Yogi Berra Yogi Berra spent over 40 years as a
professional baseball catcher, manager, and coach. Widely regarded as one of the
greatest catchers in baseball history, Berra was an 18-time All-Star and 10-time
World Series Champion who was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972.
Berra, a lifelong ambassador for inclusion in sports, put his professional
career on hold to join the Navy during World War II, where he fought with Allied
forces on D-Day and eventually earned a Purple Heart.
Bonnie Carroll Bonnie Carroll is a life-long public
servant who has devoted her life to caring for our military and veterans. After
her husband, Brigadier General Tom Carroll, died in an Army C-12 plane crash in
1992, Carroll founded the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), which
provides comprehensive support to those impacted by the death of their military
hero, bringing healing comfort and compassionate care to the living legacies of
our nation's service and sacrifice.
Shirley Chisholm Shirley Chisholm made history in 1968
by becoming the first African-American woman elected to Congress, beginning the
first of seven terms in the House of Representatives. In 1969 she became one of
the founding members of what would become the Congressional Black Caucus. She
also made history becoming the first major-party African-American female
candidate to make a bid for the U.S. presidency. She was a champion of minority
education and employment opportunities throughout her tenure in Congress.
Emilio Estefan Emilio Estefan is a passionate and
visionary music producer, entrepreneur, author, and songwriter who has won
nineteen Grammy Awards and influenced a generation of artists. As the founding
member of the Miami Sound Machine, and later through a decades-long career
producing and shaping the work of countless stars, Estefan has helped popularize
Latin music around the world. He has received a Lifetime Achievement Award from
the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Gloria Estefan Gloria Estefan is a singer, songwriter,
actor, and entrepreneur who introduced Latin music to a global audience. The
Cuban-American lead singer of the Miami Sound Machine has had chart-topping hits
such as “Conga,” “Rhythm is Gonna Get You,” and “Anything for You.” Estefan has
won seven Grammy Awards and is one of the best-selling music artists of all
time, having sold more than 100 million records worldwide. Estefan became one of
the first mainstream Hispanic artists to crossover between English and Spanish
language music.
Billy Frank, Jr. Billy Frank, Jr. was a tireless
advocate for Indian treaty rights and environmental stewardship. His activism
paved the way for the “Boldt decision,” which reaffirmed tribal co-management of
salmon resources in the state of Washington. Frank led effective “fish-ins,”
modeled after sit-ins of the civil rights movement, during the tribal “fish
wars” of the 1960s and 1970s. His magnetic personality and tireless advocacy
over more than 50 years made him a revered figure both domestically and abroad.
Lee Hamilton Lee Hamilton has been one of the most
influential voices on international relations and U.S. national security over
the course of his career. From 1965 to 1999, he served Indiana in the U.S. House
of Representatives, where his chairmanships included the Committee on Foreign
Affairs and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Since retiring from
Congress, Hamilton has been involved in efforts to address some of our nation's
most high profile homeland security and foreign policy challenges.
Katherine G. Johnson Katherine G. Johnson is a pioneer
in American space history. A NASA mathematician, Johnson's computations have
influenced every major space program from Mercury through the Shuttle program.
Johnson was hired as a research mathematician at the Langley Research Center
with the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), the agency that
preceded NASA, after they opened hiring to African-Americans and women.
Willie Mays Willie Mays was a professional baseball
player, spending most of his 22 seasons as a center fielder for the New York and
San Francisco Giants. Mays ended his career with 660 home runs, making him the
fifth all-time record-holder. Known as “The Say Hey Kid,” Mays was inducted into
the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979 and landed on MLB's All-Time team. In 1951,
Mays became one of the first African-American players in Major League Baseball
history and won the Rookie of the Year award. Mays also served in the U.S. Army.
Barbara Mikulski Sen. Mikulski is a lifelong public
servant who has held elected office since 1971. She became the longest serving
female Senator in 2011, the longest serving woman in Congress in 2012, and the
first female Senator to chair the Senate Appropriations Committee in 2012.
Previously a social worker and community activist, she championed the Lilly
Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and helped establish the NIH Office of Research on
Women's Health to include women in federally-funded health research protocols.
Itzhak Perlman Itzhak Perlman is a treasured conductor
and sought-after teacher. A native of Israel, he came to the United States at a
young age and made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1963 when he was 18. In addition
to performing internationally and recording the classical music for which he is
best known, Mr. Perlman teaches talented young musicians through the Perlman
Music Program alongside his wife Toby. Through his advocacy and his example, he
has been an important voice on behalf of persons with disabilities.
William Ruckelshaus William D. Ruckelshaus is a
dedicated public servant who has worked tirelessly to protect public health and
combat global challenges like climate change. As the first and fifth
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, he shaped the guiding
principles of the agency. Among the EPA's key early achievements under his
leadership was a nationwide ban on the pesticide DDT and an agreement with the
automobile industry to require catalytic converters, which significantly reduced
automobile pollution.
Stephen Sondheim Stephen Sondheim is one of the
country's most influential theater composers and lyricists. His work has helped
define American theater with shows such as Company, Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the
Park with George, and Into the Woods. Mr. Sondheim has won eight Grammy Awards,
eight Tony Awards, an Academy Award, and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
Steven Spielberg Steven Spielberg is an American film
director, producer, philanthropist, and entrepreneur. A three-time Academy Award
winner, Spielberg is widely considered one of the most influential filmmakers in
cinematic history. Spielberg is the co-founder of DreamWorks Studios as well as
the founder of the USC Shoah Foundation, an organization dedicated to overcoming
intolerance and bigotry through the use of visual history testimony.
Barbra Streisand Barbra Streisand is one of our
nation's most gifted talents. Her body of work includes extraordinary singing,
acting, directing, producing, songwriting, and she is one of the few performers
to receive an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and a Tony. In 1984, she became the first
woman to win a Golden Globe for Best Director. In 2009, she endowed the Barbra
Streisand Women's Heart Center at Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute, which works to
correct gender inequality in the research of heart disease.
James Taylor As a recording and touring artist, James
Taylor has touched people with his warm baritone voice and distinctive style of
guitar-playing for more than 40 years, while setting a precedent to which
countless young musicians have aspired. Over the course of his celebrated
songwriting and performing career, he has won multiple Grammy awards and has
been inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the prestigious
Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Minoru Yasui Minoru Yasui was a civil and human rights
leader known for his continuous defense of the ideals of democracy embodied in
our Constitution. Yasui challenged the constitutionality of a military curfew
order during World War II on the grounds of racial discrimination, and spent
nine months in solitary confinement during the subsequent legal battle. In 1943,
the Supreme Court upheld the military curfew order. Yasui spent the rest of his
life appealing his wartime conviction.
