22 nominees named for Women in Leadership Awards

Ten northern Palm Beach County residents have been nominated for the 30th Annual Women In Leadership Awards presented by Executive Women of the Palm Beaches (EWPB). They are among 22 nominees countywide for the prestigious award. The annual event honors three outstanding Palm Beach County women in each of three community sectors — public, private and volunteer, who have made a demonstrated difference in Palm Beach County. The awards will be presented at the Women in Leadership Awards Luncheon, which will be held at 11:30 a.m., May 2, at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts.

Nominated for their achievements in the volunteer sector are Dr. Ivy Faske and Lynne Wells fromPalm Beach Gardens. Public sector nominees include Katie Deits, North Palm Beach; Roberta Jurney and Tricia Trimble from Palm Beach Gardens; and Ellen Joy Vahab from North Palm Beach. In the private sector, Elizabeth Fago from Jupiter was cited for her work, as were Jane Kreusler Walsh from North Palm Beach; Wendy Sartory Link, Palm Beach Gardens; and Liz Quirantes, a Jupiter resident.

Other nominees throughout the county include: Volunteer sector: Yvonne Boice, Annie Falk, Johanna Kandel, Theresa LePore, Karen List and Michelle Poole. Public sector: Anne Gannon, Mary Hammond, Johanna Kandel, Shannon LaRocque and Kelly Smallridge. Private Sector: Lynda J. Harris.

Volunteer nominee Faske is a board certified and practicing pediatrician. She has been an active leader in the Palm Beach Medical Society since 1987. In 2005, Dr. Faske was instrumental in bringing Project Access to Palm Beach County, where she served on the Leadership Council and is currently the chair. Project Access provides healthcare services to the low-income and uninsured residents of Palm Beach County.

Ms. Wells, also nominated in the volunteer sector, was the catalyst for the formation of the Blue Friends Society at Loggerhead MarineLife Center in Juno Beach. As founder and chair, she is credited with lifting the networking and fundraising at the center to a new level. She also serves on the sustainer board of directors as communications chair for the Junior League of the Palm Beaches.

Public sector nominee Ms. Deits is executive director of the Lighthouse ArtCenter Museum and School of Art. She has served on numerous boards throughout Palm Beach County, including the Palm Beach Photographic Centre, Northern Palm Beaches Chamber of Commerce and the Small Business Task Force for the Business Development Board. Ms. Deits developed “Why Art is Important through Artists of Palm Beach County,” promoting art in public schools. She nurtures artists and teaches at the Society of Four Arts and the Lighthouse ArtCenter.

Ms. Jurney, public sector nominee, has been the executive director at Quantum House since 2008, is a trustee of the South Florida Fair, former member of the executive committee and board of directors for the Association of Fundraising Professionals, member of the Junior League of the Palm Beaches, president, board of directors of the Palm Beach Flagler Rotary and the Women’s Chamber of Commerce.

Ms. Trimble, public sector nominee, is managing director of the Maltz Jupiter Theatre. During her eight seasons there, she has been instrumental in growing the theater, with co-leader Andrew Kato, from a budget of $3.5 million to $5.5 million and a subscription base of 2,300 to 7,350. Her volunteer work includes Boy Scouts of America, Historical Society of Palm Beach County and First Presbyterian Church of North Palm Beach as Sunday school teacher.

For the last 20 years, Ms. Vahab has been the executive director of the Center for Youth Activities. It is here that she has distinguished herself as a leader and champion of children in the community. She is a nominee in the public sector. She was involved in the construction of Sugar Sand Park in Boca Raton, construction of homes with Habitat for Humanity and Kula Yoga Shala Center, offering free yoga in the Jupiter community.

Ms. Fago, private sector nominee, founded one of the nation’s largest healthcare companies. Today she is partner of Palm Health Partners, building state-of-the-art extended care facilities. She is a charter member of the Scripps Florida Council, and was appointed to the Florida Council of 100.

She was recognized by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society with an outstanding service award and also chairs events for the Red Cross and Junior Achievement.

Also nominated in the private sector is Ms. Sartory Link, founder and managing partner of Ackerman, Link and Sartory, P.A., a leading business law firm in West Palm Beach. She is also chairman of Florida Healthy Kids Corporation, offering health insurance for children ages 5-18.

One of her many volunteer leadership roles includes the gubernatorial appointment to the Board of Governors of the state university system of Florida.

Private sector nominee Ms. Kreusler-Walsh, and her firm Kreusler-Walsh, Compiani & Vargas, P.A, specialize in civil appeals and litigation support in state and federal courts. Her all-woman firm recently won the 2012 Athena Business Award given by the Chamber of Commerce of the Palm Beaches honoring the firm’s efforts in mentoring women. She has served on the Board of the Legal Aid Society since 2003 and the board of Palm Beach County Family and Delinquency Court.

Nominee Ms. Quirantes is a WPEC-Channel 12 news anchor where she also mentors and trains new reporters and producers. She’s involved with Forever Family, which helps find homes for children in foster care, and is a volunteer board member at the H.O.P.E Project for Palm Beach and Martin Counties, which provides low-cost mammograms and breast health information.

Executive Women promotes the professional and personal advancement of women through networking and resource sharing and helps them develop and realize their potential as leaders. Luncheon proceeds benefit its scholarship and grant programs which are administered through its charitable foundation, Executive Women Outreach, a 501c(3).

For information regarding sponsorship opportunities to benefit WILA’s scholarship programs of Executive Women Outreach or for tickets to the luncheon, call 684-9117, email info@ewpb.org or see www.ewpb.org.¦