RALEIGH, N.C. — Lt. Gov. Rachel Hunt received the inaugural Vanguard Award for Public Leadership and Service during the first anniversary celebration of Women Executives Circle at the North Carolina Executive Mansion.
Hunt also accepted an honor on behalf of Gov. Josh Stein as four North Carolina municipalities proclaimed Sept. 3 as Women Executives Circle Day.
Women Executives Circle, or WEC, is a statewide network of senior women leaders founded in Raleigh by Siri Swahari. In its first year, the organization has grown to 30 Chapter Circles and seven Domain Circles nationally.
The event also focused on artificial intelligence and leadership. Phaedra Boinodiris, Global Leader of IBM Consulting's Responsible AI Practice and a member of North Carolina's AI Leadership Council, delivered the keynote, "When Technology Moves Faster Than Policy."
Boinodiris told more than 100 executives, mayors and state officials that artificial intelligence is advancing faster than many of the policies designed to govern it. Her remarks came two months after North Carolina released its AI Strategic Roadmap, which includes 17 goals centered on protecting residents from AI harms, preparing the workforce and modernizing state services.
The discussion was especially relevant to the Triangle, where Durham-Chapel Hill has been ranked among the nation's leading mid-sized metros for women in technology and Raleigh-Durham has been recognized as one of North America's more gender-diverse technology markets.
WEC also presented its inaugural Vanguard Awards to leaders across several fields. Honorees included Boinodiris for Responsible AI Leadership; Dr. Siobahn Day Grady of N.C. Central University for Academia; former Pfizer executive Lidia Fonseca Gribnau for Technology; Dr. Tiamesha Walker-Smith of ATHENA of the Triangle for Talent Development; Cindy Anderson of Thinc Strategy for Enterprise Growth; Dr. Nini Bautista de Garcia of the Asian American Foundation for the Carolinas for Civic and Community Impact; Kimberley Basnight of Extreme Networks for People and Culture; and Greg Boone of Walk West and RDULabs for Sponsorship and Advocacy.
Presenters included Raleigh Mayor Janet Cowell, Durham Mayor Pro Tempore Javiera Caballero, Cary Mayor Pro Tempore Lori Bush, North Carolina Chief Information Security Officer Bernice Russell-Bond, Tsegga Medhin of The Pearl Leadership Institute and other business and civic leaders.
Net proceeds from the anniversary luncheon benefited The Pearl Leadership Institute, a nonprofit focused on developing emerging leaders.
