Intrepid Women: Lindsey Pluimer, Founder and CEO With My Own Two Hands

Lindsay Pluimer, With My Own Two HandsFrom playing basketball in the WMBA to founding a nonprofit to help women in Africa, Lindsey Pluimer is an intrepid woman.

While Lindsey Pluimer was playing basketball and studying communications at UCLA she wrote a paper on the lack of media presence during the genocide in Darfur and committed to one-day traveling to Africa. Little did she know that commitment would change the course of her life. That trip happened when after playing two years of professional basketball Lindsey joined a nonprofit volunteer trip to South Africa. It was on that trip that she decided she would retire from playing basketball in the WMBA and instead start a nonprofit committed to helping kids in need thrive as she instantly fell in love with the kids and saw firsthand how a little went a long way for the children.

Pluimer founded the organization “With My Own Two Hands” and they provide sustainable solutions to projects in Africa that help benefit orphaned and disadvantaged children and youth in need. She states,

“Our dream is to provide all children with an education in Africa, but we understand that in order to provide an education you must also provide water, food and shelter. Therefore, we are committed to providing aid within the areas of education, shelter, water, and agriculture.”

They have recently tackled the issue of forced marriages and female circumcision with the goal to provide young girls a safe refuge by building a rescue dormitory for the HELGA Rescue Project in Kajiado, Kenya. Two weeks after the grand opening we received word that the dormitory was already at full capacity (42 girls). Those 42 rescued girls are now safe from being forced into marriage and are provided access to education. We also just built a greenhouse with the St. Ann’s Orphanage in Kikopey, Kenya with collaboration from JCREW and EDUN fashion companies.

Pluimer comments that her motivation comes from her own upbringing, “I was fortunate enough to grow up with a loving family, safe community, and received an amazing education. I realized how fortunate I am and that it is my responsibility to be a part of a cause committed to giving children better access to education, health, water, and food.”

What are the biggest challenges? She states that being an international organization and getting people to connect to a cause outside of their local community can be tough. She says,
“We do not have the luxury of easily showing people our project sites unless they join us on our volunteer trips. We have to work very hard to show people directly how their donations go a long way for children in need.”

Advice for those interested in this path?

Pluimer encourages women interested in the nonprofit sector to remember how important their work is. She observes, “People who are called to this work have to have a big heart and a lot of drive, but when you know your career is changing lives, work becomes more meaningful and important. I would suggest finding a mentor. I have a couple great mentors that have been very helpful in guiding my efforts to grow my organization. Also remember to network! Relationships are everything!”

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Intrepid Women: Sandy Chaikin, Co-Founder of Chaikin Analytics

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Sandy ChaikinFrom cosmetics to commodities to travel and tourism, Sandy Chaikin has successfully re-invented herself and her career.Starting in marketing roles, she fine-tuned her skills to open her own consulting firm and a Bed & Breakfast in Connecticut.When the stock market fell in 2008 and she lost 40% of her investments, Chaikin decided it was time to transform once again. After co-founding Chaikin Analytics in 2009, she is now helping other women re-invent themselves as confident and profitable stock market investors.

After graduating from the University of Denver with degrees in Sociology and Psychology, Chaikin moved to New York and started her career in the cosmetics industry.She held senior marketing roles at L’Oreal and Elizabeth Arden. Chaikin then moved to her home-town, Philadelphia, and took a marketing role at The Franklin Mint.

“Marketing a service or product is the same formula in any industry – identify your audience, have a unique product, know how to promote, package and price your service,” she said.

In 1995, Chaikin moved to Connecticut and opened her own marketing consulting firm. It was also around this time that she segued into the travel and tourism business by opening a Bed and Breakfast.

“My personal experience owning a B&B attracted other inns and before I knew it, my consultancy was 100% focused on travel and tourism.You have to be immersed in something to market it and that’s why I was so successful, because it was my business, too.I was an innkeeper and I knew from my own experience how to market an inn – I knew what worked and what didn’t – which I then applied to my clients’ businesses.”

During her days as an innkeeper and marketing consultant, Chaikin invested in mutual funds.

