Dr.
PamelaGregory
We are not just preparing for the future. We are building it.
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Managing Editor
Ana Assis
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Advisory Board
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Aspire Women’s
Message from the Editor
Kristie Nicolosi A Woman Re-imagining a Global Category Through Courage and Innovation
Industry Leaders
Kessia Cericola, Tasha M. Wilson-Wood, Ryan Gilley, Anthony McIntosh
Leading Boldly How WPO Elevates Women Entrepreneurs in Ohio
New Albany Women’s Network (NAWN)
Good Life with Jenny Saunders: Relationships as the Real Asset
Ambitio
Dr. Pamela Gregory
The Architect of Access, Scale, and Transformational Impact
MESSAGE FROM THE PUBLISHER
As we welcome 2026, we dedicate your January issue to the essential promise of every new beginningchange, innovation and transformation. Within these pages, you’ll find inspiring stories of both women and men whose groundbreaking ideas and innovative practices are reshaping our communities and our region. These leaders not only embrace change; they actively drive it. Our hope is that their journeys inspire you to embark on your own innovation and transformation path this year—both of which are vital for achieving sustainable success in your business.
We also introduce our new managing editor, Ana Assis. With a remarkable gift for connecting across diverse backgrounds, Ana brings a wealth of storytelling expertise and a fresh perspective on women’s leadership, ownership, and economic impact—elements that are crucial for the growth of Aspire publications. Under Ana’s leadership, we aspire to recognize more of you, foster more collaborative partnerships, and cultivate a more vibrant community that centers you.
Keena M. Smith
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2026 WOMEN IN BUSINESS SUMMIT 2026 WOMEN IN BUSINESS SUMMIT
MARCH 11, 2026 | THE BOATHOUSE
MARCH 11, 2026 | THE BOATHOUSE
This summit brings together female executives and emerging leaders from across Ohio to inspire, connect, and empower. Through keynote conversations, interactive sessions, and meaningful networking, attendees will practical insights on career advancement, leadership, and navigating challenges facing women in business The event fosters a supportive environment for sharing experiences, building relationships, and strengthening leadership across Ohio’s business community
This summit brings together female executives and emerging leaders from across Ohio to inspire, connect, and empower. Through keynote conversations, interactive sessions, and meaningful networking, attendees will gain practical insights on career advancement, leadership, and navigating challenges facing women in business. The event fosters a supportive environment for sharing experiences, building relationships, and strengthening leadership across Ohio’s business community.
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MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR
Every January invites a moment of clarity, a pause where we look at the year ahead and ask ourselves what is possible. For Aspire Women’s Book of Business,
this issue is more than a publication. It is a declaration. A reminder that innovation and transformation are not abstract concepts. They are choices we make every day as women leaders, founders, creators, and builders. They are the quiet decisions, the bold steps, and the intentional moments that shape the future we envision.
As I stepped into this role and immersed myself in the voices shaping this issue, one truth was undeniable. Innovation often starts quietly, sparked by a question, a setback, or a barrier that forces us to imagine a better way. Transformation follows when courage meets action. When a founder decides she will
design her own path. When a CEO dares to restructure an industry norm. When a woman chooses to rise again and again, even when the odds are stacked. These are not just stories. They are movements. They are reminders that progress is created by those willing to challenge what has always been done.
In this issue, you will meet women who are doing exactly that. Leaders who are reimagining finance, scaling technology, redesigning wellness, strengthening their communities, and building companies that reflect the future we want to see. Their work is powerful because it is purposeful. Their stories prove that change does not happen from the sidelines. It happens when women take the microphone, embrace their brilliance, and lead with intention.
Thank you for allowing me to steward these stories. I am endlessly inspired by the talent, courage, and heart within this community. My hope is that this issue lights a spark in you. May it remind you that your next breakthrough is already forming, that your voice is needed, and that there is space for your dreams to expand in 2026. May it give you permission to dream wider, stand taller, and honor the transformation already unfolding in your life.
Ana Assis
Dr. PamelaGregory
The Architect of Access, Scale, and Transformational Impact
Some leaders
build programs. Some build organizations. Dr. Pamela Gregory builds futures at scale. Her life’s work spans education, health equity, workforce development, and economic mobility, touching more than one million lives nationwide and reshaping the systems that influence entire communities.
As co-founder of the National Center for Urban Solutions, the African American Male Wellness Agency, the Academy for Urban Scholars High Schools, and NCUS TEC, Dr. Gregory has led one of the most dynamic social impact ecosystems in the country. Under her leadership, NCUS became the first African American owned company recognized by Amazon as an AWS single source solution provider, positioning her organization at the forefront of cloud innovation and digital transformation.
