Celebrating the Boulder Women Who Educate and Inspire Generations

Each year, Women's History Month offers an important opportunity for us to shine a light on the extraordinary legacy of trailblazing women and girls who have built, shaped, and improved upon our community. Yesterday, Boulder City Council declared March 2025 as Women’s History Month and invited the community to join them in the celebration of all women and the progress we have made as a society, as well as reflect on the work still ahead to reach full gender equality.

This year, the National Women’s History Alliance, which spearheaded the movement for March being declared National Women’s History Month, proclaimed that the theme for 2025 is “Moving Forward Together! Women Educating & Inspiring Generations.” To honor this theme, the city has compiled a list of some of the women who have dedicated their lives to education, mentorship, and leadership.

Jill Katzenberger’s goal in life is to increase the units of wonder and the moments of wow in the world. She has spent her professional career, more than 20 years, orchestrating engaging experiences in art and science. Prior to founding Junkyard Social Club, Jill coordinated exhibitions at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, where she developed facilitated programming and interactive installations, such as the Discovery Zone and the Diorama wildlife halls, reaching over a million visitors on an annual basis. She created over 50 programs for school groups, some still active, reaching roughly 300,000 students a year.

In 2013, Jill wrote a business plan for a new kind of museum/community space - where kids and adults could feel comfortable playing, learning, and connecting together. She was inspired to create something that didn't feel as much like a destination location, but more of a third place, with the art and creativity of Burning Man and the non-conforming, adventure-play environments of Germany. In 2016, thanks to some seed funding, she had the opportunity to start making that dream a reality. In 2023, Jill fully opened Junkyard Social Club, an intergenerational community space including a rebellious playscape, cultural arts venue, and creative cafe.

Last year, Junkyard Social Club welcomed over 30,000 people. Today, kids learn physics and engineering on their non-conforming playground, build chain reactions out of tires, design epic forts and mini golf holes out of junk, and create intricate trench systems for water to flow across the yard. In the evenings, Junkyard Social Club produces story-telling events, open mic-nights, and game and crafting parties. Adults play too. They collaborate over ideas, drinks, and coffee. Junkyard Social Club is thoughtful about designing opportunities for all types of play and provoking curiosity and creativity, and they make space for community partners to do the same. Junkyard Social Club is a low- or no-cost venue for artists, culture-keepers, changemakers, and educators who use the space to wreak positive havoc on the system. Junkyard Social Club donates their space to Latinx and Indigenous groups, mentors neurodivergent kids, and champions independent artists. Jill’s dream has become "our dream" and she couldn't have done it without the support of the greater Boulder Community.

Learn more about Jill’s work and the facility on the Junkyard Social Club website.

Brenda Lyle was raised understanding that community service was a family value and expectation. “When I was young, we were poor and my mom would say, ‘right now we don’t have the money, but when we get into a better position, we need to help other people just like people helped us.”

In 1981, Brenda had observed that many of Boulder’s low-income and immigrant children in her neighborhood were not ready for kindergarten due to language and resource barriers. She decided to help by opening a pre-school with the goal of having ten students. On opening day, after circulating flyers about the preschool in the San Juan community and elsewhere, the line to get into the preschool space was 45 families long.

More than 40 years later, the Family Learning Center continues to provide low-income, diverse Boulder children and families with child development and school readiness resources, and their offerings have expanded to include academic support for youth and a wide range of programs and services for parents. Across generations, Brenda’s leadership and commitment to the organization's vision has helped ensure that the Center’s mission is driven by the needs of families. She continues to inspire by bringing communities together to tackle new challenges, including the potential risks to families if federal services are scaled-back.

Brenda says that while she can’t change a tire or use a remote control, she knows how to organize people. “I am a firm believer that every human being has the power to master of one thing. Children need to feel that they are good at least one thing; if they can, they are going to be okay.”

Learn more about Brenda’s work on the Family Learning Center website.

Johanna B. Maes, Ph.D., is a Teaching Professor and the Director of Multicultural Leadership Scholars Program at CU Boulder. As a Chicana, she knows she is anomaly on campus and she aims to lead by example – to show underserved and underrepresented populations in our community that they belong in unfamiliar spaces, and they possess the power and grace to succeed in educational spaces that were not particularly built for them.

As a first-generation college student, and the only person in her family to earn a Ph.D., Johanna is proud to have taught, trained, and mentored so many students that have gone on to make an impact in Boulder and beyond through service learning, leadership roles and full-time employment where they have embodied the power of multiculturalism and inclusion through the presence and brilliance they bring to their work. She is thrilled to see what her student become when they leave her classroom – there are attorneys, nonprofit executives, business professionals, university staff members, dentists, doctors, entrepreneurs, local and federal government officials, and even a Supreme Court Justice staffer – and she is honored to have been part of their journeys.

Johanna’s attributes all she has achieved to her family, some of whom were farmworkers in Boulder County in the 1940s and 50s, who worked hard to provide her with more opportunities than they had and taught her about perseverance and the importance of an education. She sees her achievements as a tribute to her family, ancestors and generations of Chicanas and Latinas to come. You can learn more about Johanna’s work, and find her Curriculum Vitae, on the CU Boulder website.

