2022 CHANGEMAKER HONOREES
The Changemakers are a prestigious group of women leading in their field and creating change in their communities. Join us as we celebrate them!
To make a donation or buy tickets in honor of an individual changemaker, visit their personal fundraising page linked below:
MEET THE CHANGEMAKERS
Yasmin Chemin Anders was born and raised in Curitiba, Brazil. At an early age, she started teaching English to kids in her own neighborhood, allowing her to pay for her secondary education in Law School at the Catholic University in Santos. After working with Sports/Athlete Management, as an attorney, and having the chance to live in Croatia and Spain, she realized that her purpose and heart were still in education.
To switch careers, she came to the USA and earned her master’s degree in Second Language Acquisition at the University of Alabama in Birmingham. Currently, she speaks Portuguese, English, Spanish, French and Croatian. In working with local students, she realized the need for a language school to offer classes to those who were not able to engage in formal education at a university, so she founded Magic Box Conversation Club, a language school in Hoover. She then founded Ingles Facil 4all, a nonprofit that allows children in Brazilian public schools to learn English for free.
Serving the local community, founding two nonprofits, and expanding the language services offered brought a new goal to her purpose: to bring more awareness to cultural diversity through language classes and empower women in the workforce by equipping them with communication skills in a second language.
Yasmin is also a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu athlete.
Originally from India, Alka Bhargav has become an integral figure in the Huntsville community. She first obtained her Bachelor of Science and an MBA from the Birla Institute of Technology & Sciences in India. When Alka emigrated to the United States, Alka earned her Master of Arts in Communication from Washington State University. Subsequently, she worked as a vocational rehabilitation counselor in Seattle.
After moving to Huntsville in 2000, Alka began a career in human resources. She retired as HR director for Tecvox OEM Solutions in 2013. Her 14 years of HR experience gave her keen insight into what companies look for in high-potential employees.
In 2014, her dreams became a reality when Alka and her husband started a non-profit organization called the Aum Foundation. Serving as Executive Director, Alka has provided 140 young women with invaluable resources for their futures. The Foundation’s program, Pathway 2 Success equips young women with enrichment classes. Participants are also partnered with mentors. They are provided with informational sessions to clarify their career goals. Private and small group ACT tutoring helps increase their ACT scores and subsequently their financial aid. At the end of the program, they receive a scholarship towards higher education and a laptop computer. In 2020, Alka was awarded Woman of the Year by Psi Beta Zeta sorority.
Besides running the Aum Foundation, Alka also has served on numerous boards including New Futures, the Madison City Disability Advocacy, and the North Alabama Society of Human Resource Management. She also served as president of the Women’s Economic Development Council (WEDC) Foundation in 2017. Currently she serves as Chair of Women’s Business Council. Additionally, Alka enjoys giving back to the community through volunteer work for Habitat to Humanity, the American Heart Association, Asha Kiran, and more. In her free time, Alka likes to dive into a good book, cook delicious meals, or try out the latest interior decorating trends.
Wendi Ward Boyen
Wendi Boyen is an Executive Vice President and serves as the Community Advocacy & Financial Wellness Manager. Her responsibilities include hands-on and skills-based volunteer programs, mission-driven bank strategy, financial education, and board service. Regions is a regional bank that operates throughout the South, Midwest and Texas and is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama.
Wendi joined Regions in 1993. Prior to her move to Community Affairs, Wendi led the Government & Institutional Banking team. This team provides comprehensive financial services to Government & Institutional clients across the bank footprint and manages a $13 billion book of business.
Over her career, Wendi has served in various positions within Business Services, including Commercial Relationship Manager and Government & Institutional Banking Market Manager in Birmingham where she was instrumental in developing the bank’s Government & Institutional Banking practice. Boyen served as Director of Government & Institutional Banking between 2013-2018 leading the South and East Regions and was named the Government & Institutional Banking Executive in 2018.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Birmingham-Southern College and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Alabama. She holds a Certified Treasury Professional designation.
