The 10 Most Inspiring Women Leaders to Follow in 2022

The Most

Inspiring

Women

Leaders to Follow in 2022

Barbara Antonucci

Womanhood Unlocking the POTENTIAL of WOMEN for WELFARE of the WORLD Door to Success Leaders that We Need Today

A Strategic Litigator in all Areas of Employment Law and a Change Agent for DEI and More VOL- 06 | ISSUE-04 | 2022

www.insightssuccess.com

Editor’s Desk Remarkable Leaders, Remarkable Results

T

“

he leader is one who, out of the clutter, brings simplicity… out of discord, harmony… and out of difficulty, opportunity.” - Albert Einstein.

The corporate world is filled with organizations engaged in a constant tug of war to reign supreme. However, a company that constantly redevelops itself, brings something new to the market every time, and keeps the quality intact, is the one that succeeds. To run a successful company, recruiting and retaining good employees is essential. Most companies do this job well, but a few do it the best way possible. Keeping employees happy can be done in multiple ways, but the most effective is having one good employee leading them- A good leader.

An effective leader does the work which equals the effort of multiple employees under him by following a pattern that brings results to the organization while keeping the physical and mental health of the employees in an optimal condition.

As we progress into an age of history where resignations are at a peak and employees pay an eye to detail about every aspect of work, it is essential to have a leader that understands these requirements and delivers curated conditions for everyone.

Women have traditionally outperformed men in professional connection building, workplace integrity, and self-development involvement. However, contrary to popular belief, the study found that women outperform males when initiating new initiatives and being resultsoriented. This is the primary reason women leaders have been successful in their fields. The aggressive, demanding market climate and changing company models that have led to the evolution of women as leaders may also be to reason for this rise. The instinctive agility that comes with being a

woman and the innate ability to multitask – thanks to the upbringing pattern of women in our society – enable them to take on difficult responsibilities and solve complex business problems with ease reaping great rewards for both themselves and the organization.

This edition of “The 10 Most Inspiring Women Leaders to Follow in 2022” showcases many great women leaders who have broken the barriers of gender bias and proved their worth in this intense business environment. The cover features Barbara Antonucci, who personally inspired me with her dedication and incredible work ethic. She had to face setbacks in her career yet prevailed strong, coming out on top. Not only did Barbara develop her career as a partner at her firm, but she also continued to onboard and develop exciting talent, which makes her an exceptional leader.

Let's read her inspirational journey along with the other women leaders who encourage me to give my best daily.

I hope you enjoy this insightful read as much as my in-house-editorial team, and I enjoyed writing it!

Raunak

Raunak Mhetre

raunak.mhetre@insightssuccess.com

C O N T E N T S

08

C O V E R S TO RY

A RT I C L E S

32

Door to Success Leaders that We Need Today

Cloé Caron

Womanhood Unlocking the POTENTIAL of WOMEN for WELFARE of the WORLD

Guiding Leaders to Develop their True Potential

46

16

20

Training Your Dog to be PAW-SOME

Jaimine Johnson

Karen Simon

Lisa Thee

34 Kathleen Waid

Using Artificial Intelligence to Improve Human Experience

An Accomplished Real Estate Broker and a Passionate Advocate for the Mentally Ill

Tracy V. Green

24

Jillian Weston

Determined to Make the Most

An Ardent Legal Professional Exemplifying Passionate Leadership

36

48

Developing Strategies to Enhance the Real Estate Industry

An Astute Digital Marketer Leading with Relatability and Empathy

28

Elissa Weimer

42 Sherry Blinkhorn

Engraining an Innovative Eyewear Culture

52

Editor-in-Chief Merry D'Souza Managing Editor Anish Miller

Executive Editor Raunak Mhetre

Assistant Editors Jenny Fernandes

Visualizer

Art & Design Director

Associate Designer

David King

Shyam Sonawane

Revati Badkas

Senior Sales Manager

Business Development Manager

Kshitij S

Peter Collins

Marketing Manager

Sales Executives David, Martin

John Matthew Technical Head

Business Development Executives

Jacob Smile

Steve, Joe, Saurabh

Technical Specialist Aditya

Digital Marketing Manager Dominique T.

SME-SMO Executive Atul Dhoran

Research Analyst Frank Adams

Circulation Manager Robert Brown

Database Management Stella Andrew

Technology Consultant David Stokes

sales@insightssuccess.com June, 2022

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The

Most Inspiring

Women Leaders to Follow in

2022

Featured Person

Company Name

Description

Barbara Antonucci Partner

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP constangy.com

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete offers a wider lens on workplace law.

Cloe Caron Founder & President

o2Coaching o2coaching.ca

o2coaching strongly believe that any person or organization can acheive its goals by adopting simple fundamental shifts in mindset, attitude and behaviour.

Elissa Weimer Owner & Professional Trainer

Paw & Order Dog Training pawandorder.com

Paw & Order Dog Training offers certified dog training programs.

Jaimine Johnson Director of Asset Management

DRK and Company Realty drk-realty.com

DRK and Company Realty has 50 years of experience in all aspects of commercial real estate.

Jillian Weston Founder

Jillian's Circus jillianscircus.com

Improving your Local Community using Traditional Values and New-Age Technology.

Karen Simon President & Managing of Tarrant County Division

Emersons Commercial Real Estate emersonscre.com

Emersons Commercial Real Estate is a sophisticated team of real estate professionals.

Karina Tiwana Vice President, Legal

Infinera infinera.com

Infinera is a global supplier of innovative networking solutions.

Kathleen Waid CRO

Prove prove.com

Prove delivers digital trust, providing businesses the confidence to do more.

Lisa Thee Lead - Data for Good Practice

Launch Consulting Group launchconsulting.com

Launch Consulting Group is a digital transformation consultancy that operates at the intersection of People, Data and Technology.

Tracy V. Green Co-Founder & CEO

VONTELLE vontelle.com

Vontélle eyewear designs work to ensure this level of command in every room.

Sherry Blinkhorn Broker/Owner

Blinkhorn Real Estate Ltd blinkhornrealestate.com

Blinkhorn Real Estate supports many non profit organizations in the County and believes in giving back to the Community that supports the business.

The 10 Most Inspiring Women Leaders to Follow in 2022

Barbara Antonucci A Strategic Litigator in all Areas of Employment Law and a Change Agent for DEI and More

One thing we’re doing at Constangy is working directly with software designers to create in-house tools that decrease our reliance on expensive outside vendors and offer tailored solutions that can better meet our clients’ needs.

C O V E R

S T O R Y

B

arbara Antonucci had to change hats and carry on the legacy of her dear friend and mentor, who passed away unexpectedly. It was the start of a more significant chapter in her life, filled with various lessons and conflicts. Despite the challenges, she continued to improve and move forward with the tenacity she has shown since she entered the legal profession.

Barbara is a Partner at Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP, and is an accomplished employment litigator who practices all aspects of employment law.

Succeeding on a Path of Thorns After graduating from law school, Barbara spent 14 years practicing law at two large firms before joining Constangy in January 2017 to launch the firm's San Francisco office.

Through her prior experiences, she learned a great deal about what makes a good litigator and advisor and the characteristics of corporate culture that breed success and happiness. When she joined Constangy, the firm had just opened its first California office in LA, but had been nationally renowned for more than 70 years for its labor and employment practice. It was already gaining a reputation for its commitment to diversity and flexible, collaborative culture.

I look forward to continuing to serve on the firm’s steering committee for diversity and inclusion.

With this being a big draw for her, Barbara took a leap of faith to join a smaller firm, which was the right decision despite the unexpected challenges. Her great friend and mentor Julius Turman – who recruited Barbara to Constangy and served as the managing partner for the new San Francisco office – passed away unexpectedly in May 2018, pressing her to jump into the role of leading the office quickly.

It was an accelerated learning curve, but she and her team have been extremely successful in bringing on new attorneys and a full staff complement and establishing strong client relationships in all major industry sectors. It was important to Barbara to carry on the vision that she and Julius had to grow a diverse and welcoming office. She firmly believes that diversity in gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and background is the key to success, happiness, and a fair judicial system.

