She Elevates Announces 2018 Leadership Award Winners

CANTON, Ohio - April 30, 2018 - PRLog -- She Elevates, a non-profit organization empowering young girls to become entrepreneurs, has announced the winners of its 2018 Leadership Awards, given annually to four women who have demonstrated exceptional achievements in their communities and businesses.

The 2018 award recipients are Margaret W. Wong, Dr. Jeanne M. Colleran, Norma Rist and Corey Minor-Smith.

Margaret W. Wong is the recipient of this year's She Elevates Award. The She Elevates Award is for a woman who has helped their community in a significant way. This award is given to a woman who has elevated others without expecting any return from the community.  She is a role model for our organization.

Ms. Wong, an award-winning practicing immigration lawyer born in Hong Kong, is founder and managing partner of Margaret W. Wong & Associates, LLC, with offices in nine cities including Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Nashville, New York, and Raleigh. Author of The Immigrant's Wayand adjunct professor of immigration law at Case Western Reserve University Law School,she has helped employers obtain work permits for their executives and has assisted thousands of people in coming to the United States to become permanent residents, advance their educations, work, and pursue opportunities.

Dr. Jeanne M. Colleran is the recipient of this year's Women Leadership Award. The Women Leadership Award recognizes and appreciates the profound role played by a woman as leader, executioner, and decision maker, in shaping the future of the organization and region. She embodies the qualities of leadership in displaying active, creative, and integrative efforts in achieving the best possible results in the community development plans.

Dr. Colleran is Interim President of John Carroll University.  She was appointed as Interim President on June 1, 2017, prior to which she served as Academic Vice President and Provost of John Carroll University since August 2014. As the chief academic officer, Dr. Colleran led John Carroll's ongoing commitment to outstanding teaching and learning while helping to raise the University's profile for distinctive excellence.

Norma Rist is the recipient of this year's First Woman Award. The First Woman Awardis given to a woman who works either in public service, corporate or is a business owner, who has achieved her success and become one of the first women to accomplish a groundbreaking achievement. She has broken all glass ceilings, she worked hard to remove barriers for other women and she has broken established industry norms through innovation.

Ms. Rist is president of Norma J. Rist CEO Consulting, Inc., a company that provides strategic growth and profitability solutions. Before founding her company, she served as controller for a $200-million division of a public corporation and then as vice president and general manager for a $40-million manufacturing and wholesale company, Pepsi-Cola Bottlers of Akron, Inc. The author of two books, Ms. Rist is Chairman Emeritus of ATHENA International, a worldwide organization that supports and honors women leaders.

Corey Minor-Smith is the recipient of this year's Woman of Courage Award. The Woman of Courage award recognizes a woman who has displayed exceptional courage in a powerful way. She is a woman who has succeeded against all odds. She has championed for women and girl empowerment.

Ms. Minor-Smith is General Counsel for Stark Metropolitan Housing Authority (SMHA) and member of Canton City Council at Large Member. She represents SMHA on an array of complex legal, labor and contract matters. Featured on television, radio and internet programs, Ms. Minor-Smith is a highly sought after thought leader on education, housing and mental health. She was first African American female to be a candidate for Canton Municipal Court Judge and recently the number one vote getter for the Canton City Council at Large.Dedicated to community service, she is a board member of the Red Cross-Stark and Muskingum Lakes chapter and a member of several other Stark County organizations dedicated to education.

"We are thrilled to recognize these exceptional women who have demonstrated commitment, courage and leadership to positively impact thousands of people," said DeLores Pressley, founder and executive director of She Elevates. "Each one demonstrates a boundless entrepreneurial mindset and will serve as a role model to the young girls enrolled in the She Elevates Academy^TM." In addition, Pressley presented the Gift of Time Award to Dr. Simran Kahai, Koch Professor of International Business at John Carroll University, who was instrumental in the launch of She Elevates and its annual awards program.

The 2018 Award winners were recognized at the She Elevates Launch dinner at John Carroll University on April 20, 2018. Their full profiles and photos are available at www.sheelevates.org/she-elevates-awards. To learn more about how to become involved in She Elevates, please visit the website at www.SheElevates.org or call the office at 877.550.1751.

ABOUT SHE ELEVATES

She Elevates, Inc. a 501c3 is organized exclusively for charitable, scientific, and educational purposes. The organization provides young girls with mentorship and educational information on business ownership. The primary vision of the organization is to provide more exposure to young girls to increase their beliefs, understanding, and knowledge base to become powerful women entrepreneurs.