Events

GRACIES LEADERSHIP AWARDS

The Gracies Leadership Awards Luncheon provide an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the significant impact women have made in the media industry, while also spurring to action and emboldening female leaders in attendance.

Thank you to everyone who attended the event to celebrate the 2023 Honorees. Please mark your calendars for November 19, 2024 for the next event.

2023 Event Photos 2023 Post-Event Press Release Inaugural Gracies Icon Award Announced Press Release: 2023 Honorees Announced 2023 Honorees 2022 Photos and Clips

Student Fellowships

The Alliance for Women in Media along with Google News Initiative are investing in the next generation of women in Journalism. We have partnered to create a unique fellowship program for students pursuing a career in Journalism.

The application period for the Student Fellowship program has closed. Please contact info@allwomeninmedia.org with questions.


List of Previous Honorees


2023 Honorees

Radio Personality Delilah

Gracies Icon Award Recipient

Radio Personality Delilah

Gracies Icon Award Recipient

Delilah is the most-listened-to-woman on radio in the U.S. Delilah’s soothing voice, open heart and love of music have expanded her audience to more than eight million weekly listeners on approximately 160 radio stations in the U.S., including 106.7 Lite FM in New York City and B-101 in Philadelphia. The program has been syndicated since 1996 and distributed by Premiere Networks for 19 years since 2004.

Delilah, who celebrated the 35-year anniversary of her nighttime radio program in 2021 was honored with the radio industry’s highest accolades– an induction into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2016, the 2017 National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Broadcast Hall of Fame induction, marking the first time in 35 years that a woman would receive such a distinction. As well, the NAB honored her with a prestigious Marconi Award for “Network/Syndicated Personality of the Year” in 2016. In addition, there are yearly honors by Radio Ink as one of the “Most Influential Women in Radio”. Delilah took home the trophy for “Outstanding Host Entertainment/Information” at the Alliance of Women in Media’s 37th Annual Gracie Awards Gala.

Delilah’s distinctive blend of story-telling on radio, sympathetic listening and encouragement – all scored with adult contemporary music– makes her top ranked in most cities with female and male listeners, alike. She says her show is a “safety zone where listeners take off their armor, slip into a ‘Mr. Rogers’ cardigan, sit around the electronic hearth and share their secrets.”

She adds that her audience is “just like me and women working on the show, who were once listeners. We are parents who work hard to strike a balance between family and work life. We also enjoy our friendships and remember to laugh as much as possible.”

Delilah is also a radio station owner, purchasing the radio station that provided her with her broadcasting start at age 14, KDUN AM in Reedsport, Oregon, in 2021. The station was the air and bankrupt at the time of her purchase, providing her an opportunity to restore the only local market media resource to the community she was raised in.

Often referred to as the “Oprah of Radio,” Delilah is also the author of four books, including “One Heart at a Time,” which was released in 2018. Published by Rosetta Books, it features a first person autobiographical portrayal of Delilah’s life and her nature of focusing on one person at a time.

As a mother of 15 children, 12 of whom she adopted, Delilah established a foundation in 2004 called Point Hope as a voice for forgotten children everywhere. The primary focus of the Foundation is on children and their mother’s in Ghana and on special needs of children in U.S. foster care system. Delilah has traveled to Ghana 32 times in the last 19 years to facilitate the impact of Point Hope to various communities throughout Ghana, including the establishment of Point Hope Village outside of Accra, Ghana. She was recognized by the National Council of Adoption in 2018, being inducted into the Hall of Fame.

In addition to a passion for children and radio, Delilah is devoted to music because “it touches the heart the way nothing else can.”

Delilah loves her work “because it has allowed me to bring together a distinct community of people who reach out to help one another. We don’t try to fix people. We listen. We sympathize. We empathize. If the show has a message, it’s listen to your own gut. Trust your own intuition. Go where it leads. Don’t give up.”

Kay Olin

AWM Legacy Leadership Award Recipient

Kay Olin

AWM Legacy Leadership Award Recipient

Kay Olin is the former President of Local Focus Radio and a 30+ year radio veteran with both local and national experience. A skilled manager and leader, Kay strategically captained her team to win and use her professional network and access to support her partners. As a recognized leader in the broadcast industry Kay’s credibility and creativity set her apart.

Fascinated by the workings of broadcast media, Kay worked briefly at a national television sales organization before accepting an Account Executive position at radio station WIVY-FM in Jacksonville – thus building the foundation for her ensuing career in radio. She was named one of the first female General Managers in the country at WANM in 1978.

After returning to Atlanta in 1979, Kay threw her hat into the national radio sales ring as an Account Executive at Torbet Radio and has never looked back.

She spent nearly 30 years at Interep, the nation’s largest independent sales and marketing company. During her impressive tenure with Interep, Kay initiated several key programs within the organization. In 1994, she founded and served as chairman of the company’s Quality Service Team—a program dedicated to ensuring the highest level of service for Interep’s client stations and the advertising agencies that it served. She was actively involved with Interep’s RAPPER (Radio Apprentice) Program, an intensive training program for people starting careers in radio.

