Monthly Archives: June 2020

Amy Schmidt -123

June 29, 2020Episodesthestorybehindhersuccess

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Success for me is a journey. -Amy Schmidt

As women age, we wonder: am I doing what I was meant to do? Am I running on all cylinders? Is this all there is? Amy Schmidt has been asking these kinds of questions of herself and others through her podcast series: Fearlessly Facing 50 and her new book: Cannonball: Fearlessly Facing Midlife And Beyond www.fearlesslyfacingfifty.com. In an easy, conversational style Amy shares her personal stories and those of many other women in an effort to inspire us all to make the biggest splash possible in our lives. Married for 27 years and the mother of three, Amy openly shares her life story in this interview including her aspirations to be “the next Joan Lunden” when she first got her start in broadcast news. Born and raised outside of Milwaukee, she was her parent’s “oops child” with 18 years between herself and her oldest sibling. The message for Amy was always positive: “live your dreams. You can do anything.“ It was her father who urged her to someday write a book and Cannonball: Fearlessly Facing Midlife And Beyond is that book, full of wit and wisdom for anyone north of 40. In a world where the exuberance of youth is celebrated, this exceptional woman is asking us all to look at the highlight reel of our lives and to celebrate not only our accomplishments, but our glorious next chapters. Amy’s advice to women facing 50 and beyond? “We judge ourselves too much. We get filled with these feelings of self-doubt and fear. I want women to close their eyes and reflect on what they’ve accomplished. Take a look at your own highlight reel, because we’ve all got one.” #midlife

Jessica Pearce Rotondi -122

June 22, 2020EpisodesDan Thibeault

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My mother’s loss became my loss. The letters I found were like a roadmap through a grief she never meant to leave me. -Jessica Pearce Rotondi

In the mood for a story you just can’t stop listening to? When she was growing up, Jessica heard stories of her Grandpa Ed’s heroism in World War II. Shot down in a B-17 bomber over Germany in 1943 on a day known as “Black Thursday”, he was captured after parachuting onto a farmer’s land and spent over two years in the infamous prison camp known as Stalag 17. Once liberated, he returned home to the United States where he became a Pennsylvania State Trooper, raising five children with his wife, Rosemary. Three of their boys went into the military including their eldest son, Jack. He served two tours of duty in Vietnam until the night of March 29, 1972 when his AC-130 bomber vanished over Laos. For the next 36 years, the Pearce family searched for answers, refusing to accept his death without proof. Jessica’s mother devotes much of her life to finding out what happened to her brother, while at the same time, raising her daughter’s in a loving home, sparing them the pain she felt so deeply. But when her mother dies of breast cancer in 2009, Jessica finds herself on the floor of her mother’s closet sitting beside an old file cabinet filled to the brim with handwritten letters, news clippings, military documents and 13 CIA reports about the disappearance of Jack Pearce. On this day, Jessica decides to take up her mother’s search and find some answers of her own. An accomplished writer and editor, Jessica’s work has been published by TIME, Reader’s Digest, HuffPost where she is a senior editor and The History Channel. Her book: What We Inherit is more than a great story, it is living proof of the unbreakable bond between a mother and a daughter. www.JessicaPearceRotondi.com

Whitney Savignano -121

June 15, 2020EpisodesDan Thibeault

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Don’t be afraid to embarrass yourself or try something new, and fail because the good part of it is: the experience. -Whitney Savignano

This is a story that starts with an early loss and then, moves to finding love, the joy of being part of a family on two continents, adventure, entrepreneurship, fulfillment and the kind of hard won success that fills your heart with gratitude. In 2008, Whitney and her Italian-born husband teamed up with his brother Giuseppe to purchase an old property in Pienza, Tuscany that included a rundown structure originally built in the 13th century. Once a monastery, the property included a vineyard and an overgrown olive grove. When she first saw the place, Whitney admits it looked like the opening scene of the old TV show Sanford & Son, but she could see that this was a diamond in the rough, worthy of years of renovations that would bring it back to life. Today, Tenuta Santo Pietro is a gorgeous 14 bedroom luxury inn, with a working vineyard and an olive oil grove. tenutasantopietro.com. With the creation of PSP Imports, the family business imports and distributes 200 wines, many from little, boutique vineyards that the world had never heard of before. Using her well-honed writing and marketing skills, Whitney oversees all olive oil sales from their home in Beverly Farms, MA. while also raising the couple’s two children. For this exceptional woman, success means feeling fulfilled and living a life where she can also do good things for others. Reflecting on the loss of her mother to ovarian cancer at only 19, Whitney says: “Losing your mom at a young age is something that changes you for your whole life. I just feel very, very fortunate everyday that I am past 46 and that to me, is a gift. Everyday that I have with my kids and my husband, I’m grateful for.” This story takes a page out of the movie Under The Tuscan Sun and includes a fairy tale ending. #tuscany #wine #pienzaoliveoil #inspiringstories

