We all know a woman like this.
The one who shows up before she’s asked. Who carries more than anyone realizes, yet somehow still makes space for others. The one who listens a little longer, gives a little more, and holds steady when everything around her feels uncertain.
She might be the calm in a crisis. The voice of wisdom in a hard decision. The one who steps in quietly, offering support, guidance, or simply presence when it’s needed most.
These women don’t always seek recognition. In fact, most don’t. But their impact is felt in the lives they touch, the families they strengthen, and the communities they help hold together.
This feature is a glimpse into a few of those women among us.
Women who are using what’s been placed in their hands to serve, protect, and uplift others. Women who are building something that lasts, not for attention, but for the people who will come after them.
Because the women who carry us rarely do it loudly.
But their legacy is anything but quiet.
Crystal Egli
Community Engagement Manager
Broomfield FISH
Crystal Egli is the kind of person who compliments you in a public restroom and means it. The kind who makes you laugh and somehow leaves you a little lighter than she found you.
That energy is not accidental. It’s who she is.
It’s also something that shaped her early on. Growing up as one of the few kids of color in her Vermont community, Crystal learned what it felt like to be both highly visible and completely overlooked. She remembers what it felt like to not be heard or protected, and to carry that quietly. So she became who she needed—someone who made space and made sure no one stood alone.
Today, that instinct lives at the heart of her work at Broomfield FISH.
FISH is a food and family resource center serving Broomfield residents, offering far more than groceries. While many know it for its self-shop marketplace, where neighbors choose food for their families, the organization also provides emergency financial assistance, housing support, and one-on-one advocacy to help people move toward stability.
At every level, the goal is the same: to treat each neighbor with dignity, honoring their story and giving them the autonomy to make decisions for their family.
“We’re not a destination,” she says. “We’re a bridge.”
And the need is more prevalent than most people realize.
Many neighbors who walk through FISH’s doors are working, housed, and doing everything they can to keep up. But as housing costs rise and unexpected challenges stack up, something has to give, and often, it’s food. Last year, FISH served one in five Broomfield residents. And still, you likely wouldn’t know it just by looking.
Crystal knows that firsthand.
There was a season in her life when everything appeared stable on the outside, but behind the scenes, she was doing whatever it took to care for her daughter. That experience didn’t define her, but it changed how she sees people, with less assumption, more compassion, and a deep understanding that you can’t always tell who needs help and who has help to give.
And still, there is a lightness to her.
She’s an outdoors enthusiast, a weekend firearm safety instructor, and someone who brings humor and humanity into every space she enters. The kind of person who can hold both the weight of someone’s hardest day and the joy of making them laugh in the same breath.
Kristin Lavelle
Executive Vice President
The Lavelle Group, a Company of Five Rings Financial
Long before titles and leadership roles, Kristin Lavelle knew she loved people and math. But as she built her career in the financial world, she began to notice something deeper. Women were often left out of the conversation or made to feel like they didn’t belong. Finances felt overwhelming, sometimes intimidating, and too many women were carrying that weight alone.
So she decided to change the conversation.
Through her work with The Lavelle Group and her leadership in Wine, Women & Wealth, Kristin has created spaces where women can walk in unsure and walk out empowered. Spaces where financial conversations feel approachable, questions are welcomed, and women are met with encouragement instead of judgment.
Because for many, it’s not just about money. It’s about confidence.
A recent client said it best: “I thought money was all scary, technical and masculine. I didn’t even want to peek into that box. Now I’m kind of excited about it and how it can support the life I want!”
That shift, from fear to curiosity, from avoidance to ownership, is what fuels Kristin’s work.
“I often feel like a bridge,” she shares, helping women move from uncertainty to clarity, from discouragement to hope. And she’s seen how quickly that transformation can happen when women are given the right information in a space that feels safe.
When a woman believes in herself and is in control of her finances, everything changes. It shows up in how she carries herself, in the decisions she makes for her family, and in how she moves through life with more steadiness and freedom.
And that freedom matters.
It’s the ability to say yes to time with family, to travel, to slow mornings, to connection. The kind of life Kristin herself values most, whether she’s on a mountain trail, sharing a glass of wine with friends, or simply enjoying the people around her.
Confident women create ripple effects. What begins as one conversation can shift a family and eventually a community.
For Kristin, this work is an act of service. It’s about removing fear and uncertainty and replacing it with clarity, helping women see that money doesn’t have to be overwhelming. It can be simple, supportive, and a tool to build a life they love.
To her, that is what it means to carry others.
Not by taking on their burdens, but by giving them the tools and clarity to move forward on their own.
Dr. Rebecca Kornas, MD, FACEP, FAAEM
Emergency Department Medical Director
In the emergency department, there is no script for what walks through the door. But for Dr. Rebecca Kornas, every patient arrives carrying something more than symptoms—they carry fear, uncertainty, and often the weight of what feels like the worst day of their life.
