March 19, 2013 | Twenty-three women working at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) were honored today as phenomenal for their dedication and accomplishments.

The event, held in celebration of Women’s History Month, featured Chicago educator and motivational speaker Chandra Gill, Ph.D., who challenged them to inspire new generations of women to success and achievement.

The theme for the 2013 event, hosted by the UAMS Center for Diversity Affairs, was “Women Inspiring Innovation through Imagination: Celebrating UAMS Phenomenal Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).”

“We honor you because we know it has not been easy,” said Gill. “You have been through some things. You have told people that you can when they’ve told you that you can’t.”

Asking the question “how can we inspire if we’re not inspired?,” Gill encouraged the women to do three things:

1. Tell Your Story — “Don’t let someone else tell it. Let the youth see that it will not be easy. But they need to know brilliance and dedication. Sometimes it’s not the great things that made us who we are; it’s the not-so-great things that made us great — when we didn’t think we could get through but did.”
2. Talk about Strength — Talk about the challenges we face. Noting the recent 100-year anniversary of the Suffrage March on Washington, Gill said there will always be groups who stand up to injustice. Talk about the strength it takes to stand for your beliefs and overcome the challenges, she said.
3. Talk about where you stem from — Making a play on the word “stem” (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), she encouraged the women to talk about the teachers and others who inspired them to pursue their careers. A lot of kids don’t like science not because they don’t know about it but because they do not know how it applies to their future or haven’t had someone who made it mean something to them, she said.

Gill is founder and chief executive officer of Blackademically Speaking, a company that develops motivational content and services to reach youth. She was a member of the inaugural class in the Gates Millennium Scholars Program.

The UAMS Phenomenal Women were selected from nominations of women who “used their intelligence, imagination, sense of wonder, and tenacity to make extraordinary contributions to the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields. …a woman who had overcome adversity while advancing in the STEM field or a woman who inspired innovation through imagination using one of our UAMS core values.”

This year’s honorees were:

— Mary Aitken, M.D., M.P.H. — College of Medicine, Pediatrics
— Teresita L. Angtuaco, M.D. — Radiology
— Helen Benes, Ph.D. — College of Medicine, Developmental Sciences
— Keneshia Bryant, Ph.D., R.N. — College of Nursing
— C.J. Carrell — College of Health Professions
— Mary Ann Coleman — Clinical Programs Hospital Operations
— Dana Gaddy, Ph.D. — College of Medicine, Physiology and Biophysics
— Katherine Glover-Collins, M.D. — Resident, Surgery
— Jan Hart, Ed.D., M.L.S. — Library
— Ronda Henry-Tillman, M.D. — College of Medicine, Surgery – Breast Oncology
— Charlotte Hobbs, M.D., Ph.D. — College of Medicine, Pediatrics
— Lisa Jackson, J.D., R.N. —Translational Research Institute
— Karey Kelly — College of Medicine, Anesthesiology Administration
— Michelle Morgan, M.S. — Clinical Programs, Nutrition Services
— Heather Moseby, R.N. — Clinical Programs, Nursing Services Education
— Michele Moss, M.D. — College of Medicine, Pediatrics
— Creshelle Nash, M.D., M.P.H. — College of Public Health/College of Medicine, Internal Medicine
— Carmen Paniagua, Ed.D., R.N. — College of Medicine, Emergency Medicine
— Barbara Pate, Ph.D., R.N. — College of Nursing
— Mildred Randolph, D.V.M. — College of Medicine, Laboratory Animal Medicine
— Katharine E. Stewart, Ph.D., M.P.H. — College of Public Health
— Deanna Stout — Finance Department – Travel
— Laura Tyler, Ph.D. — College of Medicine, Psychiatry