"You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”
— Jane Goodall
Table of Contents
President’s Letter
Zonta Events Coming Up
Committee News
We Celebrate YOU!
April Committee Meeting
Thursday, April 10th 5:15-6:00. Hosted by the Educatez Committee
Dinner & Social time at 5:30, meeting begins at 6 pm.
Meeting Location: Valmont Community Presbyterian Church, 3262 61st St, Boulder, CO 80301. (ROAD IS OPEN FROM THE NORTH! YEAH.)
Our speakers at this meeting will include members of the Boulder High School Pantherz Z Club, who will be joining us to present their Culture of Respect project which is highlighted in April to commemorate Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
We will also meet our 2026 Woman of Achievement Ginny Corsi, and get updated on the results of Zing and the exciting plans for our 2026 Climate Justice Forum. It promises to be an exciting meeting.
Zonta Events Coming Up
Child Marriage Bill Hearing at the Capitol - Monday, April 6, 1:30 pm Please show up. Support our advocacy committee as they work to give this important legislation a last push to become a Colorado law. The meeting will be in Room LSB-A located in the Legislative Services Building (LSB) at 200 E 14th Ave., directly south of the Capitol Building.
CU Boulder Take Back the Night - Wednesday, April 8th, 5:30-8:00 pm at the Norlin Library Quad. The event is sponsored by Students Against Campus Sexual Assault (SACSA), Sigma Psi Zeta Sorority, and the Zonta Foothills Foundation. There will be a speaker, a march across campus, organizations tabling, and food. All are welcome.
Front Range Community College Take Back the Night - Thursday, April 9, 3:00-6:00 pm. Boulder County Campus Courtyard 2190 Miller Dr, Longmont, CO. The event is co-sponsored by FRCC and the Zonta Foothills Foundation. We will contribute food and staff a table again this year.
Club Meeting - Thursday, April 9, 5:30-7:30 pm What is a Culture of Respect? Meet our Z Clubs and our 2026 Woman of Achievement, Ginny Corsi, Valmont Community Presbyterian Church, 3262 61st St, Boulder, CO 80301.
EducateZ Committee Meeting - Monday, April 13th, 4:00 - 6:00 pm via Zoom.
Culture of Respect Pledge Signing during the BHS Girls’ varsity soccer game. April 21st, 7:00 pm: Boulder High School Field, 1604 Arapahoe Ave, Boulder, CO (please wear white or teal)
2026 Climate Justice Forum - Saturday, April 25th, the East Boulder Community Center. 5660 Sioux Dr, Boulder, CO 80303. Details to Come.
Club and Foundation Board Meeting - Thursday, May 6, 5:30 pm- Location TBD. We will be mapping out a vision for our next year and beyond. Join us! Meeting in person. Location TBD.
Club Meeting - Thursday, May 14, 5:30-7:30 pm, Scholar Celebration! Meet our Zonta Foothills Foundation past and present. We will celebrate their accomplishments. Valmont Community Presbyterian Church, 3262 61st St, Boulder, CO 80301.
Golden Z Club Investing workshop, Wednesday, May 27th 5:00 pm mingle and 5:30 pm workshop - Valmont Community Presbyterian Church, 3262 61st St, Boulder, CO 80301.
Zonta Foothills Club of Boulder County Committee News
Fundraising Committee
ZING for Zonta Was a SMASH!
The Fundraising Committee - Co-Chairs Colleen Farrell and Pam Malzbender, Ann Herrmann, Debbie Nasta, Kathy Israelson, Nancy Rowe
Thank you to everyone. This was a real Club effort, and together we made Zing 2026 the most successful one ever!
The feedback seems unanimous: our new venue, Nissi’s Event Center, was a BIG hit. The party atmosphere helped us sell more tickets, attract more silent auction bidders, and, above all, feature unique talent. Our performers ranged in age from two to 72, and wow, they were so much fun. It was an honor to have them all donate their time and talent to our mission.
We will be announcing our final totals at our business meeting next week, so stay tuned. In the meantime, enjoy some Zing PHOTOS HERE (Thank you to our honorary Club photographer, Bruce Manchon.)
Advocacy Committee
US Women's Caucus and Zonta at the UN
The bill to end child marriage in Colorado, SB26-048 has moved along from the Hearing phase to Appropriations to Senate to House — much progress! The next hearing is scheduled for this Monday, April 6, 2026. If you plan to attend, please let Jan or Lisa know, and we’ll try to carpool. Lisa also sent out a list of contacts to email and call, so please take a moment to do that — Our voices are making a difference — Please help us get this over the finish line!
