Next Creative Leaders 2017

"The numbers don’t lie."

That’s what co-founder, David Jackson, said when he tallied the top ten scores this year. And boy was he right.

With just under 1,000 impressive entries, a seasoned jury and a rigorous scoring process, there was no questioning the ten women who’d risen to the top of our 3rd annual competition. But more surprising than what set this year’s winners apart from the competition, was what brought them together:

• 2 named a fellow Next Creative Leader as their personal #shero.
• 3 work at Goodby Silverstein & Partners in San Francisco.
• 6 hail from countries outside the U.S.A.
• And 9 of them entered work that answered a social justice brief.

Every year, we’re thrilled to give the creative community the opportunity to learn from each our ten talented winners. But this year we think there’s something really special to learn from their collective story:

• The 2017 Next Creative Leaders have experiences that span cities, countries, cultures. And they’re not just winning big awards by solving big problems for big clients, they’re working on solving the big problems affecting their home countries—and ours.
• They’re challenging cyber bullying, the pay gap and gun violence. Championing inclusion, Black Lives Matter and the truth. They’ve given deaf children a voice, test drivers the chance to give back, and men the tools to fight casual sexism.
• Our 2017 winners aren’t just proof of the important role women play in doing good creative work. They’re proof of the important role women, immigrants and diverse, global perspectives play in doing good in the world.

And as proud supporters of diversity in 2017, that gives us an incredible amount of hope.

Click on the headshots to the right to read more about each of our winners.

Article and interviews by Laurel Stark Akman, Next Creative Leaders Co-Founder and Creative Director at Firewood.

Article art by Bitna "B" Hu-Russo, Associate Creative Director at Firewood.

Learn more about Next Creative Leaders, our initiative with The 3% Conference, by visiting nextcreativeleaders.org.