This year, for Women’s History Month, BET celebrates Black women who are boldly taking up space in places no one ever expected them to be. These 20 women are leaders of industry, political avengers, tycoons of business, and creative artists. We start with three Black women who are carving out distinguished career pathways as they stand lockstep with one of the most powerful figures in New York City politics. Here are the Black women making history today.
By: Renee Washington AND Ali McPherson
Here are several of the most influential disruptors, innovators and changemakers hitting our radar this month.
Chaplain
Renee Washington is a retired All-American soccer player who is now a sports reporter, speaker and author based in New Jersey. Ali McPherson is a multimedia arts and culture reporter based in New York City. Special thanks to Corey Manning, Evans Alexandre, Wilfredo Feliciano, Madison J. Gray, Wendy L. Wilson and the NYC Office of Mayor Eric Adams.
#WomensHistoryMonthBET
SISTERS
DOING IT FOR THEMSELVES
Camille Joseph Varlack
DANIELLE HOLLEY
BOBBI WILSON
SARIA GWIN-MAYE
DR. DINEE SIMPSON
DR. TARIKA BARRETT
JUSTINE LINDSAY
SHEENA WRIGHT
INGRID LEWIS-MARTIN
AUTUMN LOCKWOOD
ROSEZENA J. PIERCE, ESQ.
SHEENA ALLEN
PAULANA LAMONIER
NICOLE LYNN
DIA SIMMS
MARIAN CROAK
DR. RAEGAN MCDONALD-MOSLEY
COurtney Balgrove
ZAN B.R.
ICe SPICE
Joseph Varlack
Camille
Order, structure and discipline are second nature to Varlack who is responsible for the operational excellence of City Hall.
Elementary school children are often asked what they want to be when they grow up. For six-year-old Camille Joseph Varlack, watching shows like Matlock as a kid, she imagined herself in the courtroom.
“I always wanted to be a lawyer. I've never thought about doing anything else,” says Varlack. “I went to law school and wanted to be a prosecutor and thought it was, for the most part, the greatest job ever.”
In December 2022, Varlack was officially named the Chief of Staff for New York City’s second Black mayor, Eric Adams. She is now the second Black woman to hold the role in the city’s history.
gle a million things all the time anyway and so we just keep finding ways to bring that into these roles of power.” –Renee Washington
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It’s a challenge to be the first in anything, but to take on that challenge as a Black woman in public office requires a certain bold determination. When Sheena Wright was appointed First Deputy Mayor of New York City by Mayor Eric Adams, she became the first Black woman to ever hold the position, and she fully understands the extra weight and responsibility that come with that title.
The daughter of Jamaican immigrants, Wright has broken many glass ceilings for women, especially Black women. She admits that she is all too familiar with the pressure that comes with being a trailblazer.
“I’m relentless. I’m a Capricorn. So, I’ll keep going until I get to where I need to be,” she says with a chuckle and a big smile.
As the first Black woman to ever hold the position, Wright is shattering glass ceilings so other women can rise to the top with her.
Wright
SHEENA
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Standing alongside her colleagues during the BET photoshoot, Chaplain Ingrid Lewis-Martin sticks her tongue out playfully to break up the serious power poses taking place in the room. She admits working in government can be exhausting at times, so whenever possible, she likes to have fun.
"I'm a positive person; I really try to look at things from a positive perspective. Even if it's something that's bad, I try to figure out how we can get the good out of the bad", she explains.
She has been dubbed “The Lioness of City Hall,'' “the fixer,” and “the gatekeeper.” After a nearly 40-year friendship with the mayor, Lewis-Martin has his ear, but most importantly, his ultimate trust.
LEWIS-MARTIN
INGRID
When it comes to breaking boundaries, becoming the face for what’s possible for kids and teens, and living as her authentic self, Justine Lindsay is truly making waves as the first openly transgender NFL cheerleader. In March 2022, she announced via Instagram that she had joined the Carolina Panthers TopCats cheerleaders. She recently told Tamron Hall that now is her time. "At the end of the day, I am a woman who loves to dance; I always put dance in front of everything."
