[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 44 (Monday, March 21, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E344-E345]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      MILESTONES AWARD RECIPIENTS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MARCY KAPTUR

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 21, 2016

  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I submit the following biographies.

                             Baker O'Brien

       This year's Milestones Award Recipient for the Arts 
     category is Baker O'Brien, an established world-class glass 
     artist and long-time supporter of the arts in Toledo, Ohio. 
     Ms. O'Brien was the sole apprentice of legendary glass-master 
     Dominick Labino and has been mixing, melting, blowing and 
     casting vividly colored glass for over 30 years.
       Her work is part of private collections around the world, 
     and some of the more well-known recipients of her work 
     include Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan, Her Majesty Queen 
     Sirikit of Thailand, Former Secretary of State Madeline 
     Albright, Former Mayor of New York City Rudy Guliani, Dr. C. 
     Everett Koop, China Wildlife Conservation Association of 
     Beijing, Beijing, China, and concert pianist Andre Watts.
       Ms. O'Brien has also donated her work to a wide variety of 
     local organizations for fundraising. Over nearly 30 years, 
     she has further supported the development of the arts in the 
     Toledo area by educating docents from the Toledo Museum of 
     Art. These docents, who are primarily women, are on the front 
     lines of public arts education. Ms. O'Brien passionately 
     ensures that they have correct and accurate information to 
     pass along to museum patrons regarding both the art and 
     science of glass. Her lectures and demonstrations include a 
     combination of not only the science and history of glass art, 
     but also the Labino Studio. She has served as a guest artist 
     for the museum on numerous occasions.
       Outside of her work creating and supporting the arts, Ms. 
     O'Brien has a passion for animals and owns several horses and 
     purebred dogs. This community is truly fortunate to have a 
     local champion for the arts and art education.

                            Kathleen Zouhary

       Kathleen M. Zouhary is this year's Milestones Awards 
     Recipient for her work advancing women in Business. Ms. 
     Zouhary is a lawyer by trade and became one of the first 
     female partners in the law firm of Fuller and Henry in 1981.
       Her distinguished legal career is punctuated by other 
     firsts, such as becoming the first Vice-President and General 
     Counsel for St. Luke's Hospital in Toledo. She also served as 
     the Vice-President and General Counsel for Ohio Care Health 
     System, Inc. Her wisdom and expertise assisted physicians, 
     board members, and executives in fulfilling the mission of 
     providing healthcare to Toledo-area residents. Ms. Zouhary 
     currently owns her own business, Zouhary Dispute Resolution, 
     which provides many forms of dispute resolution services to 
     the financial and health care communities.
       In addition to her professional work, Ms. Zouhary has 
     served on the Susan G. Komen Board for many years, the Miami 
     University Board of Trustees, and the Toledo Legal Aid

[[Page E345]]

     Society Board of Trustees. She has selflessly given her time 
     and expertise to organizations which support health, 
     education, and access to legal services. She has served as a 
     mentor to other women and is known for her inspiring 
     perseverance, patience, and professionalism in eliminating 
     barriers to success for women of all walks of life. She is an 
     active member of the Toledo Women's Bar Association, Ohio 
     Women's Bar Association, and several other professional 
     groups.
       Her colleagues have described her approach as ``grace under 
     fire,'' and she is certainly an inspiration to business-women 
     in the Toledo community. Ms. Zouhary's dedication and 
     integrity make her an outstanding role model for Toledo 
     women, including her two daughters Katie Marie and Alexis, 
     who are now both successful attorneys in their own right.

