Memphis and Shelby County, Tennessee
The Women of Achievement honorees for 2023 were: Courage: Anne Stone Carriere – first female priest to serve the Episcopal Church as rector in the Diocese of West TennesseeDetermination: Barbara Boucher – organizer of multi-church food gleaning and feeding programsHeritage: Elizabeth Fisher Johnson and Lillian Wyckoff Johnson, mother-daughter activists for women’s safety, education and paid …
On the 30th of January 2024, Women of Achievement welcomed and introduced our newest group of honorees. The Women of Achievement honorees for 2024 are:Courage: Vanessa Rodley and Jennifer Murry-Rodley, Mid-South Pride leadersDetermination: Phillis Lewis, founder and CEO, Love Doesn’t HurtHeritage: Madame Florence Cole Tolbert McCleave, barrier-breaking opera singer and educatorInitiative: Ellen Rolfes, philanthropy strategist and innovatorSteadfastness: Joy Brown Weiner, concert violinist, teacher, 40-year …
WOMEN OF ACHIEVEMENT2024 STEADFASTNESSfor a woman with a lifetime of achievement: Joy Brown Wiener A hint at what was to come for Joy Brown Wiener was published in the Jackson, Tennessee Sun, on May 7th, 1942. A story about an event at the MacDowell Music Club noted that “Ethel Joy Brown, talented twelve-year old daughter …
WOMEN OF ACHIEVEMENT2024 INITIATIVEfor a woman who seized theopportunity to use her talents and created her own future: Ellen Robinson Rolfes In the Mississippi Delta in the 1950s, a sickly girl, bed-ridden by serious asthma, made up stories about her dolls, a little woman and man and their little table and tiny cooking pots. Years …
WOMEN OF ACHIEVEMENT2024 HERITAGEfor women whose achievements still enrich our lives: Madame Florence Cole Talbert McCleave Florence Cole Talbert McCleave seemed to have all the ingredients for a successful career in opera: talent, desire, training, and critical acclaim. And while she briefly achieved her dream on European opera stages, she was unable to find the …
WOMEN OF ACHIEVEMENT2024 DETERMINATIONfor a woman who solved a glaring problem despitewidespread inertia, apathy or ignorance around her: Phillis Lewis When she was six or seven years old, Phillis Lewis saw her mother repeatedly injured by her mother’s boyfriend. Phillis was herself hurt, by the same man. That childhood trauma led Phillis, a loud and …
WOMEN OF ACHIEVEMENT2024 COURAGEfor a woman who, facing active opposition,backed an unpopular cause in which she deeply believed: Jennifer Murry-Rodley and Vanessa Rodley Who doesn’t love a parade? Vanessa Rodley and wife Jennifer Murry-Rodley certainly do! They watched from the sidewalk at their first Pride parade in Memphis. Then in 2010 they became volunteers. In …
WOMEN OF ACHIEVEMENT2024 VISIONfor a woman whose sensitivity to women’s needsled her to tremendous achievements for women: Amy Moses and Sara Lynn Johnson Fultz Menstrual cramps. Painful intercourse. Bowel incontinence. Urinary leakage. Vaginal dryness. These are “below the belt” subjects that we just don’t talk about but that have a tremendous impact on our quality …
Women of Achievement organization members and individual members reflect a diverse spectrum of Memphis women in races, religions, ages, sexual orientations, and interests. The list of award recipients each year reflects that same diversity. You can learn more about our diverse group of Women of Achievement Honorees through this index. Women of Achievement Honorees by Category: …
WOMEN OF ACHIEVEMENT2023 HEROISMfor a woman whose heroic spirit was tested andshown as a model to all in Shelby County and beyond: Jennifer Pepper As the United States Supreme Court prepared its opinion reversing a woman’s right to choose abortion and shuttering abortion clinics, who gets to work opening a new clinic to continue care …