2010 YWCA Women of Achievement Empowerment Award Winner: Star Hogan

Meet Star Hogan - our 2010 YWCA Women of Achievement BrickStreet Empowerment Award winner and the last in our 4-week series of blog posts leading up to this inspirational event on February 18. The BrickStreet Empowerment Award recognizes and rewards a YWCA program participant who, through great perseverance and with the help of the YWCA, overcomes obstacles and transforms her life.This year marks the 14th annual YWCA Women of Achievement Awards Luncheon, honoring the outstanding women in our community whose personal and professional achievements inspire and empower other women to strive for their highest goals.

STAR HOGAN has dreamt big all her life. Even while growing up in a Charleston housing project, she aspired to be the first in her family to graduate college, become a professional, raise a family, and live happily ever after. Unfortunately, Star’s life hasn’t always been a fairy tale. During her sophomore year in college, she met the man she believed to be her “prince charming.” However, after being diagnosed with Hodgkins Disease and suspending her education indefinitely to undergo chemotherapy, Star became completely dependent on her significant other for daily support.

For the next 15 years, she withstood a relationship that was physically, emotionally, psychologically and financially abusive. In 2004, she filed a domestic violence petition and was introduced to a legal advocate from the YWCA Resolve Family Abuse Program during a child support and custody hearing. With the information and legal representation she received from the program and the encouragement and support from her friends and family, Star finally found the courage to leave her abuser once and for all. She returned to school and obtained both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Mountain State University, which opened new career opportunities.

Today she works as a benefits administrator at a large financial institution and lives in a new home with her two children. She also teaches the YWCA Resolve Program’s Keys to Financial Freedom financial literacy course, which enables domestic violence survivors to fully understand their financial circumstances and helps them engage in short-term and long-term financial planning to accomplish their personal goals.

2010 YWCA Women of Achievement Honoree #3: Kay Goodwin

Meet Kay Goodwin - one of this year’s 2010 YWCA Women of Achievement honorees and the third in our 4-week series of blog posts leading up to this inspirational event on February 18. This year marks the 14th annual YWCA Women of Achievement Awards Luncheon, honoring the outstanding women in our community whose personal and professional achievements inspire and empower other women to strive for their highest goals.

KAY GOODWIN is a lifetime forerunner in arts and education. She was reappointed Cabinet Secretary for the West Virginia Department of Education and the Arts in 2005 by Governor Manchin and currently serves on the WV Higher Education Policy Commission, the WV Humanities Council, and the Professional Staff Development Advisory Council. Named a Distinguished West Virginian, WVU’s Outstanding Alumna, and recipient of the WVU President’s Distinguished Service Award, she was inducted into the WVU College of Human Resources and Education Hall of Fame in 2008.

Secretary Goodwin is co-chairman of the Center for Professional Development Board, chairman of the West Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission, co-chairman of the West Virginia Council on Civics Literacy and the Governor’s designated chairman of the Educational Broadcasting Authority. She is a member of The Workforce Planning Council, a lifetime member of the Governor’s Honors Schools Advisory Council, a member of the Board of Advisors for WVU’s Blaney House and serves on the HB 3009 Workforce Development Initiative Committee.

Formerly, Secretary Goodwin served as chair of the University of West Virginia System Board of Trustees, the WV Commission on the Arts, the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation, and the Financial Aid Coordinating Council. She was appointed in 1990 by President George H.W. Bush to serve on the Independent Commission to Review the Grantmaking Procedures of the National Endowment for the Arts. In 2004, Secretary Goodwin was designated one of only four recipients of the National Public Service Award and was recognized as Daughter of the Year by the WV Society of Washington, DC.

For more than 20 years, Secretary Goodwin directed community and high school musical theatre in Jackson County, in addition to staging opera performances in other state venues. Secretary Goodwin was honored by both the National Educational Theatre Association and the West Virginia Thespian Conference for her support and advancement of student theatre in West Virginia and the nation. Secretary Goodwin has taught at both WVU and WVSU and has received five honorary doctoral degrees.

2010 YWCA Women of Achievement Honoree #2: Nina Denton Pasinetti

Meet Nina Denton Pasinetti - one of this year’s 2010 YWCA Women of Achievement honorees and the second in our 4-week series of blog posts leading up to this inspirational event on February 18. This year marks the 14th annual YWCA Women of Achievement Awards Luncheon, honoring the outstanding women in our community whose personal and professional achievements inspire and empower other women to strive for their highest goals.