Her impact is measurable and historic. She has helped women transition from public assistance to economic independence, while driving more than 250 million dollars into Black communities through workforce and education pathways. She founded Uplift Her to address the unmet health needs of women of color, closing gaps that traditional
The strongest growth opportunities sit where workforce training meets real industry demand. Credentials tied to jobs change economies, not just résumés.
healthcare systems have overlooked for decades. Through the African American Male Wellness Agency, she has expanded free health screenings and preventative care across more than 20 cities, delivering life saving early detection services that have helped thousands of men and families.
Her educational footprint is equally transformative. The Academy for Urban Scholars High Schools specialize in dropout recovery, career readiness, and technical training, providing scholars with industry recognized credentials in high growth fields. Through these schools and NCUS TEC, she has created pipelines into skilled trades, technology, and the future workforce for young people who are often left out of economic opportunity.
Yet her purpose is rooted in something deeply personal. As a young girl, she dreamed of becoming a nurse. Life redirected her, but service found her. She often shares that she may not wear scrubs, but she still heals, still helps, and still stands in the center of work that uplifts people. Her purpose is impact, and every initiative she touches reflects that calling.
Her greatest joy as a CEO appears in individual transformation. She recalls meeting Leala at age 14, a young girl surrounded by doubt and low expectations. Dr. Gregory saw potential. Years later, watching Leala graduate, build a career, purchase her first home, and launch a business became a defining moment in her leadership journey. Her legacy is not just measured in millions served, but in stories like Leala’s that prove what access makes possible.
Leadership, however, brings its own challenges. For Dr. Gregory, the hardest lesson is knowing when she has done all she can and when it is time to step back. She has learned that stepping away is sometimes the very act that allows others to rise.
As AI and technology reshape education, healthcare, and the workforce, Dr. Gregory is not simply preparing for the future. She is building it. She believes this moment requires bold, agile leaders who innovate with integrity and stay grounded in purpose.
Her advice to women is clear. Know your value, show up consistently, invest in relationships, and trust that your presence has power.
Dr. Pamela Gregory embodies innovation, scale, and transformation. When she rises, communities rise with her.
Dr. Pamela Gregory
National Center for Urban Solutions www.ncusolutions.com www.linkedin.com/in/dr-pamela-gregory-51901025b/
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Kristie Nicolosi Building Advantage in
an Overlooked Category
Some of the
most powerful growth opportunities do not live in crowded markets. They live in categories others underestimate. Kristie Nicolosi built her success by seeing what others ignored and then executing with precision.
As President and owner of GLISTER, INC., Kristie took an overlooked jewelry care category and transformed it into a global growth engine. Since acquiring the business in 2005 and fully taking ownership in 2010, she has grown the company more than fourteen times, expanded distribution to six continents, and secured placement in over 12,000 retail doors worldwide. Her results have earned national recognition, including three consecutive appearances on the Inc. 5000 list, a Forty Under 40 honor, a 2020 Entrepreneur of the Year finalist designation, and induction into the Private Label Manufacturers Association Hall of Fame.
Kristie’s success did not come from chasing trends. It came from mastering fundamentals. She understood her category deeply, studied how consumers actually behave, and recognized that innovation does not always require invention. Sometimes it requires reinvention.
Her greatest strength as a CEO is turning insight into execution. She modernized a traditionally stagnant category by improving product performance, elevating design, and aligning the brand with how women shop today. Jewelry care became less of an afterthought and more of an intentional purchase. That shift unlocked scale.
For women founders and suppliers, her story offers a clear lesson. Opportunity lives where
,
FOR YOUR VALUE.
clarity meets discipline. Knowing your category allows you to spot gaps. Knowing your customer allows you to build relevance. Advocating for your value ensures you are positioned as a partner, not a vendor.
Looking ahead, Kristie sees significant opportunity for brands that understand omnichannel behavior and adapt quickly. Retail is no longer linear. Growth now depends on seamless movement between physical shelves, digital discovery, and brand storytelling. She is preparing GLISTER’s next phase by investing in digital engagement, strengthening retail partnerships, and developing products that meet evolving consumer expectations.
She also sees opportunity for women-led businesses that can scale responsibly. Sustainable growth requires systems, teams, and partners who can execute consistently. For Kristie, leadership means staying close enough to the business to guide strategy while trusting the organization to deliver.
Her advice to women navigating growth is direct. Know your category better than anyone else in the room. Know your customer well enough to anticipate change. Advocate confidently for the value you bring. Protect your reputation, because it compounds over time.
Kristie Nicolosi did not simply grow a company. She built advantage in a category others overlooked and proves that when women lead with clarity and courage, markets respond.
