Author: WOAmemphis17

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Tina L. Birchett

Women of Achievement
1999

INITIATIVE
for a woman who seized the
opportunity to use her talents and created her own future:

Tina L. Birchett

With an entrepreneurial spirit and a commitment to promote diversity in marketing, Tina Birchett launched her own consulting firm in 1994. Now president of Birchett & Associates, Tina has more than 14 years of experience in advertising, marketing, research and promotions.

Tina, a native of Memphis, earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Memphis State University in 1982. She worked in marketing and advertising for WLMT, WDIA, WHRK and Holiday Inn Hotels and Resorts.

Since 1994, she has overcome many obstacles and has set the pace for empowering women in Memphis. As a result of her desire to uplift, enlighten and inform women of color, she produces the Annual Sisterhood Outreach Summit and Showcase, which attracts more than 25,000 women across the Mid-South. This yearly event, which hosts internationally known speakers, promotes unity among women, replenishes their spirituality, and enhances leadership and career development and much more.

As an extension of her commitment to empower women, she is also the founder and publisher of a quarterly magazine, Grace. This magazine’s mission is to be a positive voice for Memphis women of color and to build empowerment through knowledge.

She has been honored among Prominent Black Women by Epsilon Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Outstanding Community Service by Beta Epsilon Omega Chapter of AKA and Life Changing Award from Grace Missionary Baptist Church. She is also a 1999 class member of Leadership Memphis.

Tina Birchett is a tireless advocate of women entrepreneurs.

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Tonga Nguyen

Women of Achievement
1998

INITIATIVE
for a woman who seized the
opportunity to use her talents and created her own future:

Tonga Nguyen

Tonga Nguyen knows what it’s like to start your life over – and over again. She has found success after coming to a new country, learning a new language, experiencing a new culture, buying a new business and then yet another new business. And all before she was 26 years old.

Tonga, her parents and two brothers came to Memphis in 1990 as South Vietnamese refugees fleeing the brutal North Vietnamese Communist government. Unlike immigrants, refugees are designated by the United States government as having documented political or religious persecution that could cost them their lives in their native land. The family arrived in their new homeland with only $50, minimal possessions, and hopes for safety and freedom. They were placed in an apartment on Court Street in Midtown Memphis and received additional help from the agency that resettled them, Refugee Services of Associated Catholic Charities.

Tonga spoke little English when she arrived in the United States. Determined to receive an education, she entered the 10th grade at Central High School when she was 18 years old. She tenaciously pursued her studies and spent many hours away from school in the library. Tonga graduated from high school in 1994 at the age of 22. She became a U.S. citizen in 1995.

While still a student, Tonga worked after school in the office of the apartment building where the family lived. Eventually she was promoted to manager. After graduating, it was clear that Tonga was a natural entrepreneur. She convinced her brother to help her purchase a grocery store in North Memphis. It proved to be a dangerous business. The family sold the store in 1995 after numerous robberies, which resulted in an employee being killed and her father being critically wounded.

Tonga was unwilling to give in and pursued another business endeavor. She used the proceeds of the sale of the grocery store, her family’s savings and other financing to purchase two apartment buildings with 80 units on Court Street. In 1996, just six years after arriving in Memphis with nothing, Tonga and her family purchased the building where they first lived. Her position evolved from tenant to manager to landlord. Today, in addition to her duties as a landlord, she manages more than 400 apartments in other buildings in the neighborhood for Roberts Properties.

She said in a recent newspaper interview, “When I came (to America), I expected freedom. And I believed that if you worked hard, you could make it.”

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Karen Shea

Women of Achievement
1997

INITIATIVE
for a woman who seized the
opportunity to use her talents and created her own future:

Karen Shea

It was in 1976 when Karen Shea first tested her own strength. After a divorce left her in need of a way to support her two young children, Karen set her sights on becoming an institutional securities broker. Little did she expect the reaction she got. Women, she was told, are not cut out for such a high-powered job, and they simply do not have what it takes to succeed in the financial arena.

After she got over her shock, Karen took the initiative to prove them wrong. She sold her house in Memphis, packed her bags and headed to Houston. There she got the training and support she needed and built such a strong reputation that those in Memphis who had once overlooked her skills started calling her for advice.

While in Houston, Karen became disillusioned by the corruption in local politics. In 1981, she saw a bright new face on the political horizon and began volunteering in Kathy Whitmire’s first mayoral campaign, helping her win a landslide victory. The following year Karen went on the campaign trail again, this time with Ann Richards who became the first woman elected to a statewide office in Texas in 50 years.

Karen’s most recent – and perhaps most passionate – initiative is her fight against violence among and by young people.

It was three years ago that Karen’s son was shot while trying to help a woman who was being mugged. Karen today still tears up when she talks about the incident. “Every time a child is hurt, it feels like it’s my child. They are all our children and what happens to them affects all our lives.”

After her son’s recovery, Karen served as board chair for the Gandhi Institute for the Study of Nonviolence. She also assisted with the implementation of conflict-resolution programs in the city schools, and even took a job as a schoolteacher as a way to teach young people that violence doesn’t solve problems.

Karen has now returned to the financial services industry. Women of Achievement was designed to honor ordinary women doing extraordinary things. She is just such a woman.

Karen is a financial planner with Fish & Associates.

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Evelyn Thorpe-Hibbler

Women of Achievement
1996

INITIATIVE
for a woman who seized the
opportunity to use her talents and created her own future:

Evelyn Thorpe-Hibbler

After a decade of teaching in the Memphis City School system, Evelyn Thorpe-Hibbler moved to Seattle, Washington, where she enrolled her young children in a Montessori school.

Inspired by the school’s effectiveness and philosophy, she decided to become a Montessori teacher and start her own school.

Upon returning to Memphis, certified by the American Montessori Society, she interned at Lamplighter School and taught at another Montessori school. Then in 1991, with her brother, Houston attorney Richard M. Cole III, as a business partner, Evelyn founded First Class Montessori, the first African-American-owned Montessori school in Tennessee.

Unaware of the rules regarding land use in the area, they bought a cozy house on the corner of Cleveland and Peabody, capturing the concerned attention of residents in two historic neighborhoods, Annesdale Park and Central Gardens. Evelyn says, “The neighborhood people did not want a school here. We had to hire an attorney and pursue it in spite of petitions against us and go before Land Use (Control Board) and the City Council.”

First Class Montessori is a day-care center and preschool for children ages 3-6. The Montessori philosophy, developed in 1907 by Italian physician Maria Montessori, is based on the idea of the child as an individual with spiritual worth and dignity and that the most important years for learning are from birth to age 6.

First Class Montessori is limited to 36 children due to limited parking. Six teachers, on site at various times of the day, teach Swahili, Spanish, Japanese, mathematics, geography, phonetics and reading.

In August 1993, Evelyn received an Ordinary People Award consisting of a proclamation by Rep. Harold Ford, a certificate of merit from the state of Tennessee, certificate of recognition from the city of Memphis and certificate of appreciation from the Shelby County government.

Evelyn, who attended high school in Memphis, earned her master’s degree in music education at the University of Memphis in 1985 and later obtained her administration/supervision endorsement. She earned her American Montessori Society certificate at Seattle University and speaks regularly at local schools.

Evelyn says, “Children should learn independence because it helps build positive self-esteem and responsibility. I feel that children should learn respect for self that would eventually evolve into respect for others.”

“The most exciting thing for me,” Evelyn adds, “is to see children who come filled with timidness and who leave with self-assertiveness.”

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Theresa Okwumabua

Women of Achievement
1995

VISION
for a woman whose sensitivity to women’s needs
led her to tremendous achievements for women:

Dr. Theresa Okwumabua

Dr. Theresa Okwumabua has witnessed firsthand the tragedies of ignorance, the lack of education and low self-esteem in young girls. In her professional career as a psychologist, she has gone above and beyond to make a difference in the personal lives of teen mothers and has systematically worked to provide learning where none existed, to provide hope where all had been lost, and specifically to reverse the vicious cycle of recurrent teen pregnancy.

