w2wlink Announces National Ascendancy Award Winners - Top Executive and Entrepreneur Business Women

May 29, 2009 - PRLog -- Twenty-Seven Award Winners in Corporate, Entrepreneur, and Career Transition Settings across the nation

w2wlink.com, the premier professional online community for business women, is pleased to announce its first ever Ascendancy Award recipients. Along with sponsors ClubCorp and American Airlines, w2wlink (http://www.w2wlink.com) initiated the Ascendancy Awards to recognize, reward and inspire business women to maximize their potential in their careers. Candidates were nominated from eight cities and at-large locales across the nation for achievement in Corporate, Entrepreneur and Career Transition settings. Three national women business winners were selected among the total 27 award winners who were recognized May 28. This year’s three national award recipients are:

Corporate national winner Ambassador Frances Cook has established many firsts in her long-term career as ambassador to various global efforts. Since she began her career as a Special Assistant to the U.S. Ambassador in Paris, France, Ambassador Cook has been named the first female head of post in the Middle East for the U.S. and the first female worldwide named Ambassador to a GCC State in the Arab Gulf. She now resides in Washington D.C. working as an international business consultant with her own firm, The Ballard Group, LLC.

Entrepreneurial national winner Neale Godfrey is a New York Times’ Bestselling author working to empower women with the tools they need to break the glass ceiling, secure financial freedom and overcome obstacles within a career and home. Godfrey is a board member of UNIFEM, the United Nations Agency dedicated to ending physical and economical oppression against women. Godfrey says, “Always take the attitude of, ‘How hard could this possibly be?’ ‘No’ is just a paradigm. None of us were born knowing how to do anything. Say, ‘Yes,’ and design the life you want.”

Career Transition to Transformation national winner Connie Duckworth is the founder and president of Arzu, Inc. For Duckworth, mentoring is one of the responsibilities that comes with the territory of success, and because of her “serial” mentors throughout the years, she recognizes the impact one can make. “It's fun to help others succeed.  Sort of like parenting, there is both pride and vicarious gratification when a mentee does a bang up job on a project, when others spot her talent, or when she gets promoted.”

These business women were recognized not only for their professional strides as executive women and women entrepreneurs, but also for ascending to the role of mentors to other women and finding time during their own careers to strengthen others’. The women business winners received a private business club membership for one year from ClubCorp, www.clubcorp.com, and a pair of round-trip tickets to any destination in the contiguous United States from American Airlines, www.aa.com/women.

The 27 award winners of the first Ascendancy Awards (http://www.w2wlink.com/Articles/w-wlink-com-Announces-Ascendancy-Awards-Business-Women-artid311.aspx ) are:

CORPORATE  

National Winner--Washington D.C.- Ambassador Frances Cook, Corporate Director and Consultant, The Ballard Group, LLC.

Boston- Natalie Corridan-Gregg, EMC Corporation
Dallas/Fort Worth- Kim Stevenson, Hewlett-Packard Company
Dallas/Fort Worth- Lesley Harris, Travelocity Business
New York- Linda Descano, Women & Co./Citi
San Francisco- Jacqueline Akerblom, Grant Thornton
San Francisco- Sharon McCollam, Williams Sonoma Inc.
Washington D.C.- Pamela Parizek, KPMG LLP

ENTREPRENEURIAL

National Winner-- At Large- Neale Godfrey, CEO and Chairman, Children's Financial Network

Atlanta- Allison O’Kelly, Mom Corps
Chicago- Gail Adinamis, Clinical Resource Network, LLC
Dallas/Fort Worth- Nina Vaca, Pinnacle Technical Resources
Dallas/Fort Worth- Adrienne Cornelsen, Insite Interactive
New York- Heidi Messer, Linkshare Corporation
San Francisco- Amy McCombs, Digital Media Leader and Entrepreneur
San Francisco- Jory Des Jardins, Blogher
At Large- Christine McInerney, Ruskin Moscou Faltischek, P.C.

CAREER TRANSITION TO TRANSFORMATION

National Winner-- Chicago- Connie Duckworth, President and Chairman Board, Arzu, Inc.

Atlanta- Mary Madden, Leader Publishing
Atlanta- Marjorie Singley-Hall, Ampersand Associates, Inc.
Boston- Diane Danielson, Downtown Women's Club
Dallas/Fort Worth- Lea Nesbit, Linqualcare, Inc. (acquired by 3M)
Dallas/Fort Worth- Fritzi Woods, PrimeSource Foodservice Equipment
Houston- Jenny Maxwell, Katy Rehabilitation Hospital
New York- Susan Stautberg, PartnerCom Communications and Women Corporate Directors
Washington D.C.- Mari Carmen, Hispanic Information and Telecommunications Network  At Large- Cheryl Ladd, Ladd Research Group

Career highlights, in-depth stories and inspirational quotes from our award winners will be on w2wlink.com all year long (http://www.w2wlink.com/Articles/Ascendancy-Awards-Business-Women-artid346.aspx). Nominations and applications for the 2010 Ascendancy Awards will be available May 30, 2009.

Affiliated women business organizations that are supportive of our mission include:  EWGA, NAWBO, Women Corporate Directors, Women’s Foodservice Forum, Women President’s Organization, The Women’s Museum. Sponsors who have been integral to our mission: ClubCorp and American Airlines, Cambria and Taylor Winfield and media partners PR Newswire and Pink Magazine.

w2wlink.com is the premier community dedicated to professional women, helping them get to where they’re going – faster. w2wlink provides expert knowledge, tools to meet challenges, and connection with others in online networking groups. w2wlink was named by MORE Magazine, along with Linked In and Facebook, as one of the top three online sites for networking.

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w2wlink.com is the premier community dedicated to professional women, helping them get to where they’re going – faster. w2wlink provides expert knowledge, tools to meet challenges, and connection with others in online networking groups.