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CONTACT:
Charlene Ventura
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
President & CEO
March 29, 2015
513-361-2120
Images available upon request
YWCA NAMES EIGHT WOMEN AS 2015 CAREER WOMEN OF ACHIEVEMENT
36TH Annual Luncheon: May 13, 2015
Keynote Speaker: Academy Award-Winning Actress Geena Davis
CINCINNATI – Eight Cincinnati-area women who are considered “pearls of the
community” for their expertise and service in the fields of business, finance, government,
construction, education, healthcare and transportation have been selected YWCA of
Greater Cincinnati’s 2015 Career Women of Achievement (CWA).
Now in its 36th year of honoring local women for their outstanding contributions in the
workplace, the YWCA of Greater Cincinnati will celebrate the winners’ achievements
noon-1:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 13, at the YWCA Salute to Career Women of
Achievement Luncheon in the grand ballroom of the Duke Energy Convention Center in
downtown Cincinnati. Event co-chairs are Alandes Eure-Powell, Senior Vice-PresidentCollection Operations of Citi and a 2013 CWA honoree, and Lee Ann Liska, President and
Chief Executive Officer of the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, a 2011 CWA
honoree.
Academy Award-winning actress Geena Davis, known both for her extensive film and
television career and for her efforts to eradicate negative media stereotypes of women and
girls around the world, is keynote speaker. Also honored at the event will be two YWCA
scholars: the 2015 YWCA Mamie Earl Sells Scholarship recipient presented by Kroger to
one of our region’s outstanding African American high school seniors, and the Charlotte R.
Schmidlapp Fund, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee Scholarship recipient presented to a nontraditional adult student continuing her postsecondary education.
Tickets for the luncheon are $75; corporate sponsor tables are available. For information,
call the YWCA of Greater Cincinnati at (513) 241-7090 or visit www.ywcacincinnati.org.
The 2015 winners are:
Andrea Ayers, President and CEO, Convergys
From her early years as a business student at Louisiana State University, Andrea Ayers
knew she wanted to lead a major company one day. That day came in 2012, when her 20plus-year career at Convergys resulted in her appointment as President and CEO. Before
taking on the top executive role, she had served in numerous company divisions, including
technology, marketing and business development. Convergys today is one of the world’s
largest publicly traded relationship-management services companies. A strong believer in
both personal development and self-promotion, Ayers is a single mother who confronted
and overcame many early-career stereotypes about the capabilities and commitment of
working women in her pursuit of leadership roles at Convergys, and she remains a strong
proponent of work-life balance. She is inspired by words from her mother: “Don’t wake up
at the end of someone else’s life; make your own choices.”
EXAMPLES OF LEADERSHIP
•
Leads more than 125,000 employees across 31 countries and 47 languages
•
Manages company annual revenues of $3 billion
•
One of 51 women CEOs among Fortune 1000 companies
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
•
2016 Campaign Chair and Executive Leadership Team, American Heart
Association Go Red for Women
•
Board Member, Cincinnati Arts & Technology Center; Stanley Black & Decker, Inc.
•
Member, The Business Roundtable
Kelley J. Downing, President & CEO, Bartlett & Co.
Following the 2007-2008 financial crisis, Kelley J. Downing’s bold suggestion to buy back
Bartlett & Co. from its Baltimore parent company was a risky move that resulted in a
success story for Cincinnati’s investment community. Bartlett now ranks #2 in the U.S.
among the top 50 registered investment advisory firms that provide financial planning
services, according to Bloomberg ratings, and colleagues attribute the firm’s success to
Downing’s leadership, dedication, vision, support of technology and innovation, and her
strong finance background. Downing took over the President and CEO position in 2007
after a career spanning finance, investment and commodities trading positions at E.F.
Hutton in New York City and Fifth Third Bank in Cincinnati. At Bartlett and as a guest
lecturer of finance at Miami University, she is a strong supporter of women in a mostly
male-dominated profession. She is also a founding member of the steering committee of
the Cincinnati Women’s Executive Forum. Downing also manages Bartlett’s portfolios
focusing on socially responsible investing and its portfolios for its not-for-profit clients.
EXAMPLES OF LEADERSHIP
•
Manages Bartlett’s $16 million budget and asset portfolio of $3.4 billion
•
First female President & CEO of 117-year-old Cincinnati-based Bartlett & Co.
