On September 19th, I had the privilege of being invited to the 2017 WNBA Inspiring Women Luncheon presented by ESPN. Every year, they put on this luncheon where people of all backgrounds in the athletics, entertainment and business industry come together to recognize incredible women. These women are creating new paths and doing amazing work creating positive effects either on the court, in the board room or in their communities.
Past and present WNBA players in attendance at the 2017 Inspiring Women Luncheon.
I enjoyed being in the room surrounded by so many incredible people, especially with those inspiring women. It was a reminder that it does not matter who you are, or where you come from, or what you do, we all possess unique gifts and talents that we should pay it forward to help those who are in need. The three women who were being honoured have done just that.
Award winners from left to right: Kimberly Bryant, Andrea Jung, Kayla Canario and WNBA president Lisa Borders.
The recipient of the Verizon Innovative Learning Award went to Kayla Canario who is an elementary school teacher. This award highlights an educator who is using technology to inspire her students who are the creators of tomorrow. Kayla Canario led 90 teachers in transforming their classrooms into innovative digital learning spaces.
The winner of the Inspiration Award went to Andrea Jung. She is the CEO of Grameen America, which is an organization that helps solve economic issues for women and their families across the nation. Andrea Jung is also consistently ranked on numerous high profile lists as one of the “Most Powerful Women in Business.”
The last award which is the Cisco Inspiring Future Award went to Kimberly Bryant. This award goes to a woman who is making great strides in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education. Her dedication to young females is inspiring them to take more careers in this field. Kimberly Bryant is the founder of Black Girls Code and through her organization, she has trained over 9000 girls in over 14 cities in the United States as well as Johannesburg, South Africa. Talk about #BlackGirlMagic!
Let's start learning from these inspiring women and pay it forward to help ensure a brighter future for all!
Thanks for stopping by, and God bless!
K!
Kindly edited by Aneela Khan