Soroptimist International of Carson City has taken notice of Western Nevada College leaders Lupe Ramirez and Niki Gladys for their dedication to women and girls in the community by recognizing them among its eight Women Helping Women honorees for 2021.

They were honored on Thursday, Feb. 18 along with six other women from the community during a virtual event.

Lupe and I are honored to be recognized among distinguished community members, Gladys said. It was a very well-organized and fun virtual event.

Honorees included local employees, board members and volunteers who have provided their expertise, time, compassion and motivation to help other women and girls.

Other women in the community who were honored were Katie Leao Geiser, executive director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Western Nevada; Dr. Betsy Card, Tahoe Carson Radiology; Suzanne Crawford, victim and witness administrator for the Carson City District Attorneys Office; Tiffany Kenison, executive director for Miss Carson City & Outstanding Teen Pageant; Victoria S. Mendoza, executive director and managing attorney for Volunteer Attorneys for Rural Nevada; Jessica Weisser, youth empowerment coordinator for Xquisite. Many may recall that Leao is a former executive director of WNC Foundation.

I would have loved meeting all of these amazing women in person, said WNC Foundation Board of Trustees Chair Sean Davison. We have such great women playing important roles in the community.

Ramirez, adviser and founder for the Latino Leadership Academy and Latino Cohort coordinator, was tasked with improving WNCs college graduation rate for the areas Latino population in 2010, leading to the creation of the Latino Cohort (now the Latino Leadership Academy). The academy eases students transition from high school to college by helping them make this a full-time commitment, as well as helping them overcome cultural obstacles. Additionally, the academy provides students with a structured two-year academic plan and helps then access financial aid and scholarships to make this possible.

Working with every student who joins the Latino Leadership Academy is the highlight of my day at work, Ramirez said. When the students graduate, I get a thank you from them. I never expected that one of my former students would recommend to her employer that they nominate me for such a prestigious award! I am humbly moved by this recognition!

For her impact on the community, Ramirez was selected as the Nevada ACT College and Career Readiness Postsecondary Nevada State Champion of the Year for 2018. Ramirez also is a trustee for K-12 students in the Carson City School District and was recently chosen as the 2020 New School Board Member of the Year by the Nevada Association of School Boards.

As the executive director for institutional development at WNC since 2016, Gladys sets the strategic direction for Western Nevada College in fundraising and special events, in alignment with the colleges mission and strategic goals. Gladys and the colleges fundraising efforts provide $600,000 in scholarships to students annually. Prior to leading the foundation, Gladys served as a trustee on the Foundation Board for seven years. In 2019, the WNC Foundation received the Pioneer Award (Boundary Peak Exceptional Nonprofit Award) from the Northern Nevada Development Authority for its extraordinary growth in funding streams, active board involvement, presence in the community and support of workforce development initiatives.

Working with our talented Board of Directors over the past few years to increase scholarship support for WNC students and grow funding to our Foundation has been inspiring. Being recognized for this work is quite humbling; I appreciate WNC for nominating me and the Soroptimists for creating such a wonderful event, Gladys said.