We are pleased and honored to be bestowing the following awards during the 2026 Freedom Fund Brunch. Each will be accompanied by a unique and custom-made award from the Rutland Mint.
Lifetime Achievement Award
Beverly Little Thunder (Uncí, Lakota for “Grandmother”), being honored posthumously, was a Lakota Two-Spirit elder, activist, ceremonial leader, and visionary whose life reshaped Indigenous ceremonial access and community healing.
A devoted mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and loving wife, Beverly embodied *Mitákuye Oyás’iŋ*—We Are All Related—welcoming chosen, ceremonial, and community kin across Turtle Island. After being excluded from ceremony because of her sexuality, she transformed pain into purpose by founding the first Women’s and Two-Spirit Sundance, creating a groundbreaking ceremonial home rooted in respect, inclusion, and tradition.
As a lifelong activist: she stood with the American Indian Movement (AIM) and supported Indigenous sovereignty movements, helped form the first Gay American Indians group, and bore witness at the gathering where the term “Two Spirit” was formally adopted.
Beverly leaves a legacy of courage, compassion, and transformative vision that continues to guide future generations.
Community Service AWARD
Juniper Creative Arts is a family collective dedicated to creative placemaking, education, and community empowerment through public art. Known for bold, visually-layered large-scale murals and collaborative projects, they draw from Hip-Hop culture, cultural lineage, and nature to tell stories of resilience, identity, and belonging. Their work centers historically excluded communities, particularly Black and Brown communities, while inviting broad public participation and meaning-making.
Juniper Creative Arts has made an impact across Vermont by transforming schools, downtown districts, and community spaces into sites of connection and pride. Beyond aesthetics, they run youth workshops, facilitate collaborative mural design with students, and organize large-scale cultural events such as the Sucka Punch Graffiti Jam, which elevates graffiti as an art form and community practice in partnership with the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center and local collaborators.
Co-founded in 2020 by Jennifer Herrera Condry and Will Kasso Condry, Juniper Creative is built on more than forty years of professional experience. Will is a renowned muralist, graffiti artist, and educator with decades of community arts organizing. Jennifer brings a 22-year career in higher education, leading multicultural programs, student leadership development, and community-engaged arts initiatives. Together with their daughter, Alexa, they blend artistic excellence with cultural representation and purposeful community engagement.
Youth in action award
Emily Maikoo is a senior at Mount Anthony Union High School. She plans to pursue a college degree in political science and hopes to go to law school to become an immigration lawyer.
Emily is an active participant in her community, working with the Vermont Student Anti-Racism Network, a nonprofit organization focused on promoting education free from racism. She serves as the co-executive director of this organization. Additionally, she is the director of communications for Poetry4Progress, a national nonprofit that advocates for social change through literature.
Emily has also proudly served as a Vermont Page through the Senate Page Program, where she was sponsored by Senator Sanders, being one of only 30 pages selected for this program.
Furthermore, she is a member of several school-sponsored clubs, including the Student Senate and the Climate Change Initiatives Club.
Executive Leadership Award
Ana Mejía is a member of the NAACP Rutland Area Branch Executive Committee and serves as the Economics Committee Chair. She currently leads the BIPOC Financial Empowerment Program, a joint initiative of the Building Equity Collaborative which consists of the Rutland Area NAACP, the Root Social Justice Center, Cultivemos Alegria (her LLC), and Windham & Windsor Housing Trust.
Ana also works as a Homeownership Specialist with Windham & Windsor Housing Trust, where she enjoys assisting homebuyers reach their homeownership goals. Her work is guided by a commitment to creating spaces where people of the global majority are seen, heard, validated and supported in rooting themselves wherever they so choose.
Rutland Area Branch of the NAACP 