CPS, Western & Southern Financial Group Name Finalists for 19th Annual Educator of the Year Award

Western & Southern Financial Group, in partnership with Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS), is excited to announce five finalists for the 2025 Dr. Lawrence C. Hawkins Educator of the Year Award. The award, established by Western & Southern in 2007, honors one educator each year in CPS who elevates the educational process in the District to an exceptional level through personal commitment, dedicated focus and outstanding results.

Finalists for 2025, chosen from nominations submitted by CPS teachers and administrators, are:

Gretchen Diesel-Bayer
Woodford Academy

Kristen Carter
Riverview East Academy

Jaclyn Deutsch
Academy of Multilingual Immersion Studies

Brad Gerard
School for Creative and Performing Arts

Heather Woodyard
Walnut Hills High School

Each of this year’s finalists learned they had been selected during a surprise classroom visit this afternoon from Cincinnati Public Schools Superintendent Shauna Murphy and Western & Southern Vice President of Public Relations and Corporate Communications David Nevers.

The 2025 award recipient will be announced on May 6 at a ceremony and reception hosted by Western & Southern at the Guilford Building (421 E. Fourth St.) in downtown Cincinnati. Western & Southern will present the award winner with a $10,000 check.

“Our educators are the heart of Cincinnati Public Schools and the foundation of why we are Here for Kids. Their daily commitment to academic excellence, whole-child development and equity drives the growth we’re working toward across our District,” said Cincinnati Public Schools Superintendent Shauna Murphy. “This recognition celebrates not just individual achievement, but the collective momentum we’re building to prepare every student for life & Beyond the Tassel. We’re proud to partner with Western & Southern to honor Dr. Hawkins’ legacy and uplift the educators making it real every day.”

“The Dr. Lawrence C. Hawkins Educator of the Year Award is a living tribute to a remarkable leader and an important way we acknowledge educators who are making a difference in the lives of Cincinnati’s children,” said John F. Barrett, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Western & Southern. “Educators influence far more than just academic success – they help students grow into thoughtful, capable individuals both in and out of the classroom.”

Western & Southern’s inspiration for establishing the award in 2007 was Dr. Lawrence C. Hawkins, a renowned educator in Cincinnati who served as a distinguished member of the Western & Southern board of directors for many years. Hawkins, a member of the elite Tuskegee Airmen, earned undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Cincinnati and a doctorate in education. He worked as an educator and administrator at CPS before joining the University of Cincinnati faculty, where he founded the College of Community Affairs. He was promoted to vice president of continuing education and metropolitan affairs and then again to executive vice president of administration. Hawkins served on several local community and business boards, and was named a Great Living Cincinnatian in 1989 by the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber of Commerce. To learn more about past recipients, click here.