ToyNews Toy industry news: business, marketing, retail, wholesale and distribution
Women in Toys, Licensing and Entertainment has held the 14th annual Wonder Women Awards Gala on Sunday, February 18th, coinciding with the 2018 New York International Toy Fair.
The Gala celebrated industry trailblazers for their outstanding contributions in toys, licensing and entertainment across a variety of disciplines, including creative, marketing, manufacturing, sales, PR and more.
The full list of winners is as follows:
Wonder Woman Creator Inventor Award
Sydney Wiseman, WowWee
Wonder Woman in Licensing Award
Menal McGrath, Moose Toys
Wonder Woman in Manufacturing Award
Diana Young, Spin Master
Wonder Woman in Marketing Award
Julie Powell Christopher, Entertainment One
Wonder Woman in Public Relations Award
Susan Murphy, Coyne PR
Wonder Woman Retailer Award
Cindy Levitt, Hot Topic
Wonder Woman Rising Stars
Ali Mierzejewski, The Toy Insider
Stephanie Mendoza, Sesame Workshop
Wonder Woman in Sales Award
Donna Moore, TTPM
“WIT is beyond proud of our new Wonder Women,” said WIT President Ashley Mady. “Collectively, these powerhouse women lead a success story beyond the toy industry. In fact, WIT was just recognized by Nasdaq for the work our members contribute to overall business.”
In addition to the Wonder Woman Awards, WIT celebrated several honourees at their Gala: Norma Rosenhain, Creata CEO with the Lifetime Achievement Award, Nancy Zwiers, EVP and Global CMO at Spin Master, with the Elise Lachowyn Mentorship Award, and the Wonder Girl Award was given to the Toys R Us President of Play, 12-year-old Ariana Gentry.
“WIT supports a culture that drives passion and excellence, and our winners empower others to achieve success. Their work product inspires the next generation of pioneers and leaders,” added Gala Chairs, Genna Rosenberg, Janice Ross and Jennifer Caveza.
WIT also presented scholarships 10 college students through the foundation’s scholarship program. The scholarship recipients are as follows:
Wharton: Venture Initiation Program
Meriem Djelmami-Hani
FIT Toy Design
Karen Harel
Stanford Design Program
Lee Marom
OCAD: Faculty of Design
Willow Sharp
OTIS Toy Design
Juliette Ward
OTIS Toy Design
Erika Jennings
University of Arkansas
Parker Milner
Long Island University
Abigail Sollecito
Long Island University
Judith Solorzano
GenHeration
Madison Seeley
2018 marked the second year of WIT’s Superhero Circle program, which is a means to make personal donations in support of WIT’s programming, initiatives, and scholarship program. Donations may be designated to honour the memory of loved ones.
WIT’s mission is funded through the support of its industry sponsors for 2018, including Mattel, Nickelodeon, Disney, Spin Master, Hasbro, Bandai Foundation, Jazwares, PlayMonster, and many other generous companies. To learn about WIT’s 2018 annual Sponsorship opportunities and individual Superhero Circle donation program, please click here.
