Women of Distinction Class of 2010

Jump to Betty Harris Custer   Bettsey Lutz Barhorst   Annette Miller   Carola Peterson-Gaines   Kathy Price

Betty Harris Custer

Betty Harris Custer has been working in the financial planning profession for 38 years as both an owner of her own financial planning practice, Custer Financial Services, founded 30 years ago, and as a senior manager for several nationwide firms. She is active in the community and currently serves on the Advisory Board of Madison Ballet; the Foundation for Madison’s Public Schools Board; the Chazen Museum of Art Council; the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art (MMOCA) Foundation Board; the 201 State Board of Directors, which raises money for the Overture Center for the Arts; the Madison Community Foundation’s Investment Committee; and both the Community of Hope Steering and Madison Christian Community Leadership Teams. She chaired the Capital Campaign for the Lussier Community Education Center and now chairs its Development Council. She served a term on In Business magazine’s Advisory Board and is a longtime member of TEMPO. Betty has received many awards, including the Lincoln Financial Group Top 1% and the Volunteer Fundraiser of the Year from the Greater Madison Chapter of Association of Fundraising Professionals. She is a lifelong resident of Madison. She was born to Bob “Boomer” and Ruth Harris and grew up on Madison’s then far-west side, near West High. She attended Randall, Hoyt, Central, and University of Wisconsin-Madison. Working her way through the university as an art major caused her to find a job in financial services where she has remained since. Betty has been married to Corkey Custer for 30 years, and he joined her in business over 21 years ago. Together they have a daughter, Genevieve Custer Weeks; a son, Jamie Custer; a son-in-law, Andrew Weeks; and a grandson, Sullivan James Weeks.

  

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Bettsey Lutz Barhorst

Bettsey Lutz Barhorst was appointed president of Madison College in November of 2004. Prior to working in Madison, she was president at Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo, Iowa. She also served in leadership positions at Bradley University and Illinois Central College, in Peoria, Illinois, and at Webster University in Geneva, Switzerland. Currently, Bettsey serves on a number of boards both in the greater Madison area, and on a national level, including: the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, the United Way of Dane County Board of Directors, the Biopharmaceutical Technology Center Institute Board of Directors, the Schools of Hope Leadership Team, and is a member of the Rotary Club of Madison and TEMPO-Madison. On the national level, she serves on the American Association for Community Colleges Global Education Commission, the American Council on Education (ACE) Commission on Women in Higher Education, and the Community College Consortium for Autism and Intellectual Disabilities. She is a recipient of many awards, including the Phi Theta Kappa President’s Award, the Athena Award, Illinois State University Alumni Hall of Fame, and the American Association of Women in Community Colleges Award. Bettsey received her Ph.D. at Illinois State University in Educational Administration & Foundations (Higher Education); an M.A. from Webster University-Geneva, an M.A. from Bradley University, and her B.A. from Fontbonne University. Bettsey was born in St. Louis. Her parents owned a sign company where all family members worked as a rite of passage, which taught her business principles, salesmanship, creativity, and hard work. Bettsey is married to Alan Barhorst; has two children, Jeff and Jill; seven grandchildren; and two foster children.

Annette Miller

Annette Miller has spent more than a decade in public service as a policy and budget analyst, political and community advisor, and as a project operations and executive manager for the State of Wisconsin Department of Administration and the Department of Workforce Development; as well as a senior aide to the Mayor of Madison. Currently, Miller manages community outreach and engagement for Madison’s local utility, Madison Gas and Electric Co. As a community and civic volunteer, Annette has focused her efforts on professional and economic development for professionals and social entrepreneurs in the business, governmental, and non-profit worlds. She developed and co-founded the Madison Network of Black Professionals (MNBP) which touches over 150 members and non-members alike.  Annette serves on the St. Mary’s Hospital’s corporate board (SSMHC) and the Urban League of Greater Madison board of directors, which she chaired for the past 2 years, and where she led its successful $4 million capital campaign, creating the Center for Economic and Workforce Development. She also serves on several civic committees, including the Foundation for Madison Public Schools, the Madison Minority Business Advisory Council, Asset Builders of America, and the Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative. She has been the recipient of many community and recognition awards, as well as featured profiles in area media in including Madison Magazine, UMOJA, Isthmus, and Madison Newspapers Inc. Annette has been a Madison resident since 1989 and is a 1992 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is passionately dedicated to her spouse Michael Miller and their three school-age children.

Carola Peterson-Gaines

Carola Peterson-Gaines has worked for Unity Health Insurance and the UW Medical Foundation for 15 years. She works with BadgerCare Plus (BC+) members, a group that has grown from 1,200 to 14,000 members. She is challenged daily as she works to meet the great needs of these members in many areas of their lives. Her goals are to coordinate and provide a heightened level of support to the BC+ providers and BC+ membership.  To accomplish these goals, she proactively develops and implements programs to improve access to care. She works with BC+ providers to coordinate patient care and inform them of new state programs and initiates. She advocates for members with high-risk health care needs and works to educate BC+ members about preventive health measures such as early prenatal care. Carola graduated with a B.S. in Journalism/Communications from the University of Wisconsin. She is currently pursuing post graduate work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Social Work. She is an active disciple at Mt. Zion Baptist church. She is the director and one of the founding members of the church’s children’s choir, which has sung all over Wisconsin for the past 24 years. Carola is also a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., where she serves the chapter as second vice president and state chaplain. She has received many awards, including the Dane County Walk of Honor Award and the South Madison Community Service Award. She has been married to Arnold Clyde Gaines for 29 years and is the mother of three children: Clifton Le’Reece, Cachell Courtney, and Corvonn Julian Hezekiah Gaines. She is a mother-in-law to Delisa Gonzales Gaines and grandmother to Cruz Reece Gonzales Gaines. Her mom is Nellie L. Peterson and her sister is Maria D. Peterson.

Kathy Price

Kathy Price has served as the Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) Community Partnerships Coordinator for the past 16 years. Her work primarily involves collaborations between the District and non-profit organizations that support academic achievement and college readiness, especially for low-income students. Kathy began her tenure in the school district as an English as a second language teacher at Muir Elementary, where she and her colleagues created the school district’s first full-day kindergarten and pre-kindergarten summer school programs for low-income students and families. Kathy represents the fourth generation in her family to graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Education and work in the teaching field. Her master’s work dealt with home-school partnerships for bilingual and low-income families. She also has degrees in journalism and Spanish, and spent six years in Venezuela where she helped launch a bilingual pre-school and primary school. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Educational Policy Studies Department, focusing on first-generation college-bound students, particularly undocumented youth. As part of her district responsibilities, Kathy has represented MMSD on severarl boards and committees, including the Lilith Computer Group advisory board and the Dane County Youth Commission. In addition, Kathy has served as a board member for several local organizations, including Family Enhancement, RSVP of Dane County, and the Mann and Sánchez Scholars programs. She is an Aristos Scholar, a MMSD Distinguished Service honoree and a Kohl Foundation Fellowship awardee. Kathy has also received recognition from the Foundation for Madison’s Public Schools, Meriter Health, and Madison Urban Ministry. Kathy’s immediate family includes her son Jordan; former foster daughters Phala Ros Katic and Litha Ros; and Phala’s children, Juan and Soniya Jiménez.