2023 Women Making Waves Announced
Meet the Women
Devoted. Hard-working. Relentless.
These are just a few words to describe each recipient of this year’s 4th annual Women Making Waves Award. This award highlights talented women who have made major waves within Birmingham and its surrounding areas. These women are mentors, active leaders, advocates and ultimately, the heart and soul of our community as their perseverance, strength and humanity continuously serve Birmingham.
With celebrating highs and success, comes battling hardships and obstacles. We are honored to share this award with each recipient as a token of appreciation for all that they do day in and day out.
*🥁Drum roll, please*
Without further ado, let us introduce you to our 2023 award winners!
Kaitlyn Bentley
True40 Fitness Studio and The Wellness Passport
Kaitlyn has many titles and she fosters each one with great care and great attention to detail. Her titles include wife, mom to two kids, owner of two businesses, leader, mentor, friend, etc. etc. She cares so deeply about the Birmingham wellness community. As the owner of the True40 Fitness Studio brand, she has created an inclusive community, emphasizing how capable each individual is who walks into their doors. She started The Wellness Passport in 2018 to highlight how vibrant the Birmingham wellness community is and celebrate community over competition. She has overcome so many challenges in both her personal and professional life with grace and fire to overcome whatever obstacle is present. Kaitlyn can truly do it all!
Bridget Harris
Lightfoot, Franklin, & White Law Firm
You only need to meet Bridget once to know she's doing big things. In addition to being a prominent, young female attorney in Birmingham and a member of many esteemed local organizations, Bridget has made monster waves advocating for Black lives — both in and out of the legal sector. She is thoughtful, considerate, hard-working, and she absolutely RADIATES light and love. She is an active leader in our community, and it is an honor to get to be a small part of her universe while she's changing the world. I'd LOVE to celebrate Bridget as a woman making waves — because she is.
Allie Harrison Imaghodor
Alabama Oncology at Princeton
Allie not only works a very demanding full-time job as an office manager for a very busy oncology practice, but she also mothers a child with special needs and heads up a non-profit on top of everything! Allie’s non-profit is named XVI and is geared towards helping families obtain help for their children with special needs. Allie founded this organization after her son Xander, a micro preemie born with special needs. Allie is a rock star and how she pours all that she does into a 24-hour day is beyond me! She is absolutely amazing!
Josephine Lowery
College Choice Foundation
Josephine is relentless in her pursuit of helping students in the Birmingham area achieve greatness through the ability to attend the college of their dreams. She believes everyone deserves access to a quality higher education and she makes it all happen with the option of no debt or cost to the students she serves.
Geri-Martha O'Hara
Big Spoon Creamery
Geri-Martha is an incredibly strong leader and entrepreneur. She is an innovator and has been a pioneer in her industry for over a decade. She is immensely talented and well-respected as a leader and top talent in her industry, and has been at the helm of guiding Big Spoon Creamery to massive success for the past 9 years.
Justinn Overton
Coosa Riverkeeper
Justinn Overton is a trail-blazer for river conservation in Alabama. As Executive Director for the Coosa Riverkeeper, Justinn devotes her career to protecting the 280 mile river and its watershed. Under Justinn's leadership, the Coosa Riverkeeper patrols 5 lakes and dozens of creeks in order to document both pollution issues and beauty. They publish a free Swim Guide providing updated water quality information for anyone interested in the safety of water activities and a Fish Guide offering fish consumption advisories and fishing best practices. Justinn is active in public education through publications, events and speaking engagements, and serves as an advocate for the river among civic and government organizations.
Susana Schuler
WVTM-TV
Susana is a remarkable manager, mentor and community member. Susana Schuler comes to WVTM 13 as President and General Manager with twelve years of experience in Alabama and 30 in the broadcast/local media business. Prior to joining WVTM 13, Susana was EVP of Operations & Content with Raycom Media based in Montgomery. She spent ten years prior to that with Nexstar Broadcasting Group. Susana's career started on the news side of the business and she worked her way through on air and management positions in news as well as corporate positions overseeing news, marketing/promotions, programming and research as well as oversight of several TV stations in the Raycom Media group. In 2011, the Radio Television Digital Foundation honored Susana with the First Amendment Leadership Award and in 2002 Broadcasting & Cable named Susana one of the top 10 Women to Watch.
Jessica Watts
House Plant Collective
Jessica is an amazing small business owner who has brought tremendous opportunity to the small business community in Birmingham and Tuscaloosa by hosting pop-ups by makers and artists in her stores. House Plant Collective started out of a school bus, and the bus still travels to breweries and events around the state. The business has grown to two brick and mortar stores, one in Birmingham and one in Tuscaloosa. The business is 100% woman-owned and employees are women and members of the LGBTQ community. Jessica is an amazing woman who is making waves in Birmingham!
Lyndsy Yim
SRS Real Estate
Lyndsy is a commercial real estate broker that has shattered ceilings in the Birmingham commercial real estate industry. She specializes in restaurant and retail real estate and urban redevelopments on behalf of landlords to recruit first-to-market tenants and new concepts. Lyndsy has helped lease space all across downtown Birmingham for first-time business owners, and she is passionate about creating opportunity for all entrepreneurs. She has helped lease up notable projects like Mercantile on Morris, Urban Supply, Powell Steam Plant and Five Points Lane. Her hard work brings new and vibrant business to downtown Birmingham!
Natalie Zoghby
Natalie Zoghby Art
Natalie is an artist that paints feminist inspired paintings. She highlights women making waves in her paintings. She frequently participates in activities where she donates her art and skills to benefit important causes like Art Blink, which raises funds for the UAB Cancer Center.
Thank you for nominating these wonderful women. We are happy to uplift talented women in our Birmingham community. Let’s keep making waves!