AUBURN — The YWCA Central Maine has announced the recipients of the 2019 Women of Achievement Awards. The Awards Selection Committee reviewed a pool of applicants and selected the following recipients:

Kristen Cloutier, Lee Young Leadership Award.
Azenaide Pedro, Marcia Baxter Social Justice Award.
Klara Tammany, Tonie Ramsey Service Award.
Annette Wilson, Priscilla Gendron Legacy Award.

Kristen Cloutier: Cloutier is the Lewiston mayor and serves as the House District 60 representative. She previously served as Lewiston City Council president, representing Ward 5. Cloutier has supported various redevelopment projects and has been an advocate of public art and the role it can play in the economic development of Lewiston. Her council appointments have included representative to the Lewiston School Committee, chairwoman of the Immigrant and Refugee Integration and Policy Development Working Group, member of the Lewiston-Auburn Public Health Committee, member of the Androscoggin County Budget Committee and member of the Androscoggin Valley Council of Government’s General Assembly. She is also a Class of 2015 alumna of Emerge Maine and was awarded its Rising Star Award in 2017 for her mentorship and support of women running for elected office. Cloutier resides in Lewiston.

Azenaide Pedro: Or Lucy, as many people know her, studied public health in South Africa before moving to Lewiston where she has been aleader for health in the community. In October 2018, she joined the Raise-Op Housing Cooperative as its new cooperative organizer, helping residents learn how to democratically manage and improve their housing, and working across different classes and cultures to solve challenges together. Pedro addresses issues of poverty, safe housing, food access, public safety, racial justice and community building in the Tree Street neighborhood. She works and volunteers for organizations that promote social equity. Pedro works and lives in downtown Lewiston.

Klara Tammany: Tammany has been executive director of The Center for Wisdom’s Women since 2009. The center serves as a weekday drop-in site for women and has launched a social enterprise called “Herban Works.” The center is expanding to meet the needs of women who are healing from trafficking/exploitation, addiction and incarceration, often rooted in chronic trauma, through the residential community called “Sophia’s House,” slated to open in late 2019. Tammany holds an MEd in religious education and post-master’s certificate in spirituality from Boston College, in addition to completing the Leadership Development Institute at the Maine Association of Non-Profits. She lives in Auburn.

Annette Wilson: For the past 20 years, Wilson has worked for the Cutler Institute at the University of Southern Maine. She spent nearly 13 years training and supporting prospective foster and adoptive parents across Maine; for the past seven years, she has worked to develop curriculum to support child welfare caseworkers, supervisors and other direct care workers. Wilson has also been active in local school and community organizations for two decades. Last year she helped to coordinate the delivery of the Backpack Program, which supports families to reduce food insecurity across the community. She helped shepherd the Lisbon community school PTO to register and receive nonprofit status and was able to structure the nonprofit to cover all Lisbon school parent groups. Wilson has spearheaded many fundraising events in the past eight years for Lisbon schools.

The 2019 Women of Achievement Awards Brunch will feature a keynote address by Noelle Chaddock. Chaddock has been vice president for equity and inclusion at Bates College since June 2019. She oversees the Office of Equity and Inclusion and supports the Office of Intercultural Education. Chaddock previously served as associate provost at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee, and inaugural chief diversity officer at the State University of New York at Cortland. She holds a PhD in philosophy from Binghamton University.

The Women of Achievement Awards celebration will take place Sunday, Nov. 17, at the Hilton Garden Inn Auburn Riverwatch. Tickets to the gala are $40 and are available now. All proceeds benefit the work of the YWCA in the greater Lewiston-Auburn community.

Follow the link for ticket sales https://www.eventbrite.com/e/women-of-achievement-awards-brunch-tickets-64607031370?aff=efbeventtix&fbclid=IwAR0PcvWNvjlkKf3O6NET-a1POxav0ZLqql7dGWASprvIktVubxeYYyqRzpk.

For more information about the event or sponsorship opportunities, contact the YWCA at 207-795-4050.

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