To date, we have awarded over $1.5 million in scholarships.
Each year, the Emily Couric Leadership Forum recognizes 11 young women leaders each year - one senior nominated from each area high school in Charlottesville and Albemarle County - who are making an impact in their communities. In 2024, the Forum will award $250,000 in scholarships.
A Selection Committee comprised of community leaders interviews the nominees and makes the final selection.
2024 Emily Couric Leadership Scholarship Winner
Aicha Hermes of Albemarle High School
Aicha is the daughter of Rafa Kouki and Nizar Hermes
The judges call Aicha, “Awesome on every level, meaning ALL the levels.” After her closest friends drowned in a tragic accident, Aicha turned her grief into action. She reached out to the YMCA and the Charlottesville Rescue Team to secure free swimming lessons and pool time for minorities with the goal of preventing drownings. Aicha advocates for policies that promote swimming programs for vulnerable populations. She believes water safety and swimming proficiency is a universal human right and not a privilege.
Aicha is the first female student with a headscarf in Albemarle’s Math, Engineering, and Science Academy and has been an inspiration to other young women who wear the headscarf and want to pursue STEM. It was intimidating to feel judged for her cultural background and her headscarf, but Aicha has bounced back. She is an audacious woman unafraid to challenge norms and break barriers. She plans to study medicine to help others in the way doctors have helped her and her family.
Aicha taught herself to sew and joined a sewing club, mentoring younger students as they sewed more than 200 bibs and blankets for needy women in a single day. She wants to thread together compassionate sewers to create needed items for the underprivileged. Later, as a doctor, she knows her needle and thread will always be with her as she sews chemotherapy turbans for women and toys for her child patients.
2024 Joshua J Scott Scholarship Winner
Sonia Kamath of St. Anne’s Belfield School
Sonia is the daughter of Vanessa Gregg and Wesley Adams and Susannah and Prakash Kamath
The judges say Sonia has an incredible ability to communicate and listen and brings a sense of humility that allows her to connect with others immediately. She loves finding ways to engage with people across barriers. For instance, she volunteers at the International Rescue Committee and went so far as to teach herself French and Spanish in order to communicate with the people she worked with there.
As someone who also cares deeply about agriculture and the impacts of climate change, Sonia is president of a school club called F.E.E.D. (Food Education, Equity and Distribution), and hosts discussions, book talks and food drives to get people involved. A school journalist and a song writer, Sonia uses song-writing to combat the depression and anxiety she feels about environmental issues facing the planet. A true Renaissance woman, Sonia puts many talents to good use throughout the community and plans a career in foreign service.
Past Winners: Where Are They Now?
2022 Kaymin Hester
Kaymin Hester of Charlottesville High School received the $50,000 Emily Couric Leadership Scholarship in 2022. Hester, who plans to become a neurosurgeon and author, is deciding between several top colleges. She hopes her prolific writing and passion for volunteerism will continue to inspire her community with a sense of curiosity and adventure about fields ranging from music to medical technology.
2021 Aditi Prakash
Aditi says her best attributes are grit, empathy and optimism! She started an anti-racist club at her high school and also a program for older students to mentor elementary school students during the pandemic summer. She herself mentored two Spanish speaking children. Aditi also created a program that distributed 200 free STEM kits to disadvantaged students with a goal of fostering love for and confidence in science. In the 9th grade she attended UVA’s Bio-Medical Camp for Girls and was so inspired she decided to pay it forward and agreed to intern there last summer. She was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease just last spring and invited her GI doctor to be a guest speaker at the camp. Aditi is attending Stanford and plans to become an educational policy maker.
2020 Isabelle Pardue
Isabelle Pardue writes, “I may not know exactly what my future entails, but one thing is certain, I’ll be working to change the lives of millions of people worldwide affected by mental disorders. My vision is to combine the missions of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation to alleviate the suffering caused by mental illness with the awarding of grants that contribute to scientific breakthroughs.” Isabelle created an online business called “Happicases” selling phone cases with positive messages and quotes on them. She gave a percentage of the proceeds to Region Ten, which serves thousands of local people experiencing mental health or substance abuse challenges.
