Atlantic County Could Get Its Own ‘Women of Wonder’ Scholarship Program

Commissioner June Byrnes says work is underway to bring a successful Cape May County model to Atlantic County students attending Atlantic Cape

ATLANTIC COUNTY — A scholarship program that has raised more than $100,000 to help Cape May County students attend Atlantic Cape Community College could soon have an Atlantic County counterpart.

Atlantic County Commissioner June Byrnes says she is working with Atlantic Cape officials and the Atlantic County Advisory Commission on Women to develop an Atlantic County version of the Women of Wonder program.

“We're in the groundwork of getting that done,” Byrnes said during an appearance Thursday on Off The Press with Scott Cronick on WOND. “And we will give scholarships to Atlantic County students to go to ACCC.”

The initiative has not yet been formally announced by Atlantic Cape, and several details — including when it would launch, how much money would be raised and whether the Atlantic County program would carry the same Women of Wonder name — have not been made public.

But Byrnes' comments reveal that planning is underway.

Byrnes: Why not Atlantic County?

Byrnes serves as a liaison to the Atlantic County Advisory Commission on Women. She said the idea grew out of her work with Chris Mularz and Jean McAlister at Atlantic Cape Community College.

The existing Women of Wonder program is a collaboration between the Atlantic Cape Community College Foundation and the Cape May County Women's Commission.

Byrnes said she saw what the program was accomplishing for students from Cape May County and began asking why Atlantic County couldn't do something similar.

She said Cape May County representatives were receptive to the idea of Atlantic County adopting the concept.

The goal, Byrnes said, would be to recognize women from Atlantic County while using the effort to generate scholarship money for Atlantic County students attending Atlantic Cape.

Cape May program has raised more than $100,000

There is already a substantial track record for Atlantic County to build upon.

Women of Wonder events have raised more than $100,000 and provided scholarships to 72 Atlantic Cape students, according to the college.

The program has been producing scholarships since 2011, and the Women of Wonder Scholarship Endowment Fund was formally established in 2021.

The annual Women of Wonder Awards recognize Cape May County women for leadership, professional accomplishments, philanthropy, volunteerism and their impact on the community.

The awards are coupled with a fundraising luncheon, with proceeds benefiting the scholarship endowment.

The 2025 luncheon raised a record $17,575 for scholarships.

Atlantic Cape Foundation Executive Director Jean McAlister explained the larger purpose of the program following the 2024 event, when the luncheon raised more than $16,000.

“Women of Wonder events have raised over $100,000 since 2011,” McAlister said in an Atlantic Cape news release. She said the Foundation provides financial support to students through fundraising and community philanthropy and annually awards nearly $700,000 in scholarships overall.

Current program remains Cape May County-based

For now, the official Women of Wonder program remains specifically tied to Cape May County.

Atlantic Cape's criteria for the 2026 Women of Wonder Awards require nominees to be female Cape May County residents who have demonstrated leadership and made a positive impact on the lives of others in the county.

This year's recipients are scheduled to be honored at the Women of Wonder Awards Luncheon on Nov. 12 at The Flanders Hotel in Ocean City, with proceeds again benefiting the scholarship endowment.

Atlantic Cape's publicly available Women of Wonder information does not yet describe a corresponding Atlantic County program.

That makes Byrnes' disclosure significant, but it also means the proposed Atlantic County initiative should be considered in development rather than formally launched.

Byrnes' official county biography confirms that she serves on the Advisory Commission on Women, along with several other county advisory bodies.

Building an Atlantic County version

Exactly what the Atlantic County version would look like remains to be determined.

It is not yet clear whether organizers intend to create a separate scholarship endowment, hold an Atlantic County awards luncheon, establish a new nomination process or simply expand the existing Women of Wonder structure.

No first-year fundraising target or scholarship amount has been publicly announced.

But Byrnes indicated the basic objective has already been established: create an Atlantic County program modeled after the successful effort next door and direct the proceeds toward Atlantic County students at Atlantic Cape.

That would also give Atlantic County another program specifically focused on recognizing local women's contributions.

The county already has an Advisory Commission on Women, which participated in Atlantic County's recognition of Women's History Month earlier this year.

There is also a separate, independent Atlantic County Women's Hall of Fame, which recognizes accomplished women and offers scholarships to graduating high school seniors. The proposed Women of Wonder initiative would therefore enter an area where other scholarship and recognition efforts already exist, but with a direct connection to Atlantic Cape and a model that has been operating successfully in Cape May County for years.

Still in the ‘groundwork’

For now, Byrnes isn't announcing a finished program.

She's announcing an effort to create one.

And the distinction matters.

There is no publicly announced Atlantic County Women of Wonder event, application deadline or scholarship award yet. Atlantic Cape's current materials continue to describe Women of Wonder as a partnership with the Cape May County Women's Commission.

But after more than a decade of raising scholarship money for Cape May County students, Byrnes wants Atlantic County students to have a similar opportunity.

“We're in the groundwork of getting that done,” she said.

If that groundwork results in a formal Atlantic County program, a successful Cape May County scholarship tradition could soon have a sister effort on the other side of Atlantic Cape's service area.

June Byrnes made her comments during an appearance on “Off The Press with Scott Cronick” on WOND (M-F, 4-6pm).