–Ali McPherson
lindsay
JUSTINE
Ask Dr. Tarika Barrett why she does what she does, and she’d say, “To disrupt the status quo.” As the CEO of Girls Who Code, a nonprofit aiming to shrink the gender gap in tech, Barrett is changing the way S.T.E.M. looks. Encouraged by her grandmother at a young age to take her education seriously, Barrett excelled and would later graduate from the NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. Girls Who Code now serves approximately 500,000 students from underrepresented communities, giving them the tools they need to succeed. Barrett is living proof that knowledge is power. –AM
Barrett
Dr. TarikA
It’s one thing to have big dreams; it’s another to end up at President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address sitting in the First Lady’s box only to receive a shoutout for your achievements. Saria Gwin-Maye was recognized by Biden for her work as a member of Ironworkers Local 44, also known as the ‘cowboys of the sky’ as Biden referenced during his speech. The gifted ironworker has been building bridges and other infrastructure for 30 years and will climb as high as 10 stories to help repair the Brent Spence Bridge between Kentucky and Ohio over the Ohio River. This union veteran is a force to be reckoned with. –AM
Gwin-Maye
Saria
For this Chicago-based surgeon, it was not an option to simply wait for things to get better in the healthcare system, especially for Black patients. Dinee Simpson decided to be the change she wanted to see. She became the state of Illinois' first Black female transplant surgeon. Simpson, who treats patients at Northwestern Medicine, established the African American Transplant Access Program (AATAP), an initiative that engages with communities to improve awareness of disease prevention and treatment options. The program aims to reverse centuries of medical injustices within the organ transplant process. Simpson told NYU, "As a Black woman, I thought I could build trust in a system that has historically mistreated Black patients." –AM
Simpson
DR. Dinee
Ask Dr. Tarika Barrett why she does what she does, and she’d say, “To disrupt the status quo.” As the CEO of Girls Who Code, a nonprofit aiming to shrink the gender gap in tech, Barrett is changing the way S.T.E.M. looks. Encouraged by her grandmother at a young age to take her education seriously, Barrett excelled and would later graduate from the NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. Girls Who Code now serves approximately 500,000 students from underrepresented communities, giving them the tools they need to succeed. Barrett is living proof that knowledge is power. –AM
Pierce, ESQ.
Rosezena J.
If you were one of the 113 million viewers who tuned into Super Bowl LVII this year and witnessed the Philadelphia Eagles stellar performance, then you are aware of Philadelphia Eagles’ assistant sports performance coach Autumn Lockwood’s work. Lockwood made history as the first Black woman to coach in a Super Bowl game and became only the fourth woman to coach in a Super Bowl. Lockwood earned a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice from the University of Arizona and received her master’s in sports management from East Tennessee State University. Although her team didn’t win, Coach Lockwood is proof that women have a place on NFL staffs. –AM
Lockwood
Autumn
When it comes to inspiring Black people to succeed, Danielle Holley is quite the advocate. A gifted attorney and scholar, Holley was recently appointed as president of Mount Holyoke College. It’s an achievement no Black woman could have ever imagined when the college first opened in 1837. Now, after 186 years, Holley is the first and starts on July 1. Until then, she will complete her term as dean of the Howard University School of Law. Holley told the Connecticut Public, “...The doors are open for us. With an education like the education that you get at Mount Holyoke, you are ready to step into any room, into any opportunity.” –AM
Holley
Danielle
In October 2022, Bobbi Wilson, a gifted 9-year-old Jersey native with a passion for S.T.E.M., became the victim of racial profiling. While doing her part to help eradicate lanternflies, which are harmful to trees and other plants, Wilson created a lanternfly repellent. She was making her way from tree to tree in her neighborhood when a white man, who also lived in the community, called the police. After the encounter, her family, along with scholars and scientists, rallied around the budding entomologist. And as an added honor, Yale University recently entered her collection of 27 spotted lanternflies into their Peabody Museum of Natural History database.–AM
Wilson
Bobbi
This 23-year-old rapper might be new to the game, but she is getting the seal of approval from hip-hop vets like Nicki Minaj, Meek Mill, Cardi B and Drake. Touted as the female face of Bronx Drill and "Rap’s New Princess," Ice Spice made waves after her song, "Munch" became a hit with the lyrics, "you thought I was feelin’ you?" Ice Spice gained even more popularity after being featured on British singer PinkPantheress’ infectious hit song, "That Boy’s a Liar Part II. She dropped her first album, Like…" in January 2023 to solid reviews, and based on her rising popularity, this talented, fashion darling is just getting started. –AM
Spice
Ice
