Cheryl Ecton, CEO of Elite Building Services, shared the story behind her title with us on July 31, 2024.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Of the interview, our founder and host, Sue Rocco, says: "Listen in as I sit down with Cheryl to talk about her upbringing which included numerous moves when she was young, a humiliating comment a teacher made to her in high-school that was a significant motivator for her, the challenges of building a company as a single mother of two and why she believes the key to her success was continuing to do what was necessary."

MORE ABOUT CHERYL:

Cheryl has built a multi-million-dollar commercial cleaning and building maintenance services company that employs more than 700 people in a male-dominated industry. She’s overcome personal struggles-divorce, single motherhood, and a child’s health crisis- to achieve professional success. 

It all started with just a single employee: herself. In the late 1980s. Cheryl was a young, newly married woman looking for additional income to supplement her salary as a receptionist. When she started to clean the office building where she worked after hours, she did not know it then, but it was the very first choice she made that led to the company, now known as Elite Building Services. As she, slowly started to gain new clients, Cheryl began hiring additional employees and offering a wider array of building services.

The success Cheryl found in her professional life didn’t always translate into an easy personal life. Now divorced, Cheryl had to navigate the challenges of raising children alone. Her daughter experienced continual health challenges requiring more than 20 surgeries over several years.

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Liza Donnelly, Cartoonist for The New Yorker, shared the story behind her title with us on July 25, 2024.

Of the interview, our founder and host, Sue Rocco, says: "Hear Liza share powerful memories of what it was like growing up in a troubled home, and how her mom knew what Liza needed when she was young. What Liza needed, her mother felt, was a book of cartoons. That gift set Liza on a life-changing path."

From Liza's bio:

Liza Donnelly is a writer and award-winning cartoonist with The New Yorker Magazine, where she has been drawing cartoons and writing about culture and politics for forty years. She has contributed to CBS News and CNN, creating political cartoons as well as live-drawing special cultural and political events. Donnelly writes and draws for The New York Times and CNN Opinion pages and the Washington Post. Liza is also a screenwriter, working on her third feature and currently pitching a documentary.

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Resa Lewiss, Professor of Emergency Medicine, shared the story behind her title with us on July 24, 2024.

★★★★★

Of the interview, our founder and host, Sue Rocco, says: "Listen in as I sit down with Resa to talk about her third generation family from Westerly, RI, her push-back from a young age to the gender expectations that were placed on her, her relentless love of learning and how small actions in the workplace can have big impact."

MORE ABOUT RESA

RESA E LEWISS MD is a Professor of emergency medicine, TEDMED speaker, TimesUp Healthcare founding member, designer, entrepreneur, and award winning educator, mentor, and point-of-care ultrasound specialist. She studied at Brown University, the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, the NIH Howard Hughes Research Scholars Program, Harvard Emergency Medicine, and Mount Sinai St. Luke’s Roosevelt. She hosts the Visible Voices Podcast, amplifying content in the healthcare, equity, and current trends spaces. Her writing is widely published in science journals and the popular press. She has written for CNBC, Fast Company, Harvard Business Review, Nature, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and Slate. Her podcast has been featured in the Guardian, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and the Brown Alumni Monthly. Her co-authored debut book, MicroSkills: Small Actions, Big Impact, (HarperCollins) was published in April 2024.

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Liza Donnelly, a writer and award-winning cartoonist with The New Yorker Magazine, shared the story behind her title with us on July 17, 2024.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 5 out of 5.

MORE ABOUT LIZA:

Of the interview, our founder and host, Sue Rocco, says: "Listen in as I sit down with Liza to discuss a troubled home growing up, finding her love of drawing and making people laugh, landing a spot at The New Yorker as the youngest female cartoonist and exploring the long history of women trying to find their voice."

Liza has been drawing cartoons and writing about culture and politics for The New Yorker Magazine for forty years. She has contributed to CBS News and CNN, creating political cartoons as well as live-drawing special cultural and political events. Donnelly writes and draws for The New York Times and CNN Opinion pages and the Washington Post. Liza is also a screenwriter, working on her third feature and currently pitching a documentary.

Donnelly delivered a very popular TED talk, which was translated into 40 languages and viewed over 1.4 million times. She is a return speaker at SXSW, has delivered talks at the United Nations in New York and Geneva, The New Yorker Festival, five TEDxes (most recently in Charlottesville, Virginia), universities, NGOs and corporate venues in the US and abroad. Donnelly has been a Cultural Envoy for the US State Department, traveling around the world to speak about freedom of speech, cartoons and women’s rights.

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Maya Guice, Director of Strategy at BRC Imagination Arts, shared the story behind her title with us on July 10, 2024.

★★★★★

Of the interview, our founder and host, Sue Rocco, says: "Listen in as I sit down with Maya to talk about her life as a dancer growing up, her realization over time that she may be better suited for a behind-the-scenes career in the arts and her current love of the work she does while always staying true to her own values."

Maya is the Director of Strategy at BRC Imagination Arts, which partners with brands including Diageo, Ford, and NASA to translate brand and cultural stories into transformative, human experiences. Maya co-develops and oversees the short and long-term marketing, positioning, and business strategy for the firm, including all brand and growth-related activities including content, PR, events, awards, and strategic partnerships. She received an M.B.A. from the Drucker School of Management at Claremont Graduate University, where she now serves as Vice-Chair on the Advisory Board of Directors. She also produces and hosts ‘Masters of Storytelling,’ BRC’s podcast featuring conversations with storytellers across the creative spectrum.