Wendi serves on the board of directors of Opportunity Alabama, the Kiwanis Club of Birmingham and the Hoover Industrial Development Board. She serves as Co-Chair for the 2022 United Way of Central Alabama’s Women United group.
Eleanor Estes serves as Chief Executive Officer of Redmont Distilling Co and has a demonstrated history of working in the staffing and recruiting industry and more recently, the Spirits industry. In her work with Redmont Distilling Company, she found a way to dig deeper and give back to the city and region she calls home.
Redmont Distilling Company is a supporter of various charitable events throughout the state of Alabama and the US. Estes is a member of the Young President’s Organization, the Rotary Club of Birmingham, and the Women’s Leadership Committee of UAB’s Department of Neurosurgery. She serves on the board of The Birmingham Botanical Gardens and Maranathan Academy and is a past member of the board of the American Red Cross.
Hope joined the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce in 2017 as vice president of community and governmental affairs. Prior to the Chamber, she served as external affairs manager for Southern Light (now Uniti Fiber), developing local government relations across the Gulf Coast. She was responsible for legislative and regulatory issues impacting the fiber company in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi.
Additionally, Hope has 10-plus years experience in the health care sector, including director of community services and communications for Tulane University Hospital; administrator and mental health coordinator for Cooper Green Mercy Hospital in Birmingham; and owner of the Louisiana Health and Wellness Group in Houma, La., providing a partial hospitalization program for mentally ill adults.
Hope earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a Master of Social Work from Tulane University. She is a graduate of Leadership Mobile in 2015 and Leadership Alabama in 2017, and currently, she serves on the boards of directors of Goodwill Easter Seals of the Gulf Coast, Dumas Wesley Community Center, and Downtown Parks Conservancy.
Jamie Ison is a native of New Albany, MS and received her undergraduate and master’s degree from the University of Mississippi. She moved to Mobile in 1977 and served as Director of Mobile Preschool for the Deaf and Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind from 1977 until 2002. In 2002, Jamie was elected to the Alabama House of Representatives where she served for 12 years. She was Co-Chair of the Mobile Delegation and Chairman of the State Government Committee. Jamie is a member and Past-President of the Rotary Club of Mobile, Sunrise. She is a graduate of Leadership Mobile and Leadership Alabama and an inaugural member of the Board of Impact 100, Mobile. Jamie served 6 years as a member of the Mobile Judicial Commission, and she served on the board of the Alabama Charter School Commission. Currently, Jamie is a Realtor with White-Spunner Realty.
Appointed by Mayor Stimpson to the Mobile Airport Authority in 2018, Jamie currently serves as Secretary of the Board. In 2019, Jamie was appointed by Governor Ivy to the Alabama Oil and Gas Board.
Jamie is married to Jay Ison and they have two adult sons, Philip and Wyatt. They are members of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.
Michele Kong, MD, MBA is the co-founder of KultureCity, the world’s leading non-profit in sensory accessibility and inclusion for those with invisible disabilities. She is a Professor of Pediatrics at The University of Alabama at Birmingham with a clinical practice in a tertiary 24- bed Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Children’s of Alabama. She is an NIH funded investigator, and leads several clinical trials, with a research portfolio focused on understanding the role of protease dysregulation in the pathogenesis of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) lung disease, the pathophysiology and immune response to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CoV-2 (SARS-CoV-2) and acute lung injury in critically ill children.
She is a highly regarded speaker, and well published in high-impact medical and non-medical journals. She was awarded the 2019 Woman of Impact Award, which recognizes the honoree’s personal and professional contributions to the state of Alabama that have moved the needle across business, government, and non-profit sectors.
In 2021, her service was recognized by selection into the Good Morning America list of ‘Who is Making Asian American Pacific Islander History in 2021: The GMA Inspiration List’.
Michele is also an endurance athlete, completing both a 100-mile race and an Ironman.
