KACEE was honored to present the 2026 Excellence in Conservation and Environmental Education President’s Award to Kansas State Senator, marci francisco, at this year's Awards Celebration. (This is a surprise award, and, unfortunately, due to the legislative session, Senator francisco wasn't able to join us at the event, so KACEE President, Marcel Harmon, presented Senator francisco with the award in Lawrence at a later date.)

Marci has spent a lifetime championing Kansas’s environment and educating others about it, having learned much from her own mother about conservation, gardening, and taking care of what we have. An avid bicyclist, recycler, and conservation advocate, her passion for protecting the natural world began early – participating in the very first Earth Day in 1970. And that early commitment to environmental stewardship grew into a remarkable career of public service and leadership.

She got her start at the local level in Lawrence, serving in neighborhood associations and community advisory boards. By 1979 she was elected to the Lawrence City Commission, and she soon served two terms as Mayor of Lawrence in the early 1980s. During those years, she led efforts to protect the downtown, planned for new and existing neighborhoods, and launched the city’s first recycling program. Her passion for the environment and sustainability extended into her professional life, teaching in the University of Kansas’s School of Architecture as well as working in KU’s Facilities Planning & Development and the Center for Sustainability.

Because that wasn’t enough, in 2005, marci headed to Topeka after being elected a Kansas State Senator. Over the past two decades she has become a truly respected Kansas voice on various issues involving the environment, energy, and education. Early in her Senate career, she helped strengthen public school funding, something she continues working and advocating for to this day – and we need a well-funded public education system to adequately take advantage of environmental education opportunities. 

As a Senator, marci has also championed clean energy, pollution reduction, and conservation initiatives – pushing for energy efficiency in public buildings, defending Kansas’s renewable energy standards against rollbacks, promoting climate action, and helping secure additional funding for the Kansas State Water Plan to protect our water resources for future generations. And she is the current ranking minority member of the Utilities committee and the Agriculture and Natural Resources committee.

Through it all, marci has been a model of humble, effective leadership. She works across party lines, focuses on action rather than words, and is always quick to credit others. She truly believes that conservation is strongest when people understand and care about the natural world around them. Her quiet persistence and integrity have made Kansas a greener, more sustainable state and inspired countless others – from students to fellow lawmakers – to learn about and protect our environment.

Congratulations, marci!