Listen in to the story of a leading cancer researcher and surgeon who developed a passion to cure the most devastating disease for all but especially for those who can afford treatment the least.  Dr. Nicole Schmitt (or Nikki) is a head and neck surgical oncologist and scientist and the Co-Director for Translational Research in the Head and Neck Program at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University. She shares her research and the future of cancer treatment, how the daughter of  two artists uses her genetic creativity in medicine, and the importance of leadership as a young surgeon.

Interested in how to hold an emotionally intelligent conversation with another person when conflict is likely and you’d rather avoid it altogether?  Listen in to Susan Steinbrecher an internationally acclaimed businesswoman, executive coach, speaker, author, and President of her own consulting company, Steinbrecher & Associates. Prior to her consulting career, Susan was a rising star with one of the country’s best-known hotel chains for 14 years. She was quickly elevated as the youngest general manager in its history, and then ultimately was appointed to lead all strategic training and development initiatives.  Learn how this achievement was possible.

Susan has authored five books, one of which is an Amazon best seller.  Her game-changing book, Meaningful Alignment: Mastering Emotionally Intelligent Interactions at Work and In Life is one I recommend often to my coaching clients, so we spend focused conversation time on how it came about and it’s application at work and in life.

Rosa Gatti was discovered by the founder of an upstart sports cable network while working as the Sports Information Director for Brown University where she oversaw all of the media coverage for the NCAA Men’s Frozen Four hosted by the university.  Impressed by her huge success with this event she was recruited in 1980 to ESPN, where she built the communications department from the ground up and created and drove the ESPN brand around the world.  She also introduced the need for diversity, equity, and inclusion and built the first of its kind program at ESPN in the early 1990’s.  Listen to her remarkable stories of leadership grit while navigating an all-male environment in ESPN’s earliest years and her approach to growing into executive roles of increasing strategic importance.

Listen in to a remarkable story of overcoming a difficult growing up experience which might have led to a very different outcome as it has for so many. You’ll hear her amazing journey that ultimately led her to create a non-profit organization, His Soul Sanctuary. Its mission is to: “Ensure every young adult that ages out of the foster care system can join society prepared to lead a successful life.” She has turned her “troubles into lessons” and her purpose is sure. But her journey is far from finished and there are lessons there for anyone interested in building and leading a non-profit.

Listen in to the latest episode of Barrier Busters: Women of Character Podcast. Host Anne Quiello is joined by Elyse Hammett, APR, Vice President of Marketing and Communications at the Community Foundation for greater Atlanta. Elyse shares her story of growing up in Middle Georgia, overcoming multiple family tragedies, and through it all discovering her “WHY.”

Woman of Influence, the 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award Honoree, and the Executive Director of The Atlanta Committee for Progress, Shan Cooper shares her insights to climbing major learning curves and crossing barriers as an executive in two very different manufacturing industries.  Listen to her decision process which led her to become a key influencer in the public-private partnership between the city’s top business, civic and academic leaders, and the Mayor of Atlanta to support areas important to economic growth and inclusion for the City of Atlanta.

President Emerita, Spelman College and NY Times Best Selling Author of “Why Do All the Black Kids Sit Together in the Cafeteria, and Other Conversations About Race,” Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum generously shares her expertise on racial identity and the critical importance of holding conversations about race in a racially sensitive context. Do not miss her decades-long research, wisdom, and teaching on how to bridge the racial gap in this country beginning with our children.

Find the balance between confidence and humility through the lessons shared by Vicki Escarra, Sr. Advisor, Boston Consulting Group, former EVP/CMO of Delta Air Lines, CEO, Feeding America, and Global CEO, Opportunity International, during this podcast. She provides practical advice to women aspiring to senior leadership positions and gives us insight to how and why she turned her focus from corporate leadership toward leading two of the largest non-profit organizations in the U.S. It’s an important discussion about aligning one’s life’s work with a core set of values.

Listen to the amazing journey of the third only African American LPGA golf professional, Lifetime Achievement Award winner, and enshrinee to the African American Golfers’ Hall of Fame.  But her story goes well beyond golf, beginning with being part of a failed school de-segregation program as a child,  then fast forwards to becoming a lone female engineer on a nuclear submarine program, a professional football player with the WNFL, and one of only a handful of African American professional golfers.  Hear how her character defines her above and beyond her lifetime of achievement.

In this episode Anne Quiello sits down with Virginia Means, Chief People Officer of United Distributors. A Woman of Character who, against the odds, successfully re-entered the workforce after leaving it for 10 years to focus on her family. More than 3 million women have left the U.S. workforce during COVID-19. Tune in to learn how Virginia not only came back but how she came back strong.