Aurora Impact Foundation Founder Shannon Smadella Named Founding Global Ambassador for the Universal Women's Network™ & Women of Inspiration® Awards
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
[Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada] — July 10, 2026 — Aurora Impact Foundation is proud to announce that Founder and CEO Shannon Smadella, MBA, has been named a Founding Global Ambassador of the Universal Women's Network™ (UWN) and its Women of Inspiration® Awards.
For more than a decade, Women of Inspiration® has put over 1,200 women into the spotlight, celebrating the accomplishments of women who are creating change rather than waiting for permission to make it happen. As a Founding Global Ambassador, Smadella joins an inaugural group of leaders helping shape the next chapter of the Network, including its upcoming Global Women of Inspiration® Summit on November 19, 2026.
For a Foundation whose work is rooted in serving women, this appointment reflects the same principle that guides Aurora's work every day: where women rise, systems change.
"I'm honoured to join the Universal Women's Network as a Founding Global Ambassador," said Smadella. "This Network has spent over a decade putting women in the spotlight and proving what's possible when women dare to take action. It's a natural extension of the work we're already doing at Aurora across Canada, the US, Europe, and Africa — and I'm excited to help carry this mission forward on an even bigger stage."
As a Founding Global Ambassador, Smadella will help champion the Network's mission worldwide, support its nomination and awards process, and represent Aurora Impact Foundation's work within a growing global community of women leaders and allies.
About Aurora Impact Foundation
Aurora Impact Foundation advances women's access to justice, leadership, wellbeing, family support, and opportunity through programs, partnerships, and systems-level change. Our vision is a world where women and girls have equal access to justice, wellbeing, dignity, leadership, and opportunity — and where families, communities, and institutions rise together. We exist to help close the gap between the values we speak about publicly and the systems we build in practice — ensuring that women and girls are not only included, but meaningfully represented in leadership, governance, and decision-making spaces. Aurora is guided by human rights principles and aligned with global efforts to advance gender equality, including those reflected in UN initiatives and international policy conversations. Founded by Shannon Smadella, MBA, Aurora is the culmination of over 27 years of work building, rebuilding, and advocating for women and the systems meant to serve them. Learn more at aurora-leadership.org.
About the Universal Women's Network™
The Universal Women's Network™ is home to the Women of Inspiration® Awards, SupportHER™, and the Women of Inspiration® Podcast — a global community dedicated to celebrating and elevating women's accomplishments and creating opportunities for women to lead, connect, and be recognized. Founded and led by Monica Kretschmer.
Media Contact: admin@shannonsmadella.com