Brooklyn Group Honors 'Phenomenal' Women Within Communities

BEDFORD-STUYVESANT, BROOKLYN — Ask Brooklynites to name local women who inspire them and the list likely will grow as long as the borough.

Malene Brissett, founder of Women's Access To Empowerment, is asking for exactly that. Her Brooklyn-based group is accepting nominations until Feb. 1 for "phenomenal women" to be honored and recognized.

"You can nominate any woman who impacts their community," she said.

WATE annually holds an award ceremony for their Phenomenal Women selections. This year's Big Hat Event will be held June 7 at Terrace on the Park in Flushing.

Before then, Brissett and WATE's 400-some members will sift through nominations.

Brissett said names will be taken off the nominations, leaving behind only attributes for members to see. She said they'll take these now-anonymous nominees and see where they might fit in the award categories.

A nominee might be submitted as a candidate for a "business" award, but through the process it might become clear her work actually better fits in "philanthropy," Brissett said.

Other categories include community, education, health and social justice.

Not every nominee will receive an award — Brissett said the recipients will be women with the broadest impacts.

WATE will look particularly at women who foster growth in their communities, change narratives about their communities and engage in youth programs.

Brissett said her group was founded by women of color and remains committed to uplifting them. She's particularly inspired by the strength of Bed-Stuy's community and hopes to foster that across Brooklyn.

But she said WATE looks to honor any woman who makes an impact on her Brooklyn community, wherever that may be.

"We are welcoming to all women in Brooklyn," she said.

Nominations can be made at www.brooklynwate.org.