2026 Honoree Bios
Heather Booth
Peace Builder
Heather Booth has been organizing for social justice and tikkun olam for over forty years. She began this work in the civil rights and women’s movement and was the founding director of Midwest Academy, a leading training center for organizers.
In 2000, she was the founding director of NAACP National Voter Fund that helped to increase African American turnout.
She was the Acting Director of AMOS: A Jewish Social Justice Partnership, designed to move social justice to a more central role in the Jewish community. In 2008, she was the Director of the AFL-CIO’s Campaign for Health Care Reform. In early 2009, ran the campaign to pass the Obama Budget. She was the Director of Americans for Financial Reform, working to regulate the financial industry (and passed Dodd/Frank legislation and win the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau). She has directed campaigns on Immigration, Marriage Equality, Social Security and other issues. She has worked on electoral campaigns and was the Democratic National Committee’s Training Director, did national Progressive and Seniors Outreach in the Biden and Harris Presidential campaigns. She is now working with Battleground Alliance to win in about 40 marginal congressional districts and build a long-lasting organization.
There is a film about her life: Heather Booth: Changing the World that has been on PBS and seen around the country. She is a member of Democracy Partners.
She and her husband, Paul Booth (of blessed memory), have two remarkable sons and daughters-in-law and five precious grandchildren.
Senator Chris Van Hollen
Congressional Champion of Justice
Elected to the United States Senate by the people of Maryland in November 2016, Chris Van Hollen is committed to fighting every day to ensure that our state and our country live up to their full promise of equal rights, equal justice, and equal opportunity.
Senator Van Hollen believes that every child deserves the opportunity to pursue their dreams and benefit from a quality education, and that anyone willing to work hard should be able to find a good job. That's why his top priorities include creating more and better jobs, strengthening small businesses, and increasing educational and job training opportunities for individuals of all ages and in every community.
Senator Van Hollen started his time in public service as a member of the Maryland State Legislature, where he became known as a tenacious advocate for everyday Marylanders and someone who was unafraid to take on powerful special interests on behalf of working people. In 2002, he was elected to represent Maryland's 8th Congressional District. In the House of Representatives, he served as a member of the Democratic leadership and was elected by his colleagues to be the Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee and protect vital interests like Social Security and Medicare.
A tireless fighter for the people of Maryland, Senator Van Hollen has also become known for working hard to find common sense solutions to difficult national issues. In January 2015, he released a comprehensive plan to address the problem of growing inequality in America and provide a blueprint for building an economy that works for everyone, a goal that he will continue to fight for in the U.S. Senate.
Senator Van Hollen is proud to have worked successfully with members of both parties to pass bipartisan legislation whenever possible on issues of common concern, including expanding medical research, protecting the Chesapeake Bay, fighting childhood cancer, and passing the ABLE Act to assist families with children with disabilities.
Chris Van Hollen is a graduate of Swarthmore College, the John F. Kennedy School of Public Policy at Harvard University, and Georgetown University Law Center where he attended night school. He and his wife, Katherine Wilkens, are the proud parents of three children—Anna, Nicholas, and Alexander.
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