“As my consulting business grew so did my 401K plan and I didn’t feel I had the inclination or knowledge to manage this myself,” she said. “On a recommendation, I met with a portfolio manager and hired a professional.”

When the markets fell in 2008, Chaikin became concerned about her investments.

“I asked him repeatedly if we should make some changes to my portfolio,” she recalled. “I remember calling him several times but he advised me to hold on to the investments. I didn’t have the confidence to over-ride his judgment.”

Chaikin ended up losing 40% of her 401K.

“This was a devastating turning point because I thought I was doing the right thing,” she said. “When you need advice, you go to a professional so I was upset this professional didn’t help me.I took the money out of his control and was determined to do this on my own.I put my money in Vanguard and started investing it myself.”

The Birth of Chaikin Analytics

Sandy’s personal losses in the stock market using a financial advisor was the inspiration behind the launch of Chaikin Analytics. She knew there was a need in the marketplace for novice investors like herself to have access to investment tools that professionals used so she could take control of her own investments.

Partnering with her husband, Marc Chaikin, a 40-year Wall Street veteran, they founded Chaikin Analytics.

“Before he retired, my husband Marc created tools for institutional investors on Wall Street.In 2009, he watched as millions of dollars were coming out of brokerage firms and into self-managed accounts like mine,” she explained.“We decided to take the tools he created for the pros and apply them to individual investors.”

The Chaikin Analytics model takes into consideration 20 different factors that professionals analyze when looking at a stock and boils everything down to one easy-to-understand rating.The ratings categorize a stock as bullish, bearish or neutral.The Chaikin Power Gauge model is also one of the only models that blends technical indicators with fundamentals. Most investors use either technical indicators OR fundamentals – Chaikin’s blends the two.

“I spend about 15 minutes a day monitoring my account and only invest in about 8-10 stocks at a time,” she explained.“I started investing in Comcast and Ebay, both had a bullish rating, and they went up 40-60%, so I was off to a good start. I also picked the two best-performing stocks in 2014, Southwest Air (LUV) and Skyworks (SWKS), and found them early on. I also knew when to get out at the top. 90% of my investments are in individual stocks.”

Chaikin said that if she can manage her own investments with no prior experience, other women can do this too.

Empowering Women in the Stock Market

While Chaikin Analytics is for all types of investors, she targets female baby boomers as well as emerging women.

Focusing on female investors is a smart move.According to BMO Wealth Institute, women currently control 51%, or $14 trillion, of personal wealth in the United States and are expected to control $22 trillion by 2020.

Chaikin Analytics is collaborating with NASDAQ to present frequent webinars educating their audience, of all levels, on how to invest in the market. Her curriculum includes knowing what to buy and sell, timing the ideal exit and entry points, how to avoid common pitfalls as well as how to shed insecurities about investing.

Chaikin cited a study done by Fidelity that only 28% of women feel confident making decisions about their financial investments on their own.This means that 72% of women don’t feel they have the knowledge to participate in the stock market.

“I have found that women are overwhelmed with financial information and find the stock market off-putting, which is believable because I found the stock market like that too. This is why we created this system, it puts everything together in one neat package…. I break it down to following 5 simple steps to build a killer portfolio.”

Besides collaborating to produce webinars, NASDAQ asked Chaikin Analytics to create 3 indices for the Exchange; the NASDAQ Chaikin Power US Large Cap Index, the NASDAQ Chaikin Power US Small Cap Index and the NASDAQ Power US Dividend Achievers.All the indices outperformed in 2014 by 52%, 77% and 49% respectively.

“We took the stocks that are in those funds, overlayed the Chaikin Power Gauge model, and then removed the non-performing stocks,” she explained. “We re-balance once a year.”

Chaikin e

xplains that the NASDAQ webinar collaboration is a pilot program and they hope to expand to other investor communities soon. Her most recent webinar has attracted about 900 attendees.

“Just like marketing an inn, you have to immerse yourself in the stock market if you want to be credible.This is why my webinars are so powerful,” she explained.“I use stocks I invest in as examples – I am one of them.”

