The Chicago Defender Honorees the 2024 Women of Excellence Honorees

This year’s Induction Ceremony Honors Exemplary Black Women in the Chicagoland Community at the Sheraton Grand Chicago Riverwalk on March 22, 2024. Chicago, Illinois – Desirée Rogers, former White House Social Secretary to President Barack Obama and chief executive officer of Johnson Publishing Company, headlines an extraordinary list of Black women luminaries who will be honored at the 17th Annual Chicago Defender Women of Excellence Awards and Ceremony. The Women of Excellence (WOE) event will be held Friday, March 22, at the Sheraton Grand Chicago Riverwalk, starting at 5:30 p.m. The theme of this year’s event is “EmpowerHer: Celebrating Strength, Resilience, and Unstoppable Women.” Rogers, one of the nation’s most powerful businesswomen, will be honored as the 2024 WOE “Woman of the Year.” She will join pioneering chef and restaurateur Josephine Wade (Lifetime Achievement Awardee), civic leader, executive, and educator Dr. Carol L. Adams (Vanguard Awardee), and longstanding State Senator Mattie Hunter (Vanguard Awardee) as special honorees. And the honored class of women, along with Rogers, embodies this theme. “Women’s History Month brings immense gratification to our team. It perpetuates our tradition of recognizing the remarkable women in our community for their invaluable contributions. As we mark our 17th year,...