PA Humanities Announces 125 New Window Keepers, Bringing Statewide Total to 180

Final group joins The Window Keeper: Civic Honors ahead of Nov. 10 statewide celebration in Harrisburg

PA Humanities has announced the final group of 125 honorees selected through The Window Keeper: Civic Honors, bringing the total number of Window Keepers recognized across Pennsylvania to 180.

The 125 new Window Keepers were nominated by people in their own communities and join 55 honorees announced earlier this year. Together, they reflect the many ways Pennsylvanians use the humanities to bring people together and strengthen the places they call home, including storytelling, history, culture, education, and civic engagement.

Window Keepers are neighbors, educators, artists, historians, librarians, journalists, volunteers, and other community leaders whose everyday actions have a lasting impact.

PA Humanities received nominations spanning all 67 Pennsylvania counties, drawing interest from communities across the Commonwealth. The final Window Keepers were selected through a review process led by a committee that included PA Humanities staff, board members, and other cultural leaders. 

Altogether, the 180 selected Window Keepers represent 64 counties across Pennsylvania. The full group can be explored at pahumanities.org/thewindowkeeper, where PA Humanities features a searchable list of honorees and an interactive map.

“What this initiative has revealed is the extraordinary depth of leadership and service at work across Pennsylvania,” PA Humanities executive director Laurie Zierer said. “These Window Keepers are strengthening civic life, preserving stories and history, and bringing people together every day. PA Humanities has a unique role in finding that leadership, making it visible and connecting people across regions and sectors so their knowledge, relationships and impact can reach farther.”

The Window Keeper: Civic Honors was created as part of the nation’s 250th anniversary and inspired by poet Yolanda Wisher’s “The Window Keeper,” commissioned by PA Humanities and ArtPhilly for America250PA’s National Convening of State Partners in 2024. In the poem, the Declaration of Independence is imagined as the windows of a skyscraper that must be continually cleaned, clarified, and cared for. The Civic Honors initiative carries that idea forward by recognizing Pennsylvanians whose everyday work strengthens civic life and helps their communities thrive.

The program began on April 15, 2026, when Rep. Joe Ciresi (D-146) opened the Pennsylvania House session with a reading of Wisher’s poem and previewed the Civic Honors initiative ahead of its public launch. Later that month, PA Humanities announced 25 inaugural Window Keepers and opened nominations statewide. Thirty additional Window Keepers, all nominated by people in their communities, were announced in July. 

Through the public nomination process, Pennsylvanians were invited to recognize the people whose work makes a difference where they live. The result is a growing statewide portrait of civic life, community leadership, and the humanities in action.

On Nov. 10, the initiative will return to Harrisburg, where Wisher and Zierer are scheduled to be recognized on the floor of the Pennsylvania House.

“Yolanda Wisher’s work as Montgomery County’s inaugural Poet Laureate has long been an inspiration, and The Window Keeper offered a powerful way to think about the people who care for and strengthen our communities every day,” said Rep. Joe Ciresi (D-146). “I was proud to help bring that message to the House floor, and just as proud to take part in the initiative myself by nominating people whose service deserves recognition. PA Humanities has done something special in carrying that idea across the Commonwealth and giving communities the opportunity to recognize the people making a difference right where they live.”

Also on the November 10 agenda, PA Humanities will host a statewide celebration at the Civic Club of Harrisburg. Sponsored by Erie Insurance, the event will bring Window Keepers together with public leaders and state partners for recognition, conversation, and opportunities to build connections across regions.

“At Erie Insurance, service and strong relationships have been part of who we are for more than a century,” said Christy Blashock, VP of Corporate Sustainability and Community Development Officer, Erie Insurance. “We’re proud to help bring Pennsylvania’s Window Keepers together and recognize the dedication they bring to serving others and strengthening their communities.”

The celebration reflects PA Humanities’ broader work to engage networks of humanities practitioners across the Commonwealth. For more than 50 years, PA Humanities has championed storytelling, dialogue, history, and reflection as ways to strengthen communities, expand participation in civic life, and help Pennsylvanians better understand one another.

Explore the 125 newest Window Keepers:

All 180 Window Keepers can be viewed on an interactive map at pahumanities.org/thewindowkeeper.

The Window Keeper: Civic Honors initiative is supported in part by Pennsylvania state legislators, the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, the National Endowment for the Arts, and individual donor Randall M. Miller. The November 10th Window Keeper celebration in Harrisburg is sponsored by Erie Insurance. “The Window Keeper” by Yolanda Wisher was commissioned by PA Humanities and ArtPhilly for America250PA’s National Convening of State Partners Closing Dinner on September 21, 2024.