Mount Vernon, VA, February 19, 2026 – On George Washington’s 294th birthday weekend, the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association (MVLA) will honor Sheila B. Coates, founder and president of Black Women United for Action (BWUFA), with its esteemed Ann Pamela Cunningham Medal. Ms. Coates will receive the award at a gala Washington birthday dinner on February 21, 2026, celebrating George Washington’s life and legacy.
The Cunningham Medal is named after the MVLA’s founder, Ann Pamela Cunningham. It recognizes exceptional long-term contributions – in time, talent, and resources, or a combination thereof – to George Washington’s Mount Vernon.
Through the annual Slave Memorial commemoration, the establishment of the BWUFA Fellowship, and decades of collaboration, Sheila has ensured that the stories of the enslaved are honored with dignity and scholarship,” said Anne Neal Petri, Regent of the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association. “These are extraordinary and enduring contributions.”
In accepting the award, Ms. Coates emphasized that the recognition reflects a collective legacy.
“I am deeply and profoundly grateful to the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association for the honor of the Ann Pamela Cunningham Medal,” said Coates. “I accept this award on behalf of the enslaved men, women, and children whose lives and labor shaped Mount Vernon and this nation, and on behalf of the entire community that has worked tirelessly to ensure their stories are remembered. This recognition speaks to the power of community, perseverance, and partnership. I stand on the shoulders of many who came before me and alongside so many who continue this work with courage and conviction.”
For more than four decades, Sheila B. Coates has been a visionary community leader and a steadfast partner to Mount Vernon. In 1983, she established the annual Slave Memorial Wreath-Laying Ceremony at Mount Vernon, an observance that has grown into an internationally recognized act of remembrance honoring the enslaved people whose labor built the estate and helped shape the nation. In 2023, she helped establish the Black Women United for Action Fellowship at the George Washington Presidential Library, in partnership with the MVLA, to support research into African American history and leadership.
A sixth-generation Virginian, Ms. Coates founded Black Women United for Action in 1985, transforming it from a small volunteer initiative into an internationally connected organization advancing education, economic opportunity, historic preservation, and public policy leadership. Over the course of her career, she has served on numerous boards and commissions, including the Virginia Commission on Women, the George Mason University Board, and the Mount Vernon Board of Visitors. She also served on Governor-Elect Abigail Spanberger’s Transition Committee.
Ms. Coates joins a distinguished group of past Cunningham Medal recipients, including Karen Buchwald Wright, the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, Jim Rees, and Jack Evans.
Related photos for media use are available here with attribution to the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association.
Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington, is owned and operated by the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association, the oldest national historic preservation organization in the United States. The estate is open to visitors and includes the Mansion, a museum and education center, gardens, tombs, a working farm, a functioning distillery, and a gristmill, as well as the George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon.