These awards celebrate the educators inspiring and empowering the next generation of girls and women in stem.
Our goal is to recognise and celebrate the educators who are making a real impact in closing the gender gap in STEM and creating inclusive, empowering learning environments for girls and women.
After receiving an overwhelming number of nominations and an incredible response in the public vote, we are excited to introduce our 2026 STEM Educator Award winners.
From championing diversity and inclusion in the classroom to building supportive networks outside it, this year’s winners are ensuring more girls and women can see a place for themselves in tech and beyond.
Here are the categories and the winners for each:
STEM Educators of the Year
- AINSLEY LATOUR, High School Teacher, Sir James Whitney School for the Deaf
- ARABI KARTEEPAN, Head of Physics, Croydon High School
- IRIS SMIT, Lecturer in Mathematics, Delft University of Technology
- JILL JOHNSON, Teacher, Andover Elementary School
- LARA BAKER, Forensic Science Lecturer, Bishop Burton College
- LUCY HART, Teacher, Caroline Haslett School
- NEELAM HUSSAIN, Computing Lecturer, Bedford College
- NICOLE REYES, Computer Science Teacher, Albertville High School
- RACHAEL WILLIAMS, Teacher, Subject Lead for Science, Temple Ewell CEP School
- RANA ELFARRA, Biology & Forensic Science Tutor and Project Lead of Stevenage Innovation and Technology Centre
Emerging STEM Educators
- ALICE DALZIEL, CEO & Founder, Wonder Create Play
- GENEVIEVE ROSSI, Junior School Teacher, Stuartholme School
- JAZMIN MORRIS, Creative Computing Artist & Educator, Freelance
- MANSI SHARMA, Researcher & PhD Student, German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence, DFKI and Saarland University
- MARIA CREUZA BORGES DE ARAUJO, Teacher, Universidade Federal de Campina Grande
- RAKSHITHA AAKULA RAMACHANDRA, President, Women in STEM, University of Essex
- SHEBA AYINZABYONNA, Lead Facilitator, Educating the Children
- TAHIRAH NASRIN, Robotics Engineering Undergraduate, Girls Into Coding/Osmani Trust
- VANESSA MADU, Guest Teacher, London School of Economics and Political Science
- ZIVHA BEHARIE, Student, University of Essex
Community STEM Champions
- CHARLIE MACKENZIE, Founder & Director, Primary Coding League
- HANNAH WRIGHT, Founder & CEO, CirKits Ltd.
- HANNAH HAGON, CEO, Unplugged Tots
- KASHVI ARORA, Product & Growth Strategist, Community Builder, Women in Tech Advocate, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University
- NATALIE DENHAM, Faculty Convenor (Science & Health), University of Essex Students’ Union
- NICKY DANINO, Head of School, School of Computer Science, Leeds Trinity University
- PENNY SYDDALL, Digital Inclusion Lead, Dorset Council
- RUZLAINI GHONI, Associate Professor, University College TATI
- SARAH SOUTOUL, Software Engineering Trainer & Curriculum Developer, GirlCode
- SILVIJA NINKOVIC, Teacher/STEM Educator, Public Institution Primary School Georgi Stojkov Rakovski
STEM Role Models
- AMBER VILLEGAS-WILLIAMSON, Senior Consultant, Uptime Institute
- CATHRYN MITCHELL, Professor of Radio Science, University of Bath
- CHELSEA SLATER, CEO, InnovateHer
- ELISABETH SCHMOUTZIGUER BENDER, CEO, Grasple
- JOHANNA WAITE, Programme Manager, TechUp Programme
- JULIETH AGBO, Data Governance Analyst, A-Aston Technologies
- NAUREEN FARHAN, Course Leader, Ravensbourne University London
- SADIE CREESE, Professor of Cybersecurity, University of Oxford
- SANCHARI MUKHERJEE MALLICK, Product Delivery Manager, Tata Consultancy Services
- ZAYNAH ALAM, Robotics Software Engineer, Swansea University/GE Aerospace
Not-For-Profits in STEM Education
- APPS FOR GOOD
- GIRL DEVELOP IT
- GIRLS INTO CODING
- GIRLSGETSET
- GIRLSTART
- GROUNDBREAKER TALENTS
- INNOVATEHER
- KIRON OPEN HIGHER EDUCATION GGMBH
- MANCHESTER DIGITAL
- WISE CAMPAIGN
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