By Alec Harvey, David Magee, Laura McAlister and Carla Jean Whitley
Photos by Caleb Chancey
Who are the Women changing our community? Alabama Media Group asked readers to nominate such women for the second-annual Women Who Make a Difference awards. A committee then reviewed the nominations and selected these 20 outstanding women, who will be honored at an Oct. 22 luncheon at The Club. Click here to reserve your spot to join us in honoring these women.
Alie B. Gorrie
Founder, Songs For Sight
Student, Belmont University
Alie B. Gorrie remembers vividly the excitement she experienced when learning the low vision she'd struggled with all her life wouldn't prevent her from being able to drive.
She was in the eighth grade at the time and had an appointment at the UAB Center for Low Vision Rehabilitation. There she learned that through
special technology and training, she could get her driver's license like the rest of her peers.
"I have lived with an eye condition
resulting in low vision my entire life," the 21-year-old says. "I was used to hearing things I couldn't do. When Dr. Dawn DeCarlo mentioned the possibility of driving, I was overcome with
renewed hope."
It also inspired her to spring into
action to help other low-vision people.
Gorrie started Songs for Sight, a concert that raises funds and awareness for the UAB Low Vision Center and eye research. So far, there have been two concerts raising more than $840,000. Gorrie says funds raised through the concert give low-vision teens and children the technology they need to be independent.
Now a senior at Belmont University in Nashville, Gorrie volunteers in the college community as well as her church and sorority, Phi Mu. She also plans to continue her work to raise awareness about low vision and the technology available to help those
suffering with it.
Virginia Samford Donovan
Posthumous Winner
Virginia Samford Donovan grew up on the stage of the theater that now bears her name.
From the moment the Clark Memorial Theatre opened its doors in 1927, she was tagging along with her mother, Laura Cousins Suydam, who was active in community theater. Donovan's own stage career followed in shows such as "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie," "Gigi" and "A Delicate Balance."
In 2002, after a generous gift from Donovan and major renovations, the theater, which had closed in 1999, reopened as the Virginia Samford Theatre.
"She made this all possible, along with her family," says Catherine Rye Gilmore, president of the VST, which produces its own season of shows and is a venue for other performing arts groups. "Her generosity changed the face of theater in Birmingham."
Donovan was married to Frank Park Samford Jr. for 44 years and, after his death, to Russell Donovan for 20 years. A graduate of Randolph-Macon College, she was active in a number of Birmingham civic organizations and co-founded the Children's Dance Foundation. But it was the VST, which her children Frank Samford III, John Samford, Laura Samford Armitage and Mae Samford Robertson continue to support, that became her passion late in life.
In a 2002 interview, Donovan expressed hope that the VST would be a lasting legacy.
"What we bought was a beloved theater," she says. "The roof leaked, the air conditioning and heating were broken. The rigging on the stage, put there in 1927, was about to fall down or, worse, catch fire. Now it will be like it was, only better."
Chanda Temple
Director of public relations,
Birmingham Public Library
Did you know that a Birmingham Public Library card gives you access to free music, community classes and job training? As director of public relations, Chanda Temple is spreading the word that the library is about books and so much more.
"We offer so much that when I tell people about all of our services and programs, they respond: 'Really: all that's at the Birmingham Public Library?' " she says. "It makes me feel good when people tell me they didn't know how cool the library was until I got in the position."
In addition to her work at the library, Temple serves on the Foundation for Progress in Journalism Advisory Board, the YWCA Central
Alabama Board of Directors, the Public Relations Society of America, the American Library Association, Birmingham's Women's Network and the Community Resource Council for Brenda's Brown Bosom Buddies breast cancer awareness organization.
Temple also works with her church media ministry and advises young people on their careers and dreams.
"Children are powerful when they read and write and even more dynamic if they can read and write well," says the former Birmingham News reporter. "When I meet people with an interest in writing and a desire to learn how to improve their craft, that's a good day for me."
Beth Wilder
Executive director,
The Literacy Council of central Alabama
Beth Hughes Wilder never expected to work with a nonprofit, but as an avid reader and skilled writer and editor, working with The Literacy Council of Central Alabama turned out to be a natural fit.
As executive director of the organization, she's leading the way to increase literacy rates in Alabama, be it through children's programs or adult ones.
"Literacy is the key to solving many of our social issues," she says. "Illiteracy is a vicious cycle that is passed down from generation to generation. We have to stop that cycle."
