CWLI Announces 2020 Board Chair Julie Baumgardner, Adds 2 Board Members

  • Friday, January 17, 2020

Kim Shumpert, executive director of Chattanooga Women’s Leadership Institute announces Julie Baumgardner, president & CEO of First Things First, as chair of the 2020 board of directors. Tangela Johnson, president of North Georgia Corporate Consulting in Dalton, will serve as vice-chair.

CWLI has also added two board members, including Jessica Oliva-Calderin, managing attorney at Calderin and Oliva, P.A. and Joyce Ann Williams, tax manager at LBMC. Through this new board slate, CWLI has redefined their scope of work into three parts: educate, collaborate and elevate. 

"Julie Baumgardner is the president and CEO of First Things First, an award-winning nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening families in Chattanooga," officials said. "FTF’s success has generated model duplication efforts nationwide, and has garnered international attention for its award-winning leadership concerning family and relationship issues, specifically in the areas of fatherhood, marriage and parenting."

“This year we want to focus on celebrating trailblazers and demonstrating that our organization is focused on a future that cultivates emerging leaders. The women who founded CWLI have handed us a solid legacy of strong female leadership. We intend to build and improve on this legacy in 2020 and want to see our members challenge their comfort zones. By doing that, we are teaching our community that female leadership is an essential part of sustaining our economy and ushering in better outcomes for all women. In a climate where what we are against often takes center stage, we want to define what women are FOR. We hope you will join us this year as we move FORward together: mapping a positive future for professional women,” said Ms. Baumgardner. 

"As a passionate advocate for healthy marriage, fatherhood and families, Julie Baumgardner reaches hundreds of thousands each week through her newspaper family column and as host of JulieB TV, a YouTube-based talk show that focuses on all things relational," officials said. "A frequent speaker to local and state groups, Julie serves on the Hamilton County Juvenile Court Commission, the Chattanooga Women’s Leadership Institute board and the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Chattanooga curriculum committee.  Her many honors include: the International Smart Marriages Impact Award, the NARME Vision and Leadership award, the Chattanooga Bar Association Liberty Bell award, the American Lung Association Woman of Distinction award and 2017 Chattanooga Manager of the Year award."

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