From Striving to Trust with Sheeba Philip
Moving Forward
What if moving forward in your calling begins with releasing the pressure to make everything happen? In this episode of the Moving Forward Podcast, Melissa Harrison sits down with Sheeba Philip, founder of Impart Group, for a candid conversation about career setbacks, identity beyond achievement, and learning to build with God. With more than 25 years of executive leadership experience, Sheeba explains that her most formative seasons came through failure and disappointment. After a leadership change ended her role at JCPenney, she found herself wrestling with a deeply personal...
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From Burnout to Renewal with Dr. Ioana Popa
Moving Forward
You can love your work, believe deeply in your mission, and still find yourself depleted. Sustainable leadership requires paying attention to the person carrying that mission—and making room for renewal along the way. In this BOLDLY Breakout Spotlight episode of the Moving Forward Podcast, Melissa Harrison sits down with Dr. Ioana Popa, a physician-psychiatrist educator, executive coach, and co-founder of Team For The Soul Institute, for a conversation about burnout, daily regeneration, and discerning God’s direction for your life and work. Drawing on her professional...
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From Brokenness to Boldness with Kisha Smith
Moving Forward
Leading authentically begins with the courage to acknowledge our own stories—and trust that our struggles do not diminish our worth or our ability to make a difference. In this final episode of our BOLDLY Breakout Spotlight week on the Moving Forward Podcast, Melissa Harrison sits down with Kisha Smith, known as “The Transparency Coach,” for a candid conversation about healing, faith, vulnerability, and leading with conviction. Drawing on more than two decades of corporate HR experience and her own journey of healing, Kisha shares how God invited her to address pain she had spent years...
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Anchored to Lead Boldly with Rachael Jackson
Moving Forward
The achievements that shape our careers can also shape how we see ourselves. An unexpected change can invite us to discover a deeper foundation for our identity—and a new way to lead. In this special BOLDLY Breakout Spotlight episode of the Moving Forward Podcast, Melissa Harrison sits down with Rachael Jackson of REV, a West Point graduate and former Army Apache helicopter pilot, for a candid conversation about identity, faith, perseverance, and the power of meaningful connection. Rachael’s journey began with a praying mother and a conversation with an Army recruiter. As a strong-willed...
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Ambition, Faith, and the Courage to Grow with Ellie Nieves
Moving Forward
What if growing in your career doesn’t require choosing between ambition and humility? In this special BOLDLY Breakout Spotlight episode of the Moving Forward Podcast, Melissa Harrison sits down with Ellie Nieves, a leadership coach, public policy professional, and author of The Career Playbook for Christian Women, for a practical conversation about pursuing professional growth while remaining grounded in faith. Ellie shares that becoming a Christian didn’t make her ambition disappear. Instead, it invited her to examine what was driving it. As she explains, “He wasn’t calling me to...
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Finding Purpose Right Where You Are with Dr. Jessica Rimmer
Moving Forward
What if living with purpose doesn’t require a new job, a clearer five-year plan, or a dramatic change in circumstances? In this special BOLDLY Breakouts episode of the Moving Forward Podcast, Melissa Harrison sits down with Dr. Jessica Rimmer, CEO of Solomon Strategic Advisors and author of The Purpose Formula: How to Live Fully Alive, to explore how women can recognize and live out their God-given purpose. Jessica describes purpose as a “pilot light in the soul”—a source of energy that can help us recognize when it is time to bring our gifts to a situation. She also...
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Finding Your Way Back to Joy with Joy St. John
Moving Forward
What happens when you reach a career milestone you worked hard for—and realize you may be called to take a different path? In this special BOLDLY Breakouts episode of the Moving Forward Podcast, Melissa Harrison sits down with Joy St. John, founder of The Joyous Edge, to talk about success, calling, and the courage to slow down when the life you are living no longer feels aligned with the one you want to lead. Joy was thriving in her career at KPMG. She was on the partner path, developing leaders, advising clients, and helping grow a global community of women in risk. Yet as...
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The Courage to Lead Imperfectly with Melissa Russell
Moving Forward
What if becoming a stronger leader isn’t about getting everything right—but becoming more honest about where you need to grow? In this episode of the Moving Forward Podcast, Melissa Harrison sits down with Melissa Russell, President of charity: water, for a candid conversation about leading through failure, receiving feedback, and releasing the expectation of perfection. Melissa explains that leaders have to become comfortable with acknowledging when something hasn’t gone as planned. If perfection is the goal, every criticism or mistake can feel crippling. But when leaders...
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The Ripple Effect
Moving Forward
Three women. Three different stories. One beautiful picture of what can happen when we invest in the life of a woman. What happens when you invest in the life of one woman? The impact rarely stops with her. When a woman grows in her faith, confidence, leadership, and sense of purpose, she carries that growth with her—into her home, her workplace, her relationships, and her community. And often, she turns around and invests in someone else. That’s The Ripple Effect. In this special Giving Week episode of the Podcast, Melissa Harrison sits down with three...