Kristie Nicolosi
Shara Hutchinson
Founder & Principal Change Strategist
Xpose Your Solutions
www.xposeyoursolutions.com www.linkedin.com/in/shara-hutchinson/
Shara Hutchinson is the Principal Change Strategist at XposeYour and the founder of Readiness Xchange®, the first Execution Intelligence platform designed to measure people readiness, adoption, and execution risk in real time. With more than 15 years of experience guiding public and private sector organizations through transformation, she helps leaders close the gap between strategy and human adoption. Shara is also the author of Barefoot in the Boardroom: Every Leader’s Guide to Navigating Change and is widely recognized for her work at the intersection of leadership, data, and the human side of change.
Transformation the Future Through EXECUTION INTELLIGENCE
In a business world racing toward digital transformation, many leaders focus on technology, timelines, or task completion. Shara Hutchinson focuses on the one factor that determines whether transformation succeeds or fails: people readiness. As the Principal Change Strategist at XposeYour and the founder of Readiness Xchange, she is redefining how organizations plan, communicate, and execute change in an era where more than 91 percent of companies are undergoing some form of digital transformation.
Shara’s career began inside public and private sector boardrooms, where she consistently observed the same pattern. Projects appeared green on paper but collapsed in
STRATEGY exists everywhere.
Readiness is the gap that holds organizations back.
execution because people were overwhelmed, unprepared, or unsupported. Costly delays, stalled adoption, and burnout were symptoms of a deeper issue. Leaders had data on tasks, but no visibility into readiness. That gap inspired her to create Readiness Xchange, the first Execution Intelligence platform built to measure real-time readiness, adoption, resistance, and execution risk before problems become expensive failures.
Her work is grounded in both expertise and lived experience. Growing up in foster care shaped her understanding of resilience, exposure, and transformation. Later, navigating an eight-year infertility journey while advancing her leadership career taught her the power of persistence and purpose. She believes that people can rise when given clarity, support, and the right conditions for growth. That belief fuels the mission behind her company name: XposeYour, intentionally spelled with “YOU” at the center, because people drive transformation that lasts.
Every day, Shara balances strategy with execution. She connects with leaders to understand their challenges in real time, guides organizations through complex transitions, and translates field insights into platform enhancements that strengthen the emerging category of Execution Intelligence. Her work spans relationship-building, thought leadership, solution design, and helping teams adopt change with clarity rather than confusion. She meets with partners to advance AI capabilities, improve analytics, and ensure the platform meets the demands of rapid, high-stakes transformation.
Her biggest joy is watching teams accomplish goals they once believed were out of reach. When organizations finally see the power of alignment and experience the relief that comes from clarity, confidence builds and collaboration flourishes. She believes transformation becomes possible when people feel equipped to move forward together.
Yet her greatest challenge is pacing. Visionaries often live three steps ahead, but leadership requires slowing down long enough to bring others with you. Passing parts of the vision to others and trusting them to lead is the discipline that stretches her most.
Looking ahead to 2026, Shara sees massive opportunity. AI integration, compressed timelines, and rising expectations will separate organizations that guess from those that measure. Companies can no longer afford to assume readiness; they must prove it. Suppliers who offer real-time insights, predictive analytics, people-centered strategies, and measurable outcomes will lead the next era of transformation. For Shara, the industry is shifting from change management to execution intelligence, and she is committed to setting the standard.
Her advice to women founders is simple and powerful: know the problem you solve, build authentic relationships, operate with integrity, and protect your reputation. Clarity attracts opportunity, and confidence closes the deal.
Shara Hutchinson is not only guiding leaders through transformation. She is building the tools, language, and intelligence infrastructure that will define how organizations execute change for years to come.
Dr. Melissa McRae, D.O.
Founder & CEO, Vitality Natural Wellness
Founder & Co-CEO, Solenne Health Services www.VitalityNaturalWellness.com www.SolenneHealthServices.com www.linkedin.com/in/drmelissamcrae
r. Melissa McRae, D.O., has spent more than twenty years reshaping how America understands health, healing, and human potential. A nationally recognized physician, author, and CEO, she stands at the forefront of healthcare innovation, blending rigorous clinical science with a compassionate, people-first model of care. As the founder of Vitality Natural Wellness and Solenne, she has built two pioneering organizations that challenge the limits of traditional medicine and offer patients and families a path to clarity, prevention, and hope.
From a young age, Dr. McRae felt called to medicine. Her fascination with the human body, physiology, and the mind-body connection never faded. Instead, it expanded into a mission to build a healthcare experience where patients feel seen, providers feel supported, and families are never left to navigate illness alone. That calling would later evolve into a physician-led movement that has served thousands of patients across Ohio and beyond.
Through Vitality Natural Wellness, Dr. McRae leads a practice grounded in precision, prevention, and personalized medicine. While the functional medicine industry is projected to reach 229 billion dollars by 2033, she has spent nearly two decades refining clinical systems, improving outcomes, and developing programs that turn complex science into practical, empowering action steps. Her work is known for restoring energy, balancing hormones, reducing inflammation, and helping leaders, executives, and families reclaim their well-being.
