Vanitha Suresh is the recipient of “The Amy Award” for The Amys.
Suresh has accomplished an incredible list of professional and personal feats that showcase her creative talents and passions: She’s a software consultant who’s worked as a software developer in several industries, a Carnatic (south Indian classical music) vocalist, a musician (pictured below with a traditional Indian music instrument, the tanpura), the executive director of the nonprofit Melharmony Foundation and the founding director of the nonprofit SciArt services. She also runs a music school, was the first Indian immigrant to become a master trainer through the Wisconsin Arts Board’s Folk/Traditional Apprenticeship Program and she holds two master’s degrees. And she’s never let anything get in her way of achieving her goals or helping others. “I can’t think of a single moment where I’ve ever felt like I couldn’t do something because I was a woman,” she says. Read Suresh’s full story here: https://www.channel3000.com/the-amy-award-winner-vanitha-suresh/
Tania Ibarra is the recipient of “The Free-Thinker” award for The Amys.
Amy Gannon taught Ibarra the phrase “popcorn brain.” They both had it, says Ibarra — all these exciting ideas that pop to the surface. “I had been conditioned to sort of limit the number of ideas I put out in the world,” says Ibarra, the co-founder of Step Up: Equity Matters. “But [Gannon] helped me appreciate that strength in being an ideas generator.” And Ibarra’s ideas aren’t frenetic or unproductive, says Jenny Price, who nominated Ibarra for the Free-Thinker Award. “It’s very focused energy,” says Price, who runs her own communications firm, JP Strategies. “She just moves with such purpose.” Ibarra’s work involves three main efforts: Through @stepupforequity, where she is co-founder, she helps established businesses embed diversity, equity and inclusion within their strategies, operations and cultures through innovative assessment and training that help uproot bias and spark lasting change; as a consultant with a background in finance and accounting, she supports startups, many owned by women and BIPOC; and she supports the Latinx community as a member of several community boards, including the Latino Professionals Association, which she helped found. Read Ibarra’s full story here: https://www.channel3000.com/the-free-thinker-tania-ibarra/
Rebekah Stephens is the recipient of “The Strategist” award for The Amys.
There is so much that could have broken Stephens’ spirit. At 33, she lost her job, was evicted from her apartment and had her car repossessed all within a few months. But Stephens is the kind of person who sees the silver lining in everything. “In people, in jobs, in situations, even the thing that sucks the most, there’s always something — some type of glimmer of hope and happiness,” says Stephens. She was dealt another series of blows in 2019 when she experienced a season of loss. To cope, Stephens clung to small bits of joy and leaned into her instinct to help others. As the business development manager with Common Wealth Development for nearly three years, Stephens used her own experiences and strategic skillset to uplift startup business owners. Her role entailed overseeing the day-to-day operations and well-being of Madison’s two oldest incubators, The Madison Enterprise Center and Main Street Industries. Read Stephens’ full story here: https://www.channel3000.com/the-strategist-rebekah-stephens/
Annie Vang is the recipient of “The Teacher” award for The Amys.
When 45-year-old Vang was growing up as a child of Hmong immigrants to Wisconsin, she was certain she wanted to work with computers — but what did that mean? There wasn’t even a phrase for “computer developer” in the Hmong language, says Vang, who’d taught herself English by watching Sesame Street and other kids’ shows. So she asked her teacher. “She said, ‘You have to be a boy and you have to be a genius,’ ” Vang recalls. “My heart was crushed. … I was like, OK, this means zero chance.” There still aren’t Hmong words to describe what Vang, now a grandmother of four, does for a living. But that hasn’t stopped her from developing the HmongPhrases app. Not only does the app help preserve her endangered language, it also earned her the only U.S. spot in Apple’s eCamp for Female Founders and Developers in July 2021. What if that teacher could see her now? Read Vang’s full story here: https://www.channel3000.com/the-teacher-annie-vang/
Leta Samsa is the recipient of The Jocelyn Scholarship for The Amys.
The high school senior has worked hard to find her way in school, says Marianne Matt, Samsa’s nominator and school counselor at Capital High. Samsa enrolled in the Early College STEM Academy at Madison College and earned a year of dual college and high school credit — one example of the young girl seeking out opportunities for herself, Matt says. Read more about Samsa here: https://www.channel3000.com/jocelyn-scholarship-leta-samsa/
Testimonial from Andrea Behling, editor of Madison Magazine:
“Ever since the tragic loss of Amy and Jocelyn Gannon in 2019, the magazine team has been looking for a meaningful way to memorialize the tech leader and her daughter. I connected with Mike Gannon to figure out what that might look like, and The Amys were born. I can’t thank Mike enough for being generous with his time and support of this project, which we hope to turn into an annual awards program. Amy was fierce about investing in women entrepreneurs, so to have financial gifts be awarded to The Amys recipients from the Amy & Jocelyn Memorial Foundation feels so appropriate. It’s a continuation of the work Amy was so passionate about. The Amys spotlights women who reflect the qualities Amy was known for — her drive, her compassion, her straightforwardness, her energy. I think this is a fantastic way to keep Amy’s memory and her work alive for many years to come.”