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Leading from a Healthy Place with Kobe Campbell
Moving Forward
What does it really mean to be a healthy leader — not just an effective, successful, or high-performing one? In this episode of the Moving Forward Podcast, Melissa Harrison sits down with licensed trauma therapist, bestselling author, and speaker Kobe Campbell for a conversation about the inner work of leadership — and how the stories, wounds, and emotional patterns we carry can shape the way we show up at work. Kobe explains that healthy leadership begins with congruence: understanding what is happening inside of us while also being able to respond appropriately to what is...
info_outlineThree women. Three different stories. One beautiful picture of what can happen when we invest in the life of a woman.
What happens when you invest in the life of one woman?
The impact rarely stops with her.
When a woman grows in her faith, confidence, leadership, and sense of purpose, she carries that growth with her—into her home, her workplace, her relationships, and her community. And often, she turns around and invests in someone else.
That’s The Ripple Effect.
In this special Giving Week episode of the Moving Forward Podcast, Melissa Harrison sits down with three women whose stories offer a glimpse into the multiplying impact of 4word: Laura Martinez, Charmaine Solomon, and Kristin Thompson.
Laura shares how the 4word Mentor Program met her during a season when she needed both encouragement and practical wisdom—and how that investment changed the way she showed up as a leader, coworker, wife, and mom. She also reflects on carrying that impact into her workplace and the kind of faith-filled community she now hopes her daughter will have earlier in her own journey.
Charmaine offers the perspective of a longtime 4word mentor and supporter. Through mentoring women across generations and around the world, she has seen firsthand what happens when one woman comes alongside another—and how that influence continues into families, workplaces, and communities far beyond the original relationship.
And Kristin shares why community has been so transformational in her own life—from finding a place where she could be fully known as an executive leader to becoming a Community Group leader, Board member, and active part of 4word’s Executive Women’s community.
Together, their stories reveal a simple but powerful truth:
When you invest in one woman, you may never fully know how far that investment will travel.
In this episode, we get into:
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How mentorship can change the way a woman shows up at work, at home, and in leadership
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Why the workplace can become a mission field
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The power of having another woman who understands the realities of faith, family, and career
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How one woman’s growth can influence coworkers, children, and the next generation
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Why mentoring is about more than advice—it’s about walking alongside another woman
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The importance of faith-filled community for women at every level of leadership
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How 4word creates space for women to be supported through both the highs and the hard seasons
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Why the impact of investing in women extends into communities around the world
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How God can multiply what begins with one relationship, one conversation, or one “yes”
A few moments we love:
Laura Martinez:
“Knowing there was someone on the other end who understood exactly the place I was in—as a wife, as a mom, as an employee, as a leader—really changed everything.”
Charmaine Solomon:
“We can strengthen women in the workplace so they become bolder—at home, at work, and in their communities.”
Kristin Thompson:
“We bring something that looks small to us, and He multiplies it.”
This Giving Week, you can help start the next ripple.
Thanks to a generous $50,000 Matching Gift, every dollar given to 4word through September 18 will be doubled—helping provide mentorship, community, and Christ-centered encouragement to more women around the world.
One woman. Multiplying impact.
About Laura Martinez
Laura Martinez is a member of the 4word community who has participated in the 4word Mentor Program and faith-based community within her workplace at Toyota. Through mentorship and community, Laura has grown in how she integrates her faith, leadership, work, and family—and has helped create space for other women to do the same.
About Charmaine Solomon
Charmaine Solomon is a longtime member, mentor, donor, and supporter of the 4word community. She has mentored women across generations and around the world and is also part of 4word’s Executive Women’s community.
About Kristin Thompson
Kristin Thompson is a member of the 4word Board of Directors, a longtime Community Group leader in Philadelphia, and an active member of 4word’s Executive Women’s community. She is passionate about creating spaces where Christian women can grow deeper in their faith while navigating the realities of leadership, work, family, and life.
About Melissa Harrison
Melissa Harrison is a journalist, nonprofit leader, and President & CEO of 4word. She is passionate about helping women integrate faith, leadership, and purpose in the workplace. As host of the Moving Forward Podcast, Melissa brings a storyteller’s perspective to honest conversations about work, calling, growth, and the courage to keep moving forward.
Learn more about Melissa: melissaharrison.net
Follow Melissa on LinkedIn and Instagram
About 4word
4word is a global community for Christian women in the workplace, helping women grow in their faith, thrive in their work, and become the women and leaders God created them to be.
Find out more about 4word: https://4wordwomen.org/