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WOMEN

Our Mission

Empowering Women on the Land

Vision

WLA’s Women in Ranching program envisions a culture of western ranching that acknowledges and celebrates the diversity of our land stewards. We create space and permission for women to come together and find renewal in the necessary work to shape whole, healthy landscapes and sustainable food systems.

What our participants say

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Ariel Greenwood

Grass Nomads LLC

"There are no words for how valuable my relationships forged and nurtured in Women in Ranching have been to my career and to my development as a human. Finally, I have a circle of sisters who care deeply about the same things I do, and support me in practicing that care out with the animals on the land."

Andrea Malmberg

Andrea Malmberg

Buffalo Peak Land and Livestock

"There is something transformative about having the opportunity, the time, and the place to deeply listen to others whose dreams you resonate with, as well as relating to the challenges that are unique to our work. Each time I have returned home from a WinRs Circle, I have re-found clarity and a set of skills, more finely honed, to manage my resource base better and to be fully open to its influence on me."

BethGodbey Equine Empowerment CO_photo Natalie Heller_Cropped

Beth Godbey

Equine Empowerment

"The WinR circles are so unique because they provide a safe place for women, living the agricultural lifestyle, to come together, share their stories, dream and create big leaps.  There is nothing like Women in Ranching that both recognizes the importance of women in agriculture and also creates space to empower their important role in America."

Ashlyn Perry

Ashlyn Perry

Trout Stalker Ranch

"Women in Ranching is opportunity - the opportunity to gather, share, learn and grow. It is a place where we can let our hair down and figure out how we can help all the plants, animals and people that are in our care work together in harmony."

See our

Circles

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Circle 6 - Montana

Wild Rose Center

This circle formed in September 2019. The Wild Rose Center is a healing retreat center on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation, in Busby, Montana.

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Troutstalker Ranch Circle 5
Circle 5 - New Mexico

Trout Stalker Ranch

Trout Stalker Ranch is a premier fly fishing destination on the Chama River in northern New Mexico. They are also known for impeccable land stewardship practices. 

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Circle 4 Group Picture
Circle 4 - Montana

J Bar L Ranch

The J Bar L near Twin Bridges, Montana hosted 21 amazing women for Circle 4 in August 2019. The J Bar L is a stunning working ranch doing powerful stewardship work.

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Circle 3 Group Photo
Circle 3 - Montana

Diamond Cross Ranch

The Diamond Cross in Birney, Montana is home to beautiful and strong cows, elk, and women. They hosted in August 2019. 

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Women in Ranching 2019

By the Numbers

81

Women served

$194,400

Value of donated goods and services by WinR host ranches

$51,000

Value of donated services by WinR volunteers

$2170

Total need-based scholarships for travel and expenses awarded to participants 

How Women in Ranching works

Generous ranch owners offer their ranch locations free of charge to our program and help to organize catering services, thereby keeping Circle membership fees low for participants. Women in Ranching provides a team of facilitators who work with the landowners and ranch staff to bring a cohort (we call them circles) of about 20 women together. Each circle comes together for a one year, two gathering course, with ample opportunities for peer to peer learning, leadership building and intentional community development. We emphasize permission, emergence and acceptance.

Women in Ranching Circles catalyze action: books have been written, partnerships have formed, business concepts have become reality, monthly rural women’s groups have taken shape and these women have begun to say YES to their dreams. These gatherings create meaningful progress in ranching through building an intricate, resilient network of dynamic social capital that is centered in empowering and supporting women’s work on the land. Our facilitators hold space for these women to explore roadblocks and find strength in their unique voice.

How we got started

The first Women in Ranching Circle was hosted in 2016 by Paicines Ranch, in California. Two years and several convenings later, WinR found a permanent home with the Western Landowners Alliance, a West-wide organization advancing policies and practices that sustain working lands, connected landscapes and native species.

Today, we are a growing collaborative of women who convene on host ranches to learn, play and find a renewed awareness of inner abundance and resiliency. We believe these gatherings activate women to connect and share with each other and strengthen our collective voice for the betterment of our rural communities.

Why focus on women in ranching?

Women in Ranching (WinR) emerged in direct response to an expressed need: working-lands women throughout the West were seeking ways to connect with one another, to promote leadership and inspire creative solutions for how best to support a growing resource of female leaders.

Meet some of the Women in Ranching

BethGodbey Equine Empowerment CO_photo Natalie Heller_Small

Beth Godbey

Circle 3

Beth Godbey

Equine Empowerment, CO

"It was an honor to walk alongside women, sharing in cowgirl spirit, as they embarked on the adventure that Women in Ranching provides.  The WinR circles are so unique because they provide a safe place for women, living the agricultural lifestyle, to come together, share their stories, dream and create big leaps.  There is nothing like Women in Ranching that both recognizes the importance of women in agriculture and also creates space to empower their important role in America."