Her second company, Solenne, addresses one of the fastest growing needs in America. More than 38 million adults are providing eldercare while balancing work and family. At the same time, nurses across the country are leaving traditional hospital roles due to burnout and system overload. Solenne bridges both realities by offering bedside clarity, advocacy, and expert guidance for families, while giving nurses a meaningful, sustainable pathway back to patient-centered care. It is a model positioned for massive expansion as healthcare shifts toward home-based, personalized support.
As CEO, Dr. McRae balances strategic leadership with direct clinical engagement. She leads her medical team with intention, ensuring every patient receives exceptional, research-driven care, while continuing to serve a select number of concierge patients herself. This connection keeps her grounded in the human experience behind every decision, program, and innovation.
Her greatest joy comes from witnessing transformation. When a patient regains energy, hope, or the ability to participate fully in their life again, it creates ripple effects across families and communities. Equally meaningful is watching her team step into their potential, growing into leaders who embody compassion, excellence, and scientific curiosity.
But the challenges are real. Healthcare is evolving faster than legacy systems can adapt. Patients are demanding better care, and providers are exhausted. Balancing vision with resilience, compassion with stewardship, and innovation with stability requires constant recalibration. For Dr. McRae, these challenges are not barriers. They are catalysts that sharpen her leadership and deepen her commitment to building a new standard of care.
Dr. Melissa McRae is more than a physician. She is a builder, a reformer, and a reminder that transformation begins when leaders dare to imagine a healthier, more human-centered future.
Where the Opportunity Is in Healthcare
The future of healthcare is being built outside traditional systems. The strongest growth opportunities are emerging in three key areas:
• Preventive & Precision Medicine –Personalized, outcomes-driven care models are replacing reactive healthcare.
• Home-Based & Family Advocacy – With more than 38 million Americans providing eldercare, demand for navigation and bedside support is rising rapidly.
• Workforce Innovation – Nurse and provider burnout is accelerating physician- and nurse-led care models.
Healthcare’s next chapter belongs to leaders designing human-centered, scalable solutions that deliver both impact and sustainability.
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IN THE NATION IN NUMBER OF 7(a) LOANS §
MEET OUR NEW
Kessia Cericola
Founding Attorney Cericola Legal Solutions LLC www.cericolalegalsolutions.com www.linkedin.com/in/kessiacericola
BUILDING Legal Confidence for a NEW ERA of WOMEN, Families, and GLOBAL ENTREPRENEURS
Kessia Cericola’s career is defined by one unwavering mission: to build legal foundations that protect dreams, businesses, and legacies. As a bilingual, dual-licensed business and immigration attorney and founder of Cericola Legal Solutions, she represents a new generation of legal innovators who blend technical expertise with empathy, cultural fluency, and a deep commitment to community impact. Her work spans borders and industries, offering clarity and strategy to entrepreneurs, investors, families, and global companies navigating complex U.S. legal systems.
Born and raised in São Paulo, Kessia witnessed firsthand
how lack of access to legal resources can disrupt lives and limit opportunity. After immigrating to the United States, she saw those same barriers mirrored for women, founders, and immigrant families striving to build something meaningful. This experience fuels her purpose. Today, she advises clients across industries, manages immigration portfolios, negotiates contracts, and guides organizations through critical decisions with an approach rooted in education, advocacy, and trust.
My greatest joy is helping clients solve problems before they become crises. That preventative work is where businesses save the most time, money, and energy.
Kessia’s leadership extends far beyond her firm. She is the co-founder of Alive in My Heart, a nonprofit supporting families experiencing pregnancy and infant loss. Recognized by Super Lawyers Magazine and Columbus CEO Magazine, she is a champion for women leaders, small business owners, and underserved communities.
Her work sits at the intersection of innovation and responsibility. As AI and online legal tools surge in popularity, Kessia warns of a rising wave of litigation stemming from flawed or incomplete digital documents. While technology has accelerated access to information, it cannot replace the judgment, ethics, or accountability of a licensed attorney. She sees the future of law as a hybrid model where smarter tools enhance, not replace, sound legal counsel.
For Kessia, the heart of leadership is grounded in courage, inner work, and connection. She encourages women to protect their peace as fiercely as they pursue growth, to build relationships with intention, and to release perfection in exchange for authenticity.
Kessia Cericola is building more than a legal practice. She is building confidence, community, and pathways to opportunity for the next generation of women and global entrepreneurs.
