The North American Marine Alliance (NAMA) and National Family Farm Coalition (NFFC) are pleased to announce that Niaz Dorry, Director of both organizations, has been recognized as a 2024 James Beard Foundation Leadership Award recipient in the Policy Advocacy category. 

Niaz has played a pivotal role in grassroots movement-building and steering federal legislation towards recognizing and supporting family-scale, community-based, and Indigenous fishing and farming communities. The shared leadership and close partnership between NAMA and NFFC, spearheaded by Niaz, has helped to bridge the gap between sea and land food systems, emphasizing the importance of including both in comprehensive food system discussions. 

Niaz has been a community organizer for over 30 years working for environmental, social, and economic justice causes. Before becoming NAMA’s Coordinating Director in 2008 and NFFC’s Executive Director in 2018, she was a community organizer with Greenpeace and interim COO with the Healthy Building Network. This breadth of experience demonstrated to her how consolidation and corporate takeover decimate rural communities and the planet. Niaz remains fiercely committed to exposing and challenging the threat of corporate domination across sectors. 

Policy Advocacy is one of four new categories for the Beard Leadership Awards, and is awarded to policymakers or advocates who are advancing federal legislation and/or other regulations prioritizing a more sustainable and equitable food system. NAMA and NFFC thank the James Beard Foundation for recognizing Niaz’s tireless leadership and advocacy. Click here to read more about Niaz and the other recipients of the Leadership Awards at the Foundation’s website.