The council's building burned in May. Wilder says they lost everything, but are in the process of moving forward with a strategic plan to offer a better space and services.
In addition to her work with the council, she also serves as an Alabama Literacy Alliance Board member, United Way of Central Alabama Campaign Cabinet member and a writing tutor for the Salvation Army Adult Rehab Center.
"Obviously, the literacy activities follow my passion for my job," she says. "I am also passionate about raising strong, confident children of character who have a love of the outdoors and natural curiosity about life."
Wilder's two sons are Eagle Scouts, and her daughter is working on her Girl Scouts Gold Award. She and her husband have both served as scout leaders.
Leigh Collier
Mid South region president,
EVP Wells Fargo
Leigh Collier aims to serve Wells Fargo's customers, her colleagues and the Birmingham community. "I believe, here, I can do all three," says Collier, who started at the company as a part-time teller and worked her way up to
regional president.
Now Collier, a Vestavia Hills resident who has been in the metro area for seven years, spends her out-of-office time with a variety of nonprofits, including the United Way of Central Alabama, Birmingham Zoo, American Heart Association, Red Cross of Central Alabama and Kiwanis, among others. She was part of Leadership Alabama's class of 2012-2013 and is part of the University of Alabama at Birmingham's leadership cabinet. "All of these activities, collectively, give me the opportunity to be exposed to all different aspects of our community,"
Collier says. That involvement neatly fits with Collier's desire to see the metropolitan area grow as various community groups collaborate.
Outside of work and volunteering, Collier spends time with her family.
Shanta Owens
District judge, Criminal Division
of Jefferson County; Presiding judge of the Jefferson County Adult Drug Court Program
Shanta Owens knows she has a difficult task -- serving as the presiding judge of the Jefferson County Adult Drug Court program. Opiate addictions are on the rise, she says, at a "horrifying" level. "The rise in heroin overdoses in Jefferson County is alarming and frightening," she says.
But Owens is working to do something about it. Through her position, she strives to save lives and better the community.
"Each day I attempt to address this challenge by understanding addiction, while not tolerating it. I always tell my defendants,
'I understand your addiction, but I will not
tolerate it,' " she says.
The Vestavia Hills resident says every defendant in the programs understands that, if they are willing to put forth the effort of having a clean and sober lifestyle, she will not give up on them.
"I want to see a drug-free community, where families are healthy and happy and children are parented by those who are making the best decisions," Owens says.
Outside of the courtroom Owens is involved in many organizations that make a difference in the community, including serving on the Children's Village board of directors and
membership in the 2014-2015 Momentum Women's Leadership Class.
Meg McGlamery
Executive director, Crisis Center, Inc.
While studying at the Department of Education at Florida State University, Meg McGlamery discovered her true passion, and it wasn't what she'd planned.
She'd been preparing for a career in higher education administration. She went to college at Samford University, and then moved to Florida for graduate school. There she worked with a victims' advocate program on campus.
"We helped survivors of sexual assault, dating violence and stalking," McGlamery says. "Additionally, we were a resource to students after any crime was committed against them or if they lost a fellow student due to death. This changed my career direction."
After graduating, she moved to Spokane, Wash., where she worked for the Center for Community Action and Service-Learning at Gonzaga University, a Jesuit institution focused on social justice.
When she returned to Birmingham, she began working with the Crisis Center as an educator with the Rape Response program. Now, almost nine years later, she's the executive director.
"The wonderful thing about the Crisis Center is that it is a place not only focused on prevention, but on healing," she says.
McGlamery also serves as president of the Alabama Coalition Against Rape's board of directors. She and husband Chris Richardson live in Roebuck Springs.
Lisa Borden
Pro bono shareholder,
Baker Donelson
Whether it's on the job or on her own, Lisa W. Borden is
working to help those who can't help themselves.
Borden directs the pro bono division for Baker Donelson and also volunteers for many organizations that allow her to work directly with the homeless, ex-offenders trying to reenter society and addicts, to name a few. "These clients and their stories have made me appreciate the extent to which people who are privileged to have resources and opportunities are oblivious to the plight of those who are not so privileged, and how we therefore allow our public officials to run roughshod over them,"
she says.
Borden strives to help her clients while also educating the
public through her volunteer work with several organizations, including serving as board president of the Birmingham Volunteer Lawyers
Program and a member of the Alabama Supreme Court's Access to Justice
Commission. She also assists the homeless with legal matters through her work with Birmingham HELP and Turning Point, the city's
homeless court program.
