Inspiring Women of the 719

Rachel Cronin is the author of "Go Organic in 90 days," and a motivational speaker who recently did a TED talk at TEDx Breckenridge and owner of Cronin Mountain, an off the grid resort she is in the process of building right here in Colorado Springs.  Rachel, her husband Todd and their 2 boys Troy and William, currently live on the 35 acre property in their RV and have for 3 years now. While she loves her self-sufficient lifestyle, she admits her family frequents the Caffeinated Cow and date nights at the sushi spot!

Jessica Thompson is a working mom who is a National Vice President of Arbonne. She started her career after traveling to Rwanda and meeting a powerful, inspiring female entrepreneur who had survived the Rwandan genocide. You can often find her spending time at the Switchbacks stadium with her four children and her husband. 

Michelle Trauring is an award-winning arts, culture and travel writer whose work has appeared in The Southampton Press, The East Hampton Press, The Sag Harbor Express, Newsday, The Express Magazine, Homes of the Hamptons, Building the Hamptons and Homes of the North Fork. In 2019 and 2021, the New York Press Association recognized her as Writer of the Year for her bodies of work from 2018 and 2020, respectively.

Erika DeMaggio is the owner of Soirée Bridal Boutique, a business she started in October 2019 right before COVID hit. She is incredibly passionate about her industry and spreading the message to brides to be themselves and get away form cookie cutter weddings. She reads veraciously about 60 books a year and loves going to Urban Egg with her boys or grabbing cocktails on Friday nights downtown at Urban Steam. 

Lori Morrissey is the inspiring owner of Lori Lynn's Cookies and Cream Ice Cream Sandwich Truck! Her baking "career" started at 5 years old with an old family recipe that included protein powder and turned into a journey to perfect the best chocolate chip cookie recipe. She shares how she started her business and her ongoing desire to bring our community together with cookies and ice cream. Lori is one of the most kindest people you'll ever meet, and her care radiates through the window of her brightly colored truck. Don't miss this episode! 

Suzanne is a Registered Dietitian & Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist who coaches at Lost Island Warrior Gym.

She lettered in (9) sports in high school and has spent her life as an athlete and coach, winning numerous world championships including coaching the Tae Kwon Do team to the silver medal in Korea. She is also ranked in the top 8 in the world in Ninja.

Suzanne is passionate about training youth and incorporating her faith to inspire others to be their best.

Laurie and Winni are local photographers who built a friendship after meeting at their daughters' preschool. This dynamic photography duo became business partners starting Cultivate Studios together in downtown Old Colorado City, focusing on giving photographers what they wish THEY had before they started their own business. They fill a need in our community, and strive to bring people together. Be inspired by these wonderful friends turned business partners!

Sara Vaas is the new executive director of CONO (the Council of Neighbors and Organizations). Her main focus in life is everything community. She is a full time volunteer on the westside community. You can frequently find her hiking, doing crafts or at the upstairs wine bar at La baguette Cork and Cask.

Christine is an Elementary School Substitute Teacher, and she is the favorite Substitute teacher at Rockrimmon Elementary School. President of her Neighborhood Association in Pinecliff but more importantly, she is Co-Founder of "Friends of Ute Park”, a 501c3 organization founded in 2012 whose primary mission is to maintain, preserve, and provide education for Ute Valley Park. Christine is a huge advocate for our land, parks and open spaces! If she is not actively working on the trails herself, you can almost always find her walking the trails in Ute with her husband Bill and dog Einstein. 

Ashley is the owner of Ten Thousand Cookies. After finding out she couldn’t have any more children naturally (after her adorable miracle baby, Lily), she thought that selling 10,000 cookies would be the easiest way to cover the adoption fees! She lives close to downtown and along with her husband, Hunter and Lily, they love taking bike rides and exploring the downtown area.

She says she loves coffee and tacos, so you're likely to bump into her at Building 3 or Jose Muldoons.

Ashley has recently taken everything that she has learned about being a small business owner and shifted to business mentorship and coaching.