West Des Moines Chamber of Commerce issued the following announcement on Sept. 14.
Women Lead Change is pleased to announce the 2020 class of honorees for the Women of Achievement Awards to be commemorated on the Iowa Women of Achievement Bridge.
Sue M. Wilson Brown
Author Sue M. Wilson Brown was a leader in the suffrage movement advocating for African-American women on the local, state and national level. Brown served as president of the Iowa Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs from 1915-1917. In 1919, Brown founded The Des Moines League of Colored Women Voters and was also its first president. She became the first female president of the Des Moines NAACP chapter in 1925.
Zada Mary Cooper
Born, raised and educated in Iowa, Zada Mary Cooper was a pharmacist, educator and champion for women in science. She graduated from the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy in 1897, then became the only female educator at the school and the first female tenured faculty member in a college of pharmacy in the U.S.. In 1921, Cooper supported the creation of a national sorority for women in pharmacy, Kappa Epsilon, and the next year formed a second national society, The Rho Chi Society.
Joy Cole Corning
Iowa public servant and politician, Joy Cole Corning served as the 44th Lieutenant Governor of Iowa from 1991-1999. She also served in the Iowa Senate, University of Northern Iowa Foundation Board, Cedar Falls school board, and multiple non-profit boards throughout her career. While serving as Lt. Governor, Corning led the Family Foster Care Program, increasing the number of foster homes and adoptions of children with special needs. She also formed the Iowa Committee on Diversity.
All three honorees will be commemorated with permanent plaques on the Iowa Women of Achievement Bridge in downtown Des Moines for their outstanding and lasting contributions to the citizens of Iowa and beyond.
Women Lead Change is a non-partisan, 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to the advancement, development and promotion of women, their organizations and to impacting the economy and future workforce. For more information visit www.WLCglobal.org.
Original source can be found here.
Alerts Sign-up