Montpelier, VT – In partnership with the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS), Vermont Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas recognized two Vermont youth with the John Lewis Youth Leadership Award. The national award recognizes individuals under 25 who have demonstrated leadership abilities, have a passion for social justice, and are motivated to improve the quality of life in their community. Vermont’s 2025 winners and finalists will be recognized as part of a ceremony Monday January 12 in the House Chamber of the State House in Montpelier.
Vermont’s 2025 recipients of the John Lewis Youth Leadership Award are:
- Rafaela Botti, a high school junior in Middlebury.
- Binti Aweis, who graduated from Winooski High School and now attends CCV.
“I’m thrilled to honor these two exceptional young people who have already made a huge difference in their communities,” said Secretary Copeland Hanzas. “This award honors Representative Lewis’ legacy of advocating for social justice and recognizes that there is no age threshold for taking action to make an impact in the world around you. When I consider what these young leaders have already accomplished, it’s amazing to think that they’re really just getting started!”
A homeschooled high school junior in Orwell (Addison County), Rafaela Botti has brought her passion for social justice, civic engagement, and youth empowerment to numerous leadership roles throughout her community. A dedicated organizer in Middlebury, Rafaela has built a strong record of collaboration with local and statewide justice initiatives; she has previously worked with Atria Collective (WomenSafe) and Education Justice Coalition, and continues to serve with MiddPride, Outright Vermont, and the Vermont State Youth Council, where she uplifts youth voices and advances equity-centered policy. In 2025, Rafaela organized a Summer Social Justice Camp, providing youth with accessible, action-oriented education on community leadership and social justice. The radio show she established on Middlebury College’s WRMC 91.1 station - “FREAKuency of Change” - plays protest anthems and alternative tracks from the past five decades while spotlighting local and regional events and organizations. In collaboration with Vermont Afterschool and Middlebury’s Teen Center, she founded the Middlebury Youth Council (MYC), which organizes and funds youth-led changemaking initiatives. She founded the Vermont chapter of Vote 16 U.S.A., leading the statewide campaign to extend voting rights to 16- and 17-year-olds. As the Ilsley Public Library’s first intern, Botti launched a “Book Buddies” program that paired middle/high school students with preschool and kindergarten children to foster reading skills and literacy. One nominator described her as having a “can-do attitude far beyond her young age… she talks the talk and walks the walk.” Another summarized: “Rafaela works tirelessly to create a community that is welcoming and just for all.”
"As a transplant to the state of Vermont, having moved here the summer before the start of high school, I am eternally grateful for the opportunities provided to me and for the vast community that I have found here,” said Botti. “Doing this work has helped me find my voice and understand the power young people hold when trusted and supported to lead. Receiving the John Lewis Youth Leadership Award is an incredible honor, made even more meaningful by the adults who are truly committed to uplifting youth and making real space for us to lead. Their belief in young people has shaped my journey, and I am grateful to be a part of a community that chooses courage, collaboration, and justice every day. Vermont is a place that values and emphasizes the importance of social justice work, as well as John Lewis’s legacy."
Currently studying at the Community College of Vermont, Binti Aweis attended Winooski High School, where she helped to start the Unheard Stories program for Winooski students. This youth-led program invites traditionally marginalized students to share their stories in any mode they want – dances, skits, fashion, poetry and more, culminating in a community performance at the end of the school year. Unheard Stories, as Binti’s nominator Kayla Loving (of the Education Justice Coalition of Vermont) explained, “helps uncover stereotypes and transform the audience’s views of what it means to be African or hold other marginalized identities.” Binti is also very active in social justice work, participating in clubs, leading workshops and organizing gatherings within the Winooski community. On the statewide level, she has served in several roles for the Education Justice Coalition of Vermont, including as an intern helping to build their Youth Social Justice Network and plan their Statewide Youth Gathering. “Binti is reliable, empathetic, and determined,” explained Loving. “I’ve learned so much through working with her.”
“I am deeply honored to receive the 2025 John Lewis Award,” said Aweis. “My motivation to do this work comes from a belief that justice is not abstract—it is something we practice every day through how we show up for our communities. I have been driven by the need to challenge inequities in education and civic spaces, and to create pathways where young people, especially those who have been historically marginalized, feel seen, heard, and empowered. This work has taught me resilience, empathy, and the importance of collective action, and it continues to shape how I grow, the way I lead with intention, listen deeply, and engage meaningfully. To me, this award is not a finish line, but a reminder of the responsibility to keep going—to keep building, organizing, and speaking out. Carrying forward John Lewis’s legacy means continuing to believe in the power of ordinary people to create extraordinary change.”
Secretary Copeland Hanzas also stressed that her office received many incredible nominations for this year’s award and chose to recognize several finalists. “Especially as the new legislative session begins and we think about how we can all work together to make Vermont a better place, I think it’s a great chance to highlight these incredible young people who are out there helping to lead the way in this work,” she said. The finalists are:
- Ellie Cady of Middlebury
- Katherine Culliton of Burlington
- Cashel Higgins of Waterbury
- Henry Menke of Huntington
- Emma Rowell of Hardwick
- Victoria Tornwini of Burlington
- Abeh Woods of Bennington
About the NASS John Lewis Youth Leadership Award
The John Lewis Youth Leadership Award was established in 2021 by the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS). The award honors the extraordinary accomplishments of Congressman John Lewis.
His courageous achievements during the Civil Rights Movement and his long tenure of public service have inspired and will continue to inspire Americans for generations to come. In 1961, at the age of 21, Lewis was one of the original thirteen Freedom Riders. In 1963, Lewis was the youngest speaker at the March on Washington and one of the “Big Six” leaders that organized the march. In 1965, Lewis helped lead the Selma to Montgomery marches. The first march became a turning point in the Civil Rights Movement when unarmed marchers were attacked by state troopers as they crossed Edmund Pettus Bridge. Lewis’ activism continued throughout his life. He served as a U.S. Congressman for 33 years until his death in 2020.