2003 – Cincinnati, Ohio
Dianne Dunkelman, Founder of Speaking of Women’s Health, and President & CEO of the National Speaking of Women’s Health Foundation, has raised millions of dollars for the arts, health and social services. She is dedicated to providing women with cutting edge medical information and through Speaking of Women’s Health has awarded grants of more than $2 million to a wide variety of community programs across the nation. She founded Speaking of Women’s Health in 1996 as a fund-raising event for public television. It has now grown into a national foundation with more than 50 events in cities nationwide, two national minority health initiatives (Universal Sisters for African American women and a new program for Latino women), a national in-store health initiative at Wal-Mart stores and a weekly television show on Lifetime TV. Dianne’s mission is to help women understand and recognize their health care choices. Her work has caught the attention of such national figures as Florence Henderson, Valerie Simpson and Mary Wilson, who have joined the crusade to “educate women to make informed decisions about their health, well being and personal safety”. She has received the Athena Award from the Partnership for Women’s Health at Columbia University, the National Philanthropy Award from the National Society of Fund Raising Executives, the Post Corbett Award, YWCA Career of Achievement Award, the Charles W. Vaughn Award for her work with Cincinnati PBS station WCET Channel 48 and The Cincinnati Enquirer named her Woman of the Year. Dianne serves on a number of health-related national boards. She and her husband, Jay, have a daughter, Phoebe, and a son, Joshua.