Isabelle is also concerned about the emotional wellbeing of young women who are troubled about body image. She tackled that subject through her science fair project, where she sought to prove that you don’t need to look perfect to be beautiful. Others warned her she’d never make regionals with her topic, but she made it all the way to the science fair nationals. She took special pleasure proving to herself that passion and dedication can overcome nearly anything. She has college acceptance offers from Colgate, the University of Richmond, the University of Virginia, and Davidson and her interests include the study of economics, physics and neuroscience.
Photo: Vice News
2019 Zyahna Bryant
Zyahna Bryant attends the University of Virginia. She has been featured in The New York Times, National Geographic, The New Yorker, Forbes and on Vice News, PBS, CNN, and BET.
Zyahna is a student activist, community organizer, and author. She focuses her work on how race contributes to the achievement gap and educational inequity. Zyahna works to connect students of color with resources to overcome barriers to achievement. She also organizes youth leaders around the conversation about race, space, and monuments. As a freshman, she founded the Black Student Union at Charlottesville High School and helped initiate the petition to reconsider the place of Confederate monuments in the Charlottesville community. Bryant published Reclaim, a collection of poetry and essays written about activism and the experience of black girlhood, received the Princeton Prize in Race Relations for her advocacy work, and received the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center’s student prize.
2018 Meg Richey
Meg attends Stanford University, where she is a member of Cap and Gown, a women’s leadership group and the oldest continuously operating student group at Stanford. Meg is a prospective computer science major and already has a patent pending for an invention of her own called the Morris Orthotic. She designed it after her beloved school bus driver, Mr. Morris, died after his foot was amputated due to a diabetic ulcer. Her device could become the standard of care to help prevent amputations and deaths from diabetic foot ulcers.
2017 Ayoade Balogun
Ayoade attends Stanford University. She is a member of the Stanford Symphony Orchestra and plays in the Cardinal Calypso, Stanford’s premier steel pan band. She also served as the musical director and conductor for Stanford’s presentation of Chicago.
2016 Olivia Vande Woude
Olivia is a senior at William & Mary double majoring in History and French & Francophone Studies. At the College, she is an Honors Thesis Fellow, member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, and initiate of the W&M Women’s Society of 1918. Olivia has previously served as the Co-President of Women in Business, the Co-Editor of the Gallery Literary Magazine, a member of the Howard J. Busbee Finance Academy, and a tutor for adult learners in Williamsburg. She received the Charles Center Summer Scholarship to study joke books in Marie Antoinette’s private library, the Lyon Gardiner Tyler Rising Senior Award, the Donald B. Irwin Memorial Scholarship, and the Lyon Gardiner Tyler Minor Grant for Undergraduate Research. She was also inducted into the Phi Alpha Theta Society for students of History and the Alpha Delta Gamma Medieval and Renaissance Studies Honorary Society. After graduating from William & Mary, Olivia will pursue her passion for equity research at T. Rowe Price Group, Inc.
2015 Keyri Lopez-Godoy
Keyri graduated from Eastern Mennonite University with a degree in Elementary Education. During her time at EMU, she was a founding member of the DACA Dialogue Planning Committee, bringing awareness to the campus about DACA and a range of immigration policies impacting people across the country. Chosen by her peers to speak at commencement, Keyri was one of ten students of color receiving a cord in the Donning of the Kente ceremony recognizing outstanding achievement. Keyri now teaches elementary school in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
2014 Carman Drake
Carman graduated from Yale University with a degree in Global Affairs. During her time at Yale, she focused academically on international security and development in the Middle East as well as critical refugee studies. While at Yale, Carman worked for the Yale College Dean’s office, the Yale Office of the General Council, and volunteered with the Yale Refugee Project. After Yale, Carman moved to Denver, Colorado, where she works for Boston Consulting Group.
