John Lewis Youth Leadership Award

The John Lewis Youth Leadership Award was established in 2021 by the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS). The award honors the extraordinary accomplishments of Congressman John Lewis. The national award recognizes those 25 years or younger who have demonstrated leadership abilities, have a passion for social justice, and are motivated to improve the quality of life in their community.

Vermont’s 2023 recipients of the John Lewis Youth Leadership Award are:

Addie Lentzner

Addie Lentzner is a first-year student at Middlebury College. She grew up in the Bennington area and identifies as a youth activist and advocate. Addie first got involved advocating for policies to support populations experiencing homelessness. She is the Founder and Executive Director of the Vermont Student Anti-Racism Network, a project that she initiated in response to the death of George Floyd. The group worked with principals, guidance counselors, teachers, and librarians across the state to provide more resources on racism at schools and develop a curriculum that members of the network teach to other young learners via Zoom. Addie serves as Secretary on the Board of Directors at the Bennington County Coalition and as an Executive Fellow for Our Turn, a youth-led movement working to dismantle the structures that limit access to quality education.  

Chris Alfano

Chris Alfano, a senior at Burr and Burton Academy, has shown a real passion for civic education. He is the founder of Civicly, a smartphone app that offers guided learning about civics, focused on founding documents. He was inspired to create an app that would help Americans increase their civic awareness following the January 6 attack at the US Capitol and hopes to continue expanding its offerings so that it can be easily used in classroom settings. Chris also participated as a Civics Innovation Fellow through Civics Unplugged and as a Legislative Intern for Vermont State Representative Mike Rice.

Click here to watch Secretary Copeland Hanzas deliver the awards on a GNAT segment!