NORTHERN GAMECHANGERS AWARDS 2023: TEN WINNERS REVEALED
North West Ambulance Service paramedic, Steven Thompson, has been named the Ultimate Gamechanger at this year’s Northern Gamechangers Awards.
The awards, which were held on Thursday 21st September and run by Manchester-based business consultancy Elevate, celebrated the individuals and businesses making a positive different to sustainability, community, and diversity across Greater Manchester.
Ultimate Gamechanger Steven, was commended for his efforts to improve mass casualty triage training.
The HART paramedic has developed a virtual reality (VR) simulation to improve the triage training process for hundreds of emergency services workers.
As well as the Ultimate Gamechanger, the awards also named the rest of the Top 10 Northern Gamechangers – all of whom were recognised for being a force for good across the region.
The winners were judged by regional business leaders, including last year’s winner Lauren Rosegreen, alongside independent PR agency The PHA Group, Manchester Central and Capital & Centric.
Amongst the Top 10 were Julia Heap, Principal and CEO of Hopwood Hall College, in Rochdale, for her work in improving social mobility and widening opportunities for her students, and Alex Winstanley of Happy Smiles Training, based in Wigan, for his ongoing commitment to improving social inclusion of disabled people across the region.
The other Top 10 Northern Gamechangers are:
• Muhammad ‘Abz’ Abby, UA92 and Venture Arts
• Dr Fran Darlington-Pollock, Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity
• Dr Penny Trayner, Clinical Neuropsychology Services Ltd
• Sally MacDonald, Science and Industry Museum
• Annette Joseph MBE, Diverse & Equal
• The Carbon Literacy Project
• The gunnercooke Foundation
Speaking on his win, 2023 Ultimate Northern Gamechanger Steven said: “It’s an honour to be named as the Ultimate Northern Gamechanger, especially when there were so many inspiring people and organisations also in the running. It’s great to have an award such as the Northern Gamechangers to celebrate all of the fantastic work happening across our region.
“I believe Greater Manchester has the opportunity to become a UK pioneer for joint working and collaboration between the emergency services, and I’ll be looking to Manchester’s thriving business community to help fund further training to support them in the coming months.
“I’m hoping this win will further shine a spotlight on VR’s use in emergency training across the region and its role in saving lives.”
Speaking on this year’s awards, Katie Robson, Co-Founder and Director of Elevate, said: “We are thrilled to have hosted the second Northern Gamechangers Awards, and to be able to acknowledge just some of the fantastic work taking place every single day in the North.”
“Last night was all about celebrating these amazing people and the positive impact they’re having, no matter how big or small. Every single winner should be extremely proud of what they have achieved.”
Our top 50 Northern Gamechangers 2023, in alphabetical order...
Agent Academy
Agnes Altmets
Alex Winstanley
Amy House
Amy Wild
Annette Joseph MBE
Azhar Quaiyoom
Boo Coaching & Consulting
Bruntwood's LGBTQIA+ Network
Carrie Byrom
Celia Gaze
Christie Spurling MBE,FRSA
Christina Taylor
Cleo Farman
Cody Gapare
Daisy Hughes
Danny Parr
Darcie Robinson
Dave Scholes
Elise Wilson
Ecobelt
Farhana Hemani
Feimatta Conteh
Fran Darlington-Pollock
Gary Brandwood
GigPig
Hannah Ballard
Jennifer Dootson
Julia Heap
Kyle Soo
Louise Marix Evans
Luke Davies
Manchester Hospitality Network
Mara Rastall
Marianna Vaszilyiv and Okszna Nepijvoda
Melissa Cooper
Mike Smith
Muhammad Abz Abby
Nick Shepherd
Northern Spin
Optimo Business
Dr Penny Trayner
Rita Ochoa
Rose de la Font
Sally MacDonald
Sam Fox
Sixty Eight People
Steven Thompson
The Carbon Literacy Project
The gunnercooke Foundation