A Winter Forum Sponsored by the Wood River Women’s Foundation
with The Community Library

Tuesday, January 12, 2021
6:00-7:00 PM

Live streamed from The Community Library
Optional small group discussion to follow (on Zoom)

Link to the event at by clicking here.

This is a free event. No RSVP.

Panelists: Angenie McCleary, Blaine County Commissioner; Brad Henson, Principal, Alturas Elementary School; and Ruby Garcia, Bilingual Outreach Coordinator, St. Luke’s Community Health

Moderator: Jenny Davidson, Executive Director, Community Library

The Winter Forum will explore how—in the midst of the pandemic—we are doing as a community, and how we—as individuals and together—can jump start recovery in the coming year. What are our most pressing needs? What opportunities are there for solving problems with investment and creative approaches? How can we build a healthier, more inclusive, more equitable society in our valley? In a free-ranging discussion, our panelists will reflect on these issues from their unique perspectives in county governance, education, and community health.

We encourage all members of the Foundation as well as the Blaine County community to join us for this important forum. There will be opportunities for small group discussion (by Zoom) after the session has finished.

About the Panelists

Angenie McCleary has served as Blaine County Commissioner since 2008. Her term will expire in 2022. Angenie has been a resident of the Wood River Valley since 1999. With her Masters in Social Work, background in health and human services, and strong interest in youth and youth issues, Angenie understands the challenges facing Blaine County families. Of particular interest to Angenie are the issues of public transportation and mobility, air service, affordable housing, integration of Blaine County’s growing Hispanic population, mental health and substance abuse services, and public safety.

Brad Henson has been an elementary school principal in Blaine County for 15 years. His experience as an educator includes diverse roles working with deaf children, students with other disabilities and special needs, and students in both elementary and high school. Alturas Elementary, which he leads, is 70% Hispanic; many students are from low-income families who have been hit hard by the pandemic, even as they cope with daunting economic, cultural, and language challenges in their daily lives. Principal Brad is a trusted, respected educational leader in the school community and has unique insight into the present and future role of education in addressing our community’s most pressing needs.

Ruby Garcia, in her role as Bilingual Outreach Coordinator at St. Luke’s Community Health, has been given the St. Luke’s President’s Award for her exceptional work with typically underserved people. She has helped hundreds of individuals access health insurance and health services. She is known for her ability to develop trust, a climate of inclusion, and safe access to vital health care. She has helped many Spanish speakers by removing barriers, designing culturally relevant programs and services that the community actually attends, and facilitating communication between St. Luke’s and other interest groups in the valley.

We have received thirty-one applications via our online SlideRoom platform. The total grant requests from these thirty-one applications amount to $590,887. We have seven new nonprofits submitting grant requests this year. After a review by our Application Review Committee, the grant requests will be advanced to our five Grants sub-committees. Over sixty of our members serve on a Grants sub-committee and each sub-committee is led by two co-chairs. This year our Grant sub-committee leaders are Maija Eerkes, Sandra Flattery, Terri LeFaivre, Sally Halstead, Louise Wilson Noyes, Jane Springman, Jan Swanberg, Nancie Tatum, Penny Weiss, and Joanne Wetherell.

These teams will be meeting to discuss the grant requests and will visit the nonprofits to further evaluate their applications. This work is done during the months of January and February. At the end of February, all of the grant volunteers will meet to determine which grant requests will be advanced to the final grant presentations, and thereafter the ballot. The nonprofit presentations to our entire membership will be held on Wednesday, March 3 from 1:00 to 5:00 PM at The Community Library or by ZOOM, depending on local conditions. Ballots and summaries of the grant requests will be sent to the membership right after this presentation and voting will be open until March 26.

We look forward to sharing our grants candidates for 2021 with you this winter!

Gina Wolcott, Kit Wright, and Patti Zebrowski

Alexia Rocha, a Wood River High School junior and one of more than forty students in her I Have a Dream class, recently donated eleven inches of her hair for Locks of Love, an organization that provides wigs to youngsters who have lost their hair due to cancer treatment and burn trauma. In addition to this donation, she also raised $800 for children with cancer. WRWF commends this I Have a Dream Scholar for her selfless fundraising project. “The I Have a Dream” Foundation – Idaho received a $15,000 WRWF grant in 2020 for its “Life Skills Initiative.”

Read Eye on Sun Valley’s story about Alexia’s fundraising project here.

The Wood River Land Trust’s newly acquired 118-acre Simons Bauer Preserve, which encompasses a mile of Croy Creek, its accompanying wetlands and the city of Hailey and Mountain Humane property, will connect to Draper Preserve and Lions Park.

