June 2023

2023 Celebrate Women Luncheon

We are pleased and excited to announce that Lachrisa Grandberry will be our featured speaker at this year's luncheon being held on September 15th at Sturgeon Bay's Stone Harbor Resort. Lachrisa has performed in various Northern Sky productions in the past five years, including Windjammer, Dairy Heirs, and Sunflowered. She has been called a favorite of the theater, one whose talents as a writer, composer, and performer have enriched the creative fabric of Northern Sky, one whose impact on Door County theatergoers has been significant.

In December of 2022, Grandberry was named one of Wisconsin's 52 Most Influential Black Leaders by the news website Madison365.com. This year she became the director of Northern Sky's newly formed NOVA (Nurturing Original Voices and Artists) Initiative, which fosters and nurtures the works of emerging writers and composers. To attract new theatergoers, Northern Sky announced Grandberry will also serve on its IDEAS (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access Solutions) Task Force. Lachrisa is excited about the next generation of storytelling and all that theater has to offer the people of Door County. We greatly look forward to hearing the inspirational words of Lachrisa.

Spring Grant Recipients

Congratulations to the following organizations and projects who Women's Fund of Door County Grants in the spring cycle:

• Altrusa Club of Door County Foundation: 2023 Back to School Fair. This grant will help fund school supplies, shoes, toiletries, and underwear for an anticipated 350 girls with economic need.
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Wisconsin: Sustain/Grow – One-to-One Youth Mentoring. Supporting ongoing programming for Big Brothers Big Sisters in Door County, which meets community needs by mentoring youth to break cycles of poverty, unhealthy decisions, and homelessness, and to increase self-sufficiency.
• Boys & Girls Club of Door County: Girls in STEAM. Working to close the opportunity gaps in science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM); the Club will offer a 10-week summer STEAM program for 15-20 girls ages 8 – 11.

• Crossroads at Big Creek: Inspiring Girls at The Barn Field Station. This grant will pay to engage a female archaeological field technician that will work directly with young students, modeling female engagement in the sciences.
• Door Community Auditorium/Friends of Gibraltar: MAKIN’ CAKE student performance with Dasha Kelly Hamilton. In this national touring show, Dasha Kelly-Hamilton cuts into a cake, revealing what its history and ingredients can teach us about race, class, and equity in America. Students will experience the live performance by Kelly-Hamilton and her baker, plus a delicious piece of cake.
• Door County Habitat for Humanity: Women’s Build Day Summer 2023. Women's Build Day recruits women, who may otherwise be underrepresented on build sites, to physically build or otherwise support a home build.
• Door County Medical Center Foundation: Lactation Services Program. With the help of this grant, the Lactation Services Program will be able to provide parents with a home pediatric scale and education for the period that a newborn's weight gain may be of concern.
• Door County YMCA: Purchase of safe and specialized equipment for DCY Gymnasium. The purchase of newer, safer, specialized gymnastics equipment will support the Door County YMCA's award-winning gymnastics program. In 2022, over 190 young girls participated in gymnastics activities from age four through high school.
• Gibraltar Secondary School: Leadership and Team Building Retreat, Upham Woods Education Center. This retreat cultivates a healthy environment for all students and especially empowers girls to excel in leadership roles through team challenges, cooperative games, and positive risk opportunities.
• Midsummer’s Music: Women to be Heard Concerts. While there are millions of male composers, there are only 5,000 known female composers going back to 450BC. This grant will support "Women to be Heard," which includes 12 concerts featuring 5 women composers presented by 10 female musicians.
• Northern Sky Theater: NOVA Program Initiative. The NOVA program will create, cultivate, and nurture new voices, mentor seasoned voices, and broaden the scope of storytelling at Northern Sky Theater to include more BIPOC, women, and next-generation voices.
• Sturgeon Bay School District: Virtual Mental Health Services. A shortage of mental health professionals has added to the mental health crisis. This grant supports a creative program in which students meet virtually with a trained counselor.
• Write On, Door County: Empowering Women Writers. This grant supports programs for beginning and experienced writers through Telling the Truth of Our Lives: A Mentoring Program for Women Who Want to Write and financial support for a week long Kimbilio Fellows residency.

The Women's Fund of Door County believes that by giving women and girls the tools needed to succeed, our community prospers. Again, we commend this spring's grant recipients! The deadline to apply for fall sustainability grants is September 18th. Interested not-for-profits may reach out to the Philanthropic Services Team at the Door County Community Foundation for application guidance. Visit www.WomensFundDoorCounty.org for additional information.

Volunteer Fair

Women’s Fund board members Michelle Sternard, Laura Murray, and Gail Harrmann attended the second annual Volunteer Fair at the ADRC on May 3rd. Approximately 50 organizations participated in this event hosted by the United Way.

Welcome New Board Member: Megan Shine

Megan recently moved to Door County full-time from the Ft. Lauderdale, FL area after her husband, John, retired from his job in Federal Law Enforcement. They reside just outside of Jacksonport and love living In Door County. John is now part of the Volunteer Fire Department. She was born and raised in Wisconsin and spent her summers in Door County from the time she was born. Megan worked at Wilson’s in Ephraim for four summers during college and was married in Bailey’s Harbor in 1993. Door County has always been an important part of her life and her children consider it “home” even though they were born and raised in South Florida. She is happy to be back and looks forward to getting more involved in this wonderful community. In the past, she has been involved in the Junior League in both Chicago and Ft. Lauderdale, the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts of America, various church organizations and school committees.



Megan works part-time as an International Tax Consultant with KPMG, LLP focusing on US and foreign tax issues for individuals living abroad. She has been with KPMG for over 33 years after starting her career in Chicago upon graduation from Tulane University in New Orleans, La with a degree in accounting. She transferred to the Miami office in 1996 and has been fortunate to work remotely since 2000. Megan and her husband have two grown sons, one currently serving in the US Army and stationed in Ft. Benning, GA and the other starting a PhD program in Archaeology and Anthropology in Chicago, IL. When not working, Megan enjoys traveling, reading and is an avid tennis player. She also enjoys many other outdoor activities including skiing, hiking and paddleboarding. 

Save the Date

Celebrate Women Luncheon: September 15th at Stone Harbor Resort & Conference Center