Women's Center Empowerment Luncheon 2018 Award Recipients

The Women's Center 16th Annual Women's Empowerment Luncheon was held Wednesday November 14th at the University Club. Ashley D. Anderson, women’s health nurse practitioner and co-owner of Athena Health and Wellness, was the keynote speaker inspiring attendees with her talk,  “Against All Odds.”

Anderson received her undergraduate nursing degree from Berea College, where she was a record-holding captain for the college’s women basketball team. She received her master’s and doctoral degrees in nursing and women’s health from UofL. Anderson manages Athena Health and Wellness and practices as a women’s health nurse practitioner there. She is also a co-owner and stylist at AFM Threads. She’s been a model, actress, radio personality, 2013 Ms. Kentucky United States, Miss Black Ohio 2010 and Miss University of Louisville 2008.

The Women’s Center presented several awards at the luncheon including The Mary K. Bonsteel Tachau Gender Equity Award and Essay Contest, the Dr. M. Celeste Nichols Award, Dr. Ann T. Allen Endowed Scholarship, and the Annual Women’s Empowerment Award. The program concluded with remarks from students who have been impacted by the Women's Center. To learn more about the Women's Center awards. 

Award Winners 

Women's Center Empowerment Award:  Robin R. Harris, Public Service Librarian at UofL’s Law Library.

Dr. M. Celeste Nichols Award:

• Shakeyrah I. Elmore, Major: PhD in Public Health Sciences in Health Promotions, to attend & present research at the 12^th Annual National Health Disparities  Conference hosted  by The Center for Minority Health and Health Disparities Research and Education conference sponsored by Xavier University. New Orleans, LA., April 8-10, 2019.
• Amberli A. Seay, Major:  MA/MSSW, to attend and present research at the National Council of Black Studies (NCBS) Conference, New Orleans, LA in March 6-9, 2019.
• Caitlin E. Ray, Major:  English (Rhetoric and Composition) assist in funding research via transcription services through Rev.com for surveys and interviews related to rhetorical analysis and rare disease narratives.
• Kandauda Malinika Kalpani de Silva, Major:  Bioinformatics, to attend and present at the Plant and Animal Genome Conference (PAG XXVII) in San Diego, CA, January 12-16, 2019.

Tachau Gender Equity Award: Nancy M. Theriot, Women & Gender Studies Professor 

Mary K. Bonsteel Tachau Essay Contest: Amanda Forsting 

Dr. Ann T. Allen Endowed Scholarship: Kaelyn Caruthers