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Ten of Barnet’s most inspiring women and girls have been recognised in a new council-backed awards programme for their outstanding contribution and accomplishments in the fields of business, sport, environment and community and culture.
The inaugural InspirationAll Awards were presented to the winners and runners-up at a packed ceremony held at Middlesex University on Friday 1 September 2023.
Launched this earlier this year on International Women’s Day (8 March), hundreds of borough residents and community groups nominated 49 women and girls in five awards categories: Community and Culture; Business and Construction; Sport and Wellbeing; Environment and Sustainability; and Inspiring Young Woman. There was also a Special Recognition for Community Service award, which was added as a recommendation.
You can read more about the winners in each category below:
Winner - Business and Construction Alexia Baron Director and Founder of Porto & Bello
Diagnosed with breast cancer at 34 weeks pregnant during the height of Covid, Alexia turned her personal challenges into an inspiring business success story.
Mum-of-two from Finchley, Alexia had to undergo a double mastectomy and 18 chemotherapy sessions. She struggled with clothing choices in hospital. The medical team needed access to her picc line leaving her chest and arms frequently exposed. Alexia has designed an accessible clothing range for patients undergoing treatment for cancer, Crohn’s, kidney disease, sepsis and more. With convenient two-way zips, the clothes are stylish and comfortable.
Porto & Bello is rated Excellent on TrustPilot; international orders arrive at a pace. Porto & Bello has quickly established a reputation for essential, innovative products, at high quality, with outstanding customer service.
Runner Up - Business and Construction Hawa Abdi Co-Founder and Director of Center of Excellence
Co-Founder and Director of Center of Excellence, which is committed to being a vehicle for change. The Center of Excellence provides diverse workshops, events, and community-driven initiatives to enhance the lives of the Somali and other ethnic communities. Hawa is committed to building bridges and strengthening connections between youth and parents, as well as creating safe spaces for people to share experiences.
Winner - Environment and Sustainability Shiri Atsmon Founder of Eco Show and Tell and Finchley Pollinator Project
Shiri is passionate and committed to sustainability and reducing climate change. Shiri gives freely and generously of her ever-increasing knowledge and time, to volunteer with, coordinate and lead a range of projects in Barnet, helping to raise awareness andmake a real difference.
Through Eco Show and Tell events Shiri has created a network of local individuals, voluntary groups and organisations which has given them the opportunity to share a wide range of environmental and sustainability messages directly to the public at Eco fairs and other events.
Shiri’s Finchley Pollinator project shows her commitment to not only raising awareness, but actually making a real difference. Due to her amazing organisation, people skills, ability to build connections and a lot of hard work there are places across Finchley, that are full of beautiful pollinator friendly blooming bulbs. Shiri is growing 500 plants herself ready to be given out!
Shiri’s enthusiasm and commitment is contagious. Her kind and thoughtful interactions with people bring out the best in others. She is wonderful at making people feel valued and that they too can contribute to improving the environment for all.
Runner Up - Environment and Sustainability Ingrid Posen
Chairperson of Friends of Child's Hill Park and of Greening our Neighbourhood groups
Ingrid is an inspirational member of our community leading the way for younger generations to make their environment better and healthier for everyone.
Ingrid is challenging the status quo on air pollution in Barnet and bringing about a transformation for a greener Barnet which can impact not only Barnet but the whole of London and indeed the rest of the country. Ingrid is committed to the health of our children and the whole community through greening projects involving the planting of trees and native hedges to create green corridors for children and parents walking or cycling to school. Ingrid led the renovations and improvements to Childs Hill RecreationalPark near Golders Green making it a desirable park for residents of the area to visit.
Winner - Sport and Wellbeing Sonia Green
England's Rugby 7s side Captain. Only female player in the world to have played over 300 games for one club.
Winner of Premiership and Cup titles receiving individual accolades such as Players' Player, Player of the Tournament & Coaches' Player.
Vice Principal, Saracens High School
Sonia has played rugby for Saracens Women's team for 21 years and is the only female player in the world to have played over 300 games for one club. Sonia is on course to help Saracens retain the Premier 15s title again this year and will be playing in the Allianz Cup Final. Sonia has contributed to her team winning innumerable Premiership and Cup titles as well as receiving individual accolades such as Players' Player, Player of the Tournament & Coaches' Player.
Sonia's sporting honours extend beyond her club, having played for invitational teams including Barbarians. Furthermore, Sonia has captained England's Rugby 7s side.
