Sharing the stories, journeys, strength and wisdom of amazing women from Central Park (Denver)
Jamie Hodgkins, an archaeologist and Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Colorado Denver, won the 2025 CLAS Research Excellence Award for her work on human and animal adaptation during the last Ice Age. She has led excavations across Europe and Africa, including the discovery of the oldest female infant burial in Europe at Arma Veirana, Italy, shedding light on ancient hunter-gatherer social structures. Hodgkins also co-founded HOMER, a research consortium that trains future scientists in human origins and migrations, supported by a $1 million Hyde Family Foundation grant, benefiting students from 13 countries. Here is a link to fund the Hodgkins Lab https://www.givecampus.com/rrd8vm?comments=I%20would%20like%20to%20support%20the%20research%20of%20the%20Hodgkins%20Field%2FLab& Here is a link to the Anthropology Department Connie Turner Fund for students. https://clas.ucdenver.edu/anthropology/2023/10/25/anthropology-department-fund-advancing-dei
Maria and Elana are a mother daughter design team with over 30 years combined experience in the Interior Design and Fashion Industry. Sharing a love and passion for all things design, they've always dreamed of teaming up together. Elm Tree living represents the culmination of that dream. “We're here to help you conceptualize and bring your beautiful space to life. No matter the budget, we believe there is a way to pick the right pieces to elevate your space. https://www.elmtreeliving.com
Denise Allman is a mother of 5 kids and co-owner of Mighty Movement Academy, which teaches kids to safely build strength at a young age. Denise and her family are ON A MISSION to help kids become stronger, happier and believe in themselves so they grow into adults with the power to build a better world. Her interests include smiling at people, talking to strangers, coaching kindergartners to deadlift, weightlifting early in the morning, strolling the Botanic Gardens while also simultaneously struggling to keep her houseplants alive, riding her tandem with her husband, rollerblading with her kids, taking walks with her Italian greyhound, spending endless hours driving kids to activities and watching their events, listening to Andy Grammer, and getting Wordle in before t he sun comes up. I hope you enjoy her stories of triumph from being born in smalltown America to teenage pregnancy, living off-grid in Fiji to starting a family business, plus having a set of identical twins. If you get anything out of this, it will be that you can accomplish anything you set your heart and mind to!
Deborah Byrne is originally from Honolulu, Hawaii. She is a single mother to her beautiful, and amazing 7 year old daughter. She is currently Miss Central Park 2023. Deborah is Competing in the Miss Colorado for America Strong Pageant 2023 to show her daughter you can be anything no matter what stage in life you are at. She would like to use her platform to create a strong foundation for herself and her daughter. Her goal is also to to raise awareness about victims of domestic abuse and awareness about children on the autism spectrum. These causes are very near and dear to her heart!
Bohne Leah founded Be Organized Method, a Home and Business Organization company, to serve others using the skills from her background as a fine artist and film department coordinator. Be Organized is a perfect blend of practical concepts, visual expertise, and Bohne Leah's passion for affecting change in those around her. Her method is infused with concepts that promote habit transformation and encourage clients learn actionable maintenance techniques. Be Organized thinks beyond the obvious role of immediate productivity in organizing. By helping individuals and businesses identify and adopt new systems customized to their specific needs, Be Organized offers clients a lasting return on their initial investment. Along with residential and corporate downsizing and resystemizing, Be Organized coordinates moves, designs closet and basement buildouts, helps seniors downsize, and teaches organizational training for kids. EMAIL: beorganizedmethod@gmail.com WEBSITE: www.beorganizedmethod.com IG: @beorganizedmethod FB Personal: Bohne Leah https://www.facebook.com/bohne.lipsey/ FB Business: Be Organized Method https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100086418231889
Jessica Kellem was born and raised outside Cleveland, Ohio. She moved to Colorado in 2014 after graduating from The Ohio State University to chase her childhood dreams of being a mountain girl. After nearly a decade teaching special education, Jessica is now making a difference in a new bold way. A single mom to a four-year-old, living in the Central Park community, Jessica is now a financial professional serving to build and protect families and businesses generational wealth. After her dad died in 2015, Jessica was thrusted into adulthood having to navigate a seven-year probate estate battle following her father's passing. Her father's print company, at one time employing over a hundred full-time employees, dwindled to nothing. She is using her painful experiences to educate families and businesses on personalized strategies to leave legacies they can feel proud of. bookings https://outlook.office365.com/owa/calendar/JessicaKellemFinancialProfessional@guardianlife.com/bookings/ jessica.kellem@wealthsg.com www.wealthsg.com
