Women to Watch Awards Finalists – Education
Meet the 2025 finalists
KAITLIN BADEN
Principal, Wilmington School of the Arts
Describe your role and work that you do.
“Our school serves 300 – soon to be 360 – students from diverse backgrounds with the common goal of making them academically successful while also developing their love for the arts. My job is to kind of be everywhere at once, whether it’s greeting families and students in the morning, stepping into classrooms to offer support, talking with staff and students throughout the day, driving a bus, or working on the ‘behind-the-scenes’ operations of running a charter school.”
What are some of your career highlights so far?
“The main thing that stands out is going into this year, our school had a 32-point jump – in our third year of testing – that came from a massive collective effort to pull ourselves out of ‘low performing status.’ … Overall, though, the fact that we opened, maintained, and grew a school during COVID still blows my mind. Stepping into this role midway through our first year – 2020 – has been the most challenging and rewarding experience of my life. I have learned so much about running a school, about being a ‘boss,’ about myself, and about how important it is to always be a lifelong learner.”
Why are you passionate about education?
“Education, in my mind, is the foundation of everything. A successful educational experience should be one that encourages, that challenges, that opens minds and closes gaps. Looking into the eyes of our students, through getting to know them and helping them get what they need to grow, I want them to know to their very core that we believe in them. As someone who has experienced public education not only as a student, but also as a child of educators, as a teacher, and now as an administrator, I believe whole heartedly in the tremendous responsibility that comes with being an educator. It is not something I take lightly, and it is something I have taken to heart in all aspects of my life. We are always learning, but we are also always being given opportunities to educate. When crafting our ‘vision statement’ for the school, to accompany our mission statement, I felt strongly that we needed to include something about helping students learn to be community-conscious citizens, problem solvers, and overall just good humans. It’s something that we live and breathe inside of our school community as a common goal that unites us all.”
If you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?
“Take a deep breath and take a step back. So many of us are passionate about what we do (let’s be honest, passion is a big part of being an educator), and that sometimes means that we can’t see the forest for the trees — or as an arts school, I’ve coined the phrase ‘You have to sit in the balcony to see all the pieces working together on stage.’ The balcony view is so important, because while everyone has their perspective and the things that we are fighting for, someone has to be looking over everything making sure the choreography is tight, the costumes and lights are working together, that no one is being overshadowed or pulling focus at the wrong times.”
AMANDA BOOMERSHINE
Spanish Professor, UNCW
Describe your role and work that you do.
“I am a Spanish professor and also lead the UNCW Latino Alliance. As a Spanish professor, I teach undergraduate and graduate courses in linguistics, service-learning, and the Spanish language itself. I enjoy working with both undergraduate and graduate students to help them become more involved with the local Latinx community and to include them in my research projects. With the Alliance, I work with community partners to help build a stronger network among people and organizations that serve the Hispanic/Latino community in the region, and to empower residents and organizations that serve the Hispanic/Latino community by creating positive change in areas of education, business, health care, safety, and community building.”
What are some of your career highlights so far?
“I have been recognized by my colleagues for my commitment to teaching, engagement, and working to created a global community: UNCW Distinguished Teaching Professorship Award, 2020 UNCW Board of Trustees Teaching Excellence Award, 2020 UNCW Chancellor’s Teaching Excellence Award, 2019 UNCW Distinguished Scholarly Engagement and Public Service Award, 2018 UNCW Global Community Award, 2018”
Why are you passionate about education?
“I am passionate about education because I have seen firsthand the power it has to not only shape one’s future, but also to transform the community in general. I work hard to help my students see how what we learn in the classroom can be applied in the real world.”
If you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?
“Believe in yourself and stand up for what you believe in, even if it makes others feel uncomfortable.”
KELLY CAHILL
Community Nurse Educator, Lower Cape Fear LifeCare
Describe your role and work that you do.
“I cover a twelve-county radius providing education for Lower Cape Fear LifeCare (LCFLC), which includes physician offices, hospitals, assisted living facilities, skilled nursing facilities, colleges with nursing programs, church groups, senior centers, and the community at large. My educational modules include everything from Orienting to Hospice, Palliative Care, Spectrum of Services, End of Life Care, Memory Partners Dementia Modules, The Compassionate Lab that simulates ‘live’ demonstrations of various diseases and illnesses, Begin the Conversation addressing advance care planning, Caring for the Caregiver, Dementia Friends of America, and Bereavement and Grief.”
What are some of your career highlights so far?
