May 18, 2021 – Albuquerque Business First
Meet Albuquerque Business First’s 2021 Women of Influence

This marks the 17th year that Albuquerque Business First will honor women who have made a positive and influential impact in the New Mexico business community.

Our judges have selected 24 honorees for this year’s Women of Influence awards. While each recipient has a different background, from health care to law and everything in between, they all have one thing in common: their dedication and contributions to the community around them.

Take a look at the accompanying slideshow to meet all the 2021 Women of Influence honorees.

The selection process for this year’s Women of Influence awards began with an open call for nominations. Those who were nominated were then asked to submit an application with information for our judges. Our judges, leaders in the business community including multiple alumna of the award, evaluated the applicants on professional achievement, leadership and community involvement. The top scorers were named honorees. Judges recused themselves from voting on any applicants with whom they had close ties.

This year’s judges were Heather Balas, good government relations policy officer at Thornburg Foundation; Amanda Marie Garcia, executive director of Cuddy & McCarthy LLP; Andrea M. Garcia, company creation specialist at New Mexico Start-Up Factory; and Jess Griego, chief experience officer at Bosque Brewing Co.

A virtual event to honor this year’s Women of Influence will be held July 15 and profiles of the women will be included in a special section of Business First that will be published July 16.

The winner of the 2021 Jennifer Riordan Woman of Influence-Community Impact Award, who has not yet been announced, will also be honored at the event and profiled in the special section.

Four out of every 10 businesses in the U.S. are women-owned, according to a study by American Express. Women-owned businesses in the U.S. saw a growth rate of 58% from 2007 to 2018, compared to the overall national growth of 12% for all businesses.

The top women-owned businesses in New Mexico reported a total of over $464 million in 2018 revenue.

The 2021 Women of Influence awards is sponsored by Wells Fargo and Albuquerque Plumbing, Heating & Cooling.

Read the original article here.