Susan Lander, executive director of Colorado’s Music in the Mountains festival since 2001, has been named Extraordinary Woman Leader of 2009 at an event benefiting the Women’s Resource Center of Durango. Gretchen McComb, who is president of the Women’s Foundation of Colorado and presented the honor, said, “Susan is clearly focused upon building the capacity of organizations and the community they serve.” Lander served as executive director of the Women’s Resource Center from 1994 to 2000, during which time the center’s membership grew from 180 to 640 members and the budget increased from $35,000 to $200,000; she also successfully completed a campaign to purchase property to provide the center with a permanent home. At Music in the Mountains, Lander is credited with more than doubling festival attendance. Lander also serves on a number of state and local boards in Colorado, and with organizations including the Denver Community Resource Center, the Durango Area Tourism Organization Board of Directors, and the El Pomar Foundation Southwest Regional Committee. The Women’s Resource Center advocates for the personal empowerment and economic self-sufficiency of women and girls in La Plata County.
Posted September 22, 2009
