Women Who Lead

Do you remember who encouraged you to fulfill your true potential? Who inspired you to become the best version of yourself? Often, we forget that success is not a one-person show; it takes a village to create a successful person. In Kari Reily’s case, her village consisted of strong, kind, and intelligent women.

Of the 113 employees at Drake Cement in Paulden, only 10 percent are women … and those women work in every part of the company, from the office to the lab to engineering.

“Everybody just fits,” said Karen Otis, Administrative/Community Involvement Coordinator. “If people come in here and they want to do the job, we’d love to have them. Everybody’s done a really good job for us.”

The women sounded off recently, sharing with PWM their experiences working at Drake.

Dr. Tiffany Longoria, and her husband Dr. Jerome Longoria, owners of Lifestyle Chiropractic in Prescott, hope to build a thriving practice and help their community. Born in Des Moines, Iowa, Dr. Tiffany grew up in a (very) small town before moving back to Des Moines during high school. She graduated from Valley High School, where she played in the band, sang in the choir, and ran track.

Through challenges and triumphs, the Prescott Downtown Partnership (PDP) Board weaves a common thread defining its mission: To focus on membership and building relations that connect downtown businesses to the community.  President Candy Hull, who grew up in Prescott, says being a part of PDP has affected the platform in her own business, The Clothes Hound. “PDP has opened my eyes to everything downtown. I am so impressed by the diverse members who have the same goal: the ‘uprise’ of downtown.” 

Stephanie Miller feels that she has truly found her home in the welcoming city of Prescott. 

She grew up traveling the west coast from the state of Washington all the way down to the beaches of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.  While living in Mexico, she embraced her Hispanic heritage, learning and embracing the importance of family, a strong work ethic, and hospitality.  

After growing up in the Prescott Valley region, Meredith Dunlap made a conscious decision to stay and help it continue to flourish through her leadership in banking and volunteer work.

As sisters growing up, Autumn and Rebecca Kline experienced first-hand the hard work their parents put in to establish retail businesses that would create a generations-long family career for decades.

Unlike most Prescott High School graduates that dream of moving to the big city, Katie Romo’s heart has always been in Prescott. She loves everything about Prescott, from the beautiful scenery to her friendly neighbors. Katie was born in San Diego, CA, and raised here in Prescott. She thanks her parents daily for choosing such a charming little town.

As a Michigan native with family in Sedona, Sheri Heiney had the long-term goal to live and work in Prescott.  Now, energized and fulfilled as a Prescott resident and celebrating her third year as President & CEO of the Prescott Chamber of Commerce, Heiney leads her team with her 28 years of experience in the Chamber Industry as a whole.

Janae Ottis has a passion for helping and caring for people in whatever they are going through. Born and raised in Turlock, California where cows moo and almond trees blossom, she graduated from the University of California, Merced, with her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology. Freshly out of college, Janae worked as a Youth Advisor for the Summer Youth Employment Program, and this experience further instilled a desire to help counsel youth in their education and career goals.