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Merle Chambers
Born 1946
Inducted 2004
Adopted by Lydia M. Peña, SL
Merle Chambers' work as a philanthropist, businesswoman,
and lawyer stands out as a model to all. She created the Chambers Family
Fund to support organizations that expand opportunities for women and
girls, improve early care and education of children, enhance democratic
values, and enrich the arts. A founding member of the Women’s Foundation,
its president in 1992, and the first woman to serve on the Temple Hoyne
Buell Foundation Board of Trustees, Chambers provided the lead gift to
establish the Merle Catherine Chambers Center for the Advancement of
Women at the
University of Denver. Her business endeavors include 16 years managing
Axem Resources, where she pioneered women’s leadership and family
friendly practices in the male-dominated oil and gas industry. She also
chaired the executive committee of Clipper Exxpress, a family-owned multi-modal
transportation firm, and is president and CEO of Leith Ventures, a private
investment company. Merle holds degrees from the University
of California’s
Hastings College of Law and the University of Denver’s Graduate
Tax Program. Chambers is the third woman to have reached both the North
and South Poles.
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