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Doniga Markegard

Circle 1

Doniga Markegard

Markegard Family Grassfed LLC

“The work of Women in Ranching has greatly impacted my life. Ranching asks us to have an intimate relationship with the land. This relationship and connection often bring up past trauma and challenges that we are not trained to navigate through. I have been a part of this circle for four years now. It is my support network. If I need advice on navigating the many facets of our families life and work this is the group I call on for an ear, advice, resources and love. I have three daughters and I want them to grow up in a world where the voices of women leading from a deep intuitive connection to the Earth are the voices they hear.”

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Ariel Greenwood

Circle 1

Ariel Greenwood

Grass Nomads LLC, NM & MT

"There are no words for how valuable my relationships forged and nurtured in Women in Ranching have been to my career and to my development as a human. Finally, I have a circle of sisters who care deeply about the same things I do, and support me in practicing that care out with the animals on the land." 

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Erin Kiley

Circle 1

Erin Kiley

PastureMap, CA

"Because of the radical offering and continued mentorship I found in Women in Ranching over the past four years, I personally have grown capacity for leadership, flourished in my development as a land manager, and have developed my voice, a voice worth hearing. Together in circle, we have built business enterprises from the ground up, influenced our industry immeasurably, allowed for self care (perhaps one of the most difficult undertakings for those working in agriculture), published books, reached audiences of thousands, and regenerate millions of acres of land and soil. Our collective voice is great.

Because of Sallie Calhoun, Elaine Patarini and Women in Ranching, I have seen what's possible in creating a new future for managing our lands, our wild places and our selves and I believe to my core that the regenerative shift is limitless."

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Chia Thrane

Circle 3

Chia Thrane

Healthy Meadows LLC, MT

"Women in Ranching is a tonic for the working woman’s spirit. It asks us for a leap of faith — to step away from the busyness of taking care of our animals, chores, business work, and families. It invites us to challenge ourselves, to acknowledge and honor our true selves, to allow our vulnerabilities to surface in the company of the strongest, hardest working, most ambitious, caring and compassionate women you will ever get to be surrounded by. You will want to drink often and deeply of the wisdom, nourishment and support you find there."

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Beth Robinette

Circle 2

Beth Robinette

Lazy R Ranch, WA

"If you believe in diversity of thought, then you have to cultivate diversity of thought. Just like creating desirable plants in a pasture, we have to actively manage for what we want. If we want more women land managers we need to create conditions for them to thrive. Even though I was raised on a family ranch, for many years I had anxiety about continuing on, because my husband was not from a ranching background and has little interest in it. Because it was so exhausting to always be the only one in the room. Because there were so many things I was just never taught how to do. The mentorship of the few women ranchers I knew, and the many more I have met through Women in Ranching gave me the confidence to take up the mantle of the fourth generation of my family to steward my land. I could have muscled through the anxiety and stress, but I am so much more successful when I am supported. Each woman in this group is paying it forward, back home in our own communities and on our own landscapes."

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Marissa Taylor

Circle 2

Marissa Taylor

Lonetree Ranch, WY

Marissa is the Business Manager for Lonetree Ranch, located in southwest Wyoming. The ranch strives to balance the art and science of ranching by mixing age-old practices with modern knowledge and ideas. Balancing these disciplines keeps the ranch close to mother nature but also aware of opportunities science might provide to better observe, predict and react.

Before returning to the family ranch, Marissa worked for Rio Tinto Australia as a Social and Economic Impact Analyst. There Marissa created and institutionalized a framework for evaluating connection and importance of stakeholder networks influencing operational activities as well as the social and economic impact the mining operations had on local communities. Her experience with both mining and ranching have provided Marissa with a foundation to better understand man’s connection to country.

Marissa holds a B.A. in Management from the University of the Pacific and an International MBA from the University of Denver. Marissa completed the Wyoming L.E.A.D program in 2018.

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Leslie + Mollie Dorrance

Circle 2

Leslie Dorrance and Mollie Dorrance Lambert

Dorrance Ranches, CA

"Three years ago I was given an invitation from Wendy Millet and Tom Kat Ranch to participate in a new program called Women in Ranching. I was excited for this opportunity to interact with other women, share views and hear about these women's lives and experiences in ranching. I had no idea what an impact it would have on me.

This is my third year attending this amazing circle. I’ve met women that I have become close friends with. We have engaged in conversations that have encouraged and helped guide me in making decisions in my life and our family business. I was offered support, empowerment and feedback that was thoughtful and insightful. I was so inspired after the first year that I shared my experience with my daughter, Mollie, and encouraged her to come as she had also been invited. She was able to come for a day last year and she came this year as well. She has her own stories to tell about this remarkable circle of women.

As one of the Moms of this group, I have been embraced as a mentor. This role has given me a powerful feeling of self worth knowing I can help council and support the younger generation with my knowledge and experiences. This program is so important to all generations of women. We need each other and the understanding that we can share about ranch life and how it affects us as women. We are strong and this program brings us together. Please support Women in Ranching and the future of our ranches."

