Corazón Awards
Each year, Con Mi MADRE recognizes outstanding women who have made a significant impact in our community through individual excellence and high levels of accomplishment. Corazón Awards 2012 will be celebrating 20 years of Women impacting Families, Impacting Communities.
This year’s brunch will take place May 6, 2012 at the Radisson Hotel at Town Lake. The reception begins at 10:30 am.
We are thrilled to announce the 2012 Corazón Awards Honorees:
Mariposa Award
MariBen Ramsey, Vice President for Austin Community Foundation, for her leadership and ability to serve as a longtime committed volunteer and loyal supporter of the Hispanic Mother Daughter Program.
MariBen Ramsey is Vice President, COO and General Counsel of the Austin Community Foundation. As an executive leader in the philanthropic community, Ramsey strives to build relationships with nonprofits to assist connecting resources with programs that impact the greater Austin community. Ramsey’s responsibilities include creating relationships with prospective funders and professional advisors, serving as the chief local resource for many philanthropic needs, and helping build a philanthropic portfolio of over $120 million. As General Counsel, she serves as an advisor on all legal matters at ACF.
Ramsey has extensive volunteer experience in board governance and leadership, direct service, advisory, local, national and international service, health and human services, the arts and economic development. After several years of cultivating the Hispanic Mother-Daughter Program as a member of The Junior League of Austin, she has been instrumental in the development of Con Mi MADRE as an independent nonprofit, serving as a current and founding Board member. She has been honored with a number of community service awards including the Association of Fundraising Professional Philanthropy Day Special Recognition Award, the Settlement Home Community Leader Award, the Care Communities Byron Cox Award, the Junior League of Austin Volunteer Extraordinaire Award, the Leadership Austin 20 Outstanding Leaders Award, and the Austin Under 40 Community Service Award.
Click here to see a video from MariBen
Corazón Community Award
Laura Duran, for her servant leadership over the past ten years in Austin’s nonprofit community; as well as her commitment to higher education and professional development for youth.
Laura has worked tirelessly over the past 10 years in Austin’s nonprofit community, first with the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce focusing on economic development for Hispanic businesses, and then as the Executive Director of the Hispanic Scholarship Consortium ensuring that Hispanic students have access to the resources needed to obtain a degree in higher education. A first-generation college graduate, Laura strongly believes that education is the greatest investment people can make in themselves because knowledge always appreciates and cannot be taken away. While serving as the Executive Director for the Hispanic Scholarship Consortium, she walked the walk about the importance of education. Laura obtained her Master of Business Administration from Baylor University in 2010 while being a single parent to her daughter.
An advocate for diversity, community engagement, and servant leadership, Laura is a member and volunteer with several organizations that support youth, education, professional development, and self-sufficiency including the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Austin Community College Campus Advisory Committee, Bowie High School Softball Booster Club, Caritas of Austin, El Buen Samaritano, Leadership Austin, and the National Society of Hispanic MBAs. She was appointed by Governor Perry to serve on the Communities in Schools State Advisory Council and the One Star Foundation National Service Commission. She is an alumnus of the Leadership Austin Essential and Emerge programs.
Click here for video of Laura
Corazón Community Award
Gigi Edwards Bryant, GMSA Management Services, for her passion in the child safety and protective services arena.
Gigi Edwards Bryant most important accomplish is as a mother. She speaks with passion, vision, and clarity to the life that was given to her before she could take care of herself, which is how children are born. She believes that through faith, we can all learn and be inspired when ordinary people are thrust into extraordinary events and something deep within them tells them, you can’t fail in light of what you see. The key is using those experiences to encourage others into knowing and believing that there is an opportunity for all of God’s children to seek peace in the midst of any storm and survive and become a whole person. The key is to set your own successes and take time to acknowledge them along the way, within your journey.
Gigi Edwards Bryant, GLEMBA 2002 was appointed by Texas Governor Rick Perry to the Family and Protective Services Council, an advisory group for the state’s Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS), in July. DFPS programs include Child Protective Services, Adult Protective Services and Child Care Licensing. The council develops and reviews rules and policy, provides recommendations, assists with legislative responsibilities and budgeting. She was appointed chair by Governor Perry.
Gigi also serves her community through the following organizations: St. Edwards University New College, The Assistance League of Austin, Mount Sinai Christian Academy, Salvation Army ARC, Austin Community College Foundation, Austin Community Foundation and the Douglass Club of Austin. Her previous Governor appointment was chairman of the board of the Texas School Safety Center.
She started GMSA Management Services, an Austin based business development consulting firm, in 1993 after a 15 year career in information systems within the State of Texas. The firm focuses on community outreach and involvement, employee engagement, and special events.
She earned an undergraduate from St. Edward’s University in Austin, a MBA in Global Leadership from University of Texas at Dallas and is a 1992-1993 Graduate of Leadership Austin.
Click here to see video of Gigi.
Mother/Daughter Award
Silvia Martinez, a Con Mi MADRE mother participant, for her dedication to being a strong role model for her children both as an active volunteer and as a student.
Silva Martinez came to this country when she was 16 years old. She has faced several struggles in her life but has never given up. She has a wonderful family including two daughters (Daniela and Adriana), one son (Michael) and her husband, (Miguel Velazquez). She loves her family and enjoys caring for them.
Silvia has a passion for helping others. She never thinks of herself first and is constantly trying to get involved in ways to better herself, grow and learn. She takes time to attend English classes and enjoys learning about how to better relationships with her family, friends and her community. Her endless giving keeps her involved as a volunteer in several ways.
She serves on the Board of Directors for the Workers Defense project where she works to get a better life for construction workers who sometimes do not get paid. She also volunteers for Sustainable Food Center, where she facilitates and helps educate people on how to eat healthy. Silvia is also involved in her church, where she teaches CCD classes (religious education) with her daughter.
She has been a part of the ConMiMADRE team for almost 6 years where she expresses that it is one of the best things that has happened to her because of the knowledge that she has gained about colleges and the friends that she has made along the way.
Although it can be hard to be a mother, a daughter, a wife, a friend, and an employee, Silvia has also managed to attend Austin Community College as a student, for almost a year and loves everything she is doing.
Click here to see video
Click here to purchase tickets
SPONSORSHIP INFORMATION
Con Mi MADRE offers several levels of sponsorship packages offering many benefits including exposure to over 400 corporate leaders and established individuals. For more information about becoming a sponsor , click here or contact Christine{at}conmimadre.org.
AUCTION ITEMS NEEDED
Con Mi MADRE is still needing items for the silent auction. Do you have a service or an item that you can donate? If so, click Corazón Awards 2012 AUCTION FORM to donate.
To read our press release, Corazón Honoree Press Release 2012 !
Click Past Corazón Recipients to see all past honorees
