Public voting for the prestigious overall Merseyside Woman of the Year (MWOTY) is now open as the countdown to the award’s belated 10th anniversary edition begins.
Eighteen courageous and inspirational women making a difference in Merseyside have been revealed as finalists in the Merseyside Women of the Year Awards 2022.
- Afrah Qassim – CEO and Founder, Savera UK (Liverpool)
- Amanda O’Keefe – Beauty Therapist and Charity Fundraiser (Wirral)
- Ashton Tansey – Founder, Doyenne Network (Liverpool)
- Barbara Rouse – Community Volunteer (Sefton)
- Colette Goulding – Assistant CEO, The Big Help Project (Liverpool)
- Dawn Coker – CEO, Access2Funding (Wirral)
- Debbie Rogers – Founder, Sean’s Place (Sefton)
- Deborah Stephens – CEO, Fun 4 Kidz and Community Volunteer (Sefton)
- Ithalia Forel – Co-Director, Movema (Liverpool)
- Jennifer Greenan – Co-founder and Director of E-Verve Energy Ltd (St Helens)
- Jubeda Khatun – Director, BlackFest (Liverpool)
- Karina Molby – Founder, Designer & Creative Director, Molby the Label (Wirral)
- Lynsay Armbruster – Detective Inspector, Merseyside Police (Liverpool)
- Natalie Denny – Writer, EDI Consultant for Anthony Walker Foundation and Director of Skywriters LTD (Liverpool)
- Dr Natalie Kenny – CEO, BioGrad Group (Liverpool)
- Olivia Hanlon – Founder, Girls in Marketing (Liverpool)
- Rachel Daley – Founder, Positivitree (Wirral)
- Rebecca Taylor – CEO, Aquarate (Liverpool)
With judges’ votes counted, the finalists will now be put to a public vote to determine who will be the overall Merseyside Woman of the Year 2022 will be, with voting open online now.
The MWOTY awards, a much-loved celebration of exceptional women from across the region, will return to the Crowne Plaza in Liverpool City Centre on Friday 1st July, following a two-year hiatus.
The pandemic meant that the awards missed its official 10th anniversary year in 2020, but excitement is now ramping up for what Founding Director and inaugural ‘Woman of the Year’, Ellie Kerr, is affectionately calling the awards “Twelvety Tenth” anniversary ceremony.
Ellie said: “It might officially be MWOTY’s twelfth year, but we’re determined to make up for lost time in celebrating our milestone tenth anniversary – and what a line-up of truly fantastic finalists we have to help us do that!
“As ever, I was bowled over by the quality of the entries and humbled by the fantastic women we have in our region. Every one of them is already a winner in our eyes and we’re looking forward to celebrating them and their achievements at our ‘Twelvety Tenth’ ceremony in July.”
Speaking on behalf of headline sponsor, Hill Dickinson, Partner, Kerstie Skeaping, said: “The calibre of entries was, as always, incredibly high this year with some truly inspiring stories from a diverse range of women across the region. We are very proud to be headline sponsors at this year’s event and to celebrate the success of Merseyside’s brilliant women.
“The judging panel had a very difficult time deciding on who to shortlist in each category, given the number of worthy entries to choose from. We thoroughly enjoyed reading all of the stories and just wish we could give everyone an award.
“Today’s voting announcement marks an exciting stage in the competition as the awards ceremony draws closer and we eagerly anticipate the news of who this year’s shining stars will be.”
Renowned for putting a spotlight on those women who do not seek the limelight or push themselves to the front, but instead work to make a difference to the people, sectors and communities they serve, the awards have grown in popularity and impact since their establishment in 2010.
The overall Merseyside Woman of the Year 2022 will be selected from all finalists, following a public vote (contributing 50% of the overall score) and being marked by the organisation’s judging panel against its criteria, contributing the remaining 50% of the final score. The public vote is open until Friday 10th June 2022.
The coveted top prize will be presented by headline sponsor Hill Dickinson and category sponsors for 2022 include Community Foundation for Merseyside, Courage & Sparkle, Everton FC, Financial Planning Corporation, Neo Community and ADDvanced Solutions.
To find out more about Merseyside Woman of the Year, visit the website.