University of New Mexico honors 2026 Paul Bartlett Ré Peace Prize recipients

The University of New Mexico announced recently the recipients of the 2026 Paul Bartlett Ré Peace Prize, a biennial award recognizing individuals who have made significant contributions to fostering peace, compassion and human understanding.

The prize honors UNM students, faculty, staff, alumni, retirees and volunteers whose work promotes harmony and service within communities around the world.

The awards will be presented during a virtual ceremony Thursday, May 21, from 1 to 2:30 p.m. MDT. The event will be held via Zoom and will include a virtual tour of the Paul Ré Museum.

2026 Award Recipients

Barbara Kurcaba Kunz
2026 Paul Bartlett Ré Peace Prize Recipient

Barbara Kurcaba Kunz, a 1972 UNM graduate with a degree in psychology, is recognized for her contributions to reflexology education, research and healing practices. Alongside her husband, Kevin Kunz, she has led workshops internationally since 1980 and authored dozens of books translated into multiple languages.

Kunz authored and illustrated one of the first comprehensive textbooks on reflexology, helping make the practice more accessible to practitioners and patients worldwide. She is currently involved in a five-year fMRI research project studying the effectiveness of reflexology and its role in improving quality of life for individuals experiencing pain and illness.

Sallie Downs
2026 Paul Bartlett Ré Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient

Sallie Downs, a distinguished 1976 UNM graduate, is being recognized for her leadership in advancing human rights, historical remembrance and healing through the arts.

Downs played a major role in bringing the internationally recognized "Violins of Hope" project to Birmingham, Alabama. The project restored violins once owned by Jewish prisoners during the Holocaust and transformed them into symbols of resilience and peace. Her work helped inspire the PBS documentary Dreams of Hope, which earned two Emmy Awards, 13 Telly Awards and numerous additional honors.

Downs also helped establish a $1 million fund through the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham to preserve and expand the mission of Violins of Hope for future generations. Her decision to donate her Lifetime Achievement Award honorarium further reflects her commitment to education, remembrance and human dignity.

Mark Goldman
2026 Paul Bartlett Ré Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient

Mark Goldman, lecturer II in the Construction Technology Department at UNM-Taos, is being honored for a career dedicated to architecture, sustainable design and service-centered community work.

After studying art and architecture at the Boston Architectural College, Goldman moved to Taos in 1991 and immersed himself in Indigenous and Spanish adobe building traditions. He describes his work as creating "livable clay sculpture," blending sustainability, craftsmanship and cultural preservation.

Goldman has devoted much of his work to community-focused projects serving vulnerable populations. He helped design facilities for the Dream Tree Project, which supports abused, neglected and addicted teens, and later expanded similar work through Veterans Off Grid in Carson, New Mexico. Through extensive pro bono architectural work and mentorship, Goldman has helped provide housing and support for veterans experiencing post-traumatic stress.

Layla Dehaiman
2026 Paul Bartlett Ré Career Achievement Award Recipient

Layla Dehaiman, a lecturer in the UNM College of Education & Human Services, is recognized for her leadership in restorative conflict resolution and peace-centered educational practices.

Her work through the Circle Keepers Partnership at Garfield Middle School in Albuquerque has helped create restorative school environments focused on accountability, healing, dignity and belonging. Through partnerships between UNM and local schools, Dehaiman has helped develop leadership and restorative justice practices among students and educators while promoting alternatives to exclusionary discipline.

Colleagues and students describe her as a compassionate educator whose work bridges theory and practice while advancing collective care and meaningful dialogue.

About Paul Ré
Paul Ré is an Albuquerque-based artist, author and humanitarian whose work explores the intersection of art, science, peace and transcendence. A graduate of the California Institute of Technology, where he earned a degree in physics with honors in 1972, Ré has spent more than four decades creating art centered on interconnectedness, harmony and humanity's shared relationship with the natural world.

Ré is widely known for The Dance of the Pencil: Serene Art by Paul Ré and for his Touchable Art exhibitions designed for both blind and sighted audiences. His work has been exhibited in museums and galleries across the United States, including the Albuquerque Museum, the UNM Jonson Gallery, the Colorado Springs Museum and the Karpeles Museum in New York.

His art has received praise from figures ranging from Georgia O'Keeffe to Nobel Prize-winning scientists Richard Feynman, Kip Thorne and Roger Sperry. Drawing from physics, philosophy, yoga and meditation, Ré developed a distinctive body of hybrid hand-digital artwork known as "Réograms."

Through his artwork and writings, Ré advocates for peace, environmental stewardship and human connection. He established the Paul Bartlett Ré Peace Prize through the University of New Mexico Foundation to recognize individuals whose work advances peace across disciplines and communities.

For more information about the Peace Prize and full biographies of this year's recipients, visit paulre.org. Visitors can also explore Ré's publications, including The Dance of the Pencil and the award-winning Art, Peace and Transcendence: Réograms that Elevate and Unite, available through UNM Press.