Alexia Parks

Ann Cooper: Raised in a Matriarchal Society

by Alexia Parks | Nov 6, 2014 | Article

Ann Cooper, a successful businesswoman, began life in a settlement house in the rural South. She was raised in a Matriarchal society where the primary role models for how to live, were women of color. Like some African women leaders, who grew up with strong maternal role models, she had unlimited choice to rise to the level of the goals she set. In her 10 TRAITS leadership talk, she described how her own sister became the 100th airline stewardess for a U.S. airline company, and how her sister’s daughter became a physician. Ann’s talk moved the audience with the authenticity of a life focused on opportunities and role models that supported each step she took, and what it was like to grow up in a community of strong, supportive...

Congratulations! Linda Shoemaker

by Alexia Parks | Nov 6, 2014 | Article

Success! Linda Shoemaker led our women’s leadership KEYNOTE lineup at our Naropa.edu sponsored 10 TRAITS training. After I introduced Linda by reading a long list of accomplishments, she described her path to leadership in a single word: failure. Failure, it seems, often appears in a long career like boulders in a stream. Events that we label “failures” are not there to stop the flow of water, they are there to help shape the flow of events, and build character and the resiliency that ultimately leads to success. I’m pleased that we were able to feature Linda as a keynote speaker during the months preceding the event, and that she was able to rise to a leadership role as REGENT at the University of Colorado, two days later, on Election Day...