“Receiving an award helps me understand I have hit a milestone, but also that I have more on my plate to savor,” Jessica Perkins, co-founder and vice president of Vector Communications, said as she accepted her 2008 Women of Distinction Award.
Perkins was one of five African-American women to receive Professional Organization of Women’s top honor. The sixth annual awards ceremony was held in March at the Missouri History Museum in honor of Women’s History Month. More than 100 people attended.
Valerie Bell, Captain Rochelle Denise Jones, Patricia Smith Thurman and Dr. Mary A.T. Tillman also received awards.
Recipients were honored for their professional accomplishments as well as their commitment to community service in the St. Louis region. They fully epitomize POW’s mission to empower African-American women to learn, lead and succeed.
Tiffany Cooley, president of POW, said the ceremony is important because it’s rare for African-American women to be praised for their contributions.
“Women of Distinction is our way of thanking amazing African-American women for blazing trails, accomplishing the unthinkable, making dreams come true, making our communities better and for contributing to the successes of others,” Cooley said.
Prior to co-creating Vector, a public communications and consulting firm, Perkins was sole owner of Out-of-the-Box Thinking, a strategic planning and organizational development consulting firm.
She received a double-major bachelor’s degree in marketing and psychology from Lindenwood University. After Lindenwood, she attended the University of Wisconsin and earned a M.B.A. in finance. Graduating at the ripe age of 20, Perkins was the youngest graduate student to attend the school.
Although a native St. Louisan, Perkins spent 16 years in Texas after college. She returned to St. Louis in 1989 and went on to attend Saint Louis University to pursue a doctoral degree in public policy analysis.
“I know that creating and sustaining an organization like this is difficult, but it’s the labor of love,” Perkins said.
Valerie Bell is currently the secretary of the national board of Parents as Teachers National Center Inc. Although she is a trained public policy consultant and attorney, she does all of her services on a pro bono basis.
“When my family and I moved to St. Louis several years ago, I made a decision to leave my New York lawyer behind to address in a volunteer capacity the issues that I feel passionately about,” Bell said.
She is frequently a panelist and speaker on issues related to race relations, education, regional economic development, and the management and administration of not-for-profit organizations.
She is a graduate of Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and received her J.D. and master’s degree in public administration from Harvard.
Tillman was recognized for her considerable contributions in the field of pediatrics. A graduate of Howard University Medical School, she completed her internship and residency at Homer G. Phillips Hospital. She opened her private practice in St. Louis, and became the first woman to head the Mound City Medical Forum.
She has received numerous awards during her career, which spans more than 50 years. She credited her success to the ongoing support of her family, friends and God – a sentiment echoed by many of the awardees.
Thurman said, “As I stand here on the shoulders of my parents and African-American ancestors, I know that I’m here for two reasons: by the grace of God and that someone lifted me to higher heights.”
Thurman was awarded for her achievements in corporate America, an arena still heavily dominated by white males.
As vice president and group head of Financial Services Development at MasterCard Worldwide, Thurman leads the system software development effort for the company’s financial applications. On a peak day, she handles transaction-processing exceeding $140 million. She has been featured for her work on MasterCard’s System Enhancement Strategy.
Captain Rochelle Denise Jones of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department is only one of two African-American females to hold the rank of captain in the department.
The 25-year veteran of the department, commands the Eighth District, home to some of the toughest neighborhoods in the city of St. Louis. She was the first African-American woman appointed commander of the Homicide Section. She has also served in the Sex Crimes, Canine and Internal Affairs Divisions, as well as other patrol assignments.
The Professional Organization of Women is a non-profit organization created to empower African-American women to learn, lead and succeed in both business and civic endeavors. The organization seeks to enrich the professional, social and community aspirations of women in entry and mid-level management positions by pursuing a breadth of community initiatives, networking and professional development activities.