•
Led the 2012 buy-back of Bartlett & Co. from a Baltimore parent firm
COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTIONS
•
Founding member St. Vincent de Paul Charitable Pharmacy, the first in
Southwestern Ohio
•
Board Member and Chair of Women’s Leadership Roundtable, ArtsWave
•
Board Vice Chair, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company
Sally C. Gutierrez, Director, Environmental Technology Innovation Clusters
Program, Office of Research and Development, United States Environmental
Protection Agency
When Sally C. Gutierrez visited Cincinnati from Texas 15 years ago for a water research
interview at Cincinnati’s Environmental Protection Agency laboratory, she knew that she
was making the right decision as soon as she saw the Tyler Davidson Fountain – “The
Genius of Water” -- in the heart of downtown. When she was accepted the position as
Director of the EPA’s National Risk Management Research Laboratory in 2004, she was
the first Hispanic woman to serve in a senior leadership position at the US EPA.
Cincinnati’s laboratory and research center is now the nation’s largest water federal
research laboratory. Gutierrez is an ex-officio member of Confluence, a water cluster
organization that brings together research professionals, government agencies,
businesses and community groups on water quality issues; since the network’s founding,
several new companies and water technology products have spun off from the initiative.
Before moving to Cincinnati, Gutierrez was Director of Water Quality and Utilities for the
city of Austin. Driven by a philosophy to “take care of the earth’s precious water
resources,” Gutierrez has served as a role model for other federal employees and has
created opportunities for the hiring, career advancement and continuing education of
women and minorities at the EPA. In the words of her nominator, “Sally has shown the
contribution that one individual can make.”
EXAMPLES OF LEADERSHIP
•
Oversees the largest federal water research laboratory in the U.S.
•
First Hispanic woman at EPA to serve as a Senior Executive Service Member, first
to direct a national research laboratory
•
Public Service Award, National Association of Hispanic Federal Executives
COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTIONS
•
Advisory member, Southern Ohio District Export Council
•
Ex-officio member, Confluence
•
Former Member, University of Cincinnati Department of Biomedical, Chemical and
Environmental Engineering external advisory board
Michele Hawkins, Managing Director and Chief Compliance Officer, Fort
Washington Investment Advisors Inc.
Michele Hawkins’ first job at age 13 earned enough money to buy her very own telephone
line, an early-life accomplishment that served as the first sign of many successes to follow.
With a background in business management, her 30+ year career spanned securities
trading, management, compliance and executive positions at more than 10 leading
financial and investment firms in California and Ohio. In 2004, she took on the role of
Managing Director and Chief Compliance Officer at Fort Washington Investment Advisors
Inc., a subsidiary of Western & Southern Life Financial Group. She is the first AfricanAmerican woman in a managing director’s role within the group. Described by colleagues
as “incredibly hard-working, highly competent, a commensurate learner and networker,
and a fantastic role model and innovator,” Hawkins also is active in mentoring programs
for local children and students, including Withrow High School and the Ross M. Love
Scholarship Foundation, and her leadership of the United Way’s Herbert R. Brown Society
– dedicated to African-American leaders as a “gathering of givers” -- has led to a 160%
increase in its membership at Western & Southern.
Examples of Leadership:
•
Manages a team responsible for regulatory and compliance oversight for $47 billion in
investments
•
Chair of the Greater Cincinnati Compliance Roundtable
•
Chairperson for the United Way’s Herbert R. Brown Society
Community Contributions
•
Advisory Board Member, Cintas/Xavier Ethics Advisory Board
•
Mentor, Ross Love Memorial Foundation and Withrow High School Mentor
•
Former Member, Greater Cincinnati Foundation Investment Committee
Candace S. McGraw, CEO, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport
Candace S. McGraw is a successful airport executive who credits part of her success to
the strong, confident women who shaped her career by their sheer determination and the
examples they set of what it means to be a working professional. She and her mother, in
fact, graduated from college the same year, and her first boss at an airport was a woman –
an unusual situation 27 years ago. Today, as CEO of the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky
International Airport (CVG), she is responsible for a complex enterprise – operations,
administration, finance, management and strategic planning -- that provides 16,000 jobs
for the community and infuses $3.6 billion into the local economy. McGraw took over the
CEO position in 2011 and has been at the helm during the airport’s “re-invention,”
including the recent arrival of low-cost airlines to fill the void when Delta scaled back
services at its then-Cincinnati hub. Colleagues praise her as a strong leader whose talent,
intellect and sense of humor serve as a source of inspiration and a grounding influence.
From 2011-2015, SkyTrax has named Cincinnati “best Regional Airport in North America,”
an honor credited to her vision, support of ongoing airport renovations and leadership of a
Master Plan Study to provide a blueprint through 2035 for CVG. The Northern Kentucky
resident started her career as a lawyer, and co-workers call her a “straightforward and
compassionate mentor who can be counted on to provide thoughtful, practical and
nurturing advice.”
