ONE CHURCH ONE SCHOOL
Celebrates Women in History Month, 2023
Focus: Women in the Education and Faith Communities supporting Students, Children/Youth, and faith-based school partnerships.
OCOS recognizes women have a long, in-depth, and expansive relationship with education, students, and schools. This relationship, of course, began in the home and initially grew in the faith community.
We could not list the hundreds of thousands of women who made such great contributions. OCOS salutes and appreciates all of them.
For Women In History Month 2023, we highlight these past and current Women who directly and indirectly have influenced the thirty-year history of the vision, mission, and work of One Church One School, teaching young people to value life and learning.
Week 2
Harriet Tubman
Bishop Teresa Elaine Jefferson-Snorton
Bishop Denise Anders Modest
Marian Wright Edelman
Dr. Theresa Duhart
Mrs. Lillian Curlett
Dr. Barbara Eason-Watkins
Harriett Tubman
Born Araminta Ross, c. March 1822– March 10, 1913). She was an American abolitionist and social activist. Tubman escaped and subsequently made some 13 missions to rescue approximately 70 similarly-enslaved people, including family and friends, using the network of antislavery activists and safe houses known as the Underground Railroad.
Bishop Teresa Elaine Jefferson-Snorton
Bishop Teresa Jefferson-Snorton is a Bishop in the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. She became the first woman to be elevated to the episcopate in her denomination, when she was elected as the 59th CME bishop in 2010.
From 2011 to 2022 she was the presiding bishop for the fifth Episcopal District, which has oversight of CME churches in Alabama and Florida.
In 2022, she was appointed as the church’s Ecumenical Bishop and Development Officer.
Bishop Denise Anders Modest
Bishop Denise Anders-Modest was elected the 65th Bishop of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church during the 40th General Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio. On June 28, 2022, she made history by becoming the second female bishop in the 152-year life of this religious denomination.
Following her 2022 election, Bishop Anders-Modest was assigned as Presiding Prelate of the Second Episcopal District of the CME Church – comprising the states of Kentucky, Ohio, and Central Indiana.
Bishop Anders-Modest serves as the Chair of the Department of Christian Education and Formation.
Marian Wright Edelman is an American activist for civil rights and children's rights. She is the founder and president emerita of the Children's Defense Fund. She influenced leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr.
Edelman was the first African-American woman admitted to The Mississippi Bar in 1964. She began practicing law with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund's Mississippi office, working on racial justice issues connected with the civil rights movement and representing activists during the Mississippi Freedom Summer of 1964. She also helped establish the Head Start program and the Freedom Schools.
Dr. Theresa Duhart
Dr. Theresa Duhart was elected the General Secretary of Communication and Information Technology / Chief Information Officer at the 2022 General Conference of the CME Church. The General Secretary/Chief Information Officer (CIO) oversees the Department and staff, processes, communications and technologies to ensure deliverable outcomes that support the goals of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church.
Dr. Duhart and Dr. Princess Pegues co-founded the Communication and Information Technology (CIT) Ministry at the 1998 General Conference. Dr. Duhart served as President of the Communication and Information Technology Connectional Department from 2010-2022.
For 12 years, Dr. Duhart served as the OCOS Coordinator for the Alaska-Pacific Region in the Ninth Episcopal District. Since 2015, she has served as the Recording Secretary for the Women Missionary Council of the CME Church and will complete her term at the upcoming 20th Quadrennial Assembly. Additionally, Dr. Duhart served as Assistant Secretary of the Council from 2007-2015.
Dr. Duhart is passionate about technology in all aspects of her life, and is most proud of having a distinguished career serving in major information technology positions at higher education institutions. She has served over 3 decades as an Information Technology professional, administrator and Chief Technology Officer in government, higher education and a public-school system, and as an adjunct faculty member and technology consultant. Dr. Duhart currently serves in the Information Technology Services Department at Highline College in Washington state overseeing campus technology support services including all computer classrooms and labs, and a budget of $4M.
Mrs. Lillian Curlett
Mrs. Lillian Curlett has served as OCOS Episcopal Director for the 3rd District CME Church for over 20 years.
She is Executive Director at Jamison Memorial Human Resource & Development Agency St Louis, Missouri, United States.
Mrs Curlett also serves as Executive Director of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church Community Development Corporation
She has many years of experience in leading complex organizations and non-profits.
Lillian faithfully serves at Jamison Memorial Human Resource & Development Agency in St. Louis, Missouri. There she invests her time, talents, and treasures in support of After School & Summer Learning Enrichment Programs targeting children attending low-performing schools and from low-income families to improve academic performance and personal development.
Dr. Barbara Eason-Watkins
Superintendent of the Michigan City Area Schools, Michigan City Indiana.
Previously, Dr. Eason-Watkins was Chief Education Officer of the Chicago Public Schools. As the lead curriculum and instruction strategist for the third-largest school district in the nation, Dr. Eason-Watkins led efforts to reform policies and institute key initiatives to diminish the lingering achievement gap.
Prior to her appointment as CPS Chief Education Officer, Dr. Eason-Watkins was a nationally recognized school principal from the Chicago Woodlawn community. There she led in the implementation of One Church One School.