Sonia's dedication to her sport is an inspiring example to girls and women. Most notably to the female pupils, staff and families at Saracens High School where she is the Vice Principal. Holding a senior leadership position in a school, while also training and competing at the highest sporting level, makes Sonia an example par excellence of focus, dedication and formidable work ethic. Her positivity around the school is infectious.
Sonia regularly speaks at school and corporate events, inspiring people to pursue their goals in life, be those in sport or elsewhere. By her example of top-flight performance and by her involvement in grass-roots coaching, Sonia Green champions girls' participation in sport and thereby improves physical and mental female health.
Winner - Inspiring Young Woman Snnehal Vijay
Sustainability campaigner
After starting an eco-friendly campaign to make The Henrietta Barnett School more carbon-neutral, 16-year-old Snnehal has inspired me and many others, from Year 7 to sixth-formers and teachers, to avoid single-use plastic and compostable waste in the school canteen, in order to ensure a more sustainable Barnet and to save our planet. She has given many assemblies spreading awareness and has encouraged people to either use the plates provided in the canteen or bring in their own tupperware for lunch, as to avoid using the vegware containers that are often sent to landfill instead of decomposing in compost. Snnehalconstantly works to inspire others to make small changes in our lifestyles such as using the metal cutlery in the canteen instead of the single-use plastic cutlery that often ends up in our oceans.“We have totake action now to protect our planet” and Snnehal's cause furthers Barnet Council's own aim to become a Net Zero borough by 2042. Snnehalisincredibly committed and an inspiration to so many people at school ensuring a more sustainable Barnet, now and in the future.
Runner Up - Inspiring Young Woman Harrriet Boahmah
Founder F.U.S.E Youth Project
Harriet grew up on the StonegroveEstate and was a youth worker within the local youth club. She then went on to found and run her own youth organisation, the FUSE Youth Project. She now runs open-access youth provision across three estates in Barnet, creating huge amounts of impact and amazing partnerships.
Harriet is strong, professional, conscientious and can smile through any situation life or work throws at her.
Winner - Community and Culture Vicki Williams Founder of Bread n Butter
Vicki is a past winner of the Outstanding Service to the Community award in the Barnet Civic Awards. Bread n Butter is a social enterprise that teaches the basic life skills of cooking. Bread n Butter strives to alleviate food poverty and food waste, improve mental health and social isolation through community workshops. Vicki works tirelessly to help disadvantaged communities make more informed lifestyle choices to maximise their health and wellbeing. She works with marginalised individuals, giving them the skills and confidence to be able to cook simple, tasty and healthy dishes at home.
Runner Up - Community and Culture Kiran Sheth Transformation Programme Director (Stem Cell Programme)
Seeing sad battle of parents losing their children with blood-borne diseases for want of a donor with matching stem cells inspired her in 2018 to use her professional skills as a Transformation Programme Director to work on Stem Cell Program by holding events to register donors on the NHS database and writing articles which built awareness on stem cells, donating and their use in medical treatments. She ran the Program across 5 sizeable Indian communities Jain Oshwal(OAUK), Jain Navnat, Lohana, Kutchi Leva Patel and Limbachia. Her first article was published by all of these communities. She has now written a second article. Due to the vast number of medical treatments and the number of donor matches available being low for Ethnic minorities, our work needs a lot more support from the communities and the Government. Donor matches were found for 2 community children.
At the height of the pandemic, when uptake of newly released vaccines was very low, She conducted analysis of live cases and their journey from first symptoms to recovery which at the time led to long-term hospitalisations or deaths. She drew up a high-level program plan for discussion on the need for our own doctors to provide online advisory programs in Gujrati on Covid virus, Staying Safe guidance and Vaccines to give people facts on which to base their decisions. What prompted her to initiate the Covid advisory program was the severity of virus-induced illnesses, death-toll, and misleading messages which were hampering the UK Government's efforts on delivering the Vaccine program.
Special Recognition for Community Service Award Hope Yoloye Founder of Living Way Ministries
Hope is an outstanding personality and inspiration to the Grahame Park community. She personifies service to local residents, targeting hardship and supporting the elderly, parents and children. Hope runs the Sowing Stitches centre, which delivers technical and business skills training to women in the community. She is an advocate for parent championing and facilitates cross-cultural parenting support for families living in Grahame Park. Hope encourages children and young people to learn and develop, supporting them to gain a socially inclusive education and engaging with them in a positive way.
