Foundation is transitioning out of the following program areas: Avoidable Blindness Catholic Education Multiple Sclerosis Substance Use Prevention Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize The Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize is awarded annually by the foundation. It was inaugurated in 1996 and is the largest humanitarian award in the world. Its annual award of USD 1.5 million was increased in 2015 to 2 million to commemorate its 20th Hilton Humanitarian Prize laureate, Landesa. It is currently larger than any one of the six Nobel Prizes. Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize Laureates 1996 – Operation Smile 1997 – International Rescue Committee 1998 – Médecins Sans Frontières 1999 – African Medical and Research Foundation 2000 – Casa Alianza 2001 – St Christopher's Hospice 2002 – SOS Children's Villages 2003 – International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims 2004 – Heifer International 2005 – Partners in Health 2006 – Women for Women International 2007 – Tostan Organization 2008 – BRAC 2009 – Program for Appropriate Technology in Health 2010 – Aravind Eye Care System 2011 – Handicap International 2012 – HelpAge International 2013 – ECPAT 2014 – Fountain House & Clubhouse International. 2015 – Landesa 2016 – The Task Force for Global Health 2017 – International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh 2018 – Shining Hope for Communities 2019 – METAdrasi Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize Jury Gro Harlem Brundtland, former director general, World Health Organization; former prime minister of Norway Leymah Gbowee, founder and president of the Gbowee Peace Foundation Africa Hawley Hilton McAuliffe, board of directors, Conrad N. Hilton Foundation Mark Rosenberg, MD, MPP, board of directors, Conrad N. Hilton Foundation Zainab Salbi, founder, Women for Women International; TV host; author Ann M. Veneman, former executive director, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF; former United States Secretary of Agriculture Leadership Conrad Hilton's granddaughter, Hawley Hilton McAULIFFE, became chair of the board January 2021, superseding Steven M. Hilton, who was the chairman of the organization for most of its existence. He started working at the foundation in 1983 and served as its CEO from 2005 to 2015. Hilton retired as president and CEO, and was succeeded by Peter Laugharn. In his retirement announcement, Hilton said, “When I joined the Hilton Foundation in 1983, I couldn’t imagine the path that lay ahead. At that time, a handful of staff guided about $6 million in grants annually. Fast forward to today, and we have grown to a