Most Proud Accomplishment

While Chaikin has been able to reinvent and transform herself successfully throughout the years, she said conquering her insecurities about stock market investing is her greatest accomplishment.

“This was the one area of my life that I felt I didn’t manage successfully,” she said.“It’s great to have a profitable portfolio and to be making money investing. However, the benefit you can’t put a price on is the tremendous amount of confidence that you get by managing your money and your future.”

Chaikin will continue to produce webinars and help women gain the knowledge and confidence to manage their own investments.After re-inventing herself and her career throughout the years, she believes other women can transform themselves as well.

“It doesn’t matter how old you are,” she said. “Never stop learning and transitioning.”

By, Jessica Titlebaum

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Intrepid Woman: Star Jones, President, Professional Diversity Network

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Star JonesThough she’s widely known as a high-profile lawyer and former host of ABC’s The View, Star Jones doesn’t consider those her most important roles. Rather, she is proudest of the changes she is helping affect by serving as president of the Professional Diversity Network, Inc., which merged with the National Association of Professional Women in September 2014.

“As I have forged my career path, it was always with an eye toward a profound sense of service – knowing it would be about helping people,” says Jones.

As a young woman, Jones always wanted to be a big-city prosecutor and got what she considers her dream job straight out of law school. She rose to the level of senior prosecutor in the Kings County District Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn, New York, when she was invited to start her career in media at NBC News. At the age of 30, she became the youngest person to be named the network’s Legal Correspondent. “It was such a compliment from the then-president of NBC News, who said I had the ability to make the law user-friendly,” she recalls.

She became an admired legal talk show host and then national talk show host on ABC’s The View, where she relished her ability to give voice to women and speak about issues that matter to her gender and community at large. Joining PDN/NAPW was the perfect next step allowing her to advocate on behalf of women, minorities, veterans and the disabled to put them to work. “We are changing lives one job at a time.”

Jones says that though her career has taken multiple twists and unexpected turns, she has stayed on the path intended for her by making the most of each opportunity. “Luck doesn’t just happen,” she says. “It’s the result of preparation meeting opportunity, and I have been prepared each step of the way.”

“Doesn’t Get the Attention it Deserves”

Jones’ overall top mission is to bring attention to diversity, inclusion and gender inequality. “It doesn’t get the amount of attention it deserves,” she says, citing the statistic that, on average, a women working full-time earns .78 to the dollar compared to a man in an equivalent job. Wage disparities are even greater among Black and Hispanic women.

“This is the biggest challenge to women, and the No. 1 problem I’m trying to address is equal pay for equal work.”

The business case is there, of course – research shows that when women executives run a company, they lead the business to increased revenue, making it not just right thing to do, but the smart thing to do.

Rising Tides Lift All Boats

Her passion stems from her upbringing in the projects of Trenton, New Jersey. Her close-knit family always encouraged her to be anything that she wanted. However, they didn’t focus on the fact that she was the most beautiful or most talented, but rather that she had everything she needed to do what she wanted.

Applying for every grant and scholarship that was available, she started college. When she realized that the work/study program only paid $3.55 an hour, she applied at the Brookings Institute as a second-semester freshman. A 90 word-per-minute typist, she earned a data input position at $10 an hour, which she held throughout college.

“I had acquired a skill, and that’s one of my mantras to young people: I feel strongly that I want to empower young people to achieve their dreams, but they have to have the skills necessary to do so,” Jones says. “I always had a voice telling me I could succeed, and I want to give that voice to other women.”

PDN was founded on two premises: empowering people and networking, which Jones says are the foundation of her successful career. “Women do need to help other women. Rising tides lift all boats, and when women help each other professionally — especially women at the top — everyone benefits,” she says, advocating that women who can, should focus on recommending other women for positions and act as mentors.

When NAPW and PDN merged, Jones was tasked with nominating new board members. She proudly boasts that with four women on the nine-member board, it is now one of the most diverse among publicly traded companies in the United States, second only to Macy’s. “Achieving women leadership at the board level allows it to trickle down to all levels,” she says.

Success Doesn’t Come Easy

Jones is the first to admit that fulfilling your dreams is hard work; even once you earn your success, you have to work even harder to maintain it.

