Celebrating Chatham Women's Stories
March is Women’s History Month, and Tuesday, March 8 marks International Women’s Day, a day created to celebrate the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women across the globe. In celebration, we’ve compiled just a few of the many Pulse@ChathamU stories of Chatham women— students, alums, and faculty— who are breaking into new spaces, promoting women’s leadership, and impacting the world both at the level of the Chatham community and beyond. Check them out below!
Quayla Allen ‘12, MFAFS ‘22
Master of Food Studies student Quayla Allen is both an undergraduate alumna of Chatham, and soon-to-be graduate of the MA Food Studies program. A recipient of the Edna Lewis Foundation Scholarship, her work centers on uplifting Black women and addressing issues of equity within the food and beverage world.
Judy Ramsay Maillet ‘97
Judy Ramsay Maillet ’97 is using her communications skills from her time at Chatham towards her position as the operations director at The Disney Institute where she has helped put on a summit centered around supporting women’s leadership in the workplace.
Dr. Christine Sarteschi, Associate Professor of Criminology and Social Work
Dr. Sarteschi’s research in extremist anti-government movements lands her as one of the leading scholars in her field where she often provides expert testimonials to major news outlets.
Dotti Bechtol ‘97
In her career, Dotti Bechtol ‘97 works as an executive consultant who serves on various nonprofit boards throughout Pittsburgh. Outside of her career, she is a race car driver, where she often finds herself being the only woman on the track, but she never lets that slow her down.
Lalah C. Williams ‘22
Lalah is a powerful force at Chatham. She is the Executive Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion for Chatham Student Government, the Program Assistant for the Pennsylvania Center for Women & Politics, a R.I.S.E. Program mentor, a Woman’s Living and Learning Community member and plans to be the future governor of Maryland.
Carolyn Skowrn ‘20
Carolyn Skowron graduated from Chatham in 2020 just after she survived a traumatic car accident. As a result, she wrote and published her first book, Unbreakable, where she explores her own mental health struggles, how she combats them, and how she hopes to shatter the stigmas around mental health.
Ciera Marie Young ‘14
Ciera Marie Young is creating waves in the world of girl’s education through the implementation of her diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
Dr. Jennie Sweet-Cushman, Associate Professor of Political Science
Ten years ago, Dr. Jennie Sweet-Cushman began asking herself where the women were in political campaigns. This led way to her current research on the effects that mentorship can have on getting underrepresented groups in the running for office.
Marita Garrett, MAP ‘15
After being elected to the Wilkinsburg’s City Council in 2013, Marita Garrett, MAP ‘15, co-founded a nonprofit in the area before winning the Wilkinsburg mayoral race in 2017.
Esmeé Decortie ‘22
As an Environmental Science student, Esmeé has spent nearly two years conducting research at Eden Hall. Recently, she has published her research in one of the top academic journals in the study of environmental science.
Jordyn Gilliard ‘19
After graduating from Chatham in 2019 with a degree in communication, Jordyn went on to work towards her Master of Science in International Relations and Politics at Carnegie Mellon University. She dreams of being a political commentator and/or journalist.
Feyisola Akintola, MSUS+MBA ‘16
Feyisola Akintola is working to build a more equitable Pittsburgh through her role as the Special Initiatives Manager for the City of Pittsburgh. In her role, Feyisola is charged with overseeing the city’s Welcoming Pittsburgh initiative which aims to build bridges across cultures.
While these are just a few of the inspiring women of Chatham’s past and present, we would like to shout out all of the women of Chatham’s community today as their stories continuously inspire us to work towards our commitment to women’s leadership and gender equity.