W&L Announces 2026 Distinguished Young Alumni Award Winners Bren Flanigan ’16 and Madison Sanders ’16 will be recognized during Young Alumni Weekend.

Office of Alumni Engagement
September 11, 2026

Washington and Lee University’s 2026 Distinguished Young Alumni Award winners, Bren Flanigan ’16 and Madison Sanders ’16, will be celebrated during Young Alumni Weekend, Sept. 25-27. The award recognizes outstanding contributions to W&L, community service and personal and professional achievements.

James “Bren” Flanigan ’16

A native of Carthage, Missouri, Bren Flanigan earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and global politics, with a minor in classics, from Washington and Lee University in 2016. As a student, he was assistant head hearing adviser, vice president of the Student Recruitment Committee, a volunteer with Campus Kitchen, a state delegate for Mock Convention, studied abroad and was a member of Phi Gamma Delta. In 2016, he received the Schlegel Scholarship for International Studies.

From 2016 to 2018, Flanigan spent more than two years in Benin as a community economic development adviser and Peace Corps volunteer, advising local organizations on economic development strategies, including budgeting, marketing and growth. As a volunteer, Flanigan wrote an op-ed on the role of the Peace Corps in U.S. foreign policy that was published by The Washington Post. Following his Peace Corps service, Flanigan earned a master’s degree in international affairs from Columbia University. He then returned to West Africa as a Fulbright scholar in economics in Niamey, Niger, where he conducted research on the effects of droughts and floods on microvendors in the informal economy.

Flanigan joined the U.S. Department of State as a foreign service officer in July 2022. His first diplomatic assignment was a posting at the U.S. Embassy in Dhaka, Bangladesh. During Bangladesh’s 2024 student-led revolution, Flanigan served as acting counselor for public affairs, leading the embassy’s press and media operations. He remained in Dhaka with a core group of U.S. diplomats as the previous Bangladeshi government collapsed, the prime minister fled and the embassy evacuated most Americans. He earned the State Department’s Superior Honor Award for his work in Bangladesh.

Flanigan’s second diplomatic posting is at the U.S. Embassy in London, where he works under the leadership of Warren A. Stephens ’79, P’12, the current U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom.

Flanigan has remained closely engaged with W&L since graduation. He is president of the London alumni chapter, has served on reunion and gift committees and has volunteered as a speaker and panelist. Flanigan is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He speaks Bengali and French.

Madison Sanders ’16

Madison Sanders earned a bachelor’s degree in economics, with a minor in poverty and human capability studies, from Washington and Lee University in 2016. As a student, Sanders served as a member of the Mock Convention Steering Committee, chair of Kathekon and president of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. Sanders also completed an internship through the Shepherd Program, studied abroad, served as a pre-orientation trip leader and was active in Reformed University Fellowship. Sanders was a member of Omicron Delta Kappa, a national leadership society.

After graduating from W&L, Sanders moved to Washington, D.C., where Sanders worked for the Lewin Group, a national healthcare and human services consulting firm. While at Lewin, Sanders advised the Office of Head Start under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, monitoring and evaluating early childhood education programs across the country. Sanders stayed connected with W&L during this time through participation in the Elrod Fellowship program.

In 2019, Sanders returned to Georgia to pursue a master’s degree in social work from the University of Georgia. After graduation, Sanders joined Family Promise of Athens as service director and, shortly after, assumed the role of executive director. At Family Promise, a nonprofit organization that seeks to prevent and end homelessness for families with children, Sanders has led the organization’s strategic direction and fundraising. Sanders has also led communitywide efforts to reduce homelessness through leadership roles with the Athens Homeless Coalition.

Sanders has remained closely engaged with W&L since graduation. Sanders was a student caller for the W&L Fund and served on the Senior Gift Committee as an undergraduate, then served as an undergraduate class agent for the W&L Fund from 2018 to 2025. Sanders has been a member of the Shepherd Advisory Board since 2023 and has regularly participated in panels and classes as a speaker for the poverty program. Sanders is currently a member of the Reunion Class Committee, a role also held ahead of Sanders’ fifth reunion. Madison and Mark Sanders ’15 live in Athens, Georgia, with their two young children.