The Women’s Symposium

ARTICLES BY MEREDITH MCKINNIE AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY KELLY MOORE CLARK

The ULM Women’s Symposium annually highlights women from across Northeast Louisiana for their individual achievements, professional and personal. The panelists share their stories with ULM students and fellow community members to showcase the importance of success and failure in one’s journey. Here we highlight five of the 2021 panelists and why they were chosen as leaders in their respective fields.

SOPHIA DIXON BROWN

Attorney Sophia Dixon Brown sought a career that helped people. When she was barely a teenager, she learned her 46-year-old aunt died on the operating table, and Sophia was inspired to channel that grief into something productive. She didn’t want to pursue medicine, but figured she could use her talents in the field of law. A graduate of Southern University Law Center, Sophia initially worked for Legal Services of North Louisiana before taking on her current role at The Family Justice Center of Ouachita Parish  in 2017. Sophia works with survivors of domestic violence and handles divorce, spousal support, protection orders, property settlements, custody cases, etc. As an advocate of the unheard, Sophia also represents low-income individuals in City Court on the 4th District Indigent Defender Board. 

Sophia often works with female clients, but abuse can affect anyone. Sophia often sees that her clients minimize abuse, not realizing the extreme conditions in which they’re living. Children are often forever changed by witnessing abuse in their households. Many of Sophia’s clients are financially shut out, having no access to family funds. She has learned that no matter how dire a situation may seem from the outside, it is up to the survivor when and how they leave an abusive relationship. While client stories can be troubling and hard to hear, Sophia takes pride in her role as an advocate. Her job is to fight for those who are unable to fight for themselves. She loves when survivors are able to escape bad situations with their children and find housing, employment, and emotional support. 

Sophia’s advice to young people is to not tolerate abuse and look for the warning signs. A partner should build one’s confidence, not attack it. Love does not hurt. Instead, one should use early adulthood to focus on education and employment, making oneself financially stable to maneuver with confidence. Abuse is not reserved for one socioeconomic group, but can touch anyone, regardless of how perfect one’s life may look from the outside. 

Sophia took the untraditional route, first joining the Army before attending college. She encourages young people to follow their dreams, despite their circumstances. Sophia is passionate about her husband of 34 years Benjamin, their children and grandchildren as well as Southern University football and voting.  She believes everyone should vote no matter what position is being filled or what the issue is.  She depends upon God for guidance and leans on her faith during difficult times. She is a member of Sterlington Church of God & Christ in Union Parish. 

CHRISTINA DAVIS

As the Senior Business Consultant at LA Small Business Development Center, Christina Davis is an expert in financial planning, market research, and developing growth strategies. As a student at ULM, Christina fell in love with the SBDC. As a finance major, Christinas took the initiative in her student worker position at the center to learn spreadsheets and form business plans. She found the job rewarding and educational, and she found fulfillment in making other people’s dreams come true. She thrives on helping people and serving as a light in dark times. Starting a business can be scary, and as more budding female entrepreneurs enter the game, Christina takes pride in helping her clients see their ideas come to life. Being able to champion the pursuits of women in the community is just a bonus. 

Christina encourages those who might be considering entrepreneurship to utilize an existing skill set to create a business that can fulfill a need in your community. As residents, we have the benefit of knowing what we need and what might be missing. Turning that knowledge into a profitable business is where Christina comes in, providing clients with the tools, resources, and confidence to achieve their business goals. 

Christina serves as a business mentor for her clients but growing up she was inspired by the women in her family. She wanted to emulate the strong, successful women who surrounded her and ultimately made her family proud. She is continually inspired by the powerful female community leaders in our area, many building businesses from scratch with grit, determination, and sheer will. She knows the sacrifices women make to chart their own paths, and she welcomes the opportunity to work alongside them. 

Christina’s advice for young women is to surround yourself with the kind of woman you want to be. Stay in the company of the hardworking successful women in your orbit. Christina’s mother and father always told her “Do better than what’s expected.” One should remain willing to learn, stay focused on initiatives, and be willing to try new approaches. Christina appreciates being able to lift others up, helping them harness their full potential, to benefit all parties through collaboration. She also stresses the importance of an encouraging and comfortable work environment. Nothing is worse than dreading a job that occupies most of your time. Finding a boss and colleagues who share your vision and encourage your talents is essential to success. 

DR. JONAH FLOWERS

As the Associate Chair for Family Medicine in Rural and Underserved Areas at Via College of Osteopathic Medicine on the ULM campus, Dr. Jonah Flowers finds fulfillment in bridging the gap between patients and physicians. Originally from Winnfield, Louisiana, Dr. Flowers decided to pursue medicine after her mother’s diagnosis of Lupus in 2000. Her mother struggled to understand the lifelong reality of the disease, and Dr. Flowers wanted to facilitate medical jargon and help future patients participate in their own healthcare. She graduated from The Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine in Virginia in 2008. The institution’s mission resonated: “To prepare globally-minded, community-focused physicians to meet the needs of rural and medically underserved populations and to promote research to improve human health.” Dr. Flowers was excited for the chance to return to Louisiana to work for the institution she believes in so passionately. 

