2 Arizona Residents Earn Kennedy Library Foundation Honors

PHOENIX, AZ — A Phoenix-based ICU nurse and a Native American academic advisor from Flagstaff are among those being honored by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation.

Lauren Leander and Darrell R. Marks are being honored for standing up against COVID-19 protesters and helping Native American tribes gain access to PPE and other items.

Leander, who works as an ICU nurse in Phoenix, treated critically-ill COVID-19 patients, made national news for her silent protest at a rally to end the state's pandemic restrictions.

She then turned that spotlight into a GoFundMe campaign that raised $286,000 for PPE, medical supplies and gifts for frontline nurses on the Navajo and Hopi reservations.

Marks, who serves as the Native American academic advisor for Flagstaff High School, coordinated deliveries of food and supplies to Navajo and Hopi families throughout the pandemic.

Marks, who is an indigenous Dine'/Navajo, is also being honored for his role in advocating for voting rights for Native Americans in Arizona, working to gain access to remote learning for those isolated by the pandemic on the reservations.

Leander and Marks are joined by Massachusetts fire department captain, Fred Freeman, as well as South Carolina Amazon associate Antonio Green, Ohio doctor, Amy Acton, Louisiana market owner Burnell Cotton and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in receiving the awards.

All seven will receive their award at 3 p.m. local time on May 26, with Ambassador Caroline Kennedy and her son, Jack Schlossberg, presenting the awards.

“Today’s honorees put their own lives at risk to keep others safe. They inspire us all with their courage and give new meaning to President Kennedy’s legacy of public service,” Kennedy said in a statement.