Margaret Colwell is pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Human Factors Psychology with a minor in Aviation Safety at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. She aims to apply psychological principles to improve safety practices within aviation operations.

She is dedicated to enhancing operational efficiency and safety protocols by combining research experience with practical applications, particularly in air traffic control (ATC) and human factors.

Margaret actively seeks opportunities to utilize her academic background, practical skills, and genuine passion for aviation in a full-time role focused on Human Factors or Aviation Safety.

Sasha began her career as a professional dancer traveling the world dancing for major cruise lines and was represented by a top talent agency in Los Angeles. When she met her future husband, she decided to finish college and not only marry him, but also marry her passions that consumed her life: dance, fitness, and health. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Arizona with a Bachelor of Science in Health Education and a Minor in Dance. She is a registered 200hr yoga teacher and a personal trainer and has coached competitive dance for over 18 years. Together, Sasha and Ben envisioned a place that would allow their talents to flourish and their desire to impact as many people as possible while maintaining the balance of their little family (Lela & Eldon), so…The Movement Studio was born.

Learn more about The Movement Studio at https://www.themovementstudiopv.com/

Nancy Roberts is a Lieutenant at the Prescott Valley Police Department in Northern Arizona. With over 18 years of experience, Nancy has held various positions, including patrol officer, crime prevention officer, Corporal, and Patrol Sergeant. She has received multiple life-saving awards, including the AZWIN Taking Time Award, and was vital in obtaining the agency’s first-ever accreditation through ALEAPS. Nancy is an Accredited Command Executive through AACOP and has completed the FBI LEEDA Trilogy. She has a bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership in Criminal Justice and is pursuing her master’s in the same area. Nancy and her partner have a blended family of six children and enjoy coaching basketball, bowling, and camping.

Nancy is also the 2024 Prescott Woman Rosie the Riveter Award Recipient. 

Learn more at https://www.prescottvalley-az.gov/1337/Police-Department

Melyssa Munday is a busy mom of five and a mentor for virtual assistant moms. She is obsessed with helping moms work from home and build a successful business or side hustle as a virtual assistant. She creates content that is simple, actionable, and easy to consume. Melyssa loves smooth-writing purple pens and to-do lists. In her spare time, she drives her kids to sports and volunteers, raising money for Prescott High School.

Learn more at http://melyssamunday.com/

Amanda has over 15 years of education experience and a Master’s of Education from Ohio State University. She is currently launching Yavapai Exploration and Science (YES!) in Prescott. YES! aims to inspire curiosity and appreciation for science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) through programs, workshops, and events. Amanda’s goal is to create opportunities for all ages to explore the natural world, unlock creativity, and embrace lifelong learning. Her background includes teaching at the primary level and various administrative roles. Her passion for education extends to her hobbies, such as mountain biking, traveling, and camping with her family. Through YES!, Amanda envisions making STEAM education accessible and inclusive for everyone, whether through hands-on experiments, interactive exhibits, or community outreach initiatives.

Amanda is also the 2024 Prescott Woman STEAM Award Recipient.

Missy Sikora is the Director of the Yavapai Family Advocacy Center (YFAC). As Director of YFAC, she serves as the county Children’s Justice Coordinator. Previously, she was a Supervisor for the Arizona Department of Child Safety in Prescott. Prior experience includes 15 years as a school teacher in Phoenix, four years as an intake counselor for the Durango Juvenile Detention Center, and three years as an intake counselor for the Phoenix Children’s Crisis Nursery. Missy serves on the Board of Directors for the Yavapai CASA for Kids Foundation and is co-chair for the Yavapai County Multi-Disciplinary Task Force Responding to Human Trafficking. She is a Yavapai County Child Fatality Review Team member and the Yavapai County Overdose Fatality Review Team. Missy holds a Master’s in Education and a Bachelor’s in Counseling & Human Services and is also a Certified Public Management Program graduate from Arizona State University.

Missy is also the 2024 I AM Prescott Woman Award recipient.

Learn more about YFAC at https://yfac.org/

Today, we are chatting with Carissa Maxwell. Carissa is the 2024 Prescott Woman “Adventurer” Award recipient. She is also a real estate broker with Glow Realty, a mom, and an entrepreneur, and she seeks adventure every day out in the world. Learn about her adventures in the real estate world and her proudest accomplishments to date.

Learn more about Carissa online at https://www.glowreaz.com/

Check out the Prescott Woman Award Recipients

Lori is a retired school nurse, and Barbara is a retired private practice Prescott psychologist. Both volunteer for Braver Angels, a non-profit, grassroots, non-partisan national organization promoting civil discourse.

Learn more about Braver Angels at ⁠braverangels.org⁠

Take a Braver Angels workshop at OLLI at the Yavapai College Campus ⁠https://www.yc.edu/v6/lifelong-learning/olli.html⁠

For more info reach out to Barbara at ⁠[email protected]⁠

Carissa Maxwell is the owner/Designated Broker of Glow Realty, a boutique real estate brokerage focused on giving high-touch service and connecting/supporting our local communities.

