By Kamilla Graham
Women are making a difference in 2018, and not just in politics or industry. Arizona has a long history moulded by influential and innovative women, from Rose Mofford to the very first female Supreme Court Justice, Sandra Day O’Connor. Today, women are impacting our state through change in public transportation, programs that build on solar power, encouraging community sustainability, and so much more. The women highlighted here have one important thing in common: they are driven by the desire to bring change to a community.
Lori Singleton
Lori Singleton is a name with which you may be familiar. She was named one of the 50 Highest Ranking Women in Arizona in 2015 by The Republic’s Who’s Who in Business. With a passion for Arizona and environmental protection and sustainability, Singleton makes a difference every day with the programs she has helped create with the Salt River Project. During her 35 years with the utility company, Singleton encouraged the organization to embrace more sustainable solar power and reforestation efforts.
Singleton is now the CEO of Arizona Forward, an advocate between economic development in the state; environmental quality; and leaders from businesses, communities and politics. Singleton didn’t start her career with the goal of developing such important programs for sustainability for the community. Driven by her core feelings about the environment, she felt that she could affect change.
“I never looked at my career as ‘just a job’,” Singleton said, “but as something I was passionate about and I knew I could make a difference.”
Shannon Scutari
Shannon Scutari is the woman in the Valley who impacts the way communities are connected. Scutari is the former policy advisor for two different Arizona governors and was the director of Rail and Sustainability for ADOT until 2011. She is one of the driving forces behind the successful light rail system.Scutari recently co-founded the nonprofit partnership Sustainable Communities Collaborative.
With an eye for the future and a passion for community, the collaborative is “rolling up its sleeves” to bring more sustainability and opportunity to urban communities from Mesa to Phoenix. The light rail connects people, bringing social, cultural and economic classes together.
“Looking back at the pieces of me and what motivates and drives me, I recognized that I want people and communities to be more inclusive,” Scutari said. “The best catalyst is the human tangle of interaction.”
Scutari hopes that building a collaborative nature for development in an urban setting will strengthen the community, providing a forum for discussion and expanding the way people can impact the development of the city.
Linda Searles
Linda Searles, the cofounder of Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center, grew up on a ranch in Arizona riding her horse through the surrounding beauty of the Sonoran desert. She enjoyed the peaceful world she found in the wildlife. However, as the years passed and development turned ranches and desert into communities, the wildlife began to lose their homes.
Protecting Arizona wildlife is an important part of how Searles gives back to the community. One of the most engaging parts of this state is the wild and untamed beauty of the mountains and the desert. As development occurred, Searles saw a need to help conserve, rehabilitate and educate for the future of all species in the community. And Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center was born.
“I feel that we are in a race against time. If we are to save them, we must all do our part to see that our wild places and beautiful wildlife will be there for future generations,” Searles said, “I want my granddaughters and their children to know and enjoy wildlife and the outdoors like I did. We must all do our part to save what we have. “
Kamilla Graham is an Arizona native and avid NPR listener who enjoys rediscovering the world with her kids and husband.
