Freeman Means Business' Wonder Women in Business Podcast

Hilary Bendon has a passion for empowering people to transform conflict into opportunity. She believes in focusing on the human side of things and knows there is never only one right answer. Using her decades of experience studying conflict and the underlying causes, she empowers companies, teams and individuals to forge a productive path forward.

Elea Carey is a native of Memphis, Tennessee, where I was raised in the sixties and seventies by a mom from a migrant working family and a dad who was the descendent of Mississippi's political elite. They offered us a marvelously radical education and rare insights into social justice movements from an early age. My work has always been in how to best communicate and has ranged from writing and editing to large scale communications campaigns. I've also produced vinyl records, counseled incarcerated military troops, and served as the longtime writing coach for an author on Florida's death row. Most of my current work is in supporting public transit in their communications during these challenging pandemic times--I tend to take up causes others might call "lost," and I relish finding opportunity in crisis. I have also worked extensively in a tech startup and venture and early-stage investing, including focusing on out-of-the-box initiatives like Bee Partners' voting rights campaign.

Carol Ross-Burnett is CEO of CRB Global LLCoffering diversity, equity and inclusion (“DEI”) consulting, advising and coaching to individuals, groups and organizations. She most recently served as Senior Advisor, Diversity & Inclusion (“D&I”) Strategic Partnerships at Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton, LLP, a full-service, global law firm with eleven offices in the U.S. and four international offices. In that position, she worked closely with executive leadership; partners; professional, administrative and support staff; clients and other external constituents to collaborate and partner around D&I.

Ms. Ross-Burnett was originally hired with director-level responsibilities for Sheppard Mullin’s nascent diversity and inclusion initiatives, a role that she held for ten years. During that time, she helped to position Sheppard Mullin as a D&I thought leader in the legal profession. The firm now regularly earns top client awards and law firm rankings for D&I, including a preeminent industry award in 2019. Ms. Ross-Burnett was awarded the firm’s 2020 Diversity & Inclusion Award for her outstanding leadership and contributions.

Before joining Sheppard Mullin, Ms. Ross-Burnett was a law school assistant dean of career services and multicultural affairs, and principal in her first consulting practice. She is a seasoned speaker, experienced trainer and workshop facilitator, and published author who has served in DEI leadership roles with many local, state and national associations and organizations. These include the Association of Law Firm Diversity Professionals, the American Bar Association, the California State Bar, the Los Angeles County Bar, and the National Association for Law Placement. She currently serves on the board of California LAW Pathways, a statewide diversity pipeline program that provides instruction and guidance to underrepresented students through high school, community college, undergraduate school, and as they enter law school.

A woman of many talents, Ms. Ross-Burnett is also a singer, songwriter and music producer who holds an annual workshop in Los Angeles for singers, songwriters, authors and speakers; she also hosts workshops for women. In addition to speaking and writing in the area of diversity, equity and inclusion, she will shortly earn the top designation of Distinguished Toastmaster, and her publications include stories in the Chicken Soup for the African American Soul and Chicken Soup for the African American Woman’s Soul books..

A lifelong learner, Ms. Ross-Burnett recently began her doctoral studies in Organizational Change & Leadership at the University of Southern California. She is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of California at Berkeley and also holds a 60-unit master's degree in counseling with honors from San Francisco State University. She received a certificate of completion from the Leadership Development in Interethnic Relations (LDIR) community program in Los Angeles, and recently completed a training intensive for professional coaches.

Rebecca P. Cohen is Founder of ShareMyJourney.org, the curated peer hub that connects caring people 1:1 by phone and in small groups online to share knowledge and life experience during challenging circumstances and transitions. Rebecca has been featured as a Mom Boss in the Washington, DC area and is also the founder of BeOutsideAndGrow.com and author of the parenting book Fifteen Minutes Outside: 365 Ways to Get Out of the House and Connect with Your Kids and children's book, PJ's Backyard Adventures. Rebecca has worked with over 6,000 children around the world in making outdoor connections for a healthier life. Her work has appeared in USA Today, Better Home and Gardens, Parenting, Redbook, Working Mother, Family Circle, and Backyard Solutions.

