Regional Leadership

Together Women Rise is divided into 13 U.S. regions, each of which is managed by a volunteer Regional Leader or Co-Leaders.

Regional Leader Committee Chair

email: rlchair@togetherwomenrise.org

Colleen Kill

Colleen lives in beautiful Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. She joined Together Women Rise in February 2015 as a Chapter Leader in Southern California. Before assuming her current role as Chair of the Regional Leader Committee, Colleen was a Regional Leader in the West, a Mentor in Southern California, and remained a Chapter Leader while handling those positions. Colleen was “hooked” on Together Women Rise after her first chapter meeting. She loves the educational part of our mission and being able to socialize with a purpose. In retirement, Colleen wanted to use for good the talents and skills she gained in her 28 years in the Pharma and Biotech world (where she was in leadership positions throughout her career), and Together Women Rise, where she continues to make a difference in so many girls’ and women’s lives, proved a perfect fit. Colleen’s love for travel and understanding other cultures is another way she connects with Together Women Rise. On her travel bucket list was visiting every state in the U.S., which she checked off some years ago, and she continues to travel the world. Follow

Carolinas Region

NC, SC – email: carolinas@togetherwomenrise.org

Beth Medlock – Co-Leader

Dr. Lisabeth Medlock lives in Greenville, South Carolina and has been a Regional Leader since 2021. She previously served as a Chapter Leader (from 2008 to 2010) in Columbia, SC. Beth first leaned about Together Women Rise during its inception in 2003 and was excited about its potential to impact the lives of women and girls in low-income countries through building communities of women in localities across the U.S. Beth earned her doctorate in Clinical/Community Psychology in 1997 and has dedicated her career to helping those who do good, do better, consulting with hundreds of nonprofits in South and North Carolina. She is also a life, career, and ADHD coach. Beth loves interior design, travel, fitness, and has always secretly wanted to record songs she has written. Follow

Regula Spottl – Co-Leader

Regula Spottl lives in Greensboro, North Carolina. She joined one of four chapters in Greensboro, NC in 2015, assumed chapter leadership in 2019, and the role of Regional Leader for the Carolinas in 2021. When a friend took her to her first meeting, she was in awe of the warmth of the hostess, the kindness of the members, and their passionate commitment to Together Women Rise's cause. Together Women Rise's belief in collaborative action, compassion, and equity-focused thinking made a deep impression on her. A highlight of her time at Rise was visiting a grantee in Bhutan. For the past few years, Regula has assisted DACA high school students in finding colleges and applying for scholarships. Regula's passions also include her book clubs and Pilates. Follow

Central Region

IN, KY, MI, OH – email: central@togetherwomenrise.org

Debra Berman – Regional Leader

Debra, a transplanted Jersey Girl, now lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She first became aware of Together Women Rise while living in Rwanda during a search for potential donors for a local orphanage. She was so impressed with the vision and mission of Together Women Rise that she became a member of the Birmingham chapter when she returned home in 2018. With each meeting she developed a stronger interest and commitment to the success of Together Women Rise and subsequently started the Ann Arbor chapter in August of 2021. A former ICU nurse, business owner, and Technology Customer Experience Manager, Debra left corporate America to travel the world with her wonderful husband in 2016. When not working out at the local gym she makes jewelry and helps with the Jewish Family Service Refugee Resettlement program.Follow

Florida Region

FL – email: florida@togetherwomenrise.org

Kay Yoder – Co-Leader

At her very first Together Women Rise meeting in April 2013, Kay was hooked and instantly felt a kinship with the members of her Sarasota/Bradenton, Florida chapter. The Rise mission especially resonates with Kay and is a perfect complement to her involvement with Ripple Africa, a nonprofit working in Malawi, Africa, where she has served as the US Director of Operations since 2012. Over the years, she has had the extraordinary privilege of participating in the Together Women Rise process as both a member and as a featured and sustained grantee. She considers herself very fortunate to have witnessed the merging of her two passions and has seen firsthand how the partnership between Together Women Rise and Ripple Africa has significantly impacted the lives of women and girls in rural Malawi. Kay and her husband enjoy dividing their time between Florida and the Rocky Mountains, where their grown children live, as well as exploring sites around the country and throughout the world.Follow

Carol Buzilow – Co-Leader

Carol Buzilow lives in Sarasota, Florida and has been a member of Together Women Rise since 2012. She has served as a member, then Chapter Leader, Mentor, and now a Regional Leader. Carol’s passion for this organization comes from the ability it has to make real changes for girls and women in low-income countries. She feels this organization really listens to what the local communities need to make themselves self-sustainable. Carol also loves to cook, quilt, and travel. Follow