INDUSTRY INSIDERS
entrepreneurs with strong potential were often overlooked because they lacked structure, messaging, or readiness tools that aligned with corporate expectations. Rather than accept the limitation, she built a solution. Today, TW Consulting Group empowers businesses to strengthen their infrastructure, sharpen their value, and pursue opportunities with clarity and confidence.
Her impact has been widely recognized. Tasha has been honored as Corporate Advocate of the Year by both the Ohio Minority Supplier Development Council and the Women’s Business Enterprise Council Ohio River Valley. Her career reflects a powerful evolution from corporate practitioner to award-winning champion to CEO trusted by leaders across sectors.
The supplier development landscape is experiencing rapid transformation. With AI, digital procurement, and
As ESG expectations shift, suppliers are being evaluated differently. Corporations are prioritizing measurable impact, transparency, and readiness, not just certification.
shifting ESG expectations redefining how corporations evaluate suppliers, Tasha helps organizations modernize their inclusion strategies while preparing entrepreneurs to compete in increasingly complex environments. She believes the future belongs to leaders who operate with measurable impact, intentional collaboration, and an unwavering commitment to readiness.
Tasha’s greatest joy is witnessing the moment a business owner moves from uncertainty to confidence. Her greatest mission is to ensure that diverse suppliers have the tools, preparation, and belief in themselves required to transform their trajectory.
Tasha M. Wilson-Wood Founder & CEO
TW Consulting Group LLC www.twconsultinggrp.com www.linkedin.com/in/tasha-m-wood-mba
Preparing BUSINESSES to Compete and COMMUNITIES TO THRIVE
Tasha M. Wilson-Wood has built her career on one transformative truth: preparation creates opportunity. As Founder and CEO of TW Consulting Group LLC, she is reshaping how corporations, community organizations, and diverse suppliers work together to create inclusive, high-performing business ecosystems. Her firm delivers strategic advisory services, supplier readiness programs, and capability-building solutions that help small and diverse businesses step confidently into competitive arenas.
Before launching her company, Tasha spent years leading supplier diversity strategies inside major corporations. She saw the same gap repeated across industries. Brilliant
MEET OUR NEW
Ryan Gilley
Senior Liaison, Corporate Engagement
The Ohio State University www.linkedin.com/in/ryanleegilley
Turning Institutional Complexity Into Scalable Opportunity
Ryan Gilley has built a career translating complexity into access. As Senior Liaison for Corporate Engagement at The Ohio State University, he operates at the intersection of academia, industry, and innovation. With more than 20 years of experience in business development and corporate relations, Ryan helps corporations, founders, and solution providers understand how to engage one of the largest institutional ecosystems in the country in ways that create measurable, long-term value.
Ohio State functions like a small city, with needs spanning healthcare, technology, sustainability, workforce development,
research, and data. For suppliers and founders, that scale represents opportunity, but only when approached with clarity and alignment. Ryan’s role is to connect external partners with internal faculty experts, student talent, and research initiatives, ensuring partnerships move beyond conversation into execution. The most successful collaborators understand institutional priorities, compliance requirements, and how their solutions integrate into existing systems.
Throughout his career, Ryan has helped steward multimilliondollar partnerships that accelerate research, advance innovation, and build talent pipelines. These engagements are not transactional. They are designed to create shared outcomes through pilot programs, proposal development, workforce initiatives, and data-driven collaboration. Universities offer a rare convergence of testing environments, emerging talent, and thought leadership in one place, making them powerful partners for organizations ready to scale responsibly.
Universities operate like small cities. If your solution works at scale, higher education is one of the best places to pilot, validate, and grow it.
Looking toward 2026, Ryan sees expanding opportunities for suppliers who support efficiency, sustainability, and AI-enabled decision making. As Ohio State continues to integrate analytics, digital tools, and automation, vendors who bring strong execution, scalability, and the ability to integrate into complex workflows will stand out. Innovation alone is not enough. Reliability, alignment, and long-term thinking are what sustain partnerships.
For women founders and suppliers, Ryan’s guidance is practical and direct. Networking opens doors, but preparation keeps them open. Excellent products paired with excellent service build trust, and trust drives lasting relationships. Institutions move carefully, and those who listen, learn, and deliver consistently earn credibility that compounds over time.
Ryan’s “why” is rooted in access. After completing his own degree later in life, he experienced firsthand how education unlocks economic mobility. Today, his work focuses on recreating that opportunity for students, partners, and communities by turning institutional scale into shared impact.
INDUSTRY INSIDERS
That philosophy scaled when Anthony joined forces with Keith Stevens at UpRys. Together, they expanded his original vision into an integrated service model that now delivers Business Process Optimization and Fractional Support across leadership, operations, human resources, finance, marketing, communications, and technology. Under Anthony’s leadership, UpRys has expanded its national footprint while remaining a trusted, hands-on partner to the organizations it serves.
