YWCA Tribute to Women finalists and special award winners

Arts and Education

Maria M. Cornelius

Writer and Editor, Moxley Carmichael

Cornelius started her career as an editor at the Knoxville News Sentinel and became an award-winning reporter with local, state and regional honors. She went on to write “The Final Season: the Perseverance of Pat Summitt,” the story of the winningest coach in NCAA basketball history. A winner herself, Cornelius took home the 2017 INDIES Book of the Year Award during the American Library Association’s Annual Conference.

Dr. Natalie Rice

Research Consultant, University of Tennessee Institute for Nuclear Safety

Dr. Rice has published a number of articles in academic journals and presented conference papers on various global security and public policy topics, with a special focus on anti-Americanism, mass media and public opinion in the former Soviet region. Her published academic work includes seven articles in academic peer-review journals, three book chapters on the topic of mass media and public opinion in the former Soviet Union, and 14 research papers presented at various US and international conferences.

Karen Weekly

Co-Head Softball Coach, University of Tennessee

As Co-Head Coach of softball at the University of Tennessee, Weekly has over 1,000 career victories. She has led her teams to seven Women’s College World Series appearances, has twice been named SEC Coach of the Year, and was a member of the Regional Coaching Staff of the Year in 2005, 2007, 2010, 2012 and 2013. Weekly has coached two Honda Award winners, one National Player of the Year and four Academic All-American of the Year honorees. Tennessee softball has been ranked in every weekly Top 25 poll since 2004.

Cindy White

Principal, Gibbs Middle School

White has dedicated her 37-year career to being an urban educator and transforming young lives. She is a graduate of the Leadership Education Class of 1995, became a mentor in the inaugural Governor's Academy for School Leadership, and member of the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network's Innovative Leaders Institute among other accomplishments. During her tenure as principal at Vine Middle Magnet School, she successfully led the academic turnaround, earning the school an award for gains in achievement and growth.

Business and Professional Leadership

Kim Bumpas

President, Visit Knoxville

As the city’s champion for hospitality and tourism, Bumpas’ efforts have drawn people from all over the world to enjoy entertainment venues, participate in sporting events, visit museums and historical sites, and attend conventions, conferences, and corporate meetings. Tourism is at an all-time high with Knoxville now seen as a getaway destination. Bumpas has earned the elite Destination Management Executive certification, Destination Marketing Association of the Year Award, and the Women in Hospitality and Tourism of the Year Award.

Leslye Hartsell

Manager, Communications and Community Relations, Knoxville Utilities Board

Hartsell is responsible for all communications to KUB’s customers, employees, and the media. She provides leadership to all of KUB’s volunteer and community support activities. Hartsell and her team support KUB’s community outreach initiatives, organizing public meetings for special projects and helping spread the word about upcoming KUB construction work in the community. An active volunteer herself, she helped coordinate the agency’s Volunteer Time program which enables employees to take one day of work each year and devote it to volunteering at local non-profit organizations.

Lisa Rottmann

General Manager of Marketing and Strategy, Stowers Machinery

Rottmann has shifted Stowers from an advertising and promotions marketing department to a data-driven solutions provider. She is in the process of building and deploying a new CRM system which will allow the company to analyze data to increase operational efficiencies, improve response time, and promote transparency throughout the organization. Active with many local non-profits, Rottmann is the board chair of Junior Achievement of East Tennessee and serves on the boards of the Sertoma Center, The Episcopal School of Knoxville, Nucleus Knoxville Advisory Board for East Tennessee Children's Hospital Leadership Council, and is a member of the Zoo Knoxville Circle of Friends.

Alexa Sponcia

Owner and Operator, Hard Knox Pizzeria

Sponcia co-founded the non-profit Live.Love.Hope. Through that organization, she is involved in several local projects that are focused on youth: The School of Hard Knox (which introduces students at Austin-East High School to the culinary world through lessons from local chefs) and The Youth Entrepreneur Program, a collaboration with Project GRAD (which helps young people chart a course to become owners of their own businesses). Sponcia strives to use her own story and background to inspire girls to rise above the challenges they face to realize their own potential.

