Celebrating Excellence: Meet the 2026 GWO Instructor of the Year Finalists

We are excited to announce the finalists for the 2026 Instructor of the Year.  

Returning for its fifth instalment, these awards are a chance to celebrate the outstanding dedication of GWO Instructors from every corner of the globe and highlight the passion, expertise and commitment they bring to delivering high-quality training. They also reflect GWO’s commitment to celebrating excellence across our global training community and recognising the people who go above and beyond to support a safer, more skilled workforce.

This year’s finalists are:

EMEA

• Uzusiphe Njengabantu (SP-Wind Pty Ltd)

APAC

• Yi-Chin (Hellen) Lu (Taiwan International Windpower Training Corporation Ltd.)

Latin America

• Lenin David Miranda Vazquez (Renewable Energy Training, SPIE WIND)

• Thiago Almeida (Maersk Training Brazil)

North America

• Michael Sullivan (TAKKION)

Congratulations to all of the finalists and thank you to everyone who took the time to submit a nomination, it was an outstanding group of nominees this year. We would also like to thank our Judging Panel for sharing their time and expertise in selecting the finalists:

• Mariana Batista, Head of Education & Skills at WindEurope

• Brandon McKelvain, Technical and Safety Training Manager at Pattern Energy

• Sami El-Daoud, Head of Global Training Excellence at Siemens Gamesa

• Heiko Post, Senior Expert, Global Training Excellence at ENERCON Global Service

• Bente Boa, Lead Portfolio Coordination Consultant at Ørsted

• Ella Marshall, Head of Training and Development at Muehlhan Wind Service

• Olivia Burton, Senior Technical Officer at G+

The winners will be announced at this year’s Safety & Training Forum in Paris, 29-30 September. We look forward to celebrating our outstanding training community with you.

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