COLUMBUS, Ohio — Columbus' 2022 Women of Achievement honorees are addressing inequities, oppression and what it takes to be an Advocate for All on Wednesday.
Joy Bivens, Laura Espy-Bell, Linda Hondros, Angie Plummer, Esq., Janica Pierce Tucker and Joanna M. Pinkerton were announced as the 2022 Women of Achievement in November.
On Wednesday, community members will have the chance to hear from and engage with all six women beginning at noon in this livestream.
To show additional support, attendees are asked to wear a color to represent one of the six women and post to social media with the hashtag #WomenofAchievement and #YWCACbus.
The colors associated with each women are listed below:
- Joy Bivens: Red
- Laura Espy-Bell: Blue
- Linda Hondros: Blue
- Joanna M. Pinkerton: Purple
- Angie Plummer, Esq.: Green
- Janica Pierce Tucker, Esq.: Green
Each year, women are selected by YWCA Columbus to be honored for their admirable qualities. The Women of Achievement recipients are known for uplifting their community, fighting bias and empowering other women to do the same.
In 2022, the YWCA is bringing attention to six strong women. Meet this year’s honorees:
Joy Bivens
Bivens serves as the deputy county administrator for Franklin County Health and Human Services. Additionally, Bivens is vice chair for the National Association of Counties Human Services and Education subcommittee. She testified at a congressional hearing in 2020 for strategies to combat child poverty.
Laura Espy-Bell
Espy-Bell is an emergency medicine physician and associate medical director with Mid-Ohio Emergency Services, where she works to eliminate health disparities.
Epsy-Bell is committed to encouraging young African Americans to pursue a career in medicin, and founded the “Made for Medicine” program to help expose Black youths to the medical field and realize their potential.
Linda Hondros
Hondros is the owner and co-founder of Hondros Family of Companies, where she works to inspire adults to pursue and succeed in their dream career. Hondros has experience in real estate, nursing, appraisal and the financial services industry, and owns several businesses.
Angie Plummer, Esq.
Plummer serves as the executive director of Community Refugee & Imigration Services.
She majored in International Studies at the University of Dayton, going on to graduate from the Ohio State University College of Law in 1992. Plummer became executive director of CRIS in 2003. Overall, the non-profit has helped more than 10,000 refugees resettle in central Ohio.
Janica Pierce Tucker
Tucker is a partner in charge at Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP, where she represents clients and advises employers regarding legal planning and policy analysis. Tucker is a member of Taft’s executive committee and also serves as co-chair of the firm-wide Diversity and Inclusion committee. Additionally, she is an advocate for preventing sexual discrimination in educational institutions and has led Title IX investigations.
Joanna M. Pinkerton
As the president and CEO of the Central Ohio Transit Authority, Pinkerton has worked to address equity issues in transit. That includes launching the COTA//Plus mobility solution in South Columbus, Grove City and Westerville, as well as hiring COTA’s first Chief Equity Officer. Through that effort, COTA recently launched a new fare payment system that strives to be more equitable and reduce barriers. Pinkerton has experience at the Transportation Research Center, as well as The Ohio State University and ODOT.
You can learn more about the Women of Achievement award here.
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