2020 Women Making Waves Announced
Meet the Women
Today we are celebrating the official launch of our 2nd Annual Women Making Waves campaign! We are thrilled to announce the 11 recipients of this AMD Creative award.
This annual award honors 11 trailblazing women who have positively impacted Birmingham and its surrounding areas. From small business owners and healthcare professionals to innovators and heads of nonprofits, these women consistently show strength, confidence and dedication, all while supporting their businesses and uplifting Birmingham.
While success is easily recognized, the daily struggles, sacrifices and hard work these women undertake may go unnoticed. This award serves as a vital reminder that they are seen and celebrated! We hope that these 2020 winners continue to inspire and empower change within our community.
Meet the women we are honoring this year!
(In alphabetical order)
Niki Beck - Co Owner & CEO
Niki Beck is the co-owner of Hamburger Creative, a local, full-service creative agency. When she’s not busy leading this branding powerhouse, she continues to fuel her personal passions and artistic skills even further through her photography business, The One Six. We are so excited to recognize this visionary woman with our annual award!
Komeh Davis - Owner of CakeEffect
Komeh Davis has never shied away from hard work, and this unyielding dedication has brought her (and her business) national success! Her almost (but not quite) too good to eat cakes are true works of art that have been featured on the Food Network. In September, she won the Discover $25,000 #EatItForward Campaign for Black-owned businesses. She also recently expanded and opened a second CakEffect location in Tuscaloosa. Make sure to try one of her creations yourself to find out why her little cake shop has a grand effect.
Leah Drury + Lindsey Miller, Owners of Battle Republic
Childhood friends Leah and Lindsey put their hearts and souls into Battle Republic and as a result, they have a created an empowering place where love for the community takes precedence above all else. Their energetic passion always shines through on social media, and the Battle Republic experience leaves you feeling like an unstoppable force who can overcome any situation. Leah and Lindsey are truly a dynamic, dedicated duo!
Rylie Hightower, Owner of The Lumbar
Rylie oversees and inspires a full staff of incredible ladies slinging drinks, and they’re all a tight-knit family working together to ensure The Lumbar stands out in the Bham bar scene. Rylie brings science, education and equality to The Lumbar. Whether it’s a special cocktail menu dedicated to raising money for BLM or the LGBTQ+ community, a little bit of love and a whole lot of tasting experiments go into the items created at The Lumbar. In addition to being a successful business owner, Rylie is also a nurse getting her PhD at UAB and was gifted grant money to continue her studies in the sciences. The Lumbar has gone above and beyond to uplift the community during this pandemic, and it wouldn’t have been able to happen without the brilliant Rylie and her devoted team.
Kim Lee, Owner of The Forge
Kim Lee is making waves throughout Birmingham because she is constantly giving her time and talents to the businesses and young minds that create the foundation of our city. Kim is the Founder & CEO of Forge: Birmingham's first open co-working space, located in The Pizitz downtown. A firm believer in the value of lifelong education, she spends her free time mentoring with Aspire Movement Inc., and she also mentors UAB students in the Accelerator Program. Kim consistently embodies The Forge's mission of building budding businesses, and everything she does is with the goal of supporting Birmingham's small business community.
Maura McGraw, Founder & CEO at Duratus Properties & Strong Women Supply
There isn’t much that Maura McGraw can’t do. She served in the military as a Marine for 10 years and subsequently started her own real estate development and investment company based in Birmingham. Maura is dedicated to mentoring young women in the male dominated industry of real estate development, and over the years she has overseen several young interns who go on to achieve great success in the business. Since her company opened, she has also helped develop a property management company and has started a new division of her first company in Mobile, Alabama. Everything she does is done with hard work and determination. Maura is a true role model for women in the world of business.
Cindy Mullins, Alabama Theatre & The Lyric
Cindy Mullins is filled with passion and exudes a certain confidence that can rarely be matched. She is the true driving force for both the Alabama Theatre and the Lyric Theatre. Neither of the theaters would be what they are today without the years of hard work put in by Cindy Mullins. From marketing and fundraising to even popping the popcorn, Cindy does it all with grace and compassion. The challenges brought on by 2020 have required innovative ideas to make sure the theatres survive the effects of the pandemic. From lobbying the Senate to sponsor legislation that will support the entertainment industry, to raising hundreds of thousands of dollars to support theaters and creating COVID-19 safety procedures to help reopen theaters, Cindy has gone above and beyond to support the arts during this trying time.
Erica Robbins, Activist and Non-Profit Owner
Erica Robbins has devoted much of her life to helping the homeless community in Birmingham. As soon as she knows of a homeless person in need, Erica is quick to jump into action to help this person. Just recently, she helped a family of seven get a hotel room, and she arranged for them to receive clothes, food and so much more. The community is so very thankful for the selfless and compassionate work of Robbins, which is why we are so excited to honor her with this award.
Kenya Russell, Owner - Southern Made Creatives (community and creative agency)
Kenya is a true innovator and dynamic leader who fearlessly aims to strengthen communities through entertainment and promoting equality. She is a talented and passionate artist, building websites and able to design digital materials from start to finish. Within the past year she began her own community and creative agency, Southern Made Creatives, in order to build and support Birmingham’s creative community of all artistic disciplines. Kenya has proved that when starting from the bottom there’s no other place to go but up. Kenya does it all, and she does it with a positivity rarely found in a person so young. Nothing gets in her way, and that is the definition of a woman making waves, regardless of how big or how small.
Christina Sloan, Owner of Refined Bridal Boutique
Christina is the owner of Refined Bridal Boutique, a wedding dress shop curated specifically for plus size brides. After years of being an event planner she made this dream a reality. Having a store that women could feel confident while going to try on dresses for one of the most special days in a woman’s live is something that not many plus size people could do — Christina recognized this problem and did the work to change it! She is an amazing business woman, a kind person and a wave-maker for all women.
Thank you for nominating these wonderful women. We are happy to uplift talented women in our Birmingham community. Have a wonderful holiday season and keep making waves!