FEATURED INTERVIEWS
Each month the editors will choose one interview to feature.
These interviews are with women of distinction, those who have made an incredible difference in their local or global communities.
Click on photo for interview.
These interviews are with women of distinction, those who have made an incredible difference in their local or global communities.
Click on photo for interview.
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Amy Williams, Ph.D., received her doctoral degree in history from Nottingham Trent University, UK, where she has worked as a part-time lecturer. She recently co-authored National and Transnational Memories of The Kindertransport: Exhibitions, Memorials, and Commemorations (Camden House, 2023) and is currently working on two more books. Amy works with the Kindertransport Association (KTA) and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Zolberg Institute on Migration and Mobility at the New School in New York City. She received the Culture Engagement Award (2017) by the AHRC’s Midlands3Cities Doctoral Training Partnership at the M3C Research Festival for her work during her placement at the national Holocaust Centre and Museum. She has recently been awarded a fellowship at Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center.
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Anne Marie Blacketer, CFRE, CEO of Lupus Foundation of America’s Texas Gulf Coast Chapter, and lupus warrior Monika Somerville (February 2024 Featured Interview) discuss their work with the foundation. A stand-alone affiliate of the national organization, the Texas Gulf Coast Chapter supports the mission of LFA to shorten the time to diagnosis of lupus through community-based education and advocacy programs held throughout the Texas Gulf Coast. Anne Marie joined LFA Texas Gulf after beginning her second career in nonprofit work in 2012 at The Center in Houston. Monika, who lives with lupus, began volunteering as an ambassador for the Texas Gulf Coast Chapter and leading “Team Mo Steps To the Cure” in the annual Walk To End Lupus Now fundraiser.
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Featured Interviews: 2023
Photo Courtesy: National Museum of Women in the Arts
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Susan Fisher Sterling, Ph.D., (November 2023 Featured Interview) is Director of the National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) in Washington, D.C. She has built her career and the stature of the museum around the message of equity for women through the example of excellence in the arts. When she signed on as associate curator of the new museum in 1988, she had just graduated from Princeton University with a master’s and Ph.D. in art history, specializing in modern and contemporary art. Under Susan's leadership, NMWA marked its 36th anniversary in 2023. It is the only major museum in the world solely dedicated to advancing women in the arts.
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Dale Sandler, Ph.D. and Katie O'Brien, Ph.D., (October 2023 Featured Interview) are scientists with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and members of The Sister Study team. This year marks the 20th anniversary of this study, which includes more than 50,000 women across the U.S. and Puerto Rico, who were between ages 35–74 and whose sister had breast cancer. This landmark research effort focused on the causes of breast cancer. Because of their shared environment, genes, and experiences, studying sisters provides a greater chance of identifying risk factors that may aid in finding ways to prevent breast cancer.
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Photo Credit: Rachel Logan
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Tara Storch (September 2023 Featured Interview) is co-founder of Taylor's Gift Foundation, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization committed to providing emotional and grief support to organ donor families through its flagship grief support program. In March of 2010, the Storch family was enjoying a ski vacation during spring break in Colorado when their oldest child, Taylor, who was just 13 years old, lost control and hit a tree. This was the moment when this family’s world turned upside down. After doctors and nurses at the hospital worked tirelessly to try to save Taylor, their worst nightmare was realized, and Tara and her husband, Todd, made the decision to donate Taylor’s organs, so she could save others. The family has since been helping other donor families experiencing a similar journey with grief.
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Photo Courtesy: Donna Black
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Chief Donna Black (July 2023 Featured Interview) is EFO/CFO of the Duck Fire Department in North Carolina and President and Board Chair of the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC). She has over 26 years of experience in Fire & Emergency Operations with a focus on emergency management. She began her career in 1997 as a volunteer, earning her way through the ranks (as both a paid and volunteer firefighter). In 2006, she was selected as the fire chief for the Town of Duck. One of her major career accomplishments has been the realignment of an all-volunteer fire department to a thriving combination fire department. Her competencies include Fire Suppression, Fire Prevention, EMS, All Hazards Incident Management, Code Inspection, and Community Risk Reduction, among other crucial programs.
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Photo Courtesy: Interior Design By S&S
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Sherica Maynard (May 2023 Featured Interview) was born in Toronto, Canada, and grew up in Lithonia, Georgia. Architecture and design had always been a big influence in her life. At the age of 18, she moved to New York to pursue her modeling career. Fashion shows and photoshoots took Sherica around the world to places like Milan, Poland, Cape Town, and all over the Caribbean islands. Her international modeling career eventually landed her placements in Marie Claire, Essence, Cosmopolitan, and a winning season on Project Runway. This unique design exposure gave her an unparalleled advantage within the luxury interior design community. While in New York, Sherica earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Architectural Design from The New School/Parsons School of Design. Ten years later, she moved back to Atlanta where she joined her mother, Sharon Falcher, as an interior designer, founding Interior Design By S&S.
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Photo Courtesy: Autism Science Foundation
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Alison Singer (April 2023 Featured Interview) is co-founder and president of the Autism Science Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding innovative autism research and supporting the needs of people with autism. As the mother of a 25-year-old daughter with autism and legal guardian of her older brother with autism, she is a natural advocate. Among other community leadership roles, she serves on the board of directors of the International Society for Autism Research (INSAR) and chairs the INSAR Communications Committee. Awards and recognitions include: Being named "autism champion" by the American Academy of Pediatrics; INSAR “Outstanding Research Advocate” award (2017); and the New York Families for Autistic Children Research Advocacy Award (2018).
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Photo Courtesy: The Seeing Eye
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Margaret "Peggi" Howard (March 2023 Featured Interview) was named president & CEO of The Seeing Eye on September 15, 2022 after having served on the Board of Trustees since 2009. Founded in 1929 by Dorothy Harrison Eustis and Morris Frank, The Seeing Eye is a 501(c)3 philanthropic organization whose mission is to enhance the independence, dignity and self-confidence of blind people through the use of Seeing Eye® dogs. Dorothy holds a B.A. from Kenyon College, an M.S.W. from Rutgers University, and a D.Lit. from Drew University. Peggi was the Vice President of Administration and University Relations at Drew University. She also served as New Jersey Governor Thomas H. Kean’s Deputy Chief of Staff and Cabinet Secretary from 1984 to 1990.
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Photo Courtesy: Ock Pop Tok
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Joanna ("Jo") Smith (January 2023 Featured Interview) earned a B.A. in fine arts, specializing in sculpture and photography. A photography contract with an E.U funded development project brought her to Laos in 1999. While in Laos, Jo was becoming increasingly enamored with the intricate weavings and the women of Laos who produced them. Veomanee Douangdala’s creativity attracted Jo like a magnet. Both women shared a love for the traditional, handloomed textiles and were committed to preserving and promoting these textiles to the rest of the world. These shared interests led them to co-found Ock Pop Tok in 2000. In 2002, Jo initiated Ock Pop Tok’s rural development program, the Village Weaver Projects, to alleviate poverty in rural areas. Jo has spoken about Ock Pop Tok’s mission at academic and museum conferences from Sydney to Washington D.C.
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