Worcester Business Journal

10 Worcester Business Journal | October 16, 2023 | wbjournal.com F O C U S O U T S TA N D I N G W O M E N I N B U S I N E S S - 15th anniversary Over the past 12 months, Worcester Business Journal received 72 nominations for 41 nominees for this year's Outstanding Women in Business awards. e unenviable task of selecting the best nominees fell to these three judges, who used their varied expertise and backgrounds to select the Class of 2023. T he dynamo who turned the local rape crisis center into a sustainable operation that has become a national model for others to follow. e woman who helps small businesses with their marketing and launched a conference to help entrepreneurs get the expertise they need. e utility manager who supports the most vulnerable in affording their electricity. e healthcare CEO who found ways to build upon an elder services organization while others were struggling. e business owner who overcame insti- tutional obstacles to build her furniture company. e vice chancellor who makes situations better for people of all backgrounds. e former architect who now directs operations at a fascinating busi- ness helping renovate existing buildings. Over its 15 year history, the Outstanding Wom- en in Business awards have honored a wide range of female leaders in Central Massachusetts. e 97 people who have won the award over that time all bring their own unique stories and accomplish- ments to the region's business landscape. eir tales are ones of perseverance, talent, inspiration, intelligence, and success. is year's winners are no exception, as each one redefines what it means to be outstanding in their lives and careers. In the WBJ newsroom, we focus much of our attention looking forward, so we can give our audience of business leaders the market intelligence they need to operate their organizations successfully into the future. Still, every once in a while, we take a look back to see all that's been accomplished. So, for this anniversary edition of our Outstanding Women in Business awards, we visit with some of our alumnae to see what they've been doing since they won the award and how they feel about the progress made (or not) for women in the workplace. You can read all these stories from winners past and present on the following pages. If you're in the mood to celebrate all these amazing professionals in person, I invite you to the Outstanding Women in Business awards ceremony at 11:30 a.m. on Nov. 1 at Mechanics Hall in Worcester. You'll hear from this year's winners and maybe manage to see a few alumnae, too. – Brad Kane, editor OUTSTANDING stories, for 15 years W Hayley Haywood, is the founder and chief equity officer of Worcester company Elevating Access and assistant provost for organizational learning at Clark University in Worcester. She done consulting work for NASA's inclusive diverse equitable and accessible panels. Meredith Harris is executive director of Marlborough Economic Development Corp. Since 2015, she has helped companies such as Cytiva, Aspen Aerogels, Sartorius, and Moderna, either move to or expand within the city, helping to make Marlborough a business hub in Central Massachusetts. Monica Thomas- Bonnick is vice president and business lending officer for Auburn- based bank Webster Five, as well as executive director and treasurer for the Webster Five Foundation. She is a member of the Outstanding Women in Business Class of 2022. [ All photos of the Class of 2023 are by Christine Peterson ] Class of 2009 Frances Anthes, Patricia Jones, Cynthia Normandin, Deborah Penta, Karen Wall, Kathryn Zingg Hunter Class of 2010 Gail Carberry, Janet Ceddia, Jill Dagilis, Elaine Fluet, Catherine Hoover-Smith, Hanishi Thanawalla Ali Class of 2011 Karen Koller, Cheryl Lapriore, Karen Ludington, Kimberly Rozak, Tina Sbrega, Lisa Wilk Class of 2012 Debbie Guiney, Jeannie Hebert, Sharyn Rice, Mary Ritter, Polly Tatum, Candi Wolfe Class of 2013 Bonnie Biocchi, Pattie Hallberg, Mary Ann O'Connor, Diane Power, Linda Smith, Christine Tieri Class of 2014 Sarika Aggarwal, Charlotte Broussard, Susan Mailman, Ann Tripp, Donna Truex, Victoria Waterman Class of 2015 Roberta Brien, Linda Cavaioli, Susan Gunnell, Susan Lawrence, Naureen Meraj, Joyce Murphy Class of 2016 Dr. Matilde Castiel, Kathryn Crockett, Julie Crowley, Michelle Drolet, Antonia McGuire, Liora Stone Class of 2017 Angela Bovill, Margaret Briggs, Karen Duffy, Cheryl Eidinger- Taylor, Jill Lebow, AiVi Nguyen Class of 2018 Kate Sharry, Sandra Brock, Laurie Masiello, Jennifer Luisa, Carla McCall, Marianne Lancaster Class of 2019 Linda Cammuso, Tameryn Campbell, Christine Cassidy, Lori Fontaine, Rita Kapur, Kate Shamsuddin Class of 2020 Kate Theodoss, Karin Branscombe, Liz Hamilton, Susan Kalk, Sheila King- Goodwin, Tamara Lundi, Valerie Zolezzi-Wyndham Class of 2021 Kristine Bostek, Donna Boulanger, Lisa Colombo, Betsy Landry, Sandra Olson, Kimberly Salmon, Cathryn Shaw-Reid, Dr. Stacy Wu Class of 2022 Elizabeth Cruz, Natalie Friel, Diane Giampa, Tina Krasnecky, Kate McEvoy, Karen Pelletier, Odile Smith, Carole Steen, Monica Thomas-Bonnick Outanding Women in Business alumnae

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