2026 Lincoln Leadership Prize Recipient
Ken Burns
Ken Burns has been making documentary films for almost fifty years. Since the Academy Award nominated Brooklyn Bridge in 1981, Ken has gone on to direct and produce some of the most acclaimed historical documentaries ever made, including The Civil War; Baseball; Jazz; The War; The National Parks: America’s Best Idea; Prohibition; The Roosevelts: An Intimate History; The Vietnam War; Country Music; The U.S. and the Holocaust; The American Buffalo; and, most recently, Leonardo da Vinci. Ken’s films have been honored with dozens of major awards, including seventeen Emmy Awards, two Grammy Awards and two Oscar nominations.
2026 Wayne Whalen “Charity for All” Award Recipient
Susan Crown
Susan Crown is a business executive and philanthropist with a strategic, results-oriented approach. She is Chairman of Owl Creek Partners, Chairman and Founder of the Susan Crown Exchange (SCE), and Chair Emeritus of Rush University Medical Center and Rush University System for Health. She is the first woman board member of Illinois Tool Works (ITW), a multi-faceted manufacturing and engineering business with a market cap in excess of $75 billion. She also serves as a board member of Northern Trust Corporation and formerly served as a director of Baxter International.
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About Lincoln Presidential Foundation
Established in 2000, the Lincoln Presidential Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity headquartered in Illinois. It is the only national foundation focused on increasing access to history, educational programs, exhibits, and sites highlighting the life and legacy of Abraham Lincoln. The Foundation does its work in cooperation and partnership with others locally, nationally, and globally. Its vision is a world where freedom and democracy flourish, inspired by the life and work of Abraham Lincoln. Learn more at lincolnpresidential.org.