“I’ve heard ‘no,’ but I’ve been patient and persistent and never gave up,” she says. In fact, she is proud that the song played for her at the recent “Go Red for Women Red Dress Fashion Show” was I’m a Survivor by Destiny’s Child.

“I’ve heard ‘no,’ but I’ve been patient and persistent and never gave up,”

Says Jones, “You can’t step on people to get ahead but you can get around them if they’re in your way. Each time you hear a ‘no’ or encounter a stumbling block, you have to figure out what you need to do to be ready for the next opportunity.”

Role Modeling Begins at Home

Often called a role model herself, Jones recommends that people seek role models in their own communities, where they can be touched every day. Her grandma and her mom are her role models – her grandma who is 96 years old, still “dresses” every day. And she says her mom filled her with just the right amount of attitude to make sure that no one takes advantage of her.

Jones remembers a guidance counselor who advised her not to rock the boat. “My mom told me that if you’re in the boat, you better turn it over,” says Jones. “My grandma’s ladylike qualities and my mom’s ‘vinegar’ have made me who I am today.”

Jones also cites as role models Donna Brazile, Vice Chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, one of PDN’s board members and a friend since she was 17; and Barbara Jordan, American politician and a leader of the Civil Rights movement.

She adds that she has the deepest respect and admiration for Hillary Clinton, who she says has the uncanny ability to find common ground, a skill she tries to mirror on a daily basis.

Feeding Her Passion

As a community advocate, Jones says her passion and purpose is with the American Heart Association. “My pastor told me that you often don’t know your purpose until you’re walking in it, and now I am.”

Five years ago, Jones had open heart surgery and due to this second chance at life, she has a new mission to educate the world about this disease that is the No. 1 killer of African Americans and women, but is 80 percent preventable with simple lifestyle changes.

“As a survivor I have an obligation to raise awareness,” she says, which is what inspired her to start the NAPW Foundation, the charitable arm of NAPW which now has more than 200 chapters. She knows that women love to network over causes they believe in, so she selected four philanthropic organizations that touch all aspects of women’s lives: the American Heart Association, The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Girls Inc. and Dress For Success.

And what does she do for fun? “Everything I am doing is fun,” she says. “My version of ‘play’ is feeding my passion.”

By Cathie Ericson

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Intrepid Woman: Kat Gordon, Founder, 3% Conference

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Kat Gordon“Diversity + creativity = profitability. There is no downside to increasing the number of women in creative director positions.”

That’s the philosophy of Kat Gordon, who began her copywriting career in the magazine world, working for titles such as USA Today, Cosmo and Sports Illustrated. She found the work fun and dynamic, and anticipated that she would eventually rise to the position of promotions director for a magazine. However, fate intervened, and when her husband was transferred to the west coast, she joined him in San Francisco. What followed was a major career re-invention, which she calls the best thing that ever happened to her.

After taking night classes in advertising copywriting, Gordon realized how much she loved working that part of her creative muscle, and joined the ad world, landing positions with several large agencies.

She left agency life when she had kids, and quickly discovered a niche as a freelance copywriter. At that time, everyone needed websites written so Gordon was able to work at home with the help of a nanny. In 2008, she started her own agency, Maternal Instinct. It was a reflection of the work I was getting from so many brands that hired me to write for them because so few creatives knew how to speak to one of their key audiences — moms.”

As time went on, Gordon began to increasingly wonder why the female influence was not being reflected in the ad world. “I was living in this entrepreneurial area with tons of startups, and yet this huge issue was not being addressed,” she said.

“I was living in this entrepreneurial area with tons of startups, and yet this huge issue was not being addressed,”

When Gordon realized that only 3% of creative directors were women, The 3% Conference began, a social movement that now consumes the majority of her professional time.

Where are the Women Creative Directors?

Since Gordon began her research five years ago, the group has held three conferences and nine traveling events, and she has become an in-demand speaker and thought leader. In August 2014 they recreated the study that had unearthed the 3% number and found that the number of female creative directors is now up to 11 percent – “out of the single digits at least,” she notes, wryly.