Dottie is General Counsel of the UAB Health System. In this role she manages the many and varied legal affairs of UAB Medicine, including University Hospital, UAB Highlands, UAB Callahan and Medical West, as well as the UAB/Ascension St. Vincent’s Alliance and other hospitals affiliated with UAB Medicine throughout the State of Alabama. Before joining UAB Health System, Dottie was a partner for 26 years with the law firm Bradley Arant Boult Cummings, LLP. While at Bradley her practice focused on advising public and private companies, and especially health care companies, in general business, transactional and regulatory matters.
Dottie serves on the boards of The Altamont School, Forge Breast Cancer Survivor Center, the Women’s Breast Health Fund and the Alys Stephens Center Advisory Board. She is a past president of the Momentum Alumnae Program, Ascension St. Vincent’s Foundation and One Roof. Dottie and her husband Steve have three children, Amelia, Hampton and Finn, with whom they love hanging out and traveling.
Dottie received the 2017 Bradley Diversity Award, and was recognized as a “Top 40 Under 40” by the Birmingham Business Journal. She earned her J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School and her Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, from Vanderbilt University.
Charisse D. Stokes is president of Tidal IT Solutions, an information technology consulting company headquartered in Montgomery, Alabama. Her firm specializes in providing business development, tech and innovation strategy, and support services to clients worldwide in a myriad of different industries. Charisse holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Clemson University in Ceramic Engineering and a Master of Business Administration- Finance degree from Auburn University Montgomery.
She began her career in the United States Air Force as an acquisition officer, after which she continued providing acquisition and program management support to the government as an industry executive. Over the past twenty years, she has held numerous leadership positions responsible for managing the cost, schedule, and performance of large-scale IT projects supporting both government and commercial clients. She has served as the Director of the Education Foundation for the Montgomery Chapter of the Armed Forces Communication and Electronics Association (AFCEA) providing STEM initiatives, grants, internships, and scholarships to the local community. After serving in that role, she founded EduWerx, a nonprofit organization exposing minorities and young women to STEM in the River Region.
Governor Kay Ivey hand-selected Charisse to serve on the STEM Advisory Council and the Alabama Innovation Commission to lead the Education and Corporate sub-committee. In this role she provides recommendations for the entire state in the areas of STEM, innovation and entrepreneurship. Charisse supports the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce serving as the Executive Director for TechMGM, an initiative to develop the tech and innovation ecosystem in Montgomery. Charisse was most recently appointed to the Alabama Power Co and Business Council of Alabama Board of Directors and Executive Committee. She is a recognized community leader and serves on the AFCEA International Board of Directors, Trenholm State Community College and Faulkner University Computer Science Advisory Boards, College of Business Advisory Board at Auburn University of Montgomery and the Saint James School Board of Trustees. In addition, she lends her time to the United Way Board and the Pure Artistry Community Garden Board.
Her greatest joy is spending time with her son, Dylan.
She currently serves as Vice President of Christie Strategy Group, a Montgomery-based full-service governmental affairs firm. She began as Manager of Public Affairs with Christie Strategy Group in 2011 and was named Vice President in 2019. Christie Strategy Group provides clients with a comprehensive, strategic approach to solving problems in the public and governmental arenas through direct representation, political action committee development, and grassroots and/or media relations campaigns.
Maeci represents corporations, trade associations, and municipalities before the Alabama State Legislature, executive agencies of state government, and the United States Congress. She has successful experiences working with lawmakers of various backgrounds, managing large associations, running political campaigns, and working with grassroots opinion leaders throughout Alabama.
Maeci also serves as Treasurer of the CSG Political Action Committee (PAC), handling all ethics reporting and fundraising, and Executive Director of the Alabama Railway Association. Maeci serves on the Board of Directors of Gateway, Birmingham’s oldest nonprofit, the Service Guild of Birmingham, and volunteers with The Women’s Foundation of Alabama. She also serves on the Women’s Ministry Leadership Team at Shades Mountain Baptist Church.
Maeci and her husband, R.B. Walker, live in Homewood with their son, Bo, daughter, Georgia, and two Frenchtons, Zelda and Ruby.