Women Entrepreneurs and Diario El Mercurio established the “100 Mujeres Líderes” Award in 2002 with the goal of highlighting female leadership in Chile and recognizing women who stand out for their contributions to the country’s social and economic development in five categories: (i) Entrepreneurs; (ii) Executives; (iii) Professionals, Academics, and Researchers; (iv) Public Service; and (v) Social Service.
Pelusa Orellana was awarded in the category of professionals, academics and researchers. She is one of the founders of “Red Por un Chile que Lee” and Director of “CIIL UAndes,” a platform designed to transform knowledge and teaching practices to improve reading comprehension for children and young people in Chile. She is also affiliated with the Human Development Lab. Her active participation in these initiatives earned her this recognition.
“I am deeply grateful for this recognition, but I also extend it to many other women who contribute to helping our students become lifelong readers and use reading to improve their quality of life. I accept it with great humility and with the desire to continue working for this cause, both through research and through the advocacy groups I am part of. I firmly believe that reading dignifies and changes people’s lives,” said the researcher about this recognition.
She has provided consulting services for educational foundations and governmental organizations both in Chile and abroad. Pelusa Orellana is also a member of the Chilean committee of “Latinoamericanos por la Educación”. The nomination process has several stages, starting with the nomination of various candidates, followed by a pre-selection process by an internal committee from El Mercurio and Mujeres Líderes, and then a jury composed of men and women representing the private sector, public sector, academic sector, civil society, and women who have been recognized 10 or more times with the “100 Mujeres Líderes” distinction in the history of the award. This process is designed to select the candidates in the most transparent and accurate way possible.