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Brantley Turner-Bradley, the Easy Asia Education Director for Dwight Schools, shared the story behind her title with us on July 3, 2024.

★★★★★

Of the interview, our founder and host, Sue Rocco, says: "Listen in as I sit down with with Brantley to learn how a young girl from Brooklyn, NY ended up studying Mandarin, is set to open a new Dwight School in Hanoi Vietnam, and is still learning how to become more self-aware as she helps her students do the same."

Brantley is originally from Brooklyn, New York. Her interest in Asia began as an undergraduate at Brown University studying East Asian Studies and Art Semiotics. After first traveling to China in 1993 and studying Mandarin in Beijing at Beijing Language and Culture University from 1995-96, she completed her graduate work in 2000 at the John-Hopkins Nanjing University Center for Chinese and American Studies. She founded China Prep in the experiential education sector and is a Ph.D. candidate at the International School of Management with coursework in Shanghai, New York, and Paris. She served as the Dwight School Director of Programs for Ch

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Sara Hirsh Bordo, Award-Winning Filmmaker & Founder of Women Rising, shared the story behind her title with us on June 26, 2024.

Of the interview, our founder and host, Sue Rocco, says:

“Listen in as I sit down with Sara to talk about her upbringing in a big traditional Lebanese family, how she always felt pulled to explore the world outside that family, and what led her to dive deep into her own health journey in order to find the connection between autoimmune disease and empowerment.”

MORE ABOUT SARA:

Named as an “Architect of Change” by Maria Shriver, Sara Hirsh Bordo is a 15x award-winning filmmaker and Founder/CEO of Women Rising®, listed as “One of the Most Innovative, Interesting, and Purpose-Driven Women Led Startups to Watch” by Inc Magazine.

Women Rising® began in 2013 with Sara directing and producing the first TEDxAustinWomen which became the year’s most live and on-demand viewed TEDxWomen event around the world. Sara’s film directorial debut, A BRAVE HEART: THE LIZZIE VELASQUEZ STORY premiered and won the 2015 Audience Award at SXSW and won awards at all eleven festivals it played, received two WEBBY Awards, and secured global distribution via National Geographic, LifetimeTV, Amazon Prime, and iTunes.

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Alexis Jones, Author, Speaker & Activist, shared the story behind her title with us on June 19, 2024.

Alexis is an internationally recognized speaker, media personality, activist, and author. She is a proud Latina originally from Texas. Alexis grew up with four older brothers and moved to Los Angeles where she completed her undergrad and Masters both from USC. Alexis wrote the book, I AM THAT GIRL and her most recent book, Joy Hunter published by Penguin/ Random House was released June 2023. Alexis has a passionate, online community of over 1.2M+ people. She has hosted a TV show on the Red Carpet, worked on shows at Fox Sports, ESPN, CBS, MTV, and TLC. Alexis also created ProtectHer, an educational program for men on the importance of respecting women and has been invited to speak in Division I locker-rooms, board rooms, and war rooms all over the country. 

SUE SAYS:

"Sue sits down with Alexis Jones to talk about her early aspirations, straddling two worlds being poor in an affluent community, the importance of allowing men the opportunity to talk about their own inner thoughts and feelings, and how she has finally learned to slow down and stop "chasing" after opportunities."

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Brooke Dukes, Best Selling Author & Founder of BMD Consultants, shared the story behind her title with us on June 12, 2024.

With over three decades of high-impact leadership roles ranging from CEO and Chief Sales Officer to President and Master Trainer, Brooke stands as a transformational force in the business and personal development arenas. Her innate ability to forge deep connections with business owners, C-suite executives, and ambitious entrepreneurs is truly remarkable. She possesses a level of intuitive intelligence that ensures opportunities for growth and fulfillment are identified with ease, leading clients to rapid breakthroughs.

By fusing behavioral science, NLP and Human Design Intelligence, Brooke has developed groundbreaking programs and services designed to navigate the complexities of both professional leadership and personal growth. This work offers women the pathway to better connect with their unique brilliance, step into their genius and create increased fulfillment in all areas of their lives. 

Brooke’s unmissable internationally best selling book, Burn On Not Out- Finding Fulfillment Beyond Success is now available.  

SUE SAYS: "I sit down for a conversation with Brooke about a childhood with both emotional and physical abuse, finding ways to cope as an only child, how her own journey of self exploration helped fuel her success and why she believes all women need to support other women. "

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Allison Mootz, Vice President and Dean of Student Affairs at Manor College, shared the story behind her title with us on May 29, 2024.

Allison, an accomplished student life and events coordinator with over 20 years of experience working in higher education and not-for-profit organizations, has always had a desire to help and care for people. As a young girl, she was always involved in event planning and various projects serving and entertaining the community-hosting charity softball tournaments, helping run roller derby bouts. She even managed a local rock band. Higher education has further helped Allison fulfill that desire by overseeing the campus food pantry, foster support program, and working with students needing emergency financial assistance (among many other duties!). 

Allison's significant life challenges came later in life, when in 2023 she lost her husband, at the age of 45, to cancer. They had been married 10 years, and Allison was his full-time caregiver over the past number of years while he navigated life with a degenerative nerve disease. 

SUE SAYS

"I sit down for an interview with Allison Mootz to talk about the status of colleges today, the critical need for resources for caretakers and why she now knows the most important thing we can do is spend quality time with the ones we love."

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