Women’s Business Center Announces Women’s History Month Award Winners

Adam Lowenstein February 11, 2015

Luncheon to be Held Thursday, March 19

MELBOURNE, FLA. — The Women’s Business Center at Florida Institute of Technology is pleased to announce the winners of the 2015 National Women’s History Project Awards.

The recipients will be honored at a luncheon from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, March 19, at the Hilton Rialto in Melbourne. The luncheon theme is, “Weaving the Story of Women’s Lives.”

Local leaders are nominated by their peers and the general public in one of four categories: Entrepreneur of the Year, Excellence in Leadership, Emerging Leader, and the Joan Bixby Award. This year’s winners are:

Entrepreneur of the Year: Susan Glasgow, president and CEO, Kegman, Inc.
The Entrepreneur of the Year Award recognizes a local female who creates the products, services and jobs that fuel our economy and help our community grow.
Excellence in Leadership Award: Lisa Rice, president, CareerSource Brevard. The Excellence in Leadership Award recognizes a female community leader who advocates for positive social change to create a more equitable society.
Emerging Leader Award: Kati Brunson, senior project manager, Rockwell Collins. The Emerging Leader Award recognizes a female under 30 who demonstrates high ethical standards, commitment, confidence, the ability to inspire, intuition and creativity in a leadership capacity, and who is a role model for members of her community.
Joan Bixby Award: Joni Oglesby, vice president for support services and Title IX coordinator, Florida Institute of Technology; and Shannon Ferry, chief instructor, F.I.T. Aviation. The Joan Bixby Award generally recognizes a Florida Tech faculty or staff member and a student (male or female) who enhances the climate for women’s participation and development on campus.

Winners were selected based on public nominations solicited through the Women’s Business Center.

“It is important to host this event each year because it spotlights the hard work of female leaders in our community,” said Women’s Business Center Director Wanda Lipscomb-Vásquez. “We are honored to recognize such hard-working, deserving women and we hope that this event provides inspiration for the next generation of local leaders.”

The National Women’s History Project, founded in 1980, is a national educational nonprofit organization. Its mission is to recognize and celebrate the diverse and historic accomplishments of women by providing information and educational materials and programs.

To register for this event, visit http://wbc.fit.edu/events/payment/history-month.php.

###