Badass Women at Any Age

Overwhelmed by financial stress and debt despite her academic qualifications, Mikelann Valterra transformed her relationship with money after seeking help from Karen McCall, a pioneering money coach. Inspired by this change, she became a money coach and has spent 25 years helping women achieve financial clarity and reduce money anxiety.  Mikelann is an author, speaker, master money coach, who help...

In her mid-twenties Lisa Daniels embarked on a spiritual path to understand herself, identify barriers to her own success, and pursue fulfillment in life. From an individual contributor to a leader, making mistakes and learning along the way,  Lisa aimed to embody the principles she promotes while aiding executives in leading teams and ensuring they have the right talent to achieve organizational...

Andreea Parcalaboiu has a powerful story to tell about her fall from being a former New York State Attorney to spending three years in federal prison, to showing great resilience and courage and beginning a new life and career.  Andreea is a former New York state attorney, and she has a unique perspective having spent almost three years in prison. She is now a coach, consultant, author, and speake...

Amidst the chaos of World War II, Katherine Mitchell's mother led her family through harrowing escapes from war-torn Europe to the safety of the United States, displaying immense courage and resourcefulness. Despite facing multiple challenges, including language barriers and cultural adjustments in her new homeland, Katherine pursued her passions.  Her personal story is a journey of survival, resi...

Despite facing significant discrimination in the male-dominated culinary industry, Chef Rossi transformed her rebellious upbringing and passion for food into a successful career as a pioneering chef and author. Her journey is a testament to resilience, creativity, and living authentically. Chef Rossi is the catering director, owner and executive chef of the Raging Skillet, a cutting edge catering...

Diagnosed with MS 10 years ago, Kim Rahir defied her doctor's advice, choosing instead to take control of her health and become a beacon of strength and vitality. Kim is a 60 year old mother of three and this year became the European Champion in Masters Weightlifting in her age and weight category.  Her journey inspired her to leave her career in journalism in her 50s and become a health coach for...

Barbara Palmer left law school to pursue a career in entertainment marketing and ended up discovering her passion for mentoring women.  Barbara Palmer is a workplace leadership coach and founder of Broad Perspective Consulting and Your Fourth Trimester, a unique program designed to provide one on one support for parents who are returning to the workplace after welcoming a child.  Barbara specializ...

Starting as a model in the 1990s, Alexis Eizinas  transitioned to a two-decade career in beauty retail design. Inspired by her mother's example, she embraced her silvering hair but struggled to find suitable products. During COVID-19, she realized the market gap and, in 2023, founded Silvering, the first North American beauty brand to provide cosmetics and hair care uniquely designed to amplify an...

Feeling unfulfilled in her career as a journalist and Hollywood reporter, Sarah found her true calling when she happened upon the story of Arbella Stuart.  Writing Arbella's biography opened up a whole new path for Sarah, coupling  her love of writing with her lifelong fascination with the untold stories of women throughout history. Sarah Gristwood is a journalist and author committed to publicizi...

Pivoting through a number of different careers, it wasn't until Lucy Ryan was in her 40s that she decided to follow her true passion and fascination with women in their midlife years. She became the first student in Europe to earn a masters in positive psychology and later a PhD. Lucy is a leadership coach, managing director of MindSpring for the last 20 years, a positive psychologist, advocate of...

When Lesley Hensell's oldest son was diagnosed with autism, focusing on him became a priority.  Deciding to quit her job, Lesley found a way to supplement her lost income by pivoting from marketing consulting to online retail, a change that led her down an unexpectedly successful path. Lesley is the  co-founder of Riverbend Consulting, whose 85 plus employees solve problems for e-commerce sellers....

Driven by hope and a strong sense of curiosity,  Dr. Kandi Wiens built a successful career as a management consultant.  Unaware of her own personal burnout, Kandi got a jarring wake up call with a health scare that changed the trajectory of her life and career.  Kandi is director of the University of Pennsylvania's Master in Medical Education Program and the Penn Health Professions Education Certi...

