Awardees

Jelani Cobb

2025 Humanist of the Year

Jelani Cobb joined the Columbia Journalism School faculty in 2016 and became Dean in 2022. He has been a staff writer at The New Yorker since 2015. He received a Peabody Award for his 2020 PBS Frontline film Whose Vote Counts? and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Commentary in 2018. He has also been a political analyst for MSNBC since 2019.

He is the author of The Substance of Hope: Barack Obama and the Paradox of Progress and To the Break of Dawn: A Freestyle on the Hip Hop Aesthetic. He is the editor or co-editor of several volumes including The Matter of Black Lives, a collection of The New Yorker’s writings on race and The Essential Kerner Commission Report. He is producer or co-producer on a number of documentaries including Lincoln’s Dilemma, Obama: A More Perfect Union, Policing the Police and THE RIOT REPORT.

Dr. Cobb was educated at Jamaica High School in Queens, NY, Howard University, where he earned a B.A. in English, and Rutgers University, where he completed his MA and doctorate in American History in 2003. He is also a recipient of fellowships from the Ford Foundation, the Fulbright Foundation and the Shorenstein Center at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.

He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the American Journalism Project and the Board of Trustees of the New York Public Library. He received an Honorary Doctorate for the Advancement of Science and Art from Cooper Union in 2022, and an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from Rutgers University in 2024. York College / CUNY and Teachers College have honored Dr. Cobb with medals.

Dr. Cobb was elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences in 2023.

Fred Edwords

2025 Lifetime Achievement Award

Fred Edwords served eleven years (1980-1991) as the founding editor of the AHA’s Creation/Evolution journal, refuting creationism, fifteen years as AHA executive director (1984-1999), and twelve years as editor of the Humanist magazine (1994-2006). He was the first corporate president (2002-2005) of Camp Quest, Inc., the summer camp for freethinking children. He went on to direct the AHA’s semi-autonomous United Coalition of Reason for six years (2009-2014), erecting attention-grabbing billboards across the country. And he served over three years (2015-2018) as director of planned giving for the AHA’s Humanist Foundation. Fred continues as an active humanist volunteer.

Megan Hunt

2025 Religious Liberty Award

Megan Hunt is a small business owner, community activist, and mother elected to the Nebraska State Legislature in 2018. A sixth-generation Nebraskan, Megan has lived and worked in the Dundee and Benson neighborhoods for the past 17 years. A seasoned entrepreneur, Megan founded Hello Holiday, a community-facing boutique and e-commerce company supporting independent fashion designers and best known for its “Girls Support Girls” messaging and fundraising collaborations with local nonprofit organizations. Today, Megan is the owner of Five Nine Shop and Project, a paper goods store, gallery, and studio in Benson. She has an 13-year-old daughter who is an eighth grader at Lewis and Clark Middle School.

Megan currently a State Senator in the Nebraska Legislature where she has introduced 45 bills and resolutions and cosponsored 131 bills since she was elected in 2018. Fifty-six of these bills passed with the support of the 49-member Legislature and were signed by the Governor. Original legislation she has written, from hyper-local topics like city board appointments, tenants’ rights, and grants for creative arts districts, to more controversial subjects like nonconsensual pornography and sex trafficking, has been amended into other passed bills. Megan understands firsthand how to build coalitions as a progressive and succeed together, without asking anyone to compromise their values.

Megan is also the founder and Vice President of Safe Space Nebraska, a 501(c)3 working to end harassment and assault in nightlife establishments. She is a trustee of the Business Ethics Alliance and has served on the boards of Charles Drew Health Center, Friends of Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, Friends of the Nebraska AIDS Project, and Omaha Area Youth Orchestras.  

Born and raised in Blair, Nebraska, her parents instilled in her the value of hard work, determination, and the importance of public service. While attending Blair High School, Megan worked as a cook for a local catering company and as a member of a hot air balloon crew, where she developed relationships within her community and gained an appreciation for the sense of accomplishment that comes from working on a team. She began attending Dana College her senior year of high school as a Presidential Scholar. During this time, she worked as a newspaper reporter and as a retail clerk at a locally-owned record store. After graduating with her Bachelor’s in Intercultural Communication and German in 2008, Megan continued her education in the University of Nebraska-Omaha’s Political Communication Master’s program and coached the Blair High School Forensics team for four years.

As a business owner, community leader, and parent, Megan has worked with commitment and discipline to help people from all walks of life prosper in our state. Her track record stems from her belief that the more everyday Nebraskans are empowered and supported to improve their quality of life, the easier it is for all of us to live the good life in the Cornhusker State.

Hemant Mehta

2025 Humanist Media Award

Hemant Mehta is the founder and editor of FriendlyAtheist.com, a YouTube creator, and a podcast co-host. He is a former National Board Certified math teacher in the suburbs of Chicago and continues to coach a nationally competitive public speaking team. He's the author of multiple books, publishes crossword puzzles for the New York Times and Slate, and was a Jeopardy! champion.

Nadine Smith

2025 LGBTQ Humanist Award

Nadine Smith is the Executive Director of Equality Florida, the state's largest organization dedicated to ending discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. In 2022, she was named to the Time100, TIME's annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world

An award-winning journalist turned organizer, Nadine was one of four national co-chairs of the 1993 March on Washington. She was part of the historic meeting between then - President Clinton - the first Oval Office meeting between a sitting President and LGBTQ community leaders. She served on the founding board of the International Gay and Lesbian Youth Organization.

She is a Florida Chamber Foundation Trustee and served on President Obama's National Finance Committee.

Nadine has been named one of the state's "Most Powerful and Influential Women" by the Florida Diversity Council. She has received the League of Women Voters' Woman of Distinction Award, in 2018 was named one of the 100 Most Influential Floridians by Influence Magazine. She currently serves as chair of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Florida Advisory Committee.

She lives in St. Petersburg with her wife Andrea and son Logan.

HumanistsMN

2025 Chapter of the Year

HumanistsMN, a chapter of the American Humanist Association in Minnesota, is a secular community that promotes ethical living, widespread human flourishing, and a healthy planet through its commitment to science, reason, compassion, and creativity. The group’s purposes include:

  • Offer a caring community to humanists and other non-theists;

  • Advocate for laws and policies that reflect humanist values, including those that help people in need and promote a healthy planet;

  • Advocate for separation of religion and government;

  • Promote and offer opportunities for community service;

  • Educate the public about humanist worldviews, including the importance of science, reason, and critical thinking;

  • Cultivate personal growth and ethical decision making.