Thank you to all who nominated an outstanding California leader for a 2022 James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award. We truly appreciate the opportunity to learn about innovative and effective approaches to critical California issues and the leaders behind them.

In total, we received nominations for 419 individuals and leadership teams who are addressing many critical issues facing our state. The nomination pool was highly competitive, and we were only able to advance to the final round the 12 nominations that most closely aligned with the selection criteria.

We greatly value the time and thoughtfulness dedicated by everyone who nominated a leader for a Leadership Award. We encourage nominators to nominate again in future years, either by providing updated information about their 2022 nominee or by nominating another leader. As of August 26, all nominators have been notified of the status of their nomination. If you nominated a leader and did not receive a status update, please contact us.

To maintain an equitable and efficient process, the Foundation has a longstanding policy of not providing feedback on individual nominations. However, we can share that highly competitive nominations typically:

    • Discuss a specific approach the nominee has implemented to address a critical issue
    • Describe how the nominee’s work represents an innovation from the standard practice in their field
    • Describe work that has advanced beyond the initial development stage to full implementation
    • Include concrete examples and data documenting the effectiveness of the nominee’s approach; in particular, its measurable impacts on people and communities
    • Indicate opportunities for the nominee to leverage a Leadership Award for further impact
    • Have the potential to elevate leaders and center communities that reflect the diversity of California

Over the next two months, Leadership Awards staff, consultants, and an expert in each finalist’s field of work will meet with finalists individually to further understand their work and its impact on California. In late October, the Selection Committee will meet and select four to six award recipients. The 2022 James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award recipients will be announced in early February 2022. You can find more information about the selection criteria and nominations process on the nominations page and the FAQ page of our website.