Women's Empowerment Luncheon 2024
2024 Women's Empowerment Awards Luncheon: "Intersectional Feminist Leadership. What is leadership to you?"
March 27th, 2024
11am - 1pm, University Club
Program
The 2024 Women's Center Women's Empowerment Awards Luncheon will be held March 27th 11am-1pm in the University Club. The Women’s Center will present several awards at the luncheon including: The Mary K. Tachau Gender Equity Award, the Dr. M. Celeste Nichols Award, Community Pearl of Kentucky and several Women's Center scholarships.
Aaisha Hamid is an award-winning and Yale-certified global diversity strategist with over a decade of diversity, equity, and inclusion program management experience in some of the largest and most financially successful legal and financial services firms in the nation, in academic institutions, and on community boards. In addition to running early stage, DE&I technology platform Pertineo, she presently serves as the Assistant Vice President and DE&I Manager at Alliant Insurance Services, where she designed and helps execute the company's six-pillar DE&I strategy, spearheaded the design and launch of the Alliant Insurance Foundation Fellows program, and acts as a thought leader for Alliant’s leadership. She is an executive coach, Lawline faculty member, and the author of two grant funded books. Aaisha has been recognized as one of the 2023 Top 50 Influential Muslims in the Americas by EqualityX, one of the 2022 and 2024 Top 50 Women Leaders of Washington by Women We Admire and has received multiple leadership awards from the University of Louisville and the UNA-USA Kentucky board. Her work has been featured in publications such as Business Insurance, Insurance Business America, the Voice-Tribune magazine, Courier Journal, Success Pitchers, and the Ellevate Network.
Tickets
The event is free, but due to limited seating, registration is required.
Dietary restrictions or allergies?
Share any dietary restrictions or allergies on registration. We will share with the University Club and have a special ticket for you at check-in. (March 19th deadline for dietary restrictions for University Club)
The 2024 Tachau Gender Equity Award recipient is Dr. Kaila Story, Associate Professor, Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies, with a joint appointment in the Department of Pan-African Studies.
The Tachau Gender Equity Award is sponsored by the Commission on the Status of Women chaired by Michele Rodems. The award is presented jointly by the Commission and the Women’s Center. It is named in honor of Mary K. Bonsteel Tachau, constitutional scholar, the first woman to serve as chair of the UofL history department, and the first woman chair of the faculty senate and as such, the first female on the UofL Board of Trustees. Dr. Tachau was active in pay equity struggles at the university and in many other issues both on campus and in the community and she was well regarded by her peers. The award is given to a member of the University of Louisville community who has done significant work towards gender equity.
Diane Porter takes pride in being an educator who has distinguished herself in the community as a thoughtful, well-informed member of the Jefferson County Board of Education. During her 39 years of service to Jefferson County Public Schools, she served as a teacher, counselor, principal and central office administrator. Ms. Porter’s focus was always dedicated advocacy of all students and their families.
Diane Porter recently served on the Jefferson County Board of Education in an elected office, as the representative from District 1. Ms. Porter was first appointed to the school board in June 2010. Five months later, she was elected to a full four-year term and is currently serving in her third term. She served as the board’s chair from January 2011-2014, January 2015 - January 17 and was re-elected again January 2018 until she resigned in 2023. September 2020 Governor Andy Beshear appointed her to serve on the University of Louisville Board of Trustees. A life-long resident of District 1, Ms. Porter herself is a product of Jefferson County, Kentucky’s public schools graduating from JCPS and the University of Louisville.
Diane Porter has served on the Chestnut Street Branch YMCA Black Achievers Celebration Committee and is a life member of both the Louisville Urban League and the NAACP. Besides serving on the school board, she serves her community on the Boards of the Fund for the Arts, Louisville Urban League and Leadership Louisville where she was selected to the 2014 class of Leadership Louisville’s Bingham Fellows. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated and the Louisville (KY) Chapter of the Links, Incorporated.
Ms. Porter’s most cherished role was that of parent to her only child, Alysia Danielle (Dani) Porter, who left this earth far too soon, but not without a long and impactful legacy of love, friendship and service to everyone she met.