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

Karen Carnahan	Susan Croushore	Delores Epps	Mary Lynn Ferguson-McHugh
Chandra Gravely, MD	Jill McGruder	Victoria Morgan	Marilyn Shazor

Mamie Earl Sells Scholarship	Charlotte R. Schmidlapp Fund Scholarship
Kimaya Hudgins	Vikki Kimbrough

2009 Career Women of Achievement Keynote Speaker

Elizabeth Vargas Elizabeth Vargas, an award winning anchor and correspondent, has been a co-anchor on ABC’s 20/20 since May 2006. Vargas has traveled the world covering breaking news stories, reporting in-depth investigations and conducting newsmaker interviews. During the historic Iraqi elections in December 2005, she anchored World News Tonight from Baghdad. She anchored for both World News Tonight and 20/20 from the U.S. Gulf Coast, covering Hurricane Katrina's devastation. In 2000, Ms. Vargas won an Emmy for Outstanding Instant Coverage of a News Story for anchoring live coverage of the Elian Gonzalez case. Among Vargas’ professional credits are roles as anchor of “World News Tonight Sunday”, frequent substitute anchor on “Good Morning America” as well as correspondent and anchor for “Dateline NBC” and the “Today” show. Vargas is a graduate of the University of Missouri with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism.

2009 Career Women of Achievement Co-Chairs

Tillie Hidalgo Lima President/CEO, Best Upon Request Tillie Hidalgo Lima, a 2007 Career Woman of Achievement Honoree, leads Best Upon Request Corporate, Inc., a national on-site concierge company that provides services that are designed to increase employee productivity and reduce stress, leading to enhanced employee retention. Born in Cuba, Tillie and her parents escaped to find freedom in the United States. Coming with only 10 pesos, her parents taught her resourcefulness and determination. After graduating from the University of Cincinnati, Tillie was a pharmacist for 13 years before coming to Best Upon Request as vice president of operations. She became president/CEO in 2003. Tillie is active in many organizations including Vistage, Bridges for a Just Community Board of Directors, United Way Board of Directors, United Way Tocqueville Society Women’s Leadership Council, and Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber’s Women Excel Executive Advisory Council. She frequently speaks at events and has published many industry articles. Tillie’s honors include being a recipient of the Brillante Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence from the National Society of Hispanic MBAs. Tillie and her husband, Dave, have three daughters; Jessica, Natalie and Sofia.

Nora L. Zorich, M.D., Ph.D. Vice President, Corporate Research and Development and Global Pharmaceuticals Dr. Zorich a 2006 YWCA Career Women of Achievement Honoree is Vice President of Research and Development at Procter and Gamble. Nora has played high-profile roles in the approval of several drugs, including Actonel for osteoporosis, and Asacol, the leading drug in North America for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. She was also central to the approval of the company’s olestra fat substitute in the U.S. and the over-the-counter switch of omeprazale (Prilosec). Nora is a founding member and current chair of the United Way Women’s Leadership Initiative of Greater Cincinnati. She has been a board member of the YWCA, Ensemble Theater and the Health Improvement Collaborative of Greater Cincinnati. Nora also serves on the University of Cincinnati, College of Medicine Community Advisory Board.

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

To learn more about the 2008 Career Women of Achievement Honorees and luncheon, please click here.