by Courtney Lane, Lawrence Times

Lawrence groups working in Indigenous ecological restoration, immigrant support and transgender advocacy received the 2026 Tom and Anne Moore Peace and Justice Awards during the Ecumenical Campus Ministries’ International Day of Peace Gala Saturday. 

The award has been presented every year since 1994 to individuals and organizations whose work on local, national and international level has advanced peace and justice, according to April Matthews, an ECM board member. 

The award is named for longtime Lawrence residents Tom and Anne Moore, who helped found the Lawrence Coalition for Peace and Justice.

Courtney King and the Haskell Greenhouse team were presented with the award for their work restoring and caring for native ecosystems at Haskell Indian Nations University and in the broader Lawrence community. 

The nomination cited the team’s work with invasive species, crumbling walkways and sharing education about Indigenous ecology. King, Peoria and Miami, began the work as a Haskell student in 2023.

“This work is not, has not and will never be about me,” King said. “It is about our Indigenous communities coming back to lands we have known for many thousands of years, and it is about caring for these sacred lands and waters of the Wakarusa River Valley and beyond.”

Somos Lawrence also received the award. The nonprofit seeks to support Spanish-speaking and immigrant populations of Lawrence by providing translation services and connecting families to various other resources including tax clinics, immigration lawyers and childcare, Matthews said.  

Anthony Alvarez, assistant for Somos Lawrence, accepted the award on behalf of the group.

Sanctuary Alliance was selected for their organization for immigrant rights, and co-founder Mariel Ferreiro accepted the award on behalf of the organization. Matthews said the group was involved in the campaign for Lawrence to become a sanctuary city during the first Trump administration. 

Ferreiro said the organization has since trained more than 3,000 community members in “know your rights” information and how better neighbors keep each other safe.

“We know that there is a world that’s possible that doesn’t include ICE,” she said. “We know that there is a world that is possible that treats every person and every creature with dignity and value, and we look forward to walking that path towards that future with you all.”

The final award was presented by Siobhán Kirchstein to the Trans Lawrence Coalition, a volunteer-led organization. Accepting the award on behalf of the organization were Ericka Cole, the organization’s communications chair, and Monroe Hanson.

Cole said TLC works with many community organizations because many people fall into intersecting marginalized groups.

“That’s why we’re a coalition, because we do partner with groups that fight the same fight, so that we can be stronger together,” she said.

The featured speaker of the evening was Ben Chappell, a professor of American studies at KU and the United Academics of KU’s grievance officer.

The focus of his speech was the yearslong campaign to organize the KU staff, arguing that power is in organizing to practice the principle of solidarity.

“All we did was set up the pieces, arrange the board, and now the play is just beginning,” he said.

Previous winners of the awards are as follows, according to a list provided by organizers:
1994 — Shelly Miller; Ed Dutton
1995 — Eva Edmonds; Simply Equal Coalition
1996 — Petey Cerf; Women’s Transitional Care Services
1997 — Sr. Barbara Wieseler; Independence, Inc.
1998 — Hilda Enoch; L.I.N.K; The Lawrence Coalition for Homeless Concerns; Mother-to-Mother; The Mainstream Coalition; Project Acceptance; Hospice; Women’s Transitional Care Services; The League of Women Voters; Friends of KU Women’s Studies; The Lawrence Ministerial Alliance; Ballard Community Center; Lawrence / Douglas County Advocacy Council on Aging; Lawrence Partnership for Children and Youth; Douglas County Detention Center (tutorial program)
1999 — Saunny Scott; ECM
2000 — Howard Baumgartel; Jubilee Cafe
2001 — Pelathe Community Resource Center
2002 — Mary Michener; Kaw Valley Living Wage Alliance
2003 — Deborah (Misty) Gerner; Kansas Audio-Reader
2004 — Dave Lowenstein; KS Bill of Rights Defense Committee
2005 — Norman Forer; Solidarity Radical Library
2006 — Loring Henderson; Small World
2007 — Kim Kreicker & Arla Jones; Douglas County ACLU
2008 — Josh Longbottom; Forrest & Donna Swall
2009 — Rebecca Woodman; KU Peace & Conflict Studies Minor
2010 — Enrique Peñaloza; Katherine Dinsdale; Save Our Neighborhood Schools
2011 — Thad Holcombe
2012 — The Occupy Movement
2013 — Linda Lassen; Lawrence Community Shelter Staff & Volunteers
2014 — KT Walsh; Centro Hispano
2015 — Jean Ann Pike
2016 — Marilyn Hull & Craig Sweets; Change of Heart
2017 — Sara Taliaferro; Catholic Charities
2019 — Diane Huggins; Willow Domestic Violence
2020 — Beth Schultz
2021 — Graham Kreicker; Family Promise; Meghan Heriford (read more)
2022 — Lyle Seger (Building Peace INC); Justice Matters (read more)
2023 — Christine Smith; Sunrise Project (read more)
2024 — Charles “Chuck” Olcese; Homeless Resource Center (read more)
2025 — Haskell Foundation; Dances of Universal Peace, Lawrence; Lawrence Food Not Bombs