CARLOTTA WALLS LANIER attended Michigan State University and graduated from Colorado State College, now the University of Northern Colorado, on whose board of trustees she sits. After working for the YWCA, she founded her own real estate brokerage firm, LaNier and Company. A sought-after lecturer, LaNier speaks at venues across the country, and she has received the Congressional Medal of Honor and two honorary doctorate degrees. She lives in Englewood, Colorado.