"My board service relates directly to the particular problems with which I'm concerned--the legal difficulties of low-income communities--and the particular skill set I am able to bring to bear as an attorney," Borden says.
The mother of two teenagers is also proud to say that she's a Girl Scout troop leader of seven 11th grade ladies. "I've been their leader since they were in first grade," she boasts.
Ann Florie
Executive director,
Leadership Birmingham
Ann Florie has long recognized Birmingham's potential. She moved to the area 35 years ago to join her husband, who was already employed here. The couple returned to New Orleans for one year, but quickly came back to Birmingham. "We recognized that it was a great place to live and raise a family. We were willing to invest in the future of Birmingham even back then," Florie says.
After years as a community volunteer and Region 2020 executive director, Florie became executive director of Leadership Birmingham. She's a graduate of the program and has also served a variety of organizations as a board member and volunteer, ranging from the Freshwater Land Trust, UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center, Personnel Board of Jefferson County and more.
"I was taught that we all have a responsibility to give back in life," says Florie, whose other interests include yoga and reading, especially books about Birmingham and Alabama. "These organizations reflect my interests and the desire to add value to organizations that I view as important to the future of Birmingham in one way or another."
Her daily work at Leadership Birmingham extends that cause. "By bringing together diverse groups of leaders to build relationships and to discuss the challenges and opportunities we have, Leadership Birmingham has always been about doing that," Florie says. "These are people who have the potential now or in the future to have an impact in the community."
Veronique (Vero) Vanblaere
Artist and gallerista, Naked Art Gallery
Vero Vanblaere has a knack for getting things started in the community.
In 2001, she was instrumental in the beginning of Artwalk. "It is a wonderful feeling to know that you can start a dream and 13 years later it is a great success and changes lives," she says.
More recently, she and fellow bicycle rider Stan Palla started a Tuesday night ride across the city that includes about 100 riders each week of all ages, races and genders. "Le Tour de Ham" takes rides once a week across 10 miles of the city's neighborhoods.
The artist and owner of Naked Art Gallery in Forest Park first visited the area in the 1980s as an exchange student from Belgium. She later successfully applied for a green card and chose Birmingham as her home. She has been in the community for 18 years now, using art and her creativity to make a difference.
"I live for social interaction. Sometimes you find out years later, in the course of a simple conversation," she says, "that one of your actions has made a benefit in someone's life and that is worth every tiny effort."
Valerie Ramsbacher
Vice president, corporate advocacy,
Regions Financial Corporation
A company that cares can make a difference in a community, and Valerie Ramsbacher helps lead that charge for Regions. She is involved in organizations including the United Way and the Ballet Guild of Birmingham as an individual, and for Regions in the Birmingham community and throughout the 16 states the bank serves.
Ramsbacher was born in Birmingham at St. Vincent's Hospital, and currently lives across the street from the home where her mother was raised, so she has a strong sense of the community's history and assets.
"We need to consider ourselves one city -- one Birmingham -- no matter which neighborhood we live in," she says. "What's the most prevalent feeling in Birminghamians lately? Pride. Not fear. Or anger. Or disappointment. It's pride."
Ramsbacher believes that both collaboration and partnerships yield progress, and that organizations should "let go of owner mentality."
"I get great satisfaction from bringing together individuals or groups who achieve more collectively," she says.
Phyllis Hoffman DePiano
President/CEO, Hoffman Media, LLC
When Phyllis Hoffman DePiano started Hoffman Media, LLC more than three decades ago, she was in the minority.
"It was amusing to banks, printers and other companies that women owned a publishing business, and to make it worse, we printed needlework magazines," she recalls. "We were not taken seriously at the start, but in reality all businesses are judged by results."
Today, the result is a successful publishing company with nine magazines, the largest of which is Cooking with Paula Deen.
DePiano says it took hard work and discipline, something she hopes to inspire in today's youth. Just as mentors were critical to her success, she says it's important to her and her company to serve as mentors and stress the value of a good education.
She does just that through various community activities, including serving on the University of Alabama at Birmingham Leadership Cabinet and the School of Business Advisor Board, the Women's Committee of 100, Samford University's Orlean Bullard Beeson School of Education and Professional Studies Advisory Council and more.
