In 2025,  the award was presented to Connie Schultz and Sherrod Brown by Shelley Metzenbaum, daughter of the late U.S. Senator Howard Metzenbaum, for whom the award was established in 1994. “These two fierce advocates for Ohioans, for constructive change, for progress – have consistently answered the call to promote hope and belonging, as my father did,” said Metzenbaum. “He knew and they know that you cannot give up fighting for what is right.”