According to Gordon, the industry has a lot at stake: the vast majority of purchasers in every consumer category are women, and companies are losing sales by not reaching them. “It is a business imperative to change this because brands are leaving rich ground for creative exploration untapped,” she says.

Unlike STEM and other fields, adverting doesn’t have a recruitment problem at entry levels, but it does have a retention problem. “In some ways, our situation is worse,” Gordon says, because women have expressed a desire to train in the field and want to work in it, but then they lifestyle out when they would be the most productive. She calls it “death by 1,000 paper cuts” – all the little annoyances and issues eventually become so untenable that women give up.

So while the bad news is that there lots of small things impacting the industry, the good news is that they don’t have to reinvent the entire world. Rather, the industry needs to identify the pitfalls and side step them to keep women in.

The 3% Conference website identifies 50 small things that can make a difference – such as changing hiring practices and increasing maternity leaves — and just recently they ran a breakout session where they identified 50 more. Much of the retention problem relates to crazy and unpredictable hours and, as Gordon notes, making allowances that would create a workplace friendlier to women would do the same for men.

Lighting the Fire

Gordon’s interest in the topic was fueled by her disgust for how women were being marketed to — how despite the unbelievable power of the female consumer, they were being ignored and stereotyped.

“I started this as a passion project and didn’t realize how much the message would resonate and how many corners of the world would want to get involved,” Gordon says, adding that she feels an enormous sense of responsibility to the women in her industry.

“I started this as a passion project and didn’t realize how much the message would resonate and how many corners of the world would want to get involved,”

“Unlike with some missions, I don’t run into people who are naysayers, but rather it’s a battle that people want to talk about. I’m motivated and love it and I feel blessed to have this responsibility. I am eager to get more women involved to help carry it forward.”

One recent endeavor was holding a Tweetup on Super Bowl Sunday where ad women around the world were live tweeting their reaction to the ads, complete with the brand and ad agency Twitter handles. Using hashtags like “#3percentSB,” “#mediawelike” and “#notbuyingit,” the group garnered 59 million impressions. The consensus was that the loser by far was Carl’s Jr., while the NFL’s domestic violence and the #LikeAGirl campaign received high marks.

Personal Sales Skills Crucial

Gordon encourages women in the industry to remember that it’s key to be a persuasive sales presenter — most women spend time training on the creative aspects, without ample attention on how to sell the work. She urges women to take a class if they’re not confident speakers and seek out low-stakes opportunities to speak out so they will be ready when it does matter.

“I believe this is the best time ever to be a woman in advertising because agencies and brands are realizing the unbelievable value women have due to their insight into the female experience. It’s an asset,” she says. “The field is starving for that work, and the superstars will be the ones who are bold enough to tap into their whole life experience…”

And she says it’s the responsibility of all women – not just those in advertising — to speak up as part of the 3% commitment. Since all consumers are exposed to 3,000 ads daily, we want all women to be aware of the 3% movement and how we’re working hard to up the quality and effectiveness of those messages. “We need women to cheerlead for us and tell us what they like and don’t like.”

On the Court and In the Kitchen

Gordon loves spending time with her two sons, especially cooking and baking with her younger one. She also makes time to play tennis: “It’s so important to find something physical you do that brings you joy,” she says.
An active supporter of early childhood literacy, Gordon says, “It’s such an important gift to give to your child, to read to them from when they’re babies.” Nurturing the future class of creative directors should come early!

By Cathie Ericson

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Intrepid Women: Moira Forbes, EVP of Forbes Media

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Moira ForbesMoira Forbes, EVP of Forbes Media, grew up in a family with almost a century of experience in the publishing industry as part of the Forbes family. She clearly bears the wisdom of her ancestors yet has the incisiveness and insight of a woman who knows how to make her own way.

Forbes says, “We were always involved in the business from the time we were young.”

After graduating from Princeton and the Harvard Business School’s Program for Leadership Development, she joined the marketing team of Forbes Europe in 2001. After a few years in London, she returned to New York in 2013 where she had the opportunity to work with Forbes Life, a division of the magazine that has more to do with the best ways to spend your money, rather than how to make it. Forbes comments,

“It was really important for me to start on the sales side of the business. It allowed me to get to know my clients and understand why our brand was so compelling to business leaders from around the world.”