EXAMPLES OF LEADERSHIP
•
Manages $125 million operating budget and 400 employees
•
First woman to serve as CEO of Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport
since its 1947 opening
•
2013 Best Boss of Northern Kentucky
•
Chair, Ohio Commercial Airports Consortium
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
•
Chair, 2013-2014 Northern Kentucky ArtsWave Campaign
•
Board Member, Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky Chambers of Commerce;
Cincinnati Convention and Visitors Bureau
•
Member, Vision 2015 Regional Stewardship Council
Liza D. Smitherman, CEO/Owner, Brewster Pumping LLC, and Vice President of
Professional Development, Jostin Construction Inc.
As a Cincinnati Public Schools teacher and counselor for nine years, Liza D. Smitherman
learned the importance of “everyone counts,” a philosophy that has contributed her to
success as the first woman and minority owner of a concrete pumping firm in the region.
Her success in professional development at family-owned Jostin Construction, in fact,
inspired her in 2005 to found Brewster Pumping LLC, a small-business enterprise that now
services some of Cincinnati’s largest construction firms. In addition to handling the
budgeting, contracting, financial planning and business operations at Brewster, she also
focuses on hiring practices that give every applicant – regardless of past – a chance to
work. She partners with the Urban League, Cincinnati Action Agency, Easter Seals
Tristate, Homeless Coalition and several ex-offender programs to recruit employees, and
her efforts have improved employee retention by 40%. Hailed as a “trailblazer and
spokesperson for women and minorities, and an advocate for all small businesses,” she
successfully spearheaded a collaborative workforce diversity plan for major Cincinnati
construction projects. Smitherman also mentors students at the Cincinnati Arts &
Technology Center and the Woodward Career Tech construction management program,
and she has accompanied young Cincinnatians on a bicycle ride to Niagara Falls, serving
as a role model and source of encouragement on the 500-mile trek.
EXAMPLES OF LEADERSHIP
•
Manages $11 million company
•
Doubled company growth 2012-2015 during economy’s rebound
•
Boosted Jostin’s diversity profile from 43%-58%
COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTIONS
•
Volunteer Chaperone for the 500-mile Cincinnati-to-Niagara Falls bicycle trip
•
Employer Chair, Construction Career Pathway Partnership team for Partners for a
Competitive Workforce
•
Board Member, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital; City Gospel Mission; Easter Seals
Tristate; National Skills Coalition
Lori J. Stark, PhD, Director, Division of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical
Psychology, Associate Chair of Finance, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical
Center and Professor of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
In a roundabout fashion, capuchin monkeys in a Boston University research laboratory
helped Dr. Lori J. Stark achieve success in the medical profession. Her parents – skeptical
about their only daughter among five children attending college – were swayed by her
dedication to education and scientific perseverance when her work in that Boston
laboratory, training monkeys to help paralysis patients, gained national media attention
and her parents’ approval. Today, she is the Director of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical
Psychology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC), one of the
country’s mostly highly regarded pediatric psychology programs, and she has boosted its
prominence in psychological research. Based on her collaborative success with the growth
of the division since 1988, she took on the new position of Associate Chair for Finance in
CCHMC’s Department of Pediatrics in 2014, and her involvement with the international
executive search team led to the appointment of the first woman pediatric chair of the
department in Cincinnati Children’s history. During her tenure, Stark has facilitated the
growth of the psychology program’s research budget, staff, and the integration of staff
psychologists into the hospital’s clinical teams and neighborhood locations to address
families’ and patients’ mental health and disease-coping skills. Her pediatric research
specialties and interests cover cystic fibrosis, childhood obesity and attention deficithyperactivity disorder.
EXAMPLES OF LEADERSHIP
•
Oversees a division of 212 faculty, researchers and support staff
•
Boosted her division’s $1 million budget in 1998 to $21 million in 2014, including $9
million in National Institutes of Health research grants
•
Inaugural recipient of CCHMC’s Arnold W. Strauss Endowed Chair for Mentorship
COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTIONS
•
Spearheaded the establishment of Cincinnati’s ADHD Collaborative
•
Member, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Advisory for Patient Engagement
•
Led CCHMC’s Faculty Evaluation Committee to revitalize career development and
mentorship
Carolyn Tastad, Group President-North America, The Procter & Gamble Company
As a child, Carolyn Tastad’s only “playground” boundaries were the houses, buildings and
wheat fields that surrounded her small Canadian town of about 120 residents. Today, her
boundaries span the globe as head of P&G’s largest and most profitable market, covering
the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. Her business portfolio includes 14 product categories
and 23 billion-dollar brands. From her first job as P&G management systems analyst, she
worked her way to the North American Group President’s office from experience in sales,
customer service, management and executive positions throughout the U.S., Europe and
Canada. In 2014, she became the first woman to serve as the company Global Customer
Business Development Officer. Praised by colleagues as “authentic, trustworthy, endlessly
capable and brilliant,” Tastad adheres to a philosophy of hard work, high expectations and
an inclusive environment that encourages the best from her colleagues and coworkers,
with a special concern for the women she mentors and coaches on work-life balance.