The Land Trust acquired the preserve earlier this year thanks to a grant from the national Land Trust Alliance, local community support and a large donation from the Simons/Bauer family. WRWF is a proud supporter of the Wood River Land Trust, having granted $22,565 in 2017 for WRLT’s Nature Preserve in Hailey.

Read Idaho Mountain Express’s story on WRLT’s planned preserve here.

On December 6 and 9, small groups of WRWF women met at the Sun Valley Culinary Institute for their stroll around Ketchum to view the beautiful Festival of Trees.

Members and guests spent a few minutes at each location, commenting on the creativity and expertise that made each of the trees beautiful and unique. Each small group maintained social distance, wearing masks and finishing their walk with a lovely cup of hot chocolate. Here’s to holiday fun together!

WRWF warmly welcomes ten new members to the Foundation. This list is not all-inclusive! We look forward to welcoming all new 2020 WRWF members!

Amy grew up in Ketchum, and moved back after graduating from college in 2001. Her friends Nancie Tatum and Julie Harris introduced her to the WRWF. Amy’s professional background is in architectural design and drafting. She also manages properties for her family. In her spare time, Amy trains for Ironman triathlons.

Mary Bachman and her husband, Bill Downing, have had a home in Sun Valley since 1991, and recently became full-time residents of the Wood River Valley.

Mary pursued a twenty-year career with AT&T in California and New York, with an emphasis on corporate strategy and communications. She retired as an Assistant Vice President. Since retiring Mary has undertaken numerous volunteer activities. She recently joined the board of the “I Have a Dream” Foundation – Idaho.

Summer Baldwin Bauer was born and raised in the Wood River Valley. She joined the WRWF after attending a holiday party. She is impressed with the diversity of members’ backgrounds and interests and loves the idea of collective giving to support local nonprofits. Summer has been selling real estate for over twenty years. Her hobbies include skiing, hiking, and fly fishing. She is also an aspiring plein air painter.

Carter Cox, originally from Louisville, Kentucky, moved to Hailey in 2019 after living in Jackson, Wyoming for seven years. She is excited to be making her home in the Wood River Valley with her two daughters and husband, a local school teacher. With a background in nonprofit management, philanthropy and leadership development, Carter enjoys working to maximize community-based impact through philanthropic giving. She is passionate about food systems, community resilience, and climate change mitigation. She enjoys being active outdoors when not working or volunteering. Carter serves on The Hunger Coalition’s Bloom Farm and Hope Garden board and is excited to be part of the Wood River Women’s Foundation.

Tamar Dolgen has over twenty-five years of global marketing expertise in business and nonprofits. Passionate about education, Tamar is working as the interim executive director of the local education nonprofit The Space Idaho, sits on the board of directors of Cornell University Hillel and the VBS Day School in Los Angeles and is a member of the Cornell University Council. Tamar holds degrees from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University and Cornell University. She speaks fluent Spanish and loves the outdoors. Tamar and her family, who have been part of the summer community in Sun Valley for over fifteen years, are now living here full time.

To pursue her dream of living near family while working hands-on with investors, Kristin Hovencamp transitioned from institutional investing to wealth management. She moved to the Wood River Valley and teamed up with sensational women. Kristin has long been a champion of gender parity and believes that women are the future of finance. Her philanthropic endeavors involve surrounding herself with inspiring women who have helped her grow and understand others.

Martha Keck is happy to be a member of WRWF. She and her husband split their time between Seattle and Ketchum. Martha was an RN in the PICU at Children’s Hospital, and later started a design/build landscaping business, specializing in residential work in Seattle. She retired from the day-to-day operations in 2008 and has since enjoyed doing volunteer work. Martha is a lifelong equestrian, and continues to ride and show around the country. She is interested in learning more about the nonprofit groups that better lives in the Wood River Valley.

Karen has been coming to the Wood River Valley to ski and hike since the 1970s. After years of renting, she and her husband bought a condo in 2019, and plan to divide their time between here and Lopez Island, Washington. After learning about the WRWF through friends, Karen joined get to know people, to become more actively involved in the community, and participate in local giving. Her personal interests include year-round outdoor sports, traveling, cooking/baking, environmental and land use issues, and geology.

Lisa Whorton has lived in the Wood River Valley for ten years. She and her family commuted between Palo Alto and Ketchum for nine years so that her two children, Briggs and Rylee could attend the Sun Valley Community School. They moved here permanently during that time.

Lisa holds a B.B.A. in Business Administration and a B.F.A. in Advertising from SMU in Dallas. She spent fifteen years in the advertising business, working at firms such as Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, J. Walter Thompson, Bozell Worldwide and Publicis Group. Lisa also spent nineteen years proudly serving in leadership roles on various nonprofit boards.