--Leslie

"Relationships are a key element in my day-to-day life. Whether it is the relationship with my supportive husband (who I cherish), my family members (who I work alongside each day and appreciate more than words can do justice to), the livestock and animals that I interact with daily (that continue to teach me lessons), or the piece of land that my great-grandfather acquired over 70 years ago and where I now work (that has held my heart since I was a little girl); each is unique and continues to impact who I am.

Last year I was introduced to Women in Ranching by my mom. We are not only related, but we are best friends, coworkers, and each other's biggest fan. Generally, she knows what I need before I even realize it, so I knew that I should participate in the Women in Ranching workshop when she mentioned that she thought it would be good for me. I was only able to participate for one day last year, but left with a sense of gratitude for the opportunity to have met so many truly amazing women in one place. Each story was different, but the response was always one of understanding, support and positivity.

I was thrilled when the emails were sent out for this year's Women In Ranching circle. The email list included women that I had made connections with the previous year and that I had kept up with, women that I had met briefly and couldn't wait to chat with more, and other women that I had not yet met but that I would end up developing friendships with.  The three-day workshop provided an opportunity to focus on myself through listening and relating to the experiences of other women, while utilizing tools that had been specifically selected to build on the character of the amazing women attending the workshop.

Women in Ranching is creating a healthy, supportive, and empowering space by bringing together women who are blazing trails, developing/enhancing existing businesses, and who are wanting to provide a boost to each other and others that could benefit from it. The relationships formed in this environment are based on openness and honesty, are long-standing, and are very special."

--Mollie

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Amber Smith

Circle 2

Amber Smith

Antelope Springs Ranch, MT

"Women in Ranching creates game-changing space for rural women. When I left my first Circle gathering, I felt: heard, valued, understood and deeply appreciated for what I offered to the group. Ranching can be an isolating occupation; WinR is an antidote to isolation. I have grown personally and professionally because of my experience with such “can-do” women. Big Leaps are the norm with this group. Once you take that first Big Leap, it is hard to stop. I feel a tremendous sense of gratitude for the opportunity that was offered to me and I am working hard to continue making this experience available to ranching women across the West."

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Paigelynn Trotter

Circle 3

Paigelynn Trotter

Sonoma Co. Livestock Service Provider, CA

"Women in Ranching offered me a safe space to explore what kind of a woman I wanted to be within the world of ranching. Since gathering, my work is more fulfilling and noticeably more effective. As a woman in the ranching community, I have often felt obligated to feature my masculine traits. Productiveness, Strength, Assertiveness. But gathering with other women in ranching empowered me to explore how important it is to express my feminine side in this work. Creativeness, Gentleness, Empathy.

As more women step back into their rightful place on the land, I see the future of the ranching industry being one that is fertile and balanced. However, that work must first start within ourselves as individuals. Women in Ranching [WinR] provided me the opportunity to notice those imbalances within myself. They then offered a space to feel safe and supported, where the necessary work of empowering the feminine could be done. Since coming home from my first WinR gathering, my work has become more fulfilling and effective. I am still strong, assertive and efficient, but I am proud to take the time to observe and listen to my animals and the land. The men I work with notice the difference in my work. They have begun exploring their own feminine abilities, and how to apply them to this work. I am so grateful for the necessary work the WinR supports and inspires and I look forward to this industry reaping the benefits of such an amazing program."

Stories from Women in Ranching

Tenacity + Solidarity + Creativity

By Sarah Gleason | Jan 15, 2020

One cold, dark, November night, I was lost somewhere outside the small town of Walden, CO, searching for a bison ranch. I had taken time off from my marketing job at Whole Foods Market to help during the outfit’s annual bison roundup. With no cell service, I was becoming increasingly concerned about finding the ranch. Self-doubt kicked in. When I finally had service I called my husband. “Is this normal?! For a 30-some year old woman to be spending her free time showing up at some ranch not knowing where she is going to sleep, what she is going to eat, to learn about a completely new profession?!” My husband replied, “No, but do it anyway.”

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Motherherd

By Julie Sullivan | Dec 19, 2019

I’ve always doted on the calves, but this year I realize that I am in love with the Motherherd. I love the Mother words: Motherlove, Mothergod, Acequia Madre. Written as compound words, they become icons rather than alphabetic symbols to me, and like an icon, the paint, wood and gilt is believed to be infused with the sacred nature of what it depicts. The word and the herd smooth my skin when I’m rattled or angry.

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Living with livestock: A summer herding cattle in the Sawtooth Mountains

By Jessie Maier | Dec 4, 2019

As I drove north and east, away from the golden California foothills that are Steinbeck country and into a Martian landscape where places went by names like “Craters of the Moon,” “Atomic City” and the “Sawtooth Mountains,” I wondered what was wrong with me.

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Help us grow the Women in Ranching program by donating now. Your financial contribution will help cover such expenses as meals, facilitation, horse handling and scholarships for women who need extra support to participate. In the donation form, include a message to WLA that says "Women in Ranching donation."

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Get in Touch

If you are interested in hosting a WinR Circle on your ranch, participating in a gathering or supporting this growing movement, please contact our Program Manager, Amber Smith.

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