The Glow brand reflects what draws people to Northern Arizona-

“They want to be outside and are seeking a lifestyle around that. This is the future of real estate. Building business relationships around the lifestyle that people move here to experience…that is what our community wants to get behind.”

Learn more at https://www.facebook.com/GlowREAZ/

Dr. Emilie is a naturopathic doctor and acupuncturist in Prescott.  Her healing journey has inspired her profession, where she’s focused on mental health, women’s hormones, cardiometabolic health, and weight loss.  Emilie is also a new mom, and in her postpartum year, she realized how underserved postpartum parents are, and how postpartum is the best time for us to get our best health and body, ever.  She is also a published author and is about to release her first book called POST: The Essential Guide to Creating Your Postpartum Self-Care Plan in Pregnancy.  Emilie’s goal is to get it into the hands of every pregnant and postpartum woman in the world, so they can be empowered to take control of their postpartum experience and focus on what matters: their health, and their relationship with their new little one.  

Visit: https://www.sanoswellness.com/

The Six Essential Steps to Postpartum Self-Care: ⁠https://sanoswellness.lpages.co/postpartum-support/⁠ 

Halle Ann Fernandez is a 22-year-old Prescott resident, born in Brooklyn, N.Y., who is a self-proclaimed “Arizona Transplant”. Halle is an accelerated Master’s student at Prescott College studying Critical Psychology in the undergraduate program and Outdoor Education Leadership in the Graduate program. When she moved across the country to pursue higher education at Prescott College, she quickly fell in love with the community. She began to immerse herself in service work with local non-profits such as the Prescott Community Cupboard Food Bank and the Western Heritage Center. 

Halle is an Education Specialist for GEM Environmental and a Challenge Course Facilitator at Camp Way. She has held the titles of Miss Prescott 2022, Miss Granite Mountain 2023, and Miss Peoria 2024 in the Miss America Organization. As Miss Peoria, Halle uses her platform to share her community service initiative, ‘LNT For You & Me,’ where she teaches young children through high schoolers socioemotional skills like empathy, compassion, and boundary setting through Leave No Trace practices. She also uses her platform in the Miss AZ Org. to encourage adolescents and young women to shine in their individuality and authenticity regardless of what others think.

Leslie Jacobs was a single mom at rock bottom with no money when she started in real estate. At the lowest point in her life with no Christmas presents to give her kids, she determined through tears to go from victim to victor. With sheer determination and grit, and with the help of a steadfast mentor in her life, she climbed her way up to a multimillion-dollar realtor here in Prescott.

Leslie has four children and is now happily married. She is smart, authentic, and compassionate.  She has an incredible story to tell that encourages and empowers the women in her life.

Learn more at http://www.lesliejacobsteam.com/

Katee Norris has been working at Prescott Area Shelter Services since 2012. She stepped into this role through the AmeriCorps Program as a VISTA, and after two years of service, she became the Director of Programs. Katee makes sure the shelter runs smoothly, and that the guests have a clean and safe environment, feel cared for, and are treated with kindness. She ensures we have volunteers to support the guests through meals, advocacy, and empowerment as the volunteer coordinator, and she dedicates endless amounts of time to writing grants, planning fundraisers, and creating new programs and expansions to better support the guests. Katee also became a Registered Nurse and works at a hospital in Flagstaff as an RN, BSN. Katee takes her experience at both the shelter and the hospital and learns from them to better serve and help people in need, no matter what situation they are in.

Learn more at https://prescottshelters.org/

The owners of Rockin Smiles are sisters, mothers, and entrepreneurs. Today they talked to us about finding balance and the art of finding your smile.

Rockin Smiles is proud to serve the beautiful communities of Prescott and Prescott Valley, AZ, specializing in professional teeth whitening services. Their team of experienced professionals is committed to enhancing your smile and boosting your self-confidence.

Utilizing advanced whitening techniques and top-of-the-line products, Rockin Smiles ensures that your smile shines brighter. Their in-office procedures are complemented by our specially designed take-home products, providing you with the tools to maintain that gleaming smile and achieve lasting results.

Rockin Smiles website

Shana Lujan, the mother of 5 children, has lived and been a teacher in Yavapai County for over 20 years. She has taught everything from 3rd grade to high school and subjects varying from theatre to English. She loves education and working with local youth. Currently, she works at PACE Preparatory Academy High School and is a founding board member/director for One Stage Family Theatre.

Shana was the 2023 Prescott Woman Award Recipient for S.T.E.A.M.

Dr. Kimberly Albarran, PT, DPT, CFNP is a physical therapist since 2013 and a certified functional nutrition practitioner since 2021. She officially started her business Hope Health Healing in 2018, in the Prescott area, with the vision of serving her community as the premier provider for individuals with chronic pain, resulting in the highest quality of life for her clients. 

