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The Purpose Prize is a brilliant awards program, unique in so many ways.

Sherry Lansing

CEO, The Sherry Lansing Foundation

Chair, Purpose Prize Panel of Judges

Prize

With decades of energy and passion ahead of them, five people have won the 2012 Purpose Prize® – and $100,000 each – for improving their communities and the world.

See what’s possible in the second half of life by learning more about how previous Purpose Prize winners, all in their encore careers, solve critical problems in education, health care, the environment and more >

Meet the 2012 winners.

Meet the 2012 fellows.

Watch the 2012 winner videos. (Click here for all winner videos.)

2012 WINNERS

Bhagwati Agrawal

Bhagwati Agrawal

Agrawal brings safe drinking water – rain from rooftops – to thousands of villagers in his native India, using his engineering expertise.

Susan Burton

Susan Burton

Burton gives female parolees tools for rebuilding their lives after prison – housing, legal services, job training and more – and advocates nationally for such support.

Judy Cockerton

Judy Cockerton

Winner of the Purpose Prize for Intergenerational Innovation, sponsored by AARP – Cockerton helps people enrich the lives of foster care kids, through innovative programs.

Thomas Cox

Thomas Cox

Cox – who uncovered massive fraud among mortgage lenders, leading to a $25 billion settlement – represents in court low-income homeowners facing foreclosure.

Lorraine Decker

Lorraine Decker

Decker helps low-income adults and teens acquire the financial, career and life skills they need to transform their lives and prosper, through free workshops.

2012 FEATURED FELLOWS

Bobbe J. Bridge

A former judge, Bridge brings stability to the lives of youths in Washington’s child welfare and juvenile justice systems, through innovative programs.

Leslie Meacham Saunders

Leslie Meacham Saunders

Inspired by the idea that the kitchen is the original play station, Saunders creates kitchen-oriented, online learning tools to encourage kids to be smart and healthy.

Dori Shimoda

Dori Shimoda

Shimoda’s organization builds preschools in remote villages in Laos and addresses poor health among the children, through daily vitamins, immunizations and medical checkups.

ABOUT THE PRIZE

WHAT'S THE PURPOSE VIDEO

PURPOSE PRIZE BLOGS

White House Honors Purpose Prize Winner as a Champion for Change

In Memoriam: Inez Killingsworth

Meet the 2012 Purpose Prize Winners

Obama Awards Presidential Medal of Freedom to Purpose Prize Fellow

Purpose Prize Winner Lends Expertise to New York Times and NPR

See all blog posts related to The Purpose Prize® here.

MEDIA COVERAGE OF THE PURPOSE PRIZE

The Huffington Post
Purpose Prize: Meet Standout Post 60s Truly Making A Difference

The New York Times
For Fighting Foreclosures, a $100,000 Award

Forbes
Meet the Inspiring 2012 Purpose Prize Winners

The Wall Street Journal
And the Winners Are… Financial Rescuers

AARP.org
Purpose Prize Winner: Judy Cockerton

More >

What’s an encore career?

VISIT LEARN

To join the encore community

VISIT CONNECT

HEADLINES

White House Honors Purpose Prize Winner as a Champion for Change

In Memoriam: Inez Killingsworth

Meet the 2012 Purpose Prize Winners

NOMINATIONS

Prize

Nominations for the 2013 Purpose Prize are now closed.

2012 Prize Winners

$100,000

Bhagwati Agrawal

Fairfax, Va.

Susan Burton

Los Angeles

Judy Cockerton

Easthampton, Mass.

Thomas Cox

Portland, Maine

Lorraine Decker

Houston

2011 Prize Winners

$100,000

Berkeley, Calif.

Randal Charlton

Detroit

Nancy Sanford Hughes

Eugene, Ore.

Edward Mazria

Santa Fe, N.M.

Wanjiru Kamau

Washington, D.C.

2010 Prize Winners

$100,000

Rockford, Ill.

Barry Childs

Marylhurst, Ore.

Margaret Gordon

Oakland, Calif.

Inez Killingsworth

Cleveland, Ohio

Judith Van Ginkel

Cincinnati, Ohio

$50,000

Lafayette Hill, Pa.

Dana Freyer

New York, NY

Hubert Jones

Boston, Ma.

Donald Stedman

Raleigh, N.C.

Bo Webb

Whitesville, W.Va.

2009 Prize Winners

$100,000

Elizabeth Alderman
and Stephen Alderman

Bedford NY

Judith Broder

Studio City CA

Don Coyhis

Colorado Springs CO

Henry Liu

Columbia MO

Timothy Will

Rutherfordton NC

$50,000

Marcy Adelman

San Francisco CA

Duncan Campbell

Portland OR

Ann Higdon

Dayton OH

Connie Siskowski

Boca Raton FL

James Smallwood

Camden NJ

2008 Prize Winners

$100,000

Berkeley CA

Wilmington NC

New York NY

Columbia us-SC

Fargo ND

Redwood City CA

$10,000

Barbara Cervone

Providence RI

Louisville KY

Margaret Fleming

Oak Park IL

Falls Church VA

San Francisco CA

Rev. Nelson Johnson
and Joyce Johnson

Greensboro NC

Seattle WA

Cheshire us-CT

Tucson AZ

2007 Prize Winners

$100,000

Cambridge MA

Daytona Beach FL

H. Eugene Jones

Tucson AZ

Santa Paula CA

Sharon Rohrbach

St. Louis

$10,000

Atlanta GA

Gloria Jackson Bacon

New Orleans LA

San Francisco CA

Seattle WA

New York NY

Herndon

Jose-Pablo Fernandez

Houston TX

Atlanta GA

Detroit MI

San Francisco

2006 Prize Winners

$100,000

Miami Beach FL

Lyme CT

Marilyn Gaston
and Gayle Porter

Potomac MD

W. Wilson Goode, Sr.

Philadelphia PA

Dr. Akbar Ahmed
and Judea Pearl

Bethesda MD

$10,000

Patterson NJ

Robert Chambers

Etna NH

Sacramento CA

Washington, DC

Durham NC

Houston

Kensington MD

Richmond VA

San Fernando CA

New York NY

SEARCH PRIZE NETWORK

View Purpose Prize winners and fellows by year, issue or location.

View winners and fellows View videos

SOCIAL NETWORKING

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MOST VIEWED

Nominations for The Purpose Prize are now closed

by Sarah Maple

And the 2010 Purpose Prize Winners Are…

by Jennifer Coate

PURPOSE PRIZE® PANEL OF JUDGES

by crudisill

Meet the 2012 Purpose Prize Winners

by Marc Freedman