TrailBlazers Impact

Vanessa’s approach to life’s challenges and stresses is to reignite your creativity with play. She gives you her recipes which include hot yoga, silent discos, and fires on the beach with your girlfriends. And to remember there’s always a chance for failure and that’s OK. Her company’s mission is to unlock clients’ potential with improv, helping businesses achieve happier and healthier teams. With women’s groups, she uses the power of play to foster greater confidence, self-trust, and deeper connections with others.

Rosemarie Harris has maneuvered effectively through the ins and outs of corporate life, spending 22 years at a large company before starting her own. Her only regret — not making the leap to launching a business sooner.

Charting her path has been the right move. Secured Systems Consulting helps clients nationwide with regulatory compliance in the affordable housing industry. Her joy comes from helping her clients with the many challenging administrative tasks involved in working with HUD.

Harris’s mother was her biggest influence, particularly for perseverance in selling her own made bridal dresses while raising her siblings. Harris also learned the value of supporting one another and pushing hard for your dreams, a message she shares with the women she mentors.

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Keep in touch with Trailblazers Impact here:

Twitter: @TrailblzrsImpct

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Rated #27 in Pretty Progressive: https://prettyprogressive.com/inspiring-podcasts-for-women-in-their-20s/

Rated #2 in Feedspot: https://blog.feedspot.com/trailblazers_podcasts/

Advocacy started early for Lisa Kleissner. During her high school days in Hawaii, she pushed for environmental causes, earning the ire of school administrators when bringing in scientists and activists who challenged prevailing wisdom.

Kleissner’s desire for change continued throughout her life, culminating in her founding of the KL Felicitas Foundation. Together with her husband Charly, she supports entrepreneurs who have the vision for a business with a social mission but require the mentoring, funding, and technical services to become viable.

Her motto is, “change moves at the speed of trust.” After leaving an abusive first marriage, she went back to university, studying hard and looking for the next risk to take. She met and married Charly, building a life and supporting socially conscious capitalism.

If you liked what you heard, please hit the SHARE button above and share this episode with your network!

Please visit our website for more inspiring stories: www.TrailBlazersImpact.com and FOLLOW US!

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Did this episode get you thinking? Please share your thoughts with us at [email protected]

Keep in touch with Trailblazers Impact here:

Twitter: @TrailblzrsImpct

Facebook: @TrailBlazersImpact

Instagram: @trailblazersimpact

LinkedIn: TrailBlazers Impact Podcast

Rated #27 in Pretty Progressive: https://prettyprogressive.com/inspiring-podcasts-for-women-in-their-20s/

Rated #2 in Feedspot: https://blog.feedspot.com/trailblazers_podcasts/

Trailblazers Connect host DeeDee Myers shares with friend and fellow co-host Nan McKay how her family’s experiences with racism inform her dedication to lifting up women and people of color.

Myers describes her father being turned down for a corporate management job in 1960s Detroit because white workers would not accept authority from a black man. This led him to the military, while still imperfect, offered greater opportunity for him to move up the ranks.

Myers was determined that the obstacles that stopped her father’s advances wouldn’t inhibit her. She’s equipped herself by learning about the long history of segregation, describing it as an ‘electrical fence’ that trapped people in. As Myers advanced in the housing development business world, she always sought to mentor young women and people of color so they are empowered to pursue their dreams.

If you liked what you heard, please hit the SHARE button above and share this episode with your network!

Please visit our website for more inspiring stories: www.TrailBlazersImpact.com and FOLLOW US!

Subscribe to our email list to get all our latest podcasts directly to your inbox: http://bit.ly/2ZBeoW9

Did this episode get you thinking? Please share your thoughts with us at [email protected]

Keep in touch with Trailblazers Impact here:

Twitter: @TrailblzrsImpct

Facebook: @TrailBlazersImpact

Instagram: @trailblazersimpact

LinkedIn: TrailBlazers Impact Podcast

Rated #27 in Pretty Progressive: https://prettyprogressive.com/inspiring-podcasts-for-women-in-their-20s/

Rated #2 in Feedspot: https://blog.feedspot.com/trailblazers_podcasts/

Sherese Brewington Carr delivers her professional insights into the world of migrant farm work, the criminal justice system, and what it takes to help both veterans and ex-offenders transition successfully into the contemporary workplace. She shares her foundational beliefs established as a childhood "farm girl" who benefited from the larger culture of rural community activism and a world-class educational opportunity gained at two Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). She recounts some of the too-many-to-name volunteer and change agendas she has worked to champion.

