Established in 1995, the Academy of Women Achievers (AWA) celebrates women who have demonstrated outstanding leadership and achievement in their professional and civic lives. The AWA has grown into a dynamic and dedicated group of over 100 women from all walks of life who have strengthened the YWCA's voice in championing gender equity and leadership opportunities for women.

Class of 2006
Zamawa Arenas
Robin Chase
Dr. Linda A. Clayton
Arlene Fortunato
Lisa Guscott
Deborah Jackson
Stacey Lucchino
Klare Shaw
Nan Stone
Brigid Sullivan

Class of 2005
Nancy Altobello
Dr. Alice Chiang
Roberta Herman, M.D.
Ambassador Swanee Hunt
Denise Kaigler
Gloria Nemerowicz
Susan Lewis Solomont
Stephanie Sonnabend
Meg Vaillancourt
Kellye Walker

Class of 2004
(Women of the Decade)
Lani Guinier
Kerry Healey
Melinda Marble
Kathleen O'Toole
Charlotte Golar Richie

Class of 2003
Heather P. Campion
Jean Lau Chin
Martha Sloan Felch
Gloria Fox
Carol Fulp
Jackie Jenkins-Scott
Nancy K. Kaufman
Teresa Heinz Kerry
Myra H. Kraft
Nawal M. Nour, M.D.
Rosa A. Smith
Janie Victoria Ward

Class of 2002
Martha Coakley
Paula Johnson
Karen Kaplan
Florence Ladd
Barbara Lee
Vivien Li
Melissa MacDonnell
Elsa Nuñez
Patricia O'Brien
Regina Pisa
Kip Tiernan
Joan Wallace-Benjamin

Class of 2001
JudyAnn Bigby
Elyse Cherry
Pam Cross
Dawn Curtis Hanley
Amy Domini
Frieda Garcia
Joanne Jaxtimer
Gloria C. Larson
Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot
Joan Parker
Marita Rivero
Atsuko Toko Fish

Class of 2000
Marjorie Decker
Doris Kearns Goodwin
Marian Heard
Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham
Anna Faith Jones
Bhavya Lal
Maria I. Lopez
Dani Monroe
Lois Silverman
Beth Terrana
Dessima Williams
Anne Woolf

Class of 1999
Mara G. Aspinall
Susan S. Bailis
Vicki Donlan
Kathleen Doxer
Augusta Hicks Gale
Meizhu Lui
Bernadine Foster Nash
Raquel Ortiz
Colette Phillips
Shula Reinharz
Helen Bowdoin Spaulding
Elaine Weddington Steward

Class of 1998
Ruth M. Batson
Maura S. Doyle
Margaret B. Harrison
Sally D. Jackson
Rosabeth Moss Kanter
Jacqueline Weis Liebergott
Yvedt L. Matory
June Rokoff
Agnes Bundy Scanlan
Cheng Imm Tan
Elaine S. Ullian
Joyce Williams-Mitchell

Class of 1997
Amalia Barreda
Joan L. Bavaria
Carolyn Shaw Bell
Denise M. Coll
Anne Finucane
Judy George
Joanna T. Lau
Irma S. Mann
Sheryl R. Marshall
Patricia McGovern
Glendora M. Putnam
Susan R. Windham-Bannister

Class of 1996
Margaret A. Burnham
Diane M. Capstaff
J. Elizabeth Harris
Nancy Hawthorne
Vivian Huang
Stacey Kabat
Donna Latson-Gittens
Joan A. Lukey
Cathy E. Minehan
Judy Norsigian
Gail Snowden
Dianne Wilkerson

Class of 1995
Patricia P. Baillieul
Anne E. Johnson
Gloria Johnson-Powell
Kija Kim
Linnie W. McLean
Evelyn F. Murphy
Fran Sussner Rodgers
Dorothy Terrell
Clara Wainwright
Patricia Wolpert

Racial Justice Award
For demonstrated commitment to ethnic diversity, equal opportunity, and a work environment that encourages and supports diversity and the advancement of people of color.

Edward Jean Furshpan, Ph.D. & David Dickinson Potter, Ph.D., 2006
Team Harmony Foundation, 2002
Northeastern University's Center for the Study of Sport in Society, 2001
Foley, Hoag and Eliot LLP, 2000
Reebok International, Ltd., 1999
The National Conference for Community and Justice, 1998
Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights, 1997
The Timberland Company, 1996
Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts, 1995

Women's Advancement Award
For demonstrated exemplary commitment to gender equity, women's leadership, and the advancement of women.

WFD Inc., 2003
State Street Corporation, 2002
Hill/Holliday, 2001
Mayor Thomas M. Menino and the City of Boston, 2000
WCVB-TV Channel 5, 1999
Abt Associates Inc., 1998
Deloitte and Touche LLP, 1997
The Body Shop, 1996
Avon, 1995