Michaela's Muses: Recognizing women in our community for Women's History Month

It is Women’s History Month, and it got me thinking about all the strong women I know. Women’s History Month recognizes globally famed chicks like Amelia Earhart, Malala Yousufzai, Rosa Parks, Anne Frank, the individual woman and the collective group we call women.

At this moment, there are 4 billion women in the world out of the total 8 billion, according to United States Census Data. Half the world is made up of women. While we take a look at women’s history, I consider Rio Rancho’s own history of women. There are several worth noting that work in our city, county, schools, police force, businesses and right here at the Rio Rancho Observer.

Besides myself, there are two hard-working women that I consider to be two of the strongest women I know. Tracy Goldizen, our editor and manager, not only edits reporters’ work and produces content but also designs the printed paper front to back every Monday and Tuesday for readers to get their Thursday paper. She also acts as the face of our company, attending meetings and events both locally and with our parent paper, the Albuquerque Journal. On top of all this, she is first and foremost a mom. It is inspiring to me that she can be so there for her family while also juggling the inner workings of newspaper life. Susan Saunier, our advertising representative, has been with the company longer than any of us, and she is a power house. If not for advertising, we would not be here.

Rio Rancho is not short on strong women. Off the top of my head, I can think of at least a dozen.

Our growing city is also represented by three city councilwomen, including Deb Dapson, Karissa Culbreath and Nicole List. We also have Katherine Bruch as a county commissioner and Anne Brady-Romero as county clerk. On the state level, we are represented by Kathleen Cates, Catherine Cullen and Cindy Nava. Nationally, we have Melanie Stansbury. The county also has District Attorney Barbara Romo leading court cases. There was a time when women weren’t seen in public offices, and these women are making waves, whether those waves are received well or not.

Speaking of Sandoval County, another reliable news source is Shawn Perry-Turner, the county’s public information officer. Perry-Turner and I have become friends through my work on the county commission beat and other county matters. A time when she was most helpful was the 2024 general election in November. She and Brady-Romero made sure that my rights as a journalist and the people’s rights were taken care of. Because of this, we got a transparent view of the inner workings of the Bureau of Elections office. She has also been helpful in slow news weeks by suggesting local news pieces. Our professional relationship is made easy because she understands what news life is like. That comes as no surprise because she used to work in the news.

I work with two very dedicated women in our police department, Capt. Jacquelynn Reedy and Officer Daisy Gomez. Reedy handles communications for Rio Rancho Police Department, and Gomez recently became the community relations officer. In addition to those capacities, both women are full-time police officers, meaning they are also in active police work while connecting with the news and the community. Crime news and RRPD community news are made possible by them.

Business and quality of life are booming in Rio Rancho with obvious contribution from women as well. The Block, which opened last year, has made a significant impact on the northern Rio Rancho area and was developed by owner Amy Goldfarb. Several of the businesses inside are headed by women as well. Rio Rancho itself would not exist without Intel, which sits pretty on NM 528 and the entrance of the city from Albuquerque. Intel’s CEO stepped down and was recently replaced by Michelle Johnston. Rio Rancho is also home to the women’s business center at WESST, which is headed by Sara Osuski. Creativity in the city is encouraged by at least two women. The two that come to mind are Creative Crossroads director Neal Shotwell and R4 Creating founder Shelly Gruenig.

For women in schools, I had to contact my colleague Taylor Hood. There are several worth mentioning from sports alone. We have five women coaches at the high schools. At Rio Rancho, we have basketball coach Lori Mabray and soccer coach Jenna Sievers. At Cleveland, we have volleyball coach Charity Gomez, cheer coach Maddison Weaver and basketball coach Stacy Pokorski. Our school board president, Amanda Galbraith, has also made waves. She works along side Dr. Sue Cleveland, the Rio Rancho School District superintendent. Cleveland, who has been superintendent for the entirety of RRPS’s 30-year existence, was recently presented with the Administrator of the Year Award by the New Mexico Association of Student Councils. Hood recently covered an amazing achievement by RRHS’s theater teacher, Gael Natal. Natal celebrated 20 years with the district, and her drama-program is award-winning, literally.

There is one last woman that I feel deserves recognition, and that is my own mother. Billie Helean, president of the Rio Rancho Public Schools Employee Union and second-grade teacher, is my conflict of interest and the very reason Taylor Hood, and now Kevin Opsahl, are covering education and I am not. That said, Mom has done a lot for the district’s employees. Before she became president, teacher pay in the district was lackluster at best, and the benefits were worse. If she is not dealing with a crisis in the classroom, it is bound to be with one of the teachers she represents. She does all of this with the utmost professionalism, grace and usually a smile on her face. This is not the inspiring part for me, though. The inspiring part is that Mom went back to school as a middle-aged woman to get her education degree and succeeded. Now, she helps her fellow teachers reach their goals and defend themselves when needed. She is firm but kind with her students, and to this day we cannot go anywhere without one of them yelling “Mrs. Helean!” and running up to give her a hug. But first, she is my mom, and I have to admire that on its own, too. She has raised me to be independent and hard working. I cannot thank her enough.

As a woman myself, life is not always easy. But just look at all of these women I mentioned. Each one of them is strong on their own, and we are all stronger together. Happy Women’s History Month.