Behind Every Successful Society, There is a Strong Woman
Arizona Foundation for Women Honorees
By Leona June Christensen
First Lady Laura Bush
First Lady Laura Bush is living testament that the doors for learning are always open. In America and across the globe, the former school librarian’s ardent love of books inspires women and children to expand their horizons with reading.
In late May, Arizona Foundation for Women (AFW) honored Mrs. Bush with the Sandra Day O’Connor Award for her contributions to children and literacy. As a little girl, Mrs. Bush’s zeal for reading was sparked by an early introduction by her mother to books at the local public library. Since that time, she dreamed of becoming a teacher. Now, she has made her love of books the key message point of her mission to promote literacy. She with a bachelor’s degree in education from Southern Methodist University, and received her master’s degree in library science from the University of Texas at Austin. She achieved her dream of becoming a teacher in the Texas public school system, where she also worked as a librarian.
AFW acknowledges that reading is the key to success and prosperity for women and girls. Few others have worked as tirelessly as the First Lady to ignite a passion for learning and books in the hearts of people at home and abroad.
AFW hosted the eleventh annual Sandra Day O’Connor Awards Luncheon on Friday, May 25 at the Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa in Phoenix. Each year, the organization honors the lives and contributions of women who are inspiring role models. Previous recipients are Elizabeth H. Dole, Tipper Gore, Marian Wright Edelman, Erin Brockovich, Barbara Bush, Sally Ride, Pat Mitchell, and Marlo Thomas.
Last year, the event raised more than $400,000, adding to the almost $2 million since its inception, to finance AFW’s philanthropic efforts to provide innovative solutions for the unmet needs of women and children in Arizona. The organization’s unique programs enhance self-esteem and promote economic self-sufficiency among young women, as well as implement distinctive solutions to problems like child abuse and domestic violence. It has helped more than 1 million Arizona residents.
Mrs. Bush fights on the frontlines in the United States and across the world to promote education, health care, and human rights. As First Lady, her voice calls attention to the global needs of schools, libraries, and teachers. She made more than a dozen visits to the areas left devastated by the Gulf Coast hurricanes. Her philanthropic organization, the Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries, implemented the Gulf Coast School Library Recovery Initiative.
In her work as an honorary ambassador for the United Nations Literacy Decade, Mrs. Bush is an outspoken advocate for education throughout the world. Her efforts especially benefit women and girls. She travels the country as the leader of President Bush’s Helping America’s Youth initiative and visits mentoring programs, listening to the concerns of youth, their parents, and community leaders as well as highlighting programs that help young people become self-sufficient and productive adults.
Dr. Elizabeth Lee Vliet
The luncheon also paid tribute to Elizabeth Lee Vliet, M.D who received the Voice of Women Award, and MonaLou Callery who was presented with the Marilyn R. Seymann Award.
For women struggling with hormonal issues, Dr. Vliet is a shelter in the storm. She is the founder and medical director for HER Place: Health Enhancement and Renewal for Women, Inc. Her Tucson- and Dallas-based clinics focus on comprehensive evaluations of hormonal changes and how they affect the physical and emotional aspects of women’s lives.
Dr. Vliet is constantly researching solution and options for women facing the effects of hormonal changes in cardiovascular risks, Premenstrual Syndrome, PCOS, migraines, mood syndromes, fibromyalgia/chronic pain, anxiety phenomena, osteoporosis, and urinary problems.
A prolific author, Dr. Vliet’s acclaimed books about women’s health include Screaming to Be Heard: Hormonal Connections Women Suspect—and Doctors Ignore, Women, Weight and Hormones; It’s My Ovaries, Stupid! The Savvy Woman’s Guide to Testosterone, and The Savvy Woman’s Guide to PCOS. Her newest book, The Savvy Woman’s Guide to Estrogen, is slated for release later this year.
Dr. Vliet earned her medical degree and completed her internship in internal medicine at Eastern Virginia Medical School. She then completed training in psychiatry and behavioral medicine at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Dr. Vliet received her B.S. and M.Ed. degrees from the College of William and Mary.
MonaLou Callery
For survivors of domestic violence, MonaLou Callery is a voice of empowerment. She is also someone who has lived their pain. When she first began advocating for victims of domestic violence more than 25 years ago, it was out of necessity to survive the effects of domestic abuse, and not as a career choice. Since that time, she has been instrumental in developing domestic violence programs in the public, private, and international sectors, including several shelters.
Founded by Callery in 2003, the Support, Education, Empowerment & Directions (SEEDs) caters to the unmet needs of women who have been physically and sexually abused. The SEEDs program accommodates women who would not be eligible for traditional battered-women’s shelters because of their alcohol and drug dependencies. Many of these women use substances to cope with the aftermath of their abuse and relationship with their batterer.
The program offers women a strong support system to help them overcome barriers and reach their personal goals. During their transition from SEEDs to independent living, residents develop and execute a life-action plan while completing job training, maintaining their sobriety and rebuilding their lives
Callery’s program can help up to 16 women at one time. SEED also provides counseling and educational services for the women. The National Advocacy & Training Network (NATN), a nonprofit organization Callery started to offer opportunities to social services providers working with at-risk populations, supervises SEEDs.
North Valley Magazine will include photos from the Sandra Day O’Connor Awards Luncheon in the August/September issue.
For more information about Arizona Foundation for Women, log on to www.azfoundationforwomen.org.