Women's Hall of Fame
Seventeenth Annual Award
Recipients
2010 Winners
Suzanne Shenfil
Business & Professions
Director of the City of Fremont Human Services Department for more than
30 years, Suzanne Shenfil is a tenacious and fierce advocate for the most
vulnerable populations in southern Alameda County.
She was integral in the establishment of the Fremont Family
Resource Center,
bringing together 27 agencies serving individuals and families. Other
programs she helped establish include the 'Pathways to Positive Aging' and
the 'Community Ambassadors' Program for seniors. A genuine believer in
collaboration, Suzanne sits on several committees seeking to improve
services throughout Alameda
County - working to
improve mental health services and programs for the homeless.
boona chemma
Community Service
As the Executive Director of Building Opportunities for Self Sufficiency
(BOSS), boona cheema exhibits the uncanny ability to reach and serve our
community's poorest residents. Since 1978, boona has helped BOSS grow from
a one-stop center to a County-wide network of model programs. She is at the
forefront of the fight against cuts to homeless and poverty programs. Her
work flows from personal experiences of being displaced from her home and
volunteering with war-wounded children. Her experience, knowledge, and
commitment make boona an invaluable resource for those struggling at the
bottom rungs of society.
Favianna
Rodriguez
Culture & Art
Favianna Rodriguez is a silk screen printmaker whose work exhibits
astounding exuberance and insight. The co-founder of the East Side Arts
Alliance in Oakland,
Favianna uses visual, performing, and literary arts to empower racially
diverse neighborhoods. She is also artistic director and co-founder of the
web company Tumis, a bi-lingual design studio dedicated to global human
rights. The company provides communications materials to organizations such
as the Ella Baker Center
for Human Rights and KPFA Radio to promote the cause of social justice.
Favianna harnesses her impressive creative powers each day to make our
community a better place.
Regina
Jackson
Education
For the past 15 years Regina Jackson has served as Executive Director of
the East Oakland
Youth Development
Center, serving as the driving
force of an organization that provides critical support and mentorship for
some of Oakland's
most at-risk youth. Programs championed by this tireless advocate for youth
include the Culinary Arts Program, Pathways to College and the Summer
Cultural Enrichment Program. Regina
has demonstrated resilience and determination by creating programs that
expose young people to opportunities for success, helping them to defy
situations that could easily be deemed hopeless.
Sandra J.
Threlfall
Environment
Sandra J. Threlfall is founder and Executive Director of Waterfront
Action Inc., which promotes public access to the Oakland-Alameda Estuary
and Lake Merritt through public awareness,
education and direct action. Waterfront Action frequently holds public
meetings which focus on waterfront plans and improvements, bringing area
residents, developers and local officials together without government
support to promote the best interests of the waterfront. Sandra has
received numerous awards for raising public awareness and promoting public
access to the waterfront.
Gayle Quinn
Health
Gayle Quinn is Director of Health Education at the West Oakland
Health Center,
where she has faithfully served the community for more than 40 years. She
has spearheaded Family Life education in Oakland schools, led efforts to combat
HIV/AIDS, provided health education to detainees at local jails and promoted
a multitude of health education programs including the Oakland Crack Task
Force, Black Infant Health and the Every Woman Counts battle against breast
cancer. The first in her family to attend and graduate college, Gayle is
now a community leader in efforts to protect and promote public health.
LaDonna Harris
Justice
Commander LaDonna Harris, a valued member of the Alameda County
Sheriff's Office for 30 years, is the first African American female in the
organization to attain the position of Division Commander. She is a devoted
mentor to younger female law enforcement officers and an accomplished
instructor at the Sheriff's Office
Regional Academy.
Commander Harris is also a champion of programs supporting the successful
re-entry of inmates into the community. She has risen to the highest ranks
of law enforcement - a field long dominated by men - by abiding by her
credo of "doing the right thing for the right reason.
Kathy Kuhner
Non-Traditional Careers
Kathy Kuhner, mother of 10 children, is a self-made woman. She has had
successful stints as a therapist, community organizer and now, as a real
estate developer - a field that is almost exclusively male-dominated. She
began her current career renovating homes in Contra
Costa County,
then moved back to Alameda County in 1999 and started Dogtown Development,
initially developing properties and revitalizing Oakland's Dogtown neighborhood. Her
company now develops property throughout Oakland and over the past decade, has
completed 26 projects representing over 100 new homes, condominiums and
lofts.
Lisa A. Poyneer
Science
Lisa A. Poyneer is an engineer at the Lawrence Livermore National
Laboratory who is instrumental in the development of the Gemini Planet
Imager (GPI), which will be the world's most powerful optical instrument of
its kind once it is completed next year. The instrument will survey stars
and take direct images of faraway planets about which little is known.
Lisa's research was essential in winning the $24 million contract to pay
for the GPI's development. Using algorithms she developed, the GPI promises
a performance level that is up to 100 times greater than current
instruments of its kind.
Vanessa
Woodmansee
Sports & Athletics
Vanessa Woodmansee parlayed her competitive spirit and organizational
prowess, becoming the lead organizer of Hayward Area Recreation and Park
District (HARD) Men's Fastpitch Softball league and the Adult Co-Ed
Volleyball Leagues. Under her guidance, the leagues have thrived, and
adults of all ages have found joy through athletics. An accomplished
athlete, Vanessa played on a Women's National Championship softball team in
1983. Vanessa, a case worker for the Alameda County Department of Child
Support Services, shows dedication to local sports that has helped the HARD
leagues maintain their high quality despite budget cuts and other
hardships.
Taylor Marie
Lyons
Youth
Taylor Lyons is a passionate supporter, counselor and mentor to youth in
her hometown of Oakland.
Since age 14, Taylor
has devoted countless hours to youth through her work with the Boys and
Girls Club of Oakland. Taylor, a student at Holy
Names High
School in Oakland,
has assisted other youth through tutoring on science and art projects and
helping on numerous field trips. Since 2008, she also has been involved and
served as a defense attorney with the McCullum Youth Court, a restorative
justice program that works with youth who have committed misdemeanor
crimes.
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