As CEO, Anthony finds his greatest joy in two places: witnessing the tangible difference UpRys makes for its clients and watching teams experience moments of clarity that shift how they think and operate. His greatest challenge is building growth and scale while ensuring the business itself remains resilient, sustainable, and aligned with its mission.
Sustainable success happens when people, process, and technology are aligned.
Anthony’s days are intentionally balanced between business development, client delivery, and running the firm. He is also investing in AI capabilities to support both internal operations and client solutions, viewing technology as a tool to enhance effectiveness rather than replace judgment.
Looking ahead, Anthony describes the outlook as uncertain but positive. Economic volatility and government-related risks are real, but opportunity continues to emerge, particularly through AI-driven innovation. Organizations and suppliers that evolve, remain relevant, and are willing to challenge conventional thinking will be best positioned to grow.
His advice to women and emerging leaders is direct: believe you belong and ask for help. Confidence and collaboration are not weaknesses. They are essential to building businesses that last.
Anthony McIntosh
President & CEO, UpRys www.uprys.com lwww.inkedin.com/in/anthonymcintosh/
Anthony McIntosh has built his career around a clear principle: sustainable success happens when people, processes, and technology move in alignment. As President and CEO of UpRys, he leads a mission-driven firm dedicated to helping nonprofits and small businesses strengthen operations, improve execution, and remain focused on work that truly matters.
With more than 25 years of experience in business leadership, strategy, and organizational transformation, Anthony brings practical clarity to complex organizational challenges. His journey into consulting began in 2016 when he founded SSE Advisors with a focus on helping organizations build sustainable success through learning and capability development. That work evolved as he partnered with nonprofit leaders, including the Alvis team, where supporting organizations that serve vulnerable communities reinforced his belief that operational excellence is a form of impact.
ELLEN GRINSFELDER
Chapter Chair
www.linkedin.com/in/ellen-grinsfelder
How WPO Elevates Women Entrepreneurs in Ohio Leading Boldly
The Women Presidents Organization (WPO) is redefining what it means for women entrepreneurs to scale with strength, strategy, and community. More than a peer network, WPO serves as a global engine for high-growth women-led businesses, offering the kind of support, insight, and accountability typically reserved for the uppermost tiers of leadership. With over 2,000 members spanning 140 chapters across the world, the organization gathers women who lead multimilliondollar companies and unites them in a confidential, collaborative ecosystem designed to stretch their thinking and strengthen their decision-making. These
founders represent the distinguished three percent of entrepreneurs whose companies exceed one million dollars in annual revenue—placing WPO among the most influential and results-driven networks for high-performing women in business today.
At the core of WPO’s impact are its chapters, each serving as a strategic hub where members convene monthly for deep, facilitated discussions. These gatherings function as true executive laboratories: places where complex challenges are unpacked with precision, long-held assumptions are challenged, and bold new ideas begin to take shape.
WPO’s peer-based model is deliberate and powerful. When driven, growth-minded women sit at the same table with others who understand the pressures, responsibilities, and aspirations of leading successful enterprises, the outcome is transformative. Members consistently experience sharper strategic clarity, expanded perspective, and a heightened confidence in their leadership—changes that ripple outward into their companies, teams, and communities.
Only three percent of women-owned businesses reach one million dollars in revenue. WPO exists to help more women break through that ceiling.
The Columbus Chapter embodies this impact with exceptional strength. Under the guidance of respected business leader and chapter chair Ellen Grinsfelder, the group brings together founders and CEOs whose companies fuel the economic
engine of Central Ohio. Its members represent an impressive spectrum of industries—from advanced technology and manufacturing to professional services, real estate, consumer brands, and more. Collectively, they are job creators, innovators, and visionaries whose efforts continue to shape the region’s economic identity. In a business climate where most entrepreneurs never reach the seven-figure mark, these women defy the odds—and then push beyond them.
What sets the Columbus Chapter apart is not only the caliber of its leaders but the authenticity and depth of their connection. In Ellen’s circle, conversations are honest, strategic, and unfiltered. Members openly explore decisions that carry substantial weight, discuss risks that demand courage, and celebrate wins that reflect years of persistence and vision. It is a space where vulnerability is met with respect, where trust fuels breakthrough thinking, and where collective intelligence replaces the isolation that so often accompanies executive leadership.
WPO’s Columbus Chapter stands as a vivid testament to how connection drives transformation. Together, these leaders are expanding what is possible—not just for their companies, but for the future of women’s entrepreneurship across Ohio and far beyond. Their impact is measurable, their commitment is unwavering, and their influence continues to grow with every conversation, every collaboration, and every bold step forward.