The Constangy San Francisco office is led by four women partners – Barbara Antonucci, Sarah Robertson, Sarah Hamilton and Jasmine Anderson. Its attorneys come from all backgrounds: African American, Asian American, Latinx, and LGBT. Barbara has been the managing partner of the San Francisco Office for four years. She serves the firm in several other leadership roles where she can carry this vision forward on a greater scale as a member of the firm's compensation committee and as part of Constangy's steering committee for diversity and inclusion initiatives, launched by Neil Wasser, who chairs the firm's executive committee.

Progressing With Determination In a survey a few years ago, one of Constangy's clients said, "there is a soul to Constangy that is unique and refreshing, that's not found with other firms." Barbara believes the company has a culture that is unique among larger firms.

Diversity is certainly at its heart, as they were the first of the largest 350 firms in the U.S. to have an African American attorney as a "name on the door" partner in 2015 – Don Prophete. A commitment to "top-down diversity" is central to its management philosophy.

Constangy is one of the top three firms in the country for representing women and minorities in its executive

leadership. Over the past five years, nearly two-thirds of its hires and promotions have been women and or minorities.

The company's San Francisco office is particularly strong– 88% of its attorney hires have been women, minorities, LGBTQ, or veterans. Constangy also recruits from a wealth of diverse experiences.

Many of the company's employees come from the world of "Big Law," but they also recruit from a wider range of backgrounds: attorneys from smaller firms, in-house positions, and government agencies. Together, this gives them greater insights into the "real world" problems clients face and more creative ideas on how to help solve them.

Be the Change You Want to See in the World Even though Constangy is relatively new to the California market, the three offices across the state have already gained a reputation for their bench strength in complex class, collective, and representative litigation. Some specific laws in California, such as the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA), make the state "ground zero" for these types of costly, timeconsuming lawsuits. They are very lucrative for the plaintiff's counsel, and companies can easily spend millions of dollars and months defending them, if not years.

Barbara specializes in these types of cases and, together with her colleagues, is one of the most experienced and knowledgeable defense teams in the state. They are constantly thinking about how to advance new defense strategies and thoughtfully advising on remedial measures that help reduce the future liability, all the while with their

finger on the pulse of legal developments and business needs.

While their experience is commensurate, their rates are often more competitive than their counterparts because Constangy frugally manages its expenses. The team works closely with its clients to achieve goals without breaking the bank.

Maintaining High Standards of Work Culture

In law or any other business field, of course, you have to be good at what you do, but ultimately it all comes down to building and nurturing trusted relationships – with your colleagues and clients alike.

Constangy is a firm that puts a high value on collaboration and culture. The team looks for talented and diverse attorneys and lawyers who are simply a good fit. “People with big egos don't do well here. We work together, and most importantly, we genuinely like each other! We're structured in a way that encourages collaboration – our offices don't compete against each other, and we encourage cross-office teams that best meet our client's needs. It allows us to be more responsive, which has been helpful in fueling our fast growth here in California. It also allows us to mentor our younger attorneys more effectively – they can work across offices and get opportunities to take on interesting, substantive work that helps them develop the skills they need to succeed."

Another thing that stands out to Barbara is that Constangy has a culture that values their attorneys and staff as people.

Work-life balance isn't just a buzzword for them. They don't work their younger lawyers to death, and they recognize that they all have personal responsibilities that are equally if not more important than their professional ones. Most of the attorneys on the team in San Francisco are women, and Barbara appreciates that they have the flexibility and support to work remotely and meet the changing needs of these past two crazy years.

Adjusting to Technological Advancements "We help companies work proactively to create policies, monitor compliance, and address day-to-day issues, as well as defend them when disagreements arise. What a lot of people don't realize is that this involves a tremendous amount of data analysis with increasingly sophisticated tools. You'd be hard-pressed to find a firm that isn't investing in AI and other analytical tools, and it can get really pricey," according to Barbara, "One thing we're doing at Constangy is working directly with software designers to create in-house tools that decrease our reliance on expensive outside vendors and offer tailored solutions that can better meet our clients' needs. And with offices across the country, we can draw on talented tech talent from geographic markets where costs are more reasonable."

Staying Ahead of Trends in the Workplace As a leader of her firm and an advisor to companies of all sizes, Barbara is committed to assisting in developing and implementing policies and procedures that foster an equitable and positive workplace culture. “So many studies have shown that a positive workplace culture contributes to financial success; you're more productive, you recruit and retain better talent, and you reduce litigation costs so you can put that money into the wallets of your workforce.”

Barbara thinks the world of labor and employment law is already seeing some big changes that will continue over the next year or two. Employers are dealing with tremendous amounts of data; hence, privacy and cybersecurity will be important issues for all employers. She predicts that the uptick in union organizing will continue to be important issues.

Barbara says, "there are some interesting court decisions coming down the line over the next several months related to representative action waivers that could mean an increase in complex multi-plaintiff lawsuits, which can be a big headache and expense for employers. We regularly hold practice group meetings to discuss anticipated changes to the law and finesse our strategies so we can be at the forefront of developing tactics to address these developments before they happen."

As they say, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

Envisioning an Impeccable Future It is an increasingly competitive market for law firms, but Barbara thinks Constangy's talent and experience rival any of the Big Law players, with the level of collaboration, personalized service, and deep client relationships of a boutique firm. She is excited to continue to lead efforts to grow the firm and deepen its reach.

Barbara looks forward to continuing to serve on the firm's steering committee for diversity and inclusion. Together, as a team, they have worked and will continue to build new internal programs to promote understanding within the firm, expand their recruitment and retention of diverse attorneys,

and create new D&I offerings for clients. The firm has worked to promote diversity and inclusion in the communities where they live through charitable donations and volunteer/pro bono efforts. It's one of her proudest accomplishments at Constangy, and she is excited to continue to help grow and expand those efforts.

Barbara states, "In law or any other business field, you have to be good at what you do, but ultimately it all comes down to building and nurturing trusted relationships – with your colleagues and clients alike. I'd also like attorneys who are not content in their current practice to know that you do not have to settle for just being a cog in a wheel. You can go where you can have a voice and be an active part of building a firm or team that supports your personal and professional growth.”

The 10 Most Inspiring Women Leaders to Follow in 2022

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The 10 Most Inspiring Women Leaders to Follow in 2022

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Elissa Weimer Training Your Dog to be PAW-SOME

I

f you are a pet owner, you may understand that the bond between a dog and owner is impeccable. You might have come across several videos on social media where a dog is happy, carrying out his shenanigans, spreading smiles on millions of faces. However, many efforts go into training these dogs, considered as an essential part of canine companionship. Elissa Weimer takes dog training to her heart to deepen the bond between the owner and the dog to widen their smile.

Elissa is the Owner of Paw & Order Dog Training and is a Professional Trainer, with numerous certifications to her name. Through Paw & Order, she offers professional, balanced, dog training and behavioral problem solving throughout the Pittsburgh area. Paw & Order recently expanded its reach to Southwest Florida, Houston, TX, and Central Ohio through franchising.

different feeling than seeing an agent or police officer at your door.

I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur, but I did not know where to start. I spent a long time figuring out what I was good at and realized I am good at teaching people. I just had to decide what I would be excited to teach! I realized that I love animals and that they had the power of making people feel good in so many ways. I realized that so many people have dogs, so I decided to shadow many other dog trainers and attended a ton of schools to learn as many techniques as possible to help people ENJOY their dogs. To this day, I continue to learn and better myself and my team of trainers to help as many people as possible. We not only continue our education with behavioral problems, but also

Insights Success caught up with Elissa in our endeavor to find “The 10 Most Successful Businesswomen to Watch 2022” and talked about how she is instilling pride in dog owners, as well as making dogs safer in the community as a whole!

