Gender equity and women’s empowerment were the focal points of 35th  Sisterhood Dinner, appropriately titled LEAP, which stands for Lead, Empower, Act and Prevail — held on Leap Day in Talley Student Ballroom. 

While almost 500 attendees ate dinner, a panel of women who embodied all aspects of LEAP spoke about their inspirations, advice for young professional women, the importance of mentorship and their next ‘leap.’ These women included: moderator Mindy Sopher and panelists, Gayle Lanier, Maggie Kane and Susan Nutter. 

NC State alumna Gayle Lanier, who is now the senior vice president and chief customer service officer at Duke Energy had an interesting role model — Claire Huxtable from “The Cosby Show.” 

“In the ‘70s and ‘80s there weren’t a lot of great African-American female role models,” Lanier said. “When you think of the poise that Claire Huxtable had, she could balance being a great mom and a great lawyer, and could have it all. If you work hard you can have the boat and the sail.” 

The women on the panel gave some seasoned advice to young women in the audience. Susan Nutter, vice provost and director of libraries, talked about the importance of persisting. 

“Persist, do not think that everything is bright, that you’ve figured it out, that you’re all going to do great,” Nutter said. “You’re going to face challenges though they’re more subtle now but you really have to keep at it.” 

Lanier added that women must learn how to “sit at the table.” 

“It’s how you sit at the table and be aggressive but at the same time have humility,” Lanier said. “Because if you don’t have that combination, you will fail. One of the things we have to teach this generation is you will fail. We have this generation of young women who have come up with ‘no one ever fails and there’s never second place and everyone got a ribbon for participation.’ The world isn’t like that.”  

Maggie Kane, executive director of A Place at The Table, a pay-what-you-can nonprofit cafe that will provide healthy food for people regardless of means, talked about her next big “leap,” during the discussion. 

“I don’t think I can focus on anything else until I actually open the doors of A Place at the Table,” Kane said. “We will be on Hillsborough Street and in order to be on Hillsborough Street we have to fundraise enough money and so that is my ‘leap.’”

The Equity for Women award recognized women’s accomplishments within the NC State community in areas of leadership in gender equity, support of equity for women in jobs or volunteer work and contributions made to the wellbeing of women.  Out of 17 nominees, one student, faculty member and staff member were awarded. 

The student winner, Dawn Culpepper, is a graduate student studying higher education. She holds an assistantship position at Duke and is also a volunteer for NC State’s Women’s Center. Culpepper is a part of a research project addressing the agency of women in male dominated STEM disciplines. 

“As Dawn continues to contribute to the conversation around women’s equity issues through campus and national presentations and publications, her impact will have a ripple effect of challenging current thinking, influencing policy and informing practice for higher education administrators,” the Culpepper’s nominator said.

Susan Colby was the staff member who received the Equity for Women Award because she addressed the needs of two female students in the professional golf management program at NC State when they wanted to begin a women in professional golf management organization. 

“Susan understood the importance of helping a few because she saw the potential impact it would have on the NC State community,” said Awards Committee Chair Megan Albidrez. 

Lorena Bociu, an assistant professor of mathematics was the recipient of the faculty award. She believes it is critical to be recognized as a female mathematician in K-12 education. She is also the faculty advisor for the Association for Women in Mathematics student chapter, among other accolades. 

“As a pre-tenure faculty member, Lorena has made a huge impact on NC State,” said Bociu’s nominator. “More so than many if not all the pre-tenure faculty I have known.” 

Deb Luckadoo, a committee member of The Council of Status on Women, was also honored at the event for her service to the NC State community in regards to diversity and gender equity. She is set to retire in June. 

The Sisterhood Dinner was sponsored by the Council of the Status of Women at NC State and was also recognized as a Champion Certified Sustainable Event for the paperless programs, re-usable centerpieces and functional souvenirs.