GWPR Australia (GWPRAus) has announced Anastasiia Nazarenko of Palin Communications and Sophie Budzevski of DEC PR as the recipients of the 2026 GWPRAus Mentoring Scholarships, marking an expansion of the program following the success of its pilot year.
Launched in 2025, GWPR said the scholarship program was created to address a gap in leadership development for early to mid‑career women in PR and communications, a cohort that's responsible for leading teams and client outcomes, yet overlooked by traditional mentoring programs.
Delivered in partnership with Beaumont People and BlueChip Communication, the scholarship provides recipients access to Beaumont People's six‑month LEAD Program, a personalised, strengths‑based leadership initiative combining one‑to‑one mentoring, strengths assessments, coaching, masterclasses, and peer connection.
Carden Calder, Chair of the GWPR Australia Mentoring Program, said: "The strength and volume of applications made it clear there is significant demand for leadership development at this career stage, which is why we decided to expand the scholarships to support two emerging leaders this year.
"We congratulate the 2026 scholarship recipients and thank all applicants. The calibre of applications and level of engagement are a clear signal of how strongly this program resonates across the industry."
(Pictured: Anastasiia Nazarenko and Sophie Budzevski)