                              Julie Rubini

       Julie K. Rubini is the 2016 Milestones Award Recipient in 
     the field of Education. She is the founder of Claire's Day, 
     which is the largest Children's Book Festival and literacy 
     awards program in the Toledo community.
       Ms. Rubini is an author with published books such as 
     ``Hidden Ohio'' and ``Missing Millie Benson.'' Her work has 
     provided children and families the opportunity to be lifelong 
     readers.
       Her daughter, Claim Lynsey Rubin, passed away suddenly in 
     2000 as a result of a rare heart condition. To honor her 
     daughter's legacy, Ms. Rubini established Claire's Day in 
     2001. At that time, Claire's Day was a one-day free family 
     book festival to encourage reading, storytelling, music and 
     education. In 2011, in conjunction with her husband Brad, 
     Claire's Day formed a board of trustees to provide oversight, 
     governance, and long-term leadership for the organization. 
     The organization has brought many female authors to speak at 
     local schools.
       In 2015, Claire's Day merged with Read for Literacy, and 
     Ms. Rubini continues to serve on the Emeritus Board of Read 
     for Literacy. She also volunteers her time to advance 
     literacy programming in all of Northwest Ohio. She received 
     the Jefferson Award for Community Service for this work. In 
     addition, Ms. Rubini serves on Maumee City Council.
       Ms. Rubini's work, both professionally and 
     philanthropically, is dedicated to helping others and 
     supporting literacy among children and families. Out of 
     tragedy she was inspired to use her time, talent, and 
     determination to support literacy in the Toledo area and 
     beyond.

                        Mayor Paula Hicks-Hudson

       Paula Hicks-Hudson is the 2016 Milestones Awards Recipient 
     for her contributions to Government in Toledo, Ohio. 
     Throughout her 35-year career she has worked with underserved 
     women in various governmental capacities, culminating in her 
     recent role as the first African-American woman to serve as 
     Mayor of Toledo.
       Paula Hicks-Hudson's path to Mayor has consistently shown 
     her dedication to the underrepresented populations of Toledo. 
     She worked to protect the rights of young women and juveniles 
     when serving as assistant Lucas County Prosecutor, Assistant 
     Public Defender, and Assistant State Attorney General. From 
     1998 to 2002 she served as the Legislative Director of the 
     Toledo City Council. Afterwards, she was the Director and 
     Deputy Director of the Lucas County Board of Elections, 
     ensuring access to the electoral process for Lucas County 
     residents. Additionally, Mayor Hicks-Hudson worked as the 
     chief legal counsel to the Ohio Office of Budget and 
     Management under Governor Ted Strickland. She is most 
     recently known for serving on the Toledo City Council for 
     four years, prior to becoming Mayor of Toledo.
       Outside of her contributions through her career, Mayor 
     Hicks-Hudson has served as variety of organizations in 
     support of women and minorities, including the Coalition for 
     Quality Education, the NAACP, the Fredrick Douglass Community 
     Center, the African-American Law Enforcement Agents, and the 
     state and national Federations of Business and Professional 
     Women, Inc. Her work has earned her recognition by the Urban 
     Minority Alcohol and Drug Outreach Program.
       In addition to these roles Mayor Hicks-Hudson has also 
     volunteered her time to the YWCA in support of empowering 
     women. She has maintained the highest levels of service in 
     leadership and truly improved the quality of life for all 
     those in our community, especially women and children.

                           Dr. Pam Oatis, MD

       Dr. Pamela Oatis is this year's Milestones Award Recipient 
     in the Sciences category, but her contributions to this area 
     go far beyond scientific endeavors. Dr. Oatis has been a 
     pediatrician, primary and palliative care provider for 
     Toledo-area patients for the past 30 years.
       Dr. Oatis's contributions to this area have achieved 
     significant recognition outside of the YWCA. She was selected 
     by the American Chapter of Pediatrics as the 2011 Outstanding 
     Physician of the Year for the entire state of Ohio. She also 
     developed the CATCH program, which ensures community access 
     to child health, and provides oversight to the Healthy 
     Tomorrow program.
       She is involved in the development of medical ethics and 
     has also led several hundred workshops, groups and classes 
     for women's health on a national and international level. Dr. 
     Oatis also devotes her time to teaching and providing 
     regional leadership for Re-evaluation Counseling--a community 
     peer listening program. In addition to this work, she was the 
     initiating physician champion for the Medical-Legal 
     Partnership for Children and is a certified instructor of 
     Building Emotional Understanding from the international Hand 
     in Hand Parenting.
       Dr. Oatis, like her mother, Ruth, has been a lifelong 
     advocate for women. She works tirelessly to advance and 
     empower women of all ages to take charge of their health. For 
     recreation, she competes in Olympic distance triathlons and 
     has competed on a national and international level.

