Sarah Calhoun

Calhoun grew up on a llama farm in Cornwall, Connecticut and got her degree in Environmental Science from Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania. As a young adult she worked a variety of physical labor jobs on trail crews and as an outdoor educator for Outward Bound and Youth Corps.^[1][2] In 2004 she started developing a design for women's work pants and in 2006 she opened the Red Ants Pants store in rural White Sulphur Springs, MT that sells heavy-duty work wear made to fit diverse female bodies.^[3] The brand is named after red ants "because female ants do all the work".^[4]

Calhoun is known for her entrepreneurial and values-based approach to running an apparel brand, she is a public spokesperson for women's leadership and rural revitalization and an advocate for American made products.^{[5][6][page needed][7]} In 2011 she was a U.S. Delegate to the Women and the Economy Summit put on by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and hosted by Hillary Clinton and invited by President Obama to attend a White House forum on jobs and economic development.^[8] That same year she started the Red Ants Pants Music Festival that annually draws thousands of people to a cow pasture just outside White Sulphur Springs. The festival began as part of Calhoun's vision to use the arts for economic and community development.^[9] The festival raises money for the Red Ants Pants Foundation which offers financial grants for women and organizations across Montana.^[4] In 2015 Calhoun was one of 100 small business leaders invited to a White House summit put on by the Small Business Majority.^[10]

• 2011 (2011): US Delegate to the APEC Women in Business Summit
• 2011 (2011): Entrepreneur of the Year, State of Montana
• 2012 (2012): Women in Business Champion for Montana and the Region, Small Business Administration
• 2012 (2012): National Women in Business Champion, Small Business Administration