GeoIgnite’s inaugural ‘Diversity in Leadership’ award

18 July 2019: The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) is proud to announce that OGC CEO Dr. Nadine Alameh has received GeoIgnite’s inaugural Diversity in Leadership Award. The award was presented to Nadine as part of the GeoIgnite 2019 Diversity in Leadership Summit, held last month in Ottawa, Canada.

“At GeoIgnite, we are committed towards motivating and nurturing future diverse talent. We announced the annual Diversity in Leadership Award, which honours a person or an organization affiliated with the geospatial industry for their extraordinary and unfailing commitment to diversity and inclusion in the workplace and surrounding communities,” said Jonathan Murphy of GoGeomatics and President of GeoIgnite.

“As a champion of interoperability and functional diversity, Nadine has a proven record of accomplishment of bridging the gaps between diverse people, data, and technologies to make people's lives better. Nadine's multi-lingual (Arabic, English, French, and American Sign Language) and multi-cultural background, coupled with her passion for people and networking, make her an ideal Cultural Broker,” said Bilyana Anicic, Aurora Consulting, and the GeoIgnite Committee member responsible for the Diversity in Leadership Summit.

Nadine, the first woman leading OGC in its 25-year old history, was touched to receive this special award, and stressed in her acceptance speech how ‘geo’ exemplifies diversity because it crosses people, communities, industries, geographies, and technologies – everything that OGC seeks to connect using location. Throughout her career, Nadine has been vocal about the need to have more diversity in the technology industry - especially in senior-level positions. Now, as CEO of OGC, she hopes to make a difference in the geo world from that perspective, and to get the opportunity to mentor and support more women in GEO.

OGC has long been a champion for diversity in the workforce, as exemplified by its organization of such events as the annual ‘Women in Geospatial’ Breakfast, held since 2018 on International Women’s Day in partnership with AGI, the UK Government’s Geospatial Commission, and Geovation. Additionally, OGC has been involved in DGI’s Women in Defence events, as well as leading a Diversity in Geo event at last year’s FOSS4G in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.