TrailBlazers Impact

Jane Finette is the author of Unlocked and the founder and executive director of The Coaching Fellowship. She has a passion for advocating for women and girls and her organization is a non-profit that helps advance young women to become social change leaders. In this episode, Jane explains how she learned the meaning and power of community while working at both eBay and Mozilla Firefox. Listen in...

Captain Michael Abrashoff is a naval commander, NY Times best-selling author, leadership and teamwork expert, and keynote speaker. He became Commander of USS Benfold and was the most junior commanding officer in the Pacific fleet at just 36 years. He has worked with over 1200 organizations instilling leadership initiatives at every level since leaving the navy. In this episode, Michael talks about...

Alison Gross weaves a fascinating story of excelling as a worldwide event planner of global events such as in Monte Carlo to coordinating the Maccabi games and a world sailing race in the U.S. She's all about thought leadership and models it through her blogs. She started a business during COVID and explained how the new normal would be different but would adapt. She then talks about adaptive reus...

Elle Travis is the founder and CEO of Caregivers of Mother Earth, a nonprofit on a mission to conduct education programs for youth to engender love and appreciation for mother earth. She’s been a pioneer for women since the mid-1970s and is now a pioneer in the world of alternative and energy healing. In this episode, Elle describes how her mom influenced her life today and how she has evolved in...

Ep. 230 - LaFarris Risby rose from abuse to become a successful entrepreneur even as a young teen mother. She describes her journey and shares some of the valuable lessons she’s learned in the nearly 3 decades of her entrepreneurial journey. LaFarris Risby is a business strategist, consultant, author, public speaker, and calls herself a community stabilizer. She helps entrepreneurs uplevel in ever...

Inez Ribustello placed as second runnerup in the Best Sommelier in America competition held in New York, is a member of the Alumni Hall of Fame for the Institute of Culinary Education, and was Beverages Director at Windows on the World before 9/11. She’s passionate about wine, beer, and food. In this episode, Inez talks about her passion for wine and her career in the sector over the years. Listen...

Elaina Zuker and Lynita Mitchell-Blackwell - If you’re struggling with goal setting and scaling your business as an entrepreneur, then this is your episode. Our guests explain a few simple strategies that will help you get started in your process of successful goal setting and low-budget business scaling. In this episode, Elaina explains the process of successful goal setting while Lynita explains...

Jayne Benkendorf is a certified health coach, author, speaker, and national marketing director at Juice Plus. She wrote and published five books focused on health and wellness over 30 years ago. She’s keen on educating adults and children on the value of health and how to attain better health. In this episode, Jayne explains how we can improve our health and wellness by eating good quality foods a...

A respected leader with forty-five years of combined executive, nonprofit, and leadership experience, Elizabeth A Jones serves as the National President of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women (NCBW). In this role, her focus is on implementing core values that will encourage NCBW members to strive for excellence beyond what they think they can achieve in service. In this episode, Elizabeth de...

Lynne Hardin is the Founder/President of Justice4All and a certified professional facilitator. Mary Rounds is the managing partner of the LegalShield Division where she is an attorney in the general practice of law, with emphasis on adoption, family law, employment law, special education law, and business law. In this episode, Mary Rounds talks about employment and business law and how to be vigil...

If you’re having second thoughts on whether to go against the grain and choose the path to your purpose, this is your episode. DeLisa Guerrier shares how she made a career turnaround from a biology premed to a successful real estate developer. Listen to this powerhouse who is creating the Storyville Gardens Theme Park in Nashville as the youngest addition to the Enterprising Women Hall of Fame. De...

Terry Neese is a serial entrepreneur, small business advocate, international relations executive, and past NAWBO national president. She’s also the founder and CEO of the Institute for Economic Empowerment of Women (IEEW), which is focused on educating women entrepreneurs in Afghanistan and Rwanda. I had the pleasure of getting to know Terry and her fantastic operation when I was invited to podcas...

What would it be like to be responsible for negotiating a trade agreement with China or Japan or any other world country? Imagine yourself about to take a high-level job with the Federal government when the news came on about the Saturday Night Massacre. Carla Hills takes us on a journey through her very interesting life, working directly with several United States Presidents. Carla A. Hills is a...

