Women to Watch Media® with Sue Rocco

Reading has power. That’s a pretty straightforward and obvious universal truth, right? Well, for students with language-based learning disabilities, literacy doesn’t come easily, and for a long time, classrooms weren’t equipped with strategies or programs to help. Nearly 20 years ago, Nancy Blair and Pat Roberts set out to change that. The first step was launching AIM Academy in suburban Philadelp...

It's been a while, but after nearly a decade, the timing was right for Women to Watch's Sue Rocco and Dr. Margie Warrell to reconnect. Margie, a past guest and globally recognized author, leadership advisor, and keynote speaker, recently published a new book. Sue and Margie discuss The Courage Gap: 5 Steps to Braver Action, and explore the factors that inspired her writing. Whether you&#39...

Pressure is something Erin Lydon has lived with her whole life. The product of an “achievement-oriented” family, she furthered a multi-generational line of graduates from Bates College, the elite liberal arts school in Lydon’s native state of Maine. But as she carved out her professional and personal paths, Lydon came to realize that venturing beyond her comfort zone was crucial to her development...

The financial bug bit Shalanda Armstrong when she was young. The Detroit native bought her first stock before her 13th birthday, and soaked up savvy money management tips from her parents. Even though she’s built a burgeoning career in venture capitalism by launching her own fund, 100KM Ventures, other interests, like space and sports, have shaped her career approach. Women to Watch’s Sue Rocco ex...

Lend? Donate? Through LENDonate , you can do either or both. Founder and CEO Vivienne Hsu came up with the concept after seeing a need for capital to flow more freely into the non-profit sector. How did she get her idea off the ground? What personal and professional experiences shaped her vision? Women to Watch ’s Sue Rocco retraces Hsu’s path to entrepreneurship by exploring her roots in Hong Kon...

Put your head down and work. To Shikha Miglani, the formula is simple. With her mother and father setting a strong example, the Saarthee co-founder and CEO learned early in life that persistence can go a long way towards making the difference between success and failure. This determination has helped her throughout her career, especially when she set out on her own and tapped into her entrepreneur...

Lindsey Scrase has always done her own thing, letting personal and professional instincts be her guide. The approach hasn’t always been comfortable, but the results speak for themselves. The Ann Arbor, MI native has demonstrated leadership prowess at just about every stage of her career - from her days as a crew leader at a fast food chain restaurant to her current role as COO of Checkr, a streaml...

Sonya Weigle built a successful career, but she also had obligations. More than obligations, they were priorities. With a young, growing family at home, she knew the professional path she carved out for herself wasn’t sustainable, so she made some tweaks. Nevertheless, Weigle continued to achieve. Now, three decades later and with an increasing sense of autonomy in her life, the seasoned executive...

Kimberly McGlonn’s constant? Design. It represents the throughline for every project she has her hands in. From serving as a faculty member at Drexel University to writing books and developing clothing lines, McGlonn is always thinking of ways to use design to engage with people. While McGlonn is grounded, perceptive, and forward thinking, her road to success was far from easy. Obstacles from her...

Reaching 93 years old is quite a feat. Achieving such longevity the way Riane Eisler has done so makes her journey all the more remarkable. A Jewish native of Vienna, Eisler was fortunate to live to see her 10th birthday. She and her family managed to escape Austria during the Holocaust, finding refuge in the slums of Havana, Cuba. They made their way to the United States in the late 1940s, a tran...

Tia Wiggins grew up an Army "brat." She knows what it's like to scrap, adapt, and hustle. These defining qualities were acquired in her youth and have shaped her life ever since, especially professionally. Sometimes, the path was straightforward. Other times, it demanded persistence. Through it all, Wiggins has maintained an incredibly strong sense of self-belief, all while following t...

As far back as Lia Buffa De Feo can remember, she wanted to be a mother. Chalk it up to growing up in an Italian immigrant family in suburban New York. There were plenty of examples in her life of strong women serving as the backbone of their respective households, and she hoped to one day fulfill such a presence herself. Much to De Feo’s surprise, and in the face of unimaginable tragedy, she disc...

From her earliest stages of life, Willow Hill learned an invaluable lesson: never let circumstances define you. Her mother, who gave birth to Willow at 16, embodied this mindset, demonstrating to her daughter that hard work, resourcefulness, and resilience can change a person's trajectory. Years later, these qualities have served Willow well. She played a leading role in transforming Airbnb in...

