Positive Maturity recently honored five YW women by awarding them spots on its inaugural Top 50 Over 50 list. The award was created to celebrate members of the community who know how to dream, laugh, be happy and achieve success on many levels. 
YWCA Central Alabama CEO Yolanda Sullivan, Board members Debra Goldstein and Brenda Hackney, and former Board members Helen Shores Lee and Maria Bouchelle Campbell were among those recognized for their lifetime achievements and civic contributions to central Alabama. “Anyone can grow older; it doesn’t take much talent or effort,” said Penny Kakoliris, executive director of Positive Maturity. “The goal in life is to grow up. I believe this is accomplished by finding opportunities for change, becoming a catalyst in this world and leaving it with no regrets.”
Sullivan began her term as the YW’s Interim CEO in January after 30 years with Vulcan Materials Company, where she most recently served as corporate human resources and facilities services director. A volunteer with the YW for 20 years, she served as Board president during the $15 million capital campaign. Sullivan is a member of the St. Vincent’s Planning Committee and The Women’s Network and serves on the board of the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham.
One of the youngest individuals appointed as a U.S. Administrative Law Judge, Goldstein is also an author. “Maze in Blue,” a murder mystery, was published in 2011. An active community volunteer and YW Board member since 2002, Goldstein also serves on the boards of the Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center and Temple Emanu-El Endowment Foundation and is a member of the Community Leadership Council for UAB’s Center for Metabolic Bone Disease. 
Hackney has long used the knowledge acquired in her career in the financial industry to help the YW and other agencies. A YW board member for 16 years and former co-chair of the Purse & Passion luncheon, she is president of The Hackney Foundation and owner of Jefferson Giles Investments. She has co-chaired the United Way’s Tocqueville Society, served on the project selection and fundraising committees for the new Rotary Trail and is active on several other nonprofit boards.
Lee, a former YW Board member, was named the YWCA’s 2013 Woman of Valor and was the first African-American woman to serve in the civil division of the Circuit Court of Jefferson County. A former clinical psychologist and director of clinical outreach services for Jefferson County Department of Health, she is the author of “The Gentle Giant of Dynamite Hill,” a book about growing up as the daughter of famed Birmingham lawyer and Civil Rights leader Arthur Shores.
Campbell, an attorney and former YW Board member, established the legal department at AmSouth Bank before serving as COO of Trinity Church in New York. Upon her return to Alabama, she headed up a major affordable housing initiative and was named Superintendent of Banks. She currently serves as an independent consultant in the banking and nonprofit sectors and serves on the board of St. Andrews-Sewanee School, Leadership Birmingham and the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. 
The YW is so proud of these amazing women, and we are grateful to them for their leadership and dedication. Congratulations to them and all of the honorees, who make such an impact on the lives of so many.
If you would like to get involved or donate to the YWCA Central Alabama, please click here.