Dr. Flowers’ primary passion is helping people better understand how to care for themselves. Practicing family medicine requires a servant’s heart and a passion for people. As a woman of faith with a hearing impairment, Dr. Flowers discovered a way to worship that did not involve singing or even speaking. Praise dance occurs during a traditional worship service, though participants use their bodies to move to the music, in lieu of traditional worshipping through song. When it comes to fear, Dr. Flowers’ approach is methodical. After prayer, she takes time to evaluate what exactly scares her. As an extrovert, she is use to talking through her problems, and when in doubt, she rationalizes the source of fear to conquer it or navigate the best path forward. 

Her advice to other young women is stay on the path. If you are in school, stay focused on the goal and see it through to completion. Keeping close friends that encourage you to pursue your dreams is essential. Any long, arduous endeavor requires a support team. Dr. Flowers’ mentors stressed that things don’t always go as you’d want or move as fluidly, but stay the course. Never give up on doing what is right. There are no shortcuts to success; everyone must run their own race.

ALLISON THOMPSON

As the ULM Director of Assessment and Evaluation, Allison designs and implements processes to document student learning and effectiveness of institutional practices. She works for and alongside women, exchanging in productive dialogues to better the campus environment for students and faculty. Allison returned to ULM in 2003 to finish her bachelor’s and master’s degrees after working in retail management. 

Allison saw the value of education first hand as her paternal grandmother ,Joyce Hunter Loflin, graduated from NELA State College and eventually obtained her master’s. Allison’s father taught business law at NLU, and now Allison has well-established roots in the institution that has connected her family for decades. Her family members were her first mentors, and as Allison returned to school with students ten years her junior, her general life experiences solidified her role as a mentor for her peers. 

Allison’s advice for young women is to always ask questions, seek help when you need it, and don’t be afraid to admit that you don’t know how to do something. Time is better spent making the human connection by asking for help rather than trying to complete a task for which you are unprepared. Too often we feel pressured to pretend out of fear of looking inept or lazy, but seeking guidance is often the quickest way to perform well. 

Allison considers herself an optimistic individual, preferring the comfort of assuming a positive outcome is possible. She admits to fearing instability, change, and risk, so to counter those fears, she is proactive, relying on planning. In her leadership role at ULM, she assesses situations, predicts outcomes, and encourages effective change. And her life is quite similar, assuming the best, preparing for the worst, and remaining upbeat through it all. 

After a boating accident at 14 left Allison an above-knee amputee, her mother’s courage and practicality in the face of the unknown inspired Allison. Her parents insisted visitors reframe sympathetic comments about lost abilities into questions about how she would do things moving forward. This pattern of visioning obstacles as challenges rings true personally and professionally. 

CHRISTY CHILDERS

As the Vice President of Business Development and IT Implementation at Specialty Management Services of Ouachita, Christy Childers combines her two loves: helping people and studying science. After earning her bachelor’s in Clinical Laboratory Science, she worked in a lab and soon realized she wanted to expand her skills, so she pursued her master’s in Health Informatics. She now educates healthcare providers, helping them navigate complicated regulations, and she mentors her staff on the industry’s best practices. 

Christy also serves as the Chief Operating Officer at Cor Medical, a company that manages employee health clinics in Louisiana and Colorado for a Fortune 150 company. In this role, Christy reinforces Cor Medical’s mission to eliminate healthcare’s traditional barriers—time, money, and access—to ensure all patients receive the best care. For example, in the wake of the pandemic, she led the efforts to establish telemedicine so that employees could access crucial care such as mental health services. She also provides administrative support to medical providers, creates standardized protocols focused on accountability and safety, and evaluates daily operations to determine growth opportunities.

Christy’s advice for young people entering the workforce is to find a mentor in your field that you admire and respect for his/her leadership style. Observe different leaders, and emulate those whose values resonate with your own. Having someone to look to for guidance is essential to professional and personal success. Christy is drawn to humility in leadership, alongside strength and knowledge in one’s field. Her mentors are the quiet giants, those most respected who aren’t always the loudest. When they spoke, people listened, and Christy appreciated those communication skills. Christy encourages women to advocate for other women, encourage their success, and take pride in growing other leaders. 

Christy is an active member of the Ouachita Women’s Tennis Association. Her competitive nature suits the activity, and Christy loves meeting new people who share her passion for the sport.