After proving herself as more than competent in the cut and dry game of sales’ quotas where “success is evident in a very transparent way”, Forbes was named the Associate Publisher of Forbes Life. In 2008, she helped launch ForbesWoman, a section of the online magazine meant to look at the experiences of female leaders.

Forbes talks of the mission of ForbesWoman. She adds,

“The stories weren’t always about women, but I think women were looking for community with other people who had taken a similar path. Now, ForbesWoman is one of the highest traffic sections of the site.”

In addition, Ms. Forbes serves as the EVP of Forbes Media, helping to build new strategies to grow Forbes Life.

Redefining power as a pathway to change

2013 saw the first time occurrence of one of Forbes’ proudest accomplishments: the Forbes Women’s Summit. There are many conferences that can pass like weddings. People gather—in this case, 250 of the most extraordinary female businesswomen, scientists, artists and groundbreakers from around the world—for a couple of days. They make new friends and reconnect with forgotten loved ones. There are hugs when it’s time to depart and promises to get together again, but those promises are rarely kept. Moira Forbes did not want to plan a wedding; she wanted to ensure this Summit would plant seeds that could grow conversations forceful enough to last 365 days a year.The summit seeks to find lasting solutions to the most critical issues facing the world today. Forbes asked herself how she would scale the conversation beyond the 250 women in the room when she found herself thinking about power. She has come to the following conclusion,

“Power is the ability to shape dialogue, and use our influence to effect change in all areas of our lives. When you define power as influence, you must look outside of your industry and approach the issues from unique vantage points.”

The summit strives to represent women from a variety of backgrounds in order to bring together as many different eclectic ideas as possible. When asked who she invites, she comments that she tries to find the people who are doing extraordinary things in their field, and ‘those who would be really cool to talk to’ she adds with a smile.

Perspective is everything

With all of the pressure, and excitement, of surviving and growing in the publishing industry today, Forbes feels that it is important to stay as relaxed as possible by trying not to worry about the small things. On success she comments,

“We are our own toughest critics. If we are lucky we will have many chapters and experiences. There will be bumps along the way, but you will get through them.”

Forbes acknowledges that social media and the online media landscape brings an exciting opportunity for the publishing industry that comes with many challenges and even a few “sleepless nights”. But the ability to “feel the pulse of the audience, in real time, through social media is a powerful opportunity to create relationships with our readers.” Despite the fast rate of change and disruption, the strength of the brand anchors her work in a strong sense of purpose.

Goals and benchmarks are useful for achieving more than we think

Forbes has a somewhat unique vantage point for considering the different barriers that face women in the business world today, as her own work allows her to interact with women from several different industries.

“I think women are challenged to really plan and think about their careers. We set benchmarks and define indicators of success in our professional lives, but we fail to do it in our personal lives. I talk to so many women who are afraid to set a plan and say, ‘This is where I want to be in 3 years’, and then back track from there to figure out what they need and how they might get there.”

For this reason, she is a strong believer in helping women develop career plans—and that this is something that needs to be hardwired into the company culture. There are many times women will assume they have to hit the pause button because they just aren’t sure how to navigate the dual obligations of work and family.

“The cost of losing such high potential talent is too high. Transparent conversations about how the organization can help bring their employees to the point they are looking to get can remove the stress that sometimes leads women to taking themselves out.”

It is easy to see that Forbes is a product of her own good advice.

She says, “Nobody else is thinking about you twenty-four hours a day. You are the only one who knows what you want. People aren’t mind readers. If you don’t ask for what you want, you won’t get it.”

She encourages women to raise their hand when it’s time for a promotion or a project lead, even when they don’t feel 100% ready.

“There are so many lessons that are learned on the job; experience is the greatest teacher.”

By Rebecca S. Caum

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Intrepid Woman: Patricia Kozu, Executive Director, Ascend

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Patricia Kozu“My career would appear to be random but in reality it is not; the common thread is leveraging strengths,” says Patricia Kozu, executive director for Ascend, a membership organization that serves 60,000 pan Asian members through 17 professional chapters and 30 student chapters.

