What Women Inspire Our Members?

Complied by Leslie Cramer

For Women’s History Month, we asked some of our members to tell us about women who inspire them.

Janeen Bryant inspires me with her contagious enthusiasm, passion, and authenticity. Charlotte is a better community because of her leadership. ~ Whitney Feld

My mom is a hero of mine. She’s had difficulties in her life that she’s overcome and is the biggest proponent of service and serving others despite all that. ~ Katie Crumpler

I learned about Judy Heumann just a couple of years ago. She’s known as the mother of the disability rights movement. She was excluded from school at the age of five because she was told she was a fire hazard for other students and that led to the start of the Justice movement that is credited with getting IDEA which is rights for disabilities. You can learn more about it in this moving movie on Netflix called “Crip Camp” and I highly highly recommend it. That’s one way we can honor the life and the work of Judy Heumann. ~ Savannah Keith Gress

My mom is a hero – She is so generous and courageous, and a great friend to others. ~ Anna Grace Hawkins

My mother – Definitely! She’s the reason I’m who I am and any good quality I have is from her. Whether it’s the ability to bake killer chocolate chip cookies or the desire to break out of molds set for us as women. ~ Mary Behler

The first one that comes to mind is a woman from my childhood who inspired me and that is Sally Ride. She was the first female astronaut and for some reason that struck me at a young age. ~ Nikki Jarrell

I’ve always really been inspired by my mom because she did a lot of community engagement throughout my childhood. She ran the PTA and many arts and crafts clubs at our school. I was recently approached by someone at my 20th High School reunion saying that the experience he had in the craft club led him to have a lifelong relationship with the Arts which helped him when his sister died. ~ Michelle Cottrell

A woman who inspires me is Dorothy Counts Scoggins. She was one of the first African-American students to attend a white high school during the time of desegregation and I admire her bravery. ~ Ashley Korizis

My Mom. She’s just always been the independent person in her family. She’s always kind of gone against the grain and done as she felt was best for her. That’s always inspired me to be independent myself. ~ Megan O’Hara