Women's History
Month 2019
Snapshots of Inspiration
Photography by The Daily Orange Photo Team
In honor of Women’s History Month, The Daily Orange Photo Staff asked the Syracuse University community to nominate women who have made an impact. These 13 women have left their mark on the city of Syracuse through acts of courage, leadership and service.
Jennifer Sanders
Alexandra Moreo | Senior Staff Photographer
Seven years ago, Jennifer Sanders arrived in Syracuse wearing a light jacket in the dead of winter. She came for her job at NewsChannel 9, embracing the community with open arms. Sanders joined the Syracuse City School District Mentor Program because of her love of youth and helping others achieve their goals. She has mentored girls from elementary school through high school, working to make sure these children succeed and are on the right track for success.
“I think that it is important for them to see people who look like them in positions of power or positions of excellence so they can achieve the same,” Sanders said.
Maranie Rae Staab
Romy Weidner Gonzalez | Contributing Photographer
Maranie Rae Staab is a master's student in the S.I. Newhouse School of Communications studying visual communications. She started a project last semester about Kaylee Marshfield whom she met in the New York State Fair. Marshfield was battling cancer at the time they met, but she went into remission in October 2018. Her work with Marshfield was presented in the 2019 Newhouse Photography Annual, on display at Light Work Hallway Gallery through July 27. Staab has continued to spend time with, and tell the story of, Marshfield and her family.
Nada Odeh
Romy Weidner Gonzalez | Contributing Photographer
Nada Odeh is a Syrian artist, activist and poet currently living in Syracuse. She is a member of the Community Outreach & Resources for the Arts Foundation Board of Directors for ArtRage Gallery in Syracuse and a member of the board of directors at the Syracuse Poster Project. She also worked as the lead organizer for the 2019 Women's March Syracuse. A graduate of SU’s master’s program in museum studies, Odeh empowers women in the community through art and its commonality in bringing people together.
Lori Brown
Laura Oliverio | Staff Photographer
When Lori Brown was first starting out as an architecture professor, students came to her expressing their frustrations with the lack of women architects they were learning about in their classes. Since then, Brown has been heavily involved in activism for students, architects and the LGBTQ community, both on and off campus. Last April, Brown — along with hundreds of other women faculty members — came forward to criticize the gender pay disparities released by SU. “If I want something to happen, if I want change to happen, I’m going to be the one who’s going to have to start it,” Brown said.
Sally Wagner
Lauren Miller | Assistant Video Editor
Sally Wagner has worn many hats throughout her life — including being a stay-at-home mom, student, activist and now a professor and author. Wagner has devoted her life to advocating for intersectional feminism. She was first arrested while dressed as Matilda Joslyn Gage, 19th-century women's suffragist, while protesting an army base near Fort Drum. During the time of the Black Panthers and J. Edgar Hoover, she had an FBI file created against her for her activism. Wagner recently published a book, “The Women’s Suffrage Movement,” that looks at racism within the movement and discusses how feminism is rooted in indigenous women's traditions. She is currently an adjunct faculty member in the Renée Crown University Honors Program, where she teaches students through her lived experiences.
Sharon Owens
Michelle Abercrombie | Contributing Photographer
When asked about her lifelong service work, Deputy Mayor of Syracuse Sharon Owens credits both the community and her mom with helping her realize her potential. She said she always had the desire to help people, but it wasn’t until later she realized she was very much a community activist. While Owens was a student at SU, the Dunbar Center — an organization designed to address generational poverty and promote racial equity in the community — was looking for an intern. Out of all the potential candidates, she was selected.
Simone Girma
Laura Oliverio | Staff Photographer
Simone Girma, who has vitiligo, found a way to promote self-empowerment for young girls and women who also live with this condition. The senior dual major in television, radio and film and citizenship and civic engagement helped generate the blog “Living Dappled.” She is looking forward to helping to host a film workshop for young children in the city of Syracuse, in partnership with the professional film fraternity Delta Kappa Alpha. This past summer, she interned for Florida Women of Achievement Documentaries, where she created documentaries on Floridian women activists. “My career goal is to do that forever, make documentaries about badass women,” Girma said.
Susan Boyle
Lauren Miller | Assistant Video Editor
Susan Boyle vividly remembers when she saw a woman sobbing in the pouring rain, surrounded by pony rides and other activities she had laid out for her Strathmore neighbors and their families for a fall fest. Boyle said she wanted to be just like that woman after seeing the passion in this stranger’s desire to help her neighborhood. Since then, Boyle has followed through, bringing people and resources together to foster a sense of community. She has started a myriad of programs, including the Greater Strathmore Neighborhood Association and following-up with a local festival Arts on the Porches. Her relationship building led to her election to the Syracuse Common Council, a position she recently left.
Nodesia Hernandez
Corey Henry | Staff Photographer
Nodesia Hernandez was raised in the Bronx before moving to Liverpool. She began her Syracuse University journey through attending University College while six-months pregnant with her twin daughters. Hernandez worked on Dana Balter’s campaign as a congressional field organizer and helped organize the 2019 Women’s March Syracuse. She currently works with New York state Sen. Rachel May as the community liaison while also running as a candidate for second district county legislator. She said her red, blue and beige scarf that she showed at the 2019 Women’s March Syracuse reminds her not only what America was, but what America is.
Judy O’Rourke
Corey Henry | Staff Photographer
Judy O’Rourke has played a significant role in SU’s Remembrance Week — the annual week-long series of events to honor victims who died aboard Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. O’Rourke worked for the university as a mentor to the Remembrance Scholars, helping them plan and carry out the week’s events each year. She was also a part of the selection committee for the Remembrance Scholars. While she is retired now, O’Rourke is still involved with the program as a retired volunteer and enjoys working with groups of scholars even now.
Syeisha Byrd
Molly Bolan | Staff Photographer
As director of the SU Office of Engagement Programs, Syeisha Byrd encourages students to volunteer in the greater Syracuse area. Being involved in the community has been an important part of Byrd’s life since she was 14 years old and working with the Boys & Girls Club. Her office in the basement of Hendricks Chapel offers a place of comfort on campus, where students can stop by to chat or rest on her sofa. Byrd aims to ensure each student she crosses paths with feels supported and loved on campus.
Harriet Brown
Elizabeth Billman | Staff Photographer
Harriet Brown is a professor in the magazine, news and digital journalism department in Newhouse. In 2016, Brown began teaching a new course called “Fat and Feminism.” This is her favorite class to teach, she said, because students have the chance to talk about important ideas that are hard to confront. She said she feels very passionate about body diversity and body image, adding that these issues are not only prevalent for women, but men as well. She also teaches SEM 100 classes because she feels it is important for students to understand biases and stereotypes.
Debra McClendon-Boddie
Michele Abercrombie | Contributing Photographer
Debra McClendon-Boddie’s program, Pretty Girls Rock Foundation, serves as a mentoring program for girls — but more importantly, it serves as a family. The girls meet bimonthly for dinner, activities and community service. Recently, the girls have been collecting donations for their blessing boxes, which will be stationed in the community. Much of the organization’s success has stemmed from McClendon-Boddie’s dedication. She said she’s trying to build relationships that last a long time, and that “with the support of sisters and families, you shall rise.”
