Nominations Being Accepted for our Tribute to Women of Influence Award

The YWCA of Asheville Tribute to Women of Influence (TWIN) recognizes women who are role models in their professions and the community. The event also raises vital support for YWCA programs that bridge gaps in education, earning power, health and wellness, and child care.

Through June 1, 2012, the YWCA is accepting nominations in these three categories: 

Equality – Any woman or group of women who has made significant strides toward creating equality (race, diversity, class or economic status, gender, peace, or justice).

Empowerment – Any woman or group of women who has played a significant role in empowering others.

Transformation – Any woman or group of women who has overcome barriers and transformed her life or the lives of others.

The YW will also accept group nominations, provided the entire group is composed of women.

Honorees will be recognized at the 21st Annual TWIN Awards Event Thursday, September 20, 2012 at 7:00 pm at Pack Place and Diana Wortham Theatre.

 The YWCA TWIN nomination form is available on the YWCA website, www.ywcaofasheville.org, or can be requested by calling 254-7206 x 206.

Click here for profiles of the 2011 winners.

Here is a short video from the 2011 event:

2011 TWIN Honoree Spotlight

The YWCA’s Tribute to Women of Influence (TWIN) event honors women who have made significant contributions to their fields, and recognizes those organizations that support such achievements. 2011 marks the 20th anniversary of TWIN. Leading up to this year’s September 15th event, we will highlight each of our 25 incredible TWIN Honorees. If you would like more information about the TWIN event, or would like to reserve a ticket, please visitwww.ywcaofasheville.org.

Yaira Andrea Arias Soto, Center for Participatory Change (CPC)

At the age of 20, Andrea came to North Carolina alone.  Although she had a bachelor’s degree from Colombia, she worked in challenging jobs including factory work and cleaning houses.  At the same time, Andrea supported the community by helping found a Latino center in Brevard, and volunteering with other Latino Centers in the region.  Over time, Andrea grew into an incredible leader. Recently, Andrea started Home Cleaning Professionals, a worker-owned cleaning business employing 12 immigrant women. Andrea has helped to lead regional and statewide initiatives around Title VI compliance, immigrants’ access to higher education, and access to drivers’ licenses for undocumented immigrants. She is a national expert on simultaneous interpretation, conducting trainings at a national level and has helped Western NC become a leader in creating inclusive language spaces.

2011 TWIN Honoree Spotlight

The YWCA’s Tribute to Women of Influence (TWIN) event honors women who have made significant contributions to their fields, and recognizes those organizations that support such achievements. 2011 marks the 20th anniversary of TWIN. Leading up to this year’s September 15th event, we will highlight each of our 25 incredible TWIN Honorees. If you would like more information about the TWIN event, or would like to reserve a ticket, please visitwww.ywcaofasheville.org.

Women for Women, A Giving Circle of the Community Foundation of WNC

Women for Women (WfW) is a giving circle that joins women together in an engaging and meaningful way to give back to their community. By combining their financial resources and working with others, WfW makes high-impact grants to improve the lives of women and girls. WfW invests in programs that demonstrate sustainable and measurable change, address causes or prevention of poverty rather than symptoms, assist women in overcoming barriers to economic independence, and advocate for social change for women at various levels of society. WfW is making a difference and changing lives of women on many different levels. The giving circle is a powerful example of collective action and empowerment through working together. The end result is hope and possibility for women and girls across our region.

2011 TWIN Honoree Spotlight

The YWCA’s Tribute to Women of Influence (TWIN) event honors women who have made significant contributions to their fields, and recognizes those organizations that support such achievements. 2011 marks the 20th anniversary of TWIN. Leading up to this year’s September 15th event, we will highlight each of our 25 incredible TWIN Honorees. If you would like more information about the TWIN event, or would like to reserve a ticket, please visitwww.ywcaofasheville.org.

Womansong of Asheville, Inc.

For nearly 25 years, Womansong has been lifting its collective voice to empower and uplift women in Western North Carolina.  Womansong’s commitment to the healing and uplifting power of music has entertained, inspired and encouraged thousands of audience members while raising funds to assist area women in need. Womansong empowers women in four areas of focus:

- By providing a safe, nurturing, supportive, and encouraging environment for personal, creative expression

-Through Womansong’s New Start Program providing emergency funds to women who have exhausted all other financial resources in their quest for a new start in life

- Through vocal and financial support of organizations and events that serve women in WNC

- By encouraging the performance and artistry of other area women performers

2011 TWIN Honoree Spotlight

The YWCA’s Tribute to Women of Influence (TWIN) event honors women who have made significant contributions to their fields, and recognizes those organizations that support such achievements. 2011 marks the 20th anniversary of TWIN. Leading up to this year’s September 15th event, we will highlight each of our 25 incredible TWIN Honorees. If you would like more information about the TWIN event, or would like to reserve a ticket, please visitwww.ywcaofasheville.org.

Sherrie Puffer, Keller Williams Professionals Realty

Sherrie is a founding partner of the Asheville Keller Williams office, which has grown to over 300 agents. She was a founding partner of the Keller Williams region for North and South Carolina, which has grown to over 30 offices and 3700 agents, making it the largest real estate organization in the Carolinas. And Sherrie was also a founding partner of the first Keller Williams office in Columbia, SC, currently at 125 agents and growing. She has transformed a fledgling office into a growing organization with a diverse racial complement. Sherrie has grown many members of her real estate team to top production and many of them have now launched into successful solo careers inside Keller Williams.

