Keene State College Celebrates Four Outstanding Women of New Hampshire

Ceremony Held for Twenty-Fifth Annual Outstanding Women of New Hampshire Awards

Keene State College celebrated the life and work of four incredible women last night, during the twenty-fifth annual Outstanding Women of New Hampshire award ceremony. The awards, which are given during National Women’s History Month to honor New Hampshire women’s accomplishments and creativity, recognizes:

Terie Norelli, a leader for women’s rights, is the president and CEO of the New Hampshire Women’s Foundation. She also recently served as the Speaker of the New Hampshire House of Representatives for three terms. She was the first Democratic woman to hold this leadership position.

Sarah McKenzie Hoskins, an advocate for victims of sexual assault and domestic violence in the Cheshire County Superior Court, has assisted in well over 1,000 cases in our community. She is a recipient of the “Partners in Justice Award” from Monadnock Center for Violence Prevention, Inc.

Keene State College’s PeggyRae Johnson, an accomplished and influential member of the College’s Department of Theatre and Dance as Artist-in-Residence, her efforts are critical to educating students about sexual violence prevention through her “No Zebras, No Excuses” theater production.

Kerrianne Thomas, a Keene State junior studying Communications, has demonstrated clear leadership, commitment and drive, rising to opportunities presented to her through her work with student-run radio station, WKNH. Thomas is making meaningful and lasting improvements for the station.

The Outstanding Women of New Hampshire event is sponsored by The Campus Commission for Diversity, Equity and Inclusiveness.

More background on each of the recipients is below:

Terie Norelli: She is the president and CEO of the New Hampshire Women’s Foundation. Most recently, Norelli served as the Speaker of the NH House of Representatives from 2007-2014. She was the first Democratic woman to hold this leadership position. She served as chair of both the Sexual Assault Support Services Board of Directors and NARAL Pro-Choice NH PAC Board of Directors. She also served on the NARAL Pro-Choice NH Board and the advisory board of the Portsmouth Feminist Health Center. First elected to the legislature in 1996, Norelli served as the chair of the Portsmouth legislative delegation and as the ranking Democrat on the House Science, Technology and Energy Committee, where she was the chair of the Clean Air Subcommittee and was deeply involved in the restructuring of the electric industry and reducing harmful air emissions. During her tenure, she has been a leader in fighting for reproductive rights and other women’s issues, economic and civil rights, and the environment. She also sponsored legislation to ban smoking in restaurants, as well as efforts to reduce underage drinking and ensure access to treatment for alcohol addiction. She is the recipient of several state and national awards for her work in the legislature. During Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential run, Norelli served as Clinton’s New Hampshire co-chair and was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 2008 and 2012.

Sarah McKenzie Hoskins: She was born in Boston, MA and raised in Cleveland Heights, Ohio by her father, Dr. Lansing Crowninshield Hoskins, where she graduated from Laurel School for Girls. Hoskins went on to study at Tisch School of the Arts and graduated from New York University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. After a year of study and some hiatus in Paris, France, she spent several years in New York City working in the fashion industry. While in New York, Hoskins volunteered for the Red Cross of Greater New York and Buffalo as an HIV/AIDS Educator/Instructor. She relocated to the Monadnock region 17 years ago. Hoskins accepted the challenge to volunteer with AmeriCorps Victim Advocate Program (AVAP) for one year and was placed at the Cheshire County Attorney’s Office in 2000. This opportunity led to her becoming the sole advocate in Keene Circuit Court for domestic violence and sexual assault cases. She now shares this role in the Cheshire County Superior Court. Her Circuit Court caseload exceeded 200 cases per year and her Superior Court caseload averages 100 cases per year revealing that she has assisted in well over 1000 cases of sexual assault and domestic violence in our community. Hoskins is a recipient of the ‘Partners in Justice Award’ from Monadnock Center for Violence Prevention, Inc. Her passion as a feminist and interest in the advocacy of equal rights is long rooted in her family heritage. She enjoys gardening, cooking and interior design. Hoskins also enjoys traveling, reading and spending time with her life partner – the alpha male to her alpha female.

PeggyRae Johnson: She has directed over 30 productions at Keene State College, including The Tempest, The Importance of Being Earnest, two original scripts – Empires Fall, and Turning the Tide – and three productions which were honored by the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival – The Matchmaker, Eleemosynary, and, most recently, Equus. For the past six years, she has worked with the Counseling Center to write and direct “No Zebras, No Excuses”, the freshman orientation violence prevention program. With over 300 professional and academic productions to her credit, Johnson has received a number of awards for both acting and directing, including two Kennedy Center Fellowships, two Kennedy Center Medallions for extraordinary contributions to the teaching and producing of theatre, Finalist for the National Society of Collegiate Scholars Teacher of the Year, a Life Member Award from the NH Educational Theatre Guild, and Best Director and Best Production for Hayfever at Highlands Playhouse in North Carolina. She taught in the theatre program at Franklin Pierce University from 1999 – 2014, and was Visiting-Artist at Northern Stage Theatre Company, White River Junction, Vt. Prior to coming to New England, PeggyRae was the Founding Artistic Director of the Monticello Theatre Association in Illinois. As the owner of the company Professionally Speaking, she provides personalized training in a full range of oral communication skills for business executives and managers. Listed among her favorite credits are her son and daughter, John and Margot White.

Kerrianne Thomas: Her work in communications is already well underway, before her expected graduation in fall of 2015. Thomas is co-general manager of WKNH, where she is responsible for all of the internal workings of the station, and forming connections in the community to benefit the station. In 2014, she interned with SiriusXM for the Opie & Jim Norton Channel. There, she developed content and managed operational functions. Her leadership shines through in all that she does – as noted in her nomination, she motivates others, has effective managerial skills and is a true team player, recognizing the concerns and good ideas of others.