Elizabeth has been working with CU student organizations to help organize, promote, and sponsor a Take Back the Night event on the Boulder campus. It’s currently planned for April 8th from 5:30-8:00 on the Norlin Quad.
Pam has been working with Front Range Community College on their Take Back the Night event on April 9th from 3:00-7:00 pm. If you’d like to help table at the event, please let her know.
Planning for the 2026 Climate Justice Forum on April 25th is in full swing! We will have posters to hand out at the next meeting. Please spread the word to your network.
The Advocacy Committee - Co-Chairs Sheila King and Jan Cheney, Elizabeth Freedman, Sara Gillespie, Sharon Goodman, Lisa Lesniak, Pam Malzbender, Ranelle Randles, Dana Rae Vaughn
Finance Committee
A Message From Your Treasurer About Membership Dues 2026-2027
Thank you to those who have paid their 2026-27 dues. Reminders were sent this week to those who have overdue payments. The preferred option to pay now is through PayPal on our website. We are so thankful for your continued membership and look forward to another year of doing great work.
The Finance Committee- Chair Nancy Rowe, Pam Malzbender, Michelle Médal, Ranelle Randles, Sheila King, Kim Prosser-Noonan
Educatez Scholarship Committee
Announcing 2025-26 Young Women in Leadership Scholarship Winner Sena Williams
This award (formerly the Young Women in Public Affairs Award) recognizes young women, ages 16-19, for demonstrating leadership skills and commitment to public service and civic causes, and encourages them to continue their participation in public and political life. Our applicants were an inspirational group this year making our selection very challenging. So challenging in fact that we have decided to award two of our candidates $5000. Meet them here:
Foothills Foundation STEM Scholar Wins Zonta International Award
We have other remarkable news. Our 2026 STEM Award winner,Anya Grafov has just been named one of Zonta International’s 2026 Zonta Women in STEM recipients. She was one of thirty–six (36) exceptional applicants from 25 countries who were considered for one of the 16 international awards. As an international winner, she will receive a complimentary one-year supporting membership in Zonta International starting in the next fiscal year (1 June 2026) and $10,000.
Anya is a PhD candidate in Physics at the University of Colorado Boulder, where she researches ultrafast magnetism and light-matter interactions. Working with the Kapteyn-Murnane group at JILA, she utilizes a tabletop extreme ultraviolet laser spectroscopy system to probe magnetic materials at their most fundamental limits. Her research investigates how magnetic and quantum materials behave over trillionths of a second after being excited with light. By uncovering the mechanisms underlying these ultrafast behaviors, Anya’s research aims to fill a critical gap in the understanding of magnetic phenomena, laying the groundwork for next-generation computational devices. Anya is a dedicated advocate for diversity and inclusion in STEM. Motivated by her own experiences and her family’s history as refugees from Russia, she strives to build supportive communities for underrepresented scientists. She recently served as Co-Chair for the 2025 Conference for Undergraduate Women and Gender Minorities in Physics (CU*iP), leading an event that connected nearly 200 students with mentors, workshops, and career resources.
Anya has also received $5,000 from our Zonta Foothills Foundation.
A list of the international winners is available on the Zonta International website. A biographical description of each recipient will be posted on the site by the end of May 2026.
Sena Williams is in her senior year at Monarch High School. She is the chair of the Louisville Youth Advisory Board, where she works with a group of peers to create annual community projects, including running the City’s Pet Mayor election. She also leads presentations to the City Council, and recently presented to the Regional Air Quality Committee to share youth perspectives on climate change and air quality. At school, she participates in theater, where she is a Thespian Officer and the head of the costumes department, organizing theater events and designing and creating costumes for the school productions. She is also the Co-President of Eco Club, and she has worked on several initiatives to make her school and her community more sustainable, including a pollinator garden and an effort to implement compost in the school cafeteria.
In the fall, she is going off to college and planning on double-majoring in Environmental Science and International Relations. She hopes to integrate the study of the environment with her passion for global studies and work to solve environmental issues in communities across the world and mitigate the effects of environmental injustice.
