3 Californians Tapped For Highly Prestigious 'Genius Grants'

CALIFORNIA — Three Californians are among the new recipients of prestigious fellowships from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

Juan Felipe Herrera of Fresno, Joseph Parker of Pasadena, and Alice Wong of San Francisco were among the 22 fellows selected for 2024. Each will receive an $800,000 "genius grant" due to their track records of exemplary endeavors and their potential to produce additional extraordinary work.

Herrera, who was 75 when the awards were announced Oct. 1, is a poet, educator and writer. According to his bio on the foundation's website, Herrera uplifts Chicanx culture and amplifies shared experiences of solidarity and empowerment through poetry and prose for adults and children.

Through his work, Herrera has chronicled the changing social and cultural dynamics of the Mexican-American community, from the activism of the Chicano Movement to the fraught politics of immigration and the U.S.-Mexico border today.

"Herrera’s literary output, in both English and Spanish, crosses genres and spans five decades; his work is united by deep empathy and joy for all groups in the act of artistic creation," according to the foundation.

Parker, 44, is an evolutionary biologist and serves as assistant professor of Biology and Biological Engineering at Caltech.

According to his biography, Parker explores the evolution of symbiosis and species interactions through the study of rove beetles. Through his work, Parker is illuminating long-standing questions about the evolution of interspecies relationships that underpin the natural world.

Wong, 50, is a writer, editor, and activist. She is steeped in disability justice and uses the power of storytelling across various media platforms.

"She publishes personal stories that expose ableist attitudes, policies, and practices across a society that pushes disabled people to the margins. She also shares her own experiences navigating the world as a disabled person with a progressive neuromuscular disease," according to Wong's bio.

Fellows cannot apply for genius grants, and they aren't made aware of the award until it is announced. Instead, fellows are nominated and endorsed by their peers and communities through an open, years-long process overseen by the foundation.

While each class is never an immediate response to any particular moment, sometimes themes do emerge, Marlies Carruth, director of the MacArthur Fellows Program, told The Associated Press.

"We have to see at least the variety and the strength and the number of nominations in the literary arts space as a response to the zeitgeist, the desire to tell stories and resurrect certain stories that have not been told," Carruth said.

The foundation looks for people who will be "enabled" by the award, meaning they have both a track record of work but also the potential to produce additional extraordinary work, Carruth said

The foundation also strives to support people who collaborate and invest outside of their specific discipline.

Since 1981, more than 1,100 people have been awarded the fellowship.