Virginia Reese Coles, for as far back as she can remember, has always had a yearning to do something big. Based on her track record, it's safe to say the Amazon executive has done just that. From getting her foot in the door at the White House fresh out of college, to working at a telecommunications giant for parts of three decades, Virginia attributes her success to a simple yet significant p...

"How do I start my next chapter?" That's the question Janet Foutty found herself confronting a little more than a year ago. Having reached the crossroads of a highly successful career at Deloitte that spanned more than three decades and culminated in her role as the company's chair of the board, the veteran executive decided it was time to try something new. What would it be? How h...

Creating a safe environment for kids at school is no simple task, one requiring the alignment of plenty of stakeholders. With extensive experience in both law enforcement and education, Dr. Beth Sanborn has passionately poured her life's work into helping children make better decisions, and ensuring that the classroom remains a place where they feel comfortable. In her interview with Women to...

As far back as her youth growing up in suburban Toronto, Sherry Rais has felt compelled to help - especially the less fortunate and people dealing with crisis. She even spent time as a teenager living with the homeless for two days! After working with the United Nations and World Bank, Sherry decided to set out on her own. The result? Enthea , an innovative mental health benefits company aimed at...

Betsy Fore is a trailblazer, plain and simple. The first Native American woman to raise a Series A investment, Betsy is the Managing Director and Founding Partner of Velveteen Ventures. In her interview with Women to Watch's Sue Rocco, Betsy talks about her humble beginnings in a small town in Illinois, the 17-hour drive her family often took to visit her family on the Turtle Mountain reservat...

Ann King Lagos, Founder + Designer REALM Fine + Fashion Jewelry, shared the story behind her title with us on December 23, 2024. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 5 out of 5. Of the interview, our founder and host, Sue Rocco, says: “ Listen in as I sit down with Maria to talk about her younger years growing up in Philadelphia, playing varsity soccer on a boy's team, the loss of her father to Colon Cancer, he...

Maria Grasso, the Chief Sales Officer at the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau (PHLCVB), shared the story behind her title with us on December 4, 2024. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 5 out of 5. Of the interview, our founder and host, Sue Rocco, says: “Listen in as I sit down with Maria to talk about her younger years growing up in Philadelphia, playing varsity soccer on a boy's team, the loss o...

Shauna Sweeney, Founder & CEO of Tender, shared the story behind her title with us on November 20, 2024. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 5 out of 5. Of the interview, our founder and host, Sue Rocco, says: "This interview with Shauna was a personal one for me. Having lost my mother, her two sisters and my grandfather to Alzheimer's, the new tech company Shauna founded would have been a Godsend.  Sh...

Allie Griswold, CEO & Co-Founder of Mayne & Co., shared the story behind her title with us on November 13, 2024. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 5 out of 5. Of the interview, our founder and host, Sue Rocco, says: "Listen in as I sit down with Allie to talk about her visionary grandmother, Jean Griswold, the Founder of Griswold Home Care, her competitive nature growing up as a Polo and Ice Hockey p...

Listen in as our founder and host, Sue Rocco , sits down with FOX News's Harris Faulkner , the anchor of The Faulkner Focus and co-host of Outnumbered , just before the 2024 election to get her take on women's role in politics and how all sides can come together to discuss important issues for America. ★★★★★ Harris is a multiple Emmy award-winning anchor. She joined FOX News Channel in 200...

Mara Smith , Founder & CEO of INSPIRO Tequila , shared the story behind her title with us on October 30, 2024. ★★★★★ Of the interview, our founder and host, Sue Rocco , says: "Listen in as I sit down with Mara to talk about motherhood, her career as an attorney in a large firm, her work as a corporate strategist at McDonald's Corporation, and going on emergency bedrest while pregnant w...

Liz Hirsh Naftali, Hostage Advocate & Podcaster, shared the story behind her title with us on October 23, 2024. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 5 out of 5. Of the interview, our founder and host, Sue Rocco, says: “Listen in as I sit down with Laura to talk about the loss of her father when she was 8, why it led to a deep understanding of the fragility of life, how an internship at Madison Square Garden ope...