If you liked what you heard, please hit the SHARE button above and share this episode with your network!

Please visit our website for more inspiring stories: www.TrailBlazersImpact.com and FOLLOW US!

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Did this episode get you thinking? Please share your thoughts with us at [email protected]

Keep in touch with Trailblazers Impact here:

Twitter: @TrailblzrsImpct

Facebook: @TrailBlazersImpact

Instagram: @trailblazersimpact

LinkedIn: TrailBlazers Impact Podcast

Rated #27 in Pretty Progressive: https://prettyprogressive.com/inspiring-podcasts-for-women-in-their-20s/

Rated #2 in Feedspot: https://blog.feedspot.com/trailblazers_podcasts/

Design is about more than aesthetic choices for Carnela Renee Hill. It’s building relationships and new opportunities for strengthening others.  Hill shares her journey of tackling each day as it comes, relying on belief that God will guide her in what she sees as her ministry. Her design business accelerated in 2015 when she was invited to help decorate the White House at Christmas for an HGTV special.

She's the owner of the CR Hill Design Group, which is the culmination of a journey out of corporate America and into her own business. In her book Walking Afraid she details a path from from hurt and rejection to independence. Whether it’s mentoring school children, friends or family members, her journey is about collecting and sharing blessings.

If you liked what you heard, please hit the SHARE button above and share this episode with your network!

Please visit our website for more inspiring stories: www.TrailBlazersImpact.com and FOLLOW US!

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Did this episode get you thinking? Please share your thoughts with us at [email protected]

Keep in touch with Trailblazers Impact here:

Twitter: @TrailblzrsImpct

Facebook: @TrailBlazersImpact

Instagram: @trailblazersimpact

LinkedIn: TrailBlazers Impact Podcast

Rated #27 in Pretty Progressive: https://prettyprogressive.com/inspiring-podcasts-for-women-in-their-20s/

Rated #2 in Feedspot: https://blog.feedspot.com/trailblazers_podcasts/

Carena Lemons can seemingly do it all, with a successful law practice and an acting career.

In this episode, Lemons explains how career choices are often intertwined, lending strength from one to another. Her Raleigh, N.C.-based law firm, which she’s worked hard to build over the last 13 years, is strengthened by her knowledge of the entertainment industry. With that experience, Lemons has done considerable work in entertainment law and can connect well with her clients.

As for acting, it’s a passion that is fulfilling and enables her to expand her client base through her dual role. Most recently she has a part in the film Harriet, along with other work. On top of all this, she juggles her family commitments with a husband and two children.

Running a law firm is a business, and it’s that side of her work where there’s been the most to learn. Over time she’s discovered that by approaching the firm with a business mindset, nurturing and growing her organization with a solid client base. And she’s tapped into her work as an actor, gaining the trust of clients who work in that industry. The value of bridging these worlds and finding your right path an important message she continues to share.

If you liked what you heard, please hit the SHARE button above and share this episode with your network!

Please visit our website for more inspiring stories: www.TrailBlazersImpact.com and FOLLOW US!

Subscribe to our email list to get all our latest podcasts directly to your inbox: http://bit.ly/2ZBeoW9

Did this episode get you thinking? Please share your thoughts with us at [email protected]

Keep in touch with Trailblazers Impact here:

Twitter: @TrailblzrsImpct

Facebook: @TrailBlazersImpact

Instagram: @trailblazersimpact

LinkedIn: TrailBlazers Impact Podcast

Rated #27 in Pretty Progressive: https://prettyprogressive.com/inspiring-podcasts-for-women-in-their-20s/

Rated #2 in Feedspot: https://blog.feedspot.com/trailblazers_podcasts/

The joy of entrepreneurship was instilled in Jewel Burke Solomon at a young age. Growing up in Mobile, Alabama, she was inspired by the pride her parents had in their business and the sense of respect the community showed them.

Her childhood was filled with warm memories of international travel and a passion for the arts. An entrepreneurial drive set in early, as she sold her own paintings while in high school.

Solomon thrived while at Howard University, parlaying her success to an internship at Goldman Sachs in New York. She then leapt across the country to join Google, where her enthusiasm translated well to sales, pitching Google apps and products to enterprise customers.

