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When I dare to be powerful -- to use my strength in the service of my vision then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.

-Audre Lorde

Please join us for the
2010 Annual Salute to Career Women of Achievement Luncheon
Thursday, May 13, 2010

 For more information about sponsorship opportunities, click here

To purchase tickets, email bgriffith@ywcacin.org, call (513) 361-2169, or print an order form.

Duke Energy Center, Career Women 2009


The YWCA Salute to Career Women of Achievement was established in 1980 to increase community awareness and appreciation of the diverse contributions of women in the work force and in the community. The luncheon has evolved into the YWCA's largest fund raising event, sponsored by over 150 companies and organizations each year.  All proceeds directly benefit YWCA programs, supporting its mission to eliminate racism and empower women. 

Approximately 100 women are nominated to be Career Women of Achievement each year. An independent panel of 5 community leaders selects women who exemplify personal career success, dynamic leadership qualities and the unique ability to serve as role models. Former honorees include artists, physicians, educators, executives, politicians, lawyers, human service workers, entrepreneurs, and law enforcement officers. 

Additional honors recognized at the luncheon include the Mamie Earl Sells Scholarship and the Charlotte Schmidlapp Fund Scholarship Awards. 

The Academy of Career Women of Achievement is comprised of 242 past honorees. Established as a means of fostering interaction among Career Women of Achievement award recipients, the Academy promotes the personal and professional growth of women in Greater Cincinnati and provides leadership and diverse skills to the community.

In celebration of the YWCA Career Women of Achievement’s 30th Pearl Anniversary, we asked the Academy of Career Women of Achievement to share with us their own ‘pearls of wisdom’. These words capture their personal philosophy, the words they live by. Click here for the Academy’s ‘pearls of wisdom’.

2010 Career Women of Achievement Keynote Speaker

     

Alfre Woodard

Alfre Woodard is an American television and film actress. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the 1983 film Cross Creek. She also appeared as Lily Sloane, in Star Trek: First Contact and Down in the Delta as a single alcoholic mother from Chicago forced to spend a summer with her uncle in Mississippi. Woodard's television credits include Hill Street Blues, St. Elsewhere, Puss in Boots, L.A. Law, and Homicide: Life on the Street.  

Woodard has won four Primetime Emmy Awards for her television performances in Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, the television movie Miss Evers' Boys, and The Practice. She has also received Emmy nominations for Words by Heart, St. Elsewhere, Unnatural Causes, a second for St. Elsewhere, A Mother's Courage: The Mary Thomas Story, The Piano Lesson, Gulliver's Travels, Homicide: Life on the Street, and The Water Is Wide.

From 2005 to 2006, Woodard starred in the ABC series Desperate Housewives, and received another Emmy nomination for her role as Betty Applewhite. Woodard has appeared on stage in such plays as Map of the World, Drowning Crow, Me & Bessie, and The Winter's Tale. She starred in Tyler Perry's latest film The Family That Preys. Alfre Woodard's latest film is the upcoming American Violet, where she plays the mother of a 24-year-old African American woman who is wrongfully swept up in a drug raid. 

2010 Career Women of Achievement Co-Chairs

 

Dianne Dunkelman
Founder and CEO, Clever Crazes for Kids


Dianne Dunkelman, a 2001 Career Woman of Achievement Honoree and YWCA Board Member, is founder and CEO of Clever Crazes for Kids, an organization committed to building healthy lives with a primary focus on nutrition, physical activity, self-esteem and respect for our earth. Clever Crazes for Kids grew out of the nationwide success Dianne experienced while leading Speaking of Women’s Health, which she founded in 1995. Dianne has been recognized throughout the city and country for her women’s health initiatives as well as her philanthropic efforts. In 2008, she was honored by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) at their 53rd annual Freedom Fund Dinner in recognition of her work to advance on behalf of women of color and their families. The March of Dimes, the National Conference for Community and Justice Citation Award and numerous more have also recognized her. Dianne is active in many organizations including the Cincinnati Ballet, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and serves as Trustee on the Boards of the University of Cincinnati Foundation and the Contemporary Arts Center.

 

 Marilyn Shazor
CEO, SORTA/Metro


Marilyn Shazor, a 2009 YWCA Career Women of Achievement, is the first female and the first African American CEO of SORTA/Metro. These are only the most recent “firsts” Marilyn adds to her resume. She was the first COO of Metro, the first female executive at Green Tokai Co., and the first member of her family to earn a college degree. Marilyn oversees 950 employees, a budget of nearly $100 million and a fleet of more than 400 vehicles. In 2008, Marilyn received the American Public Transportation Association Innovation Award for the Everybody Rides Metro foundation.  Marilyn serves on the boards of the Cincinnati Human Relations Commission, the Fine Arts Fund Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Chatfield College. In 2009, she was the recipient of the Hamilton County Board of MR/DD’s J. Lajuana Miller Inclusion Award and the Most Powerful and Influential Women in Ohio Award.

To volunteer for the 2010 Career Women of Achievement Luncheon, please contact Sophia Gilligan Helms.

2009 YWCA Career Women of Achievement Images

YWCA President & CEO, Charlene Ventura, Event Co-Chair, Tillie Hidalgo Lima, Keynote Speaker, Elizabeth Vargas, Event Co-Chair, Nora Zorich, YWCA Board Chair, Penny Pensak

YWCA Career Women of Achievement Honorees, Mamie Earl Sells Scholarship Recipient, Charlotte R. Schmidlapp Fund Scholarship Recipient and keynote speaker.
Back Row: Victoria Morgan, Susan Croushore
Middle Row: Mary Lynn Ferguson-McHugh, Chandra Gravely, Marilyn Shazor, Vikki Kimbrough
Front Row: Kimaya Hudgins, Jill McGruder, Elizabeth Vargas, Delores Epps, Karen Carnahan

 

2009 YWCA Career Women of Achievement Honorees

Karen Carnahan

Susan Croushore

Delores Epps

Mary Lynn Ferguson-McHugh

Chandra Gravely, MD

Jill McGruder

Victoria Morgan 

Marilyn Shazor

Click here for bios and information

2009 Scholarship Award Winners

Mamie Earl Sells Scholarship

Charlotte R. Schmidlapp Fund Scholarship

Kimaya Hudgins

Vikki Kimbrough

 

To learn more about the 2008 Career Women of Achievement Honorees and luncheonplease click here. 

 

 
YWCA of Greater Cincinnati, 898 Walnut Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
email: 
 website@ywcacin.org • Phone: 513-241-7090 • Fax: 513-241-7231
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