Two Å·ÃÀÊÓƵ graduates, Courtney Backen ’14 and Becca Hagen ’97, have been recognized as 2025 Women in Business honorees by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal. The award celebrates women for their professional achievements, leadership, and community involvement across industries.

Hagen, vice president of Talent Management at , said her Concordia experience continues to shape her career.

“Reflecting on my time at Concordia and its impact on me, I believe Concordia provided me, and continues to provide others, a solid foundation on which to build a career,” Hagen said. “Specifically, I value the well-rounded education, global perspective, and the practical experiences I gained through a liberal arts grounding, service leadership, study abroad, and internship opportunities.”

Backen, director of development at , traces her career directly back to her experience at Concordia.

“I owe my entire nonprofit career to my time at Concordia,” Backen said. “As an English literature major, I was deeply influenced by my mentors, Jonathan Steinwand and David Sprunger, who taught me how to write compellingly and question the status quo. As a history major, I took Rick Chapman’s Religion and Philanthropy in American Culture class, which became the catalyst for my career as a fundraiser.”

Backen added that her experience working alongside Dr. Chapman, Dr. Joan Kopperud, Dr. Roy Hammerling, Dr. Mike Bath, Gat-Kier Machar, and Ron Twedt gave her hands-on experience as the student president of Cobbers for PACODES. , or the Panyijiar Community Development Services, is a nonprofit to aid and improve the education, health, humanitarian aid, agriculture, faith, and lifestyle of the people of Panyijiar County in southern Sudan.

“It’s an experience I cherish and credit as the beginning of my professional journey,” she said.