|
|
|
Ohio Women's Hall of Fame 2009
|
|
|
MEET THE 2009 OHIO WOMEN'S HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES
The 2009 Ohio Women's Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony took place on Wednesday, August 26, 2009 in the Statehouse Atrium. Yvette McGee Brown served as emcee, First Lady Frances Strickland attended and Governor Ted Strickland served as keynote speaker.
|
 |
Gail Collins
Collins is a native of Cincinnati, Ohio.She has a degree in journalism from Marquette University and a Master of Arts in government from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.Her first jobs in journalism were in Connecticut, where she founded the Connecticut State News Bureau. An exceptional journalist, Collins first joined The New York Times in 1995 as a member of the editorial board and later as an Op-Ed columnist. In 2001 she became the first woman ever appointed editor of the Times’ editorial page. She has also published a book titled, When Everything Changed: The Amazing Journey of American Women from 1960 to the Present. Before Collins joined The Times she was a columnist at New York Newsday, the New York Daily News, and a reporter for United Press International.
|
|
|
Pamela B. Davis, M.D., Ph.D.
Dr. Davis is the Dean and Vice President for Medical Affairs of the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. She is the Arline H. and Curtis F. Garvin Research Professor and Professor of Pediatrics, Physiology & Biophysics, and Molecular Biology & Microbiology. Davis has directed the Center for Clinical Investigation as well as the Willard Bernbaum Cystic Fibrosis Research Center and served as chief of the pediatric pulmonary division. She holds seven U.S. Patents, is a founding scientist of Copernicus Therapeutics, Inc., and has received numerous awards for her work, such as the Raising our Voices Award from American Medical Student Association. She received her M.D. and Ph.D. from Duke University.
|
 |
Kim K. de Groh
De Groh received her bachelors and masters degrees from Michigan State University. De Groh is currently serving asSenior Materials Research Engineer in the Space Environment and Experiments Branch at NASA Glenn Research Center and is an internationally renowned technical leader in areas relating to the durability of spacecraft materials. De Groh has participated in shuttle flight experiments, two Russian Space Station Mir experiments, and she is the principal investigator for 12 International Space Station experiments. Her research has directly impacted the Hubble Space Telescope, the International Space Station. Also, de Groh is currently influencing spacecraft material design choices made by NASA, the Department of Defense and our nation’s space industry. De Groh has authored or coauthored 96 technical publications and she has received 10 best paper awards. De Groh is a resident of Hinckley, Ohio.
|
|
|
Beverly J. Gray
Beverly Gray has lived all of her life in Ohio. An outstanding educator, Gray has connected with hundreds of students and their families. She co-founded and coordinated the David Nickens Heritage Center and was named a “Jennings Scholar” by the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation of Ohio University. Gray has also served as the South Regional Coordinator of the Friends of Freedom Society/Ohio Underground Railroad Association. She is the Ohio Consultant for the “GETTING WORD” Oral History Research Project for the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation. Gray served as president of the Ross County Genealogical Association and as a board member and featured member of the speakers’ bureau of the Ross County Historical Society.
|
 |
Sharon D. Howard
Howard is theExecutive Director of Community and Public Relations for WDTN-TV in Dayton. In 2006, Howard founded the “Crown Jewels™ of Dayton” calendar initiative to benefit the Kettering Medical Center Foundation’s Women’s Wellness Fund. She has been recognized for her journalistic work by receiving the “Regional Communicator of the Year Award” by the International Communications Training Institute; multiple National “Communicator” and “Telly” Awards. Her work in the community has garnered her several recognitions including: “Central Region Volunteer of the Year” from the National Urban League; James E. Stamps “Communication Award” given by the Dayton Inter-Alumni Council of the United Negro College Fund and Dayton YWCA “Women of Influence Award” and “Distinguished Ambassador Award.
|
|
|
Carol S. Kuhre
Kuhre has served as the President of the Athens Foundation; Vice-President of the Sugar Bush Foundation; a supporting organization of the Ohio University Foundation; and Vice-president of the Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation. In 1990, Kuhre became the executive director of Rural Action, an organization working to bring about sustainable development in the Appalachian counties of Ohio and later went on to become Co-director of United Campus Ministry, an ecumenical ministry at Ohio University. Working in collaboration with others, she helped to create a number of social justice organizations that include, among others, the Appalachian Peace and Justice Network.
|
 |
Virginia Manning
Manning, of Erie County, was a dynamic activist who worked tirelessly for the equality of women in the workplace. She successfully challenged the “protectionist” laws of Ohio with regard to working women, laws which were in violation of Title VII of Civil Rights Act of 1964. Manning’s suit changed Ohio law and set a national precedent by forcing state laws, which still allowed separate job classifications for women, to comply with the Federal Civil Rights Act of 1964. She was the oldest of 15 children, growing up during the Great Depression. Manning helped raise her siblings, going out to gather lumps of coal for heating, giving up her own food for the younger ones and making other daily sacrifices to meet all their needs to the best of her ability so that her parents could both work outside the home to make ends meet.
