UNC Will Honor Six Trailblazing Northern Colorado Women as 2026 Corn Mothers

Posted September 24, 2026

In celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month, the Chicano Humanities & Arts Council (CHAC) and the Colorado Folk Arts Council, in partnership with the University of Northern Colorado College of Performing & Visual Arts, will host a public reception and induction ceremony for the Return of the Corn Mothers – UNC 2026 exhibition.

The free celebration will be held Friday, October 2, 2026, from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Lydia & Robert Ruyle Gallery, located on the first floor of UNC’s Campus Commons, 1051 22nd Street, Greeley, Colorado 80639.

Advance RSVPs are encouraged but are not required. Drop-ins are welcome. RSVP here.

Honoring Northern Colorado Women

The 2026 Corn Mothers are:

Elena Guerrero Townsend, community activist, writer, poet, and one of the first female traqueras for the Santa Fe Railroad
Alicia “Ally” Johnson, civic leader and the first Latina appointed to the Evans City Council
Nomie Ketterling, philanthropist and 2023 United Way of Weld County Humanitarian of the Year
Juanita Martinez Rocha, retired educator, community advocate, and two-time president of Hispanic Women of Weld County
Emma Peña McCleave, project coordinator for the Mexican American History Project of Greeley and Greeley Museum Board appointee
Joni Steiner, permaculture educator, organic farmer, and director of Earth Mountain Education Farm
Teresa Rodriguez McNeill, founder of Ballet Folklórico Orgullo Latino and advocate for migrant families

These women have strengthened Northern Colorado through education, civic leadership, philanthropy, cultural preservation, agriculture, advocacy, and the arts. Their portraits and stories will become part of a lasting archive honoring women whose work has strengthened families, preserved traditions, and opened doors for future generations.

“Bringing the dynamic Corn Mothers project to Greeley and Northern Colorado is a meaningful honor,” said inductee Juanita Martinez Rocha. “It celebrates local pride and the powerful stories of women who give back to our community,” said photographer Todd Pierson. He explained the Northern Colorado exhibition adds an important regional chapter to the project. “As the project evolved, we always envisioned including women from this region,” Pierson said. “These inductees deepen our understanding of the profound influence immigration and migration have had on our entire region.”

Preserving Women’s Histories

Founded in 2007, Return of the Corn Mothers is an award-winning photographic and written-history exhibition that has honored more than 70 women. It has traveled to universities, museums, galleries, libraries, cultural centers, and community spaces throughout Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. The project draws upon the symbolic importance of corn to the Pueblo peoples of the Southwest as a source of life, growth, creativity, and responsibility to community. It honors women who embody those values through service, teaching, art, advocacy, caregiving, leadership, and cultural preservation.

Bringing the exhibition to UNC also fulfills a hope shared by the late Dr. Genevieve “Genie” Canales, a UNC Professor Emerita and 2022 Corn Mother honoree. Canales taught psychology and Mexican American Studies at UNC for 26 years and was an early supporter of bringing the exhibition to Greeley.

The exhibition also remembers 2022 Corn Mothers Dr. Ellen Grace Alires-Trujillo, Dr. Genevieve “Genie” Canales, and Rita Flores de Wallace, who have passed away since the History Colorado exhibition. Their lives demonstrate why women’s photographs, memories, accomplishments, and stories must be preserved while they can still be shared.

The UNC project team includes photographer Todd Pierson, editor Ed Winograd, and designer Toinette Brown.