Sarah Perez thinks people should be lawyers, if that’s what they really want to do with their lives. 

That might seem obvious, but talk to enough lawyers and you’ll hear plenty that discourage following in their footsteps. But Perez, who today leads Columbus law firm Perez Morris, says law school is the right path for someone who actually wants to practice law. But for those who go into the field with different aspirations in mind, it could be a mistake. 

On the latest episode of our Women of Influence podcast, Perez talked about her own journey into the law, and her experience taking over her father-in-law’s law firm, among other topics. 

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For the first time in more than 31 years, Darci Congrove isn’t spending this tax season doing taxes.

The longtime Columbus CPA and managing director of GBQ Partners retired from the firm’s tax department at the end of last year. That doesn’t mean she’s not busy, of course; there’s still plenty to fill her schedule as managing director of Central Ohio’s sixth-largest accounting firm. But she’s no longer working the crazy hours tax professionals often find themselves doing this time of year.

That said, neither are many team members at GBQ. In the latest episode of our Women of Influence podcast, Congrove talked about how the firm has found new ways to embrace flexibility and make tax season more bearable for employees at all levels.

She also talked about GBQ’s international approach to finding enough staffers, the ways she makes decisions about community involvement and more.

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Courtney Falato was used to being on the side of the table asking for money. She had spent much of her career in education research, often seeking out dollars to fund that work. 

But in early 2020, just as the world changed, she made her way to the other side of the table. She joined JPMorgan Chase as vice president and program officer for global philanthropy, a role in which she oversees grant deployment for Ohio and Kentucky. 

During a recent conversation for our Women of Influence podcast, Falato talked about the pros and cons of making that shift, as well as the ways JPMorgan Chase’s funding interests align with her passions. She also shared insight into how nonprofits can land some of the financial giant’s funds.

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Today's guest is Jasmine de Gaia, Head of Customer Data Strategy for Wells Fargo. We talked about what her role entails, how she views working in male-dominated fields and how she cultivates vital mentorship relationships.

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Jane Higgins Marx didn't spend her childhood dreaming of being a lawyer, but as she wrapped up college with an English degree in hand, she found herself searching for a way to apply it.

An LSAT, law school and two decades with the same firm later, she now leads Carlile Patchen & Murphy LLP as its managing partner, a job she started in early 2021.

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In some ways Kristina Johnson feels like she's just getting started at Ohio State University.

She became president of the school–one of the largest in the country and the economic engine that drives central Ohio–in 2020. But the pandemic was still in full force back then, and its later waves and impacts have forced pivot after pivot in her brief tenure.

But now a few months into the 2022-2023 school year, things are settling into something that looks a bit more like normalcy.

Johnson joined Women Of Influence to talk all about her career path, her plans for OSU, and her early observations of football culture.

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Megan Wood knows her Ohio history. She's been with Ohio History Connection for years, working in a variety of positions across the organization. 

This summer, she ascended to the top job at the nonprofit becoming the first female CEO in its history.

She's overseeing the organization as it kicks off construction of a long awaited $17 million Collection Care Cear near the Ohio History Centers’s fairgrounds-area home, and as it watches economic conditions ahead of a potential recession.

Megan joined women of influence just a few weeks into her tenure but already with plenty of ideas in mind for how she wants to shepherd the history-focused organization into its future.

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You probably remember Amy Acton from her daily press conferences back in the spring of 2020, when she used colorful language metaphors and a general sense of compassion to guide Ohioans through one of the most uncertain times in our history. But it was a challenging job for Acton, who left the role in June, 2020, and returned to her previous employer, The Columbus Foundation.

Then, like many in the workforce over the past few years, she took a big career leap. Joining the newly launched Rapid 5 non-profit earlier this year as its first CEO. Acton is my guest this week, but she's not alone; she brought with her Jennifer Peterson, who likewise left her job as a Chief Executive at Easton, to join the organization as COO.

The pair are just a few days apart in age, so the effort to better connect central Ohioans to the region's waterways fits their passions at this stage of life.

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Ola Snow is plenty comfortable in front of a microphone.

As chief human resources officer of Cardinal Health, Ohio's largest public company, she regularly has to communicate with an audience of tens of thousands of employees.

It's a big job, one that got more demanding when the pandemic shook up all of our work lives. Snow joined me in our Columbus Business First studio recently to discuss how the company adapted to that shakeup and more.

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Alison Marker didn’t grow up dreaming up working in construction.

While that’s her family business, Marker herself was more interested in people than buildings. So she pursued degrees in women’s studies and psychology, starting her career as a social worker and later a psychotherapist.

But eventually, the family business called. Alison visited our Women of Influence podcast to tell that story.

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