October 1, 2025 — LOS ANGELES, CA — Women in Research (WIRe), a global non-profit organization that champions diversity in the marketing research industry, has announced a shortlist of nominees for this year's MRX Diversity Champion award—presented in partnership with ESOMAR and FUEL + The Focus Room. The award acknowledges individuals who are positively impacting the lives of others and the industry with their significant efforts in promoting diversity. This year, Women in Research has received over 35 submissions, nominating a total of 29 professionals in the field of market research and insights.
The award nominees, in alphabetical order, are:
Aarti Mishra Tripathi, AMT Market Research
Abidemi Biodun-Oladoye
Allison Small Darwin Research Group
Anne Brown, Gazelle Global
Brittany Nicols, InnovateMR + Ivy Exec SVP
Dana Keilman, Morning Light Strategy
Danielle Todd, The Forge and WIRe London
Dr. Clarisse Warren, Ph.D, Olinger
Dr. Sharon Morris
Edna Thiong'o, BTC Group
Elly Simmons, Novo Nordisk
Erin Sattenfield, The Link Group
Faith James, She Lab
Jocelyn Reyes, Research Results
Kai Fuentes, Ebony Marketing Systems
Karin Lieshout, SKIM
Makeda Mays Green & Dr. Colleen Russo Johnson
Mehra Jehangir, System1
Michele McCorry, Behaviorally
Mika Turner, InnovateMR
Naomi Gooblar, Field Sauce
Naz Tuğtekin, Bolt Insight
Nirmala Metwal, Mondelez International
Pam Cusick, Rare Patient Voice
Senamile Zungu, Kantar South Africa
Tikica Benjamin, VIbe Market Research Conference
Tim Cornelius, P3 Technology
Verena Papik , Talkalytics
Zontziry Johnson, MRXplorer
Nominations for the award commenced earlier in the year, seeking individuals who epitomize the core principles of respect, dignity, autonomy, and equality. The esteemed panel of judges will carefully deliberate to choose this year's winners, with the official announcement scheduled to take place at the ESOMAR NA conference in Washington D.C. this November. The judging cohort comprises WIRe Founder Kristin Luck, ESOMAR Congress Councilwoman and InnovateMR’s Sandy Casey, WIRe Advisory Board member and former Diversity Champion Mario Carrasco from ThinkNow, and WIRe in Color program chair Shazia Ginai.
####
About WIRe
Women in Research (WIRe) is a global non-profit that champions diversity in the marketing research industry, supporting events and educational programming across five continents. WIRe programming facilitates leadership, entrepreneurship, mentoring and other career development goals. WIRe’s mission is to foster inclusion and advance the contributions and voice of women and other marginalized groups in research, both for themselves and the greater good of the market research industry. womeninresearch.org
About FUEL + Focus Room
FUEL + Focus Room delivers global front-to-back fieldwork management for all your online and in-person qualitative and quantitative research needs. From U.S. nationwide qualitative recruiting to management of international multi-country studies, our consultative and powerful team is equipped to handle it all. Backed by a worldwide network of heavily vetted teams and 24/7 support, we mobilize moderators, recruiters, data experts, facilities, translators, and more—delivering dependable research that empowers clients to make decisions with clarity and confidence. fuelyourworld.com | focusroom.com
About ESOMAR
ESOMAR is the global voice of the data, research and insights community. Since 1947 ESOMAR’s aim has been to promote the value of data, research, and insights in effective decision-making.
ESOMAR facilitates an on-going dialogue with its 5,500+ individual members, 500+ corporate members and 40,000+ community in over 130 countries, through the promotion of a comprehensive programme of industry specific and thematic conferences, publications and best practice guidelines. ESOMAR also provides ethical guidance and actively promotes self-regulation in partnership with a number of associations across the globe.
All ESOMAR members, as well as their company contact details, are listed in the ESOMAR Members search. Members agree to abide by the ICC/ESOMAR International Code on Market and Social Research, which has been jointly drafted by ESOMAR and the International Chamber of Commerce and is endorsed by the major national and international professional bodies around the world. esomar.org