Stefanie Huff, MD, aka “Dr. Stef” (with an F!!), is a full-time emergency medicine physician, life coach, inventor, and a single divorced mom to two fun-loving kids, Mattie (11) and Max (9). In 2008, Dr. Stef left Omaha and headed to Denver and the mountains. She lived in the MODA Lofts in the town center to be near the airport while she traveled the country as a locum tenens physician (I.e. traveling physician). Shortly after, she began working at Avista Adventist Hospital ER and continues to work in ERs within the Centura system. Dr. Stef is also certified in addiction medicine and obesity medicine, and previously owned and operated two medical clinics in Central Park. Dr. Stef became a certified life coach after it helped her reclaim her life from physician burnout and a high-conflict divorce. She created her life coaching business, Figure Life Out LLC, focusing on co-parenting tools and mindset concepts to help working moms find peace and freedom from divorce and high-conflict co-parenting. To get coaching with Dr. Stef, visit her website www.figurelifeout.com or email her at drstef@figurelifeout.com During COVID, Dr. Stef invented the “Icky Sicky Box”, a tissue box cover for dispensing and disposing tissues. The first edition of the Icky Sicky Box is ready for purchase in the near future, so stay tuned for how to purchase your own Icky Sicky Box! When not doctoring or business-ing, Dr. Stef loves traveling with her kids, especially to the mountains to ski and hike. If you see Dr. Stef on walk with her dog Bailey, she may be recording one of her “Walk-N-Talk With Dr Stef” reels, which you can find on Instagram/TikTok/Facebook @figurelifeoutmd
Kristen grew up in Ft Collins and began her love of photography as a yearbook photographer in Jr High. She moved to the Houston/Galveston area for college and remained there until 2021. Her sister and parents live in Conservatory Green and she had fallen in love with the neighborhood on family bi-annual visits. Their move was sparked by Covid and the desire to be closer to family, live the outdoor lifestyle Denver has to offer and raise their kids in this amazing community. Her husband kept his job and works remotely while traveling back to Houston a week out of the month. After having a successful branding and headshot photography business in Houston when she moved to Denver, she had to start again, from square one. Building up new clientele from scratch has been a challenging and rewarding experience at the same time. She is meeting tons of new people in the neighborhoods' amazing networking and mom's groups as well as the Central Park Business Association (CPA). She loves meeting neighbors, learning their stories and sharing them trough personal branding photography. She strives to be s go-to headshot & branding photographer for not only Central Park, but all of Denver. www.kgothamphotography.com
Jennifer Jackson is a third generation Denverite with roots going back to the 1880s. She comes from a long line of entrepreneurs and has an entrepreneurial spirit of her own! She founded and ran a successful restaurant here in Denver as well as a career in real estate stemming back to the early 2000's. Jennifer greatly values the experience gained during the last two decades in the “People Business”. She prides herself on her ability to understand peoples' needs and wants; allowing her to make connections throughout the community as well as for her clients. In 2015, she had the honor of receiving the Matthew Shepard Foundation's Dennis Doherty Community Leadership Award for her work within the community and non-profit organizations. Jennifer and her family are outdoor enthusiasts and enjoy all that Colorado has to offer! She strives to represent the tight knit community of Denver and helping navigate newcomers who want to call Colorado their home!
Megan, an Alaskan native turned Colorado local in 2012, left Alaska in 2000 and went to college at Arizona State University getting a degree in Business and Communication. Before having children she was an Insurance Agent for 7 years and then stayed at home with her 2 kids for 4 years. She considers herself to have workout A.D.D. meaning she has never found a workout she could stick with until she found Barre. She started this business in July 2015 because she wanted to give her community and Denver a different option when it came to Barre and over the past 7 years it has morphed in to so much more! A place that allows people to feel and be themselves, that think outside the typical small studio box and a place that people could achieve their goals each and every class. She prides herself on her teaching style and creativity during every single class. Everything she does is outside the box, one step ahead and innovative.
Lauren Ross is a licensed clinical social worker and leader in the field of school mental health. With over 22 years of experience in public education and clinical settings, Lauren is passionate about creating spaces of belonging, support and resilience for youth and families. Lauren currently works at Cherry Creek School District where she serves as a leader of the mental health team, with over 170 school psychologists and social workers. In 2019, she trained under Brené Brown to become a Certified Dare to Lead Facilitator. She has brought this training to the public education and nonprofit sectors to build courageous leadership skills with the amazing humans doing hard and important work. In 2022 she shared the story of Project Village on the stage of TEDxCherryCreek, encouraging all of us to show up in social media space with greater courage, compassion, connection and community. She lives in Denver, Colorado, with her amazing musical husband David, as well as their two children (Jade and Maya) and their schnoodle (Oreo). 1) Link to TEDx talk video 2) Link to Project Village website 3) Link to youth mental health resource page: https://bit.ly/YouthMentalHealthResources
Gina moved from Madison, WI to Denver, CO in 2014 with her daughter Zena…who just happens to be a dog. She has twenty years' experience in the mental health industry and a passion for understanding and taking care of people and animals. Using her outgoing personality, she started to introduce herself to the community in Denver and specifically in Central Park where she was accepted with open arms…or should I say open paws, as a new woman entrepreneur. The people she started networking with taught her about the industry and also helped her realize her own ability. The concept of her company logo and slogan are a combination of the services she provides, as well as a reflection of her love of basketball and fur babies alike. G-DOGZ PET SERVICES LLC, “Your Streets, Our Game”. She decided to start G-DOGZ Pet Services to offer the highest-standard of care, competence, and trust for her clients.
