Women's Wealth: The Middle Way®

It turns out that Snow White and Cinderella aren't as harmless as you thought they were. BYU Professor of family life Sarah Coyne discusses her research findings that girls who spend more time watching princess movies and playing with princess toys are less courageous and independent later on in life. What can we do to portray the right messages to girls while still allowing them to enjoy their fa...

When Jaya's young daughter expressed a passion for anything outer space, Jaya, with a Ph. D. in Fashion Merchandising, naturally set out to find some space-themed clothing for her. However, she was disappointed to find that the only space-themed —or STEM themed, for that matter—apparel could be found in the boy's section. So, Jaya left her job to start her own clothing company. With girls' shirts...

Tara Sonenshine, former Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, E xecutive Vice President of United States Institute of Peace and Special Assistant to President Bill Clinton, among other positions, sits down with Susan to discuss the lessons she has learned from her career path. From dropping out of law school after a day and a half to pursuing journalism on a whim to jug...

Susan Michel, CEO of Glen Eagle, sits down with Michelle Tenzyk, CEO and Founder of East Tenth Group, a People Strategy, Leadership and Executive Coaching Firm. Michelle worked her way up the corporate ladder to executive strategic HR positions. While doing so, though, she was diagnosed with a serious, debilitating illness, one that often carries a tremendous social stigma. In 2014, Michelle found...

Kara's habit of turning to food for comfort during difficult times throughout her childhood followed her into adulthood. By the time she finished college, she was 360 pounds and was even further weighed down by her low self-esteem.  Later, Kara set off on a quest to climb Mount Kilimanjaro despite her weight. Only 45% of hikers make it to the summit, but Kara's drive to prove to herself that she c...

Wendy's career path has been anything but linear. After graduating law school, she worked in law for only a year before taking a leap into working for Major League Baseball, where she climbed the ladder and became the only female CEO of a Major League team at the time with the Milwaukee Brewers. The Woman In Sports and Events Woman of the Year Award finalist then jumped to a very different scene:...

Lilian's story may sound familiar to many of us: a mom of two, working a high-stress job, spending a lot of time in the car and on the go, putting her own health on the backburner. Overweight and with high blood pressure, she suffered from a stroke at the age of only 46. Lucky enough to survive with no lasting disabilities, Lilian began to take control over her health and walk for 30 minutes each...

For the average person, hiking the 2,185-mile long Appalachian Trail takes around 6 months, for the 20% of the attempters who are able to complete it. However, Jennifer Pharr Davis has not only hiked the trail 3 times, but she also broke the record of the fastest known hike of the Appalachian Trail, for both men and women, in 2011. Throughout her career, she has hiked across 6 continents, earning...

Susan Michel is joined this week by The Honorable Faith Hochberg, a nationally recognized Federal Judge and the first and only woman to serve as the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey, where she served for over 15 years before retiring from that position in 2015. From being one of the few women at Harvard Law at the time to being the first pregnant woman on the job at her firm,...

Many of us contemplate starting our own businesses but aren't sure what the process truly is like. How do you create a unique brand? How do you set your goals, both long and short term? How do you work with clients to make sure they're satisfied? Tune in to hear Kelsey Gilbert-Kreling and Mallory Ulaszek discuss their journey as they joined forces to create their own company, Presence Agency, whil...

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Professor of Economics and Women's and Gender Studies Ann Mari May sits down with Susan to discuss why women in economics are often discouraged by a lack of representation and how closing this gender gap could lead to changes in public policy. Why has there been such a strong push for women in science and technology fields recently but no equivalent push for women in...

Rainy Day Inspiration: A Creative Idea Takes Off! In celebration of World Entrepreneur Day, Susan is joined today by two successful women who were inspired by something as simple as a rainy day! Stacy Struminger and Rachel Teyssier are the creators of RainRaps, a fashionable alternative to traditional bulky rain gear. With their unique idea, they were able to win the Today Show's Bright Idea Conte...

