Linda Alvarado

Alvarado has been a pioneer on several fronts. She started her own construction company in 1976 with a $2,500 loan from her parents. Alvarado Construction, based in Denver, Colo., has become one of the fastest growing commercial general contracting firms in the country. It was one of three firms that built the new Denver Broncos stadium and was also part of the construction of the Denver International Airport and the Colorado Convention Center.

Alvarado made history in 1991, when, as part of the Colorado Baseball Partnership, she became the first Hispanic to own a major baseball franchise, the Colorado Rockies She also serves as a corporate director of Pepsi Bottling Group, Pitney Bowes, and US West Communications. She has won a long list of awards, including the Sara Lee Corporation's Frontrunner Award, the Revlon Business Woman of the Year, and the U.S. Hispanic Chambers of Commerce Business Woman of the Year. In addition, she served on President Clinton's Advisory Commission of Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans.

Alvarado graduated from Pomona College in Claremont, Calif.