The Ones Who Won’t Stand Down

Whistleblowing Isn’t a Noun. It’s a Verb

They didn’t come to Washington to collect an award and go home. They came to refuel—and then get back to work.

On the evening of July 30, 2025, a remarkable group of Americans in the McCelland Room of the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. They weren’t dressed for a gala. They weren’t exchanging business cards or angling for photo ops. They were catching their breath, grateful for a moment of recognition among people who understand the cost of truth.

These were the 2025 Pillar Award honorees at the Whistleblower Summit & Film Festival —the longest running annual gathering of whistleblowers and advocates on Capitol Hill—individuals who have chosen truth over politics, public awareness over silence, and courage over career.

But what sets these honorees apart is simple: they aren’t finished. The moment the speeches ended, and applause faded, they were back on the phone, back in the courtroom, back in their communities - back in the fight against the injustices they’ve spent years exposing. 

They are still in the fight

Lev Parnas — The Insider Who Flipped the Script

Lev Parnas once operated in the shadows. As a former associate of Rudy Giuliani, he was deeply involved in the first Trump administration's efforts to dig up dirt on Hunter Biden during the Trump–Ukraine affair. But something shifted. Lev walked away from the darkness—and into the light.

He doesn’t hide from his past. He uses it as a tool for accountability.

Today, through his podcast Lev Remembers, he work exemplifies how truth can be revealed in an age of disinformation and lies and serves as a beacon for emerging whistleblowers to step forward into the light, as well. His Global Journalism Pillar is not a conclusion. It is a waypoint.

Jerry Ashton — The Debt Abolisher Saving Lives

Thirty years as an executive in debt collections taught Jerry Ashton everything about how the system works. Then he turned that knowledge against the system itself.

As co-founder of Undue Medical Debt (formerly RIP Medical Debt), he helped abolish more than $20 billion in medical debt for over 15 million Americans. But when he discovered that the VA had denied $6 billion in veteran medical claims, and they would not, by policy, make their own patients’ debt available for forgiveness, he launched a public information site at www.EndVeteranDebt.com to raise awareness. 

He followed this up, in 2023 by founding End Veteran Debt, a 501(c)(3) private charitable foundation dedicated to erasing unpayable debt and reducing veteran suicide linked to economic hardship. 

His Service Beyond the Uniform Pillar is a rallying cry for others to join him.

Dr. Robert Kroutil — The Scientist Who Wouldn’t Be Silenced

When a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio in 2023, a toxic plume spread across the region. Residents deserved answers. Instead, they got silence.

Dr. Robert Kroutil, a former EPA contractor and co-developer of the ASPECT aircraft, knew the agency had the tools to tell the truth. Instead, they delayed deployment, falsified documents, and manipulated data.

So he blew the whistle.

Today, he works with the Government Accountability Project to reform EPA emergency response and strengthen protections for environmental whistleblowers. His Person of Conscience Pillar honors his courage—and his work continues.

Erez Reuveni — The Lawyer Who Refused to Lie

As a senior attorney at the Department of Justice, Erez Reuveni spent his career upholding the law. Then he was ordered to break it.

When DOJ and White House officials sought to expedite deportations under the Alien Enemies Act—defying court orders and violating constitutional rights—Reuveni was instructed to mislead a federal court.

He refused.

His disclosure exposed abuses of power at the highest levels of government. It cost him his career, but it preserved something more important: the integrity of the rule of law.

His Person of Conscience Pillar affirms that principle still matters.

Wayne Madsen — The Journalist Who Never Looked Away

Wayne Madsen has spent decades doing what journalism was built for: following the facts wherever they lead.

A former Navy intelligence officer and NSA contractor, he became a whistleblower early in his career after raising concerns about surveillance abuses. As an investigative journalist, he has reported from conflict zones, uncovered corruption, and documented human rights violations worldwide. Wayne has also been a steadfast supporter of the whistleblower community—offering guidance, context, and a platform to those stepping forward.

For his decades of service to transparency and accountability, he receives the Journalism Pillar Award. His mission continues.

Michael Stovall — The Organizer Who Refused to Let Black Farmers Be Forgotten

For more than three decades, Michael Stovall has been a lifeline for Black farmers in Alabama - many of whom have faced discrimination, land loss, and bureaucratic obstruction at the hands of the very institutions meant to support them. As a farmer, Stovall experienced firsthand the systemic barriers within the USDA. He turned that experience into a cause. 

Instead of accepting that injustice, he organized.

Michael became a central figure in the fight for equity in agricultural lending and federal farm programs, helping Black farmers navigate a system that too often shut them out. His advocacy has exposed discriminatory practices, brought national attention to rural civil rights violations, and empowered farmers who had been silenced for generations.

He has worked to ensure that Black farmers are not only heard but also protected, helping preserve family land, restore dignity, and build collective power in communities long denied both.

For this work, Michael Stovall receives the Grace Lee Boggs Pillar for Organizing, recognizing his commitment to justice, community self-determination, and the belief that ordinary people can transform systems when they stand together. His fight continues, and so does the movement he helped build.

Why These Stories – and the Awards -  Matter

Truth-telling is a thankless task. These honorees—and the many others who have joined us in this ceremony over the years - have faced retaliation, career loss, and personal attacks. They chose to speak, and they continue to speak.

We cannot compensate them for the years of sacrifice required to continue right these wrongs. But we can shine a light on the good that comes from such courage. We can remind America that in an era when truth often comes at great personal cost, there are still people willing to pay that price.

These are not former whistleblowers. They are active ones.

The award they received was not a retirement gift. It was a moment to breathe.

Because whistleblowing will never be spoken in the past tense.

It is a verb—and a fiercely active one.