11 Extraordinary Women Honored
Each year, Girl Scouts of Colorado bestows the Women of Distinction honor upon 10 exceptional women in our community. This year, the new Woman of Distinction Gold honor will also be given to one extraordinary woman, who has not only exemplified the qualities of a Woman of Distinction but whose lifetime achievements have made a significant, lasting impact on our community. This year’s honorees were selected by a committee of their peers and chosen based on their contributions to the community, both professionally and personally. These women join a network of more than 500 alums. They are shining examples of corporate, civic, and philanthropic leaders, who serve as role models for our female leaders of tomorrow.
2022 Woman of Distinction Gold
Anna Jo Garcia Haynes, Founder & Former Executive Director, Mile High Early Learning Centers- Anna Jo is both a product of and a champion for Colorado education and has dedicated her life to serving others, especially Colorado’s youngest and most vulnerable children and their families. During her 40-year tenure as the executive director and co-founder of Mile High Early Learning, Anna Jo played a key role in creating programs and policies designed to meet children’s developmental needs. The Mile High Early Learning centers across Denver serve more than 500 children each day, approximately 92% of families served live at or below the Federal Poverty Level. As president emeritus, Anna Jo continues to advocate for universal and quality early childhood education and care. She also co-founded the Colorado Children’s Campaign and is a founding mother and the third president of the Women’s Foundation of Colorado. Her achievements have been recognized in Colorado and across the country. In 2015, she was inducted into the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame. She has also made a national impact as a consultant to the White House Conference on Children and Youth and as an advisory member of the Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues. In 2021, Gov. Jared Polis signed an unanimously supported bill named in Anna Jo’s honor for her lifelong advocacy for Colorado’s children and youth. This bill will create a Department of Early Childhood, revolutionizing the state’s early childhood education and care system as well as creating a statewide universal childcare system, including at least 10 hours per week of preschool for every child in their final year before kindergarten. Mile High United Way created an award named for her– the Anna Jo Haynes Caring About Kids Award– that honors community leaders who make significant contributions on behalf of children.
Class of 2022, Women of Distinction
Angela Baier, CEO, CollegeInvest– Since she was a young woman, Angela has been breaking through the barriers and biases of age, gender, and traditional career tracks to pave her own unique path across industries. As CEO of CollegeInvest, Angela has a top position in the male-dominated financial industry. Under her leadership, CollegeInvest is now the fastest growing 529 college savings program in the country serving more than 375,000 families and managing more than $12 billion in assets. Prior to CollegeInvest, Angela served as the first female vice president at the Denver Zoo and was the City of Denver’s first marketing director, the second job of its kind in the country.
Gloria Schoch, Director of Global Impact, VF Corporation & Executive Director, VF Foundation- Gloria is a social impact strategist with 15 years of experience at Fortune 500 companies leading corporate social responsibility, community relations, government relations, and communications. Gloria oversees the Foundation’s strategic vision to help create a more equitable and sustainable world. She works across VF’s brands, enterprise, and with community partners to innovate, problem-solve, and measure social and environmental impact in collaborative ways to drive transformative, systemic change in the communities where VF operates around the world.
Judy Regensteiner, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Medicine and Director of the Ludeman Family Center for Women’s Health Research at CU Anschutz Judy directs the Ludeman Family Center for Women’s Health Research, which focuses on conducting cutting edge research in women’s health and women’s health research, on mentoring the next generation of scientists in these fields, and on educating the public and health care providers about women’s health and sex differences. Her research expertise is in the cardiovascular effects of diabetes with a specific focus on women with type 2 diabetes since they appear to have more significant cardiovascular abnormalities than men with diabetes. Her lab has been funded for more than 30 years and her more than 170 publications have influenced the field.Judy is also the Judith and Joseph Wagner Chair of Women’s Health Research.
Lindy Eichenbaum Lent, President & CEO, Rose Community Foundation- At the Rose Community Foundation, Lindy leads efforts to advance inclusive, engaged, and equitable Greater Denver communities through values-driven philanthropy. Through leadership and advocacy, grantmaking, donor engagement, and stewardship of philanthropic resources, the Foundation supports strategic and innovative solutions to enduring challenges and emerging issues in seven-county Metro Denver across a wide range of issue areas while also stewarding donor-advised funds for individuals, families, and businesses and endowments for nonprofit organizations. RCF manages $370 million in assets and has granted more than $350 million since it was founded in 1995. Prior to Rose Community Foundation, Lindy served as executive director of the Civic Center Conservancy and communications director for then-Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper.