DePiano also pours her energy into helping the needy through Dawson Memorial Baptist Church, the Big Oak Ranch and the Central Food Bank of Alabama, where her son, Brian Hoffman, is chairman of the junior board and serves on the board of directors.
Her advice to those getting started on their career path: "Success is not final; failure is not fatal. It's the courage to continue that counts."
Carol Clarke
Vice president, head of Regions
Financial Education Institute
Carol E. Clarke likes to joke that she's channeling her late grandfather, Peter F. Clarke, in her role as head of Regions Financial Education Institute.
There are similarities. Her grandfather co-founded the first black bank in Alabama, Alabama Penny Savings Bank. He helped many of the state's minorities open their first bank account, apply for their first mortgage and start a savings account. While Clarke, a former engineer, isn't a banker, she is helping the community get a better understanding of its finances.
"Regions has a mission to 'make life better,' and we know that our success as a company is linked to the success of our communities," she says. "Financial education has clearly become a central platform for empowering our customers, employees and communities to have better financial lives. It really doesn't matter who you are or how well you do financially, there is always room to improve on personal financial management."
The Regions Financial Education Institute educates young and old on the importance of saving and investing.
Clarke says the real focus is improving the community, another of her passions reflected in her volunteer work. She's a member of the city's Comprehensive Plan Implementation Steering Committee, past board president of the Cultural Alliance of Greater Birmingham, vice president of the Aletheia House Board of Directors and a member of the Ballard House Project Board of Directors, to name a few.
Trisha Powell Crain
Executive director,
Alabama School Connection
Trisha Powell Crain wants Birmingham to embrace education by making its schools the center of the community, and she's making strides in doing just that with Alabama School Connection. The website keeps parents and the community informed on education legislation and news across the state.
In an effort to keep parents informed about legislation that impacts their schools and children's education, she started ASC in 2009. That year, she also conducted "The Transparency Project," a study of the state's school districts' websites to determine what information needed to be included on them to best inform communities.
When Dr. Tommy Bice took over as state superintendent of education, Crain continued to share information on education news via ASC. "I found his (Bice's) staff very helpful and willing to communicate and share information that I didn't even know I could access," she says.
While advocacy for public schools and her volunteer work with ASC has taken most all of her time since its formation, she has also served as president of the League of Women Voters of Greater Birmingham and was a founding board member of the Community Outreach Special Education PTA.
Nita Carr
Executive director,
Cornerstone Schools of Alabama
Whether it's through volunteer work or her role as executive director of Cornerstone Schools Alabama, Nita Carr wants to give all students the education they need and deserve.
Cornerstone strives to provide inner-city students the same opportunities as those in affluent neighborhoods in a Christian environment. Carr says she became involved with the school through professional development work while at Samford University. When the executive director position became open, board chairman Drayton Nabors gave her a call.
"We both agree that students in the city need the opportunity for an excellent education," Carr says. "Cornerstone emphasizes rigorous academics and character development, while providing a choice for families. I believe that education is the way to impact a change in the community."
Carr also works with the Kiwanis Club, Convene and the Legacy League, all programs that emphasize and support education.
She hopes that by providing all children with a first-rate education, they will in turn want to stay in Birmingham and make it better. "To retain our best and brightest we have to provide great schools for them," she says.
If she's not working or volunteering, Carr says she enjoys spending time with her husband and children.
Shirley Salloway Kahn, Ph.D.
vice president, development, alumni and external
relations, University of Alabama at Birmingham
A job at UAB brought Shirley Salloway Kahn to the area in 1978, and the 36 years since have yielded forward progress that continues to amaze her. "I feel like I have grown up with the institution and have seen the importance of the impact of UAB on all
aspects of our community," she says.
The Mountain Brook resident initiated the university program Leadership UAB, which helps young professionals learn more about the university and the work of its faculty, staff and students that has effects from Birmingham to across the globe.
And she serves as one of the greatest ambassador's for the community and the university. She is involved in multiple boards and organizations, from the BBVA Compass Board of Directors to the Junior League of Birmingham advisory board and the YWCA Momentum program, and many more.
"My greatest hope for Birmingham," she says, "is that we will continue to attract talented professionals to UAB and our community who want to help make a difference -- whether it be in the arts, education, healthcare or economic development -- to further
Birmingham's reputation as a city that is serious about changing the lives of our citizens for the better."