Dr. Kimberly’s mission is to provide solution-oriented, holistic, and compassionate care through physical therapy, both online and in-person nutrition coaching, and wellness classes, which now include Radical Rebounding!! 

Her goal is to empower individuals with chronic pain to take control of their health using her four pillars of health: mindfulness, nutrition, sleep, and movement to restore health and healing. Dr. Kimberly loves to motivate, encourage and lift up her clients along their journey. 

Learn more at https://hope-health-healing.org/

Maddie was born and raised in Prescott, AZ, and has worked as a stylist for three years now. She has been extremely blessed by the ladies at Strada Salon who have mentored her and taught her so much about hair and life. Maddie’s passion is curly hair, and she loves doing bridal hair as well. Maddie herself has curly hair and she enjoys being able to come alongside people who hate their hair. Her goal is that they will always fall in love with it! Maddie loves Prescott and the community we have in this great city. I’m thankful to be a small part of the small business community and for all the amazing women in this community!

Maddie was the 2023 Prescott Woman Awards BeYOUtiful Recipient

After visiting her first Overland Expo in 2014, Lauren said, “This will be my life.” Later that same year, Lauren turned wrenches and drilled holes at AT Overland Equipment here in Prescott, the only woman in a shop of men. Three years of gearing people up for their adventures encouraged Lauren to embark on her own.

In 2017, Lauren set off on 6 magical months of solo travel through Mexico, immersing herself in the culture and becoming fluent in Spanish.

Commonly referred to as “Lolo”, some of her travel/adventure accomplishments include having open water and advanced diving certifications, as well as being a 52 Hike Challenge Finisher (47 hikes of which she did in Arizona). Lolo has been to the top of Humphrey’s Peak and to the bottom of the Grand Canyon backpacking from Rim to Rim, Coyote and Buckskin Gulch, Havasupai, and more.

Lauren is also the 2023 Prescott Woman Award recipient for Adventurer

The Launch Pad is INCITING TEEN CONFIDENCE AND EMPOWERMENT THROUGH INNOVATIVE COMMUNITY EDUCATION AND ENGAGEMENT. They are an all-inclusive, youth-driven, and focused space, providing programming that is culturally relevant to teens in Yavapai County. On this episode, we speak to two teens – Sophia and Giada, and the director of The Launch Pad, Courtney Osterfelt about their WEB conference, Better Together, and much more!

For more information visit:
https://thelaunchpadteencenter.org/

Katie Machado, a Prescott native, has been involved in the community since she first organized a can drive fundraiser at Washington Elementary School in 1998.  She is actively involved in Prescott-Caborca Sister City and the Prescott Frontier Rotary Club.  She loves that the people of Prescott work hard to better our community by helping our world.  She loves being a part of these efforts.  She and her husband, Danny Machado, made a decision upon leaving the Army to build a business and home in her hometown so they could raise their two children, Daisy 3, and William 1, around the same people, environment, and culture she experienced as a child.  She enjoys traveling, tennis, golf, and running with the silliest dog in the world–Bossy.  She loves art and especially acrylic painting but can frequently be found enjoying good friends, family, and the great foods of Prescott.

Katie is also the 2023 Prescott Woman Award recipient for Social Impact.

Sarah Haynes is the founder of Pixel Parfait, which provides graphic design, web design & online marketing services to small-medium size businesses around the country. Sarah has been in the design & marketing field for over a decade and specializes in helping businesses and individuals develop their brands.  Sarah has a passion for designing full branding identities and helping companies refresh their branding through fresh, clean, and cohesive design pieces.

For more info visit: https://www.pixelparfait.graphics/

Lesa West, is the owner of New Life CPR, in Prescott, AZ but is originally from Tennessee. She says the best thing about what she does is having someone come up to her and say “I heard your voice in my head” when they had to either perform CPR or a First Aid situation. She says about mentorship: Our job here on earth is to be there for each other – teach and not give but really TEACH, Listen, Hug, help people breathe, and give others strength in themselves – when we do all these things, we grow!

For more info visit: https://newlifecpr.com/

Liberty Casarez worked as a financial aid manager before entering the automotive industry. Liberty joined the Findlay Automotive Group in Bullhead City in 2014 and she started her career as a salesperson before being promoted to Internet and Marketing Manager positions.

For more info visit: https://www.findlaytoyotaprescott.com/

Sarah Vincent is the Education Director at the Highlands Center for Natural History. As a member of the Education team, Sarah brings a passion for science and a love for education.

Sarah brings experience in environmental and educational leadership – constantly learning from and celebrating the communities that make up the Central Highlands, human and non-human. She works hard to facilitate meaningful experiences for people in nature, about nature, and most importantly, with nature. She is the *brand new* mother of Sylvia and the wife of Andrew

For more info visit: https://highlandscenter.org/