Today’s woman grew up in a middle class home with two working parents. From an early age she was very responsible and often showed up as a leader. As she grew into a young woman, the bible verse “to whom much is given, much is required” guided her path. She worked with others to develop high performance leaders and teams. And her impact grew as she…

Today’s woman grew up in a lower class area of China. But as she grew, her status changed due to her father’s success. Even though her father became successful with much hard work, he lacked a real education – something he insisted his daughter receive. So, at age 17 she left China and came to America as an exchange student. Here in new home, she f…

Today’s episode takes a little different twist as we look at business partnerships among powerful women and how they work or don’t. The two women showcased today are well educated and are innovators in the skincare field. One of these women already had a skincare product line that could be found in major department stores but she believed its consu…

Today’s woman has taken a very unusual career path. She grew up in Washington DC, attended Catholic schools and went onto to major in college in financial management. But after a short time in this career, she realized she wasn’t cut out for such a sedentary role. So she became a DC police officer. She was a bit of a political junky so being a poli…

Today’s woman grew up participating in more activities than most young people. She was curious and loved to be a part of things. In her family unit, conversations usually centered around how to leave the world a better place - a burning desire that developed in her as she grew into an adult. The area she began to influence was aerospace and her det…

Those that watched this woman grow up knew she was destined to be a leader. She was at the forefront of all activities in school. But as she grew into an adult, she at times felt so overwhelmed and decided all she had to do was survive. But even in surviving, losing was never an option. In college, she pursued a business degree and realized believi…

This woman grew up on a farm. Even though there wasn’t much money, she was around an affluent crowd and saw clearly how those with money lived. As she grew into a young woman, she became well-grounded and confident. And as she moved through high school and college, she found herself constantly showing up in leadership roles. After college, she rema…

Today’s woman was born to a black father and a white mother. Both her parents were well educated and they in turn had high expectations for her. She went to college and earned a degree in applied mathematics. But as her career took shape, she felt she didn’t quite fit in anywhere. So after a year, she left the career her college degree had prepared…

This woman grew up being exposed to many different cultures. She was curious about others and wanted to know more. In college she studied journalism but quickly realized this field of study paid little. So she ventured abroad to Paris to learn more about communications and media. As her career unfolded, she appeared to have it all – money, career, …

Today’s woman grew up in a liberal family and was the oldest of three children. As a child she took acting lessons and all thought she would be a professional actress. However, in college she realized she would be a better director than actress. So, she moved to New York City and broke into the opera scene. Eventually she worked her way up to the s…

Today’s woman grew up being taught to make her own way. She thought she might be a lawyer but had no passion for it. While in college, windsurfing caught her attention and she went on to become a professional windsurfer and to be the first woman in the world to kitesurf. This path eventually led to Hollywood stunt work. She liked the movie scene an…

Today’s woman spent much of her childhood in Nigeria being raised by religious parents. Growing up she traveled extensively and eventually immigrated to the UK. She was a quiet child yet always felt there was a fighting spirit within her. As a young woman she attended college and achieved a degree in mechanical engineering. But after graduation, he…

Today’s woman grew up in a middle class family in the US Midwest. Her father never had much to say but her mother constantly told her to “go out and sleigh the dragon.” This saying guided this woman’s life and with each hit that life offered, she bounced back and continued to elevate herself. She worked as a television news anchor and reporter for …

Some of the World’s Greatest Women are stepping into positions of influence and leadership, making the changes the world so desperately needs. But what about girls and young women? Can they be a part of the leadership shift? I would argue they must be if a long-lasting permanent change toward inclusion, diversity and equity is to be had. And it is …

This woman grew up in the inner city of Minnesota in a strong Christian home. She was a driven to succeed and was often seen as bossy. As she became an adult she realized protecting and preparing people for a good life was what really mattered to her. So, she became a nurse and then enjoyed a long career as a commercial lender. And along each step …

Today’s woman was the oldest sibling among 4. And at an early age she got involved in business and was driven to succeed. Attending a self-help workshop by Jack Canfield would set her on a direction she never could imagine. She went to work for his organization and ended up being the glue that brought the Chicken Soup For The Soul series together. …

Today’s woman was an only child to working parents. She grew up in New York and as she entered her teen years, decided she wanted to be a ski racer and compete in the Olympics. However, an injury made this impossible and she went off to college majoring in psychology. And as her life unfolded, she took an unusual direction. She navigated toward com…

Today’s woman grew up on a farm to a lower middle-class family. From an early age, she learned how to work and was always competitive. And she realized she had a presence about her – one that people noticed when she walked into a room. After earning a college degree in radio, TV and motion pictures, she landed a sales job at Coca-Cola. Over the nex…

Today’s guest grew up with 7 siblings in the Bahamas. Her parents earned very little money therefore she grew up in very basic surroundings. In spite of being poor, she loved to learned and would often sneak off to the library to read as much as she could. At age 15 she graduated high school and found the money to go off to college and earn a degre…

This woman grew up in a family with 3 siblings. At age 8 her father left the family and her mother took over raising the children. There wasn’t extra money but this woman knew she wanted to go to college. So, she found a way to put herself through college and began a 22-year marketing career. Then at age 50, she made a promise to God to commit to i…

Today’s woman was born to parents who were very open and progressive in their thinking. In this environment she learned to be an individual who was willing to take risks. In high school she went to Iceland as an exchange student and went onto study economics and international business. As her life unfolded, she worked in different industries and be…

Today’s woman was born in Mexico City to a working-class family. From an early age, she devoured every book she could find on how to improve herself and her life. And along the way there were hardships. At age 12 the family lost everything to a fire. At age 14 the family made their way to the United States even though she couldn’t speak English. An…

Today’s woman grew up in a service-oriented middle-class family as the oldest of two children. As a child she was in lots of social circles and often saw the injustices of the world around her. In college she decided to pursue law because she wanted to be one of the ones that rooted for the underdog. She thought she was destined to be a fighter but…

Today’s woman grew up in an immigrant family from Mexico. From an early age, she was exposed to what it was like to be an entrepreneur and she knew she wanted to be one. In school, she was popular and loved being social. But she was also smart and by the age of 16 she already had 52 college credits. Speech therapy caught her attention and this beca…

Today’s woman grew up in a lower middle class family with an identical twin sister. She was an A student in school and knew by the time she reached college she wanted to be a doctor. Her parents had taught her that she could do anything she dreamed of so off to medical school she went. When it came time to choose her medical specialty, she chose ra…

This woman was born in the segregated south to working parents. The family didn’t have a lot of extra money but they were rich with love. And as she grew into a young woman, she was taught to always be her best and that nothing was impossible for her. Being a Christian defined her view of the world and how it was her responsibility to find ways to …

This woman grew up in an educated family in a small rural town. Her father treated her like a boy so she assumed she could do anything boys could do. And she was always expected to do her best and seemed to excel in most things. Early on medicine caught her attention and she decided instead of marrying a doctor like many others desired, she would b…

Today’s woman was born in a small town as the youngest of 4 in the family. The home was full of love and her father ran a strict household. At the age of 16, she began working in a support role in a corporate company. She liked business and ended up making this her college major. She took her business education and turned it toward real estate. But…

Today’s woman grew up in a family where she always saw people helping each other. She was taught it was everyone’s responsibility to share and that she was lucky to have what she had. As a child she knew she wanted to be in TV somehow where she could impact others. In college, she studied journalism and eventually found herself in TV news. As the y…

Today’s woman grew up in an Italian family who was often in the American and Italy. She came to love art, history and culture. Her childhood was spent in private schools and she describes her growing up years as being loving but with complications. Anxiety was often present and she was always trying to be a part of things. Being an actress caught h…

Today’s woman grew up in an upper middle-class family where she was constantly exposed to business conversations. Even though she was a female, her dad and her engaged in a lot of father /son type activities. These moments made her believe that there were no limits as to what she could do as a woman. As she moved toward figuring out her future, her…

Today’s woman grew up in England and Ireland to parents who were nurses. From an early age, she was pushed to pursue education. And this push seemed natural for her as she was driven and competitive. She eventually made her way to medical school. She wanted to be a doctor and chose breast imagery as her specialty. In 2018 she became the first board…

This woman grew up in a middle-class family and was taught early that nothing was impossible with God. With this belief, she felt she could pursue whatever she dreamed of. So, she went to Harvard and here learned that everything in life is intertwined. As her life unfolded, she married, had children, and divorced. She experienced working for a corp…