Martie Duncan
Event Planner and Entrepreneur
Martie Duncan is perhaps best known for her role in "Food Network Star," where she was a finalist in the show's eighth season. But the Birmingham native also is working to show off her hometown.
The self-employed professional party and wedding planner frequently travels for work, but she says she likes to use her Food Network platform to help the community.
"Since I've been in the public eye through my appearances on Food Network, I have a bit of a platform to help these smaller organizations and individuals," Duncan says, "and I'm not afraid to reach out and ask others for help when I think the cause is deserving."
Most recently she started a web series called "Cause for Celebration," which recognizes local charitable organizations.
Duncan has lived around the world, but says she chooses Birmingham as her home base. While she's noticed in her travels that the Magic City isn't always looked highly upon, she hopes to change that.
"I simply try to show through my actions and words that good people live here," she says. "There is good going on here, and Birmingham and Alabama are a special place to live and raise a family or have a business."
Priscilla Hancock Cooper
Interim president and CEO, Birmingham
Civil Rights Institute
Priscilla Hancock Cooper may have recently stepped into the role of interim president and CEO at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, but her involvement with the institution dates back nearly 25 years. Cooper began working for the organization as a copywriter and education consultant, and over the years she's been able to use her passion for the written word and sharing African-American history through literature to contribute to the organization and others in the community. In addition to developing programs for BCRI, Cooper has taught creative writing to incarcerated girls and has used Alabama State Council on the Arts fellowships to create stage performances.
Cooper serves on the Red Mountain Theatre Company board of directors and Southeastern Museums Conference Council. She was a member of Getty Museum Leadership Institute 2008, Leadership Birmingham 2011 and Leadership Alabama 2013, all of which helped her connect with other leaders in her field and the community. Cooper is a member of Tabernacle Baptist Church.
"By serving on the boards of the Red Mountain Theatre Company and Southeastern Museums Conference, I hope to support the work of two organizations that share my values of youth development, cultural and professional access," she says. Cooper finds time for reflection, caring for herself and family while seeking change
in Birmingham.
Kathryn Gwaltney Lemak
Executive director,
National Center for Sports Safety
Birmingham's role as a sports leader goes beyond being the top television market for college football. The city is a sports medicine capital, with elite athletes seeking area surgeons' expertise. And the National Center for Sports Safety works to prevent athletes from getting injured in the first place while also preparing players and coaches to address emergencies when they occur.
"My hope for Birmingham is for all municipalities, all parent-run youth leagues and all middle and high school coaches within the metropolitan area to be trained on sports safety through our programs,"
explains Kathryn Lemak, the organization's executive director.
Lemak hopes to expand the organization's footprint across the country by educating coaches, parents, players and emergency responders, as well as ensuring facilities have safety policies and emergency plans.
Lemak has applied her business and health backgrounds to make wise choices so NSCC can continue to accomplish as much as possible. "We've stopped building new programs and are concentrating on enhancing our current programs and spreading awareness about the tools and courses we have available today," she says.
Lemak has also served on the board of the Greater Birmingham Humane Society, the junior board of Grace House, volunteered with Arthritis Foundation and is a board member at the Hoover YMCA. The Mountain Brook resident spends free time with her husband, Matthew, daughter, Merus, and rescued golden retriever, Hobbs.
Kate Cotton
Executive director, Protective Life Foundation
and vice president, community relations, Protective Life Corporation
Kate Cotton's career at Protective Life Corporation began in the field. Building relationships throughout the southeast through her work in sales and marketing came in handy when, in 2001, she became Protective Life Foundation's executive director. Protective provides money and volunteer hours and partners with other companies and foundations to work toward Birmingham change.
Cotton also takes action outside of her professional role. She serves on the board of directors for Birmingham Holocaust Education Center, Community Food Bank of Central Alabama, Jones Valley Teaching Farm and YWCA of Central Alabama, in addition to her advisory board role with Addiction Coalition, Alabama Governor's School and PreSchool Partners. Cotton's list of memberships and organizations she's been
involved with in the past is twice as long, and each affiliation is important to her.
"I enjoy being a part of something that is energetic, catalytic and transformative, and the organizations that I serve definitely encompass all of those facets. Whether working to ensure that food is provided to those in need, or to providing quality pre-K education to those who otherwise would not have the opportunity or to building comfortable and supportive housing in Woodlawn for displaced families, all have definitive goals that touch thousands of lives."
In her spare time, the Mountain Brook resident enjoys walking, reading and gardening.