Here Are the 2019 Rad Awards Nominees

Courtesy photo

Philly’s annual Rad Awards, which celebrates the city’s most inspiring women, turns five this year and continues to grow in its joyous impact and popularity. Over the past few years, the ceremony has identified the city’s most impassioned firebrands, and it plans to celebrate and honor the work of these local movers and shakers once again this year. The 54 nominees this year are making big change in our city across a number of industries and in 13 categories including Entrepreneur of the Year, Connector of the Year, and Rad Girl and Rad Guy of the Year.

Rad Girls founder Leah Kauffman said the organization received 473 nominations, up almost 200 from 2018. This is the third year Rad Girls accepted reader-submitted nominations. “Every single one of our nominees is working to change the fundamental building blocks of society for the benefit of the generations to come,” Kauffman told Philadelphia magazine. “These nominees are the future leaders of Philadelphia.”

Before you scroll down to the list of nominees below, be sure to claim your ticket to the 2019 Rad Awards held at the Kimpton Hotel Palomar this year on Friday, April 26th. And you can expect a few changes at the event. While the awards will be filled with its usual elements including refreshments, a roaming photographer and photo booth, Kauffman says they will “find new and creative ways” to recognize all of the nominees, including visual displays and a wearable item such as a pin. You can secure your tickets here.

Here are the 2019 Rad Award nominees:

Nonprofit of the Year

• Girls Inc. | Dena R. Herrin, Executive Director
• Music Theatre Philly | Mindy Baiada, Founder
• Delaware Valley Fields Foundation | Laura Fields, Founder
• The Bee Foundation | Christine Kondra and Erin Kreszl, Founders

Entrepreneur of the Year

• Sabeen Zia | Founder, Indie Shelf
• Kriti Sehgal | Owner, Pure Fare
• Melissa Walter | Cofounder, Love City Brewing Co.
• Helen Horstmann-Allen | COO, Fastmail

Technologist of the Year

• Felicite Moorman | CEO, BuLogics, Inc.,
• Amber Burgess | Technical Project Manager, Linode
• Lauren Hallden-Abberton | Lead product designer at Stitch Data
• Alina d’Aubermont | Director of Product at Ring

Scientist of the Year

• Taciana Pereira | Director of Bioengineering at Allevi
• Sharon L. Walker, PhD | Dean, Drexel College of Engineering
• Women In Physics Club | Ana Cohen, Elizabeth Dresselhaus, Camilla Schneier, Kalina Slavkova, and Angela White
• Briana Wronko | Founder & CEO, Group K Diagnostics

Artist of the Year

• Shanina Dionna | Visual and Performing Artist
• Marisa Velázquez Rivas | Illustrator
• Loveis Wise | Illustrator
• Nicole Alexis Nikolich | Lace in the Moon

Educator of the Year

• Ileana Berrios | Founder, Breastfeeding Latinas
• Dr. Terri Boyer | Founding Director, The Anne Welsh McNulty Institute for Women’s Leadership
• Melissa Lee | CEO, The Green Program
• Anastasia Colzie | Education Coordinator, Slought

Product of the Year

• Tozuda | Jessie Garcia, Founder
• Prime Wellness of Pennsylvania | Sharon Ali, CEO
• PiperWai | Jess Edelstein and Sarah Ribner, Cofounders
• Luci | Heather Jones, Founder

Connector of the Year

• Heather Qader | Senior Aide to the CEO at La Colombe Coffee Roasters
• Jill Harrison-Snyder | Executive Director and Founder of Directors Gathering
• Kristin Fitch | Director, Marketing at University City Science Center
• Elisa Bloom | Executive Director, Philadelphia Fashion Incubator

Innovator of the Year

• Alanna Raffel | Founder, Access Point
• Lisha Davis | Head of Vanguard Innovation Studio
• Aurora Archer | Founder/CEO at Bellatrix Group
• Eliza Pollack | Assistant Director of Innovation Strategy for the City of Philadelphia Office of Innovation & Technology

Storyteller of the Year

• Sabrina Vourvoulias | Generocity Editor
• Hillary Rea | Founder, Tell Me A Story
• Kathy Romano | Host of 95.7 BEN FM’s Her Story
• Katel LeDû and Sara Wachter-Boettcher | Hosts, Strong Feelings Podcast

Activist of the Year

• Afia Yunus | Principal attorney and founder of Yunus Law
• Katelyn Bowden | CEO/Founder of Badass (Battling Against Demeaning and Abusive Selfie Sharing)
• Ashley Vogel | Women Bike PHL
• Lauren Footman | Director of Operations, Black and Brown Gun Violence Prevention Consortium

Rad Guy of the Year

• Geoff DiMasi | Principal, P’unk Ave
• David Silver | Co-Founder & CEO of REC Philly
• Bon Ku | Assistant Dean for Health and Design at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University
• Lee Whack | Deputy Chief of Communications School District of Philadelphia

Rad Girl of the Year

• Hazami Sayed | Founder & Executive Director, Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture
• Zabeth Teelucksingh | Executive Director, Global Philadelphia Association
• Kim E. Fraites-Dow | CEO of the Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania (GSEP)
• Raquel Evita Saraswati | Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations at Family Equality Council