Below are the highlights of the interview: Brief our audience about your journey as a business leader until your current position at Paw & Order Dog Training. What challenges have you had to overcome to reach where you are today?

I joined the military right out of High School. Being a Military Policewoman led me to the path I am on now.

During college, I acquired a paid internship with the Attorney General’s office and later with the Federal Bureau of Investigations on their Violent Drug and Gang squad in Philadelphia, PA. After two years of interning there, I applied for a Special Agent position, but quickly realized that just was not what I genuinely wanted to do for the rest of my life. I wanted to help people and wanted people to be excited when they saw me arrive at their homes—a

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“We pride ourselves on solving behavior problems and teaching good behaviors for the long term, not just for the moment. We will investigate and solve your dog's behavior problems.” with other areas of dog training such as trick training, Therapy Dog Training, Canine Good Citizen, agility training, large field socialization classes, and K9 Detection training (my Belgian Malinois and I won 1st Place Narcotics at last year’s Police K9 Competition in Kentucky). We realized how much we have to offer and how unique our company is that we decided it was time to franchise in 2019!

Tell us something more about your company and its mission and vision.

Paw & Order’s mission is to improve the lives of as many families as we can by providing quality and effective individualized dog training. Our vision is to continue spreading Paw & Order nationwide and have an amazing training program to ensure that the quality of our local Pittsburgh market is mirrored in every major city in the United States. We train our trainers to the highest standards and treat our employees like family. All our trainers are extremely valuable to us, and we make sure that they are well taken care of. It builds their loyalty to our brand, making them want to work even harder to ensure that our clients are happy and excited to refer us to their family and friends.

Enlighten us on how you have impacted the training niche through your expertise in the market.

Our training is unique to each dog and family. We have also made training simple and effective for families and dogs. So often, we hear that “my dog will only listen if I am holding treats or the leash/some other piece of training equipment.”

Or a client will say that their dog knows all basic commands (sit, down, come, stay) but will not do it when there are other distractions around or the environment does not look the same every time for the dog.

Dogs do not generalize things well and need hundreds of repetitions in as many situations as possible to reliably understand what you are asking them to do. We have mastered our communication with dogs and their owners to

train SIMPLE. We have found that overloading our clients with a bunch of training jargon that means nothing to them is not helpful. Dog owners want their dog to be a good family dog they can trust and be proud of! They are not competing in shows with their dog where they need to learn fancy tricks and unrealistic positions to their family situation (there is nothing wrong with competitions, but most pet owners do not care about that). Most people do not have perfect timing when it comes to communicating with their dog, so we use methods that allow a delay between rewards and consequences once their behavior, like/dislike, has been identified. This helps tremendously so that their dog will listen even if their owner does not have food or a leash in their hand.

We pride ourselves on solving behavior problems and teaching good behaviors for the long term, not just for the moment. Our clients have lifetime access to our trainers and they have access to a free private adventure group after their training is complete to make sure that they continue to be successful. It introduces them to an amazing community of other dogs and owners to experience fun things with. At least once a week, we meet up at trails, parks, stores, lakes, bars, etc., and go hiking, camping, kayaking, or just enjoy a nice day outside with our dogs and a drink! We want people to experience how life-changing our dog training programs are. Once your dog is well trained, your world becomes more fulfilling and exciting!

Where do you envision yourself to be in the long run, and what are your future Paw & Order Dog Training goals?

We recently started opening new locations nationwide and want to continue doing so. We strive for the QUALITY of our trainers instead of quantity. Paw & Order is my “baby,” and we will only expand with individuals that match our integrity and motivation to work hard, be proud of what they are doing, and continue to improve the quality of the business.

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Elissa Weimer

Owner & Professional Trainer Paw & Order Dog Training

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JAIMINE JOHNSON

Director, Commercial Operations, Leasing and Sales Realtor

DRK and Company Realty

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The 10 Most Inspiring Women Leaders to Follow in 2022

Johnson

aim mine

I

n the world of real estate, sincerity and integrity are the morals that are as valuable as the land itself.

Engraining these morals within herself, Jaimine Johnson has walked a long road to become the Director of Commercial Operations, Leasing, and Sales Realtor at DRK and Company Realty.

Jaimine's proven strategies have shifted tides in the niche, gaining her recognition as one of the most successful businesswomen. With assets above $225 million in the DRK portfolio, she has a proven record of success in developing strategies that drive revenue and increase overall business profitability.

Insights Success caught up with Jaimine and talked about her journey, challenges, and future goals.

Below are the highlights of the interview: Brief our audience about your journey as a business leader until your current position at DRK. What challenges you have to overcome to reach where you are today?

As Director of Commercial Operations, Leasing, and Sales for DRK, I have developed and implemented long-term strategies for the commercial asset division in the investment management of office, industrial/flex, medical, retail properties.

I previously worked at DRK from 2007 to 2015, and I brought a wealth of real estate experience to the company. I have overseen transactions involving the asset management, sales, leasing, and marketing of commercial properties while executing initiatives to promote and support company growth, global planning, new business start-ups, and company branding. At DRK, I consistently maintained a 96% tenant occupancy rate while increasing outside listings by 83%.

operations in providing consultative services for healthcare systems and service providers both in Ohio and on a national platform. I also served as senior vice president of commercial real estate at Huntington National Bank. I developed strategies to enhance the real estate portfolio comprised of $10 billion in office, retail, and land out parcel properties.

The greatest challenge, certainly when I joined commercial real estate, was that there were not many women in the industry who did what I was tasked to do. I remember sitting in meetings, and I was one woman to over 80 men in the room. I certainly did not see it as a challenge but rather an opportunity to pave the way for diversification. I will admit that Columbus was very welcoming. I have had the distinct honor of working with some outstanding leaders in this city.

Tell us something more about DRK, its mission, and vision Donald R. Kenney & Company Realty has 50 years of experience in Columbus, Ohio, in land acquisition, land development, property management, and the sale and lease of all types of commercial property, including professional and medical office buildings, warehouse distribution, and retail.

Enlighten us on how DRK has made an impact in the Land niche through your expertise in the market.

DRK is a locally owned and operated company. That proves most helpful when understanding exactly what your community needs. Being in the business for 50+ years in all municipalities surrounding Central Ohio has helped DRK solidify many useful relationships to determine where the next piece of property is purchased.

My real estate expertise in Columbus includes working as First Vice President of Colliers Healthcare Real Estate Group. There, I directed the real estate strategy and

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Land development signifies growth in a community. DRK takes pride in finding great sites that can prosper not only with commercial and residential construction but also many benefits to surrounding retail, schools, tourism, creating new community infrastructure, etc.

Undeniably, technology is playing a significant role in almost every sector. How are you leveraging technological advancements to make your solutions resourceful?

For better or worse, technology has changed how most business is transacted. Undoubtedly, real estate has benefited from improved efficiencies such as virtual touring, e signing, and online listings sources.

clients' staff in our buildings while providing a safe environment that allows the employees to work have proper innovation, social, transportation, and telecommunications systems.

Where do you envision yourself to be in the end and what are your future goals for DRK? I have certainly found what I enjoy doing. They say," Do what you love, and you'll never work another day in your life" We are a Niche brokerage; we enjoy specializing, we study our market. I feel we belong in the space we are currently operating in, landlords with square feet from 0120,000 SF.

Lastly, allowing meetings to take place online versus inperson helped us navigate and continue to do business safely and effectively during a pandemic, one of the most difficult times our nation has ever faced.

Maintaining our goals will be key. Strong goals for our team will be to reconfigure our current real estate to maintain the need in the space and continue relationship building: strong occupancy and an even strong NOI to our investors.

If given a chance, what change would you like to bring in the Asset Management industry?

Optimization, efficiency, and lastly, improve the understanding of asset management and how it proves to play a critically important role in proper NOI. Assuring all Property Managers are licensed, agents.

What would be your advice to budding entrepreneurs who aspire to venture into the Leasing/Sales sector?

