ALCOAST 154/20 - APR 2020 ECLIPSE 2020 AWARD WINNERS

R 271634 APR 20
FM COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC//DCMS//
TO ALCOAST
UNCLAS //N01000//
ALCOAST 154/20
COMDTNOTE 1000
SUBJ:  ECLIPSE 2020 AWARD WINNERS
A. COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC 240851 FEB 20/ALCOAST 056/20
B. COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC 191258 MAR 20/ALCOAST 091/20
1. Congratulations to the winners of the Eclipse 2020 Awards for their outstanding
contributions enhancing inclusion and diversity in the Coast Guard and specifically
in the Coast Guard Academy community during the past year:
    a. The Manson K. Brown Genesis Award winner is Cadet Edward L. Walker, president
of the Coast Guard Academy Genesis Council and member of the Class of 2020, for his
outstanding efforts in creating an equitable, inclusive, and welcoming environment
at the Coast Guard Academy for all cadets. As the leader of Genesis Council, his
largest contribution to the Coast Guard Academy has been the comprehensive planning,
execution, and advertising of many corps-wide events to promote inclusion and diversity. Impressively, he brought innovative management expertise to bear with the
regular use of the Coast Guard Foundation Lodge in Stonington, CT, for events that
promote camaraderie, respect, and the free exchange of ideas, setting a new standard
for cadet leadership that has made a lasting and indelible impact.
    b. The Merle Smith Pioneer Award winner is CDR Carrie A. Wolfe of the Coast Guard
Office of Inclusion and Diversity. Both a 2002 graduate of the Coast Guard Academy
and as a Gender Policy Advisor to the Commandant, CDR Wolfe is an accomplished military officer, mentor, and Coast Guard trailblazer. She was the first African American woman in history to serve as Engineering Officer aboard a major cutter and is currently the senior most African American naval engineer in the Coast Guard. CDR Wolfe was handpicked for the Coast Guard Academy 2019 Homecoming “Distinguished Graduate Panel,” where she shared her extraordinary career experiences as a mom, wife, and naval engineer. She also led discussions based on her experiences as an African American woman in a male-dominated officer specialty. As a tireless change-agent, she led and facilitated the Coast Guard’s first ever Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan, which resulted in the Coast Guard taking its first major steps to establish a firm base for inclusion through fleet-wide education, training, and dialogue.
    c. The JoAnn Miller Community Award winner is Jean Jordan, President of the New
London Chapter of the NAACP, for her tireless work to secure equal rights and
opportunities for all its members and for the people in and around New London, CT,
including Coast Guard Academy cadets. As a leader of the New London NAACP, she
coordinated community dialogues on race, historic tours of African American grave
sites, and even partnered with organizations such as the Coast Guard Academy for
bringing well known speakers to engage with cadets and the community. Under her
personal leadership, the New London NAACP delivered impactful feedback and
helped drive the revolutionary change in equity and inclusion policies and practices
now visible at the Coast Guard Academy.
    d. The Frances Neal Humanitarian Award winner is Catherine Griffin, in recognition
of the personal care she provided as a sponsor family host to international cadets
and the Coast Guard Academy community overall. As a sponsor family host during the past ten years, she directly supported over a dozen international cadets allowing them to have a home away from home. With international cadets being far from their own
homes and cultures, her support has been helpful to the growth of the International
Cadet Program. She introduced sponsor cadets to cuisine native to the Philippines
through home cooked meals prepared in her kitchen. She took them shopping for school
supplies to ensure they were prepared for Swab Summer, and she served as a personal
conduit between international cadets and their families abroad. In addition, she
personally hosted lunchtime gatherings with international Officer Candidates as a means
to share in conversation and comradery. Often referred to as “Tita Cate” which means
“Aunt Cate” in her native Tagalog language, her personal contributions to the care of
the Coast Guard Academy community as a sponsor family host make her especially deserving of this award.