Heartland Region

MN, ND, SD, WI – email: heartland@togetherwomenrise.org

Donna Neshek– Regional Leader

Donna lives in East Troy Wisconsin, a small rural community south of Milwaukee. She has been a member of Together Women Rise since 2011 where she started as Co-Chapter Leader. After a trip to Bhutan with our past President she was inspired to seek out more involvement in the organization as the Heartland Regional Leader. She shares a strong commitment to gender equality globally, which Together Women Rise expounds. As a Bilingual Registered Nurse, she has had many opportunities, her greatest being a volunteer at Open Arms Free Clinic in her county. This clinic serves the under and uninsured, with excellent compassionate healthcare. She has a passion for travel and looks forward to joining upcoming opportunities with Together Women Rise. Follow

Mid-Atlantic Region

DC, DE, MD, NJ, PA, VA, WV – email: midatlantic@togetherwomenrise.org

Annette Hearing– Co-Leader

Annette Hearing lives in the Mid-Atlantic region and has been a member of a Together Women Rise since 2013. She is an active member of a chapter in Wilmington, DE. She strongly believes that women are vital to the future of our world and that we must all work to achieve gender equality that will allow women to become a central part of the future. She loves the opportunity to connect with women around the world, to learn about them and to celebrate their achievements, and to support opportunities for them to thrive. She is a proud mother of four, foster parent of several, and a former legal services lawyer who became a teacher and then school principal. Since her retirement several years ago, she has increased her volunteer work, including her commitment to Together Women Rise. A few years ago she picked up a paint brush for the first time, fell in love with it, and has been painting in watercolors and acrylics since then. She enjoys travel, particularly if it enables a visit to grantees or to experience a culture other than her own.Follow

Tracy Ritter – Co-Leader

Tracy Ritter lives in Virginia but also has a second home in Boise, Idaho. She joined Together Women Rise in 2008 while living in Boise and then started a chapter in Salisbury, Maryland after moving back east in 2011. Tracy joined the Regional Leader team in July of 2020. Tracy whole-heartedly supports the mission of Together Women Rise and especially loves the careful grant approval process and the commitment to sustainable work that uses a participatory and partnership model with grantee organizations. Tracy has been grateful to work in the nonprofit space, here in the U.S. and in other countries for over 20 years. Tracy is grateful and extremely values her friendships and has met annually two dear friends, in many different places across the U.S. for over 15 years. Follow

Midwest Region

IA, IL, KS, MO – email: midwest@togetherwomenrise.org

Vicky Bush-Joseph – Regional Leader

Vicky lives outside of Chicago and has been a member of the Western Springs, Illinois chapter since 2018 and the Regional Leader for the Midwest since 2021. As a member of the Together Women Rise Book Club Committee, Vicky helps select the books chosen for discussion and invite authors like Abi Dare who wrote 'The Girl with the Louding Voice' to participate on the Zoom calls and talk about her book. Since retiring as an attorney, Vicky has visited countries on 5 of the 7 continents, and hopes to travel more. Some of her favorite trips have been with Together Women Rise to visit grantees in Guatemala and Bhutan. When Vicky is not traveling or reading, she loves to walk her two dogs, grow vegetables in her garden, and try new recipes. Follow

Northeast Region

CT, MA, ME, NH, NY, RI, VT – email: northeast@togetherwomenrise.org

Barbara Boehly – Co-Leader

Barb lives in Rochester, New York and joined the Rochester-1 chapter in 2016. She was so inspired that she later decided to help start and co-lead the Rochester-2 chapter in 2019. She believes that learning about our grantees each month is a real inspiration and knowing that we support these women and girls is something we can all be proud of. Barb has also traveled with Together Women Rise to Jordan and loved the experience. She has such fond memories of the women she traveled with and the ones she met in Jordan. They will always have a special place in her heart. Since retirement Barb has had a hard time sitting still! Most days you can find her out on her bicycle, taking walks with her dog, or working on some painting project.Follow

Rita Delgado – Co-Leader

Rita lives in Salisbury, Connecticut, in the beautiful foothills of the Berkshire Mountains. She started the Salisbury chapter in November 2012, and continues to serve as the Chapter Leader. Over the years Rita has discovered the power of Together Women Rise as the perfect vehicle to invite likeminded people to make significant changes in the lives of their global sisters. In supporting the monthly grantees, selected through an arduous application process, members know that their collective giving is making a difference. Rita and her chapter members are inspired by the breadth and depth of programs which support the dreams of girls and women in some of the most remote and forgotten parts of the world. Rita has, what she describes, as the dream job as a Children’s Librarian at the D.M. Hunt Library in Falls Village, CT. Her passion for service can be realized in her other job as Director of Community Service at Salisbury School, an all-boys boarding school. Providing young men with the opportunities to “show up” and give of themselves is extremely gratifying.Follow