Website: www.women-presidents.com
Ambitio began where many powerful movements do: with three women who saw a gap no one else was filling. In 2022, Bridget Murphy, Natasha Pongonis, and Andrea Schmitt came together with a shared belief that women deserved a space where ambition was celebrated, authenticity was welcomed, and leadership conversations could move beyond surfacelevel networking. Each brought a remarkable journey of her own. Bridget was scaling Envision Promotions while raising an infant and managing Fortune 500 clients. Natasha was blending data, design, and global intelligence into entrepreneurial leadership. Andrea was breaking barriers in the construction industry, earning trust in a field where women remain significantly underrepresented.
Despite their distinct paths, they shared one realization: most business groups were not designed for the depth, honesty, and humanity women leaders need to thrive. From simple coffee dates grew a powerful vision. They created Ambitio, a community named after the Latin word for ambition. The goal was clear: build a space where women could show up fully, support each other boldly, and pursue growth without apology.
Ambitio is not transactional networking. It is a circle rooted in generosity, creativity, and real conversations about confidence, burnout, identity, and leadership. The network attracts founders, C-suite executives, next-generation leaders, and women building family businesses, but it also embraces emerging leaders who aspire to grow with purpose. What unites them is a desire to build meaningful legacies and support others while doing it.
In just a few years, Ambitio has expanded beyond Central Ohio, drawing women from industries including healthcare, construction, marketing, technology, design, and the arts. Partnerships, collaborations, and lifelong friendships have emerged from this community, proving that when women connect with intention, transformation follows.
For corporations seeking to engage women leaders meaningfully, Ambitio offers a powerful pipeline of talent and insight. For entrepreneurs, it provides peers who champion big ideas and hold space for the realities behind success.
Ambitio is more than a network. It is a movement redefining how women rise together, heart first and ambition alive.
AMBITIO Where Ambitious Women Thrive Together
We created the space we wished existed. Now women across industries are thriving inside it.
Natasha Pongonis
www.linkedin.com/in/natashapongonis/ Bridget Murphy
www.linkedin.com/in/bridgetomurphy/ Andrea Schmitt
www.linkedin.com/in/andreaschmittlci/
The New Albany Women’s Network (NAWN)
The New Albany Women’s Network (NAWN) is a vibrant, community-rooted organization designed to connect and support women across New Albany. Built on a spirit of collaboration and service, the network brings together women from diverse professional and personal backgrounds who share a commitment to personal growth, community engagement, and building meaningful relationships.
NAWN’s programming spans social, educational, and philanthropic activities. Women participate in speaker events,
small-group gatherings, volunteer initiatives, and networking opportunities that foster real connection and help members thrive in every stage of their lives and careers. The network also partners with local nonprofits and civic organizations, amplifying the impact of women’s leadership and collective giving in New Albany.
On October 21, under the leadership of Sandra Brogdon (Chair, Professionals Committee) and Sharon Tirado (Chair, Sponsorship Committee), NAWN gathered with Columbus’ The Women’s Center for Economic Opportunity and Key4Women to help women access opportunity through networking. Mastering the Elevator Pitch & Speed Networking panel discussion and presentation took place at the Healthy New Albany, Philip Heit Center.
For more information visit NAWN.org
President, FCBank www.fcbank.bank
linkedin.com/in/jenny-saunders
Relationships as the Real Asset
Legacy in banking is not built in quarterly reports or balance sheets. It is built in moments of trust, decisions made under pressure, and leaders who choose people as deliberately as performance. For more than four decades, Jenny Saunders has shaped community banking with that belief at the center of her work. As President of FCBank, a division of CNB Bank and a multibilliondollar institution, she has helped guide an industry through change while staying grounded in the relationships that make banking meaningful. As she prepares to retire this April, Jenny’s impact is best measured not by title, but by the strength of the institutions and leaders she leaves behind.
A graduate of
The Ohio State University, Jenny has earned national recognition as a banking executive, civic leader, and trusted voice in financial services. Her leadership includes serving as Chair of the Ohio Bankers League, along with longstanding involvement in the Worthington School District, the Worthington Resource Pantry, and both the Worthington and Ohio Chambers of Commerce. Her career has been honored with multiple SMART 50 Awards, the Columbus Business First C-Suite Award, CEO of the Year by the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, the Exceptional Women in Banking Award from the Ohio Bankers League, and the Paul Harris Fellows Community Service Award. She is also a respected national speaker, known for her clarity, credibility, and people-first perspective.
At FCBank, Jenny has overseen daily operations while guiding strategic growth, strengthening asset quality, and ensuring operational excellence in a highly regulated environment. She has led through periods of rapid change, balancing innovation with accountability, and regulatory rigor with human connection. Her leadership helped position the bank to expand responsibly while remaining deeply rooted in the communities it serves.
