Athena Award finalists represent the best of women in leadership: Colorado Women's Chamber of Commerce celebrates excellence.

• Author: Nakashima, Todd
• Position: Award finalists lists

It's not enough to simply be a successful businesswoman to be considered for the Athena Award. This year's finalists, as always, demonstrate professional achievement, devotion to their communities and a generous spirit toward helping other women succeed.

Sister Alicia Cuaron was a business leader whose mid-life decision to become a Catholic nun extended her long history of helping other women.

Roxane White improved how Denver treats the city's poor through her management of the Denver Department of Human Services.

Former Denver City Council President Elbra Wedgeworth helped bring the Democratic National Convention to town and now handles community relations for Denver Health.

Lisa Schomp, owner of a successful auto dealership, has long been recognized for her community service.

"Selecting this year's finalists was a difficult process because there were so many outstanding and qualified women," said Donna Evans, president and CEO of the Colorado Women's Chamber of Commerce.

Cuaron, this year's winner, was chosen by a panel of business and community leaders from the four finalists who were nominated by the Denver business community.

"Sister Cuaron exemplifies how one dedicated person can make a significant difference in so many lives," Evans said.

Sister Cuaron and the Athena Award finalists are profiled on the following pages.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

ATHENA AWARD WINNER SISTER ALICIA CUARON

LATINA ACTIVIST GAVE UP A PROMINENT CAREER TO BECOME A CATHOLIC NUN

Thirteen years ago, Alicia Cuaron took stock of her life. She was a successful professional in her mid-fifties with a doctorate in education, a respected leader in Denver's business and Latino communities and the heart of a network of friends and colleagues.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

In many ways, she had made it, surpassing even the wildest aspirations of her Mexican immigrant parents, who had instilled a desire to achieve the American dream.

But instead of feeling fulfilled she was empty inside. After a painful divorce, and with her daughter becoming an independent young adult, Cuaron's priorities changed from striving for "the good life" to making peace with her inner self.

She returned to her faith, a constant in her life but for the most part relegated to the back burner. After a period of deep reflection and help through the guidance of the church, she decided to follow her heart and became a nun, joining the Sisters of St. Francis.

"I had a profession, a great job, a nice house--all the things I thought I had always wanted. And I thought, so now what? There was still a gap in my heart; something was still lacking," says Sister Cuaron, this year's recipient of the Colorado Women's Chamber of Commerce Athena Award.

Touched late in life by a calling--"I'm a baby compared to some sisters who've been here for 65 years"--Sister Cuaron says her decision shocked her close circle of friends. But she knew her mission was to give back to the Latino community, especially its women, by using her business acumen and networking skills to help others reach their own American dream.

"(God) gave and gave and gave to me," she says. "And all of a sudden he said, 'Now I want you to give back'--so I started all over again."

Sister Cuaron's passion for the Latino community and personal strength are evident in her long career of community service. Now 69, Sister Cuaron is the director of Bienestar Family Services at Centro San Juan Diego, part of the Archdiocese of Denver.

Stylish and prone to wearing simple, elegant clothes and silver jewelry, Sister Cuaron is funny and real; there's no pretension about her, just the genuine warmth and openness that comes from self-acceptance.

Raised in El Paso, Texas, Sister Cuaron says as a child she was shy--"I couldn't say 'boo'"--but came into her own in the early 1970s when, after moving to Denver, she started teaching for Head Start. She received her doctorate from the University of Northern Colorado and soon connected with other area Latinas--future movers and shakers such as Romaine Pacheco, Polly Baca and Patricia Barela Rivera--who welcomed her and encouraged her to find her voice.

Along with Linda Alvarado, Rivera and Sister Cuaron traveled the country in the late 1970s, holding workshops for the League of United Latin American Citizens on education, economic development and women's empowerment.

"The Hispanic community had minimal leadership skills at that time," Rivera says. "There were women like us emerging, but we were really at ground zero. We realized we could help these women who were smart but just didn't have much self-esteem or mentoring."

By 1980, Sister Cuaron was the first Hispanic woman to serve as the executive director of the Colorado Economic Development Agency; in 1981 she was the first woman to serve as the executive director of the National Hispanic Contractors Association. In 1985 Sister Cuaron founded her own consulting company, and by 1990 she was an executive vice president and principal for Source One, a Denver firm providing management systems, educational workshops and training seminars to government and corporate clients.

Friends for nearly 30 years, Rivera says she...