30 names for 2024: Meet the 25 women, 5 young women you need to know in Tallahassee

Martha Gruender, Tallahassee Democrat
Updated ·2 min read
Crystals with winner's names inscribed wait for the 5 Young Women to Watch during the 25 Women You Need to Know reception at the Goodwood Museum and Gardens.
Crystals with winner's names inscribed wait for the 5 Young Women to Watch during the 25 Women You Need to Know reception at the Goodwood Museum and Gardens.

Drum roll, please. Just in time for Women's History Month, here are this year's honorees for the Tallahassee Democrat's 25 Women You Need to Know award.

On behalf of the Tallahassee Democrat and everyone in our local community, congratulations to the 2024 class of 25 Women You Need to Know and the 5 Young Women to Watch.

Their contributions make Tallahassee a better place to live, work and raise a family.

Last year's group: Who do you know? Meet the 2023 Class of 25 Women, 5 Young Women

Soon, through print and at tallahassee.com you can get to know these outstanding women and young women, who are ready to take on the world.

Now in its 18th year, the 25 Women program is the Tallahassee Democrat’s way of honoring women who lead from the front or from behind the scenes.

We'll be rolling out profiles of the 25 Women and 5 Young Women starting on March 15.

25 Women you Need to Know

  • Winifred L. Acosta, Assistant United States Attorney

  • Monique Akanbi, Field Services Director, Society for Human Resource Management

  • Carrie Boyd, Founder of The Network of Real Estate Investing Women

  • Anita Bushnyakova, Chief Financial Officer/Director of Finance and Operations of Kids Incorporated of the Big Bend

  • Hetal Desai, Administrative Law Judge, Division of Administrative Hearings

  • Morgan Evers, Founder, FINACIOUS

  • Carla Juarez Farley, Manager in Corporate Communications at IEM

  • Joanne Gallagher, CEO/Founder, SOAR

  • Kimberly D. Hankerson, Assistant Vice President for University Advancement at FAMU

  • Delshuana Jackson, Principal, Bond Elementary School

  • Ashley Leland, Intake counselor with Oasis Center for Women and Girls

  • Karen Miller, CEO at Tallahassee Lenders Consortium

  • Chelsea Johnson Muir, Teacher/Coach Godby High School

  • Teresa Palmer Nix, Owner, Catering With Care, LLC

  • Dr. Temple Robinson, Chief Executive Officer, Bond Community Health Center

  • Mary Stafford, Vice President, Senior Business Development Officer at Prime Meridian Bank

  • Dr. Selika Stackhouse Sampson, Director of Continuing Education at Florida A&M University, College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

  • Shannon C. Smith, Managing Director, The Moore Agency

  • Dr. Calandra Stringer, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Tallahassee Community College

  • Josefina "Josie" Tamayo, CEO of Volunteer Florida

  • Brandi J. Thomas, Attorney/Managing partner at Akbar Thomas Law

  • Gwendolyn Thomas, Retired administrator/educator Leon County Public Schools

  • Dot Trotman-Ealy, VP/Market Manager at Cumulus Media Communication

  • Reenee Williams-Walter, Rapid Response Coordinator, Career Source Capitol Region

  • Brenda Williams, Executive Director of Tallahassee Housing Authority

5 Young Women to Watch

  • Haniah Rose Edwards, Senior at Rickards

  • Aria Fisher, Senior at Leon

  • Kavyashree Kadhirvelu, Senior at Rickards

  • Riley Long, Senior at Leon

  • Jordyn Synii Sams, Senior at Lincoln

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Meet Tallahassee's 2024 Class of 25 Women You Need to Know

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