2026 ROBERT G. WILMERS INTEGRITY PRIZE WINNERS
ALAN SHAPIRO
Terra Firma National
JOELLE FORMATO
Persistence Prep Academy Charter School
DERRICK TABB
The Roots of Music
Alan Shapiro
Co-Founder
Terra Firma National
Alan Shapiro, MD, is a pediatrician and Medical Director of a South Bronx community health center. In 2013 he co-founded Terra Firma to provide a holistic, integrated model of medical and mental health as well as legal services to unaccompanied immigrant children in the Bronx. As demand grew, the model expanded to include migrant families seeking protection, responding to healthcare, social, and legal needs with trauma-informed care. In 2021, he co-developed Terra Firma National (TFN) to build a national network to improve immigrant access to healthcare and legal representation for unaccompanied migrant children and families seeking humanitarian protection in the U.S. To date, TFN has launched programs in Long Island, Baltimore, and Houston, with plans to open two programs annually by 2030.
Joelle Formato
Founder & Head of School
Persistence Prep Academy Charter School
Joelle Formato is the Founder & Head of School of Persistence Preparatory Academy Charter School in Buffalo. She founded the school in 2018 with a goal of giving all children equal academic access, citing the city’s standing as one of the nation’s consistently most segregated cities. The school opened with 90 students in kindergarten and 1st grade, growing into a K-8 school serving 490 students on Buffalo’s East Side, where 84% of students are economically disadvantaged. It has has become one of Buffalo’s highest-performing charter schools, with a 95% retention rate for students and staff. In recent years, the school has posted proficiency gains of 45% in ELA and 61% in math on the New York state assessments – outperforming the statewide average and many surrounding suburban districts.
Derrick Tabb
Founder
The Roots of Music
Derrick Tabb founded The Roots of Music in 2007 to empower youth through music education and academic support while simultaneously preserving the cultural heritage of New Orleans. A former member of the Grammy-winning Rebirth Brass Band, Derrick wanted to give young people a place to go after school where they could build skills and be part of something consistent, offering transportation, meals, tutoring, and mentorship at no cost to thousands of New Orleans youth. Programs include band instrument repair (where kids learn a trade essential to the local music ecosystem), Studio Academy (where they study audio engineering technology), Marching Crusaders (where they perform in places like the Rose Bowl Parade), and Sprouts (where the youngest learn music fundamentals).
PAST WINNERS
%20(1)_edited.png)
2025 Winner
Robert Fernandez
Robert Fernandez is the co-founder and Executive Director of Científico Latino, a nonprofit organization that helps historically marginalized students apply to graduate school in the sciences and supports them at the start of their academic career. His organization aims to change the next generation of STEM, providing more than 500 first-gen and low-income with mentorships and resources to finish graduate school and succeed in the sciences.
2025 finalists include Tia Bell, Founder and CEO of The T.R.I.G.G.E.R. (The True Reasons I Grabbed the Gun Evolved From Risks) Project in Washington, D.C., and Claudia Espinosa, Founder of L.O.V.E. (Latinas on the Verge of Excellence) in New York.
2024 Winner
Hang Time
Charles Grady
Charles Grady is the founder and CEO of Hang Time, a social justice program in Connecticut to provide community support and social service navigation to returning citizens and their families. Hang Time has become a “family” to participants and has served over 8,000 meals, connected 1,200 returning citizens to essential services, and reduced recidivism amongst regular participants by over 90%.
2024 finalists include Tia Bell, Founder & CEO of The T.R.I.G.G.E.R. Project in Washington, DC, Reneé Fluker, Founder & CEO of Midnight Golf Program in Detroit, MI, and Rina Madhani, Co-Founder and Director of Start Lighthouse in The Bronx, NY.
2023 Winner
Refuge America
Edafe Okpora
Edafe Okporo is the founder of Refuge America. After migrating to the U.S. in 2016 as an asylum seeker, he helped create the first shelter for asylum seekers in New York City. A global gay rights activist, he founded Refuge America to strengthen America as a welcoming place for displaced LGBTQ people. Working with faith organizations, community members, and local government agencies in various cities, he is committed to helping refugees reconstruct their lives and find security, offering a lifeline to those who have been compelled to escape their homelands due to persecution and other hardships.
2022 Winner
Bard Prison Initiative
Max Kenner
Max Kenner is the founder and Executive Director of the Bard Prison Initiative. For over 25 years, Kenner has led BPI’s development, currently enrolling over 400 incarcerated students earning Bard College degrees across seven campuses in correctional facilities throughout New York State. Outside prison, BPI has partnered with community institutions to create Bard Microcolleges, tuition-free liberal arts associate degree programs. On Bard’s main campus, BPI has established a community of adult students holding full-tuition scholarships as they complete bachelor’s degrees.
2021 Winner
Empowerment Plan
Veronika Scott
Veronika is the founder and CEO of Empowerment Plan, a Detroit-based organization that manufactures coats that transform into sleeping bags for homeless people. Since its founding in 2012, Veronika’s organization has distributed 55,000 coats and employed nearly 100 formerly homeless women – all of whom have since remained stably housed.