Ten of Barnet’s most inspiring women and girls have been recognised in a new council-backed awards programme for their outstanding contribution and accomplishments in the fields of business, sport, environment and community and culture.
The inaugural InspirationAll Awards were presented to the winners and runners-up at a packed ceremony held at Middlesex University on Friday 1 September 2023.
Launched this earlier this year on International Women’s Day (8 March), hundreds of borough residents and community groups nominated 49 women and girls in five awards categories: Community and Culture; Business and Construction; Sport and Wellbeing; Environment and Sustainability; and Inspiring Young Woman. There was also a Special Recognition for Community Service award, which was added as a recommendation.
You can read more about the winners in each category below:
Winner - Business and Construction Alexia Baron Director and Founder of Porto & Bello
Diagnosed with breast cancer at 34 weeks pregnant during the height of Covid, Alexia turned her personal challenges into an inspiring business success story.
Mum-of-two from Finchley, Alexia had to undergo a double mastectomy and 18 chemotherapy sessions. She struggled with clothing choices in hospital. The medical team needed access to her picc line leaving her chest and arms frequently exposed. Alexia has designed an accessible clothing range for patients undergoing treatment for cancer, Crohn’s, kidney disease, sepsis and more. With convenient two-way zips, the clothes are stylish and comfortable.
Porto & Bello is rated Excellent on TrustPilot; international orders arrive at a pace. Porto & Bello has quickly established a reputation for essential, innovative products, at high quality, with outstanding customer service.
Runner Up - Business and Construction Hawa Abdi Co-Founder and Director of Center of Excellence
Co-Founder and Director of Center of Excellence, which is committed to being a vehicle for change. The Center of Excellence provides diverse workshops, events, and community-driven initiatives to enhance the lives of the Somali and other ethnic communities. Hawa is committed to building bridges and strengthening connections between youth and parents, as well as creating safe spaces for people to share experiences.
Winner - Environment and Sustainability Shiri Atsmon Founder of Eco Show and Tell and Finchley Pollinator Project
Shiri is passionate and committed to sustainability and reducing climate change. Shiri gives freely and generously of her ever-increasing knowledge and time, to volunteer with, coordinate and lead a range of projects in Barnet, helping to raise awareness andmake a real difference.
Through Eco Show and Tell events Shiri has created a network of local individuals, voluntary groups and organisations which has given them the opportunity to share a wide range of environmental and sustainability messages directly to the public at Eco fairs and other events.
Shiri’s Finchley Pollinator project shows her commitment to not only raising awareness, but actually making a real difference. Due to her amazing organisation, people skills, ability to build connections and a lot of hard work there are places across Finchley, that are full of beautiful pollinator friendly blooming bulbs. Shiri is growing 500 plants herself ready to be given out!
Shiri’s enthusiasm and commitment is contagious. Her kind and thoughtful interactions with people bring out the best in others. She is wonderful at making people feel valued and that they too can contribute to improving the environment for all.
Runner Up - Environment and Sustainability Ingrid Posen
Chairperson of Friends of Child's Hill Park and of Greening our Neighbourhood groups
Ingrid is an inspirational member of our community leading the way for younger generations to make their environment better and healthier for everyone.
Ingrid is challenging the status quo on air pollution in Barnet and bringing about a transformation for a greener Barnet which can impact not only Barnet but the whole of London and indeed the rest of the country. Ingrid is committed to the health of our children and the whole community through greening projects involving the planting of trees and native hedges to create green corridors for children and parents walking or cycling to school. Ingrid led the renovations and improvements to Childs Hill RecreationalPark near Golders Green making it a desirable park for residents of the area to visit.
Winner - Sport and Wellbeing Sonia Green
England's Rugby 7s side Captain. Only female player in the world to have played over 300 games for one club.
Winner of Premiership and Cup titles receiving individual accolades such as Players' Player, Player of the Tournament & Coaches' Player.
Vice Principal, Saracens High School
Sonia has played rugby for Saracens Women's team for 21 years and is the only female player in the world to have played over 300 games for one club. Sonia is on course to help Saracens retain the Premier 15s title again this year and will be playing in the Allianz Cup Final. Sonia has contributed to her team winning innumerable Premiership and Cup titles as well as receiving individual accolades such as Players' Player, Player of the Tournament & Coaches' Player.
Sonia's sporting honours extend beyond her club, having played for invitational teams including Barbarians. Furthermore, Sonia has captained England's Rugby 7s side.
