Women of Excellence and Rising Star Honorees
2002-2008

Women of Excellence

Dr. Catherine Steiner Adair, Clinical Instructor in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, has written and spoken extensively on the prevention of eating disorders in girls and other issues related to girl's development. She is the former Director of Education, Prevention, and Outreach at the Harvard Eating Disorders Center. Jenny Amory is the Executive Director of Women Express/Teen Voices, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote social and economic justice by empowering teenage and young adult women. She oversees a highly acclaimed journalism mentoring program for girls in Boston. Her program produces Teen Voices magazine, a national publication with over 60,000 readers, including teens, parents, and educators, and a website that last year welcomed 120,000 visitors.

Martha Coakley, Middlesex County District Attorney, represents one-quarter of the state’s population, including the Boston metropolitan area. She is a strong advocate of prevention and school safety programs and has instituted many innovative initiatives to help kids before they get in trouble. Martha has taken leadership on issues of child abuse and domestic violence. Her office has instituted special education programs and community roundtables on domestic violence and is committed to swift, fair investigation of family violence cases. Throughout her career, Martha has focused on protecting women and girls from dangers and giving them the tools they need to make healthy decisions.

Patricia Grayis the Executive Director of The Food Project. Since 1991, The Food Project has engaged young people in personal and social change through sustainable agriculture. Each year, they work with over one hundred teens and thousands of volunteers to farm on 31 acres in Lincoln and on several lots in Boston. In doing so, they help identify and transform a new generation of leaders by placing teens in responsible positions, with deeply meaningful work.

Razia Jan proves that one person can make a huge difference in the lives of many. Razia came to the United States 37 years ago from Afghanistan and has made extraordinary efforts to help struggling children in Afghanistan. As part of the US-led Operation Shoe Fly, she collected and sent more than 30,000 pairs of shoes to orphanages in her native country. After the overthrow of the Taliban, Razia recognized the need for a new school building in Kabul specifically to educate young girls. She is raising the funds necessary to build a school for girls who have previously been denied educational opportunities.

Dr. Carol Johnson was named Superintendent of the Boston Public Schools in 2007 after having served as Superintendent of the Memphis City and Minneapolis Public Schools.  She has a wealth of experience in public education as a teacher, principal and administrator.  Her priorities for Boston include closing the achievement gap between white and minority pupils, reducing the dropout rate, and strengthening support for students with special needs.  As an effective advocate for all students, Carol has won numerous awards and accolades for her leadership in education.

Jean Kilbourne, Ed.D., is internationally recognized for her pioneering work on alcohol and tobacco advertising and the image of women in advertising. Her films, slide lectures, and television appearances have been seen by millions of people throughout the world. Jean has served as an advisor to the Surgeon General and has testified for the U.S. Congress. She has received numerous awards, including the Myra Sadker Equity Award and awards from the Academy for Eating Disorders, the Entertainment Industries Council, and the National Council on Alcoholism.

Jeanne Kuespert, President of the Junior League of Boston, has spent thousands of volunteer hours enhancing the development of adolescent girls. She has been a tutor in the Boston Public Schools, volunteered at a teen shelter, mentored and taught life skills to young mothers, and co-developed “The Leader Within,” an experiential and academic program for adolescent girls to promote their natural strengths, leadership skills, and self-esteem.

Nancy L. Leaming, President and CEO of Tufts Health Plan, is committed to helping girls and women and supporting the community. Leading a company recognized for work-life balance where more than 40% of top management is female, she sponsored the Volunteer Time benefit that gives all employees eight paid week-day hours a year to do community service, including school volunteering. She created the company’s Community Partnerships program that provides grants to groups supporting teen mental health, low-income at-risk women and infants, and elders.

Dr. Patricia Hardiman Long, advocate, teacher, lawyer, and mediator, has spent her professional career working to improve the lives of at-risk and special needs children and teens. Starting as a speech therapist and learning disability/special needs teacher, Dr. Long directed an adult literacy program for parents and teens, volunteered at Brighton High School, and was the founder of The Henry Buckner School, an early childhood development school in Cambridge. In addition, she has taught and directed programs on the university level. Dr. Long currently works as an independent mediator, helping clients resolve disputes through non-litigious methods.