Theresa was employed by Memphis City Schools Mental Health Center in August 1990 to head the mental health team at the Adolescent Parenting Program. At the beginning, she had two social workers and served a limited number of teen parents. In four years, her staff expanded to include eight social workers, one community advocate and two support people.

During her first year, Theresa was responsible for implementing the Student Enrichment Period – a non-graded class time for young parents in which social workers led group discussions about issues such as problem-solving, conflict-resolution, decision-making and interpersonal relationships.

Theresa’s vision led to a program called “Look at Me.” With a federal grant, the mental health team works with pregnant teens who have quit or are dropping out to return to school and stay in school for a period of 24 months with progress toward high school graduation.

Another program Theresa initiated and received a grant to fund is called “Project READ” which teaches students how to read to their children. Teen parents increase their reading skills and learn how to spend quality time with their own children.

Through yet another grant, Theresa initiated another program called “Rites of Passage.” It uses an African-American perspective and tribal/cultural methods to teach adolescents about health, social and education issues, and personal and familial responsibilities. “Rites of Passage” is being adopted as a statewide model for program intervention and Theresa’s book about the concept will advance it nationally.

Theresa’s bright vision for at-risk teens includes college attendance, independent living and a life of purpose that had previously seemed beyond their reach.

Theresa chairs the Memphis Beat the Odds program, a local version of the national program begun by the Children’s Defense Fund.

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Suffragists of Shelby County

Women of Achievement
1990

HERITAGE
for a woman whose achievements still enrich our lives:

Suffragists of Shelby County

In 1920, Tennessee was the 36th and final state to ratify the 19th Amendment. As the nation celebrated the 70th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which granted to women the right to vote, Women of Achievement honored the contributions of the Suffragists of Shelby County.

Several women played important roles, yet we only have records on a few. Elizabeth Avery Meriwether published The Tablet, in which she campaigned for the enfranchisement of women. This Memphian was the national president of the American Women Suffrage Association, succeeding Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Elizabeth Meriwether traveled around the nation to speak for women’s rights and suffrage. But she began her efforts on behalf of women in Memphis. In 1876, she rented the Memphis Theatre to talk about “American Law as it relates to Women,” and documented how the laws treated women as the property of men.

Elizabeth Lisle Saxon was appointed to the presidency of the Tennessee Equal Suffrage Association and she traveled to the state for the cause. She spent much of her time in Memphis, writing and speaking on women’s causes. She combined her work on suffrage and temperance. Working with her was Lide Meriwether, Elizabeth’s sister-in-law. After raising her own family, Lide championed many causes related to women (temperance and anti-vice causes). She even took prostitutes into her home and trained them for other occupations. In the 1880s and 1890s, her attention was devoted to getting women the vote. As president of the Tennessee Equal Suffrage Association, Lide organized petition drives and even traveled to Washington to testify before Congress.

The fight for women’s right to vote was not limited to white women. Women of color were also involved in this struggle. Mary Church Terrell was born in Memphis in 1863. In addition to her many accomplishments in Washington D.C., Mary was a national leader working on the advancement of women and African Americans. She was an active member in the National American Woman Suffrage Association. She spoke at national conventions and kept Susan B. Anthony, Jane Addams, and her other white sisters abreast of the specific problems of colored women.

Ida B. Wells, honored as a Woman of Achievement in 1987, was not quiet on this issue. She was an ardent and dedicated suffragette.

The work of these early pioneers was continued by younger women who joined at critical moments. One such woman was Charl Ormond Williams. Known primarily as an educator, she served as Shelby County superintendent of schools for eight years and was the National Educational Association’s official representative in Washington. Charl was also a politician. In 1920, she served as the vice chairperson of the Democratic National Committee. In Nashville, she led the combined forces to a victory in lobbying the state of Tennessee to ratify the 19th Amendment.

