Keynote Speaker

Dr. Joy Buolamwini
Artist, researcher, and AI bias expert

Bestselling author of Unmasking AI, Buolamwini is known as the "Poet of Code" and founded the Algorithmic Justice League. As an acclaimed artist and award-winning AI researcher, she advises global leaders on AI's societal impacts and transformed AI auditing with her MIT research on facial recognition technologies.
Dr. Joy Buolamwini, the keynote speaker for this year, will also be honored with an honorary degree at the Commencement ceremony on June 9. She’ll be one of nine individuals recognized for their exceptional contributions as innovators and change agents in their careers and beyond. Learn more about Dr. Joy Buolamwini.
 

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Honorees

Emerging Leadership Award

Zantasia (Zan) Johnson
Assistant Director, Office of Pluralism and Leadership

This award acknowledges Johnson's impactful contributions as assistant director, particularly in her dedicated support of Black/Pan African student advising. Johnson's leadership within the Black Caucus and the Empowering Women of Color employee resource networks, as well as her active involvement in committees aimed at fostering change and community, such as the Dartmouth Intergenerational Mentorship Experience program and the Dialogue Project, are commendable and deserving of recognition.
 

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Ongoing Commitment Award

Dartmouth Class of 1974 Mortality Disparity Working Group
Committee members: Bill Geiger, Mike Thomas, Jerry Bowe, Peter Haffenreffer, Rick Ranger, Matt Putnam, Morris "Rocky" Whitaker, Bill White, Phil Stebbins

This award honors the group's tireless work and dedication to recognizing, addressing, and increasing education around the issue of racial disparities in public health. For their 50th reunion, the group is raising $500,000 for a health equity fund, helping contribute to research and a future where race doesn’t dictate health outcomes.  

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Kristin Powell '10
Deputy Director, Black Futures Lab

This award is in recognition of Powell's diligent work to increase the political power of the Black community through Black Futures Lab, including spearheading the largest-ever Black census poll—which will be used to identify priority issues and shape public policies that advance social justice.

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Lifetime Achievement Award

Ella Bell Smith
Professor of Business Administration, Tuck School of Business

This award is in recognition of Bell Smith's life-long contributions as a beloved professor of over 20 years, founding faculty director of the Tuck Initiative on Workplace Inclusion, and role as a social justice leader—challenging students, colleagues, and corporations on their notions of race, gender, and class.

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Student Organization Award

FUERZA Farmworkers’ Fund
This award honors the dedication exhibited in aiding migrant laborers within the Upper Valley community, offering crucial support in health care accessibility, language proficiency development, and financial barrier alleviation.
 

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Holly Fell Sateia Award

Brian Messier
Director of Bands and Senior Liaison for Hopkins Center Ensembles at Dartmouth

Messier's outstanding work and dedication to the Mexican Repertoire Initiative, and its impactful mission and efforts to increase awareness of the ongoing racism, inequality, and underrepresentation of Latinx communities in the wind band world, has earned Messier this prestigious acknowledgement.

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Alan Chow
Catering staff member, Hanover Inn

Chow's outstanding commitment, genuine engagement, and overall dedication to Dartmouth, the Hanover Inn, its banquets team, and the many colleagues, students, staff, and faculty who Chow has encountered through the years has earned him this esteemed recognition.

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Lester B. Granger '18 Award

Daniel Lucey '77, MED '82
Clinical Professor of Medicine, Adjunct Professor of Health Policy and Clinical Practice

This award honors Lucey's extraordinary work and dedication as an international infectious disease specialist, focusing on the intersection of infectious diseases and historically marginalized populations. Additionally, Lucey consistently advocates for governments and international organizations to implement more proactive and heightened measures in order to enhance their readiness in the face of global health epidemics.

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Full Awards Archive

Sponsored by the Division of Institutional Diversity and Equity (IDE)—in partnership with the William Jewett Tucker Center, the Dartmouth Center for Social Impact, the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Committee, and Geisel School of Medicine.