Nina Denton Pasinetti has been passionate about the arts since early in life, when she studied with the National Ballet of Canada, Ballet West, Cecchetti Ballet Council of America, Luigi and the Gus Giordano Center. A former Miss West Virginia, Nina graduated summa cum laude from Morris Harvey College (now the University of Charleston) with a major in mathematics and obtained an M.A. from Ohio University.

Nina returned to Charleston to teach math at George Washington High School, where she also managed, choreographed and directed musicals and plays and later opened Ballet and Musical Theatre Dance Arts Inc. During her early GW teaching days, Nina operated the YWCA’s top floor as a ballet, tap and jazz school of dance. Fifteen years later, she moved to the Oddfellows building and opened Ballet and Musical Theatre Dance Arts Inc. where she continued to teach ballet, tap and jazz for the next 10 years.

During the 1980s, she originated the Appalachian Youth Jazz-Ballet and served as president of Dance West Virginia, where she arranged master classes and dance scholarships to professional schools for talented dancers throughout West Virginia. She began choreographing for the Charleston Light Opera Guild 38 years ago and became their artistic director 26 years ago – choreographing 136 musicals and directing 96 of them to date.

Nina volunteers as board vice president FestivALL Charleston, dance chair on the Clay Center’s programming committee, and adjudicator for the WV State Thespian Festival, while also serving as a member of the University of Charleston National Alumni Board. She is listed in several publications including Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who in the World. Nina is extremely proud of her many successful students that have continued professionally in theatre, film, television and dance, including actress Jennifer Garner.

2010 YWCA Women of Achievement Honoree #1: Deb Copeland

Meet Deb Copeland one of this year’s 2010 YWCA Women of Achievement honorees and the first in our 4-week series of blog posts leading up to this inspirational event on February 18. This year marks the 14th annual YWCA Women of Achievement Awards Luncheon, honoring the outstanding women in our community whose personal and professional achievements inspire and empower other women to strive for their highest goals.

Deborah L. Copeland leads a life with multiple starring roles, including educator, entrepreneur, philanthropist, life coach, community activist, motivational speaker, religious group leader, survivor, wife, mother, and author of the best-selling book, Attitude Therapy. Her greatest joy, however, comes not from her business successes but from her maternal role in a blended family of eight – including three youngsters adopted from abroad. She also takes pride in her strong and abiding faith, which has seen her through many of life’s most challenging trials and tribulations.

From 1981 to 1994, she served as President and CEO of Smart Temporary Services – a recruitment company she started and grew from just one employee to 4,000 employees serving seven states. After selling the company to a global firm, Copeland started Work Smart Business Consultants – a training and development firm that readily became a leading supplier of consultant services to hospitals and major corporations across many industries.

As a speaker and seminar leader, Deb’s compelling messages continue to draw audiences throughout the United States. Her most requested courses enable corporations to get better results from their employees while maintaining and promoting their physical and mental well-being. She is an active community volunteer, serves on numerous boards, and has received numerous awards and accolades, including being named “Entrepreneur of the Year" in the Services Division in 1992 by The Institute of American Entrepreneurs, and being selected as one of 10 business executives profiled in “Who Who’s in West Virginia Business” by The State Journal in 1995.

In June 2009, Deb committed to working one year for God, with her new motto being “where He leads me, I will follow.” She has now officially “retired” (November 2009) to do a lifetime of God’s work, including starting a nonprofit called For Him that will raise money for worldwide charities and a division called A God Thing, which will raise money for local charities on a continuous basis.

YWCA and WVJC Helping Students "Dress for Success"

Tomorrow, West Virginia Junior College (WVJC) will begin its partnership with the YWCA Past & Present Gently Used Clothing Store to help students learn to dress for success. The college's new "Dress for Success" program will provide students with an opportunity to collect inexpensive interview-ready and career-appropriate attire and/or accessories. Donated business attire for both women and men will be supplied by YWCA Past & Present and made available to students in a make-shift clothing shop tomorrow in Room 102, and will become a recurring program to take place once every 12 week quarter.

Rose Winland, WVJC Student Services Coordinator and initiator of the "Dress for Success" program states:

"While it may be cliché, it is certainly true that individuals who 'dress for the position they want, not for the position they have,' tend to find this among other strategies they employ to achieve success in the business community. Our goal at West Virginia Junior College is to assist the students in obtaining the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in both professional and personal environments – and the ‘Dress for Success’ program is a way to further that goal."

All proceeds from the sale go to YWCA Past & Present, which generates critically-needed revenue to support the YWCA Alicia McCormick Homes for battered and homeless women and children. Donations of business attire and accessories are greatly appreciated, and can be dropped off at YWCA Past & Present, located at 1598 Lee Street, East, Charleston, WV 25311.

The YWCA of Charleston is proud to partner with WVJC in helping empower students who are working to create better lives for themselves and their families. Comments or suggestions regarding the Dress for Success Program can be addressed to Rose Winland, Student Services Coordinator, West Virginia Junior College, via e-mail: rwinland.wvjc@gmail.com.

Breakfast with Champions

Each year, the YWCA Women of Achievement honorees are interviewed, photographed and lauded for their many accomplishments. It’s a whirlwind tour that culminates in one of the honorees’ most important functions: to attend the annual YWCA Women of Achievement Breakfast with Champions. This yearly event brings together 20 fifth-grade girls—many of whom may be categorized as at-risk and all of whom have been identified as potential leaders. These students from Chandler, Glenwood, Piedmont, Ruffner and Watts elementary schools come to the YWCA and enjoy a delicious breakfast with the honorees and YWCA representatives.

At last week's Breakfast with Champions, Anita Casey, Kim Knopf and Lois Smith spoke to these girls about the challenges and difficulties that could have—but did not—prevent them from achieving their goals. The girls were then given the opportunity to tell us what they hope to achieve in the future. Some wanted to be lawyers. Others wanted to be doctors or teachers. We even had a few aspiring actresses and singers in our midst. Thanks to Steve Payne, each girl left with a framed professional photograph of herself with the honorees.

We thank our Women of Achievement for being such outstanding role models and we thank our Breakfast with Champions participants for reminding us of why it’s so important for girls—and women—to never stop striving for success.

Above: YWCA Executive Director Debby Weinstein talks to girls about their dreams and aspirations.

Women of Achievment honoree #2: Kim Knopf

Meet Kim Knopf, the second of this year’s 2009 YWCA Women of Achievement honorees and the second in our 4-week series of blog posts leading up to this inspirational event on February 19.

KIM KNOPF personifies the recipe for business success that says “take an idea and run with it.” Her drive and initiative shone through even in her high school years, where she was elected President of Student Council her senior year. After high school, she pursued a BA in International Studies at the University of Kentucky and involved herself in many social organizations including the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority.

Kim’s innate entrepreneurship bloomed right out of college, when at the age of 23, she began to consider starting her own business. She answered an ad looking for people to sell mattresses and started investigating the bedding market. Spotting an untapped market in West Virginia, she moved to Charleston in August 1983 and opened her very first store in October of that year.

Knopf knew most businesses fail because they are undercapitalized, and she wanted to be sure she had sufficient capital. Her first investors were the parents of her then-boyfriend, whom she later married. She began with one small store, and had no full-time employees for the first full year. It was the first specialty sleep shop in the state – offering brand names, on-hand inventory, good service and the guaranteed lowest prices. Soon a buzz began to build about this unique store, and the rest was history.

For more than two decades, Kim has combined her innovative ideas and strong marketing presence with her dedication to customer service and community involvement. Today her company, Innovative Mattress Solutions, is a regional powerhouse – operating more than 75 stores in West Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio. Kim has always believed in serving her community – holding leadership roles for several organizations including the Putnam County Rotary, the Charleston Chamber of Commerce, the Putnam Chamber of Commerce, and served in the Young President’s Organization for over twelve years.

Growing her business from the ground up has presented challenges, but Kim views challenges as opportunities to grow and learn. Her success has landed her profiles in several business publications, including Nation’s Business. Recently, she was chosen as a recipient of the 2008 Who’s Who in West Virginia Business and is a finalist in the 2008 Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber of Commerce Women in Business Entrepreneur of the Year.