Know your worth, be strong with knowledge and continue to educate yourself. Always be willing to learn. Lastly, pick up the phone and see people in person. It is much easier to do a transaction with a friend than with a stranger.

What, according to you, could be the next big change in the Commercial Real Estate industry? How is DRK preparing to be a part of that change?

We will continue to focus on the need for work- flexibility, dining, shopping, health activities, and the support of our clients. We are under the strong belief that we need to be affordable and close to many amenities that support our

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Jillian Weston Owner/Founder

Jillian's Circus

The 10 Most Inspiring Women Leaders to Follow in 2022

Jillian Weston An Astute Digital Marketer Leading with Relatability and Empathy

T

he effectiveness of the leaders is mainly figured out by their ability to cooperatively work with their team and lead that team effectively to deliver great results. Learning how to teach and motivate people who have different values, goals, and motivations than you do, is tough. Leaders need to deal with a variety of people in the team. They need to have good soft skills to relate with all the people in the team. They need to empathize with people and bring out the best in them to drive organizational success.

Leaders who relate to the people in their team deliver remarkable results for the organizations as well as their clients. One such leader who has cultivated the art of relating to the people is Jillian Weston. Understanding people and becoming more empathetic has made her a better leader. She is the Owner/Founder of Jillian's Circus. The company’s finely-honed balancing act identifies its clients’ goals and achieves them utilizing a wide array of online marketing tools.

Inspiring Employees to Meet Needs of the Clients Jillian believes that as the owner of a digital marketing agency, it is important to create a strong foundation with the right pricing and service offering, hire motivated people with positive attitudes and natural skills, teach them how to do their specific job, and finally continue to teach, check-in and motivate each person in her company. On-going encouragement and education keep her employees current with their clients’ needs.

Being Competitive by Maintaining Solid Online Presence Talking about the significance of digital marketing, Jillian mentions that it is impossible to reach your company’s full potential without digital marketing. The return on investment is insane. Digital marketing saves an incredible amount of time and money because the internet provides a

place for people to do business anywhere in the world at any time without the expense of an office, staff, etc.

For example, a boutique might spend $10,000 on their online website, but that isn’t even close to what they would spend on rent, utilities, and staffing in just one year at a brick and motor location. And their website will last at least 3-5 years.

Another example she gives is of coaching. A coach can put their lessons online as videos or host them virtually, allowing more people to view/ attend each lesson and raising the amount of money they could earn. Scheduling individual appointments or having a physical classroom limits both your time and the number of people who attend each lesson.

Jillian states, “Even if you cannot sell your products/ services online, it must be said that maintaining a solid online presence is still relevant. The presence alone increases your opportunity to gain new business, increases customer loyalty, repeat business, and referrals; and allows you to stay competitive. Few business owners achieve success without a digital marketing strategy.”

Being Adaptable in Unprecedented Times Everyone can agree that the Spring of 2020 was a difficult time for everyone due to the pandemic. However, it forced many businesses to realize that their business needs to adapt to this digital era. Jillian opines that if entrepreneurs did not know before, the pandemic showed them that they needed to energetically sell their goods and services online.

In any disaster, some industries suffer, and others benefit.

Jillian’s Circus adapted by having employees work from home/ remotely and working with current and new clients on getting their business online as quickly as possible.

Jillian states, “That’s all part of business- sometimes you’re up and sometimes you’re down and must find a way to adapt.”

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“Jillian’s Circus is a

full-service online marketing agency that regularly makes magic happen for clients.”

Celebrating Success of Each Other When it comes to driving an organization’s success, maintaining a positive work culture is essential. Jillian’s Circus strives for a positive work environment. Its training manual goes beyond basic skills/rules. It stresses interoffice relationships and collaborative strategies by encouraging a non-competitive environment, offering ongoing training/team meetings, and hosting several parties every year for all employees and clients. Jillian’s Circus celebrates one another’s successes and provides incentives to reward excellence.

Besides, Jillian expresses, “If there is even one negative Ned/Nancy in your office- get them out!!! Like right nowstop reading and fire them. If you’re the person who is negative, then you need to stop because it’s killing your business.”

One Desired Change If given a chance, one change that Jillian would bring in the way brands and people connect is to remove people's skepticism when it comes to sales. She states, “Every business is in business because it fills a need. If there is something you need or want, and you hear about someone

who has or can do it, then book a meeting with them to see if what they offer makes sense. If it does, move forward. If it doesn’t, let them know and thank them for their time.”

Creating Strong Base and Building on That Jillian advises aspiring businesswomen to start by creating a strong base. She instructs, “Think about your client’s journey from hearing about your business to working with you for 10 years. Think about what they will see, what they will hear, what they will receive, etc. when they interact with your business and employees. Will they see a professional website? When they call how does someone answer? What does follow-up look like? If they walk into your office, is it comfortable? Then create a consistent, professional, branded flow every customer will experience.”

Creating Authority in Digital Marketing Space and Growing Like a Wildfire Over the next 5 years, Jillian’s vision is to establish Jillian’s Circus as an authority in the digital marketing space, work on digital advocacy, and grow like wildfire.

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Door to Success

Leaders that We Need

Today

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ife is a struggle that revolves around personal and professional challenges. And, when you are struggling, seeking advice from genuine friends always helps you. But instead of following people and their advice, create your own opportunities that help you find your own path. Because fate is by far the greatest mystery of all, and you can never know where it will take you. But the real question is there an alternative to all of this? While everyone speaks about these complicated things, let’s discuss the solution through this article.

Our lives are connected to technology and social media, as they play a key role in today’s modern world. As business leaders, we have to accept the fact that the vision to bring change in the lives of the people and transform the world is possible with technology. But, promoting compassion and wellbeing among the people is also equally important.

Understandably, everyone wants to create their identity and influence the world. But developing leaders just for the sake of business output and profits will degrade the quality of the leadership. And, we don’t want such leaders, especially in tough times like today.

We want leaders who can get the best out of their team, which is possible only without the fear of judgment. It is a great way to lead, discuss, guide, and help each other in crucial times. A ray of hope is all people need, and leaders can bring that hope through these sources. For example, if any employee knows that he/she does not have to face the issues alone and there is someone to talk about it, it gives hope to that person.

Yes, that’s the alternative for a leader – to connect - to help those who feel down and try to bring the best out of them. That’s what the leader should be recognized for, and this is the shift leaders need to bring currently.

As an organization and as people, we should develop compassion and ethics that reflect our outlook on the world.

and well-being among the people. Now that we have got the alternative solution for the leaders. The next question is, how do you recognize that you need help?

Most of us today are too busy making a living. We exist only within our daily routine, as we are preoccupied with massive responsibilities in many aspects of our lives, like academic, financial, career, household chores, etc. And due to this, it becomes too late to realize that you are already struggling – emotionally and mentally. We no longer listen to our body & mind, and finally, we do not appreciate our actual/real life.

There appears an absence of self-care. Taking care of yourself can be overlooked against all the professional pressures of our life. But it is important to take time to care about your physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental health.

Before you extend your compassion and authentic care for people, you must first practice self-care.

Why? Because you can never give what you do not have.

Below are things that can help you in practicing selfcare: Ÿ Start your day doing things you love the most and boost your mood. Ÿ Be grateful for things you have, no matter how small or big it might be. Ÿ Have sufficient sleep, healthy food, and exercise regularly Ÿ Do activities and interactions add value to your life There are much more things that you can discover yourself to practice self-care. After following all the things, you will appreciate your life, even more, resulting in a healthy work-life balance. With peace of mind, you will achieve your life goals. You will know yourself better – see a better version of yourself and attract positivity in your life.

It is only with this approach we can make it possible to sustain and impact lives for longer, creating a better world for all. This is a much-needed alternative in today’s pandemic situation – promoting compassion

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Karen Simon

Determined to Make the Most

Karen Simon

President & Managing Partner (Tarrant County Division)

Emersons Commercial Real Estate

The 10 Most Inspiring Women Leaders to Follow in 2022

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rom facing challenges and rising to the occasion to dent the universe with her sheer will, Karen Simon has come a long way to become the President and Managing Partner at Emersons Commercial Real Estate Tarrant County Division. Today, Karen is admired throughout the real-estate niche for her fantastic leadership skills to help her clients, employees, and agents grow in their profession and succeed in their business.

