“The most effective way to do it is to do it.”
— Amelia Earhart
Table of Contents
President’s Letter
Zonta Events Coming Up
Committee News
Thank you for Your Inspiration
As we kick off 2026, we are incredibly lucky to have been recognized by our family, friends, and the Boulder Community with a record-breaking Colorado Gives this past December. As of the time I write you this letter, we received
$46,460 raised by 87 donors
Last year, our Colorado Gives campaign raised just over $40,000; our December 2025 total reflects a 15% increase. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who worked hard to achieve this success.
Thanks to your commitment and enthusiasm, a spark is lighting up the Zonta Foothills Club. As a result, we are increasing the size of our Club by inducting new Members this month: Kathy Hundman, Suzi McVoy, and Sue Stapleton will join as our newest members, along with Sandy Weeks and Stephanie Herrera. Your passion for our advocacy is infectious!
Let’s continue the momentum as we move towards our annual fundraiser, Zing for Zonta. We can all work together to make this year’s talent show a huge success. From our event sponsors to the incredible talent, your help is very appreciated. This will be a topic of our January meeting.
I enjoy working with each and every one of you. Your support for our advocacy and for one another brings about significant accomplishments. You inspire me!
Happy New Year! Cheers to 2026.
— Nancy
January Club Meeting
Cookie trade-in…Got sweets left from your holiday celebrations?
Worried that you will snack on them as you put away holiday decorations? Bring your treats to share at our January meeting.
…And hear our speaker from the Colorado Fiscal Institute discuss the proposed Graduated Colorado Income Tax reform. The measure is gathering steam to appear on our November 2026 ballot.
Zonta Events Coming Up
Board Meeting - Monday, January 5, 6 pm - 7:30 pm, via Zoom. CANCELED
Advocacy Committee Meeting - Monday, January 5, 12 noon, at Pica’s 5360 Arapahoe Ave f, Boulder, CO 80303
Club Meeting - Thursday, January 8, 5:30-7:30 pm, Valmont Community Presbyterian Church, 3262 61st St, Boulder, CO 80301. Learn about the proposed Graduated Colorado Income Tax reform that will impact women, children and families. Hear our speaker from the Colorado Fiscal Institute present the measure and answer our questions.
Cast your Ballots for Woman of Achievement! - Due to the Community Outreach Committee by Friday, January 23, 2026. Ballots coming soon.
Club Meeting - Thursday, February 12, 5:30-7:30 pm, Valmont Community Presbyterian Church, 3262 61st St, Boulder, CO 80301.
Zing for Zonta - Thursday, March 26, 6-9:30 pm, Nissi’s Entertainment Venue and Event Center, 1455 Coal Creek Dr Unit T, Lafayette, CO 80026.
2026 Climate Justice Forum - Saturday April 25th, the East Boulder Community Center. 5660 Sioux Dr, Boulder, CO 80303. Details to Come.
Join us! Learn more about Zonta, Meet our 2025 Amelia Earhart Fellows from CU Boulder.
Register Now!
Zonta Foothills Club of Boulder County Committee News
Fundraising Committee
Colorado Gives Day Exceeds Goal!
Thank you.
Colorado Gives Day broke records, and it’s all thanks to you, our passionate and committed members, and to the donors who made it happen. The Fundraising Committee thanks you. We are happy to report that our total donations this year are $46,460. That is up from $40,000 in 2024. This funding will make our 2026-27 scholarships, mentorship, and advocacy programs possible, and as the needs in our community grow, we will continue to make education possible for women and girls who need it.
Thank you to everyone who set up their own fundraising pages to encourage their friends, neighbors, and family to support our programs.Thank you to those who donated to our campaign as well.
And donating your time matters too! Thank you to our members who helped with mailing annual reports, and to those who gathered over the holidays to write personal thank-you notes to every non-member donor. These personal touches mean a lot, and our teamwork makes a difference!
The Fundraising Committee - Co-Chairs Colleen Farrell and Pam Malzbender, Ann Herrmann, Debbie Nasta, Kathy Israelson. Nancy Rowe
Now, We Need Zing to Have the Same Success!!!
That means WE NEED YOU!
At our January meeting, we will brainstorm on the various tasks needed to make Zing for Zonta a success. Everyone will play a role!
Remember, we are holding the event a month earlier this year. (Zing for Zonta: Boulder’s Got Talent will be on Thursday, March 26th, at Nissi’s in Lafayette.) So, we need to secure sponsors, get great talent, sell tickets, secure silent auction items, and plan the event.
