The Celebration of Women Event gives Boulder BPW the honor of recognizing the women who serve our community by supporting and inspiring others to promote BPW’s mission politically, professionally and personally.
The 2010 honorees chosen by this year's committee encapsulate the level of participation, equity and economic self-sufficiency for working women we hope to advocate for all women in the future. These women are the “super heroines” of our time!
Award Winners!
Woman of the Year: Lori Canova has been the Chief Executive Officer of the "I Have a Dream"® Foundation of Boulder County (“I Have a Dream”) since 1997. Under her leadership, the organization has grown from two classes to 10 serving nearly 450 low-income youth (Dreamers) and their families making the Boulder County chapter one of the largest in the country. The “I Have a Dream” program has dramatically increased graduation rates of its four graduated classes of Dreamers, doubling expected graduation rates and 86% of the Dreamer graduates have attended college or vocational school, a rate almost double of that of low-income high school graduates statewide (only 38% enroll statewide). www.IHADboulder.org
Man of the Year: Gordon Gray, Career Services Program Manager, YWCA of Boulder County assists hundreds of women annually by offering personal job search coaching that includes resume writing assistance, interview preparation, expanding networking skills, utilizing job search web sites, and more. Gordon has assisted women in re-entering the workforce after they have stayed home to care for their children and has worked to empower women who recently left abusive home situations as they launch their new life of independence. www.YWCAboulder.org
Organization of the Year: There With Care, co-founded by Paula DuPre’ Pesman, Executive Director and four terminally ill children Sam Patterson, Jay Barnett, Ellie Coombes, and Sonia Scaramella, provides a range of practical services for children and families facing critical illness in order to ease the burden of life’s day-to-day obligations during a medical crisis. Paula, a successful associate firm producer who had worked on the first three Harry Potter movies, learned about the needs of families from her experience in caring for her husband Curt through his diagnosis, treatment and recovery from advanced colon cancer. www.ThereWithCare.org
Member of the Year: Connie Takamine, Boulder BPW member since 2006, is an advisor with Waddell & Reed, a national financial services. She specializes in financial planning for retirement and estate planning. Connie is the BPW Social Action Chair and also organizes BPW’s mentoring program for CU BizChicks, a program to expose women business students to real world experiences.
New Member of the Year: Kristin Richeimer is Director of Membership Relations for USA Rugby, the national governing body for rugby in the United States and responsible for all operations of USA Rugby’s national membership of 85,000 individual and 2,100 club members. Kristin, Boulder BPW member since 2008, began serving as BPW treasurer in 2009. An alumnus of the White House Project’s “Go Run” program, Kristin was inspired to run for City Council in Lafayette in Fall, 2009. Narrowly missing by 54 votes, she looks forward to continuing to be involved in local politics.
Past 5 years recipients include:
2009 - Angelique Espinoza, Council Member, City of Boulder & Owner/Partner, Free Range Geeks (Woman of the Year); Boulder Youth Body Alliance & Founder Carmen Cool (Business of the Year); Tobi Hunt, Owner, Purse Power & Relationship Manager, Key Bank (Member of the Year); Joanne Peterson, Owner New World Office (New Member of the Year)
2008 - Mariagnes “Aya” Medrud, Retired Educator/Volunteer (Woman of the Year); Carolyn Romero, Manager of Financial Reporting & Analysis, Woodward Governor Company (Member of the Year); Colleen Canon, Owner/CEO, Women’s Quest (Business of the Year)
2007 - Janet Beardsley, Executive Director, YWCA (Woman of the Year); Cindy Brown and Betsey Martens, Co-Directors, Boulder Housing Partners (Program of the Year)
2006 - Linda Shoemaker, Brett Family Foundation Co-Founder (Woman of the Year); Boulder Arts & Crafts Co-Op (Business); Rick Sterling, co-founder, Sterling-Rice Group (Man of the Year)
2005 - Betsy Dollar, former Board Chair of Project Self-Sufficiency (Woman of the Year) ; Janine M. Anniballe, Ph.D, Moving to End Sexual Assault (Woman of the Year) ; Rollie Heath, Northstone Strategy Group (Man of the Year); Mary Ellen Vernon, Fresh Produce Sportswear, (Business); Rex Manz, MESA, (Man of the Year), Special Merit); Kathy Kelly, Personnel Profiles (Business, Special Merit)
2004 - Constance Marie Holden, Owner and President, It’s Me Again formerly Executive Director of HospiceCare of Boulder County (Woman of the Year)
2009 Winners! Tobi Hunt, Carmen Cool, Joanne Peterson, Angelique Espinoza
Treasurer Gina Basso, Celebration of Women
Organizer Megan Shellman, and Registrar Debra Chance
Presidents, past, present, and future!
Woman of the Year – Angelique Espinoza A long-time Boulder resident and CU alumna, mother, small business owner, community leader and volunteer, she is “walking the walk” through her intimate involvement in the political landscape to instigate change, accountability and responsibility in our city government. A former Boulder BPW Board Member for three years, Angelique has been a true advocate of women’s issues. Using her expertise to update and recreate Boulder BPW’s newsletter with a fresh look, she faithfully honored her commitment to produce the monthly newsletter, despite being in the middle of her own campaign. By example, she inspires members with her courageous leap into politics as a true ally for women’s issues.
Greatly concerned with social justice, particularly on the local level, she works with a number of local organizations to create greater opportunities for the underprivileged to succeed. Angelique’s passion for increasing representation for women and people of color in elected office correlates with her commitment to Boulder's economic health and leadership in sustainability.
An inspirational and strong woman in Boulder County, she has a commendable life-work balance being a software trainer and partner/owner of Free Range Geeks and Crestview Elementary and Reading to End Racism (RER) volunteer. Angelique demonstrates her commitment to a sustainable and cooperative lifestyle by living in the Nomad Cohousing community with her husband and son in an intentional neighborhood where residents work together. It’s no surprise that she was nominated twice for Woman of the Year.