Community Service and Government

Eve Thomas

Captain, City of Knoxville Police Department

Captain Thomas, a graduate of the FBI National Academy, is currently assigned to Criminal Investigations and is an advocate of procedural justice and community policing. Thomas has risen quickly through the ranks of the KPD, holds degrees in psychology and homeland security, and has held leadership positions in all divisions of the department.

Thomas serves on the board of the Salvation Army, chair of Community Health Council, member of South College Criminal Justice Advisory Board, and member of the steering committee for Tennessee Women in Criminal Justice Association.

Jeanette Harris

Chief, Knox County Sheriff’s Office

Recognized as an outstanding leader, Harris has spent her career in law enforcement in the Knox County Sheriff’s office, starting with processing detainees and working her way up the ranks to chief of the department. Now, as head of the Family Crisis Unit, she investigates crimes of domestic violence, child abuse, elder abuse, animal cruelty, and cybercrimes. The first female member of the Crisis Negotiation Team, she now serves as the team’s commander. Harris has paved the path for other women to become law enforcement professionals.

Charme Allen

District Attorney General, Knox County

General Allen worked as a prosecutor for over 20 years, specializing in, and ultimately leading the Child Abuse Unit. As the first female to be elected to the office of District Attorney General in Knox County, she relies upon her lifelong experiences with the criminal justice system to pursue a multi-dimensional approach to prosecution. The volume and complexity of domestic violence criminal offenses present many challenges for the criminal justice system and Allen has chosen to meet those challenges by ensuring that more offenders are held accountable, and more victims are protected.

Dr. Alice Mercer

UT Public Health Adjunct Faculty (retired)

Mercer is among the first women selected for a senior position in higher education in Alabama in the 1970s. A former educator and university administrator, she has focused her energies on the health and well-being of women and their families. Now, as one of the original founders of the Women’s Fund of East Tennessee (part of the East Tennessee Foundation), Mercer helps the agency transform the lives of low income women and girls in 25 counties in the region. She is the chair of the board of the Women’s Fund of East Tennessee, serves on the UT College of Social Work Board of Visitors, and the East Tennessee Supporting Foundation.

Health and Human Services

Susan Unbehaun

Executive Director, Ladies of Charity

the first executive director of Ladies of Charity, Unbehaun oversees all aspects of the operation, where 80% of clients are from the local area, many are homeless, recently released from the penal system, or have a friend or family member that receives help from the agency. Unbehaun has solicited special groups as volunteers—autistic adults, developmentally disabled adults, the hearing impaired, and school and church groups. She believes bringing people of various backgrounds together has helped their organization grow as an asset to the Knoxville community.

Dr. Smita Borole

Dentist, DentalWorks

Recognized as one of the Top 10 health professionals by City View magazine in 2014, Borole leads her team of 30 dental professionals in three practices serving the Knoxville community. An avid volunteer, she recently created a non-profit organization, Smiles for Hope, which provides free dental care to residents of the YWCA. Borole is also the founder of India Fest, a festival featuring Indian dances, musical programs, authentic Indian food, live cooking demonstrations, henna tattoos, yoga demonstrations, traditional Indian clothing, and activities for children.

Janice McKinley

Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer, Covenant Health

McKinley has been a leader of nursing operations for over 40 years. At Covenant Health, she has overseen the implementation of a program designed to help recent nursing school graduates transition to a fast-paced hospital environment through mentoring and skill development in problem solving, conflict resolution, and leadership development. Named a “Healthcare Hero” by the Knoxville Business Journal, McKinley has been an active volunteer throughout her career, serving the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society, the Industrial Board of Sevier County, and the Sevier County Board of Education School Health Task Force.

