Ilana Walder-Biesanz has been named one of five recipients of a $5m award from the Bezos Foundation for her work to ensure brilliant young mathematicians reach their potential.
Every one of our Stars has the potential to make valuable contributions in science, engineering, technology and more. This award helps us support these exceptional kids, and it will pay dividends for decades to come.
Ilana Walder-Biesanz
Gates Cambridge Scholar Ilana Walder-Biesanz is one of five recipients of a $5 million Bezos Courage & Civility Award for her work to encourage outstanding budding mathematicians to reach their full potential.
Ilana is CEO and Founder of National Math Stars [NMS]. The 2025 Bezos Courage & Civility Awards, given by Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos, were announced in late December. NMS will use the award to accelerate the organisation’s growth through a new pilot programme as well as to build vital infrastructure as it scales across the US.
“This award is not only a huge honour, it’s an opportunity to mould the future,” says Ilana. “Every one of our Stars has the potential to make valuable contributions in science, engineering, technology and more. This award helps us support these exceptional kids, and it will pay dividends for decades to come.”
The Bezos Courage & Civility Awards celebrate those who boldly challenge the status quo. The focus of the 2025 awards is on creating learning environments that value young people of all abilities, including advanced learners.
Ilana’s vision for National Math Stars, which she set up in 2023, is rooted in her early passion for maths and STEM subjects. Ilana [2013] strongly believes that advanced students should have access to opportunities that further develop their talents. NMS offers long-term, individualised support for brilliant young mathematicians, beginning in second- and third-grade. That support continues all the way through high school graduation. The aim is to ensure mathematically extraordinary students from all communities have the resources to excel in maths and science.
Background
As a child growing up, Ilana was an avid learner. Early on she attended an unconventional school where students could move up and down the grades and progress at their own pace, regardless of their age. Ilana was often the youngest person in her class. She then moved to a local public school where she continued to be several years ahead of her classmates, particularly in maths and languages. The school let her study independently and put her in classes with older children, but she was still not challenged enough so she studied online and moved early to high school.
From the age of 13 she did maths and Spanish at her local university, Lewis & Clark College, combining her studies with her school work.
Constantly torn between the arts and maths, Ilana did her undergraduate degree in Systems Engineering, but switched to literature for her MPhil at Cambridge where she studied European Literature and Culture.
