Kerry Washington Honored with Elevate Prize Catalyst Award at Sundance

Credit: Randall Michelson for the Elevate Prize Foundation.
Credit: Randall Michelson for the Elevate Prize Foundation.

Kerry Washington Honored with Elevate Prize Catalyst Award at Sundance

As democracy, civil rights, and creativity are under threat, Elevate partners with the Emmy-award winning actor and activist to tell the stories that matter – and to tell them with courage

PARK CITY, Utah, PRNewswire -- The Elevate Prize Foundation presented the Elevate Prize Catalyst Award to Emmy Award–winning actor, producer, director, author, and activist Kerry Washington during the Sundance Film Festival today. The honor recognizes Washington's career-long commitment to using storytelling as a powerful force for democracy. For more than a decade, Washington has advanced that mission through Simpson Street Productions, the award-winning company she founded to expand whose stories are seen, heard, and valued on screen with past productions including Hulu's Little Fires Everywhere and HBO's Confirmation.

As part of the award, $250,000 will be given to Washington's namesake foundation to further its mission of building grassroots power and fostering civic engagement, ensuring that citizens in communities across the country are empowered to lead in shaping a more equitable, inclusive democracy.

During her acceptance speech, Washington revealed that she has joined the upcoming season of Nevertheless as an Executive Producer, along with her producing partner Pilar Savone, under their Simpson Street banner. Season 2 of Nevertheless, a docuseries by the foundation's storytelling and production arm, Elevate Studios will be titled Nevertheless: Democracy Defenders, and will spotlight four social impact leaders across the globe, each working tirelessly to reverse the trajectory of democratic backsliding around the world.

"I'm deeply grateful to the Elevate Prize Foundation for this recognition and for the opportunity to elevate these critical stories," said Kerry Washington. "At Simpson Street, we believe in the power of stories that tap into our shared humanity, and I wanted to be a part of the Nevertheless series because it does exactly that. It pulls the people defending our civil liberties out of the shadows and into the spotlight. We need more of that—more storytelling that reminds us how much we all have at stake and why our voices truly matter."

The first season, Nevertheless: The Women Changing the World, debuted in early 2025 and garnered over 3 million views. The second season is slated to debut on the foundation's YouTube channel this Fall.

The award presentation took place during a special event organized by the foundation that focused on the intersection of storytelling, culture, and democracy. The Elevate Prize Foundation's Founder Joseph Deitch and CEO Carolina García Jayaram presented the award in front of an audience of filmmakers, advocates, and changemakers at the Impact Lounge.

"Kerry Washington truly embodies what it means to be a catalyst," said Carolina García Jayaram, CEO of the Elevate Prize Foundation. "Through her powerful storytelling on screen and her fearless activism off it, she challenges the status quo, amplifies underrepresented voices, and sparks conversations that demand change. In just a decade, she has built an award-winning company that not only produces compelling stories but also creates platforms for social impact, proving that creativity and conscience can drive culture forward. Kerry reminds us that stories shape culture, culture shapes power, and when told with intention, storytelling becomes a form of civic engagement that moves us toward a more just and inclusive world."

The Elevate Prize Catalyst Award recognizes prominent figures who use their influence to inspire global social action. To advance their mission and scale their work, recipients receive $250,000 in unrestricted funding, as well as valuable development resources and partnership opportunities. Past recipients include Dwyane Wade, Michael J. Fox, Matt Damon, George and Amal Clooney, Sesame Street Workshop, and Malala Yousafzai, among others.

After accepting the Elevate Prize Catalyst Award, Washington moderated a discussion with three Elevate Prize winners featured in the upcoming season of Nevertheless. Joining her on stage were:

Koketso Moeti, Founding Executive Director of amandla.mobi, mobilizes communities across South Africa to hold power to account through mobile-first civic activism.

Yordanos Eyoel, Founder and CEO of Keseb in Boston, advancing inclusive democracy initiatives through a vibrant global network of democracy champions.

Hannah Fried, Co-Founder and CEO of All Voting is Local, a nonpartisan organization that fights on the ground in eight states for free and fair elections.

The foundation's evening of programming leading up to the Elevate Prize Catalyst Award presentation further underscored the power of storytelling as a force for democratic resilience and social progress. The program, entitled "Democracy on the Screen – and on the Line," opened with a keynote address from comedian, director, and producer W. Kamau Bell. Elevate Prize winner Imran Ahmed, founder and CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, followed with an inspiring speech about censorship and the escalating threats to free expression and the First Amendment in this era. The keynote and remarks then gave way to a panel exploring this moment's threat to creative expression, spotlighting thematically relevant films premiering at Sundance, featuring filmmakers Maryam Ataei (The Friend's House Is Here), David Shadrack Smith (Public Access) and Judd Ehrlich (Jane Elliott Against the World). Together, the conversations reinforced the urgent role culture and creative expression play in shaping a more informed, engaged, and equitable society.

The Elevate Prize Foundation is a global nonprofit on a mission to Make Good Famous. For more information, visit www.elevateprize.org and follow @ElevatePrize on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and LinkedIn.

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