2023 Woman of the Year

Zaneta Adams, JD | Deputy Assisant Secretary

Zaneta Adams, JD served as Director of the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency under Gov. Gretchen Whitmer from June 2019 to December 2022. She was the first woman veteran in Michigan to be appointed to a governor’s cabinet and the first cabinet member from Muskegon. Zaneta is humbled to have recently been appointed by the Biden-Harris administration to the role of Deputy Assistant Secretary of Intergovernmental Affairs for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Zaneta served eight years in the Army and was medically discharged with honor. She practiced law in Muskegon and assisted many veterans nationwide with VA appeals. Zaneta also serves on many nonprofit boards and was recently an appointed member of the VA’s Sexual Assault and Harassment Prevention Workgroup.

In 2021, Zaneta was named a Woman Veteran Trailblazer by the VA’s Center for Women Veterans. She recently told her story for a VA’s Million Veteran Program documentary, which was submitted for a regional Emmy. She holds a bachelor’s in psychology from Columbia College and a juris doctorate from Western Michigan Cooley Law School, where she teaches veterans’ law.

Zaneta says, “There was a point in my life where I wanted to end my journey because I felt as though I was a burden on my family because of my disability. The fact that I made it through those moments to finish college, graduate law school, pass the bar, start a non-profit organization, and be selected by the Governor to run veteran affairs, is truly humbling. I never imagined I would find purpose in this way, yet because of my struggles, I was able to accomplish this. And by the grace of God, I am not done yet.”

2022 Woman of the Year

Shannon Cohen | Shannon Cohen, Inc.

Shannon Cohen is a high-level consultant, author, and founder and CEO of Shannon Cohen, Inc., a company that curates products, spaces and experiences that nourish human souls. Her products have been featured at Target, Meijer and West Elm and her Tough Skin, Soft Heart podcast has subscribers spanning 12 countries. Shannon is also the founder of the global Rockstar Woman™ Brunch Experience, serving 600 women annually. Shannon remarks, “My life’s work not only centers [around] the career advancement and wellness of women in leadership, but it creates safe spaces for women to gather and discuss openly what they navigate behind their titles, smiles and roles.” Shannon is a proud mom and is celebrating 13 years with the love of her life.

2021 Woman of the Year

Valencia Agnew, Ph.D., LLPhD, DBTC | Owner, Adolescent & Family Behavioral Health Services

Valencia Agnew's work is based upon a lifelong belief in the unique potential within each and every person to live life versus simply existing. It is this belief that drives her continued education and commitment to excellence as she diagnoses and treats mental illnesses and performs psychological evaluations. Valencia founded Adolescent & Family Behavioral Health Services nine years ago, a practice that has grown from one therapist to 12. She is an expert in the areas of borderline personality, self-injury, and trauma, as well as adolescent, family and couples therapy. Recognized by the education, legal and healthcare communities as a leading provider of group and counseling services, Valencia is a therapist who offers hope.

2020 Woman of the Year

Tasha Blackmon | Chief Executive Officer, Cherry Health

As President and Chief Executive Officer at Cherry Health, Tasha Blackmon is a dynamic, collaborative leader, mentor and coach who brings more than 20 years of business operations experience to her role. Born and raised in Grand Rapids, Tasha has championed health justice through aggressively disrupting healthcare disparities. In her 18 years at Michigan's largest Federally Qualified Health Center, Tasha has demonstrated her dynamic and collabroative leadership coupled with her ability to mentor and coach others. Tasha is a woman who excels because of the amazing team she has beside her, and is committed to serving the community she was born and raised in. She is truly a leader with a servant's heart.

2019 Woman of the Year

Meredith Bronk | CEO & President, OST

Meredith believes each of us is called to use our unique talents to the best of our abilities—something she challenges herself to do, every day—which requires willingness to grow, learn and constantly evolve. She honors her responsibility to show girls and young women that leadership in tech is possible and shares her struggles and failures, knowing we can’t be what we can’t see. Outside of tech, as a softball coach, she teaches girls about sportsmanship, accountability, teamwork, respecting authority, and other situations that matter far beyond the field; she teaches them that accepting things you can’t control and battling through loss will help them excel in the face of challenge.

2018 Woman of the Year

Dr. Nkechy Ekere Ezeh | Founder and CEO, Early Learning Neighborhood Collaborative

Dr. Ezeh’s career began at Reach, a small child care center, where she was the director/lead teacher/chief bottle washer and cook. Today, she is the Founder, CEO and Pedagogical Leader of the Early Learning Neighborhood Collaborative, an organization that within its first six years has an annual budget of over $5 Million dollars and is now serving over 400 vulnerable families annually. Her life began in Nigeria and after high school she immigrated to Grand Rapids where she pursued her education, which she saw as the key to unlocking her full potential. Eventually, she became a globally recognized international scholar and presenter. With a spirit of “been there done that” Dr. Ezeh encourages all women of all ages that, yes, sometimes the road is hard and full of obstacles but there is a way and there are people out there willing to give you a “hand up” if you are willing to reach out and meet them half way.

2017 Woman of the Year

Dr. Judy L. Smith, MD | Chief, Spectrum Health Cancer Center

Judy L. Smith, MD, MS, CPE, FACS, is the chief of Spectrum Health Cancer Center. Dr. Smith has over 30 years of clinical and administrative experience in oncology. Dr. Smith's clinical interests include GI cancers; her primary focus is leading the Cancer Center and ensuring high-qaulity, comprehensivve and multidisciplinary care for the communities we serve.

Before coming to Spectrum Health, Dr. Smith served as senior vice president and institute medical director of Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York. She is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a member of the Society of Surgical Oncology and the American College of Physician Executives.

"When you have a band of sisters who can lift you up, fix your crown and support you, you can take over the world." 

- Zaneta Adams, JD, 2023 Woman of the Year