Every year Bioneers hosts a special evening on the Saturday night of the conference during which awards are given to a small handful of environmental and social leaders whose work we especially admire or consider particularly relevant. The recipients vary widely in age, ethnicity and fields of action. Some awardees are especially promising young activists just beginning their trajectories but already demonstrating outstanding leadership potential; others are Bioneers allies with decades of experience, long renowned in their fields. Some are well known public figures; others less known to the mainstream but doing vitally important work. Some are U.S.-based; others come to us from around the world.

Bioneers hosts this event because we feel the need to acknowledge in a more festive and intimate way some of the extraordinary leaders from a broad swath of communities, movements and areas of interest who grace us with their participation in the conference, and who are all, in their own ways, working for the common good and to help birth a new, far greener, fairer and more compassionate society. To be clear, this description fits practically all speakers (and many attendees) at the Bioneers Conference, but we annually try to recognize a select few for their contributions and work.

We honored these true Bioneers sheroes and heroes in 2018 at a rousing celebration with fresh and food provided by local conscious companies.

Patrisse Cullors
Artist, exemplary activist/organizer, co-founder of Black Lives Matter.

Jacqueline Garcel
CEO of the Latino Community Foundation, a groundbreaking leader in the movement to mobilize Latino political power and rethink philanthropy

Gar Alperovitz
Renowned economist, historian, activist and visionary thinker on transforming our economic system

Ecuador’s Indigenous Ceibo Alliance leaders
Emergildo Criollo, Hernan Payaguaje, Alicia Salazar and Norma Nenquimo, uniting to fight for their collective land and human rights along with ally and partner, Mitch Anderson, founder of Amazon Frontlines

Kevin Powell
Author, major voice in “conscious” hip-hop culture, groundbreaking leader in the movement to end violence against women and transform masculinity

Edna Chavez
The remarkable Los Angeles teenage organizer and anti-gun violence activist who burst into national attention with her passionate talk at the March for Our Lives

In the midst of a weekend filled with intense talks, deep emotional responses and vibrant cogitation and debate, it is important to be able to let our hair down a bit while gathering and celebrating with old and new friends, supporters and allies as we honor shining exemplars of the types of solutions we will need to generate and scale up if we are going to have any hope of nudging human civilization away from its current destructive trajectory and onto a saner, more equitable, inclusive and loving path.