The 2022 iRAP Peter Kissinger Award recipients were announced yesterday in a virtual celebration attended by Peter’s wife Willie and iRAP’s Chairman of the Board Miquel Nadal.

In recognition of his great contribution to iRAP and global road safety, the Peter Kissinger annual Memorial Award is presented to the iRAP Staff Member/s who most emulate the iRAP values and spirit that Peter demonstrated in practice each day.

The 2022 winners are:

RUNNER UP: Agustin Centeno, Senior Road Safety Engineer

WINNER: Monica Olyslagers, Global Innovation Manager and Cities Specialist

The nominations were shortlisted by iRAP Chairman of the Board – Miquel Nadal, and chosen by Willie. In selecting winners, Willie used the iRAP values and looked for characteristics that made her think of Peter.

Willie has said previously of this special award, “Peter was just so proud of iRAP and so delighted that he was part of the whole organization. He was so impressed and it was important to him. The people in the organization are so passionate, so supporting and so encouraging. This award … I know he knows about it, he’s listening. He’s proud of it.”

In reflecting on her selection of Agustin as the Runner-Up, Willie said, “After 10 years of impressive work to improve roads in Mexico, he is now a technical reviewer for iRAP Accreditation and his focus on data and being consistent in his assignments builds trust. He is described as reliable, thoughtful, creative, generous, helpful and committed to this work, with a contagious good mood that lifts everyone’s spirits. And those are qualities that I would use to describe Peter.”

In reflecting on her selection of Monica as the Winner she said, “Monica is praised for her commitment across the whole breadth of road safety and for a deep seeded passion to make all roads safer. She is involved in developing many of the innovative systems and processes now in place including AiRAP, and she is methodical and displays a high level of professionalism. She engages and empowers the partners, her work and project management skills are highly respected by both clients and colleagues, and she encourages everyone to use their own skills and talents to their full potential. She makes things happen. Monica is a leader who is passionate, committed, focussed, supportive and innovative. Qualities that describe Peter.”

iRAP Staff nominations

There were 11 nominations shortlisted for the award including:

• Anne Alexander, Full Stack Developer – ‘Great team player and a proactive problem solver’
• Greg Smith, Global Programme Director – ‘Passionate about road safety, inspires all around him’
• Helen Noble, Finance Team Lead – ‘Committed to her work and celebrates team outcomes’
• Agustin Centeno, Senior Road Safety Engineer – ‘Absolute focus on quality, has helped thousands with his thoughtfulness and diligence’
• Albin Tharakan, IndiaRAP Road Safety Engineer – ‘Proactive improvement and innovation focus, takes on a challenge’
• Amanda Burns, Accountant – ‘Passionate and dedicated, goes the extra mile to get things done’
• James Bradford, Global Technical Director – ‘Motivated for positive change, dedicated to the user experience’
• Monica Olyslagers, Global Innovation Manager and Cities Specialist – ‘Passionate to save lives, empowers our partners’
• Lou Lupton, Programme Support Officer – ‘Attention to quality and detail, trustworthy and reliable’
• Samrat Rai, Full Stack Developer – ‘Solves problems before they become one, cheerful and patient’
• Shanna Lucchesi, Project Coordinator – ‘Always exceeds expectations, passionate and enthusiastic’

Put some faces to names here

About Peter

Peter was a Road Safety Champion, Colleague, and friend to iRAP. He was an iRAP Board Director from 2005 to 2019, President and CEO of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety (2002 to 2016) and part of the Civil Engineering Research Foundation from 1992 to 2001.

Some comments made by Peter’s colleagues that matched his characteristics included:

• There are countless people who owe their lives to Peter’s passion for safety.
• His achievements only exceeded by his character and integrity.
• An amazing boss and mentor….led by example…and offered wise counsel to everyone.
• A leader, innovator and hero for the cause of road safety.
• He was such a positive person, always looking for the good in …a logically measured way.

We are delighted to share this award in Peter’s name and that Willie can continue to be part of the iRAP family for many years to come.

See more on iRAP’s values here

Information on previous award winners can be found here:

• 2021 winners and nominees
• 2020 winners and nominees.