Sonia's dedication to her sport is an inspiring example to girls and women. Most notably to the female pupils, staff and families at Saracens High School where she is the Vice Principal. Holding a senior leadership position in a school, while also training and competing at the highest sporting level, makes Sonia an example par excellence of focus, dedication and formidable work ethic. Her positivity around the school is infectious.
Sonia regularly speaks at school and corporate events, inspiring people to pursue their goals in life, be those in sport or elsewhere. By her example of top-flight performance and by her involvement in grass-roots coaching, Sonia Green champions girls' participation in sport and thereby improves physical and mental female health.
Winner - Inspiring Young Woman Snnehal Vijay
Sustainability campaigner
After starting an eco-friendly campaign to make The Henrietta Barnett School more carbon-neutral, 16-year-old Snnehal has inspired me and many others, from Year 7 to sixth-formers and teachers, to avoid single-use plastic and compostable waste in the school canteen, in order to ensure a more sustainable Barnet and to save our planet. She has given many assemblies spreading awareness and has encouraged people to either use the plates provided in the canteen or bring in their own tupperware for lunch, as to avoid using the vegware containers that are often sent to landfill instead of decomposing in compost. Snnehalconstantly works to inspire others to make small changes in our lifestyles such as using the metal cutlery in the canteen instead of the single-use plastic cutlery that often ends up in our oceans.“We have totake action now to protect our planet” and Snnehal's cause furthers Barnet Council's own aim to become a Net Zero borough by 2042. Snnehalisincredibly committed and an inspiration to so many people at school ensuring a more sustainable Barnet, now and in the future.
Runner Up - Inspiring Young Woman Harrriet Boahmah
Founder F.U.S.E Youth Project
Harriet grew up on the StonegroveEstate and was a youth worker within the local youth club. She then went on to found and run her own youth organisation, the FUSE Youth Project. She now runs open-access youth provision across three estates in Barnet, creating huge amounts of impact and amazing partnerships.
Harriet is strong, professional, conscientious and can smile through any situation life or work throws at her.
Winner - Community and Culture Vicki Williams Founder of Bread n Butter
Vicki is a past winner of the Outstanding Service to the Community award in the Barnet Civic Awards. Bread n Butter is a social enterprise that teaches the basic life skills of cooking. Bread n Butter strives to alleviate food poverty and food waste, improve mental health and social isolation through community workshops. Vicki works tirelessly to help disadvantaged communities make more informed lifestyle choices to maximise their health and wellbeing. She works with marginalised individuals, giving them the skills and confidence to be able to cook simple, tasty and healthy dishes at home.
Runner Up - Community and Culture Kiran Sheth Transformation Programme Director (Stem Cell Programme)
Seeing sad battle of parents losing their children with blood-borne diseases for want of a donor with matching stem cells inspired her in 2018 to use her professional skills as a Transformation Programme Director to work on Stem Cell Program by holding events to register donors on the NHS database and writing articles which built awareness on stem cells, donating and their use in medical treatments. She ran the Program across 5 sizeable Indian communities Jain Oshwal(OAUK), Jain Navnat, Lohana, Kutchi Leva Patel and Limbachia. Her first article was published by all of these communities. She has now written a second article. Due to the vast number of medical treatments and the number of donor matches available being low for Ethnic minorities, our work needs a lot more support from the communities and the Government. Donor matches were found for 2 community children.
At the height of the pandemic, when uptake of newly released vaccines was very low, She conducted analysis of live cases and their journey from first symptoms to recovery which at the time led to long-term hospitalisations or deaths. She drew up a high-level program plan for discussion on the need for our own doctors to provide online advisory programs in Gujrati on Covid virus, Staying Safe guidance and Vaccines to give people facts on which to base their decisions. What prompted her to initiate the Covid advisory program was the severity of virus-induced illnesses, death-toll, and misleading messages which were hampering the UK Government's efforts on delivering the Vaccine program.
Special Recognition for Community Service Award Hope Yoloye Founder of Living Way Ministries
Hope is an outstanding personality and inspiration to the Grahame Park community. She personifies service to local residents, targeting hardship and supporting the elderly, parents and children. Hope runs the Sowing Stitches centre, which delivers technical and business skills training to women in the community. She is an advocate for parent championing and facilitates cross-cultural parenting support for families living in Grahame Park. Hope encourages children and young people to learn and develop, supporting them to gain a socially inclusive education and engaging with them in a positive way.
Alexia Baron