Judy McCarthy, Manager for Commonworks in the Metro Region, has almost 40 years experience serving children in the child welfare system. She is a well-known advocate, trainer and consultant, and serves as a leading voice for children in residential treatment.

Shiela Moore, Executive Director of Casa Myrna Vasquez, has a 16-year career addressing the health needs of women, children, and underserved populations, especially battered women and their children. Casa Myrna is New England's largest organization dedicated to ending domestic violence through intervention and prevention.

Sergeant Detective Kelley O’Connell has tackled some of the most challenging issues in our community over the past two decades. Following a ten year stint working with street gangs, she turned her attention to human trafficking and now heads the Boston Area Human Trafficking Task Force. Their aim is to locate runaway and displaced teens, many of whom have been coerced into prostitution. Kelley’s task force has been successful in interrupting much of the sex trade business in the Boston area and continues to save young women from a life of prostitution. 

First Lady of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Diane Patrick has an impressive record of distinguished professional and public service. A lawyer, teacher, and mother, Mrs. Patrick has dedicated herself to various causes. She has served as a volunteer member of the Commonwealth's Foster Care Review Unit, President of the Board of the Brookline Infant Toddler Center, Trustee and Director for Arts Boston, Trustee for the Brigham & Women's Hospital, and Overseer at Children's Hospital Boston, among others. She will work closely with the Governor to focus attention on early childhood education and domestic violence issues.

Deborah Prothrow-Stith, MD, is a nationally recognized public health leader. As a physician working in Boston, she broke new ground with her efforts to have youth violence defined as a public health problem, not just a criminal justice issue. In 1987, Governor Dukakis appointed her as the first woman Commissioner of Public Health in Massachusetts. In that role, she established the first Office of Violence Prevention as a state department of public health, expanded prevention programs for HIV/AIDS and increased drug treatment and rehabilitation programs. Deborah is a chief spokesperson for a national movement to prevent violence and a frequent speaker in national media and public forums. She has authored and/or co-authored over 80 publications on medical and public health.

Anne Strong gave up her private law practice over nine years ago to launch CityKicks, a non-profit inner-city youth soccer league for underserved girls. A sports pioneer, Anne formed CityKicks to address the lack of multiracial players on the soccer field. Their aim is connect inner city girls with all the benefits that come from playing team sports, including leadership skills, friendly competition, and a healthy lifestyle. The personal empowerment and team cooperation that girls learn on the field reverberate in the classroom and beyond.

Marylou Sudders, Executive Director of Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, has a long career in mental health beginning as a mental health coordinator for the Beaverbrook and Concord areas where she planned and monitored the area mental health systems. She was Commissioner of Mental Health in Massachusetts for seven years. In this role, she oversaw the public mental health system in the state, providing services to more than 24,000 adults with serious mental illness and children with serious emotional disturbances. At MSPCC, the largest non-profit in the state, Marylou oversees a variety of services, including child abuse and intervention programs, mental health treatment; and adoption.

Barbara Talkov has more than 25 years experience working with, and on behalf of, children and their families. She is currently the Executive Director of the Children's League of Massachusetts, a statewide association of more than 60 private and public organizations working together to improve public policies affecting children, youth and their families. CLM is one of the most influential voices for children and families on Beacon Hill, and has been successful in advocating for essential services for children and families in the Commonwealth.

Susan Wayne, LICSW, has been the Chief Executive of Justice Resource Institute since 1979, serving children and adults whose physical, emotional or learning related disability require specialized support and treatment. She previously served as Deputy Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Youth Services, Deputy Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Community Affairs, and Director of Program and Staff Development at the New York State Urban Development Corporation. Under Susan's leadership, JRI has grown to be one of the state's largest and most diverse human service providers.