Following the example set by her mother, Felecia Foster has always dedicated time to community service.  Pivoting from her 14 year career in finance to a career in community outreach, Felecia was inspired to  dedicate herself, with fierce intention, to the success of women in her community.  Felecia is CEO and founder of the Community Inspired Alliance for Women, a non profit organization that cha...

A natural born leader, Michelle Redfern recognized and embraced her resourceful, curious, adventurous spirit early in life. Combining this spirit with her high appetite for risk Michelle is fearless in the pursuit of what sets her soul on fire, which is closing the global leadership gap in business and sports. Michelle owns Advancing Women in Business and Sport, an enterprise providing consulting...

As a senior leader in a fortune 500 company, it took Teresa Vozza 3 different episodes of being wheeled out of a meeting to realize something was wrong. Diagnosed with burnout, these life changing events led her to her mission to address the source of her own trauma and also to help others deal with their burnout. Teresa is an award-winning leadership expert, a keynote speaker, writer, and the for...

Launching a digital magazine for women over 45, Jeannie Ralston began building a community that has blossomed into much more than a good read. An experienced traveler and planner,  Jeannie is the co-founder and CEO of Next Tribe, the digital magazine that has recently morphed into a travel company devoted to smart, engaged women over 45.  She homeschooled her children while traveling the world. As...

Growing up in a home where she had to withstand physical, mental, verbal, emotional and sexual abuse, Alreen Haeggquist was desperate to escape her reality.  After failed suicide attempts, Alreen's journey took a turn when she realized going to college would give her the opportunity to escape the abusive environment. Through therapy and a lot of intentional work to overcome Alreen turned her traum...

Kristen Gibbons Feden has always had a knack for the art of argument.  After earning a bachelors in neuroscience, she redirected her focus from medicine to law.  Kristen's passion for fighting for victims of sexual abuse was ignited after working in the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office Family Violence unit where the stories of young girls who had survived horrific violence inspired Kristen...

Jillian Ramirez Chaves's life took an unexpected turn when she faced the painful discovery of infidelity by her soon to be fiance.  This life altering experience shattered her self-confidence and left her questioning her ability to make healthy relationship choices.  Refusing to let this define her, she embarked on a profound journey of healing, discovery, and personal growth. Jillian is a dynamic...

As a clinical psychologist, Dr. Joshua Klapow recognized a pattern of professional women attempting to navigate a workplace culture that was never set up for them to succeed.  Inspired to affect change, Dr. Klapow re-focused his career and is making an impact in that culture through performance coaching. Dr. Klapow is a clinical psychologist, behavioral scientist, and performance coach who helps w...

Sparked by the tragic loss of her father, Judy Wilkins Smith set out on an unexpected journey as a writer that developed into much more.   Judy is a highly regarded Family Patterns, Systemic Work, constellations expert, transformational coach, motivational speaker, and author who is passionate about individual growth, visionary leadership, and positive, accelerated, global change. The Founder of S...

A life long lover of music,  Jennifer Ritvo Hughes found her calling as a college student sitting in the back of a concert hall.  A musician herself,  Jennifer was passionate about integrating her business savvy and love of music into a successful career supporting the arts.  Jennifer is CEO of American Friends of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra overseeing their daily operations, fundraising eff...

Raised with a lot of personal agency, Lydia Sherrer learned the value of hard work and personal responsibility from observing how her entrepreneurial father ran his business.  Lydia is the award-winning and USA today bestselling author of Love, Lies and Hocus Pocus Universe of Books, which has sold over half a million copies worldwide.  Most recently, she published her Gamelit series, Trans Dimens...

Annoyed by the lack of representation and the  way society media portrayed middle aged women, Michela Di Carlo decided to do something about it.  She embarked on a journey and launched an online magazine to help empower women over 50 and reframe midlife as a colorful journey.  Michela is a seasoned, bilingual lifestyle journalist (Italian/English) with a Masters in Communication Sciences from the...

At 50 Suzette Mullen couldn't shake the feeling that, despite her successful professional and family life,  there was something missing.  Focusing on her passion for writing,  Suzette began working on a memoir that led her through a personal journey and discovery of  her true authentic self.  Suzette Mullen (she/her) is a memoir and nonfiction book coach, retreat leader, and the author of the new...