Suzanne Webb started her career in healthcare at Universal Health Services more than 3 decades ago. She’s the founder of Exclusive Surgery Solutions, a surgery benefit for self-insured employers that focuses on offering a bundled surgery product. In this episode, Suzanne talks about the dos and don’ts of healthcare insurance by employers and the benefits of using a surgery benefit like Exclusive S...

Riah Gonzalez is the Founder and CEO of Linq Consulting Services, a female-focused, heart-centered Virtual Assistant Matchmaking company. She empowers her fellow business-owner clients with the right connections, positive energy, and meaningful relationships. Her Virtual Assistant Matchmaking service connects business owners to strong and powerful women who will be there for them every step of the...

Are you harboring fears that are stopping you from pivoting to your passion? Robin Brewton explains to us how she overcame her fears and took an entrepreneurship leap and is now making a difference. Robin Brewton is in the early stages of her pivot to becoming an executive coach and describes herself as being an interior designer for businesses. She spent 20+ years in human resources and the opera...

Ep. 218 - AlissaBeth Jane Morton is a very talented singer and dancer I met while she was performing on the Azamara Pursuit cruise ship. We talked about what led her to perform on a cruise ship. She has done over 100 stage shows in her life. Take a look at her Reels to see the depth and breadth of her talent. In this episode, AlissaBeth describes her career journey, the different shows she has per...

Katie Mehnert - If you are curious about how you can get involved with energy entrepreneurship while still being sustainable, this is your episode. Interviewed by Christi Woodworth, Vice-President of Corporate Communications, Brand and Marketing at OGE Energy Corp, Katie Mehnert is a modern architect of culture change in energy. Her focus is the intersection of equity, sustainability, environment,...

Does LinkedIn mystify you? Have you ever wondered what folks mean when they say “optimize your LinkedIn profile?” Do your posts on LinkedIn get attention from the people you want to reach? If you’ve ever asked yourself these questions, and especially if you are born between 1946 and 1964, Joyce can help you. Being on the older end of the baby boomer generation, she identifies with the frustrations...

Tracy Killoren Chadwell is an experienced venture capital investor and attorney. She’s also a leader and a sought-after speaker within the community of women founders, innovators, and entrepreneurs, including giving testimony before a U.S. Senate Committee. In this episode, Tracy explains her career difficult journey to becoming a female capital investor and the types of investments she’s made as...

Mariah McKay is an energetic, highly motivated leader focusing on bringing change to the community. Her passion is building independent grassroots power for the common good. She is the Founder and Executive Director of the Spokane Independent Metro Business Alliance (SIMBA). She’s an experienced community organizer building independent grassroots power for the common good. One of her passions is h...

Stacy Eads is one of Oklahoma’s 50 Women Making a Difference and also the Most Admired CEO in her home state of Oklahoma. Stacy’s company, Stacy Eads, focuses on consulting in four areas: Technology, Marketing Strategy, Sales and Service, and Team Culture. She is a problem solver, a consultant, a coach, a trainer, a speaker, and a mentor. She empowers other CEOs nationwide to embrace their leaders...

Monique Montanino – If you have been or are in a corporate career and have dreamed of retiring early, listen to Monique’s experience – because she did it. But retirement can get boring. So what else is there to do? If you’re looking to pivot by starting a business after your retirement, this is the episode for you. Monique retired early, did volunteer work, and later decided to monetize her skills...

Dr. Jodi Dinnerman is a family wellness-based chiropractor specializing in serving pregnant women and kids for 21 years. Jodi also founded SEWP School, a school for wellness practitioners who want to thrive in practice by automating tasks. In this episode, she explains how she created an automation system in her chiropractic practice that enables her to concentrate on her specialization rather tha...

Ivory N. Mathews is a dynamic leader and motivator, offering over 20 years’ comprehensive expertise in rebranding organizations through transformational and thought-centered approaches to leadership. Ivory exemplifies a “mentor” leadership approach, providing thorough ongoing guidance, training, and feedback. She has been building capable, motivated, inspired, and highly productive teams with a ra...