The Individual Awards categories, which recognize the achievements of individual women entrepreneurs, executives and employees, form the biggest category group in the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, so two committees have been formed:
Marcie Allen, president of New York City-based sponsorship and fulfillment agency MAC Presents, will chair the committee for the Best Executives Awards categories.
“As a woman in the music industry, recognition in the Stevie Awards has proved an effective tool for me to encourage more women to enter this industry,” stated Marcie recently. “As someone who has been in the music industry for 18 years, I want to inspire women and show them that anything is possible. All power to the Stevie Awards for Women on its 10th Anniversary!”
Marcie is a seven-time nominee and two-time winner of Billboard Magazine's Concert Marketing and Promotion Award. She was named to Billboard’s Women in Music in 2010, 2011, and 2012, and to Billboard’s 40 under 40 in 2013. Earlier this year, The White House honored Marcie as one of their Hurricane Sandy "Champions of Change." The event highlighted people and organizations directly involved in response and recovery efforts following Hurricane Sandy. Marcie directed a documentary short, “Beach 119,” about her efforts in the Rockaways, New York, after the storm. Marcie leverages her eighteen years of music industry experience to negotiate high profile sponsorships between the world’s leading brands and artists. Recent clients include Jeep, Microsoft, Samsung, CITI, AT&T, and Nokia.
Prior to starting MAC, Marcie owned and operated MAD Booking & Events, which booked and produced music festivals across the country including On the Bricks in Atlanta, Georgia. Allen is on the board of directors for Musicians on Call and the TJ Martell Foundation.
The final judging committee for the Best Entrepreneur Awards categories will be chaired by Kristen White, CEO of Creative Catapult, LLC/Instant Celebrity Academy in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, and host of “Let’s Start A Ripple” TV. Kristen is a media expert who helps entrepreneurs, authors, speakers, life coaches, and businesses become more powerful messengers through content creation and on-camera coaching. Kristen works with clients to create media-based marketing platforms including television, radio, iPad magazines, and multi-media books. Her company, Creative Catapult, LLC, is a media coaching and video production company for the wellness and personal development marketplace.
Kristen has more than a decade of experience as a television journalist and anchor. Her new show, Let’s start a Ripple, which debuted in January 2013, is a news-style talk show that features experts in personal development, wellness and spirituality. The show is broadcast on The Wisdom Channel on Google TV, HULU, and on mainstream media. It is produced in the ABC TV studio in St. Louis, Missouri, and on location in Sedona, Arizona, in California, and in New York.
In addition to a Gold Stevie Awards for Video of the Year and for Mentor/Coach of the Year, Kristen received the Bronze Stevie Award for Female Entrepreneur of the Year in the 2012 Women in Business Awards. Her industry awards include the Platinum “Best in Show” Award for Video and a Gold Award for Video in the 2012 Aurora Awards.
Chair of the final judging committee for both the Company/Organization Awards and the New Product Awards categories is Jessica Eaves Mathews, CEO of Leverage a Lawyer LLC in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. Jessica describes herself as America’s Advocate for Women in Business™. She is an award-winning entrepreneur and intellectual property and business lawyer; a published author and speaker; and an authority on helping women entrepreneurs and women business owners step into their power and, as she says, “create a brilliant business and a brilliant life on their own terms.”
Jessica has spent her legal career representing all types of businesses, from solopreneurs to Fortune 500 companies. Before launching her own firm, she was the head of litigation and compliance for Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft. Jessica is the founder of Leverage Legal Group, a global intellectual property and business law firm for the new economy. Jessica's team of experienced attorneys provides world-class, flat-fee legal services, virtual general and outside counsel, and in-sourced legal services. The firm’s entry-level program, Leverage-a-Lawyer, provides budget-friendly, flat-fee legal services, information, and education for first-time business owners or startups who don’t yet have the budget for full-blown legal counsel. Jessica also has experience "on the other side of the conference table" as founder and CEO of Grace & Game, a lifestyle brand both for golf and for the sophisticated, feminine, modern women. Grace & Game designs are made in the USA with sustainable fabrics and are designed to perform beautifully both on and off the course. She is also founder and CEO of Untoxicating Beauty, a new subscription beauty experience for women who care as much about what goes into their bodies as what they put on them.
