Awards

Celebrate exceptional listening leaders

The ILA honors individuals and organizations that exemplify the profound impact of active listening. Join us in recognizing those who turn listening into a catalyst for positive change through implementation and research activities.

Listening Awards

Open to non ILA members

  • ILA Listener of the Year Award

    Individuals who are nationally or internationally prominent listeners. Nominees should epitomize the highest standards and principles of effective listening. 

    Winner 2024:

    Michael Gingerich and Tom Kaden/Someone To Tell It To Foundation

    See past winners

  • ILA Special Recognition Award

    Individuals and/or organizations who have performed outstanding service to the ILA for an extended period of time, or have provided unusual service to the promotion of listening over a period of at least one full year.

    Winner 2024: Krishna Naineni

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  • Listening in the Business Sector Award

    Individuals and/or organizations recognized for notable achievements involving listening in business settings. Nominees should have contributed to the advancement of effective listening in the current year

    Winner 2024 : Lori Joubert

  • Carolyn Coakley- Hickerson Award

    Elementary - secondary teacher. Receive a one-year complimentary ILA membership with this award.

For ILA members only

  • Listening Hall of Fame

    Individuals who are recognized for notable achievements involving Listening in academic, business, or other settings. Winners have contributed to the advancement of effective Listening over a number of years. 

    Winner 2024 : Sandra Bodin-Lerner

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  • ILA Outstanding Educator Award

    Teacher (open to all levels, including elementary, secondary, college, and university) who is knowledgeable about listening and how to teach listening; teaches listening (could be part of a course, such as language arts, communication, speech, business, leadership, etc.); and shares his or her knowledge and techniques for teaching listening with others through convention presentations, publishing, teacher in-service, etc.).

    Winner 2024 : Donna Schiess

  • ILA Lifetime Achievement Award

    Individual who is recognized for lifetime achievements involving the ILA and its growth and development.

    Winner 2024: Kittie Watson

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  • ILA President’s Award

    Presented to individuals or organizations, at the discretion of the President of the ILA.

    Winners 2024:

    Nancy Salisbury, Alex Perl, Marva Shand-McIntosh, Ingrid Nordii and the Nominations Team (Manisha Asrani and Sanna Ala-Cortesmaa

Research Awards

Here, we celebrate innovative strides in understanding the art and science of listening across disciplines. Ultimately, the principles derived from listening research are foundational in developing strategies for more effective and empathetic communication in both personal and professional contexts.

Open to non ILA members

  • The Graduate Thesis or Dissertation Award

    Open to any full-time graduate student (current or previous graduate student) who has completed outstanding research in the form of a thesis or dissertation. To be considered, the research should have been published or, if unpublished, the data should have been collected during the last calendar year. The award recipient, if a non-member, will receive a one-year complimentary ILA membership.

    Winner 2024: Eva Göksel – Learn more

  • The Synergist Award

    Outlined in a 2008 White Paper, the Synergist Award promotes the advancement of listening knowledge and research through a targeted focus. Using a deductive process, listening scholars and educators have developed a set of priorities for listening research. The researchers granted the ILA Synergist Award will be those cooperating with international listening scholars to build listening theory.

    Winner 2024: Elizabeth Parks

    See past winners

For ILA members only

  • Listening Research Award

    Individuals or group with outstanding achievement in research. To be considered, the research should have been published or, if unpublished, the data should have been collected during the last calendar year. Nominations may be made by self-nomination, or by another ILA member, or with recommendation of the ILA Research Award Team. 

    Winner 2024: Margarete Imhof

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  • Undergraduate Research Award

    Open to any full-time undergraduate student (current or previous student) who has completed an outstanding research project who is a current member of ILA. To be considered, the research should have been published or, if unpublished, the data should have been collected during the last calendar year.

    Past winners include: Stephanie Guild and Tracy Sawyer

  • ILA Top Convention Student Award

    Honoring the best student paper which was presented at the ILA convention of the current year.

    Winners 2024: Manisha Asrani & Anisha Agarwal

    See past winners

  • ILA Top Convention Award

    Honoring the best paper which was presented at the ILA convention of the current year. One author should be an ILA member.

    Winner 2024: Elizabeth Parks

    See past winners