She returned to Alabama to assist a family member with health issues, then moved on to Atlanta. It’s where she thought of the business idea that would be her big break. Her grandfather, a farmer, was frustrated in how difficult it was to find parts for his tractor during harvest season. She founded Partpic to solve issues just like this — the company built visual search software so that customers could submit a picture and the algorithms would find just the right part.

Solomon sold the company to Amazon in 2016, and she has since moved on to new challenges as an investor. Solomon credits her parents with instilling a sense of belief in herself, and she hopes to inspire other women to achieve their goals in business.

If you liked what you heard, please hit the SHARE button above and share this episode with your network!

Please visit our website for more inspiring stories: www.TrailBlazersImpact.com and FOLLOW US!

Subscribe to our email list to get all our latest podcasts directly to your inbox: http://bit.ly/2ZBeoW9

Did this episode get you thinking? Please share your thoughts with us at [email protected]

Keep in touch with Trailblazers Impact here:

Twitter: @TrailblzrsImpct

Facebook: @TrailBlazersImpact

Instagram: @trailblazersimpact

LinkedIn: TrailBlazers Impact Podcast

Rated #27 in Pretty Progressive: https://prettyprogressive.com/inspiring-podcasts-for-women-in-their-20s/

Rated #2 in Feedspot: https://blog.feedspot.com/trailblazers_podcasts/

Linda Dupre Hull, age 67, provides powerful insights into a childhood where at age 12 she became a partner with her father in developing the family budget and managing the family finances out of the necessity of ensuring the family could survive off of his earnings. She shares the backdrop of being a life-long resident of New Orleans; a city defined by its history of segregation and poverty, and coming to understand very early on the absolute necessity for adopting a personal budget, managing your finances and growing your personal wealth by purchasing a home as early as you can in life and vacating the role of a renter. She shares her advice for baby boomers trying to decide whether to take their social security benefits at age 62 or "wait" for full retirement. This is an interview every woman (and person) can learn from!

If you liked what you heard, please hit the SHARE button above and share this episode with your network!

Please visit our website for more inspiring stories: www.TrailBlazersImpact.com and FOLLOW US!

Subscribe to our email list to get all our latest podcasts directly to your inbox: http://bit.ly/2ZBeoW9

Did this episode get you thinking? Please share your thoughts with us at [email protected]

Keep in touch with Trailblazers Impact here:

Twitter: @TrailblzrsImpct

Facebook: @TrailBlazersImpact

Instagram: @trailblazersimpact

LinkedIn: TrailBlazers Impact Podcast

Rated #27 in Pretty Progressive: https://prettyprogressive.com/inspiring-podcasts-for-women-in-their-20s/

Rated #2 in Feedspot: https://blog.feedspot.com/trailblazers_podcasts/

Growing up in a society where gender bias was prevalent, Rocio Cavazos always found that she was attracted to professional industries where women were few and far between. She started out as an engineer then later transitioned into finance where she worked on Wall Street for 12 years in another male dominated industry.

Being passionate about empowering women and wanting to create an impact through social purpose led her to focus on micro-finance where she could empower low income women in the developing world.

As an investor, she decided to focus on the plant-based sector which is primarily run by women.

Cavazos finds working with entrepreneurs very energizing, invigorating and inspiring. She admires how passionate they are about what they do and their devotion and dedication to solving some of the world’s major problems.

In this episode, she reflects on her passion for empowering women and the focus it gave her. One piece of advice she wants to pass on to young people is to “live their life being pulled by their vision for the future instead of pushing by their past”.

If you liked what you heard, please hit the SHARE button above and share this episode with your network!

Please visit our website for more inspiring stories: www.TrailBlazersImpact.com and FOLLOW US!

Subscribe to our email list to get all our latest podcasts directly to your inbox: http://bit.ly/2ZBeoW9

Did this episode get you thinking? Please share your thoughts with us at [email protected]

Keep in touch with Trailblazers Impact here:

Twitter: @TrailblzrsImpct

Facebook: @TrailBlazersImpact

Instagram: @trailblazersimpact

LinkedIn: TrailBlazers Impact Podcast

Rated #27 in Pretty Progressive: https://prettyprogressive.com/inspiring-podcasts-for-women-in-their-20s/

Rated #2 in Feedspot: https://blog.feedspot.com/trailblazers_podcasts/