Jennifer Mathes owns Allstate – The Mathes Agency located in the heart of Central Park with her husband Rob. She attended Ohio University and upon graduation moved to New York City to begin her career in the insurance industry. After almost a decade climbing the corporate ladder in NYC, she left the city and her career, and moved to Pittsburgh. In 2013, Jen moved to Denver with her husband and started their family. She has lived in Central Park since moving here and loves this community. Once her children began attending school she was eager to volunteer in their school and local organizations. While enjoying getting to know other parents and people in the community she craved working again and ended up opening an insurance agency in the neighborhood in 2017. She currently lives in The North End with her husband, two sons, dog and turtle.
Sarah Cox is the lead clinical social worker on the Vulnerable Elder Services, Protection, and Advocacy (VESPA) Team at University Hospital in Aurora, CO. Sarah grew up in New York City and got her undergraduate degree from Brown University. She attended the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work and received her Masters in Social Work with an emphasis in geriatrics and a certificate in animal assisted social work. At the University of Denver, Sarah was the recipient of the John A. Hartford Foundation Progress Scholarship, a leadership training program in geriatric social work. Sarah has over a decade of experience working with older adults and their caregivers. That experience includes interdisciplinary team management, coordinating care in the community, Assisted Living and long term care placement, end of life care coordination and support, and mental health support for older adults and their caregivers. Sarah currently resides in the Central Park neighborhood of Denver with her husband, three girls, and two pups.
Heather Hope (Wyszynski) has a heart for serving others. She thinks there is nothing more rewarding than giving back and helping to build others up. She also understands the power of communication. We are always connecting with others through the ideas we convey and the way we present ourselves. She is an 8-year resident of Central Park and Colorado native. She owns the House of Colour franchise in Denver. Based in the UK and established in 1985, House of Colour is the leading global color and personal style consultancy. Her aim: help clients cultivate confidence through color and style analysis. She has 20+ years experience developing and executing public relations and marketing campaigns in the corporate and non-profit sectors at organizatons like Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Girls Inc, Junior Achievement, Up with People and the Denver Public Library. This includes extensive public speaking, training, and media relations experience. Friends and colleagues describe Heather as positive, engaging, and energetic. She loves being outside and creating lasting memories with Brandon, her husband of 15 years, and two young children – ages 6 and 8.
Lori Pratt is business owner, mom, and champion of women everywhere. She was born and raised in PA, and grew up with two sisters and an absolutely amazing single mom. As an adult, she has lived across this country, coast to coast, from San Francisco to Arlington, VA. She and her husband, Michael, spent a year living abroad in London, UK, where they traveled around Europe and Africa. They eventually landed here in Denver, CO, and have been here for the last 11 years. They have two young boys, and are very family oriented. Lori has spent her life obsessed with design, color, texture, style. Living in so many different places has given her the opportunity to take a look at what design means to different people and cultures, and what people really want to feel in their homes. After spending years working in the homes of friends and family, Lori decided to take a huge leap of faith and open her design business. Closing in on 10 years, it has been a wild ride, full of life and learning, and really getting to know people. A few years ago, she and a friend, both working in interiors, decided to start Designed Life Delivered, because they wanted to provide an easy service for people looking to make small changes in their homes seasonally. Owning two businesses while working as a pseudo stay at home mom certainly has it's challenges, most of all scheduling and getting everything done! But, she wouldn't have it any other way. While Lori continues to do design work on a referral basis, her focus is Designed Life Delivered, with the intention of huge growth. If asked what her long term goal is for herself and DLD, she will tell you “We will be on the Today Show! And to bring DLD into the homes of people everywhere, sharing our love for style and loving your home”. “
Carol Fennell holds both a Bachelor of Science, and a Master of Fine Art (MFA) in painting from Northern Illinois University in 1992 and has been creating and showing ever since. Her work has been in numerous exhibitions, and she has shown in galleries for over twenty years including Sedona, Omaha, Chicago, Santa Fe and Vail, and Breckenridge. She has been fortunate to have over one hundred installations in public places including hospitals, health care offices, law firms, veterinary facilities, airports, and private collections such as Melissa and Doug's (toys) home. Fennell resides in Colorado with her two boys, husband, and a home full of art. When she is not in the studio, she enjoys hiking, traveling, and writing historic fiction. IG: Carol_Fennell_Art FB: Carol Fennell ARt WEb: Carolfennell.com and www.thrivecreativecommunity.com
