# NBC4 anchor Colleen Marshall headlines Women’s History Month event

/ Published March 22, 2023
COLUMBUS, Ohio, 
The Defense Federal Community and Federal Women’s Program celebrated Women’s History Month with an observance March 15 at the Defense Supply Center Columbus featuring keynote speaker Colleen Marshall, local television news anchor for NBC4.

Marshall, host of NBC4’s political show, “The Spectrum” and a practicing attorney spoke, on the theme “Women in the Workplace, a Force for Change.”

Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime Commander Army Brig. Gen. Gail Atkins in her opening remarks said, “Women are on the front lines of everyday life, fighting to secure equal rights and fair opportunities for both themselves but also for their daughters and sons.”

Marshall echoed that sentiment in her remarks when she said that as a working mother in a job that required her to work all hours of the day and night, she hoped she laid the groundwork for her children that other women in the workforce are laying for theirs now.

“You can’t be everything, but you can be your best,” she said.

Marshall noted that not too long ago in her mother’s generation, the opportunities that women have now simply didn’t exist.

She said that both her mother and mother-in-law were housewives their whole adult lives. Of the 40 women who graduated from a Catholic high school in Pittsburgh with her mother-in-law, a large percentage already had their lives planned out for them.

“More than half of them were engaged when they graduated because there was an expectation that you would get married and start a family,” Marshall said.

The women’s liberation movement of the 1960s and 70s made collective strides toward creating more opportunities for women but when Marshall was about to enter the workforce there were still many limitations on what women could do.

Marshall spoke of peer Jody Scheiman, a central Ohio investment analyst from Marshall’s generation who faced challenges when she was getting ready to enter the workforce.

“She was always number one in her class in math at Bexley High School,” she said. “Her senior year, she signed up for advanced calculus. And they told her she couldn’t take it because that was a boy’s class.”

Her father argued that because of her stellar grades she should be allowed to take the class, Marshall said.

“He was told that since there were limited seats in the class, those seats must be given to the boys as they would be moving on to careers and she would get married and have a family,” she added.

“This was not that long ago,” Marshall said. “And the women who were denied those opportunities, were denied a step into the workplace.”

Scheiman went on to attend Indiana University Bloomington where she studied economics and eventually entered the financial sector. “She is a brilliant financial mind,” Marshall said.

Marshall reflected on her own career, how she had to work nearly full-time to pay for college and how she thrived when given the opportunity to work in news radio.

“The staff was small, so you’d have to do everything,” she said about working at the radio station. “And that was a very hard news centered area. I did a lot of labor news, if there was a murder, I covered it, if there was a car accident, I covered it.”

Her struggles came later when she was making the move from a smaller news station, WTRF-TV in Wheeling W.Va., to NBC4 in Columbus, Ohio.

“When I got out here to this size market and city, I was so excited, as there were going to be some great hard news stories,” she said. “But they started giving me the daycare stories, and the garden stories and the feature stories that I had never done. So, finally, I got up the courage to go into the news director and say, ‘You saw my tape, you know what kind of reporting I do. Why am I stuck doing all of these soft stories?’”

Marshall said he told her that the station liked to put the women in the softer situations. She argued that she had been doing hard news for about nine years at that point and asked for a chance to prove herself. He gave her that chance, which allowed her to rise to where she is today.

“And as a result of that, I think now women and men get equal opportunities,” she said. “Not because of me but just because of news directors recognizing women can tell [consequential] stories too.”

Marshall closed her speech remarking many of the women of power she has met in her time at NBC4 were denied at some point in their careers and went on to achieve anyway.  

Atkins presented Marshall with a token of appreciation on stage after the program and aid, “What you shared today really [is] emblematic of the power that you get from not just being passionate but persevering.”

DLA Land and Maritime Resolution Specialist Lisa Griffin rendered the National Anthem, DLA Land and Maritime Acquisition Specialist Amy Rich delivered the invocation and DLA Land and Maritime Contracting Specialist Deonna Coleman served as the event’s Mistress of Ceremonies. Veronica Brown-Godbott, supervisory acquisition specialist for DLA Land and Maritime, delivered closing remarks. Godbott and Strategic Acquisition Programs Directorate Deputy Director Coleen McCormick both serve as EEO Federal Women’s Program Champions.

A recording of the Women’s History Month program is available here*(CAC-enabled).*