Aims’ Bornstein among BizWest Women of Distinction honorees

FORT COLLINS — Leah Bornstein, CEO and president of Aims Community College, will be one of 13 women from Northern Colorado to be recognized with this year’s Women of Distinction awards, a BizWest program to acknowledge the contributions of female leaders in the region.

Selected in the Education category, Bornstein in 2015 became the sixth person to take the helm at Aims. With nearly 45 years of higher-education experience, she previously had been CEO and president of Coconino Community College in Flagstaff, Arizona, and CEO of Colorado Mountain College-Summit County Campus in Breckenridge and Dillon. She also served as chief academic officer at Lamar Community College, among other leadership roles. Her accomplishments at Aims include leading development of the Aims Workforce Innovation Center, the first of its kind nationally among community colleges.

She earned a bachelor’s degree from Bradford College in Bradford, Massachusetts, a master’s from the University of Vermont in Burlington and a doctorate from the University of Denver, plus an honorary doctorate from Northern Arizona University, also in Flagstaff. Her doctorate is in higher education administration-communication and leadership studies.

Bornstein and this year’s dozen other honorees were selected by previous recipients of the award to represent multiple categories of business and nonprofit activity.

The awards will be given out at an event to be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Sept. 10 at the Drake Centre, 802 W. Drake Road, Fort Collins.

Also to be honored, along with their categories of award, include:

• Leading Ladies: Betty Aragon-Mitotes, president of Mujeres de Colores and co-founder of the Museo de las Tres Colonias; and Beth Walker, former dean, College of Business, Colorado State University.
• Banking and Finance: Christina Kraft, market president, Bank of Colorado.
• Business and Business Services: Lori Gama, founder and president, DaGama Digital Marketing Agency.
• Emerging Leader: Tori May, deputy director, Loveland Habitat for Humanity.
• Exceptional Volunteer: Paula Galloway, program lead for visual-impairment snow sports, scholarship director, instructor supervisor and board member, Ignite Adaptive Sports. 
• Government, Energy and Utilities: Michelle Vance, executive director, Windsor Downtown Development Authority.  
• Health Care: Cyndi Dodds, CEO, SummitStone Health Partners. 
• Manufacturing: Amanda Rider, area leader, J.M. Smucker Co.
• Nonprofit: Donna Visocky, director of public relations and fundraising, Community Services Center of Wellington.   
• Outstanding Mentor: Ginger Graham, owner, Ginger and Baker.
• Real Estate: Alicia Ready, training and development director, Elder Construction, BuildHER Collaborative and NoCo Construction Sector Partnership. 

Seats can be reserved in advance by clicking here.

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