Kelli Tanghe and Team Ari: Pushing for Inclusion, One Race at a Time Kelli Tanghe promised herself that when her daughter Arianna, who has cerebral palsy and is legally blind, took her first steps on her own after years of therapy, she'd lace up her sneakers and start to run. Little did she know the journey that would follow. When Ari entered middle school, she voiced her disappointment being left...

At the age of 46, Pat Gallant-Charette's son decided to swim an open-water race in honor of Pat's brother who had recently passed away from a heart attack at the age of only 34. When Pat commended his decision and commented that she wished she could do the same, he surprised her by responding, "Mom, you can if you try." Those encouraging words started Pat's journey of transition from a mom who che...

When friends Valerie and Joy decided to join forces for a creative passion project alongside their busy work schedules, they began a journey that may be familiar to any entrepreneur. From deciding they wanted to be self-funded instead of taking outside loans to the process of finding the perfect pop-up location, the building of their lifestyle brand, The 125 Collection, is the result of ongoing an...

When a gunman opened fire inside the friendly, peaceful Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14th of 2012, lives were changed forever. First-grade teacher Kaitlin Roig-DeBellis, whose classroom was only a few feet from where the attack began, immediately sprang to action by hiding her 14 students in a 3x4 foot bathroom and keeping them quiet. Although she and her students survived, others did...

Susan Michel, CEO of Glen Eagle, sits down with accomplished senior digital marketing executive, entrepreneur, writer and speaker Veronica "Niki" Fielding to discuss the "Big Rethink" and its implications in the business world. In the 80s and 90s, people considered success as two-dimensional and strictly financial. However, after the Great Recession about a decade ago, people began to ask themselv...

Carlota Zimmerman, like many women, had always strived for perfection. Her list of accomplishments is impressive: child actor on Sesame Street at age 4, published playwright at 17, law school graduate and successful television news manager in Moscow. Finally, it took a low point in her life with nothing left to lose to push her to take a chance and pursue her passion of coaching others. Reflecting...

Any mother knows the chaos that is transporting your kids from school to soccer practice to their friends' houses and all the other places they go, especially as a working parent. That's exactly how Sara's life was before she decided to take matters into her own hands as an entrepreneur and create Kango--essentially Uber for kids with thorough background checks and live GPS tracking. From dealing...

Typical business advice often warns people not to start a business with their best friend if they want the company -- or the friendship -- to last. When a Harvard Business School professor studied over 10,000 startups, he found that the least stable teams were friends, with a founder turnover rate of 28.6%, higher than teams of virtual strangers. But Meghan Patke and Lisa Strangis have proven that...

When Briana began her education at Harvard Law School, she was the perfect example of beating the odds: she was the only person in her family to attend college, and now graduate school. However, when she found out she was pregnant with her daughter Evie before her second year at Harvard, she realized one of her biggest challenges was yet to come. From going into labor during a final exam to having...

Susan Michel, CEO of Glen Eagle sits down with single mother and entrepreneur Sam Johnstone to discuss her journey of self-discovery and courage that began when she left an unhealthy marriage and job and started her own business as a single mother. In addition to turning her life around for herself and her children, she decided to help other businesswomen do the same by creating her own local netw...

Susan Michel, CEO of Glen Eagle, is joined today by three of Glen Eagle's summer interns tell us about their experiences.  According to a recent Forbes report, the percentage of graduates who had worked at least one internship during their college careers rose from less than 10 percent in the '80s to more than 80 percent in the mid-2000s, and the number is only growing. While there's the stereotyp...

Sprina Moon is no stranger to being the odd one out. Her journey began as she emigrated from South Korea to the United States as a daring teenager and struggled to learn English while surrounded by unforgiving high school kids. With the confidence built by knowing the value of her unique perspective and forging meaningful relationships, she worked her way up to success in the car sales industry de...

When it comes to balancing a family and a career, women in particular often feel pressure to conform to what others believe is the "right" way to accomplish the feat. However, Kathleen Karkos, who oversees Glen Eagle's client service team and has raised children of her own, knows that the key to balance is flexibility, open-mindedness and the confidence to form one's own path. This week, Susan Mic...