The Women's Issue

Women of the Year 2021 ▶ [With Video]

Stories of women doing great things—and that includes our Woman of the Year, Community Hero, Young Hero and more. Meet these incredible change-makers in Central Oregon

Mar 3, 2021

Woman of the Year

Jesse Durham of Sisters Coffee once ran a marathon to raise funds to help an all-women coffee co-op improve production

By Nicole Vulcan Mar 4, 2020

Young Hero

Angie Acevedo, now a student at COCC, made a name for herself at Bend High, where she advocated for immigrants and people experiencing poverty

By Nicole Vulcan Mar 4, 2020

Advancing Women

Karina Smith, a believer in the power of challenges to push people forward

By Nicole Vulcan Mar 4, 2020

Community Hero

Ruth Jones, supporting LatinX families through the JUNTOS program

By Nicole Vulcan Mar 4, 2020

Lifetime Achievement

Lawnae Hunter has had a remarkable career—but her passion lies in teaching and servant leadership

By Nicole Vulcan Mar 4, 2020

2020 Women's Issue

Celebrating our Women of the Year, inclusion in the outdoors, female chefs and brewers and so much more

By Nicole Vulcan Mar 4, 2020

Woman of the Year: Betsy Warriner

From the ashes of Volunteer Connect rises a new phoenix: Volunteer Central Oregon. Here is the woman championing its cause.

By Magdalena Bokowa May 3, 2017

The 2016 Women's Issue

Women in their own words

By The Source Staff May 4, 2016

Video
2016 Woman of the Year: Alice Elshoff

Educator and conservationist protecting Oregon's natural treasures

By Brian Jennings May 4, 2016

Liz Lawrence

Bend Police Department's finest

By Sherron Lumley May 4, 2016

Molly Troupe

Lead distiller at Oregon Spirits Distillers

By Jared Rasic May 4, 2016

Sally Russell

Bend City Councilor

By Brian Jennings May 4, 2016

René Mitchell

Champion of the creative class

By Angela Moore May 4, 2016

Are We There Yet?

Why women are still fighting for equality

By Erin Rook Apr 29, 2015

Good Guys

A half dozen ways to be a better man

By Erin Rook Apr 29, 2015

No Justice, No Peace

Native American women face high rates of sexual assault

By Erin Rook Apr 29, 2015

Where the Women Are

Meet your local lady leaders

By Erin Rook Apr 29, 2015

Power to the People

COCC president Dr. Shirley Metcalf serves as a role model for women and minorities

By Erin Rook Apr 29, 2015

The Year in Women

Tracking gains in the struggle for equality

By Erin Rook Apr 29, 2015

She Works Hard for the Money

Wage inequality persists despite women's gains

By Erin Rook Apr 29, 2015

Women's Issue 2014

What does it mean to be the Source Weekly's Woman of the Year?

By The Source Staff Mar 27, 2014

A Peek Into Our Thought Process

Community input and advisory commitee suggestions help us pick our Woman of the Year

By The Source Staff Mar 27, 2014

Generations of Joy

Bend's dance matriarch passes the torch

By Erin Rook Mar 27, 2014

Creating Change

Young activist takes a stand for fairness

By Erin Rook Mar 26, 2014

Keep on Rolling

Designer turns challenges into opportunities

By Erin Rook Mar 26, 2014

Forward Progress

The Source's Woman of the Year, Becky Johnson, spearheads Bend's future

By Brianna Brey Mar 26, 2014

Combat Vets

The Source's Women of the Year

By Erin Foote Marlowe Mar 14, 2013

KER-POW!

Women Still Busting Down Barriers

By Erin Foote Marlowe, James Williams and Brianna Brey Mar 14, 2013

With this year’s Women’s Issue, we went in search of Central Oregon females who are breaking away from the societal conventions that somehow still exist in 2011. We found a premiere female motorcycle racer, a great-grandmother who has decided to chase down her musical dreams and a group of women making some of the best beer in the region, just to name a few. We’re proud of the ladies in our region, and after you take a look this section, you will be, too.

Mar 8, 2012

Woman Of The Year; Jen Burgess Thompson: Cancer Survivor

The day after being diagnosed last August with aggressive ovarian cancer at age 36, Jen Burgess Thompson gathered up her two young sons, some friends and her husband. They drove to Mt. Bachelor and made a movie. In it, the stunning blond runs through a golden field of wildflowers with her sweet and handsome sons, Cohen and Cooper. She writes messages on a chalkboard like "We will not be defeated" and "Eff Cancer." She tears pages from a small notebook after writing bits of her story. "I am Jen" "I am a mom" "I am an artist" "I am not cancer." The pages blow away and snag in the flowers. It is deeply moving and has been watched thousands of times. The video is the beginning of her very public and vivid chronicling of her battle with cancer. Thompson, who has her own photography studio in Redmond, documents every step of the journey, through her blog, on Facebook, and in the photography and videography of some of the most talented photographers and cinematographers in Bend who donated their time and effort to the Source's 2012 Woman of the Year.

By Source Weekly Mar 7, 2012

Wonder Women: Five women tell us how to dominate

Tara Reynvaan, Sport Climber Age: 25 Day job: Social Media Coordinator at Ruff Wear Hometown: Bend Female Inspiration: Alizee Dufraisse. "She's totally fearless and definitely a proud climber." Most radical moment in your sport: The most extreme thing that's ever happened to me is when I fell upside on a sport climb. On my way down I clipped a bolt, kinda funny but extreme all at the same time. I also pocket dialed my ex-husband. Pretty funny."

Mar 7, 2012

Central Oregon's Most Influential Women: From every area of our community-politics, business, philanthropy, sports and the creative arts-these women are powerful examples of what it means to live strong everyday

Name: Chris Telfer, 62 Day job: Certified public accountant and state senator Areas of influence: Oregon State Senator for District 27-Bend, former Bend city councilor, former chair of Bend Urban Renewal Agency, former chair of the Bend-La Pine Schools budget committee, founding organizer of numerous Central Oregon nonprofits, chair of Oregon and national Episcopal Church committees Leadership Philosophy: It is important to be inclusive and to listen to all perspectives.

By Erin Foote Marlowe Mar 7, 2012

Tattoo You: Mum's Tatoo's Angela Kephart found a career and a calling in body art

Angela Kephart was 12-years-old, homeless and living on the Portland streets when she got her first tattoo - a small heart on her left index finger that was given to her by an amateur tattoo artist with a makeshift needle. Kephart recalls that she was standing on the balcony of the Kent Motel above a fish house restaurant at the time. The entire process took about ten minutes, but it made an impact that's resonated throughout her entire life. Today, Kephart is a single mom, sober, and a successful small business owner as the sole proprietor of Mum's Tattoos on Galveston where she employs four other artists, including one other female tattoo artist, Holly McClintock. Kephart has done it working in a field that is typically dominated by men and that is known for its lack of hospitality toward newcomers breaking into the business.

By Eric Flowers Mar 7, 2012

Woman of the Year - Possibilities with a View How Lawnae Hunter is changing Central Oregon's economic future

When Lawnae Hunter moved to Bend, she wasn't expecting to challenge the status quo. A former waitress and single mother who attended community college in Aptos, Calif., Hunter worked her way up the real estate food chain and developed the largest real estate company in Central California, Hunter Prudential Realty. The company was eventually sold to a subsidiary of Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway. After the sale, Hunter was looking for a change of pace. In 2003, she bought a house on Awbrey Butte and in 2007 moved to Bend full time. She brought her daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren and joined one daughter already living here.

By Sara Roth Mar 10, 2011

Who's the Chick on the Drums?: Lindsey Elias is leading the way for the region's young female musicians

Lindsey Elias is 24 and has been a rock drummer for a full decade. She has one hell of a stage presence and it all comes in one surprisingly small package. Watching Elias and her 105-pound frame push out the power and speed of an enormous male drummer is really something to be seen when she's up on stage with her band, Empty Space Orchestra. Take a look at the audience at an ESO show and you will see people's necks craning just to get a better view of what she's doing. She has a magnetic, natural beauty on the drums as she pumps out incredibly fast, hard-hitting licks. There is something contagious about the joy, the passion and the pure rock n' roll in her facial expressions that radiates out to the crowd who watches with mouths agape or perhaps smiling in delight. "She's so fun to watch. She just gets so into it. It's surprising to see so much noise, such loud and harsh noise, coming from such a small person," says an ESO fan named Griffin after one of the band's packed Silver Moon residency shows in January.

By Source Weekly Mar 10, 2011

Swimming Through a Sea of Plastic Bags: Sara Wiener at Sara Bella Upcycled creates useful, environmentally friendly products out of trash

If you walk beyond the showroom at Sara Bella Upcycled, which is currently located upstairs above O Mo Mo in the Old Mill District, you will likely see a sea of plastic bags. Sara Wiener, owner of Sara Bella Upcycled, swims through the bags, creating one-of-a-kind products including tote bags, wallets, aprons, wine carriers, belts, and more. The greatest part about swimming through the sea of bags every week is that you do so knowing that the bags won't end up polluting our oceans and killing the sea life. Before opening Sara Bella Upcycled in 2010, Wiener operated Sara Bella Custom Outdoorwear, which sold Polar Tec polar fleece clothing. Wiener ran the business for 14 years, but closed because she felt burnt out. After closing the business she spent the next couple years doing development work in Africa. One night a family came over to her house for dinner and brought their food in a bag that sparked Wiener's interest. The family's middle-school-aged son looked up online how to make a messenger bag out of black garbage bags.

By Anne Pick Mar 10, 2011