Nominations for the 2027 James Irvine Foundation Leadership Awards are now closed. Thank you to all who nominated an outstanding California leader this year. We appreciate the opportunity to learn about innovative and effective approaches to critical California issues and the leaders behind them.
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The Leadership Awards now have new streamlined process to make it easier to nominate inspiring leaders who are creating meaningful change across California.
The nomination process is designed in two steps to ensure every nomination reflects both an internal and external perspective on the nominee’s work — providing reviewers with a consistent, well-rounded picture of each candidate.
- Step 1: Initial Nomination (Deadline extended to March 23, 2026). Nominators will submit basic information about the nominee, such as their name and contact information, along with a brief description of the nominee’s work and the nominator’s experience with the leader. If a nominator nominates themselves or someone inside their organization, we will request the name and contact information of external validators.
- Step 2: Nominee Narrative Form (Due April 30, 2026). Nominees will be invited to accept their nomination and provide more detailed information about their work.
You may find it helpful to review our post about changes to the process, the selection criteria and these Frequently Asked Questions.
Eligibility Quiz
Take the quiz to find out if your nominee is eligible for a Leadership Award.
Selection Timeline
Timeline for the 2027 Leadership Awards
February 18, 2026
Nomination period opens for the 2027 James Irvine Foundation Leadership Awards.
March 23, 2026 at 12:00 p.m. PDT (Noon)
The nominations period closes after an extension.
March 26, 2026
Nominees are notified and accept or decline their nomination.
April 30, 2026 at noon (12:00 p.m. PDT)
Final deadline for detailed nominee submission and validator submissions.
Early August 2026
The Selection Committee meets to discuss nominations and selects 10-12 finalists. Finalists are notified.
August – October 2026
Leadership Awards staff, consultants, and an expert in each finalist’s field of work meet with finalists individually to further understand their work and its impact on California. All nominators are notified about the status of their nomination.
Early November 2026
The Selection Committee meets to review reports of the site visits and to select four to six Award recipients. Recipients and other finalists are notified.
February 2027
Award recipients are announced.