Annual Awards & Holiday Party
Friday, December 6th, 7pm-9pm
Red Lion Hotel Bellevue11211 Main Street Bellevue WA
Pull out that fancy dress, get your hair and nails done, car pool or Uber/Lift with your girlfriends, and come to a fun and glitzy party to celebrate with other fabulous women our failures and triumphs.
This is our night to truly Illuminate all women and bring special spot light to 4 women who will win our special Illuminating Women™ awards for a Woman who Encourages, a Woman who Empowers, a Woman who Educates, and Illuminating Woman of the Year, announced at this event!
Nominations will be open October 7th through November 8th, keep in mind who you want to nominate in the 4 categories. The link to submit nomination will be available here on October 7th. Only Illuminating Women Members will be able to vote. Any woman can be nominated.
Those nominated will be announced on Thursday, November 21st, 7:00 pm at Revolve in Issaquah during our pre-party launch and on Illuminating Women LLC, FB live.
2018 Winners: Brenda Reiss ILLUMINATING WOMAN of the YEAR. Susan Creighton, Woman who Educates, Michelle Mracheck and Beata Baker Woman who Encourages, Terri Thorne, Woman Who Empowers, Jill Nichols-Hicks, founder and owner of Illuminating Woman.
Is there someone you think is an Illuminating Woman?
Fill out the award nomination form:
The Nominations are in!
The nominations are in, the excitement is brewing, and we are gearing up for another fabulous evening celebrating and honoring the amazing gifts of women who have inspired, impacted, and illuminated the lives of others.
Our members have nominated women who have no idea how much they have positively affected the lives of many. This is our way to shine the light on and honor these women for their gifts and service to empower, encourage, and educate others and allow the illumination of their personal and professional lives.
We are delighted to bring attention to the following women:
A woman who EMPOWERS (The mentor. My example is Oprah Winfrey)
The Illuminating Woman who empowers tells us to trust our instincts. She helps us find our innate strengths. She shows us that our stories and our experiences, our successes and failures, our triumphs and fears, prepare us to take control of our lives and own our futures. We are more capable because she has helped us find our confidence and recognize our personal power.
Woman who Empowers: Lisa Fischer, Debra Trappen, Karen Herold, Rachel Barnett, Kelly Ruff, Esther Jones, Terri Acuna Thorne, Jeni Dahn, Aubrey Armes, Jennifer S. Kennett, Teena Cox, Dr. Leubgythe Nancy Holm, Jaye Siqueiros, Jo Ann Kobuke, Vila Loukas, Diana Sergi Khoury, Audrey L Godwin, Julie Fry, and Heather Fantin.
A woman who ENCOURAGES (The champion. My example Lady Diana)
The Illuminating Woman who encourages knows we are stronger together. She doesn’t do it for us – but she will hold our hand and help us when we can’t find our way. She boosts our spirits and our hearts with her genuine support, generosity, and warmth. She heartens and edifies us with her feminine wisdom. She nurtures us and comforts us. She believes in us.
Woman who Encourages: Michelle Klinger Mrachek, Clem Lafrades, Traca Savadogo, Beata Jachulski Baker, Dr. Leubgythe Nancy Holm, Cheryl Lewis, Marcia E Sears, Kerri Wood-Flores, Lisa Fischer, Brenda Reiss, Cyndi ONeill-Dady, Maureen Kures, Cherri Schoeppel, and Diana Sergi Khoury.
A woman who EDUCATES (The teacher. My examples are Suze Orman, Jane Goodall, Margaret Sanger – women who have/had amazing knowledge to share)
The Illuminating Woman who educates/teaches us how to take better care of ourselves. She helps us take responsibility for our health, our finances, our relationships, our mental and spiritual well-being, or our society. She has special expertise in her field, and sets an example for others to follow. She openly shares her knowledge and experience so that we may all learn to improve our lives, our homes, and our communities.
Woman who Educates: Michaela Court, Rachel Barnett, Suzy Grace Selin, Brenda Reiss, Esther Jones, Jill Labberton, Lisa Fischer, Susan Creighton, Angela Belli, Kathleen Yow-Wells, Jennifer Soames, Tresa Skinner Leftenant, Nicole Lux-Ritchie, Angela Meeks, Tammy Wilson Smith, Megan Kaye, Dr. Leubgythe Nancy Holm, Kerri Wood-Flores, Lindsey Hueltman, Sylvia Fine, Dr. Anna Margolina, and Dr. Alisha Halverson Wilkes.