Meghan Lundeen is an entrepreneur that has started four businesses.  She is also an HR Business Partner for a Fortune 100 company with a passion for all things talent and leveraging talent to compete in an ever-changing business landscape. Her background is in communications and she’s supported the CIO and CFO’s of a Fortune 100 company as a communication consultant.

Meghan started her professional career in the news business, working in Peoria, IL, followed by a top 40 market in South Carolina.  She left the news business to work for a federally funded Housing Authority. After a short time, she became the Director of Business Development & Marketing for the Housing Authority, where she founded the Access to Resource and Referral Opportunities, also known as the ARRO program, all while leading strategy and implementation of the authority’s first public image campaign.

Meghan graduated from Illinois State University with a Bachelor of Science in Mass Communication. She has a Master of Science in Organizational Leadership with an emphasis on Human Resource Management from Colorado State University. She was in the 2010 class of 40 Leaders Under 40, and is a recipient of the Prescott E. Bloom Distinguished Service award.

Meghan co-chairs the self-reliance grant review team for Heart of Illinois United Way, founded the Tri-County Interagency Council, helped launch Emerging Philanthropists of Central Illinois within the Community Foundation, and more.  Meghan is a past president of the Board of Directors for Peoria Friendship House and the former chair of the Board for Methodist College. She also led a fundraiser for several years to rappel off historic buildings for Peoria Friendship House, where she humbly served on the Board for six years.

Meghan lives for her husband, two girls, and any international travel she can possibly squeeze in.  This January, she went to her 15th country and has a long list of locations she’s working on as soon as Covid-19 is over.

Janet Miller Evans, MPA, PCC, EQCC, is Founder and CEO of Entevos, an international coaching and professional services company. She shares her knowledge gained from diverse business, professional, and personal experiences to empower leaders to build trust. She guides teams to productive collaboration, business owners to increased profits, and organizations to make diversity, equity, and inclusion a normalized part of their culture. Recognized as a thought leader in business and her community leader, Janet is known for achieving results through effective strategic planning, coaching winning teams, building excellent client relationships, and her collaborative negotiation skills. Janet has coached clients in 28 different countries. She has bee a featured speaker on many live learning sessions, panel discussions, podcasts, and conferences.

Janet is a Certified Professional Coach with the International Coach Federation (ICF) and is a certified Emotional Intelligence Coach with Six Seconds. She will receive her Certified Team Coach certification from the Global Team Coaching Institute and EMCC certification in the fall of 2020. Her previous corporate experience includes leadership and management roles at Fortune 100 companies, FedEx, IBM, UPS, and Comcast. Janet was the first Black female District Sales Manager for FedEx. She quickly progressed up the ranks from starting as an Account Executive to District Sales Manager, National Accounts Manager, Global Account Manager, and Regional Sales Manager. She held the leadership role of Project Executive with IBM, responsible for teams delivering operations and sales services to her clients. Janet has led teams of over 150 employees in sales, marketing, and service delivery. She attained target sales revenue goals of 450 million dollars, managed P&Ls of two million dollars. Janet received excellent reviews for fostering successful client experiences, delivery on key performance indices, as well as many sales and leadership honors, and recognition. She earned Fed Ex National Account Manager of the year and achieved five President’s Club awards.

Janet is a Member of the Advisory Board for Oji Life Labs and Board Member for The Gratitude Network. She volunteers as a Coach for How Women Lead, Women Leaders for the World Cohort, and Network Leader for Six Seconds. Professional memberships include International Coach Federation (ICF), The Club of Silicon Valley, Her pastimes are hiking, bike riding, hanging out at the beach, reading, swimming, and travel. Janet is married and has two daughters.

Lindsey Nehls is an Executive Coach and Leadership Development Trainer. She brings the perspective and understanding of what it is like to sit in the seat and be in the board room. Lindsey was previously an executive and an SVP of Sales where she scaled sales organizations - created the vision, culture, and go-to-market strategy, developed sales talent, and established effective processes to drive success. Over her tenure, she has successfully managed turnarounds increasing sales by 1000%, led $200 million business units, and delivered a billion dollars in enterprise sales. Lindsey has also helped lead two successful company acquisitions and is an expert in change management and communication.