Northwest Region

AK, ID, MT, OR, WA – email: northwest@togetherwomenrise.org

Theresa Beaver – Co-Leader

Theresa lives in Moscow, Idaho where she started a Together Women Rise chapter in 2013. She loves many things about Together Women Rise, but what excites her the most is the community of women that they foster, within our grantees and within the organization. Before retiring from Washington State University, Theresa traveled to many international wine regions while managing a wine education program. Her happy places are on the water or in her flower garden.Follow

Deborah Shimkus – Co-Leader

Deborah lives in Oregon and after visiting just one chapter meeting in Lake Oswego in 2019, she was totally hooked on Together Women Rise. She loves that this organization provides quality education about our Grantees and their countries and provides many opportunities to be meaningfully engaged. It’s the connection of women throughout the country and world that is most exciting to her: women from all walks of life, meeting for the same purpose of supporting women thousands of miles away. Deborah has spent her career working with nonprofit organizations, from local to international. With her skills in organizational and volunteer development and strategic planning, it is a perfect fit for her energy to be spent supporting other chapters and the national organization. Deborah is an avid kayaker, hiker and cat-lover. She recently sold her home of 26 years and has entered a nomadic period of life, enabling her to travel to experience the huge variety of cultures within our own country, as well as those on other continents. Follow

Rocky Mountain Region

CO, NE, WY – email: rockymountain@togetherwomenrise.org

Betty Purkey-Huck – Regional Leader

Betty lives in Sedalia, Colorado and became a Chapter Leader in 2012 after hearing about Dining for Women, now Together Women Rise, on the Nightly News Making a Difference segment. A year later she also took on the role of being a Mentor. In 2016 when the regions went from 8 to 12 she became the Regional Leader of the new Rocky Mountain Region. Raised with not having much and serving as a Vista Volunteer, Betty easily understood the problems facing women and girls in need and is dedicated to improving their lives and opportunities and raising awareness. She loves seeing the resulting community learning and giving impact. After early retirement Betty became a Master Gardener and gave tours at the Museum of Science and Nature as a docent. She and her husband built a beautiful log cabin but now Betty is just enjoying country life living on 6 acres. Follow

South Central Region

OK, TX – email: southcentral@togetherwomenrise.org

Southeast Region

AL, AR, GA, LA, MS, TN – email: southeast@togetherwomenrise.org

Southwest Region

AZ, NM, NV, UT – email: southwest@togetherwomenrise.org

Betty Purkey-Huck – Co-Leader

Mary Hake – Co-Leader

Mary Sullivan Hake has lived in Phoenix, Arizona since 1998 and was looking for a way to empower women and girls when she learned about Together Women Rise. She immediately joined after attending her first meeting in 2013. Mary was struck by the effective impact the grantees had in their communities. Shortly thereafter Mary became a Co-Leader, and was recently tapped to co-chair the Southwest Region. While working towards a certificate in Religion & Conflict at Arizona State University to finish her degree in Political Science, Mary noticed a dearth of opportunity for women in developing countries and became passionate about empowering the powerless. As the mother of a daughter, Mary derives satisfaction by supporting the mission of Together Women Rise, and she also supports and mentors women locally in her community.Follow

West Region

CA, HI – email:west@togetherwomenrise.org

Debbie Hirsch – Co-Leader

Debbie now resides in Fort Collins, CO but joined Together Women Rise when she was living in Solana Beach, CA in 2011. She has served as a Chapter Leader and as a Mentor before becoming a Regional Leader for the West. Debbie loves to hear the stories of our grantees and is touched by their strength, resilience and commitment to change. She also has many years of experience as an accomplished employment lawyer and agent of change, advocating for social justice with specific interest in issues of equality, diversity and inclusion. Debbie finds time to be a committed distance runner and functional athlete.Follow

Rosalie Cornew – Co-Leader

Rosalie lives in California and has been a member of Together Women Rise since the beginning of her local, Portola Valley chapter in 2012. She immediately connected with its mission. Rosalie had the opportunity to live, study, and work abroad as a child and adult. At eight-years-old, she moved from France to Mexico, where she became aware of the opportunities she enjoyed that her doorman’s daughter did not. They were playmates yet had very different futures. Rosalie turned this personal experience of “birth-injustice” into her many volunteer involvements over the years to help alleviate poverty and help women gain more self-reliance. Rosalie retired from corporate life after 30 years in high-tech focusing on global business development and marketing. In her spare time, she plays pickle ball (former tennis player), hikes, bikes, and loves to travel to experience new places.Follow

International

Our international chapter applications are temporarily on-hold as we research the legal requirements for the growing demand to expand globally.