2026 Women of Impact

"Impact is not always loud. Often, it is found in the quiet, consistent ways a life touches others."

That's how my friend and fellow portrait photographer Tassie Winters opens every conversation about why the Women of Impact portrait project exists.

In a world that measures worth in titles, follower counts, and accolades, Women of Impact was built on a different premise: that the most meaningful influence rarely announces itself. It's found in the women who show up faithfully, who lead with integrity, who shape their families and communities in ways that may never be fully seen, but are always deeply felt.

Winters is the founder and editor of the 2026 Women of Impact portrait project. Earlier this year, she invited me to a talented group of female photographers across the country who were photographing and writing about women in our own local communities who were making a big impact in small ways.

"Impact is defined not by position, but by presence," Winters said.

There may be no better time to sit with that idea than right now. Ask anyone who runs a business, a household, a nonprofit, or all three at once, and they'll tell you that August doesn't ease you into Fall. It surprises you. It shoves you. School supply lists appear overnight. Fall bookings stack up on summer's leftovers. Wedding season is still in full swing, harvest is bearing down, and everyone who put off "getting to it later" suddenly needs it now.

It's exactly the kind of season that separates presence from performance. The kind of busy where showing up quietly, day after day, matters more than actually being seen doing it.

This month, I am putting the spotlight on the Women of Impact honorees in our community. The ones who aren’t just surviving this special kind of busy. They are the ones running toward it. Because underneath all the chaos is purpose, and underneath the purpose are people who are counting on them.

Over the coming days, you'll meet:

A Village Trustee who believes local leadership starts with just showing up. (Published Aug. 1)
A regenerative farmer rebuilding the food system one family at a time.
A therapist and practice owner who leans on music and community to stay grounded.
A florist and garden center owner who has learned to stop calling it "balance."
A foundation founder who turned unimaginable loss into a living legacy.
A benefits analyst turned health coach turned stage manager juggling three callings at once.
An artist who traded approval for authenticity.
A hairstylist who found her softer definition of success after cancer.
A wellness executive raised on an avocado ranch, now helping people navigate a healthy lifestyle.
An acupuncturist healing from the root, not just managing symptoms.
A medium and intuitive healer who trusts what she feels before she understands it.

None of them set out to be "impactful." They just kept showing up in the quiet, consistent, often unglamorous ways that this project was created to honor.

As Winters puts it: "Impact is not reserved for a few; it is found in the lives of women all around us, often in ways that are quietly lived each day."

Grab your coffee (or your planner, or your third cup of coffee). Let's meet them.

Cyndi Grobmeier Chose Purpose Over Pain

Some kinds of "busy" are chosen.

Others are born out of loss so profound that building something meaningful becomes the only way forward.

For Cyndi Grobmeier of Frankfort, Illinois, August marks another year moving through both, running a foundation, finishing a decades-long doctorate, and carrying forward the memory of her daughter, Maddie.

"When faced with the greatest pain, we have a choice to allow that pain to overcome us or find purpose and meaning from that pain," Grobmeier said.

She has made that choice every day since June 27, 2019, when Maddie suffered an acute asthma attack that left her brain dead.

Maddie's Final Gift

"Our bright light and beautiful spirit that was our Maddie left us with a choice, and a gift," Grobmeier said. "She had told us that if anything were to ever happen to her, she wanted to be an organ donor.

"With her servant's heart, Maddie's decision didn't surprise us at the time, but we didn't think we'd ever be faced with that choice."

Through Maddie's decision, three lives were saved through the gifts of her heart, liver, and kidneys. Her lungs went to asthma research. Her corneas gave sight to two people. Her tissue donations improved the lives of eleven more around the world.

"Maddie's decision to be a donor was her final gift to us, because it is where we found our purpose in our pain," Grobmeier said. "We founded the Maddog Strong Foundation. Our mission is to inspire the next generation of organ and tissue donation advocates by providing education, promoting donor registration, and encouraging conversations about this life-saving topic."

Giving Tree Park

The foundation's work spans a free curriculum for high school teachers, community speaking engagements, and campus clubs. One project stands out as a personal favorite.

"One of our favorite projects has been the establishment of Giving Tree Park in Frankfort Square Park District," Grobmeier said.

Each year, the foundation dedicates a tree to the previous year's donors — a living tribute that draws donor families from around the region.

"Many say they come to the park regularly simply because it is a place where they can find peace and remember their loved one," Grobmeier said.

Finishing What She Started

In the years since losing Maddie, Grobmeier also completed a doctorate she'd walked away from once before.

"It took me almost 20 years to finish my Doctorate in higher education, but the personal and professional growth I experienced during that journey informed my learning and my research, and I wouldn't change a thing," she said. "I walked away for nearly 10 years, but I came back to finish.

"I came back to my doctoral program the year before we lost our youngest daughter, and I finished nearly four years after her death. I did it for me, for her, and for our oldest daughter Sam, who followed my lead the next year by finishing her MBA. There is strength in perseverance."

Her Advice on Setbacks

"Rather than seeing setbacks as barriers, look for the meaning, the purpose, and don't give up," Grobmeier said. "Sometimes you plow through, sometimes you go around, sometimes you change direction all together. But have faith that you will end up where you are meant to be, as long as you don't give up."

Living With the Hole in Her Heart

Grobmeier doesn't pretend the grief has resolved into something tidy.

"No parent should ever have to bury their child," she said. "It's a pain that is always evolving, and leaves a hole in your heart that you will carry until the day you die.

"A Donor Dad once told us that the hole in your heart gets just a little smaller every day because that's one day closer to seeing your loved one again.

"I chose to live every day with meaning and purpose not only to honor Maddie, but because of the love I have for my husband, Frank, my daughter, Sam, and all of the friends and family in my life."

As another August arrives, filled with foundation work, advocacy, and the quiet ache that never fully leaves, Grobmeier keeps choosing purpose, one day at a time. It's impact in its most enduring form.

A life lived in honor of another.

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