I Am Virago

British ex-pat Nicki Leaper is all about making intentional choices. She talks about being brave enough to put what you really want on paper and watch it happen.

Jennifer Kenny is my first guest who was actually threatened with the title "virago" growing up in her native Ireland. She claimed the moniker and is now a champion for women’s empowerment around the globe. She has leveraged a career in STEM and consulting at the world’s largest firms to be an author, lecturer, and strategic consultant at the intersection of technology, innovation, and women’s leadership. Her new book, STAND UP: GROUNDBREAKING WAYS TO SPEAK YOUR VALUE AS A WOMEN LEADER comes out February 2019.

Serial entrepreneur Joleen Winther Hughes, began her career in Seattle as a band manager, booking agent, and rock promoter. She secretly studied for the LSAT, applied and got accepted into law school, and then founded Hughes Media Law Group. She also hosts the podcast The Lawyer Who Rocks interviewing powerful business professionals at the intersection of music, technology, and media. Get great advice about entering into partnerships, learn why avoiding litigation is always preferable, and be inspired by a powerhouse lady!

Kaitlyn Lyons had an awakening. She realized she was playing life small and it was slowly killing her. So what does a super successful high-achieving lady do? She throws a grenade into the middle of her life and blows it to smithereens. Hear how she left her job, her marriage, and even the country to find out who she is really supposed to be. It is messy, it is scary, and it is completely beautiful.

Laurie Ames* has been a certified personal training and business owner for over 13 years. Due to life events she had to kick her business into high gear. Hear the ups and downs of running a fitness business. Bonus! Get tips to start the New Year right.

*Full disclosure, Laurie is my very awesome cousin.

Melanie Kiley is Sr. Corporate Counsel for T-Mobile’s technology division. She also chairs the company’s Women’s Leadership Network and is driven to advocate for gender and racial equity. She is a wife, a mother, a leader, a lawyer, and a woman in recovery. Hear how she navigates all of these roles and what’s next for this amazing woman.

Shea Harty is a no B.S. kind of lady. She is an American expat living in Amsterdam, raising four children, while at the same time running her consulting company, and founding a non-profit, Empower Amsterdam, to help non-Dutch residents find work in Holland. How did she get to this place? By learning exactly who she is and remembering to be that person day in and day out.

Melanie Ewan is a world traveler, a passionate advocate for women’s issues, and the co-founder of award-winning Volition Advisors, a Canadian company dedicated to helping fledging start-ups polish their pitches, develop funding, marketing, and sales strategies, and build overall business resiliency. She is also the lead author of the Discovery Foundation BC Gender Equity Report: A Study of Women in Tech published by Women in Tech World. Hear how she maintains personal mental and emotional heath while raising up the voices of the unheard and under heard in society.

Kerrie Finch is the founder of FinchFactor, a reputation management company with offices in Amsterdam, London and Los Angeles. Kerrie founded the company years ago as a solopreneur. Recently she decided to take on partners to increase the flexibility of the organization. Hear how she has navigated the change and the life-threatening health scare that helped her make the decision.

Heidi Finley launched Maven Meals, a Seattle-based meal delivery service, 7 years ago and is expecting to bring in nearly $1 million in revenue this year. Hear how this former butler and personal chef turned her passion into a successful business through damn hard work and determination. And there is a love story too.