In 2007, Kay was named President of Interep’s Local Focus division, created to provide national service and representation for station groups in small to mid-sized markets. After the closing of Interep, Kay re-opened Local Focus to provide top-drawer representation to stations in small to mid-sized markets.

Kay served as Chair for the Alliance for Women in Media (AWM) and on the board as National Spokesperson for Mentoring and Inspiring Women (MIWs). Kay has been honored as one of Radio Ink’s Most Influential Women and was recognized as a Radio Ink magazine’s 2017 MIW Radio Legend.

Additionally, she was a recipient of the Atlanta Broadcaster’s coveted Lifetime Achievement Award and named as one of Atlanta’s Top 25 Women to Watch by Atlanta Woman’s Magazine.

Kay served on the board for GA Public Broadcasting but is most proud of her mentoring initiatives through the MIW’s and AWM organizations.

Rebekah Dopp

Honoree: Executive Vice President, Distribution, Strategy & Affiliate Relations, The CW

Rebekah Dopp

Honoree: Executive Vice President, Distribution, Strategy & Affiliate Relations, The CW

Rebekah E. Dopp is Executive Vice President of Distribution, Strategy, and Affiliate Relations for The CW Network. She is responsible for leading the network’s distribution (deal making) efforts and overseeing affiliate relations with its station group partners. She has led global product, engineering, strategy, marketing, and distribution teams and is proud to have served as a senior leader on the launch teams for HBO GO, CBS All Access (Paramount+), YouTube TV, and CW Sports.

Prior to joining The CW, Rebekah was at Google where she negotiated carriage for 700+ local stations for the launch of YouTube TV. Under her leadership, YouTube TV eclipsed all vMVPDs in local broadcast carriage. She then led programs within the Google News Initiative that built and launched products providing newsrooms with research and resources for the 2020 election. She also founded Exponent, a gender equity accelerator, which spun off Google as a standalone non-profit, and today partners with Gloria Steinem’s Foundation.

Previously, Rebekah served as senior vice president, advanced digital services at CBS. She led ideation, creation and implementation of multi-platform digital strategies. She also acted as a technology lead during distribution negotiations. Prior to CBS, she spent 14 years with HBO, culminating as vice president, digital products.

Rebekah is a graduate of The College of William & Mary. She is a fellow of the Betsy Magness Leadership Institute and a National Association of Corporate Directors leadership fellow. She participated in the Directors’ College at Stanford Law School, the TV Executive Leadership Program at Harvard Business School (CTAM U.), and the NACD Master Class.

Rosalyn Durant

Honoree: Executive Vice President, Programming & Acquisitions, ESPN

Rosalyn Durant

Honoree: Executive Vice President, Programming & Acquisitions, ESPN

ROSALYN DURANT
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, PROGRAMMING & ACQUISITIONS

Rosalyn Durant returned to ESPN in March 2023 as executive vice president, programming & acquisitions, leading programming, media rights deals, ESPN+, ESPN International, Andscape and espnW. Durant spent the past three years as senior vice president of Disney Springs, Water Parks, and ESPN Wide World of Sports, playing a critical role in helping restart the 2019-20 NBA season in the “Bubble” at ESPN Wide World of Sports during the pandemic.

Prior to her stint with Disney Parks, Durant most recently served as senior vice president of ESPN’s College Networks, overseeing ESPNU, SEC Network and Longhorn Network, and was a central member of the cross-functional leadership team that successfully launched the ACC Network.

Durant’s 24-year Disney and ESPN career features numerous honors, including making Sports Business Journal's 2019 Power Player list and Savoy Magazine’s 2020 Most Influential Black Executives in Corporate America. Durant was named a 2020 Multichannel News Wonder Woman, honored as a Charlotte Business Journal Women in Business Award winner in 2020 and recognized on CableFax lists for their Most Powerful Women (2017, 2018, 2019) and Most Influential Minorities (2018, 2019), as well as Sports Business Journal’s 40 under 40 in 2015.

She is a member of The Walt Disney Company's CEO Diversity and Inclusion Council and sits on the executive committee for the board of directors of the T. Howard Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to increasing diversity in the multimedia and entertainment industry.

Suzanne Grimes

Honoree: President, Westwood One and EVP Corporate Marketing, Cumulus Media

Suzanne Grimes

Honoree: President, Westwood One and EVP Corporate Marketing, Cumulus Media

Suzanne Grimes, a prominent executive with over 30 years of experience in the media industry, currently serves as the President of Westwood One and the EVP of Corporate Marketing at Cumulus Media. At Westwood One, Grimes oversees the largest audio network in America, providing nationally syndicated news, sports and entertainment programming to more than 9,400 radio stations nationwide, reaching a quarter billion monthly listeners. Under her leadership, Westwood One has expanded its digital footprint, growing streaming audio and launching the top-ranked Cumulus Podcast Network with over 1.4 billion podcast downloads annually. Grimes also leads corporate marketing at Cumulus Media, where she is responsible for developing and executing marketing strategies that promote the company's brand and drive revenue growth.