|
|
|
Helen F. Moss
As a young housewife and mother, she seized the opportunity to attend college when the government offered a student loan for the first time in 1966. By 1970, she graduated summa cum laude and first in her class from the University of Akron. The next year, she founded the Akron chapter of the National Organization for Women. Moss currently serves as founder and managing trustee of the Helen Moss Breast Cancer Foundation and was recently appointed to the international Society for Integrative Oncology’s Board of Trustees as its first patient advocate. Moss is a nine-year survivor of metastatic breast cancer. She was appointed by Gov. Dick Celeste to the Ohio Arts Council and has served on many boards such as the Cleveland Ballet, the Great Lakes Theater Festival and the Cleveland Opera. She currently resides in Bratenahl, Ohio.
|
|
|
Judith S. Rycus, Ph.D., MSW
For the past 35 years, Dr. Judith Rycus has been an organizational consultant, a training manager, a trainer, and an advocate on behalf of physically abused, neglected, and sexually abused children and their families. Dr. Rycus co-founded the Institute for Human Services in Columbus and has served as Program Director since its inception. She is co-founder and senior policy analyst with the North American Resource Center for Child Welfare and has served as Associate Editor of the quarterly news journal of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children. She has directed the development and implementation of the Ohio Child Welfare Training Program since 1985 and has consulted internationally to establish and sustain training systems and organizational infrastructures that promote best practice in the field. She earned her doctorate from The Ohio State University.
|
|
|
Mother Mary Adelaide Sandusky
Mother Mary Adelaide Sandusky was born in Cincinnati in 1874 and journeyed to Minnesota to become a member of the Rochester Franciscan order. She founded the Sisters of St. Francis of Sylvania, Ohio in 1916, at the age of 42, with almost no resources except a few sandy acres in Sylvania. Over the years, the group grew into the largest congregation of religious women in the Diocese of Toledo, based at what had become an 89-acre Sylvania campus known for its exquisite natural beauty and its Franciscan environment. Mother Mary served as its Mother General for 48 years and then carried the title “Mother Foundress”. Her example continues to inspire the Sylvania Franciscans.
|
 |
Glenna L. Watson
For nearly 40 years, Glenna Watson has been a trailblazer in her profession and in her countless community service pursuits. Watson graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Capital University in Columbus, from where she also received an honorary doctorate in 1995. Watson served 22 years at the Central Ohio Transit Authority, the first African American woman to hold the CEO position. She has also served asChief of Personnel for the Ohio Department of Development and Personnel Director for the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. Watson has received several prestigious awards, such as being named a YWCA Woman of Achievement in 1990. She is currently involved with many organizations including the Medical Mutual Insurance of Ohio Board of Directors, the Diversity Advisory Council for Baker and Hostetler and the Community for New Direction.
|
 |
Bernett L.Williams
A native of Toledo, Ohio, Williams is currently President and CEO of the Akron Community Service Center and Urban League. Williams is also a board member of the business advisory council of Akron Public Schools, is a life member of the NAACP and sits on various other business and community services boards and committees. She is Vice President of the National Urban League Association of Executives (Central Region). Williams has won several awards such as Crain’s Cleveland Business Magazine 40 under 40 Club and Kent State University Community Service Award and the Ohio Black Women’s Leadership Caucus Incredible Women Making a Difference Award. The National Urban League honored her for advancing racial equality at their 2008 National Convention.
|
 |
Celia Williamson, Ph.D.
Dr.Celia Williamson is an associate professor at the University of Toledo and received her Ph.D. from Indiana University. Dr. Williamson has devoted 15 years to learning, researching, and developing responses to human trafficking. In 2009, she developed Lucas County Human Trafficking Coalition and has been active in securing an FBI task force in Lucas County to address the issue of rescuing children from the sex trade. She organized and co-chaired five National and International Conferences on Prostitution, Sex Work and Human Trafficking, the proceeds of which benefit the Second Chance Program. Dr. Williamson currently participates in the Attorney General’s human trafficking commission aimed at understanding and addressing human trafficking in Ohio.
|
|
Ohio Women's Hall of Fame, History and Background
The Ohio Women's Hall of Fame (OWHF) was established in 1978 to publicly recognize the many outstanding contributions Ohio women have made to their state and nation. Members of the OWHF come from all walks of life, but each has demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to excellence, achievement, and service to others. They are an ongoing source of pride and inspiration for all Ohioans—especially our state’s next generation of leaders.
The OWHF continues to honor Ohio women who emerge as leaders in their fields, often against great odds, with courage, determination and compassion. By celebrating their accomplishments, including their struggles and triumphs, we prepare our children for the choices they must make and for the challenges yet to come. To date, over 360 women have been inducted into the Hall.
The Governor’s Office for Women’s Initiatives and Outreach, the Ohio Department of Development, Ohioana Library Association and the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services jointly coordinated the 2009 hall of fame. For more information about the Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame, contact the Ohio Department of Development Entrepreneurship and Small Business Division at (614) 752-7450.
To learn more about the OWHF, visit the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services Web site.
|
|
|
|
|
|