EVANSVILLE, IN – Individual tickets for the18th annual Women’s Equality Centennial Celebration will only be available until noon August 19, 2021 at http://SteppingUpEvv.com/
The 2020 luncheon was postponed due to COVID 19 and Astronaut, engineer, author and STEM proponent Dr. Mae C. Jemison will speak at this year’s event from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, August 26, 2021 at Old National Events Plaza.
Centennial Patrons who will be recognized in the program. The luncheon will follow social distancing guidelines. Table sponsorships are also available.
Jemison will not only look back and celebrate the 101th anniversary of women’s right to vote, but also help Evansville look to the future. She encourages young people to pursue careers in science and technology which would help our community’s challenge to attract and retain a 21st century workforce.
“A lot of times women, particularly young women, may feel they don’t belong, and I tell them they have every right to be there,” Jemison says.
Jemison was the first woman of color to be admitted into NASA’s astronaut training program and travel in space. She served as a mission specialist, performing experiments while on the Space Shuttle Endeavour which orbited the earth for almost eight days in 1992. Jemison now is building a global community to support 100 Year Starship, a nonprofit initiative to make sure human space travel to another star is possible within the next 100 years.
After leaving NASA in 1993, Jemison founded a technology research company and a non-profit educational foundation, The Jemison Group, to encourage a love of science in students and bring advanced technology to schools around the world. The 100YSS True Books was designed to engage elementary students. Jemison is a figure in LEGO’s Women of NASA set and has appeared on television including an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Jemison grew up on the South Side of Chicago and credits her high school teachers with challenging her and encouraging her to pursue both her interests of dance and science. She entered Stanford at age 16 and earned a B.S. in chemical engineering while also pursuing studies in African and Afro-American studies. She then received her M.D. from Cornell. Jemison was the Area Peace Corps Medical Officer for Sierra Leone and Liberia from 1983 to 1985 before joining NASA in 1987. She also worked as an engineer and in a Cambodian refugee camp.
Jemison has received numerous accolades, including several honorary doctorates, and she has been inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame and International Space Hall of Fame.
Jemison will also meet with area high school students while in Evansville.
The Equality Celebration committee, in connection with Stepping Up and YWCA Evansville, invites the public to join the celebration from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Old National Events Plaza.
Become a sponsor to join the cause. Sponsorship levels are Centennial Celebration for $10,000, Visionary for $7,500, Ambassador for $5,000 or Leadership Champion for $2,500.
Individual tickets are $60 or $100 for Centennial Patrons.
Individual Women of Honor designations will be for those who donate $1,000 each in honor of a woman in their lives. This includes two tickets.
Sponsorships must be made by July 11 to be included in the program.
The deadline to register is August 15.
Further information and tickets can be found at http://steppingupevv.com/wed and http://steppingupevv.com/
Attached, please find a picture of Jemison and posters for the event.
Sincerely,
Sheila Huff, chairperson Women’s Equality Celebration Committee
CONTACT:
Sheila Huff
Email: SheilaHuff@evsck12.com
Phone: 812-480-2665
Linda Negro, Marketing Committee Chair
Email: negrolf@gmail.com
Phone: 812-455-6608