Lindsey is a Harvard Business School and Middlebury College alumna. She is certified in New Ventures West Coaching to Excellence, DISC, Booth, and Center for Creative Leadership 360 assessments. When she is not with her clients, she is mountain biking, skiing, and spending time with her family.

Monique Burt Williams is the Chief Executive Officer of Cadence Counsel, a certified Women’s Business Enterprise and sister corporation to both Lateral Link and Bridgeline Solutions. She is deeply committed to helping corporations and other organizations diversify their in-house legal divisions as they strive to reflect a global economy.

Monique formerly worked for a prominent boutique litigation firm, and was subsequently asked to join the legal services division of a global workforce solutions company.  While there, she created a consulting practice to address the various concerns of corporate law departments: legal operations and administration, playbook development and outside counsel management, cost containment, permanent and interim search, talent development, diversity and inclusion initiatives, and remote workforce management.  Immediately prior to joining Cadence Counsel, Monique directed national business and strategy development for one of the largest privately held legal outsourcing providers in the country.

She earned a B.A. with honors from the University of Michigan, and her J.D. (Order of the Barristers) from the Indiana University Mauer School of Law.  In addition, she studied International Business Transactions at the Université de Paris – Panthéon-Sorbonne in Paris, France.

Neha Sampat, Esq. is CEO and founder of GenLead|BelongLab, where she focuses on building belonging and true inclusion. Through consulting, training, speaking, and coaching, she helps organizations create peak‐performance, inclusive teams by addressing hidden barriers to belonging, such as internalized bias, unconscious bias, generational diversity, distrust in teams, and wellness challenges. She is a nationally sought-after expert on disrupting Imposter Syndrome and runs the top-rated “Owning Your Value” program to develop inclusive leadership.

Neha’s insights have been featured in numerous publications, including Time Magazine, Thrive Global, ABA Journal, and News India Times. Neha holds BAs in Sociology and Political Science from University of Illinois at Urbana‐Champaign, obtained her JD from UC Berkeley School of Law, holds a Certificate in Graduate Applied Psychology, and is certified in Hogan Assessments. Neha works across industry, from Pixar to Perkins Coie LLP, and UC Berkeley to City of San Leandro. Neha also relishes her role as mama to her two kiddos. You can read more of Neha’s insights at blog.genlead.co, follow her on TW/IG/FB at @belonglab, and reach her directly at [email protected].

Kristina Tsipouras Miller is a 35-year-old serial Entrepreneur, born and raised in the greater Boston area. Kristina’s Father immigrated to Boston from Greece in his 20’s to open up a dry-cleaning business in Newton. Kristina learned hard work ethic at a young age while working in her Father’s store. Today, Kristina is known as the proud Founder & leader of the largest networking group for women in New England with over 26,000 members and over the last five years has grown both a six and a seven-figure business. She too, has a failure under her belt that she learned many lessons from her first start-up, a herbal Greek Mountain iced-tea beverage that she launched at the age of 24.

Kristina has created and executed two successful sold-out Boston Business Women conferences hosting over 1,000 women in Boston bringing speakers to stage from Arianna Huffington to the Former CEO of Soul Cycle, Editor in Chief of SELF Magazine, Carol Fulp, Kip Hollister and many more. She has also Founded & scaled her consumer goods product company, Moroccan Magic Clean Beauty on a bootstrapped budget with just a team of two, to over seven figures, available in 25,000+ stores nationwide from Walgreens, CVS, Bed Bath & Beyond, Target, Wegmans, Walmart, Stop & Shop and many more retailers nationwide. Her brand has received national press, beauty awards and was even tweeted about by Steve Wozniak, naming Moroccan Magic, ‘the best lip balm he has ever tried.’

Kristina is also a published author, a Huffington Post blogger, volunteer at Build Boston & the MSPCA and recently was honored as Boston Business Journals 40 Under 40 and her alma madders Alumni of the year in 2019. Kristina has been featured in publications from The Boston Globe, to Forbes & USA Today and has spoken on several panels at Google, the Metrowest Conference for Women & many more.