We are off to a good start.
Emcees and Judges: So far, we have confirmed that Eda Bagel (a.k.a. Jeffrey Kash) will return as our emcee. And our judges for 2026 will be past-president of the Community Foundation of Boulder County and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 1990 and 1992, Josie Heath; CEO of Rocky Mountain Equality, Mardi Moore; and Boulder attorney and Art in Community, Inc. Board Member, Caroline Kert.
Ticket Sales, Talent Voting, and Automated Silent Auction: We have everything set up with BoulderEvents to use their software again this year for these logistics. It will be more important and useful than ever because we will be managing our own ticketing rather than processing our ticketing through the venue, as we did with the Dairy. Nissi’s provides us with a great deal more flexibility.
Talent: PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD. Here is the flier for our talent; it can be found in the HUB in the Fundraising folder/Zing 2026. Any interested groups can also get in touch with us through our website. Please share this flier proactively with local groups, performing troupes of all kinds, schools, and anywhere that you see a performance you enjoy! We will be reviewing the submissions and selecting our performers by mid-February.
Sponsorships: The funds are the engine for our event. With a few sponsorships, we can sit back and enjoy the event knowing that we have the support of local companies, businesses, and individuals. Please think about those you patronize. Whether it is your own company, your doctor, neighbor, accountant, or local salon, they all can sponsor Zing for Zonta. Here is the form outlining the sponsorship options, and an interested sponsor can also visit our website.
Silent and Live Auction Items: This year, we will only have gift certificates at the silent auction (not baskets) and great items for our emcee to offer at the live auction. So we need your help securing both. A big thank you to Marta Lindrose, who has begun the process of reaching out for gift certificates! We need lots more! We have a list of vendors who have donated in the past (check the HUB, in the same folder as described above), but we also encourage you to ask for donations from businesses that you frequent.
Advocacy Committee
Commemorating Domestic Violence Awareness Month
December was a month of planning for 2026 events and advocacy partnerships for the Advocacy Committee.
On December 11th, we met with the Boulder County District Attorney’s Domestic Violence Acute Response Team to plan the ZFC-funded summer internship for 2nd- or 3rd-year law students. By sponsoring this summer internship, we will provide hands-on courtroom experience to a law student committed to becoming a prosecutor fighting domestic violence or sexual assault. This internship will have a real and ongoing impact on our work to prevent gender-based violence and advocate for victims.
We also launched planning efforts for the 2026 Climate Justice Forum with a very productive brainstorming session on December 16th. With the framework we developed, we will be able to hit the ground running for the April 25th Forum (mark your calendars) and will keep the club updated on plans and how everyone can get involved. Our touchstone areas for this Forum are to educate, inspire, and activate attendees to get involved in climate action.
Next AC meeting: Monday, January 5th, noon-1:30 pm at Pica’s (Boulder).
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
Service Committee
A Letter from Santa’s Elves at the Share-a-Gift Toy Shop
The Service Committee - Co-Chairs Kathy Israelson and Carol Smoot, Sheila Cohen, Ann Hodgson, Marta Lindrose and Joan Siebenaler
Gaby and Whitnet spreading holiday cheer
Andrea during the afternoon session
Ho! Ho! Ho! Help us Gift Wrap Free Books for Visitors at the OUR Center
Watershed Z Club Members spreading reindeer spirit.
Golden and Platinum Z Club members
We had a wonderful time! More than 30 Zonta members showed up to support Share-a-Gift. Thank you to our Foothills members and to the Z Club members from all of our youth groups who were there in force! They made us proud, staffing both the morning and afternoon sessions to spread holiday cheer!
Many thanks to Joan Siebenhaler, Sharon Goodman, Kay Meyer, Debbie Nasta, Sheila Cohen, Nancy Rowe, Kathy Israelson and Carol Smoot for manning the tables at our holiday book wrapping event for OUR Center in Longmont. The book event was a success and many of our books found new homes. The people who came were very grateful and said they hoped to see us again soon.
The OUR Center was very appreciative in a recent social media post:
Our volunteers, Carol, Debby and Joan, with Our Center representative.
Joan puts finishing touches on a pagkage.
Finance Committee
The Finance Committee will be meeting in the coming weeks to review our mid-year budget to actual and to look at our current funding. We will also be looking at the impact of our Colorado Gives income and the plans for the remainder of the year, including our plans for a 2026-2028 Development Plan.