Today’s woman grew up in a middle-class family of educators. Even though she was a minority in almost all situations, she felt accepted and supported. She was taught to believe to have no limits on what she could achieve. So, she went for an Ivy league education and embraced being one of the few black females in a room. And as her life unfolded, sh…

Today’s woman grew up learning how to be independent. She watched her mom struggle to leave a troubled marriage and vowed to herself she would always make her own way. After college she went to work for a travel company and a few months later joined a well-known cruise line. She loved the industry and saw she was really good at sales. As the years …

Today’s woman grew up in an entrepreneurial household. At the age of 12, she often helped her father in the office of his air condition and electrical business – a business full of male workers. As she became a young woman, being a lawyer caught her attention and, even though being an attorney was an option, she found her father’s business needed h…

Today’s woman was born with a special gift and knew she was different growing up. As a child she often could see things before they happened and even though many considered this unique ability a gift, she saw it as a curse. So, in college she earned a Bachelors and Masters in Speech Pathology and this became her profession. But this special gift to…

Today’s woman grew up as an only child in a poor family. When she was born, she was named after a famous woman pilot and grew up believing she was related to her. With this in the back of her mind, she secured her private and commercial license to fly. And then she started training in secret to fly around the world. Most would tell her this was imp…

Today’s woman, as a little girl, saw herself as different. She would push hard to make things happen. By the age of 4, she had decided she wanted to be a dancer. She started making up dances and performing for whoever would watch. By age 13, she was in a regional dance company and by age 17 she snagged her first professional choreographer job. Stud…

This woman grew up in an upscale family of doctors. From an early age she had a leadership mentality. She would organize things and create PowerPoint presentations to go after what she wanted. And she loved pets and for a while seemed to be obsessed with them. But she was also fascinated by plants and botanicals. She turned her college dorm room in…

This woman grew up a poor family and went on to become a school teacher. She married a man who became an attorney and her life seemed set. But at age 45 she met a retired French pastry chef who taught her the fine art of baking. She learned from him on the weekends and practiced what she learned during the weekdays. She began selling her cakes in l…

Today’s woman grew up in a household that often expected her to be perfect. She was to try her best and get results. As she grew into adulthood, she never learned to ask permission for what she wanted but instead she would just do things and go after what she desired. And she became a master at overcoming whatever situation she found herself in. As…

Today’s woman grew up in a middle-class family to parents who believed education was the key to a good life. As a little girl, she thought she might be a nurse but her mother told her no, she should be a doctor. So even as a young girl, her parents set the bar high for what their children would become. No excuses were allowed and can’t wasn’t a wor…

This woman was one of 6 children with a mother providing for them all. By the age of 4, she was talking to angels and felt God was everywhere. And she knew she was different than other children and hence, learned to be a chameleon who could become what she needed to be to get what she wanted. As a young adult, she focused on making as much money as…

This woman grew up in a very conservative family. In this environment she was taught to be independent and competitive. She was never in the typical school clicks but was seen as a leader in many school activities. As a young girl, she wanted to be a veterinarian but in high school changed her mind and decided to pursue medicine. In medical school,…

Today’s woman grew up with a grandmother that spoke Spanish. As a child, it looked to her like this was a secret code her grandmother used to communicate. This early exposure to a foreign language captured her interest in academics. As a young adult, she thought her destiny was to be a professor. However, while on the tenure track, she realized aca…

This woman was born the oldest of 5 children into a middle-class family. She liked to push limits and hated restrictions. And was curious about what was on the other side of the boundaries of her life. She got into acting as a child and thought, after college, she would pursue it as a career. However, her curiosity took her into toward human potent…

This woman was born in India to an academic family. Conversations were intellectual and often about reaching higher. As a child, she often found herself in a college classroom with her father who was a professor. Throughout her formative years and even into adulthood, gender was never something she thought about. That was until she became a mother …

Today’s woman grew up in a poor family that was rich in love. She had a speech impediment as a child and, as she grew, language and proper grammar became important to her. She realized early that she was different. She wasn’t willing to settle like others and always believed there were ways to get what you wanted. And even though as a black woman, …

Today’s woman was born to immigrant parents from New Delhi. As a child she watched her parents go from a simple life to one that was very successful. And, during this transition, they taught her business and a business mindset. As she became a young adult, she came to understand that social entrepreneurship was going to be her focus. And she realiz…