Escaping Cubicle Land to Empower Women Heros – Starla Sireno, Founder – Fearlessness, Inc.

With a head for numbers, Starla Sireno carved out a niche market as a Portfolio Manager focusing on

the all important return on investment (ROI) for the Fortune 500 companies she worked for. At 28, she was trading billions of dollars by day and drinking martinis and eating at the very best restaurants in Washington and New York by night. She met the impossibly rich of Wall Street, corporate leaders, famous artists, musicians and even a Supreme Court Justice.  There were regular dinners, sporting events, concerts, private art showings, and trips to Europe. On paper, she had it all.  But for Starla, it was stifling. [Read more...]

Melani Lust, Professional Dancer Turned Photographer

From her first dark room class at the age of 13, Melani knew her life’s work would be about creating imagery. A native of San Diego, she left California to move to Manhattan where she earned a BA in Art History and an MA in Fine Arts from New York University on full scholarship with magna cum laude distinction.

This Renaissance woman has a sophisticated understanding of aesthetics and composition and her earlier career pursuits explain her profound ability to create moving works of art in her photography.

Melani enjoyed a career as a professional dancer while earning her undergraduate degree at NYU. Dancing with the world renowned Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, she also danced in numerous off Broadway productions and as a featured commercial dancer during the birth of MTV when dancers were highly sought after for the emerging music video genre. [Read more...]

Ellen Palmer – Everything Happens for a Reason

After seven years with a Cigna Insurance, Ellen Palmer jumped off the corporate train and decided to pursue a Masters degree in Education. A lucrative position beckoned and Ellen left her academic program to build a subsidiary for Cigna. In the new company, she started as employee number three and left two years later, after she brought on significant clients and built a sales pipeline which helped the company grow to 143 employees during that short time.

Making a conscious decision to leave that job and get married, Ellen Palmer left her corporate career to take control of her life. Throughout her professional life she helped other companies get their businesses started so she worked as a consultant when her kids were young doing just that. One day it dawned on her that she could start her own business and over the next five years, she created three: Spoil me Spa, Ellen Palmer Wellness and Create Your Perfect Day™. [Read more...]

From Legal Counsel to Health Advisor Janet Sanders, The Diabetes Coach

Janet Sanders went to law school because she wanted to exercise her philanthropic muscles. After reading an article in Time magazine about a parent/child support center, she aspired to open a similar facility in her native Philadelphia. By pursuing a law degree, Janet thought she would gain the skill set and professional competencies necessary to realize her dream. She did in fact hone these transferable skills, but her career went in a different direction than she had planned. [Read more...]

From HR Executive to Therapist, Sharon Gilchrest O’Neill Loves Her New Career

Sharon Gilchrest O’Neill caught the Psychology bug early during her undergraduate studies and later earned a Masters in Organizational/Industrial Psychology. This course of study was a great foundation for her Human Resources career that began with the Exxon Mobil Corporation in Florham Park, New Jersey. She loved the work and was among the first generation of women at Exxon to work in upper level administration. Sharon was thriving in her career and her male colleagues were shocked that she was willing to work even when she became pregnant. [Read more...]

Kimberley Green, Litigation Paralegal Turned Allergen-Free Baker and Entrepreneur

Kimberley Green describes her former career as a Litigation Paralegal like that of movie legend Erin Brockovich without the million dollar bonus. Her life was intense and fast paced and for 12 years she enjoyed the legal field working in Indianapolis, where Kim was born and raised, and later in Atlanta.  Seven years ago, life changed in many unexpected ways when Kim gave birth to her daughter, Isabella.

Kim and her husband became frequent flyers at their pediatric practice because Bella had extreme difficulties as an infant. The Greens came to know the night time rotation doctors as well as those on the day shift because Bella’s health issues were constant and alarming. After excluding many other things and after many long weeks, Kim was told that Bella had colic and that it would pass in 3 months. As a first-time Mom, she was told she should learn to live with her screaming baby. Needless to say – this was not the answer Kim wanted to hear. [Read more...]

Legal Eagle, Liz Williams Takes New Direction as Food Museum Founder

Fascinated by the way the lure of nutmeg and peppercorns motivated the exploration of the world, Liz Williams was lucky to be born into a family of Sicilian heritage in New Orleans.  She grew up eating in two great food traditions. At 60 years of age, Liz now looks back at the variety of careers she has in her repertoire and is thriving in yet another new role as Founder and Director of the Southern Food and Beverage Museum. [Read more...]

Lisa Montanaro, Certified Professional Organizer, Business & Life Coach, Motivational Speaker

Lisa Montanaro realized early on that she did not like the practice of law even though she had given it her all for 9 years. She loved law school, and later teaching law, but the practice of law was never an ideal fit.

Like many lawyers, Lisa spent time at a large law firm learning the trade and working 90+ hour weeks.  She was working in New York City where the legal field is intense and competitive and Lisa was able to move from her firm to an in-house counsel position that seemed to be a better fit. This was 1999 and the Y2K craze was consuming all business sectors including the legal field and Lisa started thinking seriously about finding a different career that honored her passions while still playing to her strengths. [Read more...]

Being Laid Off Opened a New Career Door for Nicki Beekman

Nicki Beekman has always been motivated by working with others to help them achieve their goals. She was able to put this entrepreneurial spirit into practice when she was laid off in 2009. A single mom who also takes care of her live-in mother, in addition to her teenage son, Nicki was terrified about her next career steps knowing that she had others to provide for. [Read more...]

Candace Alper Loves Being a WAHM

It all began for Candace Alper when she was on maternity leave. In Canada, new moms are able to take up to a year off which has led to a growing number of mompreneurs in the country. Having a year to herself and her new baby, Candace was able to take the time to think about her life and her career. With an infant daughter, she started singing the songs all moms know and love but she would incorporate Hannah’s name to personalize the tunes.

Before long – “If You’re Happy and You Know It” became “If You’re Hannah and You Know It” and the idea of Name Your Tune was born. Candace’s husband, Eric works in the music industry and he supported the idea of the new business venture and also brought significant skills and expertise to the table. From the beginning, the focus has been on making music fun for children and parents alike. By customizing songs with a child’s name, this wife and husband team has been able to take classic children’s songs to a new place. [Read more...]