Illuminating Woman of the Year (The luminary. My example is Michelle Obama)
The Illuminating Woman of the Year embodies all three characteristics that are the foundation of this organization – she empowers, she educates, and she encourages us. She is a true guiding light, a leader, a role model. She is noble and influences others with her integrity and grace. She enriches our lives, she renews our faith. Her presence elevates the room. She helps us bring out our best qualities when we emulate her.
Illuminating Woman of the Year: Brenda Reiss, Tracy Klinkroth, Beata Jachulski Baker, Jessica Butts, Danielle Madrid, Sylvia Fine, Clem Lafrades, Audrey L Godwin, Trissa Dexheimer,Kristin Zuray, Kim Peterson, Cherri Schoeppel, Dr. Leubgythe Nancy Holm, Jennifer Soames, Lisa Fischer, Sue Mocker, Vicki Draper, Mitzi Cole, Kerri Wood-Flores, My-Linh Thai, Sharon Houckenbury, Julie Fry, and Cecilia Gambill.
Be sure to register today and join us on December 14th at Maggiano’s for a joyful and celebratory night highlighting the beautiful impact women have on our community and world.
All of Illuminating Women™ membership will cast their ballot from the nominees who they see that best represent the following categories:
A woman who EMPOWERS
The Illuminating Woman who empowers tells us to trust our instincts. She helps us find our innate strengths. She shows us that our stories and our experiences, our successes and failures, our triumphs and fears, prepare us to take control of our lives and own our futures. We are more capable because she has helped us find our confidence and recognize our personal power.
A woman who EDUCATES
The Illuminating Woman who educates/teaches us how to take better care of ourselves. She helps us take responsibility for our health, our finances, our relationships, our mental and spiritual well-being, or our society. She has special expertise in her field, and sets an example for others to follow. She openly shares her knowledge and experience so that we may all learn to improve our lives, our homes, and our communities.
A woman who ENCOURAGES
The Illuminating Woman who encourages knows we are stronger together. She doesn’t do it for us – but she will hold our hand and help us when we can’t find our way. She boosts our spirits and our hearts with her genuine support, generosity, and warmth. She heartens and edifies us with her feminine wisdom. She nurtures us and comforts us. She believes in us.
Illuminating Woman of the Year
The Illuminating Woman of the Year embodies all three characteristics that are the foundation of this organization – she empowers, she educates, and she encourages us. She is a true guiding light, a leader, a role model. She is noble and influences others with her integrity and grace. She enriches our lives, she renews our faith. Her presence elevates the room. She helps us bring out our best qualities when we emulate her.
Visit our vendors!
Red Lion Hotel Bellevue
11211 Main Street Bellevue WA
Friday, December 6th, 7pm-9pm
Join Us!
A special thank you to our sponsors this year!
Submit a Nomination
Building Your Ideal Lioness Pride – Resisting the urge to bite back, freeze or flee… how to handle feeling under attack by one of your own.
Nikkie Achartz, CEO of SNAP Savvy Strategies LLC, is a well-known Branding Consultant, Business Growth Strategist, transformational speaker and workshop facilitator who has extensive experience in marketing strategy, sales psychology and image based branding. Her portfolio features professional industry leaders, authors, speakers, coaches, and some of the top names in social media.
CEO SNAP Savvy Strategies, LLC
Lisa Fischer is a Certified Wardrobe Stylist. Speaker, and Author with over 16 years in the image industry. Lisa’s interest in fashion began while modeling for clothing boutiques in high school then later went on to compete in the Miss Washington USA pageant system. After college, Lisa worked many years in the Human Resources field where she learned and taught the importance of personal development, first impressions, customer service and polished professional branding. Her love for the image industry grew as she transitioned in 2001 to teaching and leading etiquette and manners programs throughout Western Washington for Final Touch Finishing School, a premiere etiquette, civility and protocol school. Growing up as an only child in a poor single family unit, there was a lot to learn. Today Lisa focuses on helping professional women achieve confidence by building an image strong personal brand through image mastery strategies.
Joanne Harrell, Senior Director for U.S. Citizenship, has worked at Microsoft, since 2001where she’s led teams in the Sales, Marketing and Services disciplines focused on Enterprise, Public Sector and Original Equipment Manufacturing (OEM) customers and partners.
The author of “Forgive Yourself” and “Journey to Your Heart Space”, Brenda Reiss truly walks her talk. She discovered the power of self-forgiveness when a series of life events put her in a very dark place. Failed marriages, abuse, and severe health issues were just a few of the challenges she faced.
La Dama de las Estrategias
Maresa Friedman’s history in technology dates back to the early days when browsing the web was only text based. She has partnered with organizations like NFL and Tory Burch to create impactful marketing strategies. Her audiences say she has a knack for being able to take highly technical concepts and translate them into digestible snippets.
Two-time Emmy award winning journalist with a demonstrated history of working in the broadcast media industry. Storyteller and content creator for television and social media. Skilled in Breaking News, Journalism, Television, Broadcast Television, and Storytelling. Strong media and communication professional with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) focused in Broadcast Journalism from University of Southern California. She is also a Rodan & Fields Consultant.
Wellness Entrepreneur, Best-Selling Author, and Founder of the Powerhouse Women
Offering Decades of Expertise ~ Guiding trusted Supplement & Wellness Choices
Jill is very passionate about women’s needs and issue believing in the importance of health and wellness for physical, spiritual, and mental self-care; helping to strengthen women. Born and raised in Walla Walla Washington, a graduate from Western Washington University, Jill has for many years been active in the communities she lived in advocating for social justice, special needs children, animal rescue, and environmental concerns. In 2014 she had a vision to bring women together building a community for connection, education, and empowerment helping women have more illuminated lives by encouraging, learning, and supporting each other. Illuminating Women was born and with the help of many women, I. W. continued to grow throughout the Puget Sound area providing quality programming, supportive community, and fun engagement.
Jill Nichols-Hicks grew up in Walla Walla, Washington surrounded by wheat fields that have now been exchanged for grape vines. She graduated from Western Washington University with a degree in Speech/Communications with a minor in Anthropology. Her goal was to continue on to seminary to become a Lutheran Pastor. However, her life direction changed when she met her husband, who was studying to be an archaeologist. While raising her 2 children, Jill worked in the funeral industry supporting families dealing with loss, then as an Isagenix and PawTree wellness representative helping people and their animals to claim their best health.
Tracy Klinkroth is an entrepreneur at heart. In 1995, after being laid off from one of Seattle’s largest ad agencies, she threw caution to the wind and opened Epiphany Research, her own marketing research firm. In 2005 she spun-off ChickChat – a female-forward Marketing Research & Events firm. One of ChickChat’s main goals is to de-mystify Marketing Research and uncover real consumer insights; thus, ChickChat takes the focus group out of the stuffy conference room and into women’s homes. A few of Tracy’s research clients include: New Balance, Starbucks, Frito Lay, Best Buy, UW Medical Center, Seattle Children’s Hospital, Swedish Hospital, The Washington Wine Commission and Capital One.
Judge Rachel Bell’s mission is to focus on preventive, rehabilitative and restorative justice initiatives to move the needle for marginalized people in her community and beyond.
Dr. Brenda Butterfield has over 30 years of experience working with people in the US and internationally. As a compassionate mental health therapist, professional development trainer, and instructor in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), she helps individuals, families, and caregivers to better cope with life’s challenges.
Debrena Jackson Gandy is a Master Coach with over 20 years of transformational coaching experience. She is known for producing powerful and permanent results with clients, and is passionate about empowering women to design and live juicy and bountiful lives. Her personal mission is to awaken, inspire and empower others to create the lives they desire and deserve.
Justice Mary Yu is the first Asian, the first Latina, and the first member of the LGBTQ community to serve on the Washington State Supreme Court. She was raised in Chicago by immigrant parents; her mother came from Mexico and her father from China. She was the first in her family to graduate from college. After more than 14 years as an accomplished trial court judge and an extensive record of service both on and off the bench, Justice Yu was appointed to the Washington State Supreme Court in 2014. She wants women to feel comfortable with diversity and with who they are, and to know they do not have to become someone else in order to have a voice and presence in the world. See more about 
Bettina Carey is an accomplished business consultant, advisor, coach and publicist that boasts 25+ years of marketing and branding experience. As a servant leader, Bettina’s commitment and goal is to create outstanding results that enhance and strengthen relationships with her clients. Her authenticity, energy and passion are cornerstones to her success.
Kelly McNelis is the founder of Women For One, a global community that empowers women to embrace their voices and make life happen, on their own terms. With over 20 years of experience as a nonprofit and small-business consultant, Kelly empowers generations of women around the world to build the relationships, community, and confidence they need to achieve their wildest dreams.