Lee Svitak Dean & Tom Wallace - 2026 Special Recognition
After four decades as a food
reporter and editor at the Star
Tribune, Lee Svitak Dean joined
with her sister Linda Svitak and
Christin Eaton to collaborate on a
cookbook celebrating
immigration, with proceeds to
benefit The Advocates for Human
Rights. Kitchens of Hope:
Immigrants Share Stories of
Resilience and Recipes from
Home, a four-year project, was
published last summer as
immigration landed on the front
page of newspapers.
Tom Wallace had an awardwinning career in small-town
community journalism before
arriving at the Star Tribune as a
photographer and photo editor.
He brought those skills to The
Advocates for Human Rights,
where he collaborated with the
Kitchens of Hope team. He spent
months photographing both the
contributors and their culinary
specialties.