Iris Marion Young Awards for Political Engagement winners announced

This year’s winners of the Iris Marion Young Awards for Political Engagement have been announced. The award, named in honor of philosopher and social theorist Iris Young and sponsored by the Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies Program and the Graduate School for Public and International Affairs, recognizes students, staff and faculty members who promote justice through their work. The 2021 winners are:

• Aparna Ramani, a natural science and sociology major, earned this year’s undergraduate student award. Ramani is a health care activist and has done research on how insurance coverage policies affect how patients interact with their health care providers.
• Nikki Cristobal, a graduate student in Social and Comparative Analysis program in the School of Education, earned the graduate student award. Her work focuses on the resiliency of Indigenous Hawaiian women from Kaua’i island.
• Laura S. Nelson, assistant director in the Office of Undergraduate Research, is this year’s staff awardee for their work to improve working and learning conditions for the LGBTQIA+ community at Pitt.
• Sarah Hainer, assistant professor of biology in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, is the winner of the award for faculty, given for her work to promote diversity, equity and inclusion through a tiered mentorship program and advocacy in her department and nationally.

The winners will be honored and will participate in a roundtable discussion about activism and service Thursday, Nov. 11, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Register for the event.