Let us dive deep into Karen's determined journey.

Climbing Up the Ladder From the beginning of her professional journey in 1983 until the early 2000s, Karen's significant challenge to overcome was striving as a woman in a primarily maledominated industry. She was amongst the few women in that period that operated in industrial real-estate; however, she found clients that were open-minded to deal professionally with women as long as they were informed and worked hard. Although, fellow male brokers were slower to welcome women.

When Karen was in charge of Public Relations and Intergovernmental Relations for five states at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, she learned how to obtain her broker's license, never having had a sales license. The department did not allow its employees to hold a salesman's license because it could create a potential conflict of interest.

Fortunately, a new regulation opened for one year allowed those qualified to be brokers to bypass a salesman's license and sit for the brokers' exam. Karen applied and learned that she lacked nine classroom hours or three semester hours out of 60 to qualify for the exam. Being a challenge, Karen could not resist and took a two-week leave, took nine classroom hours, and attended the exam. She passed and earned her broker's license, which she could hold alone and meet the legal criteria.

Armed with a new tool, Karen set about her business as if nothing had changed until at a Christmas party; she met the head of industrial real estate for Henry S. Miller, then the

largest real estate company in the state of Texas. She shares, "After the usual chit-chat, he asked me by chance did I hold a real estate license? I said proudly, "Yes, I do!" and he offered me a job that was hard to resist.”

Henry S. Miller wanted to open an industrial real estate division in their Tarrant County office and hire their first

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woman as a head of a department. After six months of discussion and negotiation, there were no female industrial realtors in Tarrant or Dallas County in 1982. Karen began a bold new road in her life as the first female industrial realtor and the first female head of a division within the largest real estate company in the state. She asserts, "I remained with Henry, later to be Grubb and Ellis, for six years and then began a wild ride in the real estate business as the market took a downturn and the federal government became the largest real estate owner in the country.”

The Next Chapter From 1990 to 1993, Karen was a partner and significant shareholder in the R.E. Group Advisors Inc. DBA the Real Estate Group. It was a woman and minority-owned company, where she enjoyed the benefits and opportunities allowed to this small group in administrating and or marketing for the government.

As the real estate market began to shift, Karen left the Real Estate Group, joining a regional-sized retail leasing and sales development organization called the Woodmont Company as the head of their newly formed industrial and land division. She spent six years with them, helping them with the industrial needs of their retail clients, and managing site development.

In 2003, Karen was recruited to start a Tarrant County office for the Bradford Company and spent the next 12 years making them a successful venture in Tarrant County.

Sharing her experience, she says, "Alas, no opportunity there for ownership was going to come my way, and so my adventurous soul moved me on. In 2014, I founded the TIG company in Tarrant County, also an industrial and office brokerage and management company.”

When the stars aligned in 2016, Karen met the partners of Emersons Commercial Real Estate and decided that she was finally at home. Richard Webb, a former banker, and Matt Price, a CPA, decided they wanted a Tarrant County office and knew they wanted a partnership, not an employee-run office. Karen mentions, "We agreed that we had made a marriage worth keeping. In 2016 we formed the Fort Worth office of Emersons Commercial Real Estate. Richard and Matt had founded Emersons in 2004, and by 2016 they had a successful brokerage company and a rapidly growing management company managing over 7 million square feet in Texas.”

manage all of Kroger's real estate nationwide. They opened multiple offices across the country with a mission to be the best real estate company possible and to handle their client's needs as close to perfection as possible, having growth and strength as the objective.

A Team Player Sharing her thoughts on technology, Karen says, "I am a bit slow on technological advances but have surrounded myself with techy people who help me see over the horizon. I want to help agents see that doing their best for their clients will ultimately help them the most if given a chance. Courtesy, study, and a strong work effort will benefit my fellow agents in achieving their future success.”

To the Roots Ultimately, Karen sees herself returning more to a teaching role as she initially spent four years teaching in a community college and enjoying mentoring others to push towards their excellence.

Karen would like to see Emersons reach its full emergence as an ethical and successful real estate firm with a solid and loyal clientele.

Mentoring Next Generation Karen advises aspiring entrepreneurs to put their clients' needs foremost in their efforts."A good reputation and success record will be their reward," Karen concludes.

By 2019, Emersons had formed with a Saint Louis-based partner, Priority Properties, a partnership called 1045 to

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Kathleen Waid, CRO | Prove

June 2022 | 38 | www.insightssuccess.com

The 10 Most Inspiring Women Leaders to Follow in 2022

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echnological developments have made things speedy and easy for online payments. Along with these conveniences followed the threats of online fraud too. To control and prevent all kinds of frauds in the online payment domain, business leaders are initiating newer solutions in better customer authentication and verification to maintain the safety and reliability of the transactions.

Kathleen Waid, the Chief Revenue Officer at Prove, analyzed the market need for better payment security systems that customize the authentication process, apply innovative technologies from a new perspective, and deliver a quick result solution to the customers. She is keen on providing new and specific solutions that secure the transaction with complex integrated processes, thereby preventing all the threats of cyber-attacks or frauds. The technical team from Prove is focused on the research process of renewing their solutions to meet the everchanging needs of the modern market.

Where did it all begin?

Kathleen began her career in a fraud prevention department for a notable top ten credit card issuer, where she built a team to detect and prevent fraud, allowing her to become an industry expert in the field. The issuing bank she was working for needed a more efficient solution than just simple methods and rules to identify fraud— so they eventually turned to a machine learning, neural network solution offered by HNC Software in the '90s.

While their PhD-level scientist built amazing fraud prevention models to prevent credit card fraud (now a FICO product named Falcon), they had no idea how to help banks operationalize it. Kathleen joined HNC Software, a SaaSbased software company, in sales as an operational expert to help solve customer problems. This highly actionable opportunity allowed her to make a meaningful change in customer experience. That led to her fast-track career in Sales and then Sales Management. Looking back, it gave Kathleen a holistic business approach to selling — that sitting in the customer's shoes remains the best place for gaining perspective on how to solve their problems, not selling your software. Her experience in sales leadership at a series of successful SaaS AI-based startup companies led to her current role as Chief Revenue Officer at Prove.

Protecting YOU Prove's mission is to be the global standard for trusted digital identity.

Kathleen mentions that the world is moving to a mobilefirst economy; businesses need to modernize how they acquire, engage with and enable consumers. Prove's phonecentric identity tokenization and passive cryptographic authentication solutions reduce friction, enhance security and privacy across all digital channels, and accelerate revenues while reducing operating expenses and fraud losses. Over 1,000 enterprise customers use Prove's platform to process 20 billion customer requests annually across industries, including banking, lending, healthcare, gaming, crypto, e-commerce, marketplaces, and payments.

Prove is the modern way for businesses to enable their customers to prove their identities with just a phone June 2022 | 39 | www.insightssuccess.com

Right Place, Right Time Kathleen states that Prove's solutions deliver the broadest and most accurate identity information that impacts both the consumer and the business.

friction-filled way for the consumer. The bad actors can break these methods and still get away with fraud. Kathleen supported that Prove's solutions have passive identity verification and authentication, eliminating the need for these friction-filled actions and reducing fraud.

1.

Leveraging Technology

2.

Prove reduces consumer frustration and friction when interacting digitally (as simple as opening a new account online) Prove saves consumers, and a broader market, from becoming victims of fraud.

