The Pando Sustainability Awards honors the work of LA’s young people who are working with the region’s most important people to take on its most important challenges: the ones described in regional sustainability plans. It is the Southland’s only intercollegiate event honoring practical visionaries who care. The 2026 Pando Awards was the fifth of these yearly events.
The 2026 Pando Sustainability Awards were held on October 18 from 2-5 PM at the Resnick Sustainability Institute on the Caltech campus. Sixteen Pando Days projects and five Magenta House finalists were showcased and awards for outstanding projects announced.
To see our success book from the event, go here. Photos coming soon.
2026 Honorees
The 2026 Pando Awards honored the following projects selected from the astonishing 2025/26 Pando Days season:
Magenta House honorees from the 2026 season included:
Practical Visionaries Who Care:
Every year, we honor those in Southern California who are making a difference for young people of all ages in sustainability. We honor them in the following categories: the Immortal Earthkeeper Award for Lifetime Achievement, Earth Visionary, Earth Champion, and Earth Guardian. World Loyalty Awards are given to all project participants.
Honorees:
Immortal Earthkeeper Award for Lifetime Achievement:
Fran Pavley, California politician who helped turn climate protection from an activist issue into statewide law and long-term government policy.
Earth Guardian Award:
Mikala Rahn
Earth Visionary Award:
John Buchanan, Andrew Tobias, Jill Apperson, Christine Johnson, Jay Ferbstein and Bonnie Berman, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, Calpine Energy Solutions, Clean Power Alliance, Athens Services, Alexandria Technology, Plante Moran, Resnick Sustainability Institute, California Institute of Technology, Floe Financial Partners
Earth Champion Award:
Rita Kampalath, Los Angeles County Chief Sustainability Officer, Lindsey Horvath, Los Angeles County Supervisor, District 3, Katy Yaroslavksy, Los Angeles City Council Member, District 5
Honorees are given fine art prints by Pando Artist-in-Residence Tucker Nichols.
Pando Sustainability Awards Host Committee: Mick Dalrymple, Chief Sustainability Officer, University of Southern California; Karen Hofmann, President, ArtCenter College of Design; Rita Kampalath, Chief Sustainability Officer, County of Los Angeles; Paul Koretz, Los Angeles City Councilmember Emeritus, 5th District; Paul Krekorian, President, Los Angeles City Council and Member, 2nd District; Ann McElaney-Johnson, President, Mount Saint Mary’s University; Peter Laugharn, President, Conrad N. Hilton Foundation; James M. Limbaugh, President, West Los Angeles College; Heidrun Mumper-Drumm, Chair, Chief Sustainability Officers Taskforce; Ravi S. Rajan, President, California Institute of the Arts (CalArts); Kecia Washington, Director of Innovation, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
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Thank you!
The Pando Sustainability Awards is produced in collaboration with the CSO Taskforce for LA County with the 2026 event made possible in part by the support of our generous partners:
And by the generosity of the following individuals: John Buchanan, Andrew Tobias, Jill Aperson, Christine Johnson, Jay Farbstein and Bonnie Berman, Ed Bacon and Hope Hendricks-Bacon, Peter Florstedt and Nelson Bermuda, Margo and Ralph Kidushim, Paul and Gail Koretz, Rebecca Schmitt, Eugene Shirley and Ruey-Lung Hsiao, and Elizabeth Thompson. Many thanks to the Resnick Sustainability Institute at Caltech for the annual facilities support it provides for The Pando Sustainability Awards.