
ACADEMY OF WOMEN ACHIEVERS
Since its inception in 1984, the YWCA Greater Atlanta Academy of Women Achievers has been dedicated to recognizing and celebrating extraordinary women who have made a significant impact in their communities and beyond. These trailblazers come from diverse backgrounds and professions but share a common goal—making a difference in the lives of others.
The Academy has grown to include more than 400 women who exemplify leadership, service, and a commitment to empowerment. From business and education to healthcare and activism, these women are shaping a brighter future for Atlanta and beyond.
We invite you to explore the list of remarkable women who have been inducted into our Academy and continue to inspire with their contributions to society. Their legacies of change and advocacy embody the YWCA’s mission of eliminating racism, empowering women, and promoting peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all.
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The Ann Stallard Award for Excellence and Leadership
Guests at the 2025 Salute to Women of Achievement event witnessed YWCA Greater Atlanta’s surprise tribute to Atlanta business and civic leader, Ann Stallard, renaming its Woman of Achievement Award the Ann Stallard Award for Excellence and Leadership. Stallard is YWCA Greater Atlanta’s only lifetime board member, and served as board president of the national YWCA from 1991 to 1996, and the Global Board of the World YWCA in Geneva, Switzerland, from 1996 to 2002.
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Successful Phillis Wheatley Westside YWCA Collaboration in Action Campaign
YWCA Greater Atlanta announced the completion of its capital campaign to transform the 22,000-square-foot Phillis Wheatley Westside YWCA building into a hub of services for women, girls, and their families. The $19.5 million Collaboration In Action campaign raised the funding necessary to return the Phillis Wheatley YWCA and its services to Atlanta’s Westside after a decade. Renovations to the community landmark include an Early Learning Academy, interactive media center, tutoring room,and space for medical services. The association made the announcement at its annual Salute to Women of Achievement luncheon on May 8. YWCA Greater Atlanta also inducted the 41st class of women into its Academy of Women Achievers and raised nearly $450,000 to support its core programming. The reopening of the Phillis Wheatley Westside YWCA located along Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive is scheduled for spring 2026.
Class of 2025
Donna Hyland - Ann Stallard Award for Excellence and Leadership
Ashley Carson
Kwajelyn Jackson
DeRetta Cole Rhodes
Class of 2024
The 2024 Woman of Achievement Award was given in honor of Phillis Wheatley
Paige Alexander
Deisha Barnett
Gina Espinosa-Meltzer
Class of 2023
Misty Fernandez
Venessa Harrison
Sarah Irvin
Jenna Kelly
Katie Kirkpatrick
Carrie Kurlander
Beth Lowry
Saadia Madsbjerg
Nancy Quan
Leocadia I. Zak
Fay Twersky
Carolyn Young
Helene Gayle
Chloe Barzey
Nicole “Nikki” Clifton
Sharmen Gowens
Class of 2022
Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice
Class of 2021
Class of 2020
Alicia Philipp
Kali Beyah
Lori Billingsley
Martha Brooks
Class of 2019
Liz Blake
Allison Dukes
Sharon Gay
Sonya Halpern
Class of 2018
Erica Qualls-Battey
Dr. Debra Carlton, M.D.
Daryll Griffin
Beth Holder
Class of 2017
Ann Cramer
Ann Curry
Ann Stallard
Class of 2008
Pinney Allen
Lisa Borders
Susana Maria Chavez
LaJean Gould
Leah Ward Sears
Juanita Abernathy*
Larrie Del Martin
Elise Eplan
Class of 2007
Stephanie Blank
Claire Arnold
Leona Barr-Davenport
Carol Hunstein
Evern Cooper Epps
Rebecca Blalock
Juel Pate Borders-Benson
Ada Lee Correll
Class of 2006
Class of 2005
Class of 2004
Charlayne Hunter-Gault
Carolyn Banks
Janis Dubow
Rebecca Franklin
Class of 2003
Dorothy Fuqua*
Patricia Barnard
Carolyn Byrd
Brenda Cole
Class of 2002
Shirley Franklin
Vicki Escarra
Margaret Greene
Beverly Hall*
Class of 2001
Jane Fonda
Marie Barnes
Diana Buntin
Class of 2000
Judge Glenda Hatchett
Clara Axam
Jacquelyn Belcher
Cathy Cox
Class of 1999
Carol Jackson
Mary Bullock
Nellie D. Duke
Renee Glover
Class of 1998
Ingrid Saunders Jones
Candy Berman
Betty Cook
Christine Farris
Class of 1997
Judy M. Anderson
Amanda Brown-Olmstead
Evern Cooper Epps
Connie Winifred Curry*
Class of 1996
Shirley Clarke Franklin
Barbara Balser
Nancy Boxill
Karen Duckett
Class of 1995
Beverly Bailey Harvard
Kathy Ashe
Jacquelyn Barrett
Barbara “Bobbie” Cleveland
Class of 1994
Myrtle Davis
Valerie Ferguson
Barbara Gifford
Class of 1993
Jean Childs Young*
Alice Ball
Sandra Barnhill
D. Gayle Gellerstedt
Class of 1992
Monica Kaufman Pearson
Jocelyn Dorsey
Maritza Keen
Class of 1991
Mary Gellerstedt*
Billye S. Aaron
Marva Brooks
Class of 1990
Johnnetta B. Cole
Ollivette Allison*
Barbara Miller Asher*
Byllye Avery
Class of 1989
Marie Walters Dodd
Juanita Baranco
Lorri Christopher
Class of 1988
Sally Jessy Raphael
Louise Richardson Allen*
Ella Mae Brayboy*
Class of 1987
Gladys Knight
J. Veronica Biggins
Dianne Harnell Cohen
Class of 1986
Coretta Scott King*
Ellen L. Acquaviva
Paula Bevington
Class of 1985
Elaine Alexander
Dorothy Beasley
Anne Cox Chambers*
Class of 1984
Rosalynn Carter*
Johnnie L. Clark
Ann W. Cramer
Elizabeth Correll Richards
Leslie Schreiner
Jewel Burks Solomon
Chanel Frazier
Julia Houston
Kaye Husbands Fealing
Kathy Colbenson
Cynthia Day
Pat Gardner
Kim Greene
Soumaya Khalifa
Helene Lollis
Juliette Pryor
Blythe Keeler Robinson
Erika James
Anne Kaiser
Mary Laschinger
Wonya Lucas
Dr. Mary Schmidt Campbell
Edie Cofrin
Lisa Gordon
Dr. Valerie Camille Jones
Stephanie Mains
Francesca Gary
Lila Hertz
Meredith Leapley
Julie Miller-Phipps
Dr. Meria J. Carstarphen
Charmaine Davis
Kelly Loeffler
Bari Love
Danita Knight
Paulette Norvel Lewis
Michelle Nunn
Natosha Reid Rice
Stacy Cole-Bell
Denise Harrod
Holly Hughes
Cheryl Lomax
Terri Badour
Noni Ellison-Southall
Donna Hyland
Glenda Minkin
Tad Hutcheson (Y’s Man)
Dr. Elizabeth Kiss
Penny McIntyre
Marsha Johnson
Teri McClure
Katy Barksdale
Lesley Grady
Eve Higginbotham, M.D.
Linda Klein, J.D.
Brenda Reid
Lisa Marie Hamilton
Cecilia Houston-Torrence
Dr. Candace Kaspers
Gloria Goins
Nancy Hall
Patricia Harris
Marian Lucia
Elizabeth Omilami
Melanie Platt
Anne Quatrano
Audrey Hines
Elisabeth Marchant
Kay Scott
Linda Selig
Virginia Gorday
Virginia Hepner
Harriet Hessam
Helen Smith Price
Joan Garner*
Sara González*
Deva Hirsch
Kathy Klatt
Valerie Jackson
Dorothy Yates Kirkley
Vicki Palmer
Mary Harris
Nina Hickson
Barbara Loar*
Delores E. Cross
Ronnie Gunnerson
Carolyn Kenny
Soon Paik
Marjorie Fine Knowles
Rubye Lucas
Audrey F. Manley
Pat Mitchell
Amanda G. Hyatt*
Elizabeth Long
Karen Elaine Webster Parks
Peggy McCready Schwall*
Sallie Adams Daniel
Stephanie Davis
Camille Davis-Williams
Angela Gittens
Roulettei Gildersleeve
Mary Long
Ivenue Love-Stanley
Sally McDaniel
Hattie Dorsey
Jo Edwards
Gail Evans
Anne Harper
Patsy Hilliard
Patricia Lottier
Grace Phillips
Beatrice A. Ruffin
Patsy Hilliard
Patricia Lottier
Grace Phillips
Beatrice A. Ruffin
Melody McCloud
Kathryn McDonagh
Frances Freeborn Pauley*
Donna Paulette Carson
Melita Easters
Ryland McClendon
Barbara Bruner*
Bettye Davis
Marion Delaney-Harris*
Mary B. Jordan*
Teresa Clark
Susie LaBord*
Mary O’Connor
Barbara Carter
Delores Crockett
Gretta Moll Dewald*
Eleanor Jay Davis
Sheryl Gripper
Betty Jacobson
Carol D. Cherry*
Xernona Clayton
Suzanne Elson
Evelyn Gibson Lowery*
Ann Curry
Freddye S. Henderson
Grace Towns Hamilton*
Barbara King*
Skipper Morrison*
Eleanor L. Richardson*
Pamela Stewart
Belisa Urbina
Janis Ware
Qaadirah Abdur-Rahim
Sarah-Elizabeth Reed
Julie Seitz
Patrise Perkins-Hooker
Dr. Sita Ranchod-Nilsson
Lisa Williams
Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice
Nita Sardana
Charmaine Ward
Mary Moore
Marian Pittman
Tisha Tallman
Brenda Muhammad
Leslie Sibert
Lottie Watkins*
M. Yvette Miller
Sheryl Sellaway
Geri Thomas
Erica Qualls-Battey
Sylvia Russell
Christine St. Clare
Lovette Russell
Suzanne Sitherwood
Chilton Varner, J.D.
Ayesha Khanna
Lauren Koontz
Maya Penn
April Ross
Condace Pressley
Bentina Chislom Terry
Sandy Welfare
Erika Shields
Martha Wilber, M.D.
Andrea Young
Mary Pat Matheson
Beatriz Perez
Wendy Stewart
Ileana Martinez
Teresa Roseborough
Joanne Smith
Yvonne Thomas
Dr. Mary Wilson, M.D
Billye Aaron
Liz Blake
Shan Cooper
Sandra Deal*
Class of 2016
Class of 2015
Carol Tomé
Erika Alexander
Myra Bierria
Luncinda Bunnen
Class of 2014
Rev. Dr. Joanna M. Adams
Lisa Cremin
Beth Finnerty
Dana Halberg
Class of 2013
Rosalind Brewer
Keisha Lance Bottoms
Mary Brock
Janine Brown
Class of 2012
Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum
Kim Anderson
Amy Brady
Kelly Dolan
Class of 2011
Kathy Betty
Rabbi Analia Bortz
Molly Burke
Emily Ellison
Class of 2010
Nancy Grace
Stacey Abrams
Cathy Adams
Dr. Sheryl Gabram
Class of 2009
Pearl Cleage
BJ Bernstein, J.D.
Renay Blumenthal
Anna Cablik
Penelope McPhee
Rhonda Mims
Louise Sams
Shirley Mitchell
Margaret Reiser
Pamela Stephenson
Judy Tabb
Marvonia Walker
Evonne Yancey
Janet Street
Ray Uttenhove
Harriette Watkins
Jenny Pruitt
Laura Turner Seydel
Julia Wallace
Hala Moddelmog
Susan Neugent
Connie Stokes
Maria Saporta
Nancy Gordy Simms
Cathy Woolard
Linda A. Parrish
Paula Rosput
Mtamanika Youngblood
Janet Rechtman
Phyllis F. Schwartz*
Kathleen Toomey
Rogsbert Phillips
Judy Turner
Pat Upshaw-Monteith
Beverly Thomas
Dorothy J. Tracy*
Ruth West
Judy Hanenkrat
Julie Keeton
Deborah Richardson
Thelma Wyatt Cummings Moore
Nan Orrock
Polly Simpson
Pamela Hoffman
Clare Richardson
Gail Tusan
Georganna Sinkfield
Ann Stallard
Lucy Vance
Cynthia Tucker
Patricia M. Tunno*
Patricia Willis
Anne Sparrow
Sue Wieland*
Elizabeth Wilson
Kathleen Ziegler
Jan Pringle
Pamela Pryor
Carol Reiser*
Ruth Schmidt*
Mylle Bell Mangum
Iris Miles
Mary Margaret Oliver
Alicia Phillipp
Evelyn Ullman
Alexis Scott
Alana Shepherd
Cathey Steinberg
Isabel Gates Webster*
Sherry Frank
Carolyn Stradley
Jackie M. Ward
Maxine McNutt
Joyce Ogletree
Ruth E. Stanley
Gloria Randall Scott
Betty Siegel*
Jane Smith*
Betty Smulian
Lillian Webb*
Margaret Lupo*
Nanette Wenger
Deen Day Sanders
Judith Taylor
