"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams"

— Eleanor Roosevelt

Table of Contents

  • President’s Letter

  • Calendar

  • Club News

It’s Time to Vote!

I love to vote! I love the whole democratic election process. It’s a free and fair system where I, as a citizen, can choose my government leaders.

We’ve been taught it’s our civic duty, and it makes me feel like I can make a difference even if it’s a small one. When I was growing up, my family spent our dinner hour discussing candidates and ballot initiatives. My parents would take our family’s decisions with them to their polling place and cast our collective vote. 

Growing up in California, we voted in person. At the age of 16, I worked as a poll worker at my precinct in Los Angeles. Even though I couldn’t vote until I was 18 years old, I was excited to be a part of the process.

When I moved to Colorado and learned that we all vote by mail, it didn’t dampen my enthusiasm. My husband Mike and I still spend one of our dinner hours going through the Blue Book that is sent for every election. 

With the mid-term elections right around the corner, the Advocacy Committee is planning for our October Club meeting to focus on ballot initiatives that specifically affect women and girls. We are fortunate to be able to bring in experts to speak on these issues.

I, for one, will be taking notes so I can bring this information to our dining table discussion later in the month. I am excited to cast my vote in this coming midterm election.

I appreciate your spirit and interest in this meeting. I look forward to seeing you then.

Best, Nancy

October Club Meeting:The Future is on Your Ballot

Thursday, October 8th

Dinner & Social time at 5:30; meeting begins at 6 pm

Our Speakers will be Kaycee Headrick and Nia Wassink, who will discuss Ballot Initiative 1A: The Brighter Start, Ballot Initiative 81: Notification of U.S. Department of Homeland Security for Certain Criminal Charges and Immigration Status; Ballot Initiative 134: Sex Requirement for School and College Sports Initiative; and Ballot Initiative 135: Prohibit Surgeries for Treatment in Response to Minors' Perception of Sex or Gender Measure.

Meeting Location: Valmont Community Presbyterian Church, 3262 61st St, Boulder, CO 80301. ‍ ‍

Zonta Events Coming Up

Zonta Foothills Club of Boulder County
NEWS

2026-27 Committees:

Refined Structure is Getting Things Going!!

Initial feedback says things are going well for our Zonta Foothills Committees, as we introduce teams to our organization. Just as a reminder, it looks like this:

Teams are not limited to members of the main committee. So to get everyone involved, we met in small breakouts at our September member meeting. We now have members working on scholarships, volunteering to do projects with the Z Club, diving into climate justice, and trying out new projects.

We appreciate the cooperation of our Committee Chairs and their willingness to work with each team to plan and move forward on project-specific tasks. 

Change takes time, and we can make adjustments at any time to improve work efficiency. So keep communication with the board and with your committee open as we make this happen.

Our Club Response to The Blueprint for the Future

Thank you to those who attended our Blueprint Information sessions last week. They provided many good ideas and some valuable information for our Club’s Response Document. We will be submitting a draft of this response to the Club board the second week of October. They will provide edits and then vote to approve.

Prior to our submission, the approved response will be distributed to all Club members. The feedback deadline on the Blueprint for the Future is October 31, 2026.

Please direct any comments or questions to Pam Malzbender and Kay Meyer

Executive Summary 

 Governance Blueprint Report

Zonta Educatez Committee

Claudia Ibarra and Gaby Lopez, Co-Chairs

Members: Tommie Atanasoff, Michelle Dubé, Stephanie Herrera, Kay James, Marta Lindrose, Pam  Malzbender, Kim Prosser-Noonan,

Boulder High School Pantherz Z Club Inducts Inspired Group of New Members

It was a lovely afternoon with more than 50 Pantherz, parents, grandparents, faculty, and Zonta Foothills Club members in attendance to celebrate the swearing-in of 12 new BHS Pantherz Z Club members. Our vibrant Z Club, under the mentorship of our Zonta EducateZ Co-Chairs, Claudia Ibarra and Gaby Lopez, ran the program. Co-Presidents Charlee Baine and Dacely Quintana opened the ceremony with a welcome and introduced the new Boulder High School principal, Dr. Kristen Lewis. Dr. Lewis welcomed everyone and thanked Zonta for its many years of support as mentors and sponsors of the high school Club. Then the officers each spoke about our Z Club pillars of Education, Leadership, Service, Advocacy, and Respect

Z Club officers invited our 2026 Zonta Foothills Woman of Achievement, Ginny Corsi, to be the afternoon’s Inspirational Speaker. Ginny spoke about her professional journey and encouraged each Club member to envision their future and focus on things that they are passionate about.

