Photo courtesy of the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association
Sheila Coates was recognized by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association
On George Washington’s 294th birthday weekend, the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association (MVLA) honored Sheila B. Coates, founder and president of Black Women United for Action (BWUFA), with its esteemed Ann Pamela Cunningham Medal. Coates received the award at a gala Washington birthday dinner Feb. 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, Coates emphasized that the recognition reflects a collective legacy.
Photo courtesy of Mount Vernon Ladies' Association
The Cunningham Medal
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, 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
Coates joins a distinguished group of past Cunningham Medal recipients, including Karen Buchwald Wright, the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, Jim Rees, and Jack Evans.
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.
