(KNSI) – A St. Cloud Technical and Community College administrator, dance professor and local leader is this year’s Central Minnesota Community Foundation Women’s Fund’s ATHENA Award winner.
Debra L. Leigh is SCTCC’s interim vice president of cultural fluency, equity and inclusion. She previously was a longtime faculty member at St. Cloud State University who held the title of Director of Dance.
Her leadership and mentorship efforts have been felt in Central Minnesota as well as abroad, as Leigh started the first modern dance company at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in South Africa. Leigh also founded the International Black Women’s Leadership Project and helped form Omeka, described as “a group of African American women that gather monthly to host other African women refugees, immigrants and their families moving into St. Cloud.”
“Debra Leigh has provided mentorship and leadership to countless women over the years through her work as a college professor, as a community activist and as a champion for equity and inclusion,” said Deb Holstad, who was one of the people who nominated Leigh for the ATHENA Award.
“Few people have been active and influential in building cultural bridges across the greater St. Cloud community as Debra Leigh,” said Steve Joul, president of CommunityGiving. “She is passionate about the need to build an inclusive community across cultures and has worked tirelessly in many roles to make this happen. She is quiet, humble and yet bold in her leadership style. She has the natural gift for helping people come together around difficult and challenging discussions.”
The lifetime achievement award from CMCF’s Women’s Fund honors exceptional efforts in women’s leadership, initiative, creativity and service to others.
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