Leadership Awards

Women in leadership who create impact in their communities.

We believe that every woman can be a leader no matter their age, role, job, or industry. We amplify the voices and work of women leaders who are working to build a more just, inclusive, and representative democracy. We celebrate women leaders because we know the work is hard and often without immediate reward.  

Nominations for our 2024 Leadership Awards are now open! We welcome you to nominate a woman who has inspired you or to self-nominate! Nominees must be based in Washington State so we can recognize and celebrate achievements in our communities. For inspiration read more about last year's incredible awardees below.

Our Awards

  • Emerging Woman Leader – a woman leader who is at the start of their leadership journey and is already positively affecting those around them. 

  • Leadership (Re)Defined – a woman leader who comes from a nontraditional background or career and through their initiative and actions, exemplify you can indeed lead where you land. 

  • Woman Leader of the Year – a woman leader who personifies the power and tenacity of women’s leadership in democratic societies. 

Leadership efforts that are good examples of what makes an excellent award candidate include increasing civic engagement, advocating for human and civil rights, addressing wage gaps, supporting specific communities such as the LBTQIA+ community, increasing representation of diverse and historically underrepresented groups at all levels of power, and championing causes that expand our democratic horizons. 

Focus populations may include but are not limited to women, Black, indigenous, POC, LGBTQIA+, youth, formerly incarcerated women, unhoused women, women experiencing poverty, immigrant and refugee women, women in rural areas, disabled women, those working in industries where women are underrepresented, etc. 

The Application Timeline

  • Applications open on Thursday, August 1, 2024

  • Applications close on Sunday, September 15, 2024

  • Awardees are notified on Monday, September 30, 2024

  • The Awards Celebration is held at our annual Gala on Saturday, December 7, 2024

All nominees must respect and align with our Mission and Values.


2023 Leadership Award Winners

Our award winners were celebrated at our Making Waves 2023 Gala.

Our 2023 Leadership Award Winners

  • Emily Pinckney

    Winner of our Emerging Woman Leader award!

    Emily Pinckney is a woman leader who is at the start of her career and has already shown her leadership abilities and demonstrated that she has only just begun.  

    She works as a policy and impact strategist, scientist, problem-solver, and community organizer at the cutting edge of equity and environment. She currently works as the Breaking Barriers Collaborative Project Coordinator at Climate Solutions. Highlights of her 15-year career include serving as the Executive Director for 500 Women Scientists where she worked with women worldwide to fight for abortion access and reproductive justice for all genders. She has also served on Governor Inslee’s environmental task force, the Sustainable Tacoma Commission, and the boards of Communities for a Healthy Bay, Care about Climate, Urban League, Washington Build Back Black Alliance.

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    Judge Andrea Jarmon

    Winner of our Leadership (Re)Defined award!

    Judge Andrea Jarmon is a woman leader who comes from a nontraditional background and through her initiative and actions, exemplifies that women can lead where they land.

    She was elected to the King County District Court in November 2022. Her previous positions include serving as an administrative law judge with the Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals, city prosecutor for the City of Seattle and City of Auburn, and prosecutor for the Washington State Attorney General’s Office in the Criminal, Sexually Violent Predator, and L&I divisions. Judge Jarmon’s journey to the bench started as a homeless youth using public transit and shelters for safety. Later, as a young mother experiencing domestic violence, she represented herself as she navigated the court system. She entered the legal profession to give voice and representation to people with stories like hers. From all accounts she has succeeded. Using the words of someone who has witnessed her work, she embodies the belief that when leaders especially women leaders rise and stand for others, they stand for their own success, everyone rises, and an equitable world is possible.

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    Aparna Rae

    Winner of our Woman Leader of the Year award!

    Aparna Rae leads where she lands and demonstrates the power and tenacity of women’s leadership in democratic societies.

    In her own words, she is an educator by training, innovator by chance, and a disrupter by choice. As the founder of Moving Beyond, she works with companies who demonstrate a strong commitment to reshape their companies to fully align with the goals of diversity, equity, and inclusion. She started her career as a 4th grade English-Spanish dual language teacher before starting her PhD at the University of British Columbia, which brought her to the Pacific Northwest. Among her many accomplishments, she created a program at Neighborhood House in South King County which increased on-time graduation rates of high school students. She also co-founded Project Feast, a non-profit organization that empowers refugee and immigrant cooks by preparing them for culinary careers and food entrepreneurship. She also co-founded Future for Us, a professional organization for women of color.