AWM Honors Six Female Leaders at Gracies Leadership Awards

RADIO ONLINE | Thursday, November 21, 2019

The Gracies

The Alliance for Women in Media (AWM) hosted the annual Gracies Leadership Awards luncheon on Thursday to a capacity crowd at the Plaza Hotel in New York. Keynote speaker Elizabeth Smart shared her story of overcoming the trauma of her 9-month abduction, at the age of fourteen. Smart told the audience, "I don't think that you are made by what happens to you. I think you are made by the choices you make after things happen to you." She ended the speech, saying, "As I move forward with my life, I am dedicated to preventing what happened to me from happening to anyone else and continuing to empower women, and girls of all ages, as much as I can."

Six female leaders in media were honored at the event, along with the Inaugural AWM Legacy Leadership recipient, Chickie Bucco. Highlights from their speeches include:

Cumulus Media President/CEO Mary Berner
She shared how she watched more and more females rise to the top in the magazine industry but said there is still work to be done in radio. Berner shared a quote by Maya Angelou, saying, "Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better." She continued by saying, "At Cumulus, we know better, and we are working hard to do better."

Entercom Communications COO Weezie Kramer
"Looking back on moments in my career, the times that I was able to help others find their super powers or help them achieve their ambitions, whatever that ambition may be, those are the moments that give me the greatest joy."

Univision Communications CCO Rosemary Mercedes
"It's so easy to get caught up on headlines of the day - the ‘Me Toos' and the statistics, which are not as great as they should be. But, when you expand your view and think about the century and where we were in 1901 to where we are today, it is such a wonderful time to be a woman. I know there's work to be done, but it's a great time to be a woman today."

TV One General Manager Michelle Rice
In her acceptance speech, Rice said, "So many times I have been the first - the first woman, the first person of color, the first woman of color. Maybe you have been the first. Be fearless. Your fearlessness will ensure that you will certainly not be the last."

Crown Media Family Networks EVP/Programming Michelle Vicary
"In the last few years, our industry has undergone a seismic shift. Women are more empowered than ever before, and this is in large part because other women stepped up and paved the way. I have personally had so many female mentors that have helped me along the way."

E.W. Scripps VP/Employment and Chief Diversity Officer Danyelle Wright
Company, began her speech recalling her mother telling her from a young age that she should become a lawyer. She shared, "One particular word comes to mind when I think of why I do what I do - calling. My calling is to help people, to carry other people's burdens, to stand in the gap, resolve problems, take the hits, and make things just a little better, even when it's tough on me. That's why I do what I do."

Chickie Bucco, upon accepting the Inaugural AWM Legacy Leadership Award
"When I started, it was really the Mad Men days." She continued, saying, "The people that I worked with and the people that I worked for were wonderful to me."

"This is a really important event because what it does is really our three pillars - it's recognition, it's education and it's connection," said AWM Executive Director Becky Brooks. "What a gift we have that our education is Elizabeth Smart as a keynote speaker."