2013 Anjali Prahash
Anjali graduated from the University of Virginia with a bachelor’s degree in Foreign Affairs and served as a Campus Missionary In-Training with Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship at UVA, a year-long training program in campus ministry. Anjali is currently pursuing a master’s degree at Dallas Theological Seminary, where she is studying to become a licensed professional counselor. She and her fiancé, Mitch, are passionate about equipping and serving young adults and hope to work together in a university context after graduating from seminary.
2012 Jessie Press-Williams
Jessie graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2016 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and a concentration in Economics. While at MIT, she worked on environmental initiatives in Indonesia, conducted research on local innovation and entrepreneurship in Ghana and Tanzania, and gained experience working on community development projects in Zambia. She was also involved with Sigma Kappa, freshman advising, and MIT’s Formula SAE electric competition racecar team. After graduation, Jessie moved to Lusaka, Zambia, as an Associate with IDinsight, an NGO which helps social sector practitioners generate and use evidence to improve decision-making. During her time at IDinsight, she has worked in the public health sector, water and sanitation infrastructure improvement in Zambia, and smallholder agriculture in Uganda.
2011 Logan Coleman
Logan received her master’s degree in public affairs in June 2019 from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. Having graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in politics and a certificate in Latin American studies, she was accepted to the prestigious Scholars in the Nation’s Service Initiative (SINSI) Fellowship. As a SINSI fellow, Logan received full tuition for her master’s degree and served for two years in the U.S. Department of State. She served in the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in New York, the U.S. Embassy in Bogotá, Colombia, the U.S. Embassy in Skopje, North Macedonia, and the Department’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. Across her fellowship rotations, Logan played a crucial role in developing the U.S. strategy for Venezuela, with a particular emphasis on humanitarian assistance for Venezuelan migrants and refugees.
2010 Sarah Chacko
Sarah graduated from medical school in the UK with a bachelor’s degree in Medicine/Surgery in 2015 and was involved in AIDS/HIV research in Vancouver. She did a two-year internship in the United Kingdom after graduating medical school, and as of June 2018 is now a family medicine resident at VCU-Riverside. She has an interest in global health and hopes to be involved with Doctors Without Borders after finishing residency.
2009 Emma Yackso
Emma graduated with her master’s degree in social work and is pursuing a career in LGBTQ+ and juvenile justice. She spent several years working with trans youth, advocating against the School-to-Prison Pipeline in Richmond, VA, and providing wilderness therapy for at-risk youth in the Richmond area. She graduated magna cum laude from George Washington University in 2012 with a degree in political science. After graduation, Emma moved to New Orleans to work in food access and juvenile justice, before returning to Virginia for graduate school.
2008 Kayla Hansen
Kayla graduated from Yale in 2012 with a degree in political science with a focus on international studies. Currently, she resides in Seattle, WA, and is a community engagement specialist for Amazon.com where she partners with non-profits and local community members to provide grants to support science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education across the United States. Previously, she worked on public health and social justice campaigns in California. On most days, you can find her either hiking, reading a good book or in the kitchen whipping up a new recipe.
2007 Lucie Rhoads
Lucie graduated from Vanderbilt University in 2011, where she received the university’s award for one of the top ten outstanding seniors, led a service organization focusing on development work and alternative spring break in Latin America, and served as Teach for America’s campus recruiter for Vanderbilt for three years. After completing her degree, Lucie joined the Teach for America Corps and moved to Memphis, TN, for two years, teaching in high-poverty public schools there. Lucie found her passion for the operational side of school startup, and was a member of the founding team at KIPP Infinity Elementary School in Harlem, as well as Grizzlies Preparatory Charter School in Memphis. After completing her commitment with Teach for America, Lucie moved back to Nashville and started Nashville Classical Charter School as the Founding Director of Operations. After three years there, she transitioned to a Director of Development & Strategic Initiatives role at a charter school network in Nashville called Valor Collegiate Academies, a network of schools who are paving the way for top-tier academic performance and comprehensive human development. When not working, she loves cooking, enjoying the outdoors, SEC football, and hanging out with her lab, Sawyer!
