Meet Kelley Fox | Women’s WOW Board President and Visionary

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kelley Fox and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kelley, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
Women’s World on Wheels (Women’s WOW) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving women wheelchair users who want to expand their horizon’s and find support. We have an annual camp that allows women to connect and experience new activities, different ideas while creating friendships along the way. In some cases, these women are somewhat isolated in their communities and at the Women’s WOW camp they are getting to hang out with other women in chairs and being exposed to all the possibilities that are out there for women in wheelchairs. The bond and friendships that are formed though interaction with one another and the growth that comes from these friendships and communications have become one of the main successes of Women’s WOW.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
At the age of 21 I was in a life changing car accident that left me paralyzed and struggling to figure out how I was going to live the rest of my life in a wheelchair. I went to Craig Hospital for rehabilitation and I was forced to understand my new realities and how I would live my life independently. I felt like the life I had known and the dreams I had were forever altered and a new life that was completely foreign to me I had to accept. With a lot of tears, grief and hard work I began to forge a new path for myself.
Growing up a Colorado girl I had been a recreational skier from the time I was 3 on. A few years after my accident my dad convinced me to go skiing and a new dream of becoming a competitive skier was formed. With a lot of hard work, perseverance and dedication to becoming an elite athlete I became a member of the US Adaptive Ski Team. I skied competitively from 1993-1998 and one two silver medals in the 1994 Paralympics in Lillehammer Norway in both downhill and slalom and won a gold medal in downhill in the 1996 World Championships in Lech Austria.
Through my travels and competitions, I began to really navigate my new world with support and experiences with the US Adaptive Ski Team and the lifelong friends I met along the way. That time was invaluable to all of my future successes and instrumental to a new found sense of inner strength I did not know I had.
After my skiing days I went back to finish my degree in Sociology and got a second degree in Interior Design. I became a single mother to a beautiful baby girl and motherhood and career became my focus. I have since become a wife, an empty nester and retired from being a designer and have started to focus my energies to helping others. This year marks the 35th year of living life in a wheelchair and through Women’s WOW I want to empower other women in wheelchairs to live their best life.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I have been in Colorado my whole life and one of my favorite areas of town is Cherry Creek North. I love walking around Cherry Creek North and going to all the shops and restaurants in the area. For a casual place for wings and a game I like the Cherry Cricket and for a little more upscale dining experience I like Cherry Creek Grill or Hillstone.
I like to go downtown to Union Station and walk around and then go over the bridge to Confluence Park. Exploring all that Denver has to offer and the sporting events and concerts is what I love about living in Denver.
In the winter you can usually find me in Vail skiing. As a former ski racer, I still ski recreationally and it is my favorite thing to do. I love being on the slopes on a bluebird day enjoying the gem of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains. The mountains in the summer are equally as beautiful and I love to go on long walks through the bike paths around Vail. The fall is the most spectacular time of the year driving through the mountains and seeing the fall colors. Sometimes an entire hillside will be lit up into such a bright golden color that is just so unreal. I just feel so at peace in the mountains of Colorado that I call it my happy place.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
The success of Women’s WOW belongs to so many people and organizations that support us as well as our Board of Directors. We could not do what we do without Lily Fox the Executive Director of Women’s WOW and Karen Crumback Board Member, Philanthropy and Fundraising Advisor to Women’s Wow. I call them WOW’s Dream Team. We also have many volunteers that have been the life blood of our organization and we simply could not exist without our volunteer’s and community support.

Website: https://www.womenswow.org

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Image Credits

Sara Hertwig