Kathleen pointed out that achieving these two things together is a complicated problem to solve. As a consumer, one can relate to the digital identity verification and authentication process it is subject to. When asked for personally identifiable information (PII), or to "find the stop signs" in a grid, or receive a one-time passcode (OTP) as a text we enter, or input those "wavy words" to verify you are not a bot. These actions ensure its primary identity through multiple verifications, and unfortunately, doing it in a

Kathleen adds that leveraging the largest and most accurate network of reusable credentials, Prove enables consumer experiences that are both secure and frictionless while redefining business identity processes as revenue drivers instead of cost centers. With technology advancements such as 5G and the metaverse, the market for Prove's phonecentric identity technology will only continue to grow, all while increasing the need for a secure identity that is also seamless. With over 90% of users opting in, no other company enables businesses to authenticate their customers easily and securely through something as simple and accessible as their mobile phones.

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She described further about companies spending more and more on fraud prevention; losses continue to rise, as do customer abandonment rates during onboarding.

97% of customers say a smooth, easy experience is important when choosing a service provider. Source 47% of banking customers who began applications on mobile did not complete them, citing "poor UX and confusing fraud processes" as the reason: Source Between 2019 and 2020, almost half (47%) of U.S. consumers surveyed experienced identity theft: Source The total amount of money lost to identity theft in the United States annually is comparable to the GDP of Turkey: Between 2019 and 2020, identity theft losses jumped by 42% to a total of $712.4 billion. Source Kathleen states that the revenue generation from consumers will continue to rely heavily on the best consumer experiences that also protect organizations from fraud, and Prove is well-positioned to be the global standard for trusted digital identity.

What Lies Ahead?

Kathleen envisions increasing her career satisfaction by addressing the problems head-on and collaborating with different people. She hopes to continue mentoring and learning from her team, a truly meaningful point in her career.

Kathleen quipped that the future goal of Prove is a standard for trusted and reusable global identity. The markets they address are in industry verticals where fraud thrives because faster payments live. She mentioned that the company would expand beyond our key markets in Banks, Fintechs, Cryptocurrency, Global Payments, Healthcare and further penetrate their emerging markets in Gambling, Gaming, Public Sector, Insurance. It expects to achieve through bestin-class solutions supported by our Solutions Delivery and Customer Success teams.

"Be open to a different career path or plan then you originally laid out for yourself; what your trusted mentor sees in you may lead you to greater success. Learning how to listen actively is key. Listening and emotional intelligence are ridiculously underrated skills. I'm not always the smartest person in the room, but my success has always come from my ability to listen, read the room, and react accordingly," Kathleen concludes.

Word of Advice Kathleen's favorite, Emerson, quotes his definition of success, which includes the line "to earn the appreciation of an honest critic."

"I love to see folks early in their careers flourish. Those professionals who truly accept constructive criticism and value earned praise will excel. Be hungry to ask "what can I improve upon" to someone who has earned your respect."

June 2022 | 41 | www.insightssuccess.com

The 10 Most Inspiring Women Leaders to Follow, 2022

Lisa

ee

Using Artificial Intelligence to Improve Human Experience

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rtificial Intelligence was created to improve the quality of technological developments. However, it is not meant to replace humans but assist them in creating a better environment, elevating the human experience by solving technical problems smarter and faster. Spreading this philosophy is, Lisa Thee, the Data For Good Sector Leader at Launch Consulting, is making AI a human-friendly experience so that people lead a better life.

Launch Consulting navigates world-class organizations through digital transformation. Lisa leads the team by helping people harness data, implement the tech they need in a digital-first world, and enhance the human experience.

The company is crafting connected, personalized apex experiences so business leaders by are guided through all stages of transformation.

The Launch to Sky Before leading Launch Consulting's Data for Good sector, Lisa had a long and learning-filled career working on different tangents. She started her corporate career in Hybrid Cloud Group and retired 18 years later as the Director of Revenue at Intel. She co-founded her software start-up, Minor Guard which applies AI innovation from the healthcare sector to improve child safety online and in real life. The company's technology roadmap has been implemented in the iPhone 12 and Chromebooks from Lenovo.

About her journey leading to Launch Consulting, she shares, "To go from employee to entrepreneur was a steep

learning curve, especially in an emerging technology field.

As a female founder of a social justice-focused tech company in my forties—that adds up to many challenges! I now recognize that experience as the best "street" MBA I could have earned anywhere. However, my first year of business ownership was a deluge of learning how to run a Board of Directors, incorporate a company, and ultimately exit into a larger player in the market."

Lisa provides global technology and healthcare companies with consulting, software development, and change management solutions for computing and digital safety.

Lisa loves working with influential leaders to innovate new ways to de-risk their platforms and improve their customers' experiences. Her mission is to help the companies do things they have never done before.

Quit your day job, blow up your career, and redesign your life

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Lisa Thee

Lead - Data for Good Practice

Launch Consulting

Navigators in the Age of Transformation Launch Consulting provides services in five main work areas: government, healthcare, consumer solutions, high tech, and energy. It is helping various companies map their route to the top in these fields. The processes include everything from developing the back office to executing it on digital platforms.

Launch provides the right researchers, change management processes, designers, and engineers to focus on asking the right questions and building the right solutions. She explains, "AI opens amazing pathways, but it's a tool, not a

solution. Machines are not innovators, explorers, investigators. We have to start with the human experience; what is the business problem we've trying to solve? How will this make life better for the people who work with us?

There's a massive market for talented people who care about the journey and understand that working in tech doesn't mean imposing solutions upon our clients but moving alongside them—creating a frictionless experience so that the team wants to embrace the transformation."

Lisa, along with her team, is working alongside the world's leading companies to leverage AI for what the machines do best—math, pattern recognition, processing large volumes

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of data—so that the humans can do what they do best—intuition, empathy, and creativity. That combination allows her to find pearls of wisdom in oceans of data, pearls that can disrupt human trafficking, reduce bias in healthcare, or curb wildfires. She believes it's the kind of thing that makes legacies for leaders.

Innovative Work, Innovative People AI will disrupt and personalize industries that haven't fully invested in the possibilities yet. Launch is ready to be a part of that change in industries like healthcare, government, and sustainability. These industries sound completely unrelated but are similar in touching each person's life.

Launch calibrates a positive approach to leverage digital transformation to bring the right information to experts at the right time. It uses AI to benefit its clients and systemically show them the growth opportunities.

Speaking about the changes she would like, Lisa says, "Most leaders don't purposely build a product with vulnerabilities that bad actors can exploit, but we're all aware of the terrible content out there on the internet.

Because of that, I'd love to see safety by design adopted as an industry standard for all companies that host third-party content. I think the managed services industry is uniquely positioned to help global technology companies address trust and safety issues like disinformation, hate speech, child sexual abuse material, and live-streamed terrorism."

Lisa understands that a managed services company can help leaders, who so often are drowning in the tyranny of the urgent, to address the daily needs of the business while moving forward a more strategic, coordinated approach to ethics, safety, and secure development in the Metaverse age.

She further enthusiastically states, "Part of my long-term plan is keynote speaking on "embracing AI for digital transformation." I'm hoping marginalized groups will see themselves in my story and find a way to create their own leadership career paths. After all, nothing about my upbringing should have gotten me here. I grew up in the Midwest, not in Silicon Valley. I'm not an early adopter. I had to look up what a semiconductor was when I moved to California. I didn't get an email address until after college.

I launched my first company in my forties. If I can do it, anyone can."

She believes that if anyone is interested in data and is curious about leadership and the will to learn, they can be an entrepreneur. Lisa concludes with a piece of guidance, "If you're the type who likes to learn before you leap, fellow AI company founder Emily Kennedy and I have partnered with Women in Data to deliver our course the Entrepreneurship Tool Kit, to help more people Find your passion and learn effective tools and strategies to launch your business. Find more information on this course or booking Lisa as a keynote speaker at www.lisathee.com.”

Lisa’s book “The 90 Day Career Cleanse” is set to publish in 2023. You can also check out the Navigating Forward podcast where Lisa Thee investigates the challenges of being at a crossroads (societal, business, & personal) and finding the opportunities that arise out of disruption. Listen in on Lisa's future-forward conversations with the brightest luminaries, movers, and shakers. She digs into topics such as elevating the human experience, evolution of business, workforce of the future, and fascinating technologies powering the age of digital transformation. Let’s Navigate Forward together and create what’s next!

