Mickey Babcock inspires and encourags women, and this is the heart of her life and work. After matriculating as a non-traditional student at the age of forty-four at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee, she completed her Bachelor's degree in Anthropology and Sociology in 1998, "walking loudly" in a pair of red Converse high-tops to receive her diploma. This followed a challenging and successful career as an entrepreneur and interior designer and opened the door for what Mickey has called "her true place and purpose in the world "philanthropy. As a 50th birthday present to herself she started The Equipoise Fund, with a mission to energize, enrich and encourage the visibility, vision and voice of the women and girls of Wyoming.
Mickey has used her personal time, talent and dollars to support and create a variety of programs to support Wyoming women. She takes a long-term view of creating balance for all citizens of Wyoming, and this approach means her endeavors have far-reaching effects. In addition to all that Mickey has initiated through her own vision and dedication, she is an honorary trustee of the Wyoming Women's Foundation, a member of the International Women's Forum, a Hospice volunteer, and a trustee for the boards of GAP! (Girls Actively Participating), Teton Science Schools and Rhodes College. Her ability to give so fully and yet so selflessly is what sets Mickey apart and is emblematic of that delicate balance she fosters through The Equipoise Fund ("equipoise" refers to a state of equilibrium between two or more forces that allows those forces to become more evenly balanced.) In 2006, The Equipoise Fund presented the first ever "Atta Girl" awards to give Wyoming women and girls a 'butt-boost' for all the lives they lift. The Atta Girl awards recognize inspiring Wyoming women who use their energy and creativity to create positive change for women in Wyoming. Mickey lives in Jackson and Buffalo Valley with her two lovable goldens, Zeke and Lucy.
Cathy Connolly is a professor of Women's Studies and Sociology at the University of Wyoming in Laramie. In addition to teaching classes, she conducts research in the areas of inequality, law, and public policy. She was an author of the 2003 Wyoming wage gap study, which can be accessed through the Wyoming Council of Women's Initiatives web site on our links page. Cathy served as a consultant for the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, working on the Status of Women in Wyoming report in 2004 (an access summary of which also is available on our links page). In addition to participating with Equality Initiatives, she participates with the Wyoming Council of the Humanities on a project titled, "Justice Talking!" with volunteers and service-workers around the state.
Susan Eriksen-Meier is a sixteen-year resident of Wyoming, residing in downtown Jackson. Susan currently serves as the Senior Program Officer for the Community Foundation of Jackson Hole. She holds Masters of Science Degrees in Education and Environmental Science from Antioch New England Graduate School and a Bachelor Degree in Natural Resources from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Her past includes service as Teton County Grant Writer, Executive Director of the Community Children's Project and Development Director for the Art Association. She is a Rotarian and a member of Teton County's Human Services Planning Council.
Diane Harrop is owner and principal consultant for What’s Next? Consulting, specializing in high engagement community philanthropy work for the Tate Foundation of Casper, Wyoming. She was appointed as the founding Executive Director of the Wyoming Healthcare Commission, a state agency created in 2003. A former Mayor and Council Member of Douglas, Wyoming, Diane helped create projects that resulted inthe towntwice being namedone of the 100 Best Small Towns in America.
Sarah Mikesell Growney has been working as the Program Director of Equality Initiatives since June, 2007. Sarah is a student of social movements, a grassroots organizer, and has a passion for social norm campaigns and engaging in the political process. Prior to her work with Equality Initiatives she advocated and lobbied for tobacco control, playing an integral role in the 2003 successful Wyoming cigarette excise tax increase. Growney has also been active in clean indoor air campaigns and raising awareness about spit tobacco use in Wyoming. She obtained her bachelors from Skidmore College in government and Spanish. She enjoys spending time with her two young children and husband in Cody, hiking, camping, skiing, reading and cooking.
Richelle Keinath holds a Master of Arts degree in American Studies from the University of Wyoming, where she focused her research on marginalized individuals in the health care system. Keinath also has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, majoring in Accounting from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio.
She has spent the last four years working with senior citizens and the challenges that face the aging population as the Co-Executive Director of the Eppson Center for Seniors in Laramie. Non-profit administration and program management are two areas of accomplishment.
Over the course of her career, Richelle has been involved with grass roots efforts to bring issues of nutrition, poverty, transportation, gender inequity, housing, and isolation to the attention of Wyoming’s law makers. In addition, she served on the Friends of the Albany County Public Library Board and continues to serve on the Laramie Reproductive Health board.
Marirose Morris manages the Arts Access Program at the Wyoming Arts Council, helping under-served communities gain access to the arts, As the 504/ADA specialist, Marirose was the lead person in the re-establishment and management of a Folk Arts Program at the Council. Morris served as a panelist for three programs at the National Endowment for the Arts and for the United States Artists, an organization that awarded fifty $50,000 fellowships to individual artists in October 2006. An enrolled member of the Oglala Lakota Sioux tribe, Marirose is past chair of the Wyoming Advisory Committee to the United States Civil Rights Commission, of which she was a member for thirteen years; serves on the Wyoming Multicultural Health Committee; and is co-chair of the Urban Native American Program. She participates in Lakota dance, regalia making, and other traditions. She has managed a Native American craft association and four retail stores featuring Native American arts and crafts. She has served on urban Indian Center boards in Seattle, Billings, and Cheyenne; and on the boards of two private schools, the Casey Family Foundation, and the Wyoming Women’s Foundation, among others. She currently is the co-owner of a small business with her husband and a past oil jobber.
Susie Scott is a principal and owner of Yellowbird Resources, connecting organizations, individuals and ideas with an emphasis on women, children and health. Previous to Yellowbird Resources, her work included non-profit executive and program staff, broadcast and television marketing and congressional campaign staff positions. She is a third-generation Wyoming native with one grown, and two nearly-grown, children.
Nancy Shea offers a broad and unique pallet of experience and knowledge as owner and lead consultant for True Nature Consulting, a company that facilitates dynamic one-on-one and group processes to bring about authentic change on and individual or group basis. Her curiosity about human behavior led to 20 years of study and training as a group leader, facilitator, conflict mediator and life coach. She spent 17 years in non-profit administration and executive leadership. She lives in Jackson with her daughter Hayden, and enjoys biking, writing and anything to do with water.
Melissa E. Turley currently serves on the Jackson Town Council and works as The Equipoise Fund’s Program Director. Melissa arrived in Jackson, Wyoming in 1999, with a passion for creating community, a degree in Journalism from the University of Montana, and a whole lot of energy! She has worked for the Teton County School District, Western Wyoming College, the Town of Jackson, Teton Literacy Program, and opened her own consulting business coordinating special projects for non-profits, m.e.t. solutions. In 2003, Melissa welcomed an opportunity to energize, enrich and encourage the vision, voice and visibility of the women and girls of Wyoming by working with The Equipoise Fund, where she has been involved with projects ranging from the Wyoming Women’s Legislative Caucus to hosting statewide Conversations on the status of Women in Wyoming to quirky retreats and quiet reflection.
