34 honored as Women Who Shape the State 2015
By Carla Jean Whitley | cwhitley@al.com AL.com
Hoover, AL
They are pioneers, revolutionaries, women who have fought for their rights and women who have created safe environments for others.
Today AL.com honored its 34 Women Who Shape the State during a luncheon at The Hyatt Regency - Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover. The inaugural event built on the past success of AL.com and Birmingham magazine's Women Who Make a Difference, which in 2013 and 2014 honored women in the Birmingham area.
Alabama Media Group Vice President of Content Michelle Holmes welcomed guests to the luncheon. Her remarks reflected on past generations of Alabama women.
"Thanks to generation of journalists before me, we know all their stories, stories of women who shaped the state," Holmes said.
"We share the view that women are capable of doing great things," Von Maur store manager Melissa Patton said. Von Maur was the event's presenting sponsor.
Stand-up comedian and television personality Eunice Elliot served as emcee and spoke about the influence each honoree has had on Alabama. As she concluded with Lilly Ledbetter and mention of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, those gathered rose to their feet for a standing ovation.
The honorees were:
Elizabeth Barbaree-Tasker, chief of operations and finance at REV Birmingham
Dr. Gwendolyn Boyd, president of Alabama State University
Susan B. Brouillette, CEO/owner of Alacare Home Health & Hospice
Miranda Carter, Johnny Ray's BBQ in Chelsea and Columbiana
Catrena Norris Carter, executive director of Selma's 50th Anniversary Commemoration Foundation
Casi Callaway, executive director of Mobile Baykeeper
Kathryn Calogrides Coumanis, Penelope House founder
Jan Davis, a retired astronaut and NASA executive who is currently vice president for Jacobs Technology
Ashley DeRamus, Ashley DeRamus Foundation and Ashley by Design founder
Allison Dillon-Jauken, executive director of The Arts Council in Huntsville
Amy Disney, CEO of AMT Staffing
Maricela Garcia, Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama volunteer
Nancy C. Goedecke, chairman and CEO of Mayer Electric Supply Company, Inc.
Shera Grant, deputy public defender at the Community Law Office
Laura Hall, a retired educator and district 19's representative in the Alabama legislature
Patti Hall, director of Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo
Monique Rogers Henley, president of H&S Management Holding Company
Melissa Kendrick, owner of Sojourns fair-trade store and founder of the South East Lake Bike Project
Barbara Waters Larson, executive director of Leadership Alabama
Wendy Jackson, executive director of Freshwater Land Trust
Lilly Ledbetter, an advocate for women's workplace equality and retired manager for Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company
Dr. Jayme Elizabeth Locke, a transplant surgeon at the University of Alabama at Birmingham
Alicia Mackie, social media, PR and marketing director of Together Assisting People
Sally Purnell Mackin, executive director of Woodlawn Foundation
Kagendo Mutua, a professor in the College of Education at the University of Alabama
Mia Raven, founder of Montgomery Area Reproductive Justice Coalition, legislative chair for Moral Monday Alabama and owner/designer of Mia's Muses Jewelry
Martha Lyon Peek, superintendent of Mobile County Public School System
Ashley Reitz Peinhardt, an attorney at Hare, Wynn, Newell & Newton
Joan Perry, owner and vice president of PHP Communications
Leslie Sanders, vice president of Alabama Power's southern division
U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, representative of Alabama's 7th congressional district
Jennifer Skjellum, president of TechBirmingham
Patricia Todd, state director for Human Rights Campaign Alabama and Alabama's first openly gay elected official
Jackie Wuska, president and CEO of United Way of West Alabama