Trish Wilson moved from Seattle to the Wood River Valley in 1983. She has spent thirty years in the banking business. Trish is the owner of Success Management, a local headhunter company. Her husband owns Wilson Construction in Ketchum.

Paula, a Los Angeles native, moved to the Wood River Valley full time three years ago with her husband Ron. She joined the Wood River Women’s Foundation to meet people, and quickly discovered a remarkable community of women who not only share her love for the outdoors, but also her interest in giving back to the community.

Paula started an executive search firm thirty-five years ago, which specializes in placing national sales and management forces in the contract interiors industry. Her greatest pride and accomplishment are her two amazing sons, Ryan and Parker.

Paula will be taking over WRWF’s Facebook and Instagram platforms in January of 2021.

The WRWF Social Media team thanks Charlotta Harris for her creativity and thoughtfulness in her Instagram posts during 2020. She agreed to join the team when we needed a helping hand. As Charlotta is with everything, she committed 100% to her task. We can’t thank her enough for her contributions and we will miss her on the team!

At the end of this month, we bid a warm farewell to Board Member Kat Vanden Heuvel. For the past five years, Kat’s competent shoulders have lifted many projects on behalf of WRWF including serving as Board Secretary, leading a pillar of the Strategic Plan, being the Board’s go-to woman for all things tech-related, and over the past year, developing, producing, and moderating the Zoom Into Philanthropy (ZIP) virtual platform. Kat’s creativity, voice of our younger membership, willingness to constructively challenge our thinking and work ethic will be greatly missed around the board table. We wish her well as she juggles one new job in addition to her two existing ones: two children learning remotely, Dan, and Taylor, the dog. Much gratitude to you for your many contributions Kat!

WRWF would like to wish all members and their families a very happy holiday season. We look forward to seeing everyone in 2021!

The season for making memories is once again upon us. Maybe you have a holiday memory of your experience as a Wood River Women’s Foundation member?

If so, please share by sending it to Penny Weiss at penny.weiss@me.com for inclusion in our 2021 Sweet Sixteen Celebratory “Over a Cup of Tea” biography book.

Thank you and Happy Holidays from your Sweet Sixteen Celebratory Committee!

During your end of the year giving, please consider investing in WRWF’s Endowment Fund, a permanently restricted fund that helps ensure the Foundation’s long-term sustainability. Since its inception in 2017, the fund’s value has grown to the point that it provides meaningful operating support. We are thankful for the generous gifts contributed by our Endowment Founders’ Circle, and to those who continue to make the endowment a giving priority. If you would like to contribute to the WRWF Endowment Fund, please click here. If you have additional questions about the Endowment Fund, please contact us at 208-359-2530 or wrwcf1@gmail.com.

The Wood River Women’s Foundation also welcomes legacy gifts in members’ estate plans. These expressions of confidence in our organization will have enduring value, both to our Wood River Community, and to the long-range mission of the WRWF. Through a bequest to the WRWF Legacy Giving Fund in your will or trust, you are continuing to ensure that the community enjoys our substantial support across a broad spectrum of needs.

As an active member of the WRWF, you may enjoy the many benefits available to Philanos affiliates. One of those benefits is access to Philanos webinars, which cover important philanthropic topics. Click here to access the Philanos webinar calendar. The next webinar is scheduled for January 12, 2021 at 9:00 AM PST. Click here to register.

If you haven’t already done so, please contact Christina Bauer, WRWF Executive Assistant (christinabwrwf@gmail.com) and give her your email address. She will help you set up a member account with Philanos.

The Social Media Committee is seeking new team members. The committee is an active part of the Communications Committee, which oversees the Website, News Brief, Marketing, Sponsorship, Advertising, Media Relations, Photography, Publicity and ZIP Sessions. As a member of the Social Media Committee, you will learn more about WRWF communications, becoming part of a savvy group of women working to coordinate our mission-driven communications.

The Social Media Committee is a standing committee that oversees WRWF mission-centric communications via Social Media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Using these platforms, the team shares timely information about our community engagement, interaction with our grantees, our educational forums and our member activities with our membership and the public at large.

If you are interested in joining this amazing team or would like to hear more about the Social Media Committee, please contact Carrie Morrow at cmorrow1314@gmail.com or 858-922-8857.

Many thanks to members who have designated WRWF as their selected charity on AmazonSmile. We received $89.75 this quarter! To link Wood River Women’s Foundation AmazonSmile to your Amazon account, click here and get signed up. Then, whenever you shop Amazon, use the AmazonSmile website.