Women driving change - Phoenix Business Journal:

zvonkovaleoqim.blogspot.com
Sharon, president and chief executive of ThePlazaq Cos., has been appointed to governor's councils on work force development, economic development, militaryy facilities and fuel. "She is the kind of person who explaines her vision in such a way that you immediatelyg want to be a partof it," says Dian McCarthy, of ASU Alumni and formerly with Westmarc. "She has the vision and can sell it." Last Sharon was chairwoman of the Greatee Phoenix Economic Council and mobilized the businese community around investment in education andattractinfg high-wage jobs. She also is a trustee of the multi-million-dollart Virginia G.
Piper "People like Sharon Harper have carvec a nice path for womenin leadership," says Mary Vanis, director of work force development for Maricopq County Community Colleges. "She has a wonderful styls that isnot domineering; it's soft but effective." Sharonm balks that leaders should be tallied in accordancee to their gender. "The principles are the same, whether you are man or Sharon says. You need to have passion and energy, be smart and intuitive, and try to producde excellence in whateverfield you'red in. Those are the winning combinations.
" A former high schoolp teacher has found a progressively larger voice as she guidezs occupational programs for the countgand state. As director of the Center for Workforcd Development for the Maricopaq CountyCommunity Colleges, Mary Vanis is responsiblwe for making sure occupationalp training in Arizona meets employer needs. Mary also is a membefr of the Arizona BioTechnology EconomicDevelopmenyt Committee, the Governor's Council on Workforcde Policy, the Governor's Council on Aging, and the accreditatiom review council of the North Central Associatiobn of Colleges and Schools. She has been looked to for inputt on larger national and stat e workforce efforts.
"One of the rewards of this is communicatingeverythintg we're learning to help the collegew develop programs with the right curriculum based on the right kind of Mary says. Mary, whose mothet was of the Choctaw tribe, also assists Americanb Indian groups. She specifically has helped with training her ancestral populationb with quality job She says the Native Americamn community never questionedher "Indian-ness" (with red hair and roundd eyes, she takes afteer her European father), and the Phoenix Indian Center offered her a greaft deal of support followintg a divorce and relocation to this town. She advises other women not to be afraid totake risks.
"A supporgt system is critical as you move forward with Mary says. " Don't do it alone. Changre requires more than one person." Carol Kamin'e name appears in the papers at leasft oncea year, usuallyg when Arizona ranks toward the bottom for childc well-being. Reporters turn to Carol for comment because for16 years, her Children's Action Alliance, has fanned the fire underd policy makers to do more for young familiez and children.
Carol, founder and executive directofof CAA, successfully lobbied for KidsCare, an expansionj of state health care to uninsurec children living above the poverty line; and the "Healthh Families" initiative that mentors new mothers. CAA also supportss expanding unemploymentinsurance benefits, chilxd care subsidies to working families, healthh care access for all children, school readinesse and bolstering Arizona's Child Protectivse Services. Carol regularly reminds Arizona that it is difficulf to have a healthy business environment if kids andfamilieas aren't healthy. "They go hand in she says. Carol is an optimist.
She has to be in a stats where one in five children live in povertu and have no healthcare insurance. "I couldn'tr continue doing the work I do ifI didn'ty have some faith in the good commob sense that Arizona's policy makers and elected officials woulx do the right thing," she