Meet our 2023 /Live Your Dream Awards/ Judges!

Each year, Soroptimist provides more than $2.8 million to over 1,800 women all over the world through our Live Your Dream Awards. These awards provide women who are the main wage earners for their families with the resources to offset any costs associated with their efforts to attain higher education—such as books, childcare, tuition and transportation. 

Many of the women who apply and become recipients are survivors of domestic violence, trafficking and sexual assault. ALL the women have overcome obstacles with the dream of securing a better life for themselves and their families with the power of education.

It is never easy selecting the women who receive the top-level awards. This year’s recipients will be announced in the coming weeks once all have been notified. For now, we wish to thank the following women who had the difficult task of selecting the three finalists out of many courageous, inspiring and deserving applicants. 

Taylor Shay A.

Taylor Shay (she/they) worked as a counselor and victim's advocate for five years in two different states assisting survivors of violence. At these agencies, she worked as a violence prevention educator for children and teens, taught a rape crisis counselor training course, provided advocacy for clients on college campuses and through the Title IX process, as well as provided case management and assistance with helping victims of violence and their families find safe housing after fleeing violence. Since leaving the advocacy field, she has worked as a social worker for adult individuals with intellectual disabilities living in residential community homes. Taylor Shay now, however, runs the life enrichment program for a skilled nursing center at a retirement home.

Lucero Salazar

Lucero Salazar, born in Quimbaya, Colombia, is a dedicated and resilient professional with a passion for education. Despite facing numerous challenges, she pursued her dreams and achieved remarkable success. Lucero's journey began when she moved to the United States at the age of 22, seeking a better life for herself and her family. Starting with odd jobs, she worked tirelessly to support her two sons and improve their circumstances.

Lucero's determination led her to become a teaching assistant at Head Start, where she quickly advanced to the role of group teacher. While working, she pursued her education at Mercer County Community College (MCCC) and obtained an Associate of Arts degree in 2000. She then enrolled in Thomas A. Edison State College and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology.

Driven by her belief that every child can learn and thrive, Lucero decided to continue her studies and earned a Master of Education degree in special education. Her goal in life has always been to inspire a love of learning in her students and make a positive impact on their lives.

In 2012, Lucero obtained a P-3 Certification to enhance her teaching skills. Unfortunately, due to strenuous circumstances, her teaching position came to an end in 2017. However, Lucero remains committed to touching lives and making a difference. As a judge for the Live Your Dream Awards, Lucero was eager to use her own experiences as a guide to support deserving women in achieving their professional dreams and overcoming financial obstacles. Her story is a testament to the transformative power of education and the resilience of the human spirit—which the Live Your Dream Awards are all about.

Aisling "Ling" Howley

Ling is a grants, subcontracting and USG funding compliance expert with over six years of international development experience. Her experience spans USAID, DFID, DOL and Gates Foundation-funded contracts and cooperative agreements. Before beginning her career in international development, Aisling graduated from American University with a bachelor’s degree in political science with a concentration in comparative politics. She is passionate about gender and social inclusion, gender-based violence, expanding access to markets, environmental sustainability, and governance and democratization.

Ling currently works as the procurement manager for the USAID-funded CATALYZE project at The Palladium Group. CATALYZE is an eight-year program across 27 countries designed to mobilize $2 billion in private capital for development impact—especially in underserved social sectors and frontier markets across the globe, complemented by a cross-cutting inclusion of gender-lens investing. Ling's work throughout her development career has focused on increasing access to markets and finance for underserved communities; strengthening supply chains and access to good, sustainable jobs for marginalized communities; and decreasing gender-based violence and discrimination.

Ling also volunteers as a legal document translator at CARECEN, a local DC-based nonprofit that provides legal and social services to immigrants, regardless of their documentation status. Here, Ling assists people with their asylum cases by translating government documents for their court cases. She also organizes fundraisers for recently arrived migrants and volunteered as an arrival volunteer for people being bussed from Texas and Arizona to Washington, D.C., connecting them with emergency housing opportunities, food, and train or bus tickets to their final destinations. She is also currently participating in Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington (PPMW)'s Developing Leaders Program, where she is focusing on protecting access to abortion and affordable healthcare. Ling is also fluent in Spanish.

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