Women To Watch Awards

About the Awards:

Our annual awards celebrates the women making an impact on our community in the areas of Arts, Business, Education, Health, Nonprofit/Volunteer, Public Service and Rising Stars. Thirty-five women are selected as finalists each year by an outside panel of judges. Finalists are featured in the October issue of WILMA and recognized at an evening celebration event during the same month. The seven category winners are also announced at the event.

Click here to learn more about WILMA’s annual Women to Watch Awards.

Click here to see the 2021 Awards event album.

Meet the 2021 Women to Watch Finalists!

Arts:

• Trista Banfield – Technical Project Manager, Apiture
• Kristi Ray & Erika Edwards – Co-Founders & Executive Producers, Honey Head Films
• Heather Freeman – Owner, Queens Coast Surface Art
• Tiffany Machler – Founder, Art by Nugget and Owner/Curator, 11oh9 Gallery
• Georgia Mastroieni – Director of Outreach & Family Engagement, Cameron Art Museum

Business:

• Michelle Patricia Catts – Sr. Vice President of Nuclear Programs, GE Hitachi
• Chakema Clinton-Quintana – Vice President-Inclusive Small Business, Live Oak Bank
• Christi Ferretti – Owner & Executive Chef, Pine Valley Market
• Wendy Fletcher-Hardee – President & CEO, Atlantic Coast Trucking, Inc.
• Ashley Lomboy – Global Information Security Manager, Optical Fiber & Cable Corning Inc.

Education:

• Onya Gardner – Dean of Continuing Education & Workforce Development, Brunswick Community College
• Angela Pollock – Director of Development & Head of School, OASIS NC
• Narcisa Pricope – Professor, UNCW
• Sheri Shaw – Assistant Dean for Student Success, UNCW
• Melissa White – Development Director, Thalian Hall Center for the Performing Arts Inc.

Health:

• Brittany Bradshaw – Nurse Manager, The Pediatric Center
• Kristina Clemmons – Assistant Director of Brunswick County, Coastal Horizons Center
• Claire Corbett – Director Performance Excellence, NHRMC
• Angela Lago – Clinical Nutrition Manager, NHRMC
• Laura Pica – Behavioral Health Clinical Manager, MedNorth Health Center

Nonprofit/Volunteer:

• Monica Caison – Director & Founder, CUE Center for Missing Persons
• Katelyn Mattox – Program Director, NourishNC
• Jhaniqua Palmer – Director of Outreach Programs, YWCA Lower Cape Fear
• Rakhee Patel – Adult Substance Use Disorder Services Director, Coastal Horizons Center
• Franchesca Ramirez – MDT Coordinator & Advocate Supervisor, The Carousel Center

Public Service:

• Tufanna Bradley – Assistant County Manager, New Hanover County
• Kayla Ceasar – Mentorship Program Founder, New Hanover County Health & Human Services
• Carly Hagg – Finance Director, Leland
• Marie Parker – Executive Director, Cape Fear Public Transportation Authority
• LeAnn Pierce – Mayor, Carolina Beach

Rising Star:

• Brianna Drennan – Lab Manager, Wilmington Health
• Hayley Luckadoo – Motivational Speaker & Marketing Coach, Luckadoo Media
• Katy Menne – Curator of Education, N.C. Maritime Museum at Southport
• Arely Ramirez-Diaz – Immigration Paralegal, Helen Tarokic Law
• Cierra Washington – Strategic Prartnership Coordinator, Northside Food Cooperative

2021 Women to Watch Winners:

• ARTS – Kristi Ray & Erika Edwards, Co-Founders & Executive Producers, Honey Head Films
• BUSINESS – Christi Ferretti, Owner & Executive Chef, Pine Valley Market
• EDUCATION – Narcisa Pricope, Professor, UNCW
• HEALTH – Claire Corbett, Director Performance Excellence, NHRMC
• NONPROFIT/VOLUNTEER – Franchesca Ramirez, MDT Coordinator & Advocate Supervisor, The Carousel Center
• PUBLIC SERVICE – Tufanna Bradley, Assistant County Manager, New Hanover County
• RISING STAR – Cierra Washington, Strategic Partnership Coordinator, Northside Food Cooperative