Announcing InterAction’s 2024 Award Winners

InterAction’s annual awards highlight exceptional individuals in the international development and humanitarian sectors.

Their contributions have been instrumental to advancing and defending the rights of poor and vulnerable communities and driving the evolution of the NGO sector. They’ve helped get aid to frontline communities in conflict, ensured all segments of society can access social services, influenced policy through consistent advocacy, and so much more.

In short, they’ve all helped make the world a better place.

The winners of this year’s awards are listed below. Congratulations!

Julia Vadala Taft Outstanding
Leadership Award

InterAction is pleased to announce that Sean Carroll, President & CEO of Anera, is this year’s recipient for his unwavering leadership to support the people of Gaza, advocate greater action within our sector, and influence policy change within the U.S. government. His invaluable contributions to InterAction’s working groups, board activities, and critical conversations have enriched InterAction’s collective efforts.

About the award

The Julia Vadala Taft Outstanding Leadership Award honors outstanding and distinguished leaders in the U.S. NGO community whose career and vision have transcended their own organization by raising the influence and effectiveness of the U.S. NGO sector. The award is named for a distinguished American humanitarian and celebrates the very best of who we are as a sector. Julia’s leadership has and will continue to inspire many in the NGO community as she mobilized its members to curb poverty and relieve human suffering abroad.

InterAction Humanitarian Award

InterAction is honored to present this year’s humanitarian award to Eatizaz Yousif, Country Director for the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Sudan. Eatizaz has been a leading voice in the Sudan crisis from its outset in 2023. At the outbreak of the conflict, she relocated to Medani with other displaced Sudanese ensuring that IRC was able to mobilize a quick response to the displacement needs, was one of the first International NGOs to engage in supporting Emergency Response Rooms in Khartoum, and has been a critical voice on the lack of dignity within the humanitarian response.

About the award

Members of our community often surmount significant obstacles to carry out their work effectively. With increasing needs in existing and new humanitarian crises, our resources have been more strained than ever. InterAction seeks to honor these individuals, their bravery, and their commitment to the most vulnerable populations.

The Humanitarian Award is meant to recognize an individual or individuals whose work reflects important leadership qualities in humanitarian settings such as courage, humility, respect, innovation, creativity, empathy, integrity, and curiosity.

Disability Inclusion Award

InterAction is excited to announce that the National Democratic Institute (NDI) is this year’s recipient of the Disability Inclusion Award. NDI has a comprehensive approach that allows people with disabilities to set the agenda through political engagement—by ensuring people with disabilities are included and by centering and supporting disability-led organizations. NDI’s programs assist people with disabilities in taking organized political actions to address exclusionary institutions, laws, and processes.

Honorable Mentions

InterAction is also pleased to recognize the SPOON Foundation and World Pulse as honorable mentions. With 50 or fewer staff each, SPOON Foundation and World Pulse demonstrate the progress small teams can make toward disability inclusion and leadership.

SPOON Foundation created an innovative app, Count Me In, which screens children for feeding difficulties and provides individualized care plans, improving the health and development of children with disabilities. In addition, Count Me In generates powerful data that SPOON and their partners use to push for more inclusive policies, services, and investments.

World Pulse partnered with a disability-led organization to develop a community-rooted disability justice plan, which spans across World Pulse’s organizational programming, strategies, and practices. This includes seeking out partnerships with disability-led organizations to ensure that its global social network and online community governance benefit from the expertise and perspectives of disability justice activists.

About the award

InterAction established the Disability Inclusion Award in collaboration with Mobility International USA in 2009 in honor of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (UNCRPD). Recipients of the awards demonstrate a commitment to ensure the full inclusion of people with disabilities and approach disability as an important cross-cutting issue.

Note: The Honorable Mentions were newly created this year. Due to the number of worthy nominations, the Committee felt we should recognize additional organizations for their contributions to disability inclusion.