2011 TWIN Honoree Spotlight

The YWCA’s Tribute to Women of Influence (TWIN) event honors women who have made significant contributions to their fields, and recognizes those organizations that support such achievements. 2011 marks the 20th anniversary of TWIN. Leading up to this year’s September 15th event, we will highlight each of our 25 incredible TWIN Honorees. If you would like more information about the TWIN event, or would like to reserve a ticket, please visitwww.ywcaofasheville.org.

Sarah Wohlmuth, United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County

Sarah is the director of Hands On Asheville Buncombe.  In her seven years there, she has implemented an interactive online database that allows people to peruse volunteer opportunities and sign up for specific projects online. She also broadened the listing of volunteer opportunities to include referrals to other Buncombe County agencies. Sarah has developed volunteer opportunities to get around barriers such as disabilities, lack of transportation, schedules, other obligations, or even insecurities in social settings. Short term commitments, various times for projects and group work are examples.  In her creation and expansion of “portable projects”, Sarah brings volunteer work to people in their homes, with their neighbors, or with an existing group.  This transforms how volunteers see themselves as involved members of the larger community.

2011 TWIN Honoree Spotlight

The YWCA’s Tribute to Women of Influence (TWIN) event honors women who have made significant contributions to their fields, and recognizes those organizations that support such achievements. 2011 marks the 20th anniversary of TWIN. Leading up to this year’s September 15th event, we will highlight each of our 25 incredible TWIN Honorees. If you would like more information about the TWIN event, or would like to reserve a ticket, please visitwww.ywcaofasheville.org.

Sarah Nuñez, Western Carolina University

Through her relationships, travel, and experiences, Sarah understands the Latino community is complex, dynamic and diverse. As Regional Assistant Director for Admissions at Western Carolina University working with transfer students at A-B Tech Community College, Sarah has written a Latina student resource guide that is a model across the state. The guide helps connect Latino students to the services that increase retention and assist many first generation students in making it through the labyrinth of a college education. Sarah helps parents make it through that labyrinth as well – which is especially difficult for undocumented students.  She has also been asked by Governor Perdue to help identify Latino leaders from across the state and address the opportunities and challenges of this rapidly growing sector of North Carolina.

2011 TWIN Honoree Spotlight

The YWCA’s Tribute to Women of Influence (TWIN) event honors women who have made significant contributions to their fields, and recognizes those organizations that support such achievements. 2011 marks the 20th anniversary of TWIN. Leading up to this year’s September 15th event, we will highlight each of our 25 incredible TWIN Honorees. If you would like more information about the TWIN event, or would like to reserve a ticket, please visitwww.ywcaofasheville.org.

Lisbeth Riis Cooper, CooperRiis Healing Community

CooperRiis is a Mental Health Recovery Program centered on a ‘healing farm’ in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and a recently added urban-based campus near Asheville. Individuals with mental illness arrive at CooperRiis’ doorstep,  often dis-empowered, dis-engaged, dis-eased and stuck.  As Co-Founder of CooperRiis, Lisbeth has played a leading role in empowering almost 500 individuals over the last 8 years, since CooperRiis opened. She has led the building of an entire organization that empowers individuals whom most of society would have relegated to a state of hopelessness rather than empowerment.  Renowned author Oliver Sacks wrote about CooperRiis saying that it has helped to revive the (nearly) lost virtues of community and compassionate care for the field of mental health care.

2011 TWIN Honoree Spotlight

The YWCA’s Tribute to Women of Influence (TWIN) event honors women who have made significant contributions to their fields, and recognizes those organizations that support such achievements. 2011 marks the 20th anniversary of TWIN. Leading up to this year’s September 15th event, we will highlight each of our 25 incredible TWIN Honorees. If you would like more information about the TWIN event, or would like to reserve a ticket, please visitwww.ywcaofasheville.org.

Leigh Pettus, MANNA FoodBank

It took vision to imagine how a fledging warehouse operation could make a difference, but Leigh knew there was massive hunger in the mountains.  As the Director of Programs and Agency Services at MANNA FoodBank, Leigh has built coalitions involving many people in the work of understanding and acting against hunger in WNC. Her ability to empower partners is extraordinary. Leigh can find an area of agreement with virtually anyone and build upon it until a synergy results and leads to action. Along with Executive Director Toby Ives, Leigh began to grow the program, offering food and other assistance to groups like food pantries, soup kitchens, and shelters in the 16 WNC counties.   There are now 255 MANNA agencies – each one cultivated by Leigh and her staff.

2011 TWIN Honoree Spotlight

The YWCA’s Tribute to Women of Influence (TWIN) event honors women who have made significant contributions to their fields, and recognizes those organizations that support such achievements. 2011 marks the 20th anniversary of TWIN. Leading up to this year’s September 15th event, we will highlight each of our 25 incredible TWIN Honorees. If you would like more information about the TWIN event, or would like to reserve a ticket, please visitwww.ywcaofasheville.org.

Kelley Webb, City of Asheville Fire Department

In Kelley’s role as the City of Asheville Fire Department’s Public Information Officer, she is the face of the department. Kelley exemplifies the empowerment of women to a large audience every time she gives an interview to the media. Kelley is a capable and confident woman providing information about emergency response activities during disasters as well as guiding the public as to what to do during emergencies. As the Asheville Fire Department strives to diversify its workforce, seeking ways to cultivate interest in women and minorities to a career in the fire service, Kelley spent countless hours putting together Asheville Fire Department’s first annual Fire Camp. This camp for middle school students serves as a critical launching pad for other programs for middle and high school students.