Angela Lopez

In 2003, sixteen-year-old Angela Lopez left home on a Rotary Youth Exchange to Denmark, a trip her family had never really done before. She filled seven journals that year and came back, in her own words, a completely different person.

She didn't join Rotary as a member until 2017, at 30, but when she did, she became one of only five women to serve as president of the Rotary Club of Phoenix in its 108-year history. Her club now counts three former exchange students among its members, something she credits partly to seeing someone like her lead.

Her advice for anyone waiting to feel ready: stop waiting. Readiness, she says, comes from doing the thing, not from feeling prepared for it beforehand.

Source: Rotary International's blog, blog.rotary.org, https://blog.rotary.org/2026/07/28/dont-wait-until-you-are-ready-to-try-new-things-in-rotary/