November 6th, 2025 — Washington D.C. — Women in Research (WIRe), a global non-profit organization that champions diversity in the marketing research industry, has announced the winners of their ninth-annual WIRe MRX Diversity Champion award. WIRe partnered with ESOMAR and FUEL + Focus Room to celebrate the occasion during the ESOMAR North America conference in Washington D.C. today. This year’s Gold and Silver award winners are Morning Light Strategy CEO Dana Keilman and Gazelle Global Founder Anne Brown respectively. 

After a 25-year career in Consumer Insights, Gold winner Dana Keilman co-founded Morning Light Strategy along with Nicole Munsey to shine a spotlight on two often-overlooked groups in conversations about inclusion: older adults and caregivers. These audiences are often absent from boardrooms and brand briefs and face persistent stereotypes in marketing, if they’re represented at all. Dana’s mission is to change that by bringing their voices, experiences, and economic power into the center of business decisions. Through Morning Light Strategy, Dana has led deep-dive research exploring the lived realities of caregivers, the experiences of LGBTQIA+ older adults, and the emotions surrounding senior living and in-home care decisions. Her work has also included unexpected intersections, such as the role of intergenerational play in board games and the hidden influence of “silent shoppers” on CPG brands. Across every project, Dana advocates for inclusion that focuses on an understanding of identity, emotion, and needs.

Before she and Nicole launched Morning Light Strategy, Dana led multimillion-dollar client partnerships at Ipsos, guiding Fortune 500 brands in innovation, growth, and market evolution. Today, she’s channeling that experience into advocating for organizations to understand and embrace their “invisible” consumers who quietly drive growth. A frequent conference speaker, as well as host of the podcast Tuned Out: Building Brands & Driving Sales While the Whole World is Screaming, Dana is passionate about more inclusive marketing to reflect the full spectrum of our shared experience in living, aging and caring for one another. WIRe advisory board member Mario X. Carrasco said of Dana’s nomination, “Dana’s work brings aging and caregiving into the DEI conversation in a way that feels both strategic and deeply personal. She’s creating space for voices that are often overlooked in both research and marketing, and she’s reframing aging as a source of insight and innovation.”

This year’s Silver award winner Anne Brown is an entrepreneur and founding partner in Gazelle Global Research Services LLC, a Market Research global sample and operations firm. Her extensive international data collection, data processing and management experience brings a high level of practical knowledge to both clients and staff.  Her lengthy livelihood in custom research has enabled her to build a set of comprehensive skills she utilizes to support clients in a wide range of industries.

Brown is also an Insights Association Laureate and IPC certified member of the Insights Association, a two time Insights 250 recipient, a WIRexec, a longtime member of ESOMAR, a board member of MRC, and a board member of MREF.  Her company, Gazelle Global, is a certified WBENC. Anne’s nominator for the award noted that she “not only mentors, befriends, and supports, but she put her money where her mouth is to support everything from Insights in Color, Women in Research, and other industry events to create more access for leadership opportunities, training, and recognition. [She] thinks about leaving a legacy of leaving the industry better than she found it.”

Award sponsor and FUEL & The Focus Room Founder Tiffany Hayes said of this year’s award, “Championing a more vibrant and inclusive market research industry remains a top priority. As the world grows more multifaceted, our industry must evolve with it — and the winners of WIRe’s MRX Diversity Champion Award embody the progress we aim to achieve. At FUEL and The Focus Room, this initiative holds deep significance. We take pride in celebrating our teams for their exceptional work and recognizing those who advance representation across all backgrounds. It’s an honor to stand with the WIRe community in driving meaningful, lasting change across the MRX industry.”

‍

###

‍

For more information on the award, please visit https://www.womeninresearch.org/mrx-diversity-champion-award or reach out to jessica@womeninresearch.org

‍

###

‍

About Women in Research
WIRe champions diversity in the marketing research industry by arming women with the tools to develop professionally, build connections and stay inspired. We believe in the positive impact of women in business. Our mission is to advance the contributions and voice of women in research, both for themselves and for the greater good of the industry. www.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