After studying math and quantitative analysis, Kozu pursued a job in technology, which she followed up with stints covering a diverse landscape of functions — operations, finance, marketing, product management and business development. And not only were the functions diverse, so were the industries — from telecommunications to consumer packaged goods to financial service. Now she is in the world of nonprofits, which had been her ultimate goal, joining Ascend November 2014.

“I wanted to have the most well-rounded background possible when I entered the nonprofit world where generally we need to wear many different hats,” Kozu says, describing her path.

Ascend’s goal is to help Pan Asians at all phases of their career develop and achieve their leadership potential. According to Kozu, “From students looking for their first job to executives who want to be on corporate boards, we make it easier for them to get involved and benefit from our programs and give back to the community.”

Having just joined the organization, Kozu has a plan in place. “I’ve always been proud when I implement new ideas or find new ways to do things,” she says, adding that her technique is to find the low-hanging fruit to start off with immediate results, then look for opportunities farther out. So, for example, she knows that Ascend, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary, wants to grow its reach but first they have to make sure the infrastructure is up to speed, that the databases and what they use to support members are in place and are strong.

Culture and Gender are Not Invisible

As a third-generation Japanese Asian American, Kozu began her career assuming her gender and ethnicity weren’t relevant, because of her education and experience. “Since I’d worked at brand name companies and had always been focused on professional development, I saw myself as a competent executive. But I soon learned that others bring their own narrative to my story and might see me first as Asian or as a woman. Now, I see that my Asian heritage is an important part of who I am and others can benefit when I share my experience.”

Right now, she’s proud to be releasing results of Ascend’s latest research project called Hidden in Plain Sight, which sheds light on culture and gender. The results are derived from data from six Silicon Valley companies that made their data public. The final analysis was that race has an even bigger impact than gender. She says they found that white men and women have a higher ratio of leadership roles than Asian men, and Asian women have the fewest. She also notes that less than 2 percent of Fortune 100 board seats are held by Pan Asians, and less than ½ of 1 percent of philanthropic dollars go to Asian organizations, even though Asians are the fastest-growing segment of the United States.

“Ascend is shining a light on important issues and providing recommendations,” Kozu says. “We want to continue to move the needle and demonstrate the value of embracing diversity and inclusion. When there’s diversity at the decision-making table, both in gender and culture, the decisions are better.”

Celebrate the Differences

For women beginning their careers, Kozu advises that they make an effort not to blend in; but rather to leverage their differences. She cites Madeleine Albright and her penchant for colorful pins that would spark conversation. “I’ll see a group of young women all dressed in their black suits and I want them to know it’s ok to celebrate your own individuality.” And, of course, she adds, it’s not just about appearances. Speaking up with that different voice is beneficial for the individual and the organization.

Along with Ascend, women-focused organizations can help. Kozu joined the well-established Financial Women’s Association in the 1980s but believes that an organization like Ascend is very relevant and knows it would have been beneficial earlier in her career.

She urges women to consider using volunteer work at nonprofits as an excellent way to develop their skills and leadership techniques.

Each Ascend chapter has officers and committees so there are myriad ways to try something new, whether it’s learning more about marketing or fundraising. “There is always something to learn, and you never know how your volunteer work can help in your business life,” she says.

Kozu notes that she was able to make the move from the corporate to the nonprofit world by honing her skills as a volunteer providing mentoring, tutoring and then as a board member at a variety of nonprofits.

Mentoring also helped make her a better manager, since the questions her mentees ask offer insight into their perspective as young people entering the work force.

“The message I like to give is that it’s not a one-way street. I’ve learned so much from the women I have mentored, and stay in touch as they move on in their careers.”

Diversity includes age, of course, as well. “I am inspired when I see men and women reaching across generations to share their stories.”

Currently, Kozu continues her volunteer work as a member of the steering committee for the Asian Women Giving Circle, where they fund art projects devoted to social justice issues, such as violence and bias.

“We can talk about these issues all day, but that only appeals to the head. Having an arts project that shines light on these issues and appeals to the heart as well can be so powerful.”

