Ann Rockefeller Roberts
NOTE: Ms. Roberts will receive the JPM Award at a gala ceremony on Monday, June 12.
Click here to purchase tickets, and join us in honoring Ann!
On Monday, June 12, as The Interfaith Center of New York celebrates its twentieth anniversary with a gala at the Tribeca Rooftop, we will also be honoring two individuals and a community for their extraordinary work in the area of facilitating communication, understanding and respect between diverse peoples and communities. This honor is known as the “James Parks Morton” award, named after the Interfaith Center’s founder and chair emeritus. The “JPM” award has previously been bestowed on leaders such as His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Carl Sagan, President Bill Clinton, and Sister Pat Farrell, among many others.
This year, one recipient of the James Parks Morton award will be Ann Rockefeller Roberts, who has devoted a lifetime to the rights and welfare of Native Americans, with a deep understanding of their traditions and worldviews and also of the immense challenges facing Indigenous peoples today. Founder and President of the Fund of the Four Directions, in Indian country she worked for the revitalization of the lifeways and cultures of Native Americans of North America with an emphasis on language restoration and intergenerational collaboration as well as social justice and sovereignty. She has strong, enduring ties with traditional Elders and gives focused support to their activities and concerns as well as to the development of grassroots Indigenous communities.
Ann was a founding Member of the National Museum of the American Indian and supported its establishment on the Mall. She co-chaired the Annual Native American Thanksgiving Ceremony along with Chief Oren Lyons at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, and has been a devoted supporter of the American Indian Institute (AII) and continues to be a member of their Advisory Board.
Ann has a master’s degree in landscape architecture from the University of Virginia and is the author of several books including Mr. Rockefeller’s Roads: The Untold Story of Acadia’s Carriage Roads and Their Creator. Ann Roberts has served on the boards of the National Museum of the American Indian, the Philanthropic Collaborative and the Ms. Foundation for Women and is a leader in women’s activism and an eloquent spokesperson for women’s spirituality.
If you are unable to attend the gala, please consider congratulating the awardees with a Journal Entry in the printed program. Contact Chris Thompson at christopher@interfaithcenter.org.