Martella Wilson-Taylor, President and CEO of YWCA Boston, has expanded the YWCA Boston’s long-standing tradition of delivering programs and services that promote gender equity and racial justice for women and their families. The YWCA offers programs and services that focus on safe and affordable housing, health and wellness, and youth leadership and development, reaching over 10,000 women and their families each year. Under Marti’s leadership, the YWCA Boston is in the forefront of efforts to ensure that all women and girls have the opportunity to lead healthy, creative lives.

Rising Stars

Stephanie Alves and Dalida Rocha, co-founders of GRLZ Radio, met with Mayor Menino and asked to have a voice in their community that would empower young women, boost their self-esteem and create a more positive image of young women. Out of that meeting, GRLZ Radio was born. GRLZ Radio's target population is teenage girls between the ages of 12 and 19. The station broadcasts daily on AM540 with all aspects of the production, programming and on-air activities orchestrated by the girls themselves.

Louise Davis co-founded Peer Health Exchange as a student at Yale University and currently serves as its Executive Director. PHE works with high schools that lack health education and in which the majority of the students live at or below the poverty level. PHE recruits, selects, and trains college student volunteers to teach high school students a comprehensive health curriculum. By applying outside of the classroom the skills they learn in PHE workshops, high school students can make informed decisions that will help them stay and excel in school, join and remain part of the workforce, and become healthy adults capable of producing healthy families.

Meagan Gallagher, Chief Operating Officer of Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, oversees the management of one of the largest Planned Parenthoods in the country. She supervises Planned Parenthood's three clinic sites across the state, offering comprehensive reproductive healthcare services to thousands of women in Massachusetts.

Lindsay Hyde founded Strong Women, Strong Girls (SWSG) in 2000 while she was a freshman at Harvard University.  SWSG develops mentoring relationships between college-aged students and at-risk elementary school girls.  Its innovative after school model uses the study of historic female role models and skill building activities to help girls grades 3-5 build positive self-esteem. SWSG engages over 400 at-risk girls annually in several U.S. cities. Lindsay has been widely recognized with features in national and local media.

Joanne Patterson is the Community Outreach and Education Coordinator for REACH (Refuge, Education, Advocacy, Change) Beyond Domestic Violence. Joanne is recognized as a leader in the field of domestic violence, specializing in the impact of violence against teens. Joanne oversees several Teen Violence Prevention Awareness groups in the Greater Boston area and has been instrumental in providing extensive preventative education on a state and national level.

Whitney Retallic is the Director of Youth and Student Programs at Pine Manor College. Whitney leads a variety of leadership programs for middle and high school students throughout the Northeast. These programs empower girls to create positive change in their schools by reaching out to include all voices, especially those that might have been neglected in the past. She also conducts leadership conferences at the College for high school girls to help girls develop problem solving and peer leadership skills.

Kerry Brady Seitz is the Project Coordinator of the Teen Prostitution Prevention Project, a ground breaking partnership of law enforcement agencies, social service providers, and other organizations that have joined together to help girls exploited through prostitution. Partnering in this effort are more than 30 community-based and government agencies. In its first two years, TPPP identified and aided over 100 exploited girls and trained over 200 multi-agency professionals, increasing the capacity to empower girls to leave the street and to target those who exploit them.Laurie Stolarz is a local author of young adult literature. Her highly acclaimed four book Blue is for Nightmares series has sold over 250,000 copies and has been translated into four different languages. The first two books in her series were nominated for the Top Ten Teen Pick through the American Library Association for 2004.

Alison Vaughan, Executive Director of Tutoring Plus of Cambridge, provides one-on-one tutoring and mentoring for low-income and at-risk youth in grades one through twelve in Cambridge. All programs are staffed by volunteers and are offered free of charge to all interested children and youth. The students in their programs attend thirteen different schools during the day and reflect the diversity of Cambridge's neighborhoods.

Mariama White-Hammond is the Executive Director of Project HIP-HOP: Highways in the Past; History, Organizing, Power. Project HIP-HOP is a youth-led organization that provides opportunities for young people to gain leadership skills and experiences. Project HIP-HOP uses hip-hop culture and hands-on education as tools for engaging young people. Mariama has inspired thousands of young people to find their passion and get involved in their community.