Jenny’s tenure has spanned one of the most transformative eras in banking. Digital platforms, real-time payments, advanced fraud prevention, and heightened cybersecurity demands have reshaped expectations. From her vantage point as Ohio Bankers League Chair, she saw clearly that technology is not replacing community banking, but redefining how it delivers value. When used thoughtfully, innovation empowers teams to serve customers faster, smarter, and with greater personalization, without losing the trust that defines the industry.
Throughout her career, Jenny has championed relationships as the true engine of success. She encourages women entering banking to listen deeply, build credibility intentionally, and invest in mentorship and collaboration. Confidence, she believes, is not the absence of doubt, but the decision to show up anyway. Her leadership reflects resilience shaped by early financial hardship and strengthened by decades navigating a male-dominated field with integrity and purpose.
As she approaches retirement this April, Jenny Saunders leaves community banking stronger than she found it. Her legacy lives on through the leaders she mentored, the organizations she strengthened, and the belief she modeled every day that trust, empathy, and vision are the most enduring tools of transformation.
Adaptogens
Nature’s Stress Partners for the Busy CEO
By: Keeanna Smith, MD
Dr. Smith earned her Doctor of Medicine and completed an Internal Medicine residency at Boonshoft School of Medicine. Throughout her career, she has focused on community-based care, holistic wellness, and advocacy for domestic and international underserved populations.
You’ve probably seen products in advertisements or on the shelves of your local health food or grocery stores claiming to contain adaptogens to boost energy, improve mood, and promote calm. For women balancing demanding work, family, and social obligations, that promise can sound like the perfect solution. But what exactly are adaptogens, and do they deliver? Let’s unpack the science and safety behind them so you can make informed choices about your well being.
What Are Adaptogens?
Adaptogens are active compounds found in certain herbs, plants, and mushrooms that may help the body manage stress, anxiety, and fatigue. To qualify as an adaptogen, a substance must:
• Be non-toxic when used at normal doses
• Support the body’s ability to handle stress
• Help restore balance (a process known as homeostasis)
In simple terms, adaptogens help your body “adapt” to stress and maintain equilibrium when life and business get intense.
Potential Benefits
Research and traditional use suggest that
some adaptogens may:
• Regulate stress reactions
• Increase energy or reduce fatigue
• Support immune health
• Ease anxiety
Think of them as gentle helpers, not quick fixes — small daily tools that may support resilience over time.
Potential Risks and Side Effects
While adaptogens are natural, they are not risk-free. Possible side effects include:
• Allergic reactions
• Stomach upset (pain, constipation, nausea, or diarrhea)
They may also interfere with certain medications or conditions, such as:
• Raising blood pressure
• Lowering blood sugar
• Increasing thyroid activity
• Counteracting antidepressants
• Disrupting sleep patterns
Always talk with your healthcare provider before adding adaptogens to your routine.
What Does the Research Say?
Some adaptogens, like ashwagandha and ginseng, have been studied extensively, while others have limited research. Findings vary and some studies show modest or short-term effects.
Common adaptogens include:
• Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera): Used in Ayurvedic (India) medicine for over 3,000 years; may help with stress and fatigue.
• Asian ginseng (Panax ginseng): Known for its use in traditional Chinese medicine over centuries; often studied for energy and cognitive support.
• American ginseng (Panax quinquefolium): Related to Asian ginseng, with slightly different active compounds.
• Rhodiola (Rhodiola rosea): Used in
northern Europe and Asia for energy and stress tolerance.
How to Use Adaptogens
Adaptogens are available in several forms, including:
• Ready-to-drink beverages or tea blends
• Capsules or tablets
• Tinctures (liquid extracts) Before use, consult your healthcare provider and follow product instructions for appropriate dosing. If you notice side effects, stop use and seek medical advice. Key Considerations Before You Try Them
• “Natural” doesn’t always mean safe. Consider important factors including medical history, medications, allergies, and pregnancy status.
• Consult your doctor before starting new supplements, especially if you manage high stress, chronic conditions, or use prescription drugs.
• View adaptogens as short-term supports, not long-term fixes. If stress or anxiety persist for more than three months, professional care can help you find sustainable solutions.
• Buy from reputable sources. The FDA does not regulate supplements, so purchase from trusted brands or established retailers to help ensure product quality.
The Bottom Line
Adaptogens can be an intriguing addition to a wellness toolkit, especially for highachieving women juggling multiple demands. Used thoughtfully, and with medical guidance, they may help support balance and resilience when life is at full speed.
Thank you for reading, and remember: investing in your health is investing in your power
A PARTNER YOU CAN COUNT ON
Encova Insurance strives to be present in our communities and values fostering strong relationships. By supporting the Aspire Women’s Book of Business, we are elevating women business owners and leaving a lasting impression in the communities we serve. We are glad to be part of recognizing all those united in helping women succeed.