Women of Achievement honoree #1: Anita Casey

Meet Anita Casey, one of this year’s 2009 YWCA Women of Achievement honorees and the first in our 4-week series of blog posts leading up to this inspirational event on February 19. This year marks the 13th annual YWCA Women of Achievement Awards Luncheon, honoring the outstanding women in our community whose personal and professional achievements inspire and empower other women to strive for their highest goals.

Anita Casey boldly went where no woman had gone. Last year, she became the first female Executive Director of the West Virginia State Bar, following her successful 25-year law career. In her early years, this Charleston native received undergraduate degrees in english and education and a master’s degree in library science at the University of Kentucky. After working as a librarian early in her career, her growing interest in law landed her at WVU where she earned her law degree in 1982.

As a partner at what became MacCorkle, Lavender & Casey PLLC, Anita focused primarily on civil defense litigation and worked extensively as a mediator. She has conducted hundreds of mediations and arbitrations, both in her private practice and while serving as a panel member for United States Arbitration and Mediation, Resolute Systems Inc., JAMS/Endispute, and Justus/MANA. Her dynamic personality and unprecedented expertise landed her countless speaking engagements at the National Business Institute, WVU College of Law’s Continuing Legal Education Program, the WV State Bar, WV Trial Lawyers, the Defense Trial Counsel of WV, and Kanawha County Schools, among others. She was selected as a “Super Lawyer” in the West Virginia Super Lawyers magazine and was recognized four consecutive years (2005-2008) as one of the Best Lawyers in America.

Apart from her work in and out of the courtroom, Anita regularly volunteers with her church and her son’s Boy Scout troop. She also served as an officer for various athletic organizations and on the Keep-A-Child in School board of directors. Anita’s view of volunteerism as a natural extension of a lawyer’s responsibilities has prompted her to encourage more public service from the State Bar’s 6,300 members.

A Labor Day reflection

We welcome Janet James, a current YWCA Board member, as our third guest blogger. Janet is the Assistant Attorney General at the West Virginia Attorney General's Office in Charleston, WV and has served on the YWCA of Charleston's Board of Directors since 2005.

Yesterday, we celebrated Labor Day to commemorate the social and economic achievements of American workers. While our nation has truly made great progress since Labor Day was first declared a federal holiday over a century ago, we recognize that many changes still need to be made.

The fact is, women still lag behind men in education and in earnings. Although progress has been made, especially in the last three decades, there remain monumental gaps in the real-world equities between men and women. White women continue to earn a mere 77 cents to every dollar a man makes, while for black and Hispanic women the gap is even greater, dropping to 65 cents on the dollar for black women, and 54 cents for Hispanic women.

Over the course of a career, this puts a woman hundreds of thousands of dollars behind a man. Over a lifetime, a young woman who graduates from high school this year and goes straight to work at $20,000 a year will make $700,000 less than a young man who graduates with her; a woman who graduates from college into a $30,000 starting salary will make $1.2 million less than a young man graduating with her; and a young woman who gets a degree in business, medicine or law and graduates into a $70,000 a year job will make $2 million less than her male classmate. Only 11 of the Fortune 500 companies are led by women, and women make up only 14.7 percent of the board seats of Fortune 500 companies.

The wage gap is the result of a variety of forms of sex discrimination in the workplace, including discrimination in hiring, promotion and pay, sexual harassment, occupational segregation, bias against mothers (in 2005, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reported 4,449 charges of pregnancy-based discrimination), and other ways in which women workers and women’s work are undervalued. The long-standing stereotypes associated with men and women contributes to this problem. In the workplace, men are considered more likely to take charge of a situation. Women are considered sympathetic, caring and more supportive, and not as capable at solving problems, a necessary quality in CEOs.

As a consequence of this economic disparity, women are also greatly under-represented in local, state and national political government. This economic and political disparity causes a steady drain on women’s receiving better medical treatment, child care, housing, food, and retirement savings; and worse, places women at a greater risk of homelessness, or inability to leave abusive domestic situations.

Since its inception in 1858, the YWCA has fought for women’s rights, notably in the women’s suffrage movement, and later in the civil rights movement. Today, Racial Justice and the Economic Empowerment of Women are two of the national YWCA’s hallmark programs. Through programs like the YWCA Sojourner's Job Education/Readiness Center, the YWCA of Charleston works daily to promote education and economic empowerment here in our city.