SHEroes Among Us

Presented by:

 

The SHEroes Among Us Award was established in 2024 by the Columbus Fury and presented by Nationwide to honor and celebrate extraordinary, impactful women in central Ohio who have made a difference in their community. The Columbus Fury will honor one winner at each match during the 2025 season. Each award recipient will be presented with ten (10) tickets to the match in which they are honored, a SHEroes Among Us engraved award, and an autographed Columbus Fury jersey.

Open to residents of Ohio. Nominations are open now through April 1, 2025.

To be nominated, the candidate must:

  • Exemplify the spirit of community service
  • Make an outstanding contribution to the improvement of their community or support of a registered 501(c)(3)
  • Demonstrate exceptional commitment to their efforts
  • Inspire others to engage in community service
  • Receive no personal financial compensation for their volunteer activities
  • Perform the majority of their community service within central Ohio

 

Additional requirements:

  • Service or at least a portion of the service must have occurred within the past 12 months
  • Service, organization, or actions must be currently active
  • Self-nominations will not be accepted
  • Eligible Honorees must not have a criminal record or any pending criminal charges
  • Previous Honorees are ineligible to be selected
  • Eligible Honorees shall be required to provide proof of eligibility upon request by the Columbus Fury and/or Nationwide

PREVIOUS HONOREES

  • Sherrell Johnson
    Sherrell was recognized for her contributions to our community as the founder of Treats 4 the Streets, an organization that provides hot meals, toiletries, and nonperishables to unhoused and financially insecure people in Franklin County.

    Elaine Damo

    Danella Hicks
    Danella is the Founder and Executive Director of ALL THAT: Teens Hopeful About Tomorrow, an organization that focuses on the mentorship and empowerment of disconnected teens around Columbus through afterschool and summer programming focused on enhancing academic achievement, exploring career opportunities, and enriching life skills.

    Jatu Boikai
    Jatu is the Nurse Manager for Maternity Services at Mount Carmel Grove City Hospital and has been a nurse for over 12 years. Jatu has a passion and an unwavering commitment to advancing health equity to bring down the high maternal and infant mortality rates that disproportionately plague Black mothers and babies. Jatu is intentional about finding ways to help improve Black women’s birthing experiences through hiring diverse nursing staff and through her nonprofit that offers free, supportive services to vulnerable women.

    Terri Kernan
    Terri manages volunteers monthly who prepare and package meals for the daily lunch line at St. Lawrence Haven. They volunteer from 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. via the St. Vincent de Paul-run sack lunch program. The Haven sits behind Holy Family Church at the corner of Rich St and Main St in downtown Columbus, where approximately 300-500 meals are served each day.

    Kathy Jackson
    Kathy is the Columbus, Ohio Affiliate Director for I Support the Girls. Her service to the Columbus area has been recognized with the I Support the Girls Golden Tampon Award, Nexstar’s Remarkable Woman Award, and Fourth of July Dublin Grand Marshal amongst numerous others for her ongoing commitment to collecting and distributing bras, new underwear and menstrual hygiene products to folks experiencing homelessness, impoverishment and distress. 

    Sarah Sue Morbitzer
    After having open heart surgery at just four months old, Sarah Sue overcame her congenital heart defect by working towards her goal of playing volleyball for her dream school, The Ohio State University. Sarah Sue finished her senior season as a Buckeye last fall and now as she prepares for a career in cardiology, wrote a children’s book, Sarah Scarbuck’s Heart Zipper, to encourage and inspire children with congenital heart defects to be proud of their 8-inch heart surgery scars.

    Marie McConnell
    Marie is on the leadership team at Stonewall Sports Columbus, a community-based, nonprofit sports organization for LGBTQIA+ individuals and allies. Since its inaugural season in 2017, Stonewall Sports Columbus has welcomed nearly 3,000 players and supporters. With the mission of building a connected and inclusive community, the league organizes 7 annual sports seasons and dozens of community events a year. In July 2025, Columbus will host the 11th annual Stonewall Sports National tournament and is thrilled to bring more than 2,500 LGBTQIA+ athletes to our great city.

    Jennifer Miller
    Jennifer arrives daily with a servant's heart, bringing kindness and compassion to citizens of Columbus AND her Firefighter family. Formally, Jennifer is trained to fill many roles on the job: firefighter, medic transport, incident support, and fire dispatcher. Additionally, she is a member of the Peer Support Team and Honor Guard, assisting her fellow firefighters. Jennifer worked on many special projects including oral board assessments, recruiting, and organizing the women of Columbus Fire. Jennifer adds warmth and light in every room she enters, greets friends with hugs, checks in with division members when they are feeling down. In general, she is the surrogate mom and caretaker for her Division of Fire.

    Trish DeVictor
    She has distributed TWO MILLION products locally to more than 30 area agencies and schools in the past 5 years!

    Linda Gibson
    Dr. Gibson Fletcher is a distinguished educational leader with a rich background in fostering positive change within school systems. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Cleveland State University in 1980, demonstrating her dedication to a comprehensive understanding of the educational landscape.

    Yahaira Rose
    Yahaira is the founder of Proyecto Mariposas providing enrichment opportunities for Latina mothers and daughters in Central Ohio for the past 13 years. Their vision is to cultivate culturally enriched spaces of belonging where Latina voices thrive. Yahaira is from Puerto Rico (Yauco). Proyecto Mariposas programs include Summer Camps, In- Schools sessions and their favorite event, Quinceañera! Yahaira is also the Director of the Martin de Porres Center (Dominican Sisters of Peace), serving the community through programming for youth and families. She is the commissioner for the Ohio Commission of Hispanic and Latinos Affairs (OCHLA). Yahaira has over 20 years of experience in Leadership Development Programs. Yahaira’s passion is to work closely with the Latin population to provide resources, tools and skills that can build resiliency and strong communities.

  • Sarah Haley
    Sarah tragically lost her son, Chase, to suicide, which prompted Sarah to found The Chase Haley Project with Chase’s father, JR. They work to turn heartbreak into hope and inspire change in the community. Starting this year, The Chase Haley Project will provide free mental health services to Lancaster city employees and their families, with plans to expand nationwide.
    Sarah is also working towards opening a wellness center for Fairfield County’s first responders and offering support to families through a parent-led grief group for those who have lost children to suicide.
     
    Elizabeth Scott
    Elizabeth is known for embracing the meaning of “a day off is a day on.” Elizabeth’s service mindset is inspired by her late Grandpa George, a U.S. Army Korean War Veteran. She served in the Ohio Military Reserve, a component of the Ohio State Defense Force, before recently enlisting as an Aviation Operations Specialist in the Ohio Army National Guard. Elizabeth volunteers for a variety of organizations but is most passionate about supporting military and veteran causes. She is a museum ambassador with the National Veterans Memorial and Museum, an organization dedicated to sharing stories of the United States Armed Forces experience to inspire guests to serve their country and their community. She also volunteers with Honor Flight Columbus, which honors eligible senior veterans with a free one-day trip to D.C. to visit their memorials, encourages veterans to share their stories, and celebrates their homecoming. Elizabeth challenges you to ask the senior veterans in your life if they have taken their Honor Flight. If they have, listen to the story of their flight day. If they haven’t been on their Honor Flight yet, please go to honorflightcmh.org to download the veteran application and help them fill it out, because veterans, it’s your turn!