The Chapel Hill-Carrboro branch of the NAACP recently named UNC professor Deborah Stroman as the branch’s 2021 Woman of the Year.
The award honors a woman who makes significant contributions to the Chapel Hill-Carrboro community through leadership and service. Candidates were evaluated based on community involvement and contributions to women of color.
“I am just so blessed and honored to serve with those who are champions for justice, for equity and for lifting up all of humanity,” Stroman said.
Stroman will now compete at the state level where fundraising efforts are critical to her success. Her campaign, “Wake Up Everybody – Can’t Do This Alone,” is focused on awareness of the efforts necessary to fulfill the mission of the North Carolina NAACP.
“Our world needs to advance in this space, so I will be working to raise money for the North Carolina NAACP,” Stroman said.
Stroman has been a professor at UNC since 2007 where she has consistently worked on leadership and equity issues. As a professor in the Gillings School of Global Public Health, Stroman is a core faculty member of the Health Equity, Social Justice, and Human Rights concentration. She is also the program coordinator of the new Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Research Certificate Program.
Stroman also works on race relations as a national trainer for the Racial Equity Institute LLC.
This is not the first time Stroman has been honored for her community contributions. Previous honors from local service organizations, such as the UNC Black Faculty and Staff Caucus and Orange County Human Relations Committee, highlight her dedication to equity through advocacy, teaching, entrepreneurship and service.
Stroman said the award is special to her, but it is just part of her continued advocacy for equity in her community.
“I am honored to be selected by the branch as one who will carry our strong tradition of advocacy forward in this campaign,” she said.
Stroman is also a recurring guest on 97.9 The Hill’s afternoon show, News on The Hill. You can hear those conversations here.
Lead photo courtesy of Deborah Stroman.
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