Prior to joining Westwood One and Cumulus Media, Grimes held executive positions at other media companies, including iHeartMedia, Reader’s Digest Association, Condé Nast, and News Corp. Throughout her career, she has been recognized for her leadership and industry expertise. She has been named a “Women to Watch” by Advertising Age and a Top Woman in Media by Cynopsis Media. She has been included in Radio Ink magazine’s “40 Most Powerful People in Radio” and "Most Powerful Women in Radio" each year since 2016, and currently serves on the Executive Committee of Radio Advertising Bureau’s Board of Directors.

Rashida Jones

Honoree: President, MSNBC

Rashida Jones

Honoree: President, MSNBC

Rashida Jones is President of MSNBC, the premier destination for breaking news, award-winning journalism, in-depth analysis and perspectives. She’s responsible for oversight of all programming, editorial units, business development and technical operations as well as MSNBC Films, a division of MSNBC that produces and acquires documentary features and short films for distribution across the NBCUniversal News Group platforms.

Prior to taking on the role of President in February 2021, Jones served as SVP, NBC News and MSNBC. Jones also led MSNBC’s dayside and weekend news programming, managing hours of live reporting and newsgathering. Jones won an Emmy for strategic coverage of the Supreme Court’s decision on same-sex marriage in 2016 and executive produced the most-watched Democratic presidential debate in history during the 2020 election cycle.

Before joining MSNBC in 2013, Jones was the News Director for the NBC affiliate in Columbia, South Carolina, where she rebuilt the news team to focus on deep investigative reporting. Jones also served as Director of Live Programming at The Weather Channel, leading coverage for some of the network’s most historic weather events.

In 2022, Jones was named one of the "Most Powerful People in New York Media" by The Hollywood Reporter and featured on Variety's Women's Impact list. She also received Hampton University’s 2022 Outstanding Twenty-Year Alumnus Award. In 2019, Jones was inducted into the Scripps Howard Journalism Hall of Fame, an honor of her work in the journalism industry. She is a board member of the Carole Kneeland Project for Responsible Journalism and a member of the Academy of Arts and Sciences and NABJ.

Jones received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Mass Media-Arts Broadcast from Hampton University.

Susan Larkin

Honoree: Chief Operating Officer, Audacy

Susan Larkin

Honoree: Chief Operating Officer, Audacy

Susan Larkin is among the most dynamic and respected leaders in Audio today. As Chief Operating Officer of Audacy, Larkin leads the company’s markets, content, sales and operations teams. With responsibility for revenue, brand and people performance across Audacy’s 45 markets and central teams she’s deeply focused on driving long-term growth for the company’s multi-platform Audio portfolio. Larkin’s +30 years experience as a Radio executive includes management positions at Cox Media Group and ABC-Disney Radio. Before stepping into the COO role at Audacy, she oversaw the company’s New York, San Francisco and Sacramento markets. Larkin currently serves on the Board of the Radio Advertising Bureau and recently served as Vice Chair for the Florida Association of Broadcasters and on the Board of Ronald McDonald House Charities. She has been recognized as one of Radio Ink’s “Most Influential Women in Radio” and in Radio Ink’s “40 Most Powerful”. Larkin earned a Bachelor's Degree in Communications from State University of New York at Oswego.

Lori Locke

Honoree: Executive Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer, Warner Bros. Discovery

Lori Locke

Honoree: Executive Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer, Warner Bros. Discovery

Lori Locke is Executive Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), one of the world’s largest and most diverse media and entertainment companies spanning the full range of platforms and programming genres, including theatrical, streaming, linear, gaming, premium scripted television, lifestyle, and non-fiction, international, animation, global sports, and news. Available in more than 220 countries and territories and fifty languages, WBD entertains, informs, and inspires audiences globally through its unparalleled collection of iconic brands, products, and experiences. Locke has led her teams through multiple large transactions and integrations, providing strategic and tactical leadership in support of audit committee oversight, corporate strategy, and global integration and implementation. This included the merger of AT&T’s WarnerMedia and Discovery and the launch of Warner Bros. Discovery in April 2022.

Locke currently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors for Media Financial Management Association (MFM) and has been a Board Member since 2019. MFM is a not-for-profit professional association dedicated to the unique interest and needs of business and finance executives in the media industry.

Locke was named one of Cablefax’s Most Powerful Women in Broadband in Media in 2022.

She has over 30 years’ experience in providing management and financial expertise to various organizations. Prior to joining WBD, Locke held senior finance positions at various large organizations, including Gannett, Leidos, Hilton and AOL Time Warner. Locke also served in the Division of Corporation Finance at the Securities and Exchange Commission and prior to that worked at Deloitte.

Locke is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University and is a certified public accountant.