Jessica is an adjunct professor at University of New Mexico Law School; an appointee on the New Mexico Economic Development Council; co-founder and Chief Legal Officer for The Virtual Accelerator, a virtual business accelerator for startups, and is the co-founder of Hautepreneurs, a new networking organization for women entrepreneurs based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She has been featured on MSNBC, Oprah, Forbes.com, NBC, Oxygen, and in Allure Magazine.
The chair of the final judging committee for the Communications & Marketing Awards categories is Ruwena Healy, CEO and president of Marketing 24/7, Inc., a full-service marketing, branding, and public relations firm in Trussville, Alabama, USA, which she founded eight years ago. Marketing 24/7 has a diverse client list and is one of Birmingham, Alabama’s Top 10 PR firms. Ruwena gave some useful advice on the importance of winning business awards in an earlier blog post.
Marketing 24/7 and Ruwena have garnered numerous international, national, state, and local awards, including a Gold Stevie for Communications/PR Campaign of the Year in the 2012 Stevie Awards for Women In Business. Ruwena was recently named first runner up in the Birmingham Business Journal’s Social Madness competition that showcased a company’s social media savvy by gaining new followers and encouraging follower engagement. Just this week, Ruwena was honored as one of three finalists in the Birmingham Business Alliance's 2013 Awards in the category of Small Business of the Year (1 to 50 employees) and was awarded three Lantern Awards from the Southern Public Relations Federation. She has also received an “Honorable Mention” in the international Enterprising Women of the Year Award by Enterprising Women magazine,
Ruwena is a LinkedIn expert and trainer (her LinkedIn profile was among the Top 1% of the Most Viewed profiles in 2012). She is a sought-after speaker, trainer, and lecturer, and has also presented numerous programs on branding, social media, public relations, and how to successfully get the word out about a business. Ruwena maintains a blog at MasterMarketing247.com and her articles have appeared in PR News’ 2011 Crisis Management Guidebook, Birmingham Business Journal, The Birmingham News, Alabama Business News, and al.com. Ruwena is an active member of the Birmingham, Alabama community: she is a member of The Women’s Network; a member of the Board of Directors of the Public Relations Council of Alabama’s Birmingham Chapter; a former Board member and currently a member of the Public Relations Society of America Alabama Chapter; and a current member of Alabama Women In Business.
Ruwena has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing from the University of Florida and a Masters in Business Administration from Florida State University. Today, with twin boys that are seven years old, Ruwena gives her time to fundraisers for their school and as a leader in the Cub Scouts.
Chair of the final judging committee for the Media Awards categories (covering websites, apps, live events, and film/video) is Cynthia Good, founder and CEO of Little PINK Book, a digital platform for career women, in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Commenting on her appointment as Chair, Cynthia said: “The Stevie Awards is an organization that inspires companies to do the right thing to help advance women in business. It’s great to see those supporting women’s advancement be acknowledged for their good work.”
Supporting women’s advancement and entrepreneurship is something with which Cynthia is familiar. Her Little PINK Book is the online evolution of PINK magazine, founded by Good in 2005. In addition to the daily e-notes, proven to help career women advance, Little PINK Book’s ventures include two highly successful national conference series: their Spring Into Ownership event for entrepreneurs; and the Fall Empowerment series, featuring top women from Corporate America.
Cynthia appears regularly as a speaker at seminars and women-centric events with companies such as The Coca-Cola Company, Ford Motor Company, McKesson, Turknett Leadership Group, Andrews Kurth, Hilton Worldwide, InterContinental Hotels Group, and more. She has written six books and has a weekly TV segment on CBS Atlanta, where she discusses news pertinent to women. You can follow her on Twitter and via Facebook.
Finalists in the 2013 competition will be announced next week. Final judging, to determine the Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award placements from among the Finalists, will begin the week of October 14. Stevie winners will then be announced and recognized at the 10th annual awards dinner in New York City on Friday, November 8.
