesse
- 2022 - Majd Steitieh
- 2021 - Abosede Alimi
- 2020 - Ruha Shadab
- 2019 - Tahra Goraya
- 2018 - Sahar Ali Dar
- 2017 - Lauren Powell
- 2016 - Norma Torres Mendoza
- 2015 - Phyllis Johnson
- 2014 - Halimatou Hima
- 2013 - Leila El-Khatib
- 2012 - Katharine Lusk
- 2011 - Sorby Grant
- 2010 - Rasheba Johnson
- 2009 - Wivina Belmonte, Erica Lewis, and Shanza Khan
- 2008 - Letha Tawney
- 2007 - Sarah-Catherine Phillips
- 2006 – Lara Ponomareff
- 2005 – Maria Torres
- 2004 – Dawn Fraser
- 2003 – Karin Rodgers
- 2002 – Laila El-Haddad
- 2001 – Lynne Lyman
- 1999 – Michele Seligman
About Barbara Jordan
Barbara Jordan was a powerful politician, a riveting orator, and a dynamic leader. Through her lifelong commitment to public service, she demonstrated that the barriers women face can be overcome through courage and purpose. Jordan was the first black woman elected to the Texas Senate in 1966. As President Pro Tempore of the Senate in 1972, in the tradition of the Texas Senate, she became “Governor for a Day”—the first black woman governor in the history of the United States. Jordan later served as the first black Texan in the U.S. Congress, representing the 18th Congressional District. In 1994, she served as Chair of the U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform, and before her death in 1996, President Clinton awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom.