Talented women creatives on the rise from 12 countries have been named Global Top-10 and Regional winners for Next Creative Leaders 2021, run jointly by The One Club for Creativity and The 3% Movement.
Now in its seventh year, Next Creative Leaders (NCL) is a portfolio competition that identifies, celebrates and gives a global platform to talented women and non-binary creatives who are making their mark on the world with both their work and a unique point of view on creative leadership that’s changing the industry for the better. This year’s winners announcement was made at the opening day of the 10th annual 3% Conference in Atlanta.
The Global Top-10 highest-scoring winners for NCL 2021, as selected by a diverse global jury of more than 70 top creatives from around the world, are:
- Preethi Balakrishnan, senior art director, and Kelsey Boylan, senior copywriter, (entered as a team), Saatchi & Saatchi New York
- Emma Barnett, associate creative director, Wieden+Kennedy Portland
- Yasmina Boustani, associate creative director, Impact BBDO Dubai
- Sarsha Drakeford, art director, DDB New Zealand Auckland
- Tahirah Edwards Byfield, creative director, 72andSunny Los Angeles
- Monica Gramunt de Azqueta, copywriter, Officer&Gentleman Madrid
- Jackie Jinse Moran, art director, creative strategist, TikTok New York
- Júlia Mota, associate creative director, GUT Sao Paolo
- Zeynep Orbay, creative director, Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam
- Ane Santiago Quintas, copywriter, Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam
NCL Regional honors recognize those on a regional level whose work and creative vision the judges felt deserves accolades. NCL 2021 Regional winners are as follows:
Africa:
- Teresa Nyamorambo Makori, associate creative director, Isobar-Dentsu Kenya Nairobi
Asia Pacific:
- Ellie Dunn, senior copywriter, Clemenger BBDO Melbourne
- Nopparath Eksuwancharoen, creative director, SOUR Bangkok
- Pooja Manek, creative director, Dentsu Webchutney Bangalore
- Katarina Matic, senior creative, Bullfrog Melbourne
Europe:
- Laura Aondio, art director, and Francesca Vitello, copywriter, (team), Marcel Paris
- Jessica Giles, associate creative director, FCB Inferno London
- Sarah Gong-Guy Lefkowith, creative director, Creature London
- Erika Reyes Angel, art director, BETC Paris
Latin America:
- Paula Essig, senior art director, AKQA São Paulo
- Gabi Marcatto, associate creative director, GUT São Paulo
- Eduarda Nieto, senior designer, art director, AKQA Sweden (based in Rio de Janeiro)
- Leticia Rodrigues, associate creative director, and Heloisa Ribeiro, associate creative director, (entered as a team), FCB Brazil São Paulo
North America:
- Cara Mia Cecchini, art director, and Mia Rafowitz, copywriter, (entered as a team), Droga5 New York
- Pam Danowski, creative director, GUT Toronto
- Michaela McCrink, creative, and Raegan Allsbrook, creative, (entered as a team), Facebook San Francisco
- Dominique Wynne, associate creative director, Spotify New York
- Emma Zakes Green, senior copywriter, TBWAChiatDay Los Angeles
MENA:
- Nadia Deghayli, associate creative director, Leo Burnett Beirut
- Hyun Seo Yoo, senior creative, TikTok Dubai
NCL recognizes those who are stepping into leadership roles. Entrants were judged on four-to-six pieces of creative work, their background and information about how they — and their work — are pushing the industry forward and making a positive contribution in terms of diversity, mentoring and advocacy. To make Next Creative Leaders as open and accessible as possible, there is no fee to enter the competition.
“The One Club has a longstanding commitment to providing programming that helps improve the industry’s diversity and gender equality,” said Kevin Swanepoel, CEO, The One Club. “We are proud to produce programs like Next Creative Leaders that identify, elevate and give voice to those who are making a real difference. They are the ones who are opening the door and inspiring the next generation of women and non-binary creatives who follow in their footsteps.”
“Many of our winners spoke to a desire to help our industry to evolve in a way that made space for mental health care in the wake of burnout and the pandemic,” says Kat Gordon, founder of The 3% Movement. “Globally, women still see sexism as the root of most global issues that are worth solving. Winners shared how this award helped validate that they were becoming the leaders they wanted when they were coming up. We’re also celebrating how this year took us over the 100-winner mark historically for NCL.”
Each NCL winner receives a one-year complimentary individual membership with The One Club with opportunities to participate in future One Club awards juries, complimentary tickets to a One Club professional development conference ($1,000+ value), panels and mentorship events, complimentary ticket to The 3% Conference, and a potential opportunity to speak on the annual Next Creative Leaders panel.
Each winner also gets a dedicated article and has their work showcased on The One Club website, promotion on both The 3% Movement and The One Club social channels, an invitation to be a part of the 2022 Next Creative Leaders Jury, and a special feature on the InVisible Creatives website and Instagram account.
Branding for Next Creative Leaders 2021 was designed by NCL 2020 winner Elma Karabegovic, with font designer Zacchary Dempsey-Plante.