The EducateZ Scholarship Committee - Co-Chairs Nancy Rowe and Michelle Médal, Kristi Celico, Ann Herrmann, Kay Meyer, Amanda Eisnes
Zonta Educatez Committee
Z Club Advocating for Their City and Young Girls
ZClub finalized its time with Growing Up Boulder (GUB)! Participants received a certificate from City of Boulder & GUB for completing five sessions. They can use this opportunity to add to their resume & future projects.
Boulder High and Watershed School Z Clubs had an inspiring day at the Capitol on April 2. We boarded an early 7:15 bus and, with the support of our Advocacy and EducateZ Committee members, were treated to a presentation by Z Club alumna Paola Garcia Baron, who is currently an intern at the Capitol. We then heard from our state representative, Juni Joseph, and State Senator Janice Marchman, both of whom are working tirelessly on our bill to stop child marriage. This was followed by a visit to the Senate floor, where we were introduced to the full assembly and took pictures with Senate President Coleman from the dias.
But the day didn’t stop there! The Z Clubs took action! We then spent the remainder of the day visiting representatives’ offices, where Z Club members spoke up about why they supported our Child Marriage bill. It was true advocacy in action! Congratulations, everyone, for making your voices heard!
Finally, we had a full table of Z Club members attend Zing for Zonta thanks to Z Club mentor Kay James! A big thank you to Kay for sponsoring a table so the group could attend. They had a ball!
Z Club members advocate for Child Marriage Bill
Z Club on Colorado Senate Floor with President James Coleman
GoldenZ hosted its second MyWealthBeing workshop about Taxes. Ricardo from MyWealthBeing motivated the entire group to file their taxes and to not be afraid to do it on their own! The group had great questions and took advantage of asking personal questions after the presentation was over. Our next session will be on May 27th, when we will discuss investing.
Upcoming dates:
April 13th: EducateZ Committee meeting
April 21st @7pm: Culture of Respect pledge signing during girls varsity soccer game. Boulder High School Field, 1604 Arapahoe Ave, Boulder, CO (please wear white or teal)
May 27th Golden Z Club Investing workshop
Early 7:15 bus to the Capitol!
Golden Z Club Building for Their Futures
Zonta Educatez Committee - Co-Chairs Gaby Lopez & Claudia Ibarra, Tommie Atanasoff, Michelle Carpenter, Kay James, Marta Lindrose, Pam Malzbender
Pantherz Complete Growing Up Boulder Project
Boulder legislator Juni Joseph speaks to Z Clubs about Child Marriage bill
Golden Z Club Empathy Game Fun
Governance and Engagement Committee
March is the month to celebrate women!
Sunday, March 8th, is International Women’s Day, but all month long, our Club will be celebrating one another and the women in our lives who matter! So who are the women in your life who make a difference? It may be the neighbor who always lends a helping hand, the woman who delivers your mail with a smile, the one who cares for your pets, your daughter who inspires you with her courage, or your boss who believes in your potential. These women show up with kindness, strength, and dedication, making our days easier and our lives richer.
Let’s say THANK YOU! As mentioned at our last Club meeting and in last month’s Flash ( I hope you read it! If you didn't, don’t tell me…just check it out NOW. https://zontafoothills.org/february-2026-flash), we are going to honor these women in our lives who are making a difference. At our March Club meeting, we will put cards and ribbons on yellow roses, and you can either take them with you after the meeting to deliver them personally to your honorees, or you can provide the name and address of the women you are honoring, and we will deliver them for you.
To prepare everything, we need to know how many roses to get and how many cards to print.
SO, WE NEED INPUT FROM YOU NOW. CLICK HERE TO LIST YOUR AWARDEES.
The Governance and Engagement Committee - Co-Chairs Colleen Farrell and Pam Malzbender, Sarah Gillespie, Claudia Ibarra, Nancy Rowe
Community Outreach Committee
Committee - Co-Chairs Sheila Cohen and Pam Malzbender, Kathy Hundman, Debbie Nasta, Michelle Medal, Joan Siebenaler,
We are working hard on promotion for Zing for Zonta! Getting postings on media event calendars, reaching out to local radio and newspapers, and sending emails. Fingers crossed that we get some good publicity for Zing.
Another important project is our Zonta promotional video. We will be unveiling it at Zing.
We are keeping our Club website up to date, and we have also worked with Fundraising to get all of the information into to the Zing for Zonta Ticket website.
Preliminary work is underway to start with promoting our upcoming Climate Justice Forum. We will be
Finally, the Outreach Committee will help to coordinate our Club table at Zing. If you can help us by putting in a few minutes at the table, it would be very much appreciated.