NEWS RELEASE 02.13.26

CLass Action Heroes Honored

Impact Fund Class Action Hall of Fame: 2026 Inductees Announced

Berkeley, 02.13.26 – Seven heroes were today inducted into the Impact Fund Class Action Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame recognizes named plaintiffs in proposed and certified class actions whose commitment and determination has led to significant advances in economic, environmental, racial, and social justice.

Impact Fund Executive Director Lindsay Nako said:

“The 2026 Impact Fund Class Action Hall of Fame inductees stood up on behalf of tens of thousands of people whose government institutions let them down, from the local sheriff’s office in Cook County, Chicago, to the Department of Defense. All are accountable to those they serve, and no one is above the law.”

The 2026 inductees are:

Sdahrie Howard, named plaintiff in the case Sdahrie Howard et al. v. Cook County Sheriff's Office.

Sdahrie Howard served as the class representative for female correctional officers at Cook County Jail in Chicago, the nation’s largest single-site correctional facility with a population of 10,000 incarcerated people and 3,000 correctional officers. The female correctional officers claimed that a hostile working environment was allowed to continue because of the negligence of management.

Although the class was later decertified by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, Sdahrie never wavered and continued to press the claims of 560 women. On the eve of trial, the county settled for over $31M and made policy changes to protect the hundreds of women officers at the jail. Sdahrie sacrificed precious time with her family to serve for seven years as an organizer, relentlessly advocating and supporting hundreds of other women who were severely traumatized by conditions at the jail.

Sdahrie said:

“To be recognized by the Class Action Hall of Fame is not something I ever imagined when this journey began. I did not set out to make legal history. I set out to survive. I set out to protect my dignity and respect. I set out to tell the truth when silence felt safer. And yet, here my story now lives, alongside others who dared to challenge injustice and use the law as a tool for collective accountability.”

Sherrill Farrell, Steve Egland, James Gonzalez, Hayden Powell, Jules Sohn, and Lilly Steffanides, class representatives in the case Farrell et al. v. United States et al. Lilly passed away shortly after the case was settled and is being inducted into the hall of fame posthumously.

Sherrill Farrell and her fellow named plaintiffs alleged that LGBTQ+ veterans discharged under the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy and earlier bans on LGBTQ+ military service were further harmed by discharge records that referenced sexual orientation and, in some cases, discharge statuses less than “Honorable.”

The case achieved significant relief for more than 30,000 LGBTQ+ veterans nationwide. Through the negotiated settlement, approved in 2025, veterans will be able to obtain corrected paperwork from their military branches that no longer references their sexual orientation and will be able to access an expedited process for upgrades to their discharge status (if not listed as “Honorable”) for the next three years. The case challenged systemic bias in the military and pushed the government toward greater accountability and equitable treatment of LGBTQ+ veterans.

The bravery of the named plaintiffs forced the Department of Defense to confront the enduring harms of its policies and to begin restoring honor and benefits to those who served with integrity. By standing up to a powerful institution, the plaintiffs turned their personal pain into collective progress, helping reframe the narrative of LGBTQ+ military service from one of exclusion to one of equality and recognition.

Jules Sohn said:

“We are grateful to the Impact Fund and its partners, and to every veteran who stood with us. We have shed blood, sweat, and tears together. And we will continue to fight—for dignity, equality, and the truth that our service always mattered.”

The Impact Fund Class Action Hall of Fame was conceived in 2016 as a way to acknowledge the exceptional courage and sacrifice of lead plaintiffs in civil rights class actions.

 “The benefits of class action litigation can only be realized with the leadership of ordinary individuals willing to stand up to power,” concluded Nako.

ENDS 

For more information and photography, contact:

Teddy Basham-Witherington 415.845.1206 / twitherington@impactfund.org

About The Impact Fund

The Impact Fund was founded in December 1992 to help advance economic, environmental, racial, and social justice through the courts. Originally envisioned as a purely grantmaking organization, the Impact Fund has made 823 grants totaling $10,677,129. Click here for Grant Criteria and information about Grant Deadlines.  

Since its inception, the Impact Fund has grown to include both advocacy and education in its range of services. Today, the Impact Fund litigates a small number of cases directly, authors amicus briefs, and provides consulting to civil rights practitioners free of charge.

The Impact Fund also presents an annual conference for plaintiff-side class action practitioners, a training institute for budding public interest class action practitioners, and numerous seminars and webinars.  Its latest initiative, the Notice Project, creates solutions to improve class action notices. Click here for the 2025 Annual Report.

www.impactfund.org

What Is A Class Action?

A class action is a type of lawsuit in which one or more individuals sue on behalf of a larger group of people to obtain legal remedies like an injunction, a declaration that a law or practice is unconstitutional, or damages.