By Cathie Ericson

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Intrepid Woman: Elisabeth DeMarse, Chair, President, and CEO of TheStreet.com

 
Elisabeth DeMarseElisabeth DeMarse is the archetype of a distinguished leader. The current Chair, President, and Chief Executive Officer of TheStreet.com is a pioneer in the field of digital media and information technology, leading the next generation of women by example.
 
Young Startup
 
As a deliberate decision-maker with a persistent and insatiable work ethic, DeMarse had the good fortune of knowing, from the beginning of her career, what professional path suited her personality.
“I was co-opted by business early on, by the idea of getting things done,” said DeMarse, who, before delving into business technology, spent her pre-graduate school years working in social reform. First cutting her teeth in public policy after graduating from Wellesley College as a History major, DeMarse served on the Senate Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities (the Watergate Committee), and as an aide for then New York Congressman Edward Koch, following him to City Hall when he was elected mayor. However, the sluggish pace of the life of a public servant, slowed by the bureaucracy of politics, frustrated DeMarse and she sought out the quicker pace of an occupation that matched her industrious temperament.
 
“Business is so much more interesting than it gets credit for,” said DeMarse, who attended Harvard Business School where she received an MBA in Marketing and Strategy. “I intentionally sought out a career in technology in 1980. I told me classmates, ‘I think this is going to be big’.”
 
Following graduation DeMarse looked specifically for a tech job, and by determined perseverance landed a staff position on the Operating Committee at Western Union, where she gained valuable insight about engineering, technology, and communication networks. After Western Union and a brief stint at Quotron, an early financial information space, the motivated young professional took a job as head of marketing in the late ‘80s for then up-and-coming company, Bloomberg L.P. With just a couple hundred employees at the time, DeMarse, “employee number 217,” joined Bloomberg during its formative years when the company was a “rocket ship” propelling forward into the new, unchartered territory of digital financial analysis.
 
Years later, when Michael Bloomberg left the company to pursue the mayoral candidacy, DeMarse –knowing her tenure with politics expired long ago – opted to continue down her forged path of information technology. Coming off of several successful media property creations at Bloomberg, DeMarse was soon recruited by Jeff Cunningham, the iconic Publisher of Forbes, to run the public company iLife.com. As the new CEO, she engineered the turnaround of the sinking business, bringing it back from financial turmoil and rebranding iLife into Bankrate.com. The success of the image change and rapid growth of Bankrate’s shareholder revenue not only secured DeMarse’s fascination with finances and the power of the Internet, but helped solidify the marketing executive as a reputable, prominent, and innovative leader in her field.
 
Gold Standard
 
The reputation that DeMarse established help her found another digital financial content company, Creditcards.com, which she eventually sold to her former employer. Moving into the online media profession, she accepted the position of CEO in 2010 of Newser.com. From this news service organization, the digital media expert took over her current job at TheStreet.com, where she has been serving as CEO, Chair, and President for the last two-and-a-half years.
 
‘I’m liberal arts major who’s succeeded in tech,” DeMarse explained of her own work history, noting the opportunity for women of any educational experience to join the technology vocation. “You don’t need a heavy engineering background in order to succeed, especially in digital media. There is plenty of room for people with strong liberal arts backgrounds.”
 
For DeMarse, it was a combination of joining the technology industry early on – in the revenue and marketing side – and developing strong leadership skills during the beginning of her career that helped her maintain a long, successful profession. Additionally, she credits her accomplishments to the career-changing advice, wisdom, and knowledge of several influential advisers.
“I had some great, important mentors. Ed Koch, Michael Bloomberg, Jeff Cunningham, Michael Wolff (founder of Newser), and Jim Cramer,” she said. “No one makes it on your own. You need to seek out the best people and learn from them. These folks changed my life. They gave me a chance, and I ran with it. ”
 
In turn, DeMarse, whom Cramer, co-founder of TheStreet, calls ‘indefatigable,’ seeks to inspire the next generation of women in tech by setting a positive, tangible example.
 
“Success inspires success. Just by being here, as a female CEO, speaks volumes. I try to mentor, support, encