Lynn Dicton started out with Lucent Technologies as a secretary without a college degree. Eager to gain promotional opportunities within this telecommunications giant, she earned her Marketing degree at night from Rutgers University working full-time during the day. Soon her drive, ambition, and intense work ethic became recognized as an asset to the company and Lynn began an upward trajectory within Lucent that lasted for 31 years. [Read more...]
Career Coach • Author • Speaker
Meg Nollen, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations – H. J. Heinz Company
October 14, 2011 by Leave a Comment
In the spirit of good networking, Meg first reached out to me when she heard about my career transition blog for women. It was a friend of a friend who referred her to me so I was thrilled to learn about her unique career transitions and she’s had several. So many of the women I have featured on the blog changed careers dramatically from one field to another unrelated career path and others pursued entrepreneurial ventures. I was drawn to Meg’s story because she has reinvented herself many times within the walls of corporate America, albeit in different companies. And she is part of the vibrant but small percentage of women at the C-level in the corporate world paving the way for the future generations of women in the executive ranks. [Read more...]
You Can Invent Your Future
September 5, 2011 by Leave a Comment
This October 6-7, 2011 I will have the great honor and pleasure of presenting at the Midwest Invent Your Future Women’s Conference in Indianapolis. The theme is Innovation & Leadership: Breakthrough Strategies for Uncertain Times. This is a premier event for professional women, entrepreneurs, and all those looking to accelerate their careers.
Featured speakers include:
- Congresswoman Jackie Spier and Deborah Collins Stephens, co-authors: This is Not the Life I Ordered
- Sylvia Nasar, John S. and James L. Knight Professor of Business Journalism at Columbia University; Economist; Journalist; Author, A Beautiful Mind and Grand Pursuit: The Story of Economic Genius
- Betsy Myers, Presidential Advisor and Author, Take the Lead: Motive, Inspire and Bring out the Best in Yourself and Everyone Around You
- Mary LoVerde, best-selling author, I Used to Have a Handle on Life But it Broke
- Billie Dragoo, CEO, Repucare; National Board pf Directors NAWBO
- Caroline Dowd-Higgins, Director of Career and Professional Development and Adjunct Faculty, Indiana University Maurer School of Law; author, This is Not The Career I Ordered
Women deserve professional development opportunities and this event promises to deliver! Produced by Invent Your Future Enterprises, a social enterprise specializing in the retention, development, and acceleration of women leaders.
I hope you will consider joining us in Indy this Fall so you can use this educational opportunity to link your career plan and goals. Engage with experts and nationally recognized speakers while networking with your peers and expand your professional community with senior managers and executives from top companies in the Midwest.
You should always take advantage of an opportunity to shape your career destiny and Invent Your Future is a great place to start!
Registration information available at: www.inventyourfuture.com
Danielle Bobish, Curtain Up Events
July 24, 2011 by Leave a Comment
A Broadway actress, Danielle was tired of being a struggling artist and knew she wanted more out of life and her career. But what – and how? Dissecting her career on the stage helped Danielle quickly realize that her professional theater background was the perfect training for planning large events. “With any big event like a wedding, you’ll find the same key elements: costumes, lighting, set decoration, production and timing, and lots of details to coordinate. I thought – why not bring that same excitement and theatrical sensibility to non-Broadway events?” She is now the Owner and Creative Director of Curtain Up Events (CUE) and an excellent example of a woman who combined her passions, skills, and experiences and used them to transition into a new career. [Read more...]
Janet Sanders, The Diabetes Coach
July 10, 2011 by Leave a Comment
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...]
Tonya Fitzpatrick, Executive Producer and Co-Host: World Footprints Radio Show
July 3, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Award-winning broadcaster and author Tonya Fitzpatrick always knew “come hell or high water” she would become a lawyer. She did just that, and enjoyed an appointment as a Deputy Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of Education, and also served under a federal defense contract as the Senior Legal Advisor for the Office of Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. But her dissatisfaction with her legal career and the political environment in Washington, DC confirmed that she was ready for a change. Traveling has always allowed Tonya to reconnect with herself and her passion for travel and desire to live a purposeful life led her to reinvent her avocation and make it her career. [Read more...]
Anne Shroeder, Star Gazing Farm/Language Works Websites/Sheep Shearer
June 26, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Anne Shroeder has been through many transitions in her life but at age 50 she has now found her passion and peace with a dream career that will warm your heart. She splits her time between her web development business, Language Works and caring for 50+ animals in need of a home. Her animal sanctuary: Star Gazing Farm is also a non-profit organization and if that wasn’t enough, Anne is also refining her skills as a sheep shearer. [Read more...]
Ellen Covner, Custom Gardens, LLC
June 18, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Early on in her career Ellen Covner, like many other professional women, noticed that working with men could be a very mixed experience. She also learned that group and workplace dynamics often had a style and language all their own that did not promote cooperation, creativity and “drive.” She came to realize that as important as it was to be self-supporting and have a good income, money was not a sufficient motivator to stay in a “good job.” After 20+ years practicing health law in major hospitals and law firms, she was ready for new challenges. She wanted a change that would renew her creativity and joy in her work. The call of the outdoors beckoned and enticed her to focus on promoting environments that nourish people and their properties. [Read more...]
Joni McGary, Playwright
April 24, 2011 by 1 Comment
Pegged early on as a math and science kid, Joni McGary distinguished herself in her upstate New York high school with National Science Foundation accolades and planned to attend medical school after college. A mentor introduced her to Food Science, an academic discipline that would provide all the prerequisite classes and distinguish Joni amongst the sea of applicants vying for competitive spots in prestigious medical school programs.
After earning an undergraduate degree from Cornell with a major in Food Science, the career path lured Joni out into the world-of-work and the thought of medical school soon faded. A renaissance woman, Joni has always blended her aptitude for math and science with a love for the arts and a passion for theatre. Who knew the seeds of her artistic passion would later lead to a career change and the beginning of a new chapter in her professional life. [Read more...]
Stacy Breuers, Sales Representative Martin Scott Wines
April 17, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Stacy Breuers spent 18 years in the banking & finance industry in a high powered career that met her values at the time. She held a myriad of positions from consulting on Mergers & Acquisitions to a working for an Executive Search firm managing operations and marketing, and later worked in secondary markets on the lending side of the financial coin.
As you would expect, these kinds of positions required long hours and constant travel. Eventually Stacy decided that she did not want to spend all of her time on the road. Six years ago she enrolled in a wine immersion course at the Culinary Institute of America (CIS) while on a vacation in California, which whet her appetite (and her thirst!) to learn more about the wine industry. [Read more...]