For the owners of Whipped Urban Dessert Lab, a plant-based ice cream company, having a small business isn’t always easy, but it sure is worth it. Founders Courtney Blagrove and Zan B.R. are not just business partners, they are sisters who wanted to see alternative (but still yummy) ice cream options on the market. The duo created the first oat milk soft-serve "Ice Crème" to appease the 80% of Black Americans who are lactose intolerant. Despite a brief shutdown during the pandemic, their NYC shop is still going strong. The entrepreneurs will open another location soon in West Hollywood, CA. –AM
BALGROVE
Courtney
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For years, Dr. Raegan McDonald-Mosley, MD, MPH, has fought on the frontlines to ensure all women have the right to proper reproductive healthcare. She has seen firsthand the traumatic and fatal consequences some women face around the world. After serving as chief medical officer of Planned Parenthood, she became the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Maryland. Today, McDonald-Mosley leads Power to Decide, a non-profit agency dedicated to providing quality sexual health information, contraception, and support whose goal is to advance reproductive well-being. She told Ms. Magazine, "Access to abortion care is critical for people to have control over their reproductive health and to ensure an environment where all—regardless of who they are or where they live—can achieve the reproductive outcomes they want." –AM
McDonald-Mosley
Dr. Raegan
This awe-inspiring engineer is known for advancing the capabilities of audio and video conferencing while also encouraging more women and girls to find careers in the field. After all, Marian Croak was inspired to pursue engineering to feed her fascination with how things work and how technology can be used to positively influence people’s lives. The native New Yorker worked at AT&T for several years before becoming vice president of engineering at Google. There she leads the Research Center for Responsible AI and Human Centered Technology. Croak also holds over 200 patents, and her research led to the technology that allows people to use text to donate to charities. –AM
Croak
Marian
Billboard magazine twice named her as “One of the Most Powerful Executives in the Industry,” so it’s easy to understand why D’Angela “Dia” Simms epitomizes the word success. After several years of working alongside Sean Diddy Combs at Combs Enterprises and later becoming the first president of the company (other than Combs himself), the extraordinary executive became the CEO of Lobos 1707 Tequila & Mezcal. Simms is also doing her part behind the scenes to open doors for the next generation of Black entrepreneurs. She co-founded Pronghorn, a 10-year initiative to drive diversity, equity, and inclusion in the spirits industry while also generating $2 billion in economic value. –AM
SimMs
Dia
This trailblazer left her mark in the sports industry after she became the first woman agent at PlayersRep, a top NFL agency. And if that wasn’t impressive enough, Nicole Lynn is likely the youngest female sports agent in the industry, having signed her first client at just 26. Subsequent clients include players with the Oakland Raiders and Washington Redskins; a ballerina from the American Ballet Theater and Eagles Quarterback Jalen Hurts, who made it to the Super Bowl this year. Lynn says, "I owe every bit of success I’ve achieved to my extremely dedicated work ethic and my unwavering faith in God." –AM
Lynn
Nicole
Remember the age-old stereotype about Black people not knowing how to swim? Well, Paulana Lamonier is over it and refuses to allow that archaic notion to live on. Once a competitive swimmer who learned how to swim at an early age, Lamonier wants all Black folks to learn to become proficient swimmers using her mission F.A.C.E. (Fun, Awareness, Community, Education). She established Black People Will Swim as a way to get Black people to “face” their fears. Lamonier told PEOPLE, “When you see someone who looks like you, who talks like you, who understands where you're from, you're like, 'I see myself.' It encourages people to want to learn." –AM
Lamonier
Paulana
When Sheena Allen noticed that many Americans—some 63 million to be exact—were unbanked and underbanked, the Mississippi native set out to find a solution. "They were charging these exorbitant interest rates and trapping them in a cycle that not only made it hard to pay off the loan but also difficult for them to save money," says Allen. After working with Rev Tech Labs, an incubator firm that invests in startup companies in the tech and healthcare spaces, an idea came to her on how to break this cycle. In 2019, the fintech expert created CapWay, a digital banking hub that provides financial services for all. Today, CapWay has more than 1 million monthly visitors. Not bad for the little Black girl from a country town in Mississippi who is making sure her people have better options. –AM
Allen
Sheena
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The University of Buffalo, and Brooklyn Law School alum also explains that as her career has grown, so has her support system. “None of us can do this on our own. For me, it's really my husband's family that's here, and they have been incredibly supportive. My children have been especially supportive, as I’ve chased storms and crises all over New York, which I know has been hard.”
Focused on Adams’ mission of “getting stuff done,” Varlack continues to stand on the strong foundation her mother built for her as she paves the way to create space for others to have a seat at the table.
