PLU Professor Emerita Sheri Tonn receives 2026 Greater Tacoma Peace Prize
By Britt Board
Assistant Director of Communications
For decades, Sheri Tonn, a former PLU chemistry professor and administrator, has worked to make Puget Sound healthier and, in her view, more peaceful.
The PLU professor emerita of chemistry has been named the 2026 Greater Tacoma Peace Prize Laureate, recognizing her longstanding commitment to environmental justice, community health, conservation, and peace-building. The Greater Tacoma Peace Prize honors individuals and organizations whose work advances peace globally and locally. Tonn will be celebrated at an award event on November 12, 2026.
“As I see it, environmental justice, social justice, and peace are inextricably linked,” Tonn says. “A polluted environment or social inequity means you have people who are adversely affected – not a road to peace.”
Tonn joined PLU’s chemistry department in 1979 and went on to serve in several university leadership roles, including Dean of Natural Sciences, Dean of Information Resources, and Vice President for Finance and Operations. Throughout her career, she worked with PLU students through environmental advocacy, internships, and environmental monitoring projects.
That kind of work extended far beyond campus. Tonn co-founded Communities for a Healthy Bay in 1990 and continues to serve on its board and chair the Policy and Technical Committee. Her work has focused on the marine, estuary, and river environments in the region, including decades of advocacy for Commencement Bay.
As I see it, environmental justice, social justice, and peace are inextricably linked,” Tonn says. “A polluted environment or social inequity means you have people who are adversely affected – not a road to peace.
That sustained commitment has not gone unnoticed. Tonn’s contributions have earned recognition throughout her career, including the State Association for Women in Science Award for Science and Leadership in 2021 and the American Chemical Society Puget Sound Section’s Volunteer of the Year award in 2025.
Decades into that work, Tonn remains focused on what comes next. “Getting past pollution cleaned up and stopping recontamination has been my driving passion for Commencement Bay,” Tonn shares. “Our waters are cleaner today than they were 40 years ago, but humans keep finding new ways to pollute them. I look forward to continued diligence by current and future generations.”