The Greater Vancouver Chamber (GVC) recently announced the 2022 Iris Awards recipients, during a virtual ceremony, concluding their all-day, Women Who Mean Business Symposium, presented by LSW Architects. Five women of achievement in Southwest Washington were recognized for their contributions and dedication to the community.
The event, presented in observation of International Women’s Day, featured each honoree on-screen who gave heartfelt acceptance speeches while the audience showed their enthusiasm and congratulatory messages in the event venue’s virtual chat.
In order of announcement, the 2022 Iris Awards’ winners are featured below with an excerpt about their nomination:
- Cyndi Holloway, Governmental & Community Affairs Director at Waste Connections: Cyndi is a staple when it comes to giving back, supporting and cheering on the entire community of Southwest Washington. She dedicates her life to providing support to non-profits organizations in Clark County. Her days are filled with countless requests for volunteering, fundraising and developing programs to help the community.
- Ali Migaki, Senior Vice President/ Chief Retail Officer at iQ Credit Union: Recently appointed as Chief Retail Officer, Ali has influenced so many people along her 25 years at iQ Credit Union. She embodies people helping people at its core. Passionate about making a positive impact on the community, she regularly volunteers for boards and committees.
- Megan Chono Dudley, Pediatrics Specialist at Kaiser Permanente: Originally from Detroit, Michigan, Dr. Dudley moved to the Pacific Northwest after receiving her medical degree and specialty training in Pediatrics. She is creating community in Ridgefield, Washington, being the catalyst for the Meaningful Movies Project and the Ridgefield Multicultural Festival. Both events ensure that everyone feels like a welcomed part of the Ridgefield community.
- Jeanne Bennett, Chair of the Board of Directors at Columbia Play Project: Jeanne always seems to go above and beyond for our community. She leads with grace and love and models a top-notch work ethic. She spent her career working in government, education, and workforce development, and now has been occupied with another of her passions volunteering with several organizations and consulting with nonprofits.
- Lisa Gibert, CEO at Clark College Foundation: Lisa’s peers recognized her as one of the leading fundraising executives in the country. Under her leadership for the past 16 years, Clark College Foundation has quadrupled the number of scholarships provided to Clark students. Prior to her work with the foundation, Gibert’s career spanned commercial banking, hospitality, and public accounting.
During the virtual ceremony, the Emcee, Kelly Love, presented each nominee with their acknowledgements before inviting the event’s award sponsors to announce each winner. Sponsors of the 2022 Iris Awards included Riverview Community Bank, Corwin Beverage Company, Legacy Health, OnPoint Credit Union, The Peak Fleet and Vancouver Clinic.
“Each one of these honorees, in their own way, add to the vibrance of our community and provide an important and strong role model for our young women. Since the beginning, we always knew recognizing our accomplished women in southwest Washington was important. I am proud the Greater Vancouver Chamber continues to host this program, and that the community has the opportunity to continue recognizing women leaders and celebrating one another,” said GVC President & CEO John McDonagh.
The Iris Awards successfully concluded this year’s Women Who Mean Business Symposium, hosted by the Greater Vancouver Chamber. Over 225 local professionals virtually joined this leadership conference throughout the day, individually and through watch parties. This event, designed to champion professional men and women across the region, featured renowned speakers Lindsay Boccardo, Jacqueline Whitmore, and Ciara Pressler, who had engaging talks with attendees about personal branding and career management.
The participants also had the opportunity to interact and learn about leadership and the impact of giving back from high-level local professionals, including Founder & CEO of RISE Media Group, Kerri Altom; Founder and CEO of Zoom Info, Henry Schuck; Executive Director of Fourth Plain Forward, Paul Burgess; Co-Founder at Speak Technologies, Mei Wu-Fergus; and Vice President of Capacity Commercial, Tamara Fuller, who all joined in a panel discussion.
The Women Who Mean Business Symposium was presented by, LSW Architects and supported by additional sponsors, HAPO Community Credit Union, Salsbury & Co., Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt, Wellhaven Pet Health, Columbia Credit Union, ilani, Johnson Bixby, Columbia Machine Inc., The Columbian, NW Natural, and OnPoint Credit Union.
Learn more about the Women Who Mean Business Symposium and the Iris Awards at VancouverUSA.com/WomenInLeadership.
