Momentum, a leadership program for women, announced the 2020 Women of Impact honorees. The biennial awards honor women who do extraordinary work to positively impact the lives of others in their communities, businesses, cultures and/or politics in Alabama.
“The Women of Impact Award honorees are truly distinguished women leaders who have a lifetime of exemplary accomplishments. We are thrilled to be able to honor them,” said April Benetollo, chief executive officer of Momentum.
The 2020 honorees, who will be presented their awards on March 12, are:
Deborah Grimes is chief diversity officer for the University of Alabama at Birmingham Health System and recently named chief diversity officer for Ochsner Health System in New Orleans. She will receive the Barbara Royal Woman of Impact Award, which was founded in 2018 and is awarded to a woman whose contribution has a significant impact on the advancement of women in Alabama. Originally trained as a nurse, Grimes has held several leadership positions during her 33 years at UAB.
Liz Huntley is chief executive officer of Hope Institute and a full-time litigation attorney at Lightfoot, Franklin & White. The Hope Institute develops character education curriculums for schools that enable children to learn in an environment of positive respect and support. Huntley is also a nationally recognized motivational speaker and published author.
Carolyn Griner is an astronautical engineering who started her career with NASA as a cooperative education student and retired as the deputy director of the Marshall Space Flight Center in 2000. Since her retirement, she served as an executive with Spacehub Inc., Booze Allen Hamilton and as a vice president with Science Applications International Corp.
Caroline Novak recently retired from A+ Education Partnership, which she helped launch in 1991. The partnership supports educators and students, while establishing accountability for stakeholders. Among the support programs created by the partnership are the Alabama Best Practices Center and A+ College Ready. While she has retired, she remains a part of the partnership’s support team, as well as serving on several local organizations’ boards.
Lee Marshall is founder and chief executive officer of Kids to Love, a non-profit that helps find families to foster children and meet their immediate needs while they wait to be adopted. Prior to founding Kids to Love in 2015, Marshall was a three-time Emmy award winning journalist. She has received numerous national accolades for her adoption awareness efforts.
