Judges
Meet our WISE Awards judging panel for 2026.
Anni Feng, Associate Director, Intelligent Building Group, Hoare Lea
“I am looking forward to being inspired and motivated by all the brilliant award entries! It will be a privilege to read the nominees’ stories and their achievements. Thoughtful actions and collaborations are so important for progress. I cannot wait to meet other judges and hopefully all the nominees as judging progresses to celebrate and continue to make a difference together.”
Anni is a chartered engineer in the UK with a background in computer and communication systems engineering. She has diverse telecommunications and digital design and advisory experience in various sectors, including healthcare, technology and transportation. She has worked on projects in America, Africa, Middle East, South Asia and across Europe.
Anni first gained her healthcare experience while on a long-term assignment with Arup Canada in 2016. She has had the privilege to be involved in many healthcare projects of different scales and complexities since. Some examples include being the lead digital engineering advisor in the health workstream for the Peru Reconstruction programme, leading the digital workstream in a cancer centre design competition in Wales and being the digital advisor for a major hospital replacement project in Scotland.
As a keen volunteer with the IET, Anni has served on the Council and the Board of Trustees, as well as volunteering for local networks in the UK and Canada. Anni currently co-chairs the Digital Futures Policy Centre, which works to ensure that digital technology is developed and deployed safely and to its full potential by providing world-leading expertise to inform policy making.
Promoting and advancing women’s progress in science and engineering are core to Anni’s work. She was recognised as one of the Women’s Engineering Society’s Top 50 Women in Engineering in 2025, for empowering underrepresented voices, fostering cross-cultural collaboration, and redefining digital engineering through empathetic leadership, systemic change and inclusive innovation.
Professor Elena Rodríguez-Falcón FREng FIET, Provost and Chief Academic Officer, Study Group, Chair of the Engineering Development Trust and Industrial Cadets
“I am excited to celebrate the women and men who dedicate their lives to advancing science and engineering—raising aspirations, innovating, challenging convention, and persevering even when change is slow. I was fortunate to receive The Princess Royal WISE Lifetime Achievement Award last year, but even being shortlisted was an honour and a motivation to continue our shared mission. Changing minds and hearts cannot remain isolated moments; they must grow into a movement. That is why I am most looking forward to serving on the WISE Awards Judging Panel.”
Professor Elena Rodriguez-Falcon is Provost at Study Group and specialises in enterprise, engineering, and global education. A Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Engineering and Technology, she has received numerous accolades, including being named the 2020 Woman of the Year in Technology and one of the top 101 global Mexicans.
In 2025, she was awarded The Princess Royal’s WISE Lifetime Achievement. Elena is passionate about innovation in education and outreach initiatives, and serves as Chair of the Board of Trustees for EDT and Industrial Cadets, and President of her Alma Mater, UANL’s International Advisory Board.
Margaret Taggart, Transmission Design Engineer, NIE Networks
“I’m incredibly excited and honoured to be a judge for this year’s WISE and YWE Awards. It’s a real privilege to celebrate and recognise the incredible talent, dedication and passion of women making a real impact in the engineering sector.
“I’m especially looking forward to learning about the personal journeys and achievements behind each nomination – the inspiration, innovation and impact they bring.
“Being part of an event that champions representation, progress and the next generation of talent is truly inspiring. I’m excited to celebrate this year’s incredible nominees and their remarkable contributions.”
Margaret Taggart is a Transmission Design Engineer at NIE Networks, where she plays a key role in designing and developing Northern Ireland’s electricity transmission network, supporting the region’s transition to a sustainable Net Zero future. She graduated from Queen’s University Belfast in 2019 with an MEng in Electrical & Electronic Engineering and joined NIE Networks through the IET Power Academy scholarship.
Early in her career, Margaret gained hands-on experience across multiple departments, building expertise in technical design, project management and innovation. In 2024, she was recognised in the Northern Ireland 30 Under 30 Awards for her contributions to engineering and positive impact on the community.
Margaret is an EngTech registered professional and a passionate advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion in engineering. She serves on the IET Main Council and the Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Board helping to shape initiatives, programmes and policies that create opportunities for engineers from all backgrounds.
She has held various leadership roles within the IET and has previously chaired the IET Northern Ireland Young Professionals and IET On Campus at Queen’s University, mentoring students and early-career engineers, delivering professional development workshops and fostering inclusive networks that build confidence and support career development.
Within NIE Networks, Margaret leads outreach initiatives encouraging young people, particularly girls to explore STEM subjects and consider careers in engineering.
Through her combined experience in industry and with the IET, she demonstrates how technical expertise, leadership and advocacy can work together to create meaningful societal impact.
Margaret is committed to building an inclusive, innovative and sustainable engineering community, inspiring the next generation of engineers to see themselves represented, supported and empowered.
“I have worked with WISE in various ways since 2010 but I remember them from the very earliest days of my career when the WISE Bus was the ‘face in the community’ encouraging girls into STEM. They have been a sustained presence over decades to support individuals and businesses with encouragement, challenge and development, with gender equity as the constant focus.
“I am excited to see how things have moved on since I last judged the WISE Awards in 2022. It is such a great opportunity to celebrate the many talented and inspiring women, and determined allies, working in STEM!”
Jenny Young has enjoyed a 40-year career spanning engineering, inclusion and skills policy.
She was encouraged into engineering by teachers at school, as a way to develop her love of maths and physics. After studying Engineering at Cambridge, she spent 25 years in the defence industry, specialising in Systems Engineering.
On leaving industry, Jenny co-led the Government-funded Diversity & Inclusion programme at the Royal Academy of Engineering for its first 7 years. This involved engaging with many employers and the professional engineering institutions to stimulate and support widening participation across engineering.
During that time, she worked with many third sector diversity organisations including WISE. One of the joint projects between WISE and the RAEng during that time was the development of the Ten Steps Framework which has since evolved into the WISE Gender Equity Framework.
In 2017 she moved to the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board, the statutory body that supports skills development in the processing and critical energy infrastructure industries. Her final role at ECITB as Deputy Director, Strategy & Policy included strategic responsibility for ECITB action on diversity and inclusion to support the industry. She retired in 2024.
Jenny is a Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of the IET. She is currently a member of the IET Council and their Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Board. She also sits on the Strategic Industry Advisory Board for the EDGE Hub (Engineering, Design, Growth and Enterprise) at Canterbury Christ Church University.