“The women that we are honoring at the 2022 Women’s History Celebration are truly role models in our community, and many are mentors. This annual event is a great chance to celebrate their challenges, contributions and triumphs,” Carrie Braxton, the vice president of the Wisconsin Women of Color Network.
The Wisconsin Women of Color Network, Inc. (WWOCN)’s 2022 Women’s History Celebration on Saturday, March 26, 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., at the DoubleTree Hilton Hotel will be a chance to recognize outstanding local women of color with 2022 WWOCN Woman of Achievement Awards. The theme of this year’s conference is “Celebrating Women of Achievement.”
“Basically, this is a chance to honor several women with our WWOCN Women of Achievement Awards,” Braxton tells Madison365. “There are going to be several ladies that will be recognized – African American, Latino, Native American, American Asian. So, they will get awards acknowledging them and the particular areas that they represent in their professional fields.”
Longtime Madison-area community leader Dana Warren will be presented with the Lifetime Community Service Award. Valentina Ahedo will receive a Special Recognition Award for exemplary leadership.
The four recipients this year of WWOCN Woman of Achievement Awards — in their respective communities, African-American, Native American, Asian American and Latina — are Dr. Martha Stacker in public service, Nicole Soulier in education, Deepika Rajesh in business & industry and community service; and Nancy Gallegos in workforce management, business & industry and public service.
“The winners are chosen by their peers,” Braxton says. “They are very deserving in their respective areas, not because of their ethnicity, but because of the hard work they are doing and the commitment they have demonstrated in their respective areas.”
The WWOCN, which first evolved out of the regional Minority Women’s Employment Conference held in Chicago in 1980, assists women of color in accessing educational resources, health care, social services, and political participation as it promotes leadership, cross-cultural awareness, and spiritual and economic well-being to enrich the lives of women of color, their families and their communities.
Braxton joined WWOCN in 2017 after attending an event where she was being acknowledged.
“I saw all of these ladies and I just loved the camaraderie,” Braxton remembers. “I love the support that they were giving each other and I was asked if I would like to become a member and so from there, I signed on.”
Braxton was soon elected to the WWOCN executive board and then became vice president of the organization in 2020.
The 2022 Women’s History Celebration is one of the signature events for the organization. Is Saturday’s event just for members?
“This event is open to people from the public – as many people that can fit in the building,” Braxton says. “We ask that people register. Some people are coming to support some of the honorees that they are familiar with and some are coming just because they want to attend the event.”
To register for the 2022 Women’s History Celebration, click here. A lunch buffet will be served at noon. Traditionally, there are plenty of vendors at this annual event — all women of color.
“Just because we are coming out of COVID and we didn’t want it to be congested in there, we won’t be having any vendors at this event this year,” Braxton says. “There will just be a couple of display tables this year where honorees can display things from their careers.”
The event is a chance to honor some outstanding women and to network but it’s also a chance for WWOCN to recruit more members, especially younger members.
“We have been around for a long, long time. The founders and some of the women in the organization are maturing and getting older so we are always looking for younger members who want to learn from our seasoned members but we also want some new ideas,” Braxton says. “I think that will be good for the organization and its growth.”
For more information about Saturday’s 2022 Women’s History Celebration, click here.
