Celebrating Women at the United Way of Northern Arizona

Celebrating Women’s History Month

This year Women’s History Month has particular resonance for United Way of Northern Arizona both because of the makeup of our small and mighty staff and because of this year’s theme: Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.

Worldwide, three out of four United Ways are led by women, but UWNA’s staff is entirely female.

I am honored to lead a team that includes Christine Pierce, our Campaign and Operations Manager; Elaine Hebestreit, our Administrative Assistant; and Tempy Wessel, who recently joined us as our Northeast Representative.

Additionally Carol Dykes and Sybil Smith continue to assist us with community engagement, managing volunteer efforts and crisis response.

We are also fortunate to have the volunteer leadership of many talented women on our Board of Directors: Stacey Brechler-Knaggs (City of Flagstaff); Kyla Garrison (Mission Driven Finance); Jennifer Hernandez(Center for Arizona’s Future); Gabe Smith (Kinney Construction), and Sandi Ernst (SandRose LLC), who will be joining the board later this month.

Please join me in celebrating these women who are United in Purpose and instrumental in making lasting, positive changes in Coconino, Navajo, and Apache counties.

Women’s History Month celebrates women’s contributions to history, culture, and society and has been observed annually in the month of March in the United States since 1987.

The National Women’s History Alliance designates a yearly theme for Women’s History Month each year. This year’s theme – Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion – aligns perfectly with our goals to step up for our youth and our community.

UWNA’s mission is to improve lives by mobilizing the caring power of communities to advance the common good. In order to fulfill that mission, it is critical that our work reflect the diversity of the many different communities we serve in northern Arizona, and that we are intentional about including groups that have been historically excluded.

By applying an equity lens to all that we do, we ensure that every person in our region has access to the opportunities they need to reach their full potential.

Click here to see my story about the woman who most influenced me.

Happy Women’s History Month!

Liz Archuleta

President & CEO

United Way of Northern Arizona