“We are uniquely situated as women. We tend to juggle a million things all the time anyway and so we just keep finding ways to bring that into these roles of power.” –Renee Washington
Varlack’s motivation stems from her experiences as a young girl emigrating with her family from Trinidad and Tobago and then settling in Rochester, N.Y. After much sacrifice and hard work, she eventually became an American citizen and now strives to pay it forward providing others with the same opportunity.
“When I came home in the afternoon, she had already left to go to work,” Varlack recalls of her school routine with her mom. “She left my dinner and I would sit down, do my homework, do a puzzle or whatever, and it was like that for years. She just worked so hard.”
It didn’t get any easier after attending an Irish Catholic high school, where she was often the only Black person in many of her classes. However, Varlack says that these experiences have helped her in various aspects of her career, especially during the city-wide response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and, more recently, managing the more than 50,000 asylum seekers who have made their way to New York City seeking sanctuary.
“As an immigrant, I understand what their journey has been like,” Varlack shares. “The trauma that they have experienced… [our administration] is making sure that we're treating them fundamentally with respect and helping them to get what they need.”
Elementary school children are often asked what they want to be when they grow up. For six-year-old Camille Joseph Varlack, watching shows like Matlock as a kid, she imagined herself in the courtroom.
“I always wanted to be a lawyer. I've never thought about doing anything else,” says Varlack. “I went to law school and wanted to be a prosecutor and thought it was, for the most part, the greatest job ever.”
In December 2022, Varlack was officially named the Chief of Staff for New York City’s second Black mayor, Eric Adams. She is now the second Black woman to hold the role in the city’s history.
Varlack’s childhood dream began to evolve as she realized she liked solving problems and crisis management. “[I’ve worked on] everything from shark attacks to emergencies to the pandemic; just the whole gamut and I’ve loved it. I love the work,” Varlack says with a smile. “I love the crazy nature of it. I love just all of that. So, that sort of sent me on a path towards really thinking about crisis, risk, and operations.”
Sitting at a table in her office with colleagues, she has two tablets, two cell phones, a whiteboard of listed agenda items behind her, and an overflowing journal of notes. Across the room, there are multiple computer monitors at her desk. With days that can include the weekends and range from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., this frenzy is just another normal morning of coordinating and troubleshooting.
Recently, Adams and District 37 (DC 37), the largest public employee union in New York, representing roughly 150,000 members and 89,000 retirees, announced a new five-plus year tentative contract agreement. Lewis-Martin played a vital role in finalizing that deal. The agreement provides better wages and benefits to nearly 25% of the city’s total unionized workforce, among other changes that improve employees’ overall quality of life.
Although she is thriving in her position today, Lewis-Martin acknowledges that getting here has not been easy. Thirty years ago, she was a Social Studies teacher at IS 320 in Brooklyn and then worked with an elected official, who attempted to stifle her work and voice.
After pursuing the power of her faith and becoming an ordained chaplain in 2018, Lewis-Martin is determined to prove that Black women deserve to have a seat at the table. "I believe in the team 100%. Under the Adams administration, we will be viewed as one of the best mayoral administrations in the history of New York City and under only the second Black mayor. People need to know that when you put Black people in power and they are working in partnership, for the greater and common good, we can get the job done effectively, expeditiously, and smartly." –RW
That affirming demeanor is evident in her role as chief advisor to the Mayor of New York City, a position that no other Black woman has played before. Her office is filled with large, colorful plants and the scent of eucalyptus, which immediately puts you at ease, as does a sign paraphrasing the Biblical verse Isaiah 54:17: “No weapon formed against me shall prosper.”
Instead of being seen as a Black woman empowered to bring about positive change, Lewis-Martin believes she was labeled a disruptive nuisance or just completely ignored altogether. It took years for her to have the confidence in these spaces to be her authentic self and find her voice.
"Many years ago, I organized a high-level meeting. After the months of work I did, I was told that I could not join the meeting," explains Lewis-Martin, "To which I promptly retorted that if I am not in the meeting, there will be no meeting. I explained that this is not a ‘good ole boy meeting.' I reminded him that I had put in the work and that I would be at the table and that my voice would be heard."
“If there's a particular issue or a situation that's stopping our agenda from moving forward, I'm brought in to do my best to get a positive resolution,” says Lewis-Martin. “It's been tremendous, and I love it.”
Standing alongside her colleagues during the BET photoshoot, Chaplain Ingrid Lewis-Martin sticks her tongue out playfully to break up the serious power poses taking place in the room. She admits working in government can be exhausting at times, so whenever possible, she likes to have fun.