    e. The Joseph M. Vojvodich Award winner is the Coast Guard Academy Scholars (CGAS) Program Leadership Team (Chris McMunn, LT Timothy J. Kessell, LT Marvi M. Rivera, YNC Jennifer C. Rosen, and YNC Deborah J. Hamilton) for their tireless efforts in leading the CGAS program. Under their leadership, the college-prep program has seen a consistent rise in the selection of underrepresented applicants, and through their efforts CGA achieved the highest appointment and retention rates of underrepresented students. The personal outreach of this team extends from the initial interest of candidates to the moment they each graduate the Coast Guard Academy. This team achieved its success by creating an environment built on frequent quality interactions
with three preparatory schools and the Academy Minority Outreach Team. Skillfully
guiding the mentoring of every student in the CGAS program through the development of their academic abilities, CGAS propelled motivated members to successfully complete the Coast Guard Academy’s 200-week journey to commissioning. The leadership team’s positive efforts, establishment of an inclusive environment, and personal commitment to each student and their families, have greatly improved the outcomes of the CGAS program, resulting in the historic success rates enjoyed today by the Corps of Cadets and the Coast Guard Academy.
    f. The Dr. Hallie Gregory Award winner is Shannon E. Norenberg, for her outstanding
efforts as the Coast Guard Academy Sexual Assault Response Coordinator (SARC).
Personified as the “center of gravity” for all sexual assault reporting, response
coordination, and for instilling a “bias for action,” she has been a stabilizing and
compelling force towards eliminating sexual assault from the workplace, all while
performing her duties as SARC for the Coast Guard Academy and, when needed, for the
First Coast Guard District. Ms. Norenberg’s distinguished work has been paramount to
our Coast Guard’s readiness and, most notably, to the safety and security of all persons
across the Coast Guard workforce. By heightening sexual assault awareness with
our current and future leaders, and through instilling a dedication in everyone to take
ownership in building an environment fostered on respect for one another, her work has and will continue to lead to a stronger Coast Guard, a more efficient environment for reporting and adjudication of sexual assault cases, additional resources, and eventually, the elimination of sexual assault from the Coast Guard.
2. Award trophy presentations for these awards were originally planned for the Eclipse
2020 Awards Dinner but were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In lieu of an on-site ceremony, a virtual ceremony will be held with an award presentation video on 27 April 2020, released through the Eclipse 2020 website located at: https://www.uscga.edu/eclipse2020/. Certificates for use in appropriate unit-level recognition will be issued immediately to award winners. Award winners will be invited to an additional trophy presentation to be held at the Eclipse 2021 Awards Dinner to be held in April, 2021.
3. The CGA Office of Inclusion and Diversity received numerous well-deserved nominations for these awards and would like to thank the commands that took the time to recognize their personnel. CGA is pleased to announce the following nominees for their hard work and accomplishments throughout the past year.
The Mason K. Brown Genesis Award:
Cadet Molly A. Jones
ENS Nicholas Woolfolk
LT Dana T. Dougherty
ASEE Engineering Dean’s Diversity Leadership Initiative Team
(CDR Brian J. Maggi, LCDR Kimberly C. Young-McLear, LCDR Jennifer Rogers, LT Dani R.
Brunswick, LT Nicholas C. Custer, LT Kevin M. Robinson, Dr. Richard W. Freeman)
The Merle Smith Pioneer Award:
LT Erin L. Callahan
Dr. Jillian E. McLeod
CMC Brett L. VerHulst
The JoAnn Miller Community Award:
Charles Holyfield
The Frances Neal Humanitarian Award:
LT Marvi M. Rivera
LT Kimberly K. Shadwick
MUC Megan C. Sesma
Anne M. Johnson
Dr. Alexander Waid
USCGC COHO (WPB-87321)
Bruce Cobb
The Joseph M. Vojvodich Award:
LT Monya A. Stubbs
The Dr. Hallie Gregory Award:
CDR Shameen E. Anthanio-Williams
CAPT Jason P. Tama
LCDR Stephen Bor
4. Questions regarding Eclipse 2020 should be referred to the CGA Office of Inclusion
and Diversity via email: oid@uscga.edu or 860-444-8287.
5. RADM Paul F. Thomas, Deputy for Personnel Readiness, sends.
6. Internet release is authorized.