After Nancy Rowe, Zonta Foothills President, swore in the 2026-27 Officers and the 12 new Club members, each inductee was invited to award a Zonta Yellow Rose to the person who has most inspired and supported them in their lives. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house, as members paid tribute to their mothers, grandmothers, sisters, and others who have made a difference.

Thank you to the Zonta Foothills members who came out to show support for this group of inspiring leaders. They are the strong women of tomorrow who will make a difference.

The Pantherz are off to a great start!

IMG_9861.jpeg
IMG_9856.jpeg
IMG_9848.jpeg
IMG_9838.jpeg
IMG_9837 (1).jpeg
IMG_9833.jpeg

ZClub Getting Young Voters Registered

Thank you to New Era

The Z Club spent an afternoon being trained by New Era Colorado. They talked about the importance of voting and the process for voter registration in preparation for two drives held at Boulder High School. In Colorado, young voters can pre-register at 16 so that after their 18th birthday, they automatically receive a ballot.

A big thank you to Kay James for acting as our Zonta mentor at the drives and to Karl Lapham of New Era for making it all happen.

Our Club worked with New Era and used Colorado’s online registration to add 30 new voters!

Golden Z Club Learns Strategies for Home Buying

The Flatirons Golden Z Club hosted its third financial literacy session recently. Facilitated by Ricardo Cabrera of My Wealth Being, our Club members spent 90 minutes learning about the requirements for homeownership. They touched on topics like renting vs. buying, credit scores, building equity, determining the mortgage that works and so much more.

15 of our Club members came out in force to get a hands-on perspective on the planning that will help them plan for the future.

Advocacy Committee

Lisa Lesniak and Sandy Weeks, Co-Chairs

Members: Jan Cheney, Colleen Farrell, Elizabeth Freeman, Sara Gillespie, Sharon Goodman, Kay  James, Sheila King, Jamie LeRoux, Suzi McVoy, Pam Malzbender, Kay Meyer, Ranelle  Randles, Dana Rae Vaughn

Kaycee Headrick and Nia Wassink, will help us understand ballot initiatives that will appear on your November ballot. It can be a challenge deciphering the legalese of your ballot so they will help us cut through the language to discuss how these choices will impact women and children in Boulder County and the state of Colorado, We will discuss:

Ballot Issue 1A, "The Brighter Start": This countywide ballot initiative asks Boulder County, Colorado asks Boulder County voters to raise property taxes to make childcare more available and affordable for families and more stable for providers. The initiative proposes a new 2.579 mill property tax to establish dedicated local funding aimed at making early childhood care and education more affordable, expanding infant/toddler slots, and supporting workforce retention for childcare providers.

Ballot Initiative 134: Sex Requirement for School and College Sports Initiative requires K-12 and collegiate athletic participation to align strictly with biological sex at birth, requiring a simple majority to pass. Proposition 134 would require school districts, universities, colleges, and athletic associations statewide to adopt policies determining which teams students may participate on based on biological sex rather than gender identity. The measure could subject students to sex-verification processes if their eligibility is questioned.

Ballot Initiative 135: Prohibit Certain Surgeries on Minors would prohibit gender-affirming health care for minors and prohibit public or private health insurance from covering these procedures.

Colorado Amendment 81, Law Enforcement Reporting Requirements to Federal Authorities" would permanently amend the Colorado Constitution to require state and local law enforcement, correctional officers and district attorney personnel to report a person charged with a violent crime, or any crime if they have a prior felony, to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) within 72 hours if they are not lawfully present or their lawful presence cannot be determined. Because it is a constitutional amendment, it requires a 55% majority vote to pass.

Speakers Share Impact of November Ballot Initiatives on Women and Girls

It is no surprise that we are observing the erosion of our rights in terms of reproductive healthcare, voting rights, and freedom of expression, among others. Part of this is happening because gender equality was not guaranteed in our Constitution. The ERA met all the constitutional requirements required by Article V back in 1972, but has been delayed primarily for procedural reasons and lack of will to bring it forth. Now, however, it is likely that we will seat a more Pro-ERA Congress in January 2027, and it could be our opportunity to see the 28th Amendment finally recognized as part of the Constitution.