Jennifer McCollum -120

June 8, 2020UncategorizedDan Thibeault

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The strength and the passion I have aligns with my purpose. I want to help individuals, teams and organizations fulfill their potential. That’s my measure of success. –Jennifer McCollum

No one is born a leader. The traits and characteristics of a great leader evolve over time as an individual “becomes” the best version of themselves. What’s more: the best leaders aren’t in it for themselves, they are in it for the greater good. Meet a woman whose career has been woven around building and managing businesses that focus on leadership. Her name is Jennifer McCollum and she is the CEO of Linkage, Inc. a global leadership development firm based in Boston. Using its signature “purposeful leadership” model, Linkage is leading the way when it comes to advancing women leaders and creating a culture of inclusion. When you are the CEO of a company whose main focus is leadership, the pressure to lead is pretty demanding, but Jennifer is up for the challenge. A wife and mother of three, Jennifer shares what she has learned on her career path from 20, to 30, to 40 and now to age 50, explaining the importance of “taking a step back and realizing that testing, learning, failing and being disappointed doesn’t mean you can’t start over!” The daughter of two teachers, Jennifer was raised in Germany where she credits her mother with giving her the perfect balance of independence and responsibility. Of the many pieces of advice her mother gave her, Jennifer says these words of wisdom are her favorite: “Set the intention for what you want and then let go of how you are going to get it.” She credits mentors, colleagues and friendships with other women as her greatest source of strength. In fact, when her own “inner critic” might be getting the best of her, it is her friends who set her straight. For a look inside the mindset of an insightful, compassionate female leader in the C-suite, grab a paper and pen and start taking notes! #leadership #womenleaders #inspiringstories

Mikey Hoag -119

June 1, 2020EpisodesDan Thibeault

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The sand is in the hourglass and I am in the greatest race of my life. -Mikey Hoag, Founder of Part the Cloud

The woman you are about to meet knows what it’s like to lose both of her parents to Alzheimer’s. She and her five brothers and sisters feel like ticking time bombs, just waiting for the disease to come after them. Recruited to spearhead a fundraiser for the Alzheimer’s Association in 2012, Mikey Hoag (short for Michaela) originally said “no” to the task, fearing that no one would come. Although passionate about the cause, she wasn’t sure she wanted to talk about how it felt to lose her parents in such a slow, painful way. After some arm-twisting from a friend, she agreed. Mikey’s fundraising goal was $200,000, but to her amazement, the gala sold-out and raised two million dollars for the Alzheimer’s Association. That night, she realized that “behind the closed door, there are so many people who are suffering, who are dealing with their parents, or a relative, quietly. If we could pull the veil over and say it’s okay to talk about Alzheimer’s, we could do something about it.” Mikey founded Part the Cloud under the umbrella of the Alzheimer’s Association with a focus on funding grants for research into treatments and a cure. 30 million dollars in grants have gone to advanced research on drugs for human trials, and those projects have gone on to receive $290 million in additional funding. And that’s not all. Part the Cloud has found a friend and supporter in Bill Gates who committed a quick 10 million. “None of us want to just exist, we want to live fully” says Mikey. Add her experience as a lifelong equestrian on the short list for the Olympic team, the loss of her Boston College roommate in an accident that would have taken her life, too if she hadn’t decided at the last moment NOT to get into the car… and her lifelong work ethic and you have a success story with all the right ingredients. Mikey Hoag’s story is rooted in love, second chances, dedication, and a true belief in the power of the human spirit. #alzheimersassociation #inspringstories #siliconvalleywomen

The Story Behind Her Success with Candy O'Terry

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