Corder named 2021 Jefferson Award winner

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) - Nina Corder, the founder and managing director of the nonprofit Woman of Toledo, has been named the 2021 Jefferson Award winner in Toledo.

The award is presented by 13abc, The Blade, and Buckeye Broadband.

Corder was among four finalists. She will represent the region in Washington D.C. later this year, with a chance to become a national winner. The Jefferson Awards honors individuals for outstanding public service.

The other finalists were: Avalon Budd, who leads The Avalon Foundation, which promotes youth leadership by offering support to kids receiving life-altering treatment for rare diseases; Wanda Butts, who lost her son in a drowning accident, turned her grief into the Josh Project to provide swim lessons for central city children and stresses the importance of water safety through her speeches and work; and Ishan Khare, who created plantpoweredyouth.org, a website to educate others who care for their health, environment, and social issues while learning how to eat a plant-based diet.

Corder’s organization is a diverse group of women’s leaders committed to bringing together a community to learn from and about each other. It advocates for diversity, inclusion, and belonging with a focus on women’s economic empowerment. She founded and developed a new initiative – HerHub, an online platform that connects the female community with local resources, women-owned businesses, and women-led organizations in the area.

In 2018, Corder was among those appointed by the United Nations Empower Women as a Global Champions for Change. She is a past president of the American Association of University Women-Toledo Branch and served on the City of Toledo’s Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women ordinance. One of her accomplishments as a local advocate was the passing of the Pay Equity Act ordinance in the city.

The finalists were chosen by a panel of judges — Wendy Pestrue, President & CEO United Way of Greater Toledo; Tina Skeldon Wozniak, President of the Board of Lucas County Commissioners; Micheal Alexander Sr., Labor Engagement Liaison at United Way of Greater Toledo; Jason Kucsma, Executive Director/Fiscal Officer of Toledo Lucas County Public Library; and Suzette Cowell, CEO of Toledo Urban Federal Credit Union.