The Office of the New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver would like to receive nominations for civic-minded young people in our state to be awarded with the John Lewis Youth Leadership Award.
The John Lewis Youth Leadership Award was established in 2021 by the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS). It aims to honor the extraordinary accomplishments of Congressman John Lewis. The award is to recognize a gifted, civic-minded young person in each state in the US each year. The recipient should demonstrate leadership abilities, have a passion for social justice, and be motivated to improve the quality of life in their community.
Please consider these eligibility criteria below and nominate young people in your community by filling out the short form.
We appreciate your nominations.
View a video featuring the 2024 award recipients here.
Eligibility:
- The nominee must be 25 years or younger at the time of the award presentation.
- The nominee is recognized in their community for being civic-minded and improving the quality of life in their community. The community must be in New Mexico.
- The nominee has shown a meaningful commitment to address civil rights issues, including but not limited to voting rights, and to authentically bring about positive change in their community.
- Examples could include youth leadership in a specific project or program, advocacy, or even literature as the Congressman also won a National Book Award for young people’s literature.
Deadline:
Please fill out this short form (same link as above) by 5pm November 3rd, 2025. Our office will communicate to the successful candidate by November 13rd, 2025.
Supporting Materials:
Please send a picture of the nominee with the nomination, if you’d like. Up to ten pages of supporting materials, including news releases, news articles, or social media posts may be included as part of your submission, as long as they are digitized.
These submissions are optional and will definitely be helpful for us to make our final selection.
Questions?
Please write any questions you may have in the form and we will reach out and respond via email.
You can nominate multiple youth leaders. Use one form per nomination. Feel free to spread the word about this call for nominations. Thank you for your nomination(s)!