Young Women in Leadership
Award & Application
Young Women In Leadership Award Winner
Zonta Young Women in Leadership 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 2025 Young Women in Leadership Award Winner is Natalie Cappelletti
The Zonta Foothills Club of Boulder County is honored to introduce Natalie Cappelletti, our First Place 2025 Young Women in Leadership Award winner.
A senior at Fairview High School, Natalie is a leader in our community. She explains “I understand the significance of participating in leadership as a woman....” She is the Policy Debate Captain of the Fairview Speech and Debate Team, where she uses her communication skills to teach others how to advocate and argue for change in her community. Natalie is also the creator of Fairview’s first student-led organization “Project Lead The Way” where she registers her peers to vote and collaborates with local government officials to make civic engagement a priority at her school. Outside of school, Natalie’s love of volunteerism started at a very young age at A Precious Child, where she is the Vice President of the Youth Service Leaders. Natalie truly believes in the power of collective advocacy and the firm intersection of ideas, interests, and identities to create a space where girls and women are empowered to achieve. After high school, Natalie plans to study international public policy and linguistics in college.
As debate team captain, Natalie is often the only woman participating in events dominated by men. She explains, “It is my responsibility to be a communal role model,” encouraging other female students to participate. It is this inspiration that led her to moderate the award-winning Girl Talk, a film discussing the implicit bias women face in Speech and Debate, at the Dairy Arts Center in Boulder. As moderator, Natalie led a panel discussion for three sold-out shows, an experience that helped her to realize that impact begins by engaging with the people in the community.
She explains that she has “experienced the importance of the electoral process to amplify women’s voices” and her experiences have all shaped her service to her community, inspiring her to volunteer in different capacities wherever possible.
Congratulations Natalie! We recognize you for the important contributions you have made to your community.
Our 2025 Young Women in Leadership Second-place Winner is Josephine Nguyen
Josephine is a senior at Silver Creek High School and Silver Creek Leadership Academy (SCLA). Her senior capstone project through SCLA is NoCo Sibshop which provides a fun and engaging safe space for kids with siblings of disabilities. This was inspired by her brother who has non-verbal autism.
Through RaptorTECH, Josie is on track to graduate with an associate degree in cybersecurity. She also works on student-led project teams at the St. Vrain Valley School District Innovation Center. Some of these projects include coordinating CodeZone (a middle school coding competition), educating senior citizens to be digitally safe, and designing a cybersecurity-themed escape room hosted on a renovated school bus.
After high school, Josie wants to continue leading Sibshops and increasing the number of women pursuing STEM careers.
Next year, she will attend the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs for data analytics and systems engineering with an emphasis on cybersecurity.
Complete Your Application for the
Young Women in Leadership Award Below
This program recognizes young women, ages 16-19, who demonstrate leadership skills, a commitment to public service and civic causes, and a strong desire to continued participation in public and political life.
The Zonta Foothills Club of Boulder County is honored that you want to share your impressive accomplishments as a leader in your school and your community.
2025 APPLICATION PROCESS NOW CLOSED
To qualify for this scholarship, you must :
be 16-19 years old on April 1, 2025.
be studying at a secondary school, college or university in a Zonta district/region.
You will be evaluated for your:
Active commitment to volunteerism.
Support of Zonta International's mission to empower women worldwide through service and advocacy.
Experience in local government, student government, or workplace leadership (paid or unpaid).
Volunteer leadership achievements.
The Zonta Foothills Club winner will awarded $5,000 and can be considered at the district/international level, for an additional financial reward of $6,000. The district/international winner will be announced on July 1.
The initial steps are easy. All you need are these four main elements:
Candidate’s contact information
Two Letters of Recommendation (emailed to president@zontafoothills.org)
Contact information for your two Recommenders
Short Essays by Candidate (completed below)
Let’s get started:
The Zonta Foothills Club winner will be awarded $5,000.
The winner will be asked to complete the more extensive official Zonta International Application by March 24th which is required for consideration at the district/international level, and the opportunity to be awarded an additional financial reward of $6,000. The district/international winner will be announced on July 1.