Future Missions and Aspirations Lisa's long-term goal is to help bring in more women to the data-science field. She has started the process through consulting, coaching, and mentorship. She partners with the non for profit Women in Data to help big companies assess how to get more women into data science roles and ensure representation across the board. Digital transformation must include diverse voices, business owners, and viewpoints on the future of work and product development. Lisa has formulated a plan so that the company is data-driven, hiring the best people from around the world, and delivering excellence and tech solutions.

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Unlocking the POTENTIAL of WOMEN for WELFARE of the WORLD

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Womanhood

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here is a tremendous amount of potential in every living entity. Untapped potential should be trapped for the welfare of the world. Where women are empowered that place flourishes in abundance. Empowered women leads to the prosperity of families, societies, nations and the world. Deep down, every person likes to live with dignity by contributing something to the world according to one’s capabilities and potential. Therefore, that potential should be nurtured in everyone and especially in the girls and women. Nothing can dim the light in every person that shines from within. All girls and women has to do is to be aware of their own inner potential and they can contribute to any field of their choice.

The world is currently going through the unprecedented times due to the ongoing pandemic. This is certainly challenging time for many people but some exceptional women leaders see the positive opportunity even in such unprecedented time and actually that is the hallmark of good women leadership. Exceptional women leaders are always aware and they understand that the unprecedented times always call for unprecedented actions, innovative, thoughtful, and win-win solutions. The world may be filled with lot of negativity due to inevitable challenges and causes, but exceptional women leaders call upon their inner light and they use such unprecedented time to develop and nourish their skillsets so that they can be an instrument of positive contribution to the world in the coming times. Now more than ever, women and girls need to call on their inner light to utilize the toughest times to tune into their conscience, learn new things by using virtual platforms and make themselves competent.

In the difficult times of pandemic it is essential for women leaders to be detached from the negativity around themselves. Unless and until one is detached from the negativity, it is very difficult to focus on the positive and to make the most out of that positive. Exceptional women leaders prefer to be courageous to confront issues more diligently and deal with people with empathy and due consideration. Exceptional women leaders choose to think deliberately and act on the conclusion of logical, rational, analytical, systematic, and cognitive-intensive thought process. That is really the most important part of exceptional women leadership. Leaders are supposed to think deliberately and act on the basis of logical conclusion for delivering the efficient results.

Educating and empowering a girl child creates a ripple effect and it creates a positive influence in the community.

Empowered women invest time and energy in creating the stronger next generations. The future leaders of tomorrow can be more talented, dynamic, and competent to deliver maximum contribution for the welfare of the world if they are raised by the empowered women. Empowering women is beneficial in so many ways and their contribution play a

very important role in creating the genuinely exemplary future leaders.

Gender equality is beneficial for the whole world.

Promoting gender equality is not just responsibility of women leaders or women issue but it is a societal issue and everyone should support in promoting the purpose of gender equality. United nations is again and again promoting the empowerment of women. That’s very crucial.

The greater number of women in every field is a sign of growth and evolved culture. The empowered women are boon to the world. That is the reason ‘Gender Equality’ is one of the most important sustainable development goals.

Empowering women is essential for the sustainable development of the world. Empowered women become great asset for businesses, families, societies, communities, nations, and that is ultimately beneficial for whole world.

There are plenty of fields where women have opportunities and they can contribute immensely. The world is in desperate need of genuinely exemplary women leaders to make a difference through businesses, science, research, technology etc. Women can become the leaders in the field of businesses, science, research, technology and in any choice of their field if they are willing to be bold and courageous enough to pursue their career in such fields relentlessly. They have the potential to make a difference in the choice of field they go and therefore women should not shy away from utilizing their best capabilities and they should deny the world of their valuable contribution.

Empowered women are the secret weapon of creating a positive change in the society and the world at large.

Empowering and enhancing women and investing in them unlocks a tremendous potential for the world. Empowered women are the most important weapon and resource in the fight against the global poverty. The untapped resource of women has the tremendous potential and that should be recognized by the people in the world especially by the people who have the opportunity to create awareness related to this.

The empowered women have the potential to significantly improve livelihoods, productivity, economic outputs, and the overall human life itself. The basic longing to live with dignity, the fundamental desire to have control of one’s lives and one’s future and to be part of determining the course of our communities and our nations are very much universal in the empowered women. These longings burn in the women and girls, and with these longings they can be a great dynamic force in the world to be an agent of change and make a significant contribution for the welfare of the world with their talents, skills, and abilities and that will lead to the ultimate welfare of the world.

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Sherry Blinkhorn Broker/Owner

Blinkhorn Real Estate Ltd

The 10 Most Inspiring Women Leaders to Follow in 2022

Sherry Blinkhorn

An Accomplished Real Estate Broker and a Passionate Advocate for the Mentally Ill

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t is easy to say be the change you want, but it is quite difficult to really understand the struggle one goes through to change oneself. We hear stories about people who have achieved success and paved their way to the top of their field, but that is just the tip of the iceberg.

Numerous factors drive one to make desired changes to be the change they want.

In our search to find such a persona, driven to adapt to change, we came across Sherry Blinkhorn, who perfectly fits the definition of 'be the change you want.' Currently, Sherry passionately leads her venture, Blinkhorn Real Estate Ltd., with her dedication to being the best of the best.

The Thorns and The Roses Sherry's journey hasn’t been an easy one. She came up through the foster care system and went through many challenges in her life, but she made some conscious decisions that would change her life for the good after her children were born.

Sherry began her professional journey as a commercial and residential property manager in her initial years then in 1998 she pursued getting her salesperson’s license. She began to achieve one milestone after the other by utilizing her extensive knowledge and experience to accumulate record-breaking sales. It resulted in her receiving national recognition in 2002 and 2003 and in 2004 she received the 'Platinum Award' for her sales achievement, placing her in

the top 5% in Canada's total sales volume with Royal LePage National Franchise.

Subsequently, embarking on the success, Sherry's adaptability to change led her to the quest of incepting her independent real estate firm, in 2005, Blinkhorn Real Estate Ltd., and she has never looked backed since. She sowed the seeds of efforts and dedication, forming a team with likeminded colleagues that reaped her and her firm the fruit of gaining a solid reputation for providing exceptional services and supporting many non-profit charitable organizations.

Adding Different Ingredients to the Recipe of Success Plunging forward in her path of success, she says the learning process never stops. Sherry holds a diploma in adult psychology, social work, and counselling skills. Being amply trained in the mental health field, she understands how stressful it can be to buy or sell a house.

Sherry has fostered an environment where she puts people first and encourages her colleagues to do the same. She’s created a caring and natural positive atmosphere in her workspace. She knows how crucial it is and is humbled to be part of the most significant transaction of one's life and is overjoyed to help it to become a reality. “We don’t see ourselves as good salespeople – we are good Realtors; there is a big difference,” says Sherry.

Sherry has focused her work approach around her buyers and sellers making them the utmost priority. It was vital to

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her to create a familial workspace which gives a feeling of comfort and smoothens the work process. She truly cares about her clients and understands their real estate needs, which is why she implies a friendly and professional atmosphere in her unique way. She has sculpted a valuedriven team that strives and implements effective marketing strategies with honesty and hard work.

Cherishing The Victories The amount of hard work and dedication Sherry puts in her work is commendable in itself. Her work ethic has set an example, and her efforts have been acknowledged with numerous awards, including the ‘Community Mentor Award’ from Big Brothers Big Sisters of Pictou County. She also received the prestigious ‘Business Leader of the Year award at the Pictou County Chamber of Commerce Gala in 2012. Sherry is the first female to receive this honor since its inception in 1991.

