Progress Happens on Purpose: Meet Our 2026 Mountain Mover Advocacy Award Winners
The Women’s Foundation of Colorado’s Mountain Mover Awards Honor Leaders & Advocates Who Moved Women Forward
Progress doesn’t happen by accident. It purposefully and consistently built by advocates, lawmakers, community leaders, and organizations who show up year after year to fight for meaningful change.
That is why The Women’s Foundation of Colorado launched the Mountain Movers Awards in 2025: to recognize the people and partners whose leadership and advocacy moves Colorado women and gender-expansive individuals forward. These awards celebrate the advocates who turn ideas into policy, the organizations that build lasting momentum, and the leaders who keep equity at the center of decision-making.
This year’s legislative session was especially challenging. Facing nearly a $1 billion state budget shortfall, lawmakers and advocates were forced to make difficult choices while continuing to fight for policies that support Colorado families. Even in a tough fiscal climate, we saw powerful leadership, bold advocacy, and meaningful progress.
We are proud to honor the following 2026 Mountain Movers awardees for their extraordinary contributions to advancing gender, racial, and economic equity across Colorado.
Advocate of the Year: Delilah Lopez
Delilah Lopez is a passionate and compelling advocate for the Family Affordability Credit package. Through her public advocacy, including a powerful Denver Post opinion piece (also published in the Boulder Daily Camera), Delilah shared how tax credits directly support families like hers and help parents build stability for their children. She also testified in support of this legislation and participated in a media briefing, bringing a human voice to policy conversations that can often feel abstract. Her courage, authenticity, and persistence helped build momentum for policies that will benefit families across Colorado.
Organization of the Year: Colorado Fiscal Institute
The Colorado Fiscal Institute (CFI) has once again demonstrated why it is one of the state’s leading voices for fair and effective economic policy. Its leadership was instrumental in advancing legislation to preserve and strengthen the Family Affordability Credit for qualifying Colorado families. Colorado Fiscal Institute’s research, advocacy, and commitment to equitable tax policy continue to create real opportunities for women, children, and working families statewide.
Year round, CFI – our grantee partner, works to level the playing field by closing tax loopholes to work for families—not just more tax breaks for corporations.
Legislator of the Year: Representative Emily Sirota
State Representative of House District 9, Emily Sirota, has been a steadfast champion for economic opportunity and family well-being in Colorado. In addition to her role as a lawmaker, she is a mom and a social worker, and states “I’m on a mission to make our state a place where we’re not just surviving—we’re all thriving.”
Through her leadership on the Family Affordability Credit package and her work on the Joint Budget Committee, she has consistently fought for policies that invest in women, children, and working families. Rep. Sirota’s commitment to equity and smart public investment has made a lasting impact on communities across the state.
Special Advocate of the Year: Durango Sexual Assault Services Organization (SASO)
This year’s Special Advocate of the Year award recognizes Durango-based Sexual Assault Services Organization (SASO) for its courageous work supporting survivors and elevating voices too often ignored. SASO offers survivors of sexual violence support, compassion, hope, and healing through survivor-led advocacy and prevention education. During the 2026 legislative session, it helped bring victim survivors from Durango to Denver to testify about their experiences of sexual abuse in Colorado jails in support of legislation aimed at preventing future harm. SASO’s advocacy has brought attention, accountability, and dignity to survivors, particularly in Southern Colorado. Their work is changing lives and making Colorado safer.
About the Artist
The Women’s Foundation commissions a local artist to create the Mountain Mover awards each year. In 2026, the awards will be created by Crosby Davis (they/them), a New Mexican quilter and sewist living in Thornton.
For the 2026 Mountain Mover Award, they took inspiration from the Sangre de Cristo mountains and the Boulder Flatirons. By combining modern techniques with traditional hand quilting, they seek to celebrate the landscape of Colorado while honoring the work of those who weave together the threads of community.
Crosby is a member of the Denver Metro Modern Quilt Guild, a founding member of the Colorado Transgender History Quilt Collective, and a shop captain at TinkerMill makerspace. You can see their work at the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum later this year. They can be found online @patchworkqueer.
Join Us to Celebrate Progress & Those Who Made It Happen
Please join us for our end of session wrap-up celebration on Tuesday, May 19 at 5:30 p.m. at Lady Justice Brewing in Englewood.
We will honor our awardees, reflect on the 2026 legislative session, and offer engaging ways for attendees to connect with Colorado’s policymaking process. We hope to celebrate with you.