A native of Brooklyn, Lewis-Martin grew up in a family where everyone, including the women, were encouraged to give back to the community. “[You would] walk into my home and see homeless people getting a meal from my parents.”
Today, as the “real life Olivia Pope of City Hall,” one of the many monikers imposed upon her, Lewis-Martin uses that same dedication to service in her job. And it makes sense seeing how she and Mayor Eric Adams have been friends since 1984, when her husband, Glenn D. Martin and Adams were in the police academy together. Now, Lewis-Martin says working alongside Adams is like a “breath of fresh air.”
"I'm a positive person; I really try to look at things from a positive perspective. Even if it's something that's bad, I try to figure out how we can get the good out of the bad," she explains.
After only a year in office, she believes that the entire team has made meaningful and measurable progress. One example is Mayor Adams’ new plan to reimagine women’s healthcare in New York City and create the kind of model other cities can follow.
The statistics around Black maternal health in the U.S. are dismal and got even worse after the pandemic. It exposed the significant impact of reproductive injustice leading to an increasingly high maternal mortality rate for Black mothers and their babies. Among other initiatives, the mayor’s plan will relaunch the Sexual Education Task Force to better equip city schools with the resources to teach young people about sexual wellness and inclusivity. A new Abortion Access Hub will refer callers seeking medical intervention from other states to resources at various clinics in New York City. Doula and midwifery services will expand along with education campaigns for pregnant women experiencing hypertension and diabetes.
"I am proud to be a part of an administration that understands the importance of being open and transparent on women’s health," says Wright, who is comfortable bringing all aspects of her full self (and that includes being a Black mother) to the job.
“I’m grateful for what was poured into us [growing up], " says Wright. “As Black women, when society tells you what you're not all day, every day, if you don't have a family who reminds you who you are and whose you are, it can be difficult.”
Wright adds that she was raised to understand, for that reason, why she had to work harder than others to achieve the same things in life. Most importantly, she had to learn that nothing was going to be handed to her.
Courage and confidence helped her overcome challenges as a Black student at George School, a boarding school with majority white students in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. At age 16, Wright attended Columbia College, where she ran varsity track and field and graduated in 1990. She attended Columbia Law School and graduated in 1994. Wright immediately got a job at the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and became only the second Black woman attorney employed there. Then she shattered the glass ceiling becoming the first woman president and CEO of the United Way of New York City. It was there that Adams cherry-picked her to be his second in command.
“I don't know a lot about football, but the role of the First Deputy Mayor is to ensure that the administration is achieving and accomplishing its goals and its mission, like the offensive coordinator trying to move the ball down the field,” explains Wright. “All of the deputy mayors and some of the chiefs report directly to me, plus all the agencies that are connected to that as well.”
It’s a challenge to be the first in anything, but to take on that challenge as a Black woman in public office requires a certain bold determination. When Sheena Wright was appointed First Deputy Mayor of New York City by Mayor Eric Adams, she became the first Black woman to ever hold the position, and she fully understands the extra weight and responsibility that come with that title. The daughter of Jamaican immigrants, Wright has broken many glass ceilings for women, especially Black women. She admits that she is all too familiar with the pressure that comes with being a trailblazer.
“I’m relentless. I’m a Capricorn. So, I’ll keep going until I get to where I need to be,” she says with a chuckle and a big smile.
Wright recalls a conversation from her childhood with a white male classmate who once told her, “You’re Black, you're from the South Bronx, and you're a woman. Isn't that kind of three strikes?”
Her response was simple. “I'm at the top of my class. Maybe those things will only make me
stronger and better.”
Family laid the foundation for Wright, who explains that she is only continuing the legacy started
by generations of strong women who came before her. “I grew up in a loving, supportive community. We were poor, but there was love and support,” says Wright.
Joseph Varlack
Camille
LEWIS-MARTIN
INGRID
Chaplain
Wright
SHEENA
“Under Deputy Mayor Anne Williams-Isom’s leadership, we are creating a city that meets the needs of all women and girls. We are bringing an all hands on deck, holistic approach to addressing women’s health, from how we educate young women of color in our school system on their bodies to utilizing data-driven evidence to advance the health of all women in our city.”
Her career may have morphed from attorney to non-profit leader to advisor to the chief executive officer of the most populous city in the country, but Wright is using her current position to leave a lasting impact.
“Government symbolizes the table where decisions are made, where you have the resources and the reins to create change. You can enact policies that truly impact people on the ground. Black women now have a seat at that table, and I am grateful to be here”. –RW
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