YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – With their moment in the spotlight, the honorees at the 2026 Gems of the Valley awards turned the attention back to the women who uplifted and guided them throughout their journeys.
The honor, presented by the Fund for Women & Girls at the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley, recognizes women doing important work to make the Valley a better place for all, especially when that work is overlooked or underappreciated.
Selected by the Fund for Women & Girls Guiding Circle, this year’s Gems are:
- Carrie Biery – founder of Logan’s Landing
- Dr. Daphne Carr – community organizer and activist
- Tres Hively – BioMed Science Academy senior and junior coach of Piranha Aquatics
- The late Dr. Lashale Pugh – Northeast Ohio Community Resilience Center, former Youngstown State University professor and public health leader
- Susan Sexton – president of The Bummer Fund and community advocate
- Vicki Vicars – operations director at Thrive Mahoning Valley and executive director of the Mahoning Valley Association of Churches
“Every year, the Gems of the Valley honorees come across an unplanned throughline. As so many people are looking for community to navigate the challenges of everyday, this year’s Gems showed what can be achieved when we both offer and ask for help,” says Mae Medore, staff liaison for the Fund for Women & Girls. “We hope that hearing everyone recognize the women who helped them to where they are now can inspire others to walk the same path. When we help one another, we can accomplish so much more than we ever could alone.”
“Looking through all of the nominees, we were all so impressed by this year’s group. It was clear that everyone shows so much love, care and support to those around them,” says Sharon Stringer, a member of the Guiding Circle who helped plan the event. “The Mahoning Valley is lucky and honored to have this group of women stepping up as leaders.”
As a community-led fund, each donor to the Fund for Women & Girls has a say in how grants from the fund are awarded, while the Guiding Circle develops programs and events to support its mission. In the spring, the Fund awarded three grants to local organizations — Honeycomb Arts & Wellness, Autism Society of Mahoning Valley, and The EMBER Project — whose programs aim to foster connection between women. For more information on the Fund for Women & Girls or to donate visit CFMV.org/fund-for-women-girls.
Attached picture: The 2026 Gems of the Valley honorees are (left to right) Tres Hively, Sue Sexton, Dr. Daphne Carr, Carrie Biery, Joncquil Hope (daughter of Dr. Lashale Pugh), and Vicki Vicars.