                          Dr. Celia Williamson

       Celia Williamson, Ph.D. is the 2016 Milestones Awards 
     recipient in the field of Social Services. Dr. Williamson 
     received her B.A. in Social Work from the University of 
     Toledo, and went on to earn a Masters Degree in the field 
     from Case Western Reserve University as well as her Ph.D from 
     Indiana University. She has used this training to devote the 
     past 20 years toward responding to social injustice, 
     particularly the abuses of women who are victims of human 
     trafficking.
       Dr. Williamson founded the first anti-trafficking program 
     in Ohio in 1993, long before the human trafficking 
     conversation came to the forefront. As a social worker, Dr. 
     Williamson founded the Second Chance program, now known as 
     RISE, in Lucas County. RISE continues to work with women and 
     girls who were victims of the human trafficking industry. Her 
     academic work includes 9 completed studies, 17 articles, and 
     2 edited books on sex trafficking. Her work was recognized 
     via federal funding from 2002 through 2012 to conduct 
     research in this area. In fact, she has been awarded research 
     grants totaling over $1 million to assist vulnerable women 
     and trafficked youth.
       As an activist and community organizer, Dr. Williamson 
     founded the International Human Trafficking and Social 
     Justice Conference, and chairs the Research and Analysis 
     Subcommittee for the Ohio Attorney General's Human 
     Trafficking Commission. Her devotion to helping the most 
     vulnerable women in our community is undeniable, as she was 
     instrumental in securing an FBI task force in Lucas County to 
     address the issue of rescuing children from Toledo's sex 
     trade. Dr. Williamson also devotes her time to teaching 
     interns who are interested in addressing the issue of human 
     trafficking, and she has been a lifelong educator on 
     oppression and social justice.
       Dr. Williamson has received much recognition for her work 
     in social services, and truly embodies the YWCA's mission. 
     Her work to address the issue of ``modem slavery through 
     human trafficking has cemented her status as an inspiration 
     to women in Toledo and throughout the country.

                             Adrienne Green

       This year's Milestones Award recipient for Volunteerism is 
     Adrienne Green. Ms. Green was selected for her outstanding 
     leadership and tireless efforts in raising awareness about 
     the importance of volunteerism in the Toledo community.
       Although Ms. Green is not originally from Toledo, she is 
     deeply passionate about the impact volunteers play in 
     improving the lives of Toledo-area residents, especially 
     women in need, and has consistently demonstrated her 
     commitment by serving in a variety of volunteer leadership 
     roles. For example, Ms. Green has had an active role in the 
     ProMedica Toledo Hospital board, the Women's Initiative of 
     the United Way, Read for Literacy, Maumee Valley Habitat for 
     Humanity, Toledo Chapter of the Links, Zonta Club Toledo I, 
     International, and Big Brothers Big Sisters.
       Many of these endeavors overlap with the mission of the 
     YWCA by providing services and opportunities for women, 
     especially those with limited resources. In addition to this 
     work, Ms. Green works as a project manager at Owens Corning. 
     She has consistently been willing to take on difficult tasks 
     to support the community when others may be reluctant to do 
     so. Her friends and colleagues have described her as ``always 
     helping someone, without hesitation.'' In 2015, she served on 
     the Girl Scouts of Western Ohio Women of Distinction 
     Committee, which selects exceptional women honorees leading 
     the way for future female leaders.
       Ms. Green is a role model for women everywhere, proving 
     that one can combine both professional and philanthropic 
     goals to help her community. She is truly a leader by example 
     and has generously invested her time and resources to support 
     volunteer efforts in Toledo and beyond.

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