Heising-Simons Foundation

We are pleased to share that Devra Wang will be returning to the Heising-Simons Foundation as director of the Climate and Clean Energy program, starting March 3, 2025. Ms. Wang served as the Foundation’s inaugural Climate and Clean Energy program director from 2016 to 2021, guiding more than $125 million in philanthropic support for leading organizations advancing climate and clean energy. ? https://lnkd.in/gS2i42mA

Congratulations to Zaydee Sanchez, one of the 2025 American Mosaic Journalism Prize recipients. The 2025 judges recognized Ms. Sanchez’s poignant coverage of farm workers, migrants, and transgender Latinx groups. Felicitaciones a Zaydee Sánchez, una de las ganadoras del American Mosaic Journalism Prize 2025. Los jueces del premio reconocieron la habilidad de Sánchez para retratar y contar las historias de comunidades agrícolas, migrantes, y las personas transgénero Latinx. ? Zaydee Sanchez is a Mexican-American visual journalist, documentary photographer, and writer. She is based in Los Angeles, California, and is originally from Tulare, an agricultural town in the San Joaquin Valley that inspires much of her work. Zaydee Sánchez es una periodista visual, fotógrafa y escritora mexicano-estadounidense. Vive en Los ángeles, California, y es originaria de Tulare, un pueblo agrícola en el Valle de San Joaquín, el cual inspira gran parte de su trabajo. ? Learn more about Ms. Sanchez and her work. Obtenga más información sobre la Sánchez y su trabajo. https://lnkd.in/gcv3GvVm ? Photo credit: Lauren Justice #americanmosaicjournalismprize #journalism Crédito de la foto: Lauren Justice #periodismo

Congratulations to Latria Graham, one of the 2025 American Mosaic Journalism Prize recipients. Judges recognized the scale of history woven through Ms. Graham's homage to the remarkable legacy of an all-Black caddie corps, whose members guided golf legends to victory while their own excellence was overlooked for generations; storytelling of a group of Florida roadside painters who created a landscape of opportunity for Black artists; and journey through Charleston's steps to confront—and honor—the difficult parts of its past. Latria Graham is a writer, storyteller, and cultural critic dedicated to covering under-resourced and misrepresented communities in her home region of the American South. A fifth-generation farmer, she is from Spartanburg, South Carolina, and continues to live in the state. Her forthcoming book, “Uneven Ground: A Memoir of a Family, a Land, and a Culture in Peril,” about her attempt to preserve her family’s century-old farm and sense of rootedness, will be published by Mariner, a division of HarperCollins. Learn more about Ms. Graham and her work: https://lnkd.in/gJksYgJP. Photo credit: Donaven Doughty #americanmosaicjournalismprize #journalism

Congratulations to the 2025 American Mosaic Journalism Prize recipients, Latria Graham and Zaydee Sanchez. Ms. Graham is a writer, storyteller, and cultural critic dedicated to covering under resourced and misrepresented communities in her home region of the American South. Ms. Sanchez is a Mexican-American visual journalist, documentary photographer, and writer whose coverage highlights the lives of labor workers, migrants, and other populations often underrepresented in media. The American Mosaic Journalism Prize is awarded annually for excellence in long-form, narrative, or deep reporting about underrepresented and/or misrepresented groups in the United States. Each winner receives an unrestricted cash prize of $100,000 in recognition of their exceptional work and promise. A panel of 10 judges—including journalists from the Associated Press, NBC News, NPR, Columbia Journalism Review and The 19th News, among others—selected this year’s recipients: - Katherine Boo - Graham Lee Brewer - Sewell Chan - Benjamin A. Davis - Antonia Hylton - Ryan Christopher Jones - Wesley Lowery - Kevin Merida - B.A. Parker - Orion Rummler Learn more about these two freelance journalists and their work on our website. https://lnkd.in/gVHqeD4f Photo credit: Donaven Doughty (Latria Graham) and Lauren Justice (Zaydee Sanchez)? #americanmosaicjournalismprize #journalism?

Grantee EducationCounsel released a recently completed case study with findings on the drivers of chronic absenteeism and disenrollment in early grades and recommendations for school districts. The case study was supported by Heising-Simons Foundation's Education program. https://lnkd.in/eGaqJAfZ

Writer and filmmaker Julian Brave NoiseCat, a 2022 recipient of the Heising-Simons Foundation’s American Mosaic Journalism Prize, has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary for his debut film, “Sugarcane." In a new Q&A, Mr. NoiseCat discusses the film’s findings and impact, and how the Mosaic Prize has supported his journalism, including this film. The American Mosaic Journalism Prize consists of an unrestricted cash prize of $100,000 per recipient—making it one of the largest dollar amounts given for a journalism prize in the United States— and is awarded by the Heising-Simons Foundation to freelance journalists for excellence in long-form, narrative, or deep reporting about underrepresented and/or misrepresented groups in the American landscape. https://lnkd.in/g-QGZv4X

Welcome Linda Nguyen, new education program associate at Heising-Simons Foundation. ? Learn more about Nguyen on our website. ? https://lnkd.in/g5KnuPTq

Planetary scientist Dr. Julien de Wit has published a paper in Nature Magazine on the detections of the smallest main belt #asteroids in our solar system. Foundation support of the Artemis telescope at the SPECULOOS Northern Observatory helped enable Dr. de Wit’s research. Learn more about the research below. https://lnkd.in/emaWCbq7

The Heising-Simons Foundation’s Science program announces a new?Open Call for Science Events and Gatherings. ? The Foundation welcomes applications for grants to support meetings, workshops, conferences, summer schools, research collaboration gatherings, and other events related to the fields of astronomy, planetary science, cosmology, fundamental physics, climate change science, and/or increasing the representation and retention of underrepresented groups in these fields. ? Grants are expected to be between $20,000 and $80,000 in size. ? Applications for this open call are due by Friday, January 31, 2025, at 2pm PT. Please see our?website?for more information and to submit your application. https://lnkd.in/gkgrwNb6

This year has provided us with a stark reminder of the urgency of the work ahead. As we harness our energy to take on the next set of challenges, we wanted to take a moment to lift up all of the important work we achieved together throughout the year. Learn more about what we achieved together with our grantees in 2024.?#philanthropy https://lnkd.in/g8qd2qjS