The Finance Committee- Chair Nancy Rowe, Pam Malzbender, Michelle Médal, Ranelle Randles, Sheila King, Kim Prosser-Noonan
Educatez Scholarship Committee
Introducing Our Newest Scholarship Winners
We are excited to introduce the winners of our first Women in STEM Scholarship.
Anya Grafov is our first-place recipient. 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.
Beyond the lab, 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. Additionally, she co-founded the JILA Association of Graduate Students (JAGS), an organization dedicated to fostering community, professional development, and interdisciplinary collaboration at her research institute. Long-term, Anya plans to pursue a leadership career in the technology sector, where she can continue to drive innovation and build inclusive scientific communities.
Outside of science, Anya is a former US National Team member in acrobatic gymnastics. She remains deeply involved in the sport as a coach, judge, and athlete representative, striving to support the next generation of athletes.
Anya will receive $5,000 from the Zonta Foothills Foundation and has the opportunity to win an additional $2,000 from District 12. Then she can compete for one of 16 international awards of $10,000 each from Zonta International.
Josephine Meyer is our second-place winner. Josephine (Josie) received her Ph.D. in Physics with a graduate certificate in Ethnic Studies in May 2025 from CU Boulder. She studies how to effectively teach quantum computing to diverse audiences. She is also an internationally-recognized advocate for the responsible development of quantum technologies. Despite losing her postdoc to an NSF grant termination, she has maintained a productive research presence through her courtesy appointment at George Mason University and funding and support from her professional network. She is also working to restore three historic buildings in downtown Boulder.
Outside of research, you will likely find Josie practicing (or composing) classical music, gardening, playing board games with friends, or hanging out with her two very silly tabby cats.
Josie will be awarded her $2,000 for second place.
2026 STEM Scholarship Winner Anya Grafov
2026 STEM Scholarship Second-Place winner Josie Meyer
The EducateZ Scholarship Committee - Co-Chairs Nancy Rowe and Michelle Médal, Kristi Celico, Ann Herrmann, Kay Meyer, Amanda Eisnes
Zonta Educatez Committee
New Year Off to a Great Start
Golden and Planinunm Z Clubs Plan Financial Workshops
More than 30 ZClub members, representing each of our Clubs, joined forces for Share-a-Gift, and what a great time we had! Thank you to the BHS Pantherz Z Club, our Flatirons Golden Z Club, Boulder Platinum Z Club and our Watershed School Z Club. Everyone was represented. We are honored to have members so committed to giving back to their community.
Now our Clubs will move into their second semester.
Pantherz Plan for Culture of Respect
The officers of the Pantherz Z Club will meet on Monday, January 5th to plan spring 2026. They have a lot of great ideas on ways to expand their popular Culture of Respect Project.
Our Goldenz C;ub members created thank-you cards for Community Food Share workers and volunteers to show appreciation to them as well for their efforts during a difficult month.
Zonta Educatez Committee - Co-Chairs Gaby Lopez & Claudia Ibarra, Tommie Atanasoff, Michelle Carpenter, Kay James, Marta Lindrose, Pam Malzbender
Governance and Engagement Committee
Great News! Three new members are being inducted in January!!!
Welcome to Sue Stapleton, Suzi McVoy, and Kathryn Hundman, who will be inducted at our January business meeting. We welcome them into the Club and look forward to working with them in the months to come!
The Governance and Engagement Committee will be hosting the January Club meeting… more on our meeting agenda in the next few days.
The Governance and Engagement Committee - Co-Chairs Colleen Farrell and Pam Malzbender, Claudia Ibarra, Nancy Rowe
Community Outreach Committee
For over 25 years, our Club has recognized a Boulder County woman as our Woman of Achievement. The Woman of Achievement award is part of our Zonta Rose Day celebration, on March 8th, International Women's Day. It recognizes women who demonstrate a commitment to Building a Better World for Women and Girls. Club members nominate women in our community.
This year, the Community Outreach Committee will handle the process for collecting nominations and coordinating our all-important Club vote. It is a perfect fit for our committee, because the award brings the Zonta Foothills Club of Boulder County into our Community. It allows us to raise awareness of our Club and our mission as we reach out to our nominees and winners with a Zonta Yellow Rose and card on March 8th. Our winners then invited to speak at our March membership meeting.
Soon we will distribute our nomination form to all Club members. With the nominations in hand, we will distribute ballots and invite all of our members to vote for a nominee. The winner will be announced in early February.
To see the impressive list of past Women of Achievement winners, visit our website. Scroll down past our Zontians of the Year and the story about Leslie Smith, our impressive 2025 winner.
