The annual award recognizes leaders who use their knowledge, life experience, and dedication to create lasting impact.
Each honoree will receive $75,000 to support their organization, along with a year of technical assistance to help expand their reach and impact.
According to Ilyssa Manspeizer, "Leading Landforce has been one of the greatest privileges of my life. This award is a reflection of the incredible people—staff, partners, crew members, and community members—who have worked together to turn an idea into life changing opportunities. Winning the Purpose Prize affirms what Landforce has always known: people and planet can thrive together.”
Landforce trains and hires people who are often excluded from family-sustaining jobs—many of whom are justice-involved and face systemic hiring barriers.
Through hands-on work in environmental stewardship and responsible wood production, trainees gain skills, confidence, and professional connections that prepare them for long-term employment.
Their efforts strengthen communities, boost climate resilience, drive local economic growth, and restore healthier ecosystems.
Drawing on her experience in conservation and community development in Ethiopia, Zambia, and Pittsburgh, founder Ilyssa Manspeizer recognized how workforce readiness can be a powerful tool for building both a thriving economy and a healthy environment.
“We are proud to honor our AARP Purpose Prize winners. These remarkable individuals demonstrate how decades of life experience combined with a commitment to serve can be a powerful force for good,” said Dr. Myechia Minter-Jordan, CEO of AARP. “Their work responds to pressing social challenges in their communities and demonstrates what it truly means to live with purpose.”
Recipients and their organizations will be honored during an in-person celebration in Washington, D.C. on October 23, 2025..
Landforce is a nonprofit employment social enterprise that provides transitional jobs for people who are excluded from family-sustaining work and helps them successfully launch into future employment.
By hiring people to work on environmentally focused projects, Landforce contributes to both the economic and environmental health of the communities it serves.
[Posted: October 1, 2025] PA Environment Digest
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