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Women of Achievement, Inc. was founded in 1984 by a group of women dedicated to honoring the extraordinary women who have made Memphis and Shelby County, Tennessee better through their lives and accomplishments. The coalition of diverse civic and professional groups and support agencies organizes events to recognize and celebrate these women.


Deborah Clubb, 1997 Woman of Achievement for Vision, welcomed the crowd and began the awards ceremony by sharing the story of Women of Achievement. Centered in the room are the handmade plates presented to each honoree.

The Women of Achievement honorees for 2024 are:
Courage: Vanessa Rodley and Jennifer Murry-Rodley, Mid-South Pride leaders
Determination: Phillis Lewis, founder and CEO, Love Doesn’t Hurt
Heritage: Madame Florence Cole Tolbert McCleave, barrier-breaking opera singer and educator
Initiative: Ellen Rolfes, philanthropy strategist and innovator
Steadfastness: Joy Brown Weiner, concert violinist, teacher, 40-year Memphis Symphony Orchestra concertmaster
Vision: Amy Moses and Sara Lynn Johnson Fultz, co-founders MOJO Pelvic Health

On March 3, 2024, Pat Mitchell Worley, CEO of the Soulsville Foundation, hosted the awards ceremony in the spacious sanctuary of First Congregational Church in Memphis.

“This year’s honorees celebrate women who stand up and speak out – to empower women, to write the truth, to protect women’s health, for accessible arts education and for LGBTQIA+ rights and safety,” said co-founder Deborah Clubb, executive director of the Memphis Area Women’s Council. “They exhibit the integrity and tenacity, creativity and passion that make change and make history.”

Nominations for awards come from across the community; finalists are selected by WA
members. Since the first celebration in 1985, 270 individual women plus the Yellow Fever martyrs, local suffragists and the women who saved Overton Park have been honored. A three-volume book series captures biographical essays and photographs of WA honorees through 2004. In addition, all essays and images are documented on our website.

Learn more about Women of Achievement here.

View the full list of all honorees here.

The Memphis Women’s Legacy Trail is a project to document, remember, and celebrate the women of Memphis, Tennessee that have made a lasting impact on the city through their work and lives. Compiled by Dr. Beverly Bond, Dr. Margaret Caffrey, Judy Card, Deborah Clubb, Dr. Gail Murray, Jimmy Ogle, and Laura Todd, the brochure and information is the first of its kind in Memphis. Our goal is to raise funds to expand the project in hopes to share the stories, history, and vision of these remarkable Memphis women.

Click here to learn more about the Memphis Women’s Legacy Trail.

Read 35 years of WA essays honoring 257 women and two groups or tour the new Memphis Women’s Legacy Trail from the safety of your personal car – all of this can be found here on our website.

From the Women of Achievement exhibit in March of 2019, downtown Memphis.

JOIN or RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP
Find membership form online here.

The Donate button below will take you to PayPal at the Memphis Area Women’s Council website, where you can make your Women of Achievement dues payment via credit card. Please email any additional guests’s names to dclubb@memphiswomen.org.

Make checks payable to Women of Achievement, mailed to PO Box 95, Memphis, Tennessee 38101.

To order the book series which highlights the first 30 years of Women of Achievement, call 901-378-3866.