Tickets on sale for March 7 ceremony      

Five women representingexceptional leadership, philanthropy and community service are the winners ofthe 2019 Iris Awards, honoring women of achievement in Southwest Washington.They will be recognized at an awards reception on Thursday, March 7.

Awardswill be presented to Ann Fischer, founder of the Healthy Equitable LivingProject; Stacey Graham, president of the Humane Society for SouthwestWashington; Rekah Strong, executive director of Educational Opportunities forChildren and Families; and Lynn Valenter, vice chancellor for finance andoperations at Washington State University Vancouver. H-RoC, a non-partisanpolitical action committee dedicated to the advancement of elected andappointed female leaders in Southwest Washington, has chosen Columbia Springs ExecutiveDirector Maureen Montague for the Iris Award they sponsor.

Theaward ceremony takes place in Gaiser Student Center on Clark College’s maincampus. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the ceremony begins at 6:00 p.m. The eventis open to the public and tickets are on sale through the Greater VancouverChamber of Commerce at https://www.vancouverusa.com/events/details/2019-iris-awards-reception-18904. The costis $35 per person. A table sponsorship, which includes eight tickets, can bepurchased for $310. Seating is limited. 

Clark College is located at 1933 Fort Vancouver Way, Vancouver. Drivingdirections and parking maps are available at www.clark.edu/maps. Anyoneneeding accommodation due to a disability in order to fully participate in thisevent should contact Clark College’s Disability Support Services Office at(360) 992-2314 or (360) 991-0901 (VP), or visit Penguin Union Building room013, by February 26.

About the Iris Awards

TheIris Awards follow in the tradition of the Southwest Washington Women ofAchievement Awards, which began in 1985 at Clark College. In 2012, the eventwas reintroduced as the Iris Awards, still celebrated on or aroundInternational Women’s Day (March 8) and with the same core mission: honoringthe lasting and far-reaching contributions of women in Southwest Washington andbeyond.

Thisyear’s awards are sponsored by Clark College, the Clark College Foundation,the Vancouver Business Journal, the Greater Vancouver Chamber of Commerce,and H-RoC.

The 2019 Iris Award Honorees

Ann Fischer

Ann Fischer is the founder ofthe Healthy Equitable Living Project (HELP), a food pantry located at the FirstPresbyterian Church in Vancouver. HELP was launched in 2013, when the VancouverHealth Department asked if the church could assist local schools in servingfamilies who were experiencing food insecurity. Fischer began by solicitingdonations from neighborhood grocery stores to help five families. Over the pastsix years, HELP has expanded to serve between 50 and 60 families from 14different schools.

Through the food pantry,Fischer makes sure people are not only fed, but fed well. Fischer hand-selectsmany of the products that the pantry offers, with a focus on high-quality,nutritious, and organic foods. It is not unusual for Fischer to rememberindividual patrons’ specific dietary needs, from vegan to gluten-free. She alsocreated the pantry’s Breakfast Club, where families are served a hot breakfastwhile they wait to shop, giving them a chance to build community andfriendships.

Fischer has a long record of service in the community, ranging from supporting her local church to organizing fundraisers for children’s organizations. For 25 years, she ran an antique shop called Turnabout that offered assistance to people who were transitioning their living situations.

Stacey Graham

Stacey Graham has served as presidentof the Humane Society for Southwest Washington (HSSW) since 2013. Graham’scareer spans 40 years leading for-profit and nonprofit organizations. Herwide-ranging work experience includes positions in the Oregon Legislatureand Oregon Governor’s Office, as well as key roles in publicrelations and advertising agencies, the United Way of theColumbia-Willamette, and the Vancouver-based First Independent Bank. 

Graham joined the HSSW teamcharged with creating a sustainable and effective business model; raising thelevel of awareness and visibility of the Humane Society in the local communityand animal welfare industry; and dramatically increasing the save rate of theanimals in care. Under her leadership, HSSW launcheda five-year, $6 million capital campaign. In 2018, HSSW was named the BestNonprofit in Clark County. 

Graham’s community serviceincludes serving as city council president in her hometown of Stayton,Oregon; on the boards of the Clark County YWCA, The Historic Trust, theLighthouse Community Credit Union, Nonprofit Network of SouthwestWashington, Metropolitan Family Service, Northwest Pilot Project, PortlandRadio Project and H-RoC; and on the Empower Women + Girls steering committee. Grahamhas helped develop strategic plans for many local nonprofits, including NorthCounty Community Food Bank, Vancouver Symphony, Partners in Careers, ClarkCounty Arts Commission and Pink Lemonade.

Rekah Strong

Rekah Strong is a highlyaccomplished public and non-profit executive. She currently serves as the executivedirector for Educational Opportunities for Children and Families (EOCF), thelargest early learning organization in Southwest Washington.

Prior to this position,Strong served as chief of operations and equity officer for the United Way ofthe Columbia-Willamette and chief diversity and inclusion officer for Clark County.Earlier in her career, Strong spent more than a decade working for the State ofOregon to improve outcomes for children and families in Oregon’s child welfaresystem. 

Strong has a long record of public service and community involvement in Southwest Washington. During her tenure with Clark County, she helped lay the initial framework and push for the Clark County Freeholder process and expansion of the Clark County Council. More recently, she was reappointed by Governor Jay Inslee to serve as a Clark College trustee and actively advocates for education. She was also recently selected as the newest board member of Clark County’s Developmental Disability Advisory Board, and has served on the boards of We Reign Youth Foundation and Southwest Washington Chapter Red Cross.

A Clark College alumna,Strong earned her bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice and master’s degree inSocial Work from Portland State University. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D.in Social Work Research. 

Lynn Valenter

As the vice chancellor for financeand operations at Washington State University Vancouver, Lynn Valenter leads arange of functions including budget and accounting, capital planning, diningservices, facilities operations, human resources and public safety. She began hercareer at WSU Vancouver more than 20 years ago, holding roles as facilities andauxiliary services manager and director of finance and operations before beingnamed as vice chancellor in 2015. Valenter has been instrumental in increasingWSU Vancouver’s public engagement and service during an important period in thecampus’s growth.

Valenter’s engaged,enthusiastic, and equitable leadership style has been of service to both theuniversity and the local community. As an active member of Empower, shesupports initiatives that help local girls and women, and she is a frequentvolunteer with Winter Hospitality Overflow, an organization that helps peoplein need during the winter months. Her board service includes Camas CivilService, Institute for Metropolitan Studies at Portland State University,Columbia Credit Union, H-RoC, Greater Portland Inc., and the Columbia RiverEconomic Development Council. In 2016, Valenter was honored by the Portland Business Journal as a part oftheir Women of Influence in the nonprofit category.

Maureen Montague

It is no exaggeration to saythat Maureen Montague has been involved in the Southwest Washington region herentire life. A graduate of Hudson’s Bay High School, she returned to Vancouverafter earning her bachelor’s degree from Lewis and Clark College in Portlandand began working for Janus Youth Programs, serving at-risk youth in a sheltersetting.

After leaving her job tobecome a stay-at-home mother, Montague remained deeply involved in hercommunity. A visual artist and a published writer, she volunteered at localarts nonprofits and was a founding member of North Bank Artists. Theseactivities gave her experience with grant-writing and collaborating withpartner organizations on events, skills that would become useful in herdeveloping career. Additionally, her writing skills led her to be recruited toserve on the digital team for President Barack Obama’s 2012 re-electioncampaign.

In 2013, Montague was hiredas the executive director of North Bank Artists, where she organized theVancouver Arts District with community partners. In 2016, she was named theexecutive director of Columbia Springs, an environmental education nonprofitand protected urban natural area on the Old Evergreen Highway in Vancouver. Herwork is focused on financial sustainability, program development, andimprovement of all community services.