2006 Alia Stewart-Silver
Alia graduated from Pomona College in 2011 and went on to pursue her Master of Social Work (MSW) degree at UC Berkeley’s School of Social Welfare. She is currently working as a LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker) for Seneca Family of Agencies, a nonprofit agency that provides mental health care for some of California’s most vulnerable youth and families. In this role, she provides individual, group, and family therapy work from a strengths-based approach that seeks to empower her clients to explore their authentic identities and strive toward their self-identified goals.
2005 Carla Pratico (Rood)
Carla Pratico (née Rood) graduated magna cum laude from Virginia Tech with a degree in political science and minors in classical studies and leadership studies. In 2009, she was named the Virginia Tech Undergraduate Woman of the Year. After graduation, she moved to New York City to apprentice with Judith Glaser, a leadership consultant for top Fortune 500 companies. Carla then founded Polus Digital, Inc., a branding, design, and marketing company, in 2011, which has since served over 70 clients from around the world. In 2017, she began a second company, She Roars, which provides coaching, training, and conferences for over 300 Christian entrepreneurs. In addition to her work, Carla serves her community as a licensed New York City Chaplain and travels internationally speaking to encourage and empower women to become contagiously fearless. She lives in Manhattan with her husband Kalel and their two French Bulldogs, Ella and Charlotte.
2004 Anna Dorn-Gulotta
Anna graduated with a degree in psychology from the University of Wisconsin and then taught science for two years in Charlotte, North Carolina, with Teach for America. In 2015, she graduated from the Lewis and Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon. She now lives in Phoenix, Arizona, and works for Community Legal Services, the local legal aid organization. She and her husband Zac enjoy spending their free time hiking with their dog, Leah.
2003 Katie Reid
Katie Shevlin (née Reid) graduated from Wesleyan University with an interdisciplinary degree in economics, government, and history. During breaks from school, Katie served as an intern during the formation and launch of the Center for Nonprofit Excellence. After college, Katie attended law school at UVa and taught special needs preschool in Albemarle County before returning full-time to the nonprofit sector in Charlottesville working for the Southern Environmental Law Center. Today Katie is the director of corporate and foundation relations at the University of Virginia. She is also a graduate of the CNE Board Development Academy, a member of the CNE Philanthropy Day Committee, on the board of the Emily Couric Leadership Forum and involved with the City Schoolyard Garden, St. Paul’s Memorial Church, and the Boys and Girls Club. She and her husband Ken like to cook, travel, and spend time with their son, Fritz.
2002 Elizabeth Ochs
Elizabeth Ochs graduated from Brown University with a concentration in Urban Studies and received a Master of Education from Antioch University New England. Elizabeth worked as a community organizer at the Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless and edited a street newspaper called Street Sights. She then worked at Central Falls High School, a public high school in Rhode Island, as the Expanded Learning Opportunities coordinator. Now, Elizabeth is an education and nonprofit consultant. She has worked with a range of organizations including Rhode Island Kid Count, The Rhode Island Interfaith Coalition to Reduce Poverty, the Rhode Island Office of Innovation, the Brown Alpert Medical School, and the Center for Prisoner Health and Human Rights. Elizabeth lives in Providence, Rhode Island, with her husband and son.
2001 Heidi Swan
Heidi Kelly (née Swan) graduated from University of Virginia in 2005 with a double major in History and Spanish. After graduation, she worked with the migrant and immigrant communities in the Charlottesville area as an AmeriCorps member. She then moved to Philadelphia where she spent a year as a counselor in a charter school for former drop-outs, while taking classes at night towards a degree in public health (MPH). As part of her studies, she worked with refugees and immigrants to address their specific health needs and health disparities in Philadelphia. This work led to an opportunity to work on cancer screening and prevention research projects in the Philadelphia area. Longing to move from research to the ‘front lines’ of health care, Heidi returned to nursing school. She earned her BSN and MSN from Columbia University in New York City. Today, Heidi is a Family Nurse Practitioner working in Chattanooga, TN, where she lives with her husband, daughter, and son.