Wanda Sykes
The Dallas Wings today (Wednesday, Aug. 7) announced the three honorees for their second annual Nancy Lieberman Women of Inspiration Awards, with actress and comedian Wanda Sykes named the Trailblazer Woman of Inspiration Award winner. Dr., Cheryl “Action” Jackson, founder of Minnie’s Food Pantry and public speaker, is the recipient of the Community Woman of Inspiration Award, and business strategist Danyel Surrency Jones was selected as the Businesswoman of Inspiration Award winner.
All three honorees will be recognized during the Wings’ nationally televised tilt against the Connecticut Sun on Friday, Aug. 16. Tipoff on ION is slated for 8:30 p.m.
At halftime of the contest, Sykes will participate in a fireside chat hosted by award-winning anchor and reporter Dia Wall of WFAA. Wall is a North Texas native who returned to the DFW area in 2024 after nine years in Kansas City reporting for KSHB 41.
Sykes, who came out as LGBTQ in 2008, is an Emmy award winning stand-up comic, writer, actress and producer who has been entertaining audiences for over 25 years. She was first recognized for her work as a writer on The Chris Rock Show, for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award in 1999. She is also known for her role as Barb Baran on CBS’ The New Adventures of Old Christine and for appearances on HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm. She is currently starring in and producing the Netflix Comedy The Upshaws, which is in its fifth and final season. The show has been nominated for six Primetime Emmys, seven NAACP Image Award as well as a People’s Choice Award.
Sykes, an avid women’s basketball and WNBA fan, was nominated in 2023 for three Primetime Emmy awards — two for her Netflix special Wanda Sykes: I’m an Entertainer, and another for her role as Gladys Murphy in Crank Yankers, a role she originated in 2004. Wanda Sykes: I’m an Entertainer was also nominated for her first Grammy Award and Golden Globe Award, along with a Critics Choice Award and a People’s Choice Award.
She recently produced and was a part of the Apple TV+ five-part documentary series Visible: Out on Television, about how the LGBTQ movement has shaped the history of the medium. The 17-time Emmy award nominee has also recently been nominated for her roles in ABC’s Black-ish and Amazon’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
Dr. Jackson is an author, speaker and multi-million-dollar social entrepreneur who equips people around the world with the tools to empower themselves, take action in their life and accelerate their career. Dr. Jackson is the “Power of Action” advocate, working with everyone from grassroots entrepreneurs, strategists and corporate trainers. She is passionate about speaking to motivate and activate her audiences. She has been the keynote speaker for numerous Fortune 500 companies, including AT&T, Frito Lay, Dr. Pepper, Mercedes Benz, JCPenney, and hundreds of schools and organizations.
Dr. Jackson has received awards including Microsoft Women of Excellence, Ebony Top 100 people, Black Leadership Power of Community, Community Leader of the Year, Good Morning America Hero Award, U.S. Congressional Community Hero Award, the Presidential Service Award and hundreds of other honors.
Dr. Jackson founded Minnie’s Food Pantry in 2008 to honor her mother, the late Dr. Minnie Hawthorne Ewing. The pantry has served more than 28 million meals and expanded from a small, 500-square-foot building to 12 locations and a 28,000-square-foot building headquartered in Plano, that provides healthy meals, training classes, and work-force solutions. Under her leadership, Minnie’s Food Pantry has received contributions from numerous celebrities, including Oprah Winfrey, Mark Cuban, Martha Stewart, Tyler Perry and the Dallas Mavericks.
The pantry has also been recognized by Mark Burnett, Jeffrey Katzenberg and DreamWorks for its work. Rihanna, Paula Abdul and Jim Parsons have served side-by-side with Dr. Jackson to help her platform. Dr. Jackson has brought the issue of food insecurity to the forefront on both a local and national level. She was featured on a documentary called Hunger Hits Home on the Food Network and other outlets including CNN, Steve Harvey, ELLEN, Good Morning America, ABC News and others.
Surrency Jones is a business strategist with over two decades of executive leadership experience in everything from Fortune 500 companies to global start-up ventures. She has created e-commerce and retail omni channels for multiple market verticals and developed best-in-class go-to-market strategies resulting in over $20 billion in sales. In her previous role as co-founder and chief executive officer of POWERHANDZ Inc., a sports and fitness product tech platform, Surrency Jones led the team through a multi-million strategic merger and tender offer. This accomplishment, in lieu of the challenging journey, further fueled her passion to assist underserved businesses to gain access to opportunities that build a pathway to generational wealth.
Today, as head of Amazon’s Undiscovered & Small Business Accelerator, Surrency Jones leads its $150 million commitment to empower Black-owned businesses by providing access to financial assistance, strategic business education and marketing and advertising support to help grow their businesses and greatly impact the overall community they serve. In addition, Surrency Jones leads strategies to increase overall discoverability of undiscovered businesses in the Amazon community. She also has a passion for the community, women and youth. Surrency Jones is the co-founder and president of POWERHANDZ’s non-profit entity, The Power To Give Foundation, whose mission is to provide athletic and academic programs to youth in underserved communities.
The 2024 class of Women of Inspiration Awards honorees follows 2023’s inaugural group which featured Dallas Mavericks CEO Cynt Marshall as the Trailblazer Woman of Inspiration Award winner, the “Grandmother of Juneteenth,” Dr. Opal Lee as the Community Woman of Inspiration Award recipient and the executive director of the Dallas Sports Commission, Monica Paul, as the Businesswoman of Inspiration Award honoree.
— Tammye Nash