Dr. Verna Gibbs received her BA degree from Harvard University and her MD degree from Duke University Medical School. She completed her residency in General Surgery at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) in 1984 and continued her clinical training in renal transplantation with a fellowship at the California-Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco. She did a molecular biology fellowship at Genentech Inc., South San Francisco which she completed in 1989. She joined the faculty in the Department of Surgery at UCSF where she is a Clinical Professor in Surgery. Her first clinical assignment was at the San Francisco General Hospital where she was a General and Trauma surgeon and in 1991 she moved to the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center where her clinical practice has focused in general surgery. From 2002-2004 she was Chief of General, Vascular and Thoracic Surgery at the San Mateo Medical Center. Currently, Dr Gibbs is the Chair of the SFVAMC Surgical Service Quality Improvement Committee, the Physician Utilization Management Advisor and the faculty director of the VA Surgical Quality Improvement Program (VASQIP) at the SFVAMC. She is Chair of the Physicians Relations Committee for Quality Improvement at Anthem Blue Cross of California and is a member of the Wellpoint Physicians Advisory Council. She is also a member of the Board of Overseers of Harvard University.

Polly Baca was the first Hispanic woman in the Colorado State Senate and has worked for three U.S. Presidents. She grew up in a poor, Mexican American family and faced racism as a child. This experience motivated her to make a difference for others. Polly believes that everyone can develop their own special talents by working and studying hard, learning from others and taking risks. Polly encourages viewers to seize opportunities and learn from mistakes while remembering to contribute to their community.

Special thanks to interviewers Brodie Bartholomew and Madeleine Nagle and videographer/editor Nicki Sun and SheHero Polly Baca.

Larissa Herda is the CEO of tw telecom.  She has grown her company from $26 million to $1.2 billion and employs 3,000 people.  In this interview, Larissa shares how she overcame a difficult childhood.  While her friends also got into trouble, she realized the path she wanted to take.

Larissa’s advice to our listeners is to:

1. Get an education.
2. Work hard.
3. If there is something you really want… go for it.

If you are undecided about careers she suggests trying a lot of things, asking questions and not being afraid to fail. Larissa says, “You need to take risks or you won’t have rewards.”

Special thanks to interviewer Stefy Bautista, assistant Carly Fabian, host Stephanie May, episode researcher Gloria Yang and SheHero Larissa Herda.

Adrienne Rivera, Aerospace Engineer and Paralympic Gold Medalist, talks to SheHeroes about the many obstacles she’s faced over the years to become a Gold Medal Skier and her success in the field of Aerospace Engineering, a field still dominated by men.

At age 14, Adrienne survived Bone Cancer, but not before losing her leg to the disease. Despite her disability she took up skiing only to rise to the top, taking home both a Gold and Bronze Medal in the 1994 Paralympic Games in Norway. After her success in sports she pursued a career that had interested her since her days as a Girl Scout, Engineering.

Adrienne Rivera has more than earned the title of SheHero by overcoming adversity and achieving her goals both as an Olympian and as an aerospace engineer.

For More Information:

• About Women in Winter Sports: The Women’s Sport Report
• About Women in Engineering: Engineer Girl
• The Paralympic Games: The Official website of the Paralympic Games

Special thanks to interviewer and producer Taylor Temby as well as Gloria Yang and SheHero Adrienne Rivera.

Patty Limerick is the Faculty Director and Chair of the Board of the Center of the American West at the University of Colorado. As well as teaching, Patty is a leading historian on the American West, writing books and consulting on documentaries on the subject. She is a recipient of the MacArthur Genius Grant award.

In her interview with Stefy Bautista, she discusses her wanting to be a writer at an early age and how history helped supply her with endless stories she’d use to gain her parents attention at the dinner table when she was young. Patty also talks about the importance of staying courageous even when in the depths of fear.

For more information visit:

• Center of the American West
• Patty Limerick on Amazon.com

Special thanks to interviewer Stefy Bautista of Girls Inc. of Metro Denver, behind the scenes, anchor and editor Stephanie May, episode researcher Gloria Yang and SheHero Patty Limerick.

Tracie Keesee is the Denver Division Police Chief. Tracie discusses the challenges she faced as a single, working parent. She also shares her experience with discrimination and advises listeners to address it “head-on.” Tracie is proud of her family, career and the community programs she implemented to protect children.

Tracie’s advice to our listeners is to: 1. Go easy on yourself and, 2. Make sure to talk to someone when you have a problem. She reminds listeners that there are always people you can go to for help (e.g. parents, guardians, counselors).

Thank you to our SheHeroes interview team! Interviewer Stefy Bautista from Girls Inc of Metro Denver. Behind the scenes, anchor and editor Stephanie May and episode researcher Gloria Yang.

And extra big thanks to our SheHero, Chief Tracie Keesee.

Want to see more of our interview with Chief Tracie Keesee? Check out the great photos that were taken during the shoot or read more about Stefy’s experience.

This is the second half of our interview with Colleen Abdoulah, CEO of WOW! Click here for Part 1.

Colleen Abdoulah, President and CEO of WOW! Internet-Cable-Phone, leads a company responsible for providing services that are our “connections to life.” Listen as Colleen discusses with Carly Fabian of Girl Scouts of Colorado the value of diversity in her company for creating success. Colleen also explains how she decided to respond to personal adversity through her relationship with her mother, a recovered alcoholic. Colleen’s advice to our listeners is to believe in yourself, to be kind to yourself and to love who you are and you will be successful.

Thank you to our SheHeroes interview team! Interviewer Carly Fabian of Girl Scouts of Colorado and assistant Zahra Mohamed Ali from Girls Inc of Metro Denver. Behind the scenes, anchor and editor Stephanie May and episode researcher Gloria Yang.

And extra big thanks to our SheHero, Colleen Abdoulah.

Will you help us improve SheHeroes? Answer 12 short questions in our survey.

Colleen Abdoulah, President and CEO of WOW! Internet-Cable-Phone, leads a company responsible for providing services that are our “connections to life.” Listen as Colleen discusses with Carly Fabian of Girl Scouts of Colorado the value of diversity in her company for creating success. Colleen also explains how she decided to respond to personal adversity through her relationship with her mother, a recovered alcoholic. Colleen’s advice to our listeners is to believe in yourself, to be kind to yourself and to love who you are and you will be successful.

You can see Part 2 of the interview here, SheHeroes Episode 3: Colleen Abdoulah, CEO of WOW! (part 2)

Thank you to our SheHeroes interview team! Interviewer Carly Fabian of Girl Scouts of Colorado and assistant Zahra Mohamed Ali from Girls Inc of Metro Denver. Behind the scenes, anchor and editor Stephanie May and episode researcher Gloria Yang.

And extra big thanks to our SheHero, Colleen Abdoulah.

Will you help us improve SheHeroes? Answer 12 short questions in our survey.

Margaret Murnane, laser physicist, MacArthur “Genius Grant” award recipient and creator of a laser that flashed for 10 quadrillionths of a second (the fastest thing that any human being has ever created) shares the challenges she has faced being a female in the field of science.

Listen as Margaret discusses with Zahra Mohamed Ali from Girls Inc of Metro Denver how she overcame other’s doubts about her ability to do physics and how she loves to watch students overcome their fears about not knowing enough. She hopes that circumstances will continue to change to encourage more girls to go into science.

Margaret advises listeners that 95% of success in any field is achieved through perseverance. Margaret’s advice to our listeners is to not let negative comments bring you down and to not let obstacles stop you from fulfilling your dreams.

Further Information

• United States Bureau of Labor information and statistics on careers as Physicists and Astronomers:http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos052.htm
• United States Bureau of Labor information and statistics on careers as Professors:http://www.bls.gov/OCO/ocos066.htm

Thank you to our SheHeroes interview team! Interviewer Zahra Mohamed Ali from Girls Inc of Metro Denver and AssistantCarly Fabian of Girl Scouts of Colorado. Behind the scenes, anchor and editor Stephanie May and episode researcher Gloria Yang.

And extra big thanks to our SheHero, Professor Margaret Murnane. This episode was filmed on location at the University of Colorado.

Cleo Parker Robinson, internationally celebrated dance teacher, choreographer and founder of her own dance studio, inspires dancers at all levels and with various challenges to use dance to discover themselves and like who they are.

Listen as Cleo discusses with Nicole of Girl Scouts of Colorado the importance of having role models that you identify with and that inspire you. Cleo also explains how she overcame being discriminated against for not being black or white and encourages people to be themselves and accepting of others.

Cleo’s advice to our listeners is to follow your dreams and be committed to living, be good to people, try lots of things and then select at least one thing to become really good at doing.

Thank you to our SheHeroes interview team! From Girl Scouts of Colorado, interviewers Nicole Conklin and Carly Fabian. Behind the scenes, anchor and editor Stephanie May and episode researcher Gloria Yang.

And extra big thanks to our SheHero, Cleo Parker Robinson. This episode was filmed on location at the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Studio.

Will you help us improve SheHeroes? Answer 12 short questions in our survey.