Durham hosted its 22nd Annual Women’s Forum Thursday to celebrate Women’s History Month and honor women who have made an impact in the local community.
This year’s forum, titled “Moving Forward Together — Women Educating and Inspiring Generations,” featured a panel moderated by Beverly Thompson, director of the city’s communications department. Honorees working in fields spanning government, nonprofit and the private sector discussed their careers and the challenges women face today.
“Throughout history, women have been trailblazers, mentors and catalysts for change, paving the way for future generations through education, advocacy and leadership,” said Alexis John, interim director of the Neighborhood Improvement Services Department. The department’s human relations division co-hosted the forum alongside ISLA NC, an educational organization for Spanish-speaking families.
The forum opened with the presentation of awards in recognition of 11 Durham women, including Viviana Martinez-Bianchi, a family physician and associate professor and director for health equity at the Duke Department of Family Medicine and Community Health. The awards honor their contributions to the city.
Throughout the forum, panelists discussed how they arrived at their current career and what inspires them to continue their pursuits.
For Vanity Reid Deterville, director of the Gender Resource Advocacy and Support Program at the LGBTQ Center of Durham, threats to public health serve as her motivation.
“We are experiencing an assault on public health in this country,” Deterville said. “I have a duty as a Black queer person to make sure that I can use my lived experience to help improve the quality of life for those with similar experiences.”
Nida Allam, chair of the Durham County Board of Commissioners, noted that women of color are “usually drawn to service and drawn to work not by choice, [but] by necessity.”
Allam was inspired to run for office after losing close friends in a 2015 shooting in Chapel Hill. Seeking to improve Muslim and immigrant representation in the political sphere, Allam won her election in 2020, becoming the first Muslim woman elected to any public office in North Carolina.
Linda Shropshire, founder and owner of Ella West Gallery, the state’s only gallery owned by a Black woman, recalled making a calculation mistake on a report in her first professional job. She described it as “a pivotal point” when her boss comforted her and gave her “the freedom … to make a mistake.”
“So often … we are in these situations where we’ve got to be perfect, we’ve got to do it right,” Shropshire said.
The conversation also touched on how education and leadership roles can open doors to more representation of women.
“If these environments do not have enough representation of us, then we hold them accountable,” said Maya Jackson, founder of MAAME, Inc., a company dedicated to providing maternal health care to marginalized communities.
In response to a question about what obstacles each panelist had faced in their career, Allam talked about how she was told to “wait her turn” when first running for office at 26 years old.
“It’s a country of opportunity, but it’s also a country that looks at us and people that look like us as ‘others,’ as folks who shouldn’t be in leadership,” Allam said. Despite the lack of a “playbook” for Muslim women running for office, Allam ultimately decided to run after seeing the examples of many women she grew up around, including her mother, who served in a leadership role at her mosque.
Mercedes McCurley, senior program manager of family engagement at the DPS Foundation, a community organization focused on improving Durham Public Schools, explained how she maintains resilience despite difficulties.
“Giving up is not an option, but continuing to fight to change it is the only option,” McCurley said.
The panel concluded with honorees offering advice to other women seeking to advance their careers.
"Don’t wait for someone to give you a seat at the table. Don’t wait for someone to tell you it’s your turn,” Allam said. “You have to step up and take it.”
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Dylan Halper is a Trinity first-year and a staff reporter for the news department.