Meet the Judges for the 2024 Templeton Prize

This year’s Templeton Prize laureate will be announced in June. Past winners have come from all major faiths and dozens of countries. The list of 53 Laureates includes Nobel Prize winners, philosophers, scientists, and religious leaders. This year, nine distinguished individuals from around the world came together to select the 2025 Templeton Prize Laureate. 

The judges review a group of diverse Prize candidates, who were put forth by an expert group of anonymous, independent nominators selected from across the fields of science, faith, philosophy, and beyond. (More on the selection process here.) 

Past judges have included President George H.W. Bush, President Gerald Ford, and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, as well as eminent representatives from the sciences and various religious traditions around the world. This year, we’re incredibly honored to have nine Templeton Prize judges from diverse backgrounds who are well-positioned to make such a selection, having themselves reshaped the world with their innovative thinking: 

Georgia M. Dunston, Ph.D.

Georgia M. Dunston, the first African American to receive the Ph.D. degree in Human Genetics, is founder, president, and CEO of Whole Genome Science Foundation (WGSF), Inc., a 501(c)(3) corporation initiated at Howard University (HU) in 2014 to promote and advance knowledge on the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) of the human genome as a fundamental functional unit of biological life. 

Susan M. Fitzpatrick, Ph.D.

Fitzpatrick is the former President of the James S. McDonnell Foundation, where she began as the Foundation’s first Program Officer in 1993. She lectures and writes on issues concerning the applications of neuroscience to clinical problems, the role of private philanthropy in the support of scientific research, and more.

Bruno Guidardoni, Ph.D.

Guidardoni is a Director of Research at the French National Center for Scientific Research. He is an expert in the theory of galaxy formation, which provides the framework for understanding distant galaxies observed as they were in the first ages of the universe.

Daniel E. Hastings, Ph.D.

Hastings is the Cecil and Ida Green Professor in Education in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the interim Institute Community and Equity Officer, and the interim Vice Provost for Faculty at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 

Tsitsi Masiyiwa

Tsitsi Masiyiwa is an African philanthropist and social entrepreneur. She is Executive Chair and Co-Founder of Higherlife Foundation, whose primary goal is to invest in human capital development to build thriving individuals, communities and sustainable livelihoods. As a result of her work and experience establishing and growing Higherlife Foundation over the last twenty-five years, Tsitsi has become an advisor and thought partner to universities, national leaders, and social entrepreneurs on issues of education, health, leadership development, and youth empowerment. 

Timothy P. Shriver, Ph.D.

Tim Shriver has served as the Chairman of Special Olympics International since 1996. He currently serves alongside more than six million Special Olympics athletes and their families in over 195 countries around the world. During his time as Chairman, Special Olympics has developed proven programming for all aspects of a Special Olympics athlete’s life: leadership, health, education, and family support.

Rabbi Meir Soloveichik, Ph.D.

Meir Soloveichik is the Rabbi of Congregation Shearith Israel, the Spanish-Portuguese Synagogue in Manhattan, the oldest Jewish congregation in the United States. He serves as the Director of the Straus Center of Torah and Western Thought at Yeshiva University. Rabbi Soloveichik was ordained by Yeshiva’s seminary and received his PhD in religion from Princeton University. In 2018, the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty honored Rabbi Soloveichik with its Canterbury Medal for his advocacy of, and commitment to, the free exercise of religion.

Baroness Philippa Stroud

Philippa Stroud is a Member of the House of Lords, CEO of the Legatum Institute and Chair of the Social Metrics Commission. Previously, she was Chief Executive of the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), a think tank that she co-founded in 2004. Philippa’s life and career to date have been strongly influenced by her passion to tackle poverty and social breakdown. 

Homa Sabet Tavangar

For over three decades, Homa Sabet Tavangar’s work has addressed themes of culture, innovation, leadership, global citizenship and global competence, and deep diversity, equity, belonging and inclusion. Homa’s clients range from Fortune 50 corporations and major professional associations to public, international and independent K-12 schools and universities around the world.