The Meriwethers, Saxon, Terrell, Wells, Williams, and their nameless sisters made an important contribution which the women of Shelby County and the nation must acknowledge and use wisely.

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Alma Lovett

Women of Achievement
1989

HEROISM
for a woman whose achievements still enrich our lives:

Alma Lovett

Alma Lovett stepped out of the crowd and took the lead when drug crimes, violence, truancy, and lack of day care screamed for attention in her community – Memphis’ public housing projects.

Mother of six children and herself a high school dropout, she moved into Fowler Homes public housing 16 years ago. Soon she founded the Fowler Homes Youth Club to organize, entertain, and motivate her young neighbors to make something of their lives. She was elected president of the City-Wide Memphis Housing Authority Resident Council five years ago.

Outraged at what was happening to children in her world where murder and drug running can seem a way of life, she coalesced housing project tenants who marched on City Hall and drew police response for more patrols. She created and personally runs a free day care program that now tends 100 children. She attempted a program with school officials and Juvenile Court to keep children in school by targeting truants lingering near the housing projects and bodily taking them to class. Since her march on City Hall in October 1987, her car windows have been shattered and she has received threatening phone calls. But she carries on.

In August 1988, she became the first resident manager of a Memphis housing project when she took charge of her 320-unit apartment complex. She says, “I used to be fast. Now I’m in a hurry.”

A profile of Alma in May 1988, in The Commercial Appeal was headlined, “Neighborhood Hero.” Tennessee Illustrated magazine last month chose her as one of 20 “Good Folks … the state’s unsung heroes who in their own quiet and relentless ways are building a better Tennessee.”

A young man who attended the Fowler Home Youth Club and calls himself one of Alma’s success stories, said of her new battle against drugs in his old neighborhood: “It’s going to be a struggle. But if she can overcome that, she’s going to be a hero. She’s my hero, anyway.”

Alma eventually left public housing and worked as a manager of privately-owned apartments.

Alma Lovett passed away on March 15, 2002 at age 64.

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Shera Bie

Women of Achievement
1994

DETERMINATION
for a woman who solved a glaring problem despite
widespread inertia, apathy or ignorance around her:

Shera Bie

Shera Bie was an elementary school teacher in 1968 when her eight-year-old daughter was diagnosed with learning disabilities. She soon joined the fledgling Memphis Association for Children with Learning Disorders — and began 24 years of passionate, skillful advocacy for handicapped children and adults in Tennessee.

In 1968, the MACLD was largely a support group for parents of children with learning disabilities. In her first of four terms as president in 1974, she organized groups in Tennessee into a state affiliate of the national ACLD, Inc. and was elected the first state president.

When Shera discovered that Tennessee’s Mandatory Special Education Law, passed in 1972, was not being implemented, she organized 85 related Memphis groups to support implementation and full funding. More than 300 parents and children came to a Nashville rally to hear 13 parents address the state House of Representatives. Two days later, Shera and some of the speakers met for 90 minutes with Gov. Winfield Dunn and the state finance chairman. As a result, $1.5 million was added to the governor’s special education budget.

In 1978, the national ACLD recognized the need for families to have assistance in order to use the 1975 federal law to gain access to appropriate special education services. After attending national training sessions, Shera and six others began what is now Effective Advocacy for Citizens with Handicaps (EACH), the state protection and advocacy agency with three offices across the state.

Through the 1970s and into the 1980s Shera devoted hours to both the local and state organizations. She had a business telephone in the name of ACLD installed in her home. She took care of newsletters, educational meetings, parent coffees and dispensing of information. She presented programs for schools and civic groups. She appeared on radio and TV programs. She arranged with the Memphis City Schools Mental Health Center to join MACLD in publishing the first Learning Disorders Source Book, a free listing of all agencies in Shelby County, with services for individuals and their families.

As volunteer involvement declined and active chapters faded, she worked with a small group to reactivate the state organization and find for it a funding base that would permit a paid staff. In 1984, Shera was hired at token pay as the first executive director and she developed a strategy to secure United Way funding by bringing to Memphis from Minnesota a parent support and education program base on building self-image.