“Being a part of innovative programs offered at LCFLC and being in various director and management positions spanning over thirty years, which included both the inpatient and outpatient settings. As the first nurse liaison with LCFLC, I was able to educate and help nursing staff and physicians at NHRMC-Novant with early identification of what a typical hospice patient looks like. Explaining the difference between palliative care and hospice and seeing the ‘light bulb’ go off when health care professionals understood the difference. Being awarded a Health Care Hero Award several years ago.”
Why are you passionate about education?
“People are like sponges and always want to learn new and exciting things. When an audience asks a multitude of questions after an educational event, it makes my heart swell. Explaining hospice as a positive experience, that we are caring for their loved one on their end -of -life journey to be free of pain and symptoms, and giving the patient and family hope that we can meet their needs spiritually, emotionally, and with dignity and respect. I teach from a book titled “Gone from my Sight” which helps families understand the dying process and what their loved one is experiencing on their journey. When their burden is lifted, I’ve done my job with education.”
CYNTHIA DEMETRIOU
Associate Provost for Student Engagement, Enrollment & Retention, UNCW
Describe your role and work that you do.
“I lead collaborative efforts supporting students from college recruitment to degree completion focusing on building pathways for access to affordable, high-quality public education. I also teach and conduct research. A recent project, with paws4people, examined the benefits of service dogs in education. Current research explores student success, microaffirmations, and joy. Beyond academia, I teach yoga and I founded Port City Arts NC, a small business creating coastal-inspired art. As a mother, I serve the Epilepsy Foundation, on call for parents navigating a new diagnosis.”
What are some of your career highlights so far?
“Helping individual students has been my most meaningful accomplishment. As a recipient of a $3.3 million U.S. Department of Education grant, I led The Finish Line Project for first-generation students and visited the White House. In 2024, I was a Fulbright U.S. Scholar in France’s International Education Administrator program. I hold a Ph.D. in education from UNC-Chapel Hill, an EdM from Harvard, and a BA from Stony Brook University. I’ve published extensively and presented my research widely.”
Why are you passionate about education?
“I dropped out of high school. On the long road from earning my GED to my Ph.D, it became my mission to help students who struggled like me. This journey, fueled with a passion for student advocacy, led to work expanding access and reimagining support systems. I understand the obstacles students face, from financial struggles to a lack of support or engagement. Experiencing these challenges firsthand fostered a deep desire to improve education.”
If you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?
“Never forget that even in the darkest times, we are surrounded by possibility. Opportunities, ideas, and potential paths constantly unfold around you. Believing in possibility, maintaining hope in the face of all obstacles, will always serve you.”
Anything else you want us to know about you?
“I am deeply honored by this recognition. My mother was an extraordinary role model, and though she is no longer with us, I know she would be proud. I am also incredibly grateful for my daughter and sister, whose presence makes this moment even more meaningful. Connecting with so many courageous, intelligent, and inspiring women through this experience and the WILMA network has been a true privilege. Wilmington is a vibrant community where women continue to make a profound impact and drive positive change, and I am proud to be part of it.”
JAHLEESE HADLEY
Director of College Access, GLOW
Describe your role and work that you do.
“I consider myself an education engineer – designing systems that expand opportunity and evolve with student needs. At GLOW (Girls Leadership of Wilmington) Academy, I lead a college access program that spans grades 6-12. Engaging both our families and members of the Wilmington community as critical partners, I build programs that equip students with the tools – and confidence – to navigate their futures with agency and choice.”
What are some of your career highlights so far?
“Some highlights live on resumes – like leading national conferences, launching early college models, or winning awards for innovation and equity. But the moments that stay with me? Watching a first-generation student lead a panel for prospective students. Hearing a parent say, ‘Now I understand FAFSA.’ Seeing ideas I once sketched on whiteboards take flight. Each one is a reminder that thoughtful design can transform lives.”
Why are you passionate about education?
“Education transforms lives – it did mine. As a first-generation college student myself, I believe fervently that every student deserves access, encouragement, and a champion who sees their potential. I am driven to be that person for students navigating systems not often designed with them in mind.”
If you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?
“Trust your voice. The path isn’t always clear, but your instincts are powerful. You belong in every room you enter —especially the ones you didn’t know existed. The rooms that feel out of reach are often the ones most in need of your voice.”
Anything else you want us to know about you?
“I am a connector at heart — of people, programs, and possibilities. I strive to bring energy, equity, and a healthy dose of fun to every endeavor to support my students because I believe they hold our future in their hands. I am ultimately bolstered in those efforts by my faith and by my family who provides my constant source of inspiration and support: my children Leila and Daniel and my personal champion, my husband, David.”
To view the Women to Watch Awards Finalists main page, click here.
To view more of photographer Madeline Gray’s work, go to madelinegrayphoto.com.
To view more of photographer Sasha Sheldon’s work, go to sashasheldon.com.
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