Says one colleague: “She has a tremendous ability to bring people together by trusting
them as individuals, collaborating with them as peers, and motivating them as a team.”
EXAMPLES OF LEADERSHIP
•
Manages P&G’s largest and most profitable region, $32 billion net sales
representing 39% of the company’s worldwide net sales
•
Business portfolio includes 14 product categories and 23 billion-dollar brands
•
First woman to serve as P&G’s Global Customer Business Development Officer
with 15,000 employees
COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTIONS
•
Board Member, Cincinnati Museum Center; Grocery Manufacturers Association
•
Former Member, Wella AG Management Board
•
Former Board Member of INROADS Canada, a nonprofit organization supporting
workforce programs for visible minority and Aboriginal youth
Other key events of the May 13th YWCA Career Women of Achievement program include:
•
Presentation of the Charlotte R. Schmidlapp Fund, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee
Scholarship Award to Francesca Pasqualina Mazzucca of Batavia, a single mother
and domestic violence survivor who sought help from the YWCA’s House of Peace
shelter in 2013. She is studying pre-engineering at the University of Cincinnati
Clermont Campus.
•
Presentation of the Mamie Earl Sells Scholarship Award presented by Kroger to
Lily-Michelle Arthur, a top-ranked Norwood High School senior and senior class
president, National Honor Society member, and Key Club member. A native of
Ghana, she moved to Cincinnati with her family at a young age, and despite the
challenges of a broken family, has consistently committed herself to high grades
and community involvement. She is a volunteer at Good Samaritan and Christ
Hospitals, plans to study pre-med, and seeks a career as a Pediatric Neurologist,
with dreams of serving in humanitarian medical missions around the world.
•
Keynote speech by Academy Award-winning actress Geena Davis, whose
versatility as an actress is complemented by her intellectual prowess, athletic skills
and tireless work on behalf of women and children around the world. Davis won the
1989 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress as Muriel Pritchett in “The
Accidental Tourist.” Other milestones include a 2006 Golden Globe Award for best
actress in a TV drama for her portrayal of the first female President of the U.S. in
“Commander in Chief,” a Golden Globe nomination for her portrayal of female
baseball player Dottie Hinson in “A League of Their Own” and her dual Academy
Award and Golden Globe nominations for her portrayal of Thelma in the iconic film
“Thelma and Louise.” Davis is a member of the Mensa Society, is a former topranked archer and is founder of the nonprofit Geena Davis Institute on Gender in
Media and its programming arm, See Jane, which advocates for more women
characters and less gender stereotyping in the film and television industries. She
chairs the California Commission on the Status of Women, is a partner with the UN
Women to change media representation of women and girls worldwide, and a UN
Special Envoy for Women and Girls for technology issues.
Judges for this year’s event were:
•
Douglas Bolton, managing principal, DTZ
•
Susan Branscome, Senior VP Managing Director, NorthMarq Capital
•
Diane Jordan-Grizzard, Director of Strategic Talent Management, BHDP
Architecture
•
Nathaniel Lampley Jr., Managing Partner, Vorys, Sater, Seymour & Pease
•
Felicia Williams, Vice President of Internal Audit, Macy’s
About the Career Women of Achievement Program
For 36 years, the YWCA Career Women of Achievement luncheon has recognized women
who have made major contributions to the workplace in Greater Cincinnati and Northern
Kentucky. These eight women will join the ranks of 282 professional women who now
comprise the YWCA Academy of Career Women of Achievement.
The Salute to Career Women of Achievement is the single largest fundraiser for the
YWCA of Greater Cincinnati, a 146-year-old organization. Proceeds from the event
directly sponsor the YWCA communitywide programs serving more than 35,000 women
and families. For more information about the YWCA, call (513) 241-7090; or visit the
YWCA website: www.ywcacincinnati.org.
The YWCA is dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women and promoting peace,
justice, freedom and dignity for all.
TO INTERVIEW AN HONOREE, CO-CHAIR OR YWCA PRESIDENT AND CEO Charlene
Ventura, contact Nancy A. Spivey, (513) 361-2126.