Liz Gonzalez-Lara founder of Beauty on Location Studio and co-founder of Dos Amigas Meals. Key elements to her success in business are passion, reliability, and professionalism, which have been applauded in BRIDES magazine, The Knot, Wedding Wire along with many other publications. She is honored to work with Presidential families, runway models, Silicon Valley Execs, and everyone in between
As a breast cancer survivor, my goal is to help other women with their battle to fight cancer. In 2018, I had four surgeries for breast cancer and ovary removal. I created a pillow system to make myself more comfortable while sleeping on my back. I had to find pillows and put them together to make a comfy, and cozy cocoon. My husband called it the "life raft." I started lending my pillow system out to women in our support group who also had surgery. They loved it and said that it truly helped them sleep after their surgeries. I realized that people can really benefit from this pillow system after surgery. As we all know, sleeping is critical for healing. This pillow system helps you sleep, therefore heal. A little more about me, I am 48 years old with two beautiful and amazing daughters and a loving and supportive husband. We have two amazing dogs, Cal and Sunny. I recently retired from being a family law attorney mediator, where I helped people work through conflict. I am also a serial entrepreneur. I get a lot of energy from starting projects and businesses and meeting a need in the community. Helping people is extremely important to me. I truly hope that the Sleep Again Pillows can help you sleep again.
Amanda Campbell is a top full service Real Estate Agent in the Denver metro area. She deeply values building relationships with clients, partners and her community. Because of this, she authentically and intuitively connects deeply with people, understanding their needs and then connecting them with their ideal home. She values loyalty, honesty and intentionality, which is part of what makes her a highly sought after Realtor. Amanda is also passionate about helping people build wealth by building their real estate portfolio and helping others reach their goals! Amanda is an active real estate investor and loves talking about strategies to help friends and clients build their real estate investment portfolios. Before making her way into Real Estate, Amanda was a pediatric Occupational Therapist for nearly 15 years and holds a special spot for working with people in the healthcare industry. She has seen many sides of healthcare as her late husband died from colorectal cancer in 2019, with Amanda as his primary caregiver. The loss of her husband has shown her how vitally important it is to cherish each day and continue living with a growth mindset, which her late husband demonstrated every day. Amanda continues to work closely with the palliative care team at CU Anschutz through the endowment fund in her late husband's name. She is also actively involved with other various non-profits supporting children, health and education. When Amanda isn't showcasing her client's incredible homes or helping them buy the perfect one, you can find her hiking through the mountains with her 9 year old son, fiancé and two dogs. When not enjoying the outdoors, Amanda finds joy in creating memorable experiences for the guests she hosts at her short term rental homes. Though Amanda was born and raised in Canada, she has been proud to call Denver home since 2014.
Brooke wants to live in a world where people choose kindness over violence, compassion over cruelty, and action over indifference. She studied in Paris and holds a degree in art history. She also holds certifications in Applied Positive Psychology and Brene Brown's work, The Daring Way. She delivered a TEDx talk in 2017 where she shared her personal journey with mental illness. Outside of her time creating written content for the Foundation, she enjoys fiber crafting, creative writing and helping spread kindness in her local community with her teenage daughter. Brooke is in the process of writing a book for parents to help support them in creating and maintaining healthy and fulfilling relationships with their children.
Samm Diep-Vidal is a 4-time national champion in both 8-ball and 9-ball. She's a certified master level instructor in the sport and has been teaching for nearly 20 years. She has also led the U.S. Junior National Team to Germany and China to compete in the World Junior 9-Ball Championships through her work as the former Executive Director for the Billiard Education Foundation. Some of her mentees have gone on to win regional and national events. Many of her YouTube instructional videos have surpassed 500k views. Along with teaching, Samm has worked with dozens of businesses for their corporate events. When not immersed in the world of pool she enjoys cooking, home-brewing kombucha, Pilates and family activities with her husband and two girls.
Rebekah E. Henderson is an independent documentary film director and producer, writer and podcaster, and based in Denver, Colorado. She has directed and produced two short documentaries, What Makes a Mother and All Mixed Up: Our Changing Racial Identities. Her first feature length documentary with a focus on women of color in local politics Running With My Girls premiered at the 2021 Denver Film Festival and is available for distribution via WMM(Women Make Movies).
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