Monday, November 4, 2024

YWCA 2021 Milestones Virtual Celebration Honors Toledo Women

The YWCA will virtually celebrate seven amazing and hardworking women of Northwest Ohio on Friday, March 26, 2021 at 11:30 a.m., with the organization’s annual Milestones Awards.

Since 1996, the YWCA has highlighted women that have made an impact on their community, had great achievements in their careers, and are excellent examples to future generations. The Milestones honor has been annually given to women in several categories: arts, business, education, government, sciences, social services, and volunteerism.

This will be a free event, but the YWCA welcomes donations from those attending to help offset expenses and benefit other programs.

The 2021 Honorees:

Suzanne Rorick (Arts)
Suzanne Rorick has managed to keep the Toledo Opera thriving in our community this past year. As the Opera’s Executive Director, she has devoted herself to keeping the arts well and alive in our fair city, while also introducing our community to thought provoking operas that cast a light on the social injustice and racism still plaguing our nation. She has utilized the skills and talents of numerous black artists and will continue to do so with works scheduled once the opera is open again.

Linda Mansour-Ismail Esq. (Business)
Linda Mansour is an attorney with an active law practice in Toledo, Ohio. She is constantly striving to help others and make our community the best it can be, but has been important both locally and internationally in her career. In her practice she focuses on many cases of injustice such as immigration, civil rights, employment matters, family law issues, the formation of for profit and nonprofit organizations, among other things.

Clara Petty (Education)
Clara Petty has been active in the community for over 35 years, working at various social service agencies in Northwest Ohio. She is currently the Executive Director of the Monroe Street Neighborhood Center, overseeing programs designed to help community members in need, those looking to volunteer, or even just wanting to exercise. She also serves on the scholarship committee of her church, Walk the Word Ministry.

Judge Nicole Khoury (Government)
Toledo Municipal Court Judge Nicole Khoury has been dedicated to making Toledo a better place for years. In the court system she has been aiming to get repeat offenders out of the system through Toledo’s progressive judicial system where behavior is corrected through classes. She is also one of the creators of Acoustics for Autism and a founder of Project iAm.

Dr. Michele Knox (Sciences)
Dr. Michele Knox is a clinical psychologist and professor of psychiatry at the University of Toledo. She specializes in family violence and child maltreatment prevention, integrated mental health and health care for children and youths, and child/adolescent Psychopathology. She has recently edited and contributed to a book titled “Clinician’s Toolkit for Children’s Behavioral Health”.

Shantae Brownlee (Social Services)
Shantae Brownlee is the Senior Vice President for Operations and Chief Financial Officer of Land Bank, a non-profit organization that looks to better our community by turning around properties that are vacant, abandoned, or tax-delinquent. She has been with the organization since 2012 and has 15 years of nonprofit administrative and management experience.

Sue Carter (Volunteerism)
Sue Carter is a long-time active member of Toledo, Ohio. Protesting and fighting for good causes since the 1980s, Sue has dedicated her life to others. She joined the American Civil Liberties Union in 1992, serving as President from 1999-2009. She remained a board member until 2018. Sue has a master’s in counseling and for decades has helped counsel HIV/AIDS patients.

Photos courtesy of Stevie Lubell of Grand Lubell Photography.

The YWCA will virtually celebrate seven amazing and hardworking women of Northwest Ohio on Friday, March 26, 2021 at 11:30 a.m., with the organization’s annual Milestones Awards.

Since 1996, the YWCA has highlighted women that have made an impact on their community, had great achievements in their careers, and are excellent examples to future generations. The Milestones honor has been annually given to women in several categories: arts, business, education, government, sciences, social services, and volunteerism.

This will be a free event, but the YWCA welcomes donations from those attending to help offset expenses and benefit other programs.

The 2021 Honorees:

Suzanne Rorick (Arts)
Suzanne Rorick has managed to keep the Toledo Opera thriving in our community this past year. As the Opera’s Executive Director, she has devoted herself to keeping the arts well and alive in our fair city, while also introducing our community to thought provoking operas that cast a light on the social injustice and racism still plaguing our nation. She has utilized the skills and talents of numerous black artists and will continue to do so with works scheduled once the opera is open again.

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Linda Mansour-Ismail Esq. (Business)
Linda Mansour is an attorney with an active law practice in Toledo, Ohio. She is constantly striving to help others and make our community the best it can be, but has been important both locally and internationally in her career. In her practice she focuses on many cases of injustice such as immigration, civil rights, employment matters, family law issues, the formation of for profit and nonprofit organizations, among other things.

Clara Petty (Education)
Clara Petty has been active in the community for over 35 years, working at various social service agencies in Northwest Ohio. She is currently the Executive Director of the Monroe Street Neighborhood Center, overseeing programs designed to help community members in need, those looking to volunteer, or even just wanting to exercise. She also serves on the scholarship committee of her church, Walk the Word Ministry.

Judge Nicole Khoury (Government)
Toledo Municipal Court Judge Nicole Khoury has been dedicated to making Toledo a better place for years. In the court system she has been aiming to get repeat offenders out of the system through Toledo’s progressive judicial system where behavior is corrected through classes. She is also one of the creators of Acoustics for Autism and a founder of Project iAm.

Dr. Michele Knox (Sciences)
Dr. Michele Knox is a clinical psychologist and professor of psychiatry at the University of Toledo. She specializes in family violence and child maltreatment prevention, integrated mental health and health care for children and youths, and child/adolescent Psychopathology. She has recently edited and contributed to a book titled “Clinician’s Toolkit for Children’s Behavioral Health”.

Shantae Brownlee (Social Services)
Shantae Brownlee is the Senior Vice President for Operations and Chief Financial Officer of Land Bank, a non-profit organization that looks to better our community by turning around properties that are vacant, abandoned, or tax-delinquent. She has been with the organization since 2012 and has 15 years of nonprofit administrative and management experience.

Sue Carter (Volunteerism)
Sue Carter is a long-time active member of Toledo, Ohio. Protesting and fighting for good causes since the 1980s, Sue has dedicated her life to others. She joined the American Civil Liberties Union in 1992, serving as President from 1999-2009. She remained a board member until 2018. Sue has a master’s in counseling and for decades has helped counsel HIV/AIDS patients.

Photos courtesy of Stevie Lubell of Grand Lubell Photography.

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