LATEST NEWS | Lee Roper-Batker Receives 2008 Women of Distinction Award

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NOVEMBER 21, 2008

Lee Roper-Batker selected as 2008 Women of Distinction award recipient

MINNEAPOLIS - Century College has named Lee Roper-Batker, president and CEO of the Women's Foundation of Minnesota, as one of four recipients of its 2008 Women of Distinction awards. Other award recipients are Lois Quam, managing director, leader of strategic investing, Green Economy & Health at Piper Jaffray for Piper Jaffray; Ann Reed, singer, songwriter and guitarist; and Ka Vang, writer, poet and diversity programs director for Minnesota State Colleges and Universities.

Each recipient is being honored this year not only for her professional accomplishments, but also for her work in improving the lives of, and increasing opportunities for, women or girls in Minnesota.

Century College's fourth annual awards ceremony and reception will be held from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 11, at Dellwood Hills Golf Club, 29 Highway 96, in Dellwood, Minn. Cathy Wurzer of Minnesota Public Radio will be the guest host, and Kantorei, a Twin Cities-based, a capella choral group, will perform. The event is free and open to the public.

About the 2008 Award Recipients
Lee Roper-Batker, president and CEO of the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota, has over 25 years of experience in the nonprofit sector. She is the former president and owner of a strategic fundraising and communications business that served nonprofit clients throughout the country. She also served as the executive director for ProChoice Resources and MN NARAL, focusing on low-income women’s access to reproductive health care.

As a senior management leader at Piper Jaffray, Lois Quam is responsible for development of new business opportunities in the emerging green economy and health care sectors. She is the former Chief Executive Officer of UnitedHealth Group’s Ovation division, which provides services to older adults. In addition, Quam chaired the Minnesota Health Care Access Commission, which made the case for new legislation that brought health insurance to thousands of Minnesotans.

Singer and song writer Ann Reed has released 15 albums and given countless concerts over the past 25 years. She is also a frequent guest on Minnesota Public Radio’s Morning Show, where she occasionally fills in as co-host. She donates about 25 percent of her time to support nonprofit groups that primarily benefit women and children.

Writer and poet Ka Vang, diversity program director for the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system, is a recipient of the Archibald Bush Artist Fellowship, performs frequently across the country and is actively involved in Asian American community issues. A former Pioneer Press reporter, Vang writes a column for the Minnesota Women’s Press, and her work frequently appears in the Paj Ntaub Voice, one of the first Hmong literary journals in the world.

Century College began its Women of Distinction awards in 2005 to highlight the accomplishments of women in our society and also celebrate that more women gain access to higher education through community/technical colleges than through any other type of post-secondary institution. The awards are jointly sponsored by Century College and the Century College Women and Gender Studies Department.

If members of the public would like to attend this free event, please call Sue Klecker at 651-773-1792 or sue.klecker@century.edu.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Press Inquiries:

Mary Beth Hanson

Communications Director

612-236-1811