Women of Achievement honored ten 2023 Women of Achievement awardees Tuesday at the Ritz-Carlton.
The 2023 Women of Achievement: Katherine Glynn Anderson Impactful Leadership; Velma Bailey Youth Enrichment; Beth Boggs Feeding Our Community; Rolanda Finch Caring & Compassion; Judith Garfinkel Arts & Education; Linda Hunter Humanitarian Concerns; Erin Kramer Spirit of Giving; Kristina Le Multicultural Advocacy; Christine Pennell Human Welfare; and Gabriela Ramirez-Arellano Social Enterprise
The St. Louis Women of Achievement Award, which was founded in 1955 and celebrates its 68th anniversary this year, is the oldest, ongoing program in the area whose sole mission is to honor and recognize the volunteer service and volunteer leadership of women. African American women recognized include the following:
Velma Bailey
Velma Bailey is Founder/CEO of the Saint Louis Torchbearers 2, can be found helping her marginalized community’s youth gain equitable access to resources region-wide—after school, on weekends, and each summer in Fairground Park. Her grassroots nonprofit has helped 500 children build paradigms for lifelong success through partnerships with 50+ organizations. Velma’s work has been widely recognized: the 2022 RWJF/NRPA Health Equity Award, AARP National Creating the Good Award, Gateway to Dreams Inspiring Hope Award, Pay It Forward Award, League of Women Voters Metro STL Harriett Woods Award for Exemplary Community Service, and featured in the Post’s Giving Thanks recognition stories.
Rolanda Finch
As the Founder and CBO of It’s Your Birthday, Inc. Rolanda Finch is responsible for strategic planning and day-to-day operations to ensure children in shelters have a better birthday memory. The services provided by IYBI provide a sense of normalcy and help children feel acknowledged and special. Operating with volunteers and a limited budget, she has successfully provided over 1,800 children with a better birthday memory in 22 shelters in the area. Rolanda is also the Director of Learning at RMI, where she is responsible for developing learning strategies for 600+ global employees transforming the global energy system to secure a clean, prosperous, zero-carbon future for all.