It is in those moments that her work becomes more than medicine.
With a calm, steady presence, Dr. Kornas meets each person where they are, not just clinically, but emotionally. She makes eye contact. She sits down. She listens. Because sometimes the story behind the visit matters just as much as the reason for it. What may begin as chest pain can reveal a deeper fear, a recent diagnosis in the family, or an unspoken worry. Taking the time to understand that “why” is where trust is built and where true care begins.
“I try to approach each patient like they are a family member,” she shares. It’s a simple philosophy, but one that quietly transforms every interaction into something deeply human.
Drawn to emergency medicine for its variety and complexity, she found purpose in a field that allows her to step into countless lives, even if only for a moment, and offer both answers and reassurance. It is work that requires strength, but also softness, the ability to lead, decide, and act, while never losing sight of the person in front of you.
That balance is something she learned early, shaped by her mother, Julia Kornas, whose steady and compassionate presence was a quiet example of what it means to truly care for others.
Outside the hospital, Dr. Kornas finds restoration in the simple, grounding moments of life— walks with her dog, Elsa, noticing the way light catches the flowers in her neighborhood, family pizza nights with her husband and daughters, reading, movies, and the kind of laughter that reminds her she is held, too.
Because even the women who carry so much for others need places to set it down.
And every day, in the space between urgency and uncertainty, Dr. Kornas shows what it means to carry others with both strength and grace.
Evie Hughes, RN, OCN
Blood and Marrow Transplant Coordinator
Colorado Blood Cancer Institute
There is an unmistakable energy about Evie Hughes. It shows up in her laughter, in her kindness, in the way she can turn even the heaviest moments into something a little more human. She describes herself simply as fun, kind, considerate, but behind that lightness is a depth of purpose that runs through everything she does.
For nearly two decades, Evie has worked in oncology, walking alongside patients and families through some of life’s hardest realities. Today, as a Blood and Marrow Transplant Coordinator, she helps guide patients through one of the most complex and critical journeys of their lives. It is detailed, demanding work, full of education, planning, and constant communication, but for Evie, it always comes back to connection.
A phone call. A reassuring voice. A shared tear when words fall short.
“They are the reason for it all,” she shares.
To her, compassion is not something you either have or don’t. It is something you build. Something you practice. “Like a muscle,” she says. And the more you use it, the more you want to carry for others.
That calling extends far beyond the hospital walls. As a candidate for Visionaries of the Year through Blood Cancer United, Evie is on a mission to raise $100,000 to advance life-saving research for blood cancers. It’s a goal fueled not just by ambition, but by what she sees every day at the bedside. “The work I do daily changes lives,” she says, “but this will change countless lives in ways I may never know.” It’s a ripple effect she’s proud to be part of, a rock thrown into what she calls “this pond of life.”
Even in the weight of her work, she leads with joy. Karaoke nights in the living room. Kitchen dance parties. Time outdoors with her husband Scott and their children. These are the moments that refill her, grounding her in gratitude and reminding her why she does what she does.
Because for Evie, carrying others is not a burden. It is a calling. One she meets with strength, heart, and a belief that even in the hardest moments, hope is always worth holding onto.
Dr. Haley Turpin, DC
Holistic Chiropractor & Owner
Blue Oak Family Chiropractic
At Blue Oak Family Chiropractic, there is an intentional slowing down that begins the moment you walk through the door: soft light, a calming space, and a quiet invitation to breathe. For Dr. Haley Turpin, that environment is not accidental. It is part of the care.
Her work is rooted in the belief that the body is constantly communicating, and that many of the challenges families face are not isolated issues, but signals from a nervous system under stress. Through gentle, neurologically focused chiropractic care, she helps parents begin to understand those signals, often connecting dots that once felt confusing or overwhelming.
That clarity is something she understands deeply.
After losing her mother at a young age, Dr. Haley walked through seasons of anxiety, depression, and disconnection from her own body. Over time, through intentional lifestyle changes, rebuilding trust within herself, and growing closer in her relationship with God, she experienced what it means to heal, not instantly, but gradually, with purpose. That journey now shapes how she shows up for others, with compassion, patience, and a deep respect for the process.
Today, her focus is on families, especially mothers and children navigating early developmental years. She often meets parents carrying quiet concerns, wondering whether they are missing something or should simply wait. “I want them to feel like someone has joined their team,” she shares. Through education, she helps parents trust their instincts while giving them tools to support their child’s development with clarity and confidence.
What unfolds in her office is often more than physical change. A child begins to settle. A parent softens. Homes feel more connected, more regulated, more at ease.
Outside the office, Dr. Haley is grounded by simple rhythms, sunlight, movement, quiet mornings, and time with God. It is in those moments she refills what she so intentionally gives.
She hopes that families leave not only feeling better but also understanding their bodies in a new way, carrying with them the belief that healing is not a one-time event but a lifelong process. One that builds stronger individuals, stronger families, and ultimately, a stronger community.