Lori Fox, Principal, Taloma Partners- Lori is a principal and founder of Taloma Partners, a consulting firm providing public affairs, issues management, and strategic communications consulting to a wide variety of corporate and non-profit entities. Through Taloma, she also served as the interim executive director of the Prosperity Denver Fund, assisting the board in standing up the newly voter-approved taxpayer-funded entity to provide additional resources to nonprofits supporting Denver students’ access to post-secondary education. Lori began her career in Washington, D.C., where she worked on Capitol Hill, at two cabinet agencies, and in the White House.
Lorii Rabinowitz, CEO, Denver Scholarship Foundation– In concert with her colleagues, Lorii manifests her passion to foster equitable opportunities and outcomes for all through her work at the Denver Scholarship Foundation, which helps to make college possible for thousands of Denver Public Schools graduates each year. Lorii’s commitment to community service is a guiding force in all she does; as such, she actively serves on numerous nonprofit boards, advisory boards, and committees. Her prior professional experience includes executive roles with the entrepreneurial venture Denver Center for Arts & Technology, local consulting firm Rebound Solutions, and 9NEWS.
Marcela de la Mar, President of the Board, Mexican Cultural Center– Marcela is widely recognized as a collaborator, connector and community leader. Over her impressive 23 year career as executive director of the Mexican Cultural Center, Marcela dedicated herself to the advancement of Mexican art and culture in Colorado. Officially retired, her connection with MCC continues as she currently serves as the president of the board. Under Marcela’s leadership, the MCC was able to build sustaining partnerships with some of Denver’s well-known cultural organizations to pursue common goals that benefit a broad and more inclusive community. These collaborations have increased the awareness, appreciation, and importance of Mexican arts and traditions while also building a bridge between the Latino community and mainstream arts organizations. Because of her work, the MCC received the Mayor’s Award for Cultural Impact in 2017.
Maureen Tarrant, President & CEO, Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center & Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children– Maureen is an experienced senior executive within HCA’s HealthONE system of care.With a deep commitment to community organizations, Maureen serves on many boards and committees. She is currently a member of the board of directors for Rocky Mountain Children’s Health Foundation. Prior to her role at P/SL and RMHC, Maureen was president & CEO of Sky Ridge Medical Center in Lone Tree, where she led the planning, design, and development, construction, and opening of HCA’s HealthONE seventh hospital.
Monica Liley Skok, Managing Director & Intermountain Region Manager, JPMorgan Chase Commercial Banking– Monica is a results-driven financial services executive, CEO, and board director with more than 25 years of repeated success leading strategic vision, building teams and organizations, and delivering financial and operational results in investment and commercial banking, healthcare, and family office businesses. Prior to joining JPMorgan Chase, Monica launched MLS Advisory to provide C-level services to families, businesses, and their trustees to define and execute strategic and financial objectives.
Rosemarie Allen, Ed.D, Founder, President and CEO, Institute for Racial Equity & Excellence – Through IREE, Rosemarie has worked with the U.S. Department of Education and other organizations to provide training on implicit bias, microaggressions, anti-racism, and racial equity. IREE is contracted with the State of Colorado to monitor and license early childhood facilities using a model she created called Culturally Responsive Community Based Licensing. Rosemarie also serves as an associate professor in the School of Education at MSU Denver and has been an educational leader for nearly four decades. Her life’s work is centered on ensuring all children have access to high quality early childhood programs that are developmentally and culturally appropriate.
Girl Scouts of Colorado will welcome the Class of 2022 honorees from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m., August 25, at the Denver Botanic Gardens.
“I am honored to welcome this year’s class of Women of Distinction. They are strong, bold, empowered women who represent the leadership and excellence that powers today’s world, and they are outstanding role models for our girls,” said Leanna Clark, CEO of Girl Scouts of Colorado.
Proceeds from the event will support Girl Scouts of Colorado’s crucial leadership development programs in entrepreneurship, outdoors, STEM, and life skills for more than 15,000 members across Colorado.
Event chairs are Elaine Torres, Woman of Distinction ’09, and Marti Awad, Woman of Distinction ’19.
For information regarding tickets and sponsorships, visit girlscoutsofcolorado.org.