Member of the Year - Tobi Hunt Tobi Hunt inspires the members of Boulder BPW with her dedication to the organization as both the First Vice-President and Program Chair of Boulder BPW for the past two years! Last year Tobi was honored with the BPW state award for Best Programs in Colorado, in recognition of the outstanding speakers and programs enjoyed at Boulder’s monthly meetings. A constant BPW ambassador, her efforts encouraging others to join the organization have helped revitalize the membership. The Boulder BPW Holiday Market’s success as a new fundraiser was due in part to Tobi’s tireless fundraising efforts to help find vendors for the event.
Currently a Relationship Manager at Key Bank, Tobi has over 20 years experience in banking and finance. This expertise helps her clients identify the right financial service solutions to meet any need. To celebrate the “Purchasing Power of Women”, Tobi sells her adorable purse pins and accessories as the Owner of Purse Power, LLC. Incredibly, she still has time to host her own networking events: Breakfast and Network” and “Lunch and Network.” Her commitment to the community continues with her service on the executive committee for the Boulder Chapter of E-Women Network. The Boulder Chamber of Commerce, Women Who Light the Community and the Business Brainstorming Networking Group have all been fortunate to have leader like Tobi Hunt in integral roles within their organizations.
New Member of the Year - Joanne Peterson Boulder BPW is fortunate to have someone of Joanne Peterson’s caliber on their Board of Directors. Joining in 2008, she is now both the E-Communications Officer and the Outreach Coordinator. Joanne didn’t wait to get her feet wet, but, thankfully, plunged head first into the organization. In her short time with the chapter she has amazed the organization by building and managing the website, launching our new e-newsletter and updating the integral parts of our online presence. In synergy with BPW’s mission, she is starting an outreach program with SafeHouse to teach women in need self-sufficiency through learning new professional skills. Joanne Peterson has brought tremendous energy, dedication, knowledge and heart to the organization.
After 20 years working in various industries, Joanne’s tech-savvy, analytical mind and organizing skills developed into the company: New World Office. Experienced in the finance industry, Joanne can establish relationships with small business owners and help them thrive in an efficient manner. Strategically saving time and increasing profit by discovering and analyzing an organization’s software needs, Joanne knows the key components to a successful business.
Business of the Year – Boulder Youth Body Alliance and Carmen Cool, Founder Boulder Youth Body Alliance(BYBA) was founded in 2004 by Carmen Cool after meeting a group of passionate high school youth who wanted to do something about the issue of eating problems and body dissatisfaction in their school. These teens, many of whom had personally struggled with their own body image or eating disorder, felt helpless as they watched their peers skip lunch or do drugs before prom in order to drop a dress size.
Carmen’s longing to create a place where youth could support each other was inspired by her experiences working as a therapist with eating disorders and body image concerns, along with the death of her sister to anorexia . Instead of trying to change their bodies to meet externally imposed standards of beauty, she helped young people to engage in activities that build self-esteem. That program, focused on youth empowerment, provides support young people need to articulate the body image issues that concern them, the resources to help them identify their own solutions, and the leadership skills to provide outreach and education to their peers. They learn to integrate self-inquiry and creative projects to help themselves and each other identify their own beliefs and to make positive choices related to their bodies, eating, and exercise. Since then, 73 youth activists from multiple high schools have been trained, and, in turn, they have provided direct education to over 4,500 students, teachers and members of their communities.
Boulder Youth Body Alliance is one of the very few organizations in the country that employs creative techniques and peer leadership development to reach youth with alternative messages about weight, health and concepts of beauty. Rather than telling youths what not to do, BYBA helps them use their own voices to shine the light about how to care about, and for, their bodies. Their willingness to explore our culture’s beauty ideal, from the inside out, and resist pressures to conform makes them credible role models for other teens in their communities.
owner, community leader and volunteer, she is “walking the walk” through her intimate involvement in the political landscape to instigate change, accountability and responsibility in our city government. A former Boulder BPW Board Member for three years, Angelique has been a true advocate of women’s issues. Using her expertise to update and recreate Boulder BPW’s newsletter with a fresh look, she faithfully honored her commitment to produce the monthly newsletter, despite being in the middle of her own campaign. By example, she inspires members with her courageous leap into politics as a true ally for women’s issues. 
organization as both the First Vice-President and Program Chair of Boulder BPW for the past two years! Last year Tobi was honored with the BPW state award for Best Programs in Colorado, in recognition of the outstanding speakers and programs enjoyed at Boulder’s monthly meetings. A constant BPW ambassador, her efforts encouraging others to join the organization have helped revitalize the membership. The Boulder BPW Holiday Market’s success as a new fundraiser was due in part to Tobi’s tireless fundraising efforts to help find vendors for the event. 
caliber on their Board of Directors. Joining in 2008, she is now both the E-Communications Officer and the Outreach Coordinator. Joanne didn’t wait to get her feet wet, but, thankfully, plunged head first into the organization. In her short time with the chapter she has amazed the organization by building and managing the website, launching our new e-newsletter and updating the integral parts of our online presence. In synergy with BPW’s mission, she is starting an outreach program with SafeHouse to teach women in need self-sufficiency through learning new professional skills. Joanne Peterson has brought tremendous energy, dedication, knowledge and heart to the organization. 
(BYBA) was founded in 2004 by Carmen Cool after meeting a group of passionate high school youth who wanted to do something about the issue of eating problems and body dissatisfaction in their school. These teens, many of whom had personally struggled with their own body image or eating disorder, felt helpless as they watched their peers skip lunch or do drugs before prom in order to drop a dress size.