Badass Women at Any Age
Illana Raia's journey to entrepreneurship stemmed from her love of law and her personal experiences with mentorship. Despite loving her career as a mergers and acquisitions lawyer, she took a break to raise her children and later rejoined her firm. Realizing the impact of showing her daughter accomplished women at work, Illana envisioned scaling this experience to benefit other girls. She left her law practice, driven by the idea of creating a platform where girls could meet female leaders, leading to the founding of Etre. Illana is the founder and CEO of Etre, a membership platform for...
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Helen Jonsen aspired to be a writer from a young age and chose journalism for its daily writing opportunities. After studying at Fordham University and gaining experience at Channel 11 and WINS radio, she moved to Rhode Island as a senior producer, where she met and married her Australian husband. This led to a stint in Australia, where she worked in television before returning to New York. They worked for Australian networks before she joined Channel 5. After her first maternity leave, she opted to form a production company with her husband, eventually returning to Channel 11 and writing...
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Bianca Best’s lifelong pursuit of ambition led her from a corporate career in advertising, creativity, and publishing to a successful freelance writing career. While juggling motherhood in her late 20’s, she inadvertently founded the Bespoke Gift Company. What started as a creative, personalized anniversary gift has become a wildly successful company. Bianca is an award-winning global business leader, author, certified success strategist, entrepreneur, speaker, and single mother of four. Bianca describes her CV as a chronology of passions, explored and includes a decade as a...
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Sandy Rosenthal was an ordinary citizen who became an extraordinary activist following Hurricane Katrina. After uncovering that defective flood walls built by the Army Corps of Engineers caused the disaster, Sandy founded the nonprofit levees.org and rallied over 25,000 supporters for safer infrastructure. Her book, 'Whispered in Water,' and her podcast, 'Beat The Big Guys,' continue to inspire change and empower listeners to take on powerful institutions and make a difference in their communities. Sandy shares her journey from a part-time copywriter to a relentless advocate for truth and...
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Feeling lost and purposeless when her youngest child left for college, Rita Lussier leaned into her writing and running to cope. Forming a new morning routine along with the process of running and writing helped her find a new sense of purpose, culminating in the creation of her book, And Now Back To Me. Rita is an award-winning journalist and writer whose column ‘For The Moment’ was a popular feature of the Providence Journal for a dozen years. Her writing has also been featured on National Public Radio in the Boston Globe, the New York Daily News, and many other...
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Marcia Dawood's journey into angel investing began in 2012 when she attended an angel investing meeting in Pittsburgh. Previously working in sales, marketing, and operations within corporate America, she was intrigued and fascinated by the world of entrepreneurship and investing in early-stage companies. Initially unaware of the opportunities that existed locally and globally, Marcia quickly immersed herself in the field. Overcoming the misconceptions that one needs a finance degree or significant wealth to invest, she discovered that anyone with curiosity and willingness to learn could...
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Yue Zhao's career began with aspirations rooted in a desire to help people, initially thinking she would become a doctor. However, her path led her into the tech industry, where she spent over 15 years as a product executive in Silicon Valley. Discovering the power of executive and leadership coaching became a pivotal point in her career. Inspired by her experiences and driven by her commitment to support underrepresented groups, Yue transitioned from a tech executive to a full-time executive coach. She now focuses on advancing the careers of women and minorities by leveraging her unique...
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Kathy Caprino began her professional journey with ambitions of working in publishing. However, she soon found herself navigating a corporate career filled with numerous challenges as she climbed the corporate ladder. After a period of deep reflection, Kathy embraced her calling ultimately leading her to become an international career leadership and personal growth coach. She utilized her experiences and lessons learned to guide mid to high-level professionals toward achieving their highest potential. Kathy is a writer, speaker, and executive trainer helping mid to high level...
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Emily June Wilcox grew up in rural Michigan with aspirations of becoming a veterinarian, earning a degree in animal science. Her early career took unexpected turns, from horse training to pharmaceutical sales and eventually entrepreneurship. Emily is a wealth and business coach, number one bestselling author and speaker on a mission to help others heal their money wounds and build financially and personally fulfilling lives. She's built two seven figure businesses, an e-commerce clothing company and an Amazon marketing agency. Now she focuses on using energetics and...
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Growing up in a family that didn't view a career in the arts as feasible, Kathryn Burnett pursued writing with determination, transitioning from magazine articles to professional screenwriting. She faced numerous challenges, particularly in a competitive industry that often overlooks middle-aged women. Post-menopause, Kathryn experienced a personal transformation, embracing her true self and taking greater creative risks. This shift led to a focus on complex, authentic female protagonists, inspired by real-life experiences and conversations. Her writing now champions strong, relatable women,...
info_outlineSandy Rosenthal was an ordinary citizen who became an extraordinary activist following Hurricane Katrina. After uncovering that defective flood walls built by the Army Corps of Engineers caused the disaster, Sandy founded the nonprofit levees.org and rallied over 25,000 supporters for safer infrastructure. Her book, 'Whispered in Water,' and her podcast, 'Beat The Big Guys,' continue to inspire change and empower listeners to take on powerful institutions and make a difference in their communities. Sandy shares her journey from a part-time copywriter to a relentless advocate for truth and accountability, highlighting the power of community mobilization and persistence.
What You Will Hear in This Episode
00:21 Meet Sandy Rosenthal: Uncovering a Scandal
02:08 The Day the Levees Broke
04:41 Life After the Disaster
09:51 Fighting Back: Founding Levees.org
12:33 Facing Harassment and Legal Battles
17:35 The Aftermath and Lessons Learned
21:22 Mobilizing Communities and Partnerships
33:03 Conclusion and Call to Action
Quotes
“ I'm gonna point out first that two thirds of the nation's population lives by levies and probably don't know it. “
“ You do have to ask the questions, and if you stop asking, and if it appears that you're not paying attention, that's when bad things can happen, and that's when, I don't wanna call 'em the bad guys, but that's when the big guys win, when you stop paying attention.”
“ It didn't take me long to realize that the big guys, like the Army Corps of Engineers are really just like bullies in the fourth grade playground. They're, they're big, but they're not smarter. They, they they, and, and the, they're elegant because they're big. And, and you know what happens when you're big and you're arrogant, you make big mistakes.”
“ When that criticism comes, you need to look at it like free advice, free advice. What they're doing is they're finding problems with what you're doing and, and some of their points may actually be correct. They've actually helped you, even though they didn't mean to.”
Mentioned
eConnect with Bonnie
Substack Newsletter: Own Your Ambition
Gendered Ageism Survey Results
5 Tips to own the superpower of your age
Purchase my book Not Done Yet on Amazon:
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