Celebrating the Peacemakers at the 2026 William Sloane Coffin, Jr. Peacemaker Awards
On Monday, October 5, 2026, Peace Action Fund of New York State (PAFNYS) hosted the 2026 William Sloane Coffin, Jr. Peacemaker Awards to celebrate the activists and organizers who are working tirelessly to make our world a more just and peaceful place. Named for the Reverend Dr. William Sloane Coffin, Jr., a longtime activist who once served as the president of SANE/Freeze (now Peace Action) and senior minister of the Riverside Church, this annual event brings together the many faces of our New York peace network for an evening of camaraderie and affirmation of our shared mission to end war, reprioritize human needs over massive military spending, abolish nuclear weapons, and bring justice to those impacted by war and violence.
This year, we presented Peacemaker Awards to two awardees: one organization that has been doing important work advocating for diplomacy rather than war with Iran, and one individual who modeling a more progressive vision for America. We presented a Peacemaker Award to the National Iranian American Council (NIAC) in recognition of the leadership role they have played in bringing together the Iranian diaspora in the U.S. and in educating the public about the Iranian-American relationship, key to the work of diplomacy with Iran. Separately, we honored Mayor Zohran Mamdani (in absentia) for being a prominent voice centering human needs over endless militarism in the national conversation.
At the same event, we also honored the incredible organizing work of the student peace activists of the PAFNYS Campus Organizing Program. We presented the Don Shaffer Student Peacemaker Award to Niagara University Peace Action for their leadership and activism in the 2025-2026 school year, and we presented the Holly Maguigan Peace with Justice Award to program alumna, Nino Burjanadze, for being a young leader in the international movement for peace and nuclear disarmament.
You can watch a recording of the program livestream below!
