Women in Education Awards announces 2020 winners
In its fourth year, WIE – organised by Lead5050 – announced the winners in a fully live and interactive event, with founding partner of Global Ed Professionals Lisa Besso receiving the Lifetime Achievement award.
“To be recognised for supporting others is really humbling, as I know so many are doing so much”
“In a particularly challenging year for the industry due to the pandemic, 2020 women have emerged as strong beacons of light for the industry and there has never been a better time to celebrate their achievements,” Lead5050 said.
“These professionals have changed workplaces, student communities, and lives.”
Founding partner of Global Ed Professionals Lisa Besso – winner of the 2020 Lifetime Achievement award – said she was “so honoured, and so humbled” to receive the recognition at “such a pivotal moment in our industry and in my career”.
“We’re all faced with the need to re-examine ourselves, our work and, indeed our life’s work, and we all need to be prepared to reinvent ourselves in the face of a changing context. We can’t be afraid to take risks in ways that we may not have been comfortable talking at other times,” she told The PIE.
“In taking stock of where I’ve been in my career, I see that where I’ve taken the greatest risks, the rewards have also been the greatest. I encourage everyone to go past the comfortable and embrace the momentary discomfort that risk taking brings, and let that be a motivator to what lies ahead.”
Winner of the Mentor award, director and co founder of UK Education Guide Pat Moores added she was “delighted and amazed to win”.
“[These are] such tough times for everyone in the international education market at the moment, so to be recognised for supporting others is really humbling, as I know so many are doing so much,” she noted.
Inspirational Woman of the Year#WIEAWARDS2020 pic.twitter.com/6KSYkA7bZ0
— Lead5050 (@lead5050) October 9, 2020
The full list of winners includes:
Enlightened Employer: Elite Journey
Charitable Endeavour: O Mundo é de Todo Mundo (The World is for Everyone)
Champion of Change: Amira Eldib, The American University in Cairo
Unsung Hero: Emma English, BETA (British Educational Travel Association)
Teacher/Academic Director: Claire-Marie Cuthbert, The Evolve Trust
Mentor: Pat Moores, UK Education Guide
Inspirational Woman: Silvia Diaz Queipo, Language Kingdom
Rising Star: Kaitlin Farris, Shorelight Education
Lifetime Achievement: Lisa Besso