Veronika Scott | John F. Kennedy New Frontier Award Recipient

In November 2012, Caroline Kennedy presented the ninth annual John F. Kennedy New Frontier Award to Veronika Scott CCS ’11 Product Design, founder of The Empowerment Plan, an innovative humanitarian project that hires Detroit’s homeless women. The award was presented during a ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum.

“Stacey Abrams reminds us that good relationships make for good politics, and that compromise is often the most direct path to progress. Veronika Scott turned a class project into an engine of opportunity and hope for the citizens of Detroit. They both are inspiring examples of my father’s belief that every person can make a difference,” said Caroline Kennedy, President of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation and Chair of the Senior Advisory Committee for Harvard’s Institute of Politics.

The John F. Kennedy New Frontier Awards were created by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation and Harvard’s Institute of Politics to honor Americans under the age of 40 who are changing their communities and the country with their commitment to public service. The awards are presented annually to two exceptional individuals whose contributions in elective office, community service, or advocacy demonstrate the impact and the value of public service in the spirit of John F. Kennedy.

One of the New Frontier Awards honors an elected official whose work demonstrates the importance of elective service as a way to address a public challenge or challenges. This award, called the Fenn Award, is presented to a young elected official in honor of Dan Fenn, the Kennedy Library’s first director and a former member of President Kennedy’s staff. The other New Frontier Award honors an individual whose contributions in the realm of community service, advocacy or grassroots activism have had a positive impact on a broad public policy issue or challenge.