Kate Raftery Emerging Leader Award

The KRELA honors emerging women leaders 40 years of age or under
that have shown a demonstrated dedication to improving the lives of women and girls.
Awardees are affiliated with the Peace Corps and have been awarded annually since 2020.

2025 Award Winner: Laura Leeson

Laura Leeson is a global health professional with over a decade of experience living and working in Madagascar, dedicated to advancing the health, education, and well-being of women and girls in rural communities. Her path to global health began at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she studied psychology and African studies and spent a formative semester abroad in Cape Town, South Africa.

Laura’s connection to Madagascar started in 2013, when she joined the Peace Corps as a Community Health Advisor in a small highlands village. She ended up staying three years, designing and rolling out projects in maternal health, adolescent sexual and reproductive health, and youth development alongside her community.

After her service, Laura earned her MPH from the University of Minnesota in Global Maternal and Child Health, then returned to Madagascar in 2017 to join Projet Jeune Leader (PJL) — a youth-founded non-profit pioneering comprehensive sexuality education in Madagascar’s public schools. She now leads PJL’s Technical Department as Director of Program Strategy and Impact and sits on the organization’s senior leadership team.

Laura has stayed closely connected to Peace Corps Madagascar: offering advice at in-service trainings, hosting third-year extensions at PJL, and making sure volunteers passing through town are treated to a nice meal. In her free time, she fusses over her dogs and loves exploring local restaurants with her husband and seven-year-old daughter – named Malala, a common Malagasy name and a tribute to girls’ education champion Malala Yousafzai, whose work inspires her own.

Award Recipients

Learn more about previous award recipients.

Who is Kate Raftery?

Kate Raftery has dedicated most of her career to the elevation of young professionals, especially young women professionals. As Peace Corps Country Director in four countries, deputy director and training staff in three others, and a member of headquarters senior leadership, she strove to support and challenge young professionals both personally and professionally during their service and fledging careers. She has counseled, cheered on and written references for hundreds, if not more, Volunteers as they launched their careers. As National Director of the Americorps National Civilian Community Corps she directed a program which offered a unique service opportunity for thousands of 18-24 year old youth which allowed them to maximize the skills which they brought to the program as well as understand the power of service to address burning community issues. As Vice President for Education for the International Youth Foundation she focused on providing life skills and youth empowerment training through formal and non formal education programs with the hope to empower and give voice to young people around the world. Kate has been an active member of Women of Peace Corps Legacy since its inception and was a leader in the establishment of the mentoring program which has grown into a foundational institutional program.