When she stepped down in 1992, Shera left in place a vigorous organization with two employees, a committed volunteer base and a budget of $66,236. The program benefits enjoyed today by many exceptional children are the direct result of Shera Bie’s untiring determination.

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Ola Mae Ransom

Women of Achievement
1993

DETERMINATION
for a woman who solved a glaring problem despite
widespread inertia, apathy or ignorance around her:

Ola Mae Ransom

In 1986, Ola Mae Ransom’s son, a Vietnam vet who had been sprayed with Agent Orange, developed arthritis in the spine and an inoperable disk problem. He became unable to work. In search of services, she accompanied him to the Vietnam Veterans Center.

There she observed groups of men sitting around for hours on end. When she asked a counselor about the situation he explained that the vets were homeless. With nowhere to go, they came to the center in the morning for coffee and doughnuts and then slept on the streets at night.

Appalled at the public indifference to the plight of many Vietnam vets, Ola Mae mortgaged her own home, invested her savings and solicited donations to buy two duplexes and set up the Alpha Omega Faith Homes.

On February 14, 1988, Alpha Omega Faith Homes opened the doors to veterans in need of a home environment and assistance in getting back on their feet. Since then hundreds of vets have passed through the doors and back into useful lives in the community.

When asked about her motivation, Ola Mae says that she’s “done this work all my life.” Raised in Mississippi by her mother, who helped women deliver their babies in the fields, and her father and father and grandfather, who themselves worked with the homeless, she moved to Memphis and continued her family’s tradition of helping solve community problems.

Ola Mae Ransom’s determination to address the plight of the Vietnam War veteran resulted in the founding of Alpha Omega, an organization that continues to serve veterans’ needs. And, she continues to invest her energy in improving our community.

 

Ola Mae Ransom passed away December 20, 1999 aged 74.

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Dorothy “Happy” Jones

Women of Achievement
1992

DETERMINATION
for a woman who solved a glaring problem despite
widespread inertia, apathy or ignorance around her:

Dorothy “Happy” Jones

Dorothy Snowden “Happy” Jones was a Memphis homemaker with three daughters and a full slate of volunteer work centered around the Republican Party and the Junior League in the mid-1960s. She was a daughter of a wealthy, conservative family which considered civil rights an idea that should be stopped because black people did not deserve equal rights or equal respect.

From that upbringing Happy stepped into the confusion and turmoil of 1960s Memphis with personal conviction and strength. Since then she has been an active participant and leader in the civil rights and women’s rights movements.

As a coordinator of the Concerned Women of Memphis, Happy led a march to Mayor Henry Loeb’s office to protest poverty, racism and the city’s failure to negotiate in good faith with the city’s sanitation workers even after the death of Dr. King. As a charter member of the Memphis Panel of American Women, she began to speak to groups in the area about racism. She became a member of the Memphis and Shelby County Human Relations Commission, but when she learned it had no real power to change government she drafted legislation creating the Memphis Community Relations Commission and served as its first chairperson from 1972 to 1974. The Commission began addressing practical ways to change the systems that had led to the discrimination and institutional racism that kept most black Memphians poor and powerless. Along with the 22-member Commission board and executive director Rev. James Netters, Happy organized a Police-Community Relations Board to address police harassment of blacks.

Happy’s long-standing commitment to the Panel of American Women led her to serve as the project director for a grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare in 1975. She organized a conference demonstrating how optional schools could improve the quality of education in Memphis and be a desirable and functional alternative in the desegregation process. Because of her effort, there now are exceptional optional schools in the Memphis City Schools system.

The Commercial Appeal named Happy one of the 20 most influential political leaders in Memphis in 1968. Ever since then she has continued her work. She was a founder and first president of Network, served on the Urban League board, the Governor’s Jobs Conference, National Conference of Christians and Jews, and the YWCA nominating committee and advisory board. She developed her skills and became a professional family therapist.

Happy’s life is a story of pure determination to improve her city and the lives of her fellow citizens.

Happy died in 2018.