Academy of Women Achievers

Join YW Boston for our 30th Annual Academy of Women Achievers Luncheon

Date: Tuesday, June 17, 2025
Time: 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM
Location: The Westin Copley Place, 10 Huntington Avenue, Boston

Academy of Women Achievers (AWA) is our largest annual fundraiser; it supports crucial work to build a more inclusive Boston, where women, people of color, and especially women of color can thrive. Each year we honor five extraordinary women exemplifying leadership and creating change in Boston.

Sponsorship Options

2025 Awardees

Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell, Attorney General of Massachusetts

Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell
Attorney General of Massachusetts

Petrina Martin Cherry, VP, Community Engagement and External Affairs Asset Management, Boston Medical Center Health System

Petrina Martin Cherry
VP, Community Engagement and External Affairs Asset Management
Boston Medical Center Health System

Lisa Hayles, Director of International Shareholder Advocacy, Trillium Asset Management

Lisa Hayles
Director of International Shareholder Advocacy
Trillium Asset Management

Allison Picott, Executive Director, The Lenny Zakim Fund

Allison Picott
Executive Director
The Lenny Zakim Fund

Sylvia Ferrell-Jones Awardee: Melissa Hector, Director of Equitable and Strategic Initiatives, Boston Public Health Commission

Sylvia Ferrell-Jones Awardee:
Melissa Hector
Director of Equitable and Strategic Initiatives, Boston Public Health Commission

Established in 1995, YW Boston’s Academy of Women Achievers celebrates women who have demonstrated outstanding leadership and achievement in their professional and civic lives. The Academy has grown into a dynamic and dedicated group of over 100 women from all walks of life who have strengthened YW Boston’s voice in championing gender equity and leadership opportunities for women.

Academy of Women Achievers Members by Class Year

2024

Maggie Baxter, Pamela Everhart, Dr. Aisha Francis, Governor Maura Healey, Jessicah Pierre (Sylvia Ferrell-Jones Awardee)

2023

Nora Moreno Cargie, Natanja Craig Oquendo, Lisa Fortenberry, Andrea Silbert, Cristela Guerra (Sylvia Ferrell-Jones Awardee)

2022

Evelyn Barahona, Saskia Epstein, Allison Feaster, Jeneé Osterheldt, Michelle Tat (Sylvia Ferrell-Jones Awardee)

2021

Betty Francisco, Karen Holmes Ward, Representative Liz Miranda, Deb Taft, Dr. Altaf Saadi (Sylvia Ferrell-Jones Awardee)

2020

Geeta Aiyer, Deborah Frieze, Makeeba McCreary, Rachael Rollins, Sheena Collier (Sylvia Ferrell-Jones Awardee)

2019

Maureen Alphonse-Charles, Julie Goodridge, Karen Morton, Grace Sterling-Stowell, Irene Li (Sylvia Ferrell-Jones Awardee)

2018

Vanessa Calderón-Rosado, Ph.D.; Kip Hollister; Wanda McClai;, Jeannette M. Mills; Nai Collymore-Henry (Sylvia Ferrell-Jones Awardee)

2017

Liz Brunner, Dr. Beverly Edgehill, Sandra L. Fenwick, Rebecca A. Lee, Valerie Mosley

2015

Lois Cornell, Helen Drinan, Jackie Glenn, Nancy Stager, Sandra Urie

2014

Stephanie Lovell, Smaiyra Million, Dianne Phillips, Marcy Reed, Helene Solomon, Evelyn Murphy

2013

Rosalin Acosta, Fay Donohue, Sheila Marcelo, Diane B. Patrick, Esq., Alison A. Quirk

2012

Deborah E. Barnard, Yvonne Garcia, Crystal Johnson, Mary Mazzio, Jean Russell

2011

Geri Denterlein; Dr. Carol R. Johnson; Carol I. Sanchez; CPA, Laura Sen; Nancy J. Tarbell, MD

2010

Josefina Bonilla, Deborah Enos, Vicary Graham, Pamela Lenehan, Sandra Sims-Williams

2009

Mary Lou Botwell, Maryanne Cataldo, Carol McMullen, Purnima Sangal, Bennie Wiley

2008

Sarah Abrams, Mary Bonauto, Maureen Curley, Debra Miller, Liz Walker

2007

Ruth Ellen Fitch, Barbara Wallace Grossman, Noriko Miyakoda Hall, Rita Kantarowski, Cynthia Mark, Lissy Medvedow, Madge Meyer, Beverly Morgan-Welch, Rebecca de Vives, Eleanor G. White

2006

Zamawa Arenas, Robin Chase, Dr. Linda A. Clayton, Arlene Fortunato, Lisa Guscott, Deborah Jackson, Stacey Lucchino, Klare Shaw, Nan Stone, Brigid Sullivan

2005

Nancy Altobello, Dr. Alice Chiang; Roberta Herman, M.D.; Ambassador Swanee Hunt; Denise Kaigler; Gloria Nemerowicz; Susan Lewis Solomont; Stephanie Sonnabend; Meg Vaillancourt; Kellye Walker

2004 (Women of the Decade)

Lani Guinier, Kerry Healey, Melinda Marble, Kathleen O’Toole, Charlotte Golar Richie

2003

Heather P. Campion; Jean Lau Chin; Martha Sloan Felch; Gloria Fox; Carol Fulp; Jackie Jenkins-Scott; Nancy K. Kaufman; Teresa Heinz Kerry; Myra H. Kraft; Nawal M. Nour, M.D.; Rosa A. Smith; Janie Victoria Ward

2002

Martha Coakley, Paula Johnson, Karen Kaplan, Florence Ladd, Barbara Lee, Vivien Li, Melissa MacDonnell, Elsa Nuñez, Patricia O’Brien, Regina Pisa, Kip Tiernan, Joan Wallace-Benjamin

2001

JudyAnn Bigby, Elyse Cherry, Pam Cross, Dawn Curtis Hanley, Amy Domini, Frieda Garcia, Joanne Jaxtimer, Gloria C. Larson, Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, Joan Parker, Marita Rivero, Atsuko Toko Fish

2000

Marjorie Decker, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Marian Heard, Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, Anna Faith Jones, Bhavya Lal, Maria I. Lopez, Dani Monroe, Lois Silverman, Beth Terrana, Dessima Williams, Anne Woolf

1999

Mara G. Aspinall, Susan S. Bailis, Vicki Donlan, Kathleen Doxer, Augusta Hicks Gale, Meizhu Lui, Bernadine Foster Nash, Raquel Ortiz, Colette Phillips, Shula Reinharz, Helen Bowdoin Spaulding, Elaine Weddington Steward

1998

Ruth M. Batson, Maura S. Doyle, Margaret B. Harrison, Sally D. Jackson, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Jacqueline Weis Liebergott, Yvedt L. Matory, June Rokoff, Agnes Bundy Scanlan, Cheng Imm Tan, Elaine S. Ullian, Joyce Williams-Mitchell

1997

Amalia Barreda, Joan L. Bavaria, Carolyn Shaw Bell, Denise M. Coll, Anne Finucane, Judy George, Joanna T. Lau, Irma S. Mann, Sheryl R. Marshall, Patricia McGovern, Glendora M. Putnam, Susan R. Windham-Bannister

1996

Margaret A. Burnham, Diane M. Capstaff, J. Elizabeth Harris, Nancy Hawthorne, Vivian Huang, Stacey Kabat, Donna Latson-Gittens, Joan A. Lukey, Cathy E. Minehan, Judy Norsigian, Gail Snowden, Dianne Wilkerson

1995

Patricia P. Baillieul, Anne E. Johnson, Gloria Johnson-Powell, Kija Kim, Linnie W. McLean, Evelyn F. Murphy, Fran Sussner Rodgers, Dorothy Terrell, Clara Wainwright, Patricia Wolpert

Sylvia Ferrell-Jones Award

The Sylvia Ferrell-Jones Award is given in memory of YW Boston’s longtime President and CEO at our annual Academy of Women Achievers Luncheon. The award recognizes a young professional woman of color who is a leader in her field and embodies the leadership qualities and commitment to YW Boston’s mission of eliminating racism and empowering women that Sylvia represented.

Recipients by Year Awarded

2023 – Cristela Guerra

2022 – Michelle Tat

2021 – Dr. Altaf Saadi

2020 – Sheena Collier

2019 – Irene Li

2018 – Nai Collymore-Henry

Women’s Advancement Award

The Women’s Advancement Award is given to an individual or an organization for demonstrated exemplary commitment to gender equity, women’s leadership, and the advancement of women. This award is given periodically as merited.

Recipients by Year Awarded

2015 – Paul Guzzi
2003 – WFD Inc.
2002 – State Street Corporation
2001 – Hill/Holliday
2000 – Thomas M. Menino and the City of Boston
1999 – WCVB-TV Channel 5
1998 – Abt Associates Inc.
1997 – Deloitte and Touche LLP
1996 – The Body Shop
1995 – Avon

Sandra B. Henriquez Racial Justice Award

The Sandra B. Henriquez Racial Justice award is given to an individual or an organization for demonstrated commitment to ethnic diversity, equal opportunity, and a work environment that encourages and supports diversity and the advancement of people of color. This award is given periodically as merited.

Recipients by Year Awarded

2011 – Diddy Cullinane
2010 – Peggy McIntosh, Ph.D.
2007 – The Reverend Professor Peter J. Gomes
2006 – Edward Jean Furshpan, Ph.D. & David Dickinson Potter, Ph.D.
2002 – Team Harmony Foundation
2001 – Northeastern University’s Center for the Study of Sport in Society
2000 – Foley, Hoag and Eliot LLP
1999 – Reebok International, Ltd.
1998 – The National Conference for Community and Justice
1997 – Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights
1996 – The Timberland Company
1995 – Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts

Hosting Committee

Sharifah Niles-Lane, Co-Chair
Teresa Pelletier, Co-Chair
John Anderson
Dan Baptiste
Marla Baskerville
Maggie Baxter
Emily Beinecke
Gizella Crawford
Lisa Fortenberry
Vicky Levy
Zena Lum
Ross Marshall
Mim Minichiello
Daphnie Pierre
Celeste Viciere

Help us create a more equitable city

YW Boston addresses individual, interpersonal, and structural barriers in order to create more equitable spaces for women, people of color, and especially women of color.