From solving problems in the education system to helping clients find financial security, the women of Boulder really do it all. In each of their stories, there’s a common thread: the best part of their work is the people, and the best way to unwind and decompress is to go for a walk on one of the many beautiful trails around town. Founders, CEOs, and CFPs—they’re just like us!
In each of their stories, there’s joy in the path they’re on and the partners they’ve chosen along the way. Each brought an item to the shoot that was of importance to them, some more animate than others.
Molly Murray
Owner, Golden Iris Studio
Molly Murray is the perfect example of leaving the path you were on to find your passion. She got a degree in Computer Information Systems and spent three years in web and graphic design before finding tattooing. She brought her current tattoo machine, which was a significant purchase for her at the very start of her career and serves as a daily reminder to bet on herself. She’s also investing in future tattoo artists, helping more young women get into the industry.
Murray is an empath and loves that her job allows her to connect with people from all walks of life. After a few long, back-to-back days, you can find her mountaineering, rock climbing, mountain biking, and trail running—a self-described classic Colorado cliche! She also loves Hungry Toad date nights with her husband, tossing the frisbee for her dog, and reading a good book in the sun. “Might have been a lizard in a past life,” she says.
Ashley Evans
Manager – Central Variable Operations, Holman
Jaymie Hampson
SVP Dealership Operations | Auto Retail, Holman
Ashley Evans was born into the car business. As a kid, she’d sit on her car seat at her technician dad’s workbench, and then in high school, she started working reception at his dealership. Even though she went to college to “not end up in the car business,” she found herself back at the dealership two weeks after graduation. She loves getting to be part of purchasing a new car—probably the most exciting purchase—and getting cars back in working condition. She brought "Atlas of the Heart" by Brené Brown, which she rereads every year. Evans says, “I hope that each time I read it, I become a slightly better person.”
Jaymie Hampson also began in reception and now oversees the daily operational activities of Holman’s dealerships from coast to coast. In nearly three decades in the industry, she’s seen a shift in technology and industry trends—and an uptick in women in the field. She’s proud to mentor women in the organization and loves the people she gets to work with. She says her husband, Sean, recognizes the days that she needs wine and French fries for dinner and goes out of his way to make life easier for her. Together they make a strong foundation for a large family with 14 cousins, including her two kids—and she brought a photo of all the cousins.
“The bond these kids share is a testament of making family a priority,” says Hampson. “Balancing a life where you prioritize and cherish your true circle is success to me.”
Allison Billings
Executive Director, Impact on Education
After years in urban planning and transportation, Allison Billings brought her nonprofit expertise to the education sector. Since 2018, she’s been the Executive Director of Impact on Education, partnering with the Boulder Valley School District or BVSD.
“Public education should be (and historically has been) a great equalizer,” Billings says. “But when schools are so underfunded...kids who come from low-income families simply cannot access the same opportunities and resources as their peers.”
She also says that Colorado's lack of education funding requires that the community do more. She works with BVSD to help solve complex problems and ensure their education system is both equitable and excellent. She’s constantly learning something new and finding new challenges—including when she’s off the clock and on the pickleball court with her husband, Steve, or walking her pandemic pup, Waffle, who she brought. He’s friendly to everyone he meets and likes to see the good in people, just like Billings.
Dana Weiss Albright, CFP®, CIMA®
Senior Vice President, The Beacon Group of Boulder
Rebecca Batizy, CFP®
Associate Vice President, The Beacon Group of Boulder
Dana Weiss Albright and Rebecca Batty met as interns while attending the University of Colorado, Boulder, and working at Moe’s Bagels. They were “green” together back when only 10 to 15% of their profession was female. Albright and Batizy set themselves apart with the questions they’d ask—listening closely to understand what keeps their clients up at night, what drives them to work and save, and what values they hold dear when it comes to investing and family. Albright brought a belt buckle from a client, who has since passed away, who taught her to speak slowly and pause for understanding and questions. It’s a tricky balance, managing other’s futures with your own present, and the pair says, “When you work to take care of people, it’s very easy to neglect yourself.”
