Three pioneering women were honored for their outstanding contributions to the community and the world at the Eleanor Roosevelt at Val-Kill Partnerships’ “Following In Her Footsteps” award ceremony on Tuesday, April 30th, at the Coolidge Corner Theatre.
Former Lieutenant Governor Evelyn Murphy and DEI Pioneer Colette Phillips both received awards, with a surprise award given to Governor Maura Healey. The award honors women who carry on Eleanor Roosevelt’s legacy of human and civil rights.
In receiving her award, Governor Healey commented, “I accept this award on behalf of all the women who have done great things for me.”
The governor also presented the award to Former Lieutenant Governor Murphy, the first woman to be elected statewide in Massachusetts and to hold a constitutional role statewide. Calling on Murphy’s work advocating for gender and wage equality and racial inclusion and empowerment, Healey said, “Because of [Murphy’s] work and her example, we are a better commonwealth and a better country.”
In receiving the award, Murphy noted that “I don’t follow in Eleanor Roosevelt’s footsteps; I tiptoe in them.” She called on everyone to participate in making a better country, saying, “No one, not me, not the governor, not Eleanor Roosevelt, can make our government more inclusive on our own.”
Colette Phillips, the President and CEO of Colette Phillips Communications Inc. and the visionary force behind Get Konnected! Boston’s pioneering cross-cultural business networking organization, called back to Murphy’s comment on following in Roosevelt’s footsteps, saying that she is “tripping into her footsteps.” She then thanked those who had been her friends and advisors. “It does take a village to make a difference,” she said.
Phillips is widely recognized as the first person of color and Black woman to establish a successful communications company in Boston, and stands as an iconic figure in the realm of cultural change, heralding a new era of inclusivity and empowerment.
The event took place at the recently renovated Coolidge Corner Theatre, in an auditorium that first opened in the same year that Eleanor Roosevelt became First Lady of the nation. Also on hand was Manuela Roosevelt, Board Chair of the Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Partnership. In speaking of Eleanor Roosevelt, Manuela noted, “Val-Kill is a simple home, but the vision is huge: world peace.”
WGBH Radio host Jim Braude emceed the event. All proceeds raised go towards preserving the legacy of Eleanor Roosevelt.
Past recipients of the Eleanor Roosevelt Following In Her Footsteps Award are former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the first woman to be nominated as a presidential candidate for a major party, the late Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro, the first woman Vice-President nominee, and Christine Todd Whitman, the first woman to have served as governor of New Jersey.
About the Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Partnership
The Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Partnership is committed to furthering Eleanor Roosevelt’s legacy as a catalyst for social change. Initially founded by First Lady Hillary Clinton as part of her Save America’s Treasures program and working alongside the National Parks Department, the Partnership provides funds for preservation, restoration, innovative programming, and interpretive projects at Val-Kill, Roosevelt’s home in New York’s Hudson Valley. The Partnership honors Roosevelt’s life’s work, promoting her leadership on social justice issues by fostering engagement, awareness, and action, aligning with her ideals for today’s world.
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