Well guys... I like a lot of the knives listed here and had her try opening a few to see what she thinks. Knives with: thumb studs, OTF auto, OTS auto, flippers, wave. Fail might be too harsh a word. Let's just say if she had to deploy a knife as a weapon she'd be in deep trouble.
I'm now leaning towards an Izula. Paracord wraps, scales, etc... will all help her customize and makes it hers. Brad had a pink one at the last Indy1500 but she's liking the BladeHQ exclusive green. I'll report back what we end up with. Thanks for the suggestions.