President Quinton T. Ross, Jr. will host both events and the keynote speaker for both ceremonies is Catherine Coleman Flowers, founding director of the Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice. She is an internationally recognized environmental activist; a MacArthur “genius” grant recipient, and an author. She has dedicated her life’s work to advocating for environmental justice, primarily equal access to clean water and functional sanitation for communities across the United States. Flowers has spent her career promoting equal access to clean water, air, sanitation, and soil to reduce health and economic disparities in marginalized and rural communities.

Flowers is vice chair of President Joe Biden's inaugural "White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council" and in 2023, she was recognized as one of TIME Magazine's "100 Most Influential People" worldwide, and has been featured on Forbes Magazine's Top 50 Over 50 list.