Her achievements don’t stop there and go further; in 2018, Sherry received the ‘Volunteer Vision Award’ from the Nova Scotia Mental Health Foundation. The following year she was also recognized with the ‘Women in Business Award’ at the Chamber Business Achievements Gala. Aside

‘‘

Blinkhorn Real Estate is dedicated to selling your home or nding you that dream home creating the best possible experience throughout the entire real estate transaction.

Professionally we serve, personally we care!

from awards, Sherry was featured in 2020 in the International ‘Top Agent Magazine’ and her life story in the Nova Scotia ‘At Home Magazine’.

Leveraging Technology to Provide Upscale Services At Blinkhorn Real Estate, Sherry has created a work culture driven by values to make client's lives easier and delivers high-quality products. The company implements innovative technologies and offers virtual reality tours and drone videography to enhance the listings services. They do their best to ensure that clients get the best prices for buyers and sellers by through their experience and expertise.

Above and Beyond for the Community The journey that Sherry embarked on has been a challenge in itself, she’s worked hard to forge her path to be at the position she is today. Her experiences have all contributed to finding transparency in her life. She has been a passionate advocate for the mentally ill for years. She was also the public relations director for the Canadian Cancer Society, Pictou, volunteered for years on the Palliative Care unit and made it part of her life to give back to her community.

Sherry has built Blinkhorn Real Estate from the ground up and contributed to many community organizations in various ways along the way including sponsoring sports teams and is routinely involved with multiple non-profits and other organizations across the county.

The Guiding Flame Unfolding the pages of Sherry's life, it is crystal clear that despite hurdles she’s faced, she always has come out on top.

She always empowers, inspires, and encourages a TEAM environment at her work. She ensures an ambiance of professionalism, integrity, and superior client service. She leads with a positive attitude, high ethical values, and hard work and says she will persist in doing the same into the future.

Last but not least, Sherry has asserted herself in a firm spot being a leader in the field of real estate. She is an inspiration to numerous people and continues to change many lives. Her compassion, dedication, and her drive to change have made her a successful businesswoman. She is truly an example of taking charge of her own life and being the change, she wants.

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The 10 Most Inspiring Women Leaders to Follow in 2022

Tracy V. Green

Engraining an Innovative Eyewear Culture

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nown for using the phrase, "Challenge yourself...once you've reached a new place, challenge yourself all over again," Tracy Vontélle Green has amassed a robust professional career which has developed her leadership skills, business, and financial acumen.

Today, Ms. Green is the CEO & Co-Founder of Vontélle, LLC – Vontélle Eyewear - a luxury bespoke eyewear company showcasing print designs and textiles from the African Diaspora (African, Caribbean, and Latinx cultures).

The company offer sizes that complement diverse faces, fulfill prescriptions, and custom lens (color/tints), including blue light blocker lenses.

Born in New York, Tracy earned a bachelor's degree from Morgan State University and Master of Public Administration degree at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Tracy has been involved in funding procurements as a Budget Analyst for the New York City Mayor's Office of Management and Budget; wrote grants for the New York City Department of Health; managed bank mergers as a Consultant for Accenture; and oversaw the NYC public assistance budget of $6.1 billion (Medicaid, Food Stamps, Housing) as the Deputy Commissioner at Human Resources Administration. Tracy worked at Harlem and Bellevue Hospitals in key financial positions before becoming the Chief Financial Officer to the Department of Education School of Support Services and at Health + Hospitals Corporation at Metropolitan Hospital Center and at One Brooklyn Health System at Interfaith Hospital Center.

Additionally, Ms. Green is a licensed real estate agent in New York and she and her husband own rental properties.

This steady income afforded her the opportunity to retire early due to some health challenges and start her own business. Ms. Green has always been committed to improving the quality of life for others and wants her life and career to further advocate for the next generation and all cultures worldwide.

In an interview with Insights Success, Tracy Green shares her journey and talks about what comes next for Vontélle.

Below are the highlights of the interview: Enlighten us on how you have impacted the eyewear niche through your expertise in the market.

Vontélle Eyewear has conducted a small sample research to create its current collection. From our research (including our own experiences) many cultures have had a challenging time finding eyewear that fit – Size Matters. Vontélle understands that eyewear is essential and realizes the importance of quality, thus using the most luxurious materials while creating bold looks for diverse faces. This includes a wider bridge for the nose, a longer temple (arm) for a comfortable fit on your ears and wider lens to fit over high cheek bones. The goal is to change how you see and be seen.

Undeniably, technology is playing a significant role in almost every sector. How are you leveraging technological advancements to make your solutions resourceful?

We have invested in a Virtual Try-On Program. This allows our customers to try on our eyewear using their phones, desktop, and/or laptop from the privacy of their homes/home offices/cars, etc. The technology is excellent.

It's exactly like you are wearing them in person. Eyewear is subjective and now, the customer can see themselves in the glasses.

What, according to you, could be the next notable change in eyewear industry? How is your company preparing to be a part of that change?

Think about this: In 2020, the global eyewear market was valued at approximately $140 billion and estimated to grow to $200 billion by 2027. Yet there are less than a handful of Black

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Tracy V. Green

Co-Founder & CEO

Vontélle Eyewear

Breaking away from ordinary to EXTRAORDINARY!!!

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our fate-determining trip to Paris where we met our manufacturer. Due to their loss, the company offers unique protection for consumers by providing a one-year/one-time replacement warranty from the date of purchase if your eyewear is lost, stolen, damaged, or broken.

eyewear makers. According to the Vision Council, 164 million American adults wear glasses and 218 million Americans wear non-prescription sunglasses.

This is the first-time multi-ethnic cultures are being included in sizing and design. We are about inclusion. For centuries, African Americans, Hispanics, East Indian, Japanese, biracial and multi-racial individuals were wearing ill-fitting glasses. I always had a line across my nose. Many of my colleagues had an indentation on their cheeks and pain behind their ears.

While, we know some companies are now making "extralarge" frames, it is only 1 or 2 in a collection. We are making full collections dedicated to better fit and cultural pattern designs.

The next significant change is custom glasses for each customer. Currently, this is very expensive and only the rich can afford custom eyewear. However, as technology and machines get better and faster, making perfect fitting eyewear for each customer is the North Star.

Tell us something more about your company and its mission and vision.

The concept for Vontélle was born out of a need of both founders, Tracy Vontélle Green and Nancey Harris, who each lost their expensive eyewear within the same year and decided to focus their efforts on making their next purchases from a Black-owned brand. After searching high and low for glasses that were stylish, better fitting, and had an ethnic flair, they realized it simply did not exist. That is when Tracy suggested we start our line, and Nancey booked

Eyewear is not only an extension of your wardrobe but a necessary medical device. Vontélle understands that eyewear is essential and realizes the importance of quality, thus wanting to help with eye health disparities. The National Institute of Health's National Eye Institute reports that African Americans and Hispanics are more likely to have cataracts, glaucoma, and diabetic retinopathy than any other ethnic group. Most importantly due to these medical factors and high astigmatism, many people cannot wear contacts. Befittingly, the Co-Founders have partnered with WIN (Women in Need), the largest provider of family shelter and supportive housing in New York City. The eyewear company has partnered with local optometrists to offer free eye exams, vision companies and non-for-profit foundations to provide free eyeglasses and to pay for the prescription lenses.

Where do you envision yourself to be in the long run, and what are your future goals for VONTÉLLE? We aspire to change the landscape of the eyewear industry and change the world. Vontélle will sell out of our initial stock, create new designs, and re-produce top sellers.

Successively, designing has started for our children's collection coming soon - Spring 2022. Vontélle is the first Black women-owned and operated eyewear business to obtain a licensing agreement with Nickelodeon ViacomCBS to create glasses in beloved characters: SpongeBob, Baby Shark, Rugrats and more.

With the right partners and marketing, Vontélle [the company] is limitless. This includes growing the brand in 10 years to include clothing/apparel, other accessories, or a home collection. Vontélle is committed to celebratory cultural designs that represent global textiles, boldness, and beauty from the African, Caribbean, and Latinx diasporas.

There is no doubt that the co-founders will transform the eyewear and fashion industry.

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