Celebrating the Winners of the Outstanding PyLadies Awards for 2026!

Lynn Root

June 01, 2026 | Tag: » Global, Outstanding PyLady Award

The PyLadies community is made possible by the incredible people around the world who dedicate their time, care, leadership, and energy to building welcoming spaces in tech. Through organizing events, mentoring others, supporting local communities, advocating for inclusion, and helping people grow in Python, these community members continue to make a lasting impact across the global Python ecosystem.

The Outstanding PyLady Award exists to recognize and celebrate those contributions. It is a way to highlight diverse Pythonistas doing meaningful work in their communities and to thank them for the dedication and care they bring to PyLadies and the broader Python community.

Each year, the PyLadies Global Council selects a small group of recipients from nominations submitted by the Python community worldwide. Award recipients were recognized during the closing ceremony of PyConUS 2026, held in Long Beach, California, this year. Recipients receive their choice of either travel assistance and conference registration for PyCon US or a similarly sized cash award. They also receive a commemorative award pin and trophy to celebrate their contributions to the community.

This year, we received more than 80 nominations from across the global Python community. While we wish we could recognize everyone, we are excited to celebrate four incredible community leaders whose work continues to inspire and uplift others around the world.

The recipients of the Outstanding PyLady Award 2026 are listed below in alphabetical order by first name.

Denny Perez

Denny Perez (LinkedIn), originally from the Dominican Republic, joins us from the 🇨🇦 Montreal, Canada 🇨🇦 PyLadies community, where she has become a leader in the global Python ecosystem, helping to connect and support communities across regions, including Spanish-speaking communities worldwide. In Montreal, she is part of the organizing team of Python Montreal and leads the PyLadies Montreal chapter. Denny is a PSF Fellow and current Board Member of the Python Software Foundation. She is also a co-founder and co-organizer of PyLadies Santiago, the first PyLadies chapter in Chile, and a co-founder of PyLadies en Español, mentoring PyLadies communities across Spanish-speaking countries. In addition, she helped to organize PyLadies Santo Domingo and serves as coordinator of the Python en Español community, which now has more than 13,000 active members.
As a core organizer of PyLadiesCon for the past three years, Denny co-chaired the inaugural edition. Most recently, she helped lead sponsorship initiatives that raised more than $55,000 USD for the 2025 edition, making it the most successful PyLadiesCon to date. Beyond PyLadies, Denny co-chairs PyCon Charlas, the Spanish-language track at PyCon US, and is a core organizer at PyCon Latam, and has played an important role in helping the Python Chile community since 2021. She also served as a Regional Executor for Latin America in the Black Python Devs community.

Her nominators highlighted her leadership, advocacy, and commitment to community growth, making her truly deserving of this recognition. For more information about her work and community initiatives, check out her website.

Fay Shaw

Fay Shaw (LinkedIn) joins us from the 🇺🇸Boston, USA 🇺🇸 PyLadies community, where she has revived the Boston PyLadies chapter after several years of inactivity. Through her leadership, the chapter now hosts regular online and in-person events.

Fay has also fostered collaboration between PyLadies Boston and the broader Python community, including Boston Python, PyData Boston, and Women in Data Boston, by co-organizing joint events and facilitating cross-organizational community participation. Beyond community organizing, she leverages her Python and data skills to advocate for cyclist and pedestrian safety. Her impact within the Python ecosystem continues to grow, and she has been a speaker at PyCon US and PyLadiesCon.

Her nominators highlighted her consistent dedication, optimism, and leadership in creating welcoming spaces for others in tech, making her truly deserving of this recognition.

Hwayoung Cha

Hwayoung Cha (LinkedIn) joins us from the 🇰🇷 Seoul, South Korea 🇰🇷 PyLadies community, where she has dedicated her time and energy to PyLadies Seoul, supporting both local and global PyLadies initiatives through leadership, community involvement, and advocacy for inclusivity.
Her nominators highlighted the kindness and welcoming spirit she consistently brings to every interaction, always working to ensure others feel included and supported within the community. Hwayoung has become a strong advocate for creating safe, encouraging spaces for people participating in PyLadies events and activities worldwide.

She has also shown tremendous courage in stepping into leadership and organizer roles within the community. During PyLadiesCon 2025, Hwayoung gave her first public speech in English, inspiring others by showing that it is okay to step outside of one’s comfort zone and try something new.

Her dedication, empathy, and commitment to uplifting others make her truly deserving of this recognition.

María José Molina-Contreras

María José Molina-Contreras (LinkedIn) joins us from the 🇩🇪 Berlin, Germany 🇩🇪 PyLadies community, where she has become a transformative leader through her work in organizing, mentorship, and global community building within PyLadies and the broader Python ecosystem.
María José has been a core organizer of PyLadiesCon for the past three years and served as Co-Chair for the last two editions. Beyond PyLadiesCon, she is a member of PyLadies Berlin, co-organizes PyLadies en Español, and supports various PyLadies groups worldwide. She coordinates the Python en Español Discord community, contributes to the Python Docs ES translation initiative, and actively mentors emerging PyLadies chapters, including supporting communities in Athens and Lithuania.

As an international speaker and long-standing EuroPython volunteer, María José has spoken at PyCon US, EuroPython, PyCon Lithuania, PyCon Slovakia, PyCon Spain, and JupyterCon, and has also contributed behind the scenes through proposal reviews and community activities.

Her nominators highlighted her leadership, kindness, mentorship, and dedication to building welcoming spaces for others in tech, making her truly deserving of this recognition.

We are deeply grateful to this year’s recipients for the impact they continue to make in their local communities and across the broader Python ecosystem. Their leadership, mentorship, advocacy, and generosity help create spaces where more people can learn, participate, and thrive in tech.

We also want to thank everyone who submitted nominations and helped recognize the incredible work happening throughout the PyLadies community around the world 💜

Nominate Someone — or Yourself!

Nominations for the Outstanding PyLady Award remain open year-round. If you know someone making a meaningful impact in the Python or PyLadies community, or if you would like to nominate yourself, we encourage you to submit a nomination for future consideration.

To learn more about the award and nomination process, please visit the award documentation and nomination form.