Winner of the Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Changemaker Award announced
21 June 2023

Initiated and sponsored by Truth, the ED&I Changemaker Award seeks to recognise individuals in the research, insight and data analytics sector who are making specific contributions to meaningful equality, diversity and inclusion initiatives – either within their own organisations or as part of work they do in their wider communities.

Shivonne Gates was revealed as this year’s winner at the MRS Excellence Awards lunch on 9 June. Her work in bringing ‘researchers of colour’ together, within an organised framework, has been a significant contribution to the progress of greater inclusion and equity within the sector.

Shivonne said: “It is incredible to have my work recognised by the MRS, especially when the competition was so fierce. I love creating space to bring researchers together in a meaningful way, and I could not do this work without my amazing committee, LaShanda Seaman, Bethany Thompson, Vicky Cummings and Anna Heltmann.

"Feedback from SROC members has shown they value the spaces we create for them, and recognition from the MRS highlights the reach the network has. This award has motivated me to keep pushing forward, growing SROC further to have an even bigger impact. Thank you, MRS!”

Alex Owens, CMI VP & Executive Sponsor of proUd, Unilever’s LGBTQI+ Network was awarded a special ED&I Changemaker of the Year Award for campaigning for the rights of LGBTQ+ professionals. His work at Unilever has helped transform the way the business engages with ED&I.

On receiving the award Alex said:"I would like to thank the MRS and the judges for recognising the amazing achievements of our proUd network at Unilever. But for me, all the finalists are winners, driving ED&I cannot be about me, but we – the only way we will drive the change we want to see is if we do this as a collective.

"We all need to stand up for a more equitable society, where everyone can be their true authentic self, every hour, every day, every week, every month, every year".

Also announced were the winners of the following awards:

• MRS Advanced Certificate Award
• MRS Annual Conference 2023 Audience Award
• MRS Silver Medal Award
• MRS Sustainability Changemaker Award 

New MRS Fellows

This years new fellows include:

Tim Barber
Michael Brown
Lucy Davison
Christian Dubreuil
Babita Earle
Chloe Fowler
Crawford Hollingworth
Sam Knowles
Leanne Tomasevic

Read bios for our new fellows here.

Sponsored by The Marketors’ Trust

Awarded to: Rhiannon Long
More info

MRS Annual Conference 2023 Audience Award

Sponsored by The New Fieldwork Company

Awarded to: Viki Cooke, Fraser Hardie, Catherine Hunt and James Sallows for Being indispensable to the top table: How can insight help leaders navigate turbulent waters?
More info

MRS Silver Medal

Awarded to: John Williams, Nicole Hartnett and Giang Trinh for Finding creative drivers of advertising effectiveness with modern data analysis. 
More info

MRS Sustainability Changemaker of the Year

Awarded to: Steve Phillips from Zappi for being the prime mover of the MRS NetZero Pledge and driving the programme forward by chairing the MRS Sustainability Council.