Mara Mintzer champions youth voices in decision-making, ensuring children help shape the communities, policies, and programs that affect them. As co-founder and Executive Director of Growing Up Boulder, she has engaged over 10,000 young people in 100+ projects, fostering a more equitable and sustainable Boulder.

Mara has helped shift Boulder’s culture, integrating child-friendly principles into city planning. When Growing Up Boulder launched in 2009, few city departments engaged with youth; now, 15+ departments routinely do. Under her leadership, Boulder became Colorado’s first city to join UNICEF’s Child Friendly Cities Initiative. Youth perspectives now shape transportation, parks, climate action, affordable housing, and mental health, including efforts to heal from the King Soopers tragedy. By prioritizing historically underserved youth—BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and differently-abled young people—she and her team ensure Boulder’s future is shaped by all its residents.

Mara’s advocacy spans sectors and extends globally. Before Growing Up Boulder, she co-founded and directed a community school program in California and created the first Universal Pre-K programs in New York. Mara’s TED Talk, “How Kids Can Help Design Cities,” has nearly 2.4 million views and is translated into 21 languages. She co-authored Placemaking with Children and Youth, a widely used guide for educators and urban planners. Through keynotes, workshops, and media, she educates city leaders, educators, and communities on the power of youth-driven change.

She draws inspiration from the strong women in her family who defied societal limits. Mara shared, “I come from a long line of women who fought for the rights of women, children, and those facing oppression. Their resilience and advocacy inspire me to continue their legacy.”

Mara is not just shaping Boulder—she is inspiring a global movement for youth-centered civic engagement. You can learn more about Mara’s work on the Growing Up Boulder website.

Holly Monkman learned about civic engagement from family members who volunteered their time for community service; her father, a dairy farmer in upstate New York who was also a town council member, her brother who joined the local school board, and her mother who volunteered for a number of community organizations. In 2016, Holly felt driven to do the same and she joined the nonpartisan League of Women Voters (LWV) of Boulder County. Through LWV, she began educating Boulder County community members about important local and state legislative issues and encouraging engagement through advocacy.

Currently, Holly serves as the Action and Advocacy Chair of the LWV Boulder County and is a member of the state LWV Legislative Action Committee (LAC). The role of the LAC is to research, advocate for/against and share information about bills each state legislative session. Holly says she is amazed at how many people volunteer their time to sit on so many advisory boards and organizations that keep an eye on the legislative session. They all provide policy information and opportunities for advocacy to community members in a way that is easy to understand.

“Voting is the bare minimum, but there’s so much more than voting we can do,” she said. “Many people don’t have the time or desire to pay attention to all the details, and that's ok, we all shouldn't have to. But if you join one of the many advocacy organizations, you can more easily stay informed, and you might call or write to your elected officials more often. It’s inspiring to be part of a group with expertise and passion to engage on policy issues and try to nudge things in a positive direction.”

Among the state legislative issues Holly is focusing on in 2025 is the Freedom from Intimidation in Elections Act which goes beyond the federal Voting Rights Act with more protections from intimidation and threats for voters, election officials and election workers.

While Holly herself has been involved in civic education for nine years, she appreciates the 100+ years of nonpartisan women leadership in LWV. “There’s great value in policy organizations that have been around a long time and have a strong foundation. Policy work should not be a popularity contest,” she said.

Learn more about Holly’s work on the League of Women Voters of Boulder County website.

Anne Tapp has served as the Executive Director at Safehouse Progressive Alliance for Nonviolence (SPAN) – a human rights organization committed to ending violence against adults, youth and children through support, advocacy, education and community organizing – for nearly 30 years and as she prepares for retirement this year, Anne has been reflecting on her work with deep gratitude and a sense of purpose, knowing that SPAN’s success is a product of collective effort.

Anne’s leadership has fostered a culture of reflection, creativity, and continuous improvement—ensuring that SPAN remains relentless in its mission to serve the entire community, particularly those who have historically felt excluded from resources. During her time at SPAN, she guided the organization through building one of Colorado’s first public outreach centers for survivors of violence, constructing a state-of-the-art shelter for survivors of domestic violence, establishing programs for kids, supporting community organizing with survivors, and growing partnerships with other social justice organization, law enforcement and the justice system.

“I feel like one of the things the organization has done well is integrating broad social justice and intersectional themes into how we support survivors of violence and how that’s connected with injustice and oppression,” shared Anne. “I’ve been fortunate to work with staff and board members who are profoundly committed to constantly reflecting on how well we’re serving the entire community and adjusting our efforts as needed.”

Guided by a background in theological studies, Anne views her work through a lens of justice and collective action. She has been a proponent of integrating an intersectional approach to survivor support—work that SPAN began in the 90s, long before it became a widespread expectation. Her commitment to collaboration, leaving egos at the door, and addressing conflict head-on has strengthened both the organization and the community SPAN serves.

As Anne transitions out of her leadership role, she is excited about SPAN’s future and encourages the community to get involved in SPAN’s work. On May 3, SPAN will host their 44th Annual Chocolate Lovers’ Fling Masquerade Gala to support survivors of domestic violence and their families. Learn more about SPAN and upcoming events on the SPAN website.