Dr. Mary Haven Merkle

Senior Vice President of Integrated Services, TEAMHealth

With decades of experience as a practicing internist, hospital physician and physician executive, Dr. Merkle started her career winning the award for “outstanding resident in outpatient care.” She went on to win awards for “best bedside manner,” became the ranking female physician in a leadership position, and best regional medical director of the year at TEAMHealth. She also serves on the boards of the Women in Leadership Society of Hospital Medicine and is the Physician Champion for Advanced Practice Clinicians in hospital medicine at TEAMHealth.

Technology, Research and Innovation

Dr. N. Dianne Ezell

R&D Engineer, ORNL

With a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Tennessee, Dr. Ezell is an active volunteer as a TN First mentor (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Tech) at Farragut High School, a Tennessee Science Bowl Judge, and has held office on the executive committee of the East Tennessee Section of IEEE. She initiated ORNL’s Women in Science and Engineering group with the mission to expand and improve career and leadership opportunities for women while supporting a positive environment for the workforce.

Dr. Nidia Gallego

Senior Research Scientist, ORNL

Dr. Gallego, a native of Colombia, researches the development of carbon materials for energy technologies and space exploration, working with NASA and its Radioscope Power Systems. She is the author of over 80 publications in peer-reviewed journals, is an active and longtime member of the American Carbon Society, and serves on the ORNL Hispanic/Latino American Committee. Recently her inspiring story was featured in STEM Magazine and STEM for Women Magazine.

Dr. Amila Orucevic

Associate Professor of Pathology and Attending Pathologist, UT Medical Center

Dr. Orucevic is changing the medical world for both men and women as the supervisor and mentor of “Real Life Science Program” where she shares research with Farragut High School students. She has been a mentor to more than 30 high school to college-aged students over the past several years. In her career, Dr. Orucevic has published dozens of scientific articles and has led a team of researchers in the development of the Nomogram, a device which can predict the likelihood of the recurrence of breast cancer.

Clarice Phelps
Researcher/Program Manager for Industrial Use Isotopes, ORNL

After serving in the US Navy Nuclear Power Program, Phelps joined the team at ORNL where she was a part of the team that discovered Z=117 also known as Tennessine, a chemical element now on the periodic table and the second heaviest element known. She volunteers her time through the Alpha Pi Omega Chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority where she helped establish a robotics program for inner city youth. Phelps also serves on the ORNL Educational Outreach Committee as their Diversity Chair for Knox County Schools.

Spirit Award

Michelle Henry

Writer, Moxley Carmichael; Executive Director, Executive Women’s Association

Henry’s spirit extends far beyond the office where she is the executive director of the Executive Women’s Association and a writer for Moxley Carmichael. Her uplifting and inspirational spirit touches everyone who spends time with her. Throughout her seven-year battle with cancer, Henry has dedicated her time to motivating and empowering others through public speaking and the publication of her book, My Anchor Holds. She was an honoree at the 2015 American Cancer Society Hope Gala.

Lifetime Achievement Award

Dorothy Stair

Philanthropist

Born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, Stair has made Knoxville her home since the 1970s. As a philanthropist and hard-working volunteer in some of Knoxville's highest profile non-profit organizations, she has been an inspiration to other women in the community.

Dorothy Stair is a tireless and effective advocate for historic preservation, having served as board chair of Knox Heritage as well as the Blount Mansion Association. There, she successfully headed the capital campaign to raise more than one million dollars to restore the home and gardens of one of the signers of the United States Constitution. Known for her willingness to become personally involved in all aspects of her projects, from fundraising, event planning, and donor outreach to networking, she is especially appreciated for the inspiration she brings to the women in the non-profit organizations who are the beneficiaries of her passionate volunteerism and philanthropy.

Community Partner Award

St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral

St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral has hosted dental clinics, food drives, special events and much more for the residents of the Women’s Housing Program. This partnership has changed the lives of many women who have called the YWCA home.

PHOTO CREDIT: Photographs courtesy of Rachel Towers Brooks, Reflections & Images Photography