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

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Editor’s Desk

Remarkable

Leaders,

Remarkable

Results

“

he leader is one who, out of the clutter, brings

Tsimplicity… 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.

Raunak

Raunak Mhetre

raunak.mhetre@insightssuccess.com

I hope you enjoy this insightful read as much as my

in-house-editorial team, and I enjoyed writing it!

C O N T E N T S

08

C O V E R

S T O R Y

A R T I C L E S

Door to Success

Leaders that

Unlocking the POTENTIAL of

32 46

We Need Today

Womanhood

WOMEN for WELFARE of the WORLD

Cloé Caron

Guiding Leaders to Develop their

True Potential

16

Training Your Dog to be PAW-SOME

20

Elissa Weimer

Jaimine Johnson

Developing Strategies to Enhance the

Real Estate Industry

24

An Astute Digital Marketer Leading

28

Jillian Weston

with Relatability and Empathy

Karen Simon

Determined to Make the Most

34

An Ardent Legal Professional

36

Kathleen Waid

Exemplifying Passionate Leadership

Lisa Thee

Using Artificial Intelligence to

Improve Human Experience

42

An Accomplished Real Estate Broker and

48

Sherry Blinkhorn

a Passionate Advocate for the Mentally Ill

Tracy V. Green 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

David King

Art & Design Director

Shyam Sonawane

Associate Designer

Revati Badkas

Senior Sales Manager

Kshitij S

Business Development Manager

Peter Collins

Marketing Manager

John Matthew

Sales Executives

David, Martin

Technical Head

Jacob Smile

Business Development Executives

Steve, Joe, Saurabh

Technical Specialist

Aditya

Digital Marketing Manager

Dominique T.

SME-SMO Executive

Atul Dhoran

Research Analyst

Frank Adams

Circulation Manager

Database Management Technology Consultant

Robert Brown Stella Andrew David Stokes

sales@insightssuccess.com

June, 2022

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The

Most Inspiring

Women Leaders

to Follow in

2022

Featured Person

Barbara Antonucci

Partner

Cloe Caron

Founder & President

Elissa Weimer

Owner & Professional

Trainer

Jaimine Johnson

Director of Asset

Management

Company Name

Constangy, Brooks,

Smith & Prophete,

LLP constangy.com

o2Coaching

o2coaching.ca

Paw & Order Dog Training

pawandorder.com

DRK and Company Realty

drk-realty.com

Description

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete offers a wider lens on

workplace law.

o2coaching strongly believe that any person or organization can

acheive its goals by adopting simple fundamental shifts in

mindset, attitude and behaviour.

Paw & Order Dog Training offers certified dog training

programs.

DRK and Company Realty has 50 years of experience in all

aspects of commercial real estate.

Jillian Weston

Founder

Karen Simon

President & Managing

of Tarrant County

Division

Karina Tiwana

Vice President, Legal

Jillian's Circus

jillianscircus.com

Emersons Commercial

Real Estate

emersonscre.com

Infinera

infinera.com

Improving your Local Community using Traditional Values and

New-Age Technology.

Emersons Commercial Real Estate is a sophisticated team of

real estate professionals.

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

arbara Antonucci had to change hats and carry on

Bthe 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.

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.

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

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.

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.”

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,


June 2022 | 16 | www.insightssuccess.com





Elissa Weimer

Training Your Dog to be PAW-SOME

f you are a pet owner, you may understand that the

Ibond 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


“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.



Elissa Weimer

Owner &

Professional Trainer

Paw & Order

Dog Training

JAIMINE JOHNSON

Director, Commercial Operations,

Leasing and Sales Realtor

DRK and Company Realty



J aim ine

ohnson

n the world of real estate, sincerity and integrity are the

Imorals 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.


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


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.

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.

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.

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 0-

120,000 SF.

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.

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


Jillian Weston

Owner/Founder

Jillian's Circus


Jillian Weston

An Astute Digital Marketer Leading with Relatability and Empathy

he effectiveness of the leaders is mainly figured out

Tby 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.”


“Jilliano’s¨ Cir cu¾s¨ is¨ a

fu¾ll-sër vÖice oznolinoe mar ketinog

agenocyÝ that r egu¾lar lyÝ

makes¨ magic happeno fozr clienots¨.”

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.


Door to Success

Leaders

that We Need

Today


Life 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


Karen

Simon

Determined to

Make the Most

Karen Simon

President & Managing Partner

(Tarrant County Division)

Emersons Commercial

Real Estate


rom facing challenges and rising to the occasion to

Fdent 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


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


Kathleen Waid,

CRO | Prove



Technological 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


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.

1. Prove reduces consumer frustration and friction when

interacting digitally (as simple as opening a new

account online)

2. 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

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.

Leveraging Technology

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.


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."


The 10 Most Inspiring Women Leaders to Follow, 2022

Lisa

ee

Using Artificial Intelligence to

Improve Human Experience

Artificial 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


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


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.


Unlocking the POTENTIAL

WOMEN for WELFARE

of the WORLD

of


Womanhood

There 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.


Sherry Blinkhorn

Broker/Owner

Blinkhorn Real Estate Ltd


Sherry

Blinkhorn

An Accomplished Real Estate Broker and

a Passionate Advocate for the Mentally Ill

t is easy to say be the change you want, but it is quite

Idifficult 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


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.




Tracy V. Green

Engraining an Innovative Eyewear Culture

nown for using the phrase, "Challenge

Kyourself...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.


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


Tracy V. Green

Co-Founder & CEO

Vontélle Eyewear

Breaking away

from ordinary

to

EXTRAORDINARY!!!


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.


The 10 Most Inspiring Women Leaders to Follow in 2022

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