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2007 Award Recipients
|  | Shinae Chun
On May 9, 2001, Shinae Chun was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the 15th Director of the Women's Bureau. Serving under Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao, Ms. Chun is President Bush’s highest ranking Korean American appointee, and heads the only Federal agency charged with advocating on behalf of women in the workforce.
During her tenure she has transformed the way the Women's Bureau does business by implementing innovative demonstration projects, increasing partnerships, and enhancing the Bureau’s visibility. Under her leadership, the Women’s Bureau strives to advance the status of 21st Century Working Women in the pursuit of Better Jobs! Better Earnings! Better Living!
In 1991, Governor James Edgar appointed her Director of the Illinois Department of Labor, a position she held until 1999. Two years prior to this appointment, she made Illinois history when Governor James R. Thompson appointed her Director of the Illinois Department of Financial Institutions, making her Illinois’ first Asian American cabinet member.
In 1982, Ms. Chun was one of the founding members of the Asian American Advisory Council to Governor Thompson. In 1984, the Governor appointed her Special Assistant to the Governor on Asian American Affairs, the first such position in the country.
From 1976 to 1983, through the Title VII Bilingual Education Program and the Title IX Multiethnic Studies Program, she developed a teacher in-service training program to heighten the sensitivity of public school teachers to cultural diversity in the classroom.
Ms. Chun completed her undergraduate degree at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, Korea, and her Master's degree in Education and Social Policy at Northwestern University. In 1992, she received a fellowship to the Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government’s Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government.
She has received the "Alumni Merit Award" from Northwestern University and the "Outstanding Alumni Award" from Ewha Womans University; the Business Women’s Network "Special Achievement for Leadership Award"; the Southern Women in Public Service "Pacesetter Award"; and the Asian American Coalition of Chicago "Excellence in Public Service Award". She is author of From the Mountains of Masan to the Land of Lincoln (1996).
Ms. Chun and her husband, Dr. Kyong Chul Chun, have two sons. |
| |  | Martha Mertz
Martha Mertz is the Founder of ATHENA International (formerly ATHENA Foundation); a non-profit organization that seeks to support, develop and honor women leaders, inspire women to reach their full potential, and create balance in leadership worldwide. Ms. Mertz served as President of the ATHENA Foundation from its inception in 1982 to May 1999. As a spokeswoman for ATHENA she has carried the message that women are leaders around the globe. In 2000 she worked as a project designer and facilitator of Global Links to instruct college students at Zayed University in the United Arab Emirates on the ATHENA Leadership Model. In May 2004, Ms. Mertz, led a group representing ATHENA to China to participate in an unprecedented women’s conference developing collaborative opportunities and connections on issues of importance to women. Martha attended inaugural ATHENA Award events in Rotherham, England, in March 2005 and in Mumbai, India in October 2006, where she presented the first ATHENA Award to a European woman and Indian woman respectively. Ms. Mertz gives presentations on women and leadership, serves as a spokesperson at ATHENA Award events, is a permanent member of the ATHENA International Board of Directors and continues to be a voice for balanced leadership worldwide.
In addition to her role with ATHENA, Martha is a successful real estate entrepreneur and is president and owner of Mayhood/Mertz Investment, Inc. She actively served her local community of Lansing, MI through her position as founding partner in several development/management partnerships in the Lansing area, as president of the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce and in leadership positions for many other organizations. Ms. Mertz has received numerous awards including induction into Enterprising Women’s Hall of Fame, 2006; the Visionary Award from Office Depot, 2004; the Vassilissa Award in Moscow, Russia; and the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce's ATHENA Award. She was honored as one of the top 25 Women Business Owners in Michigan by NAWBO and was selected as the Michigan Women-In-Business Advocate by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Martha received her B.A. in Women’s Studies and Psychology from Michigan State University. She currently resides in Sedona, AZ with her husband, Dr. Edward Ingraham.
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| |  | Karenna Gore Schiff
Karenna Gore Schiff is the daughter of Al and Tipper Gore. Her father, Al Gore, represented Tennessee as a United States Congressman and Senator before serving as Vice-President of the United States. Karenna is the only child of a candidate to have officially nominated their parent in a presidential campaign. She worked as the Youth Outreach Chair in her father’s campaign for president and plans to continue to be involved in the political arena. She doesn’t rule out the possibility of public service as an elected official at some point in the future. Karenna received her B.A. in History and Literature from Harvard University in 1995 and her J.D. from Columbia University in 2000. Upon graduation, she moved to Madrid, Spain where she worked at El Pais newspaper and then returned to take a job at Slate magazine in Seattle. She practiced law at Simpson, Thatcher & Bartlett and then served as Director of Community Affairs for the Association to Benefit Children (ABC). Based in New York, ABC provides programs to disadvantaged children through early childhood education, health care services, housing assistance, mental health facilities, family preservation, crisis intervention, recreational services, job training, day camps, mentoring and legal advocacy. She also served on the Board of Directors for Sanctuary for Families, which works to end domestic violence.
Gore-Schiff’s recently published book, Lighting the Way: Nine Women Who Changed Modern America, is a profile of nine courageous, train-blazing women who put themselves on the line to combat racism, cruelty to children, pollution, disease, bigotry, poverty, and who challenged the limits put on women as public leaders. In September 2006, Karenna was featured in Newsweek as one of twenty women sharing their views on leadership. Ms. Schiff has also written articles for Newsweek, Glamour, Cosmopolitan and Harper’s Bazaar. She lives in New York City with her husband, Andrew and their three children. |
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