That’s why the Zonta USA Caucus is asking for American Clubs to TAKE ACTION!

We are partnering with the ERA Coalition, an umbrella organization that includes more than 300 partner organizations, including Zonta. Together, we are pushing to have the ERA taken up within the first 100 days of the new Congress. We are gathering petition signatures to show national support for this action in the hopes that we will be too big to ignore. Our Advocacy Committee urges you to sign!!

Legislative Team Jumping the ERA

SIGN HERE TO SUPPORT THE ERA!

We will also provide both paper petitions at our Zonta meetings as well as QR codes that will take you to www.Sign4ERA.org. The ERA Coalition website is a great resource for more history, legal information, and benefits that we will gain once the Amendment is part of the Constitution.

To further support this effort, remember to vote for pro-ERA candidates in the upcoming election. You can find out where your representatives stand here, on the ERA Coalition site:

WHERE OUR REPRESENTATIVES STAND ON ERA?

Educate your friends, co-workers, fellow students, and family about the importance of the ERA - we will all benefit from this Amendment in our lives.

Focus of Beth Haynes Award Winner is on Victims

It’s become an annual tradition to attend the Beth Haynes Award selection breakfast and cast our vote from among the 15 inspirational countywide nominees recognized by their peers. In partnership with the Boulder District Attorney’s Office, we fund this award with a $ ___ stipend for education and professional development. The Beth Haynes Award is given to a select individual among our law enforcement partners “who has demonstrated excellent skills, commitment, and passion in addressing intimate partner violence as a significant public health issue.” 

This year’s winner is Jessie Ihnen. He received two nominations from the Longmont Police Department and the Boulder DA’s office for his unwavering support of victims. He is respected for his diligence in complicated investigations and for the strong relationships he builds with victims. Jessie plays an important role in training law enforcement officers on domestic violence investigation, defensive tactics, arrest control, crisis intervention, and de-escalation. As if his full-time work isn’t enough, Jessie is the board Secretary of the Crossroads Safehouse in Fort Collins.

Please join us at the Beth Haynes Award ceremony to meet all of the nominees on October 22, 2:30 pm, Jury Assembly Room, Boulder County Justice Center, 1777 6th St, Boulder, CO 80302. All Zontians are urged to join us for this inspirational afternoon.

Scholarship Committee

Marta Lindrose and Sue Stapleton, Co-Chairs

Members: Kristi Celico, Sheila Cohen, Ann Herrmann, Kathy Israelson, Michelle Médal, Debbie  Nasta, Deb Parks, Ranelle Randles, Nancy Rowe, Carol Smoot

The Zonta Foothills Foundation scholarship year is underway. Our Teams are getting to work; each scholarship will be handled by a team of two or three Zonta members. They will have the responsibility for:

  • sending out emails to people and organizations that have contact with possible scholarship applicants,

  • gathering together all of the scholarship information,

  • organizing the review of the scholarships,

  • updating the scoring rubrics and notifying the winner(s).

We are very excited for this new way of distributing the duties of the scholarships with the Teams,

Here is a chart showing the scholarship Teams and the various dates of their process. Please contact the Team members if you have any ideas for additional outreach contacts for their scholarships.

Scholarship Committee Plans for a Great Year

Member Relations Committee

Colleen Farrell, Chair

Members: Nancy Rowe, Pam Malzbender, Ginger Barnes, Sheila  Cohen, Sara Gillespie, Ann Hodgson, Ranelle Randles 

New Member Brunch Welcomes Guests

We had six prospective members at our recent Zappy Hour Brunch. Kathy Hundman hosted, and our guests were welcomed by a group of Club members. After an enjoyable hour of conversation and getting to know one another, we introduced our Club with our informational video, followed by personal stories and sharing.

The great news is we already have a new member who will be inducted this coming week, and two or three of the other attendees will hopefully be joining soon.

Thank you to all those who attended, and a BIG thank you to Kathy for inviting us to enjoy her home.

Marketing and PR Committee

Pam Malzbender and Kathy Hundman, Co-Chairs

We are giving our website a new coat of paint!

It's become a key tool for attracting new members and inspiring donors. To showcase our Club's important work in the most engaging, visual way, we have hired Foust Design to help us redesign our website before the Colorado Gives Season.

Please give Pam or Kathy a call if you have ideas as to the topics that should be emphasized.

Website Getting a Fresh Look

Join Our Club
Donate