Both love the outdoors and being Colorado residents. Albright recently found a love for fly fishing and also volunteers at nearby schools to teach children about financial literacy. Batizy loves getting elbow-deep in her garden and is an active member of the cycling community. She brought prayer flags in remembrance of a young woman she coached at Boulder High who lost her battle with cancer.
As we head into the fall and winter season, their advice is to use the time to financially reassess, recharge, take inventory, measure progress, reorganize, and plan—and they would love to be a resource!
Penelope Harriman
Musician & Mandolinist
Penelope Harriman is a mandolinist, singer, and songwriter, and she primarily plays bluegrass and folk music with her family band and beyond. She began piano at five and fell in love with mandolin at 13 when her parents got her one for her birthday. She brought her mandolin, which she affectionately refers to as her favorite accessory. Harriman says, “I have always been a performer, constantly putting on musical shows for my family.”
Her life is currently quite the balancing act between practicing, booking gigs, and doing her school work and extracurriculars—and she loves any chance to make music with others. She’ll be playing at the Longmont Farmers Market on October 19th from 10 am - 1 pm and Boulder Farmers Market on October 26th from 10 am-2 pm. For more updates, follow her @penelopeharrimanmusic.
Anne Zaug
Founder, Hollow & Form
Anne Zaug creates custom wood pieces from exotic kiln-dried wood and from felled trees that she finds throughout Colorado. If people have heard of a lathe, it’s easy to explain her process, but she also admits she hadn’t heard of one until six years ago. It’s similar to working on a potter’s wheel, but the wood spins vertically, and she uses sharp gouges to cut and shape the wood.
Zaug knew she wanted to stay home with her kids when they were young, and once they went to school, she considered a number of paths before she saw someone working on a lathe and it all clicked. Now, she’s a one-woman shop, doing everything from website updates to accounting to teaching. She admits it can be awkward selling her own work, but she’s found a great passion in uncovering what’s beneath each piece of bark, from candlesticks to bowls to bangles—the newest item in her collection!
Dana Query
Co-Owner, Big Red F Restaurant Group
When Dana Query was eight years old, her parents opened a Cajun-Korean restaurant in a tiny town in Western Wyoming. Her mom is Korean, and her dad was Cajun, and together they cooked soulful, home-style food. As a child, she’d watch her mother weave her gentle, graceful touch throughout the restaurant while working 16-hour days. She’d scrub floors, greet guests, make the soup, do the books, etc., all while tending to and teaching Query and her siblings. This left a huge impression on Query and is a huge part of why she brought her mom to the shoot.
“Women make the world go round and make very little noise about it, nor ask for recognition,” says Query. “That feels like a big statement, but I feel that in my heart, thanks to my mom.”
Query worked in marketing for a time before disobeying her parents' wishes and giving in to the pull of the hospitality industry. Now she partners with her husband at Big Red F Restaurant Group, celebrating every success and failure together. The Querys are passionate about supporting the Boulder community, and in October, Domestic Violence Awareness Month, their restaurants are partnering with Safehouse Progressive Alliance for Nonviolence to raise awareness and funds.
Kate Keyser + Lauren Dalrymple
Co-Founders of Ivy Lane
Like so many creative greats, Kate Keyser and Lauren Dalrymple met working at an ad agency and always knew they wanted to go into business together. Cut to 2020, and they were two sleep-deprived moms working full-time jobs. They’d used decorating as a creative outlet and realized it was time to dive in. Today, they manage every aspect of their business, from driving commercial vehicles to moving furniture and overseeing employees. Every day is a game of Tetris as they pack the truck and solve the logistics puzzle, which is making sure all the homes are ready before the photographer shows up.
Keyser’s mom says she inherited her design eye from her grandmother, and she brought a coffee table book she inherited from her Nana. The cover features a Matisse painting, which has always been one of her favorite artists. Dalrymple brought her Leatherman, which she says goes everywhere with her as a reminder that she can solve any problem in front of her.
Keyser and Dalrymple say that getting to experience the before and after transformations never gets old. They also credit their genuine friendship outside of work for the success and balance they’ve found. This year, they have a new offering for clients who want a design update without all the decision-making. Now you can hand over the keys and “get the Ivy Lane look!”
Elizabeth Candelario
Chief Strategy Officer, Mad Agriculture
At the intersection of climate, food, and agriculture, you can find Elizabeth Candelario helping and encouraging farmers to move to regenerative, organic farming. She began her career in the wine business, working at a winery that transitioned to biodynamic farming and she has always been passionate about projects with a strong social mission. Now, she and her team at Mad Agriculture work with farms ranging from 200 to 20,000 acres. Elizabeth stays current on the emerging topics of ESG, soil carbon, climate change, etc., and helps farmers address a variety of serious obstacles they face transitioning their farms to organic agriculture.
“We are seeing a lot more female leadership in the workplace,” says Candelario. “Empathy, collaboration, resilience, and authenticity…are exactly the values we need to solve the complex issues we face.
Candelario brought a basket from one of their partners, Aspen Moon Farm, a family-run, organic Community Supported Agriculture farm, or CSA. They serve over 2,000 families a week, and Candelario encourages everyone to support local farms by joining a CSA and shopping Farmers Markets.
Grace Yoon
Founder, Qi Alchemy
The journey to herbalism began long before Grace Yoon was born. Her grandmother, an Eastern medicine doctor, passed down her ancestral knowledge to her mother who passed it on to her. What began as sharing Korean herbs with friends who were struggling with fatigue and burnout eventually led her to leave behind a decade of working in corporate America to create Qi Alchemy and write her book, The Korean Herbal Apothecary.
Yoon loves the opportunity to make a meaningful impact and forge partnerships with other herbalists and farmers. She volunteers with local community organizations, like the Nature Conservancy and Grace Commons, and partners with Farm 49, the largest sea buckthorn tree farm in Colorado. She’s growing Korean herbs at the farm and welcomes visits by appointment at care@qialchemy.com. She also brought seeds with her and loves their many meanings, reminding us that the smallest beginnings can lead to remarkable achievements in the right environment.
Dr. Kyle Cox
Oculofacial Plastic Surgeon
Before finding surgery, Dr. Kyle Cox played viola in a symphony for about ten years. As early as high school, she realized she loved working with her hands and decided to dive into special training for both plastic surgery and ophthalmology, allowing her to focus on incredibly delicate areas of the body.
She leads her successful practice with love, knowing that she sees patients at a particularly vulnerable time. Everyone sees themselves through their own subjective filter, and Dr. Cox is there to empower them to make decisions about their own appearance and take care of themselves through data, thought, and intention. Today, more women graduate from medical school than men, and she credits the capacity, strength, and ingenuity of women as they continue to trailblaze in new careers and opportunities.
She brought Clyde and Clarence, her baby Shih Tzus, and her best support system, along with her husband and the rest of her family.
Carly Paul
Owner, Postage Floral
Back in 2020, Carly Paul fell out of one career path and into floristry—and she’s now wading her way back. She worked in International Development and is now a Master’s Fellow at the University of Denver Korbel School studying gender and social justice and exploring how to create a more inclusive and environmentally just future for all. But in the midst of all of that, she founded Postage Floral, an ode to the slow, intentional forms of affection, like flowers and snail mail. The work keeps her in her body and connects her with farmers who tend to life so directly, bringing her intellectual and tactile balance.
“We need more nature lovers and artists in politics and social justice,” says Paul, “And more people with power reminded of what it’s like to have their hands in the dirt.”
Paul appreciates how floristry commemorates all moments in life, from love to apology to grief. Flowers are very fleeting, conveying joy in unexpected bursts that we hope will linger. For Paul, this serves as a constant reminder to love the moment and season she’s in. It also helps her feel connected to her grandparents, even though they’ve passed. They were farmers in eastern Colorado, and she brought a photo of her grandparents and her grandma’s Iris garden, which had 100 varieties at one point.