SRQ Magazine is proud to announce it will honor powerhouse producer Katie Nelson Thomson as the recipient of the 2025 Women Who Roar Trailblazer Award at the Women Who Roar Leadership Awards Luncheon on Friday, October 31, 2025, at Michael’s On East.

The prestigious Women Who Roar Trailblazer Award recognizes a leading woman whose fearless spirit and groundbreaking contributions have not only shaped her industry but also inspired those who followed. Former award recipients include USA Today bestselling author and former editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan Kate White, global model and author Paulina Porizkova, CEO of MiMO Studios Cyma Zarghami, journalist and civil rights activist Dorothy Butler Gilliam, CEO of Timbuk2 Patti Cazzato, former editor-in-chief Town & Country and Travel & Leisure magazines Pamela Fiori and fashion icon Adrienne Vittadini, among others.

From newsrooms to late-night television, Kate Nelson Thomson’s career is a masterclass in powerful storytelling, bold leadership, and the relentless pursuit of truth—always delivered with impact. Thomson is the senior talent producer behind HBO‘s Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, where she has been since launching the show in 2014. The half-hour topical comedy series, featuring a satirical look at the week in news, politics, and current events, has received 28 Emmys and three Peabody Awards.

Before joining Last Week Tonight, Thomson was the senior broadcast producer of CNN’s Piers Morgan Tonight. Before that, she spent 15 years at ABC News working alongside legendary journalist Barbara Walters. During her time at ABC, she produced award-winning segments and interviews for 20/20 and The Barbara Walters Specials, including Walters’ exclusive interview with Monica Lewinsky—seen by over 70 million viewers and still the highest-rated news event broadcast by a single network.

While at 20/20, Thomson was instrumental in producing Barbara Walters’ Peabody-Award winning interviews with Christopher Reeve after the accident that left him paralyzed, intimate presidential candidate profiles, coverage of Princess Diana’s funeral, and Patrick Swayze’s last interview. She also played a key role in ABC’s Emmy Award-winning coverage of the September 11th terrorist attacks, securing first interviews with President George W. Bush, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and NYC Mayor Rudolph Giuliani in the aftermath of the tragedy. Thomson has produced interviews with every U.S. president since Jimmy Carter and conducted conversations with world leaders such as Fidel Castro, Hugo Chávez, Benjamin Netanyahu, King Abdullah and Queen Rania, Slobodan Milosevic, Benazir Bhutto, Mikhail Gorbachev, Margaret Thatcher, Oscar Arias, the Dalai Lama, and an unprecedented joint interview with Yitzhak Shamir, Yasser Arafat, and King Hussein. With a legacy that spans decades of high-stakes journalism, history-making interviews, and culture-defining television, Katie Nelson Thomson exemplifies what it means to blaze a trail through your industry.

The 2025 Women Who Roar Trailblazer Award will be presented to Katie Nelson Thomson at SRQ Magazine’s 10th Annual Women Who Roar Leadership Awards Luncheon, where we will gather to connect, celebrate, and recognize this year’s Women Who Roar Award Honorees from the region.

Event Details: SRQ Magazine’s 10th Annual Women Who Roar Leadership Awards Luncheon, Friday, October 31, 2025, Michael’s On East Ballroom, 1212 S. East Avenue, Sarasota. Pop Up Boutiques, “Her Story” Exhibit and Registration: 10:30am, Luncheon Program: 11:30am to 1:15pm. Post Event Reception: 1:15-2 pm

For sponsorship opportunities, table reservations, tickets, or more information about SRQ’s Women Who Roar Leadership Awards Luncheon, please visit srqmagazine.com/wwrluncheon.