Congratulations, Musu Taylor Lewis & Tiyahna Ridley-Padmore, the joint 2023 Winners of the Lewis Perinbam Award

WUSC, in collaboration with Cooperation Canada and the trustees of the Lewis Perinbam Award, is pleased to announce the 2023 recipients of the Innovation and Impact Awards in Honour of Lewis Perinbam. 

The award was presented during a virtual ceremony held on February 7, 2024, in the presence of 108 attendees, including Anita Vandenbeld, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Development.

Individual Award Winners: Musu Taylor and Tiyahna Ridley-Padmore

This year, Musu Taylor-Lewis and Tiyahna Ridley-Padmore were jointly awarded the Lewis Perinbam Award for their transformative work to advance anti-racism within Canada’s global cooperation sector. 

As inaugural members of Cooperation Canada’s Anti-Racism Taskforce, Musu and Tiyahna sought to address inequities within the international cooperation sector in Canada through the development of the Anti-Racism Framework which supports international development and humanitarian organizations to improve their ability to integrate anti-racism and intersectional feminism in their work. 

Musu Taylor-Lewis is the President and CEO of Food for the Hungry Canada (FH Canada).  She has over 20 years of experience working in the non-profit and public sectors, in cross-cutting roles in operations, social research, communications, international cooperation, fundraising, and organizational development. 

Having spent her early twenties in seven cities across three continents, Musu cultivated a profound interest in global inequality, inspiring her to engage in economics, community economic development, and theology studies. 

In her community development work and activism, she calls on Canadians to join her in creating lasting change. 

A storyteller at heart, Tiyahna Ridley-Padmore is an equity and inclusion strategist, and policy advisor, with a focus on social inclusion. In addition to her work on Cooperation Canada’s Anti-Racism Taskforce, she also manages Canada’s Refugee Education Council hosted by World Vision Canada. She is also the author of “Trailblazers,” a bestselling children’s book.

Tiyahna holds a Master of Arts in Public Policy, Administration, and Law from York University, a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Communications from the University of Ottawa, and has received training in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion from the University of British Columbia.

Through their innovative anti-racism work on the Task Force, Musu and Tiyahna continue to contribute to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion within Canada’s global cooperation landscape. 

“Musu and Tiyahna took the initiative to drive the discussion which is leading to change across our sector – their work on anti-racism will truly support building a better, more equitable world, in the spirit of Lewis Perinbam’s legacy.”

– Chris Eaton, Executive Director, WUSC

Organizational Award Winner: The Girls of Tomorrow (GOT) Foundation

The Girls of Tomorrow (GOT) Foundation, co-founded by young Canadian and Ugandan women, launched a project in Uganda to address the pervasive issue of menstrual stigma affecting the lives of thousands of women and girls. In the context of  limited access to education and information on menstrual hygiene, GOT recognized the dire need for a holistic and unique solution. 

By breaking down walls of stigma and misinformation surrounding menstruation and fostering  open dialogue, this project has enabled students to gain a deeper understanding of menstrual health, resulting in a decrease in absenteeism due to menstruation from 66% to 18% during the project period.

Learn more about the Innovation and Impact Awards in Honour of Lewis Perinbam.