Leading Ladies
Board of Directors
Lina Collado Chair
Lina is the Individual Giving Manager at One22 Resource Center and wears many hats within our community — an avid fundraiser, photographer, filmmaker, educator, mentor, and connector, among others. She also currently serves on the Slow Foods in the Tetons board. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Lina came to Jackson in 2013 to work for the Jackson Wildlife Film Festival (now Jackson Wild) and never left.
In her spare time, Lina is also a freelance photographer whose work mainly focuses on photojournalism and documenting her community. She completed her BFA with a degree in Visual Communications & Graphic Design and a master’s degree in Film with a concentration in Production and Screenwriting at Columbia University School of Arts, in New York, NY. Her work has been exhibited in L’ouvre, Paris, Tayloe Piggott Gallery, Teton County Library, in Puerto Rico and she was the creator of Wyoming's first fully bilingual art exhibit, Somos de Aquí, at the National Museum of Wildlife Art. Lina is an alumni of the 2015 and 2021 Womentoring cohorts, as a mentee and mentor, respectively. She lives in Jackson with her husband, Graham, and her dogs, Albóndigas (meatball in Spanish) and Nala. She loves to garden, be in a hammock, and visit family in Puerto Rico.
Kris Shean Vice Chair
Kris Shean has lived in Jackson for over 30 years. She is the owner of the Häagen-Dazs franchise on the town square for 25 years (she figures she has served over 1,000,000 scoops of ice cream!) Kris is from Minnesota and graduated from Concordia College in Moorhead, MN.
Kris was a mentor in the 2013-14 Womentoring cohort. She is on the Community Foundation of Jackson Hole's Teton Behavioral Health Alliance steering committee and served on the START Bus board for six years, as well as being Chair of the Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce Board from 2019-2020. She serves on the Chamber's Business Development/Visitor Service committee. Kris graduated from Leadership Wyoming in 2022 and has a certification in DEI from eCornell University, as well as Gracious Space. She is most happy outside: skiing, biking, hiking, backpacking and either kayaking or on the paddleboard.
melinda lee Treasurer
Melinda serves as the Director of Operations for Wilderness Adventures, a Jackson-based small business helping kids explore leadership and community in the outdoors. She recently served as the Teton County Epidemiologist and COVID Vaccine Logistics Chief.She is also a volunteer leader with Team Rubicon, an international, veteran-led, disaster response nonprofit. In 2021, she was recognized as Volunteer of The Year for coordinating the longest-running volunteer-supported vaccination effort in the country.
In the winter, you may find Melinda teaching snow sports in Teton Village or filling a shift as a volunteer ski patroller at the town hill. Before moving to Jackson, Melinda lived in Northern California working in education, operations, and marketing. She has a BA from Cornell University and an MPH from UC Berkeley. She is passionate about community building, humanitarian efforts, and the culture of organizations. Inspired by the strong female leadership presence in Jackson, she sought out Womentum, became a 2022 mentee, and joined the board soon after. Melinda aspires to live by the Team Rubicon mantra “be a perpetual learner,” enjoys crafting meals with ingredients from her garden and adventuring with her backpack, mountain bike, splitboard, paddleboard, or trail runners. And yes, there have been days when she’s used all five!
Miki O'Connell Secretary
Miki is the Director of Operations at the Jackson Hole Children’s Museum and is on her second term as an appointed member of the Town of Jackson’s Equity Task Force. Prior to moving to Jackson, she worked for various non-profits, think-tanks and education technology start-ups across the globe following a master’s in International Education Policy from Harvard’s Graduate School of Education. She is a second-generation immigrant, dual-citizen of the Philippines and was born and raised outside of Boston, Massachusetts.
Miki moved to Jackson four years ago following a friend (also former Womentum Alumna) from her time on the Women’s Cricket Team at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. Outside of work, you can usually find her on the river, in the mountains or camping in the Gros Ventre with her husband and two pups, Tuna and Jaime. Miki loved her time in the 2023-2024 Womentum Cohort —so much so that she soon after joined the Womentoring Committee and is now honored to join Womentum’s Board of Directors.
Amy Brennan McCarthy Board of Directors
Amy Brennan McCarthy is a longtime nonprofit leader whose work is grounded in conservation, community, and connection. After earning a dual degree in economics and environmental studies from Hobart and William Smith Colleges, she made her way west to Wyoming and completed a master’s in Forest Resources and Natural Resource Policy. Her professional journey has been anything but linear—ranging from guiding in the Tetons to producing documentary film, managing operations for an investment firm, leading development for The Murie Center, and even spending a season in Antarctica as a recycling specialist. Since 2010, Amy has served as the first Executive Director of Teton Raptor Center, where she brings her wide-ranging experience to bear in support of raptor conservation and education.
A founding board member of Womentum, Amy helped shape the organization’s early vision and served for a decade on the board. She was part of the inaugural Womentoring cohort and returned as a mentor in 2020–21, continuing her commitment to empowering women leaders in the Jackson Hole community. She also served as Board Chair of the Grand Teton Association. Amy lives in Victor, Idaho with her husband Forrest and their three pets—Marshall, Lhakpa, and Tasman—and is happiest when connecting people, place, and purpose.
Augusta Friendsmith Board of Directors
"Gus" was born in Boston and graduated with a B.A. in American Studies and Hispanic Studies from Trinity College in 2007. She moved to Jackson “for a season” to taste the ski bum lifestyle and never left. She prides herself as a Jacqueline of many trades and, like many Jacksonites, has five or six jobs to back it up. She is primarily an outdoor educator, from ski instruction to guiding and trip leading. She also works as a direct support professional for Community Entry Services and the WY Department of Developmental Disabilities.
Her passions lie in volunteer humanitarian efforts - leading service trips globally for Teton Habitat, raising funds through the Soroptimist of JH Bras For a Cause, and responding to natural disasters with Team Rubicon. She on the board of Teton Habitat, where she chairs the Global Village Committee. She is the WY Membership Lead as well as the Jackson Membership Coordinator for Team Rubicon, an international disaster response organization. In her free time, she skis, bikes, rafts, mountaineers, globetrots, motorcycles, crafternoons, scuba dives or plays with her dog and husband. In 2020, Augusta initiated the Teton County Caremongering Facebook Group to instigate community support and volunteer opportunities as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. She was Womentum mentee in the 2018 cohort and is honored to join the Board of Directors to support women in Teton County and beyond.
Sarah Kraemer Board of Directors
Sarah Kraemer is grateful to all the women who have mentored her throughout her worklife, her mom life, and her making new friends in Jackson life...especially those who shared knowledge before the word “mentor” was commonly used! Sarah fell in love with the Tetons while on a family trip to a dude ranch. She and her husband Steve moved to Jackson in 2014 from Westchester County, New York, after their three children graduated from high school.
Sarah is the co-owner of The Charted Path, an adventure travel business, and believes that a variety of careers keeps life interesting! A graduate of the University of Texas, she worked for CNN in New York City, and produced a program for The Discovery Channel while living in Denver. Sarah served on several non-profit boards in New York, including The Central Park Conservancy and as Warden of the Vestry for Christ Church in Bronxville. Other boards include Concordia Conservatory and Sewall Child Development Center in Denver. She currently serves on the Teton County Pathways Task Force. In her free time, she is outside hiking, skiing, paddling, gardening, or pedaling.
Sam Simma Board of Directors
Sam Simma migrated west from Wisconsin to Wyoming in 2012. While she has a history of working within the Jackson Hole hospitality sector, today she is the Digital Media Director for local marketing agency New Thought Digital. She credits the Womentoring program, in which she participated as a mentee in 2019, for excelling her professional trajectory.
Off the clock, you’re likely to find Sam in the mountains hiking, camping, or snowmobiling. An avid reader and writer, Sam contributes to many local publications, including Jackson Hole Magazine, Dishing Magazine, A Grand Wedding, and Teton Family Magazine. She lives in Star Valley ranch with her two rescue mutts, Timber and Buck.
Dr. Linda Taylor Board of Directors
Dr. Linda Taylor, a retired OB/GYN, spent nearly 30 years in private practice providing obstetrical and gynecological care in Hartford and Farmington, Connecticut. She served as Co-Director of the Gynecology Department at Hartford Hospital for five years and later as Co-Chair of the OB/GYN Department, where she helped introduce Complementary and Alternative Medicine programs. She also served nine years on the Executive Committee of Hartford Hospital’s Board of Directors. An active member of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dr. Taylor maintains medical licenses in Wyoming and Connecticut. Her commitment to global service includes two to three medical mission trips a year to Guatemala, Nicaragua, Jamaica, and other countries.
In Jackson, she continues her lifelong dedication to service as a member of the Community Safety Network Board of Directors and through volunteer work with Soroptimists, Jackson Hole Therapeutic Riding, and the Period Project. A former Womentum mentor, she is proud to serve on the Womentum Board of Directors.
Karen Terra Board of Directors
After graduating from the University of California, Berkeley, Karen moved to Rome, Italy, where she opened an English-language bookshop on Piazza di Spagna. It quickly became the largest of its kind in the country. Following two decades in Europe, she relocated to Jackson in 1983 and founded The Travel Consultants, managing the company from its inception through its successful sale.
Karen and her husband, Bob, built a thriving real estate business while raising their four children in Jackson Hole. For the past 24 years, she and her partners have proudly served as co-challengers to Old Bill’s Fun Run. She has chaired both the Community Foundation and the Library Foundation and is delighted to be part of Womentum now.
Emeritus Board
Caryn Flanagan Emeritus Board
A familiar face in Jackson Hole nonprofits, Caryn joined the Teton County Search & Rescue Foundation staff in 2019 to provide direct support to the volunteers of TCSAR. Caryn previously served as Executive Director for Womentum and Artistic Director for Off Square Theatre Company, and has served on the board of directors for both organizations. Caryn's work in the outdoor industry includes co-founding Black Dog Mountaineering and serving as managing director of SkiGearTV. In her free time you can find Caryn chasing waves on her standup paddleboard, exploring the mountains on skis, and making guest appearances in local theatre productions.
Jen Simon Emeritus Board
Jennifer M. Simon, MTS, is a communications and public policy expert who has built several winning coalitions across Wyoming, including Healthy Wyoming and We Care for Seniors. Her work in gender policy launched Wyoming Women’s Action Network, a research organization dedicated to women’s economic well-being, healthcare access, and representation. Governor Matt Mead appointed Jen to the Wyoming Council for Women, where she served from 2015-2020.
Jen is the author of Equity State, an award-winning, solutions-driven column published in papers across Wyoming. She's also the author of several policy briefs, including "Wyoming Women as Economic Drivers" and "Wyoming Women in Elected Roles." She is a strategic advisor to RepresentWomen, a member of the ReflectUS national working group, and policy advisor to Equality State Policy Center's Gender Lens Project. Jen is also a co-founder of Cowgirl Run Fund and Womentum where she serves as an Emeritus Board Member. She lives in Teton County with her husband and their golden retriever.
Melissa Turley Emeritus Board
Melissa Turley served on the Teton County Commission and Jackson Town Council for nearly a decade, winning three elections between 2006 and 2012. During that time, Melissa served as Chair of the County Commission, as well as Mayor Pro Tem of the Town Council. Melissa helped found and served on the boards of Girls Actively Participating, Womentum, and the Jackson Hole Perinatal Advocacy Project.
She is also an alumna of Leadership Wyoming and Leadership Jackson Hole. A native of Colorado, Melissa graduated from the University of Montana. She is currently the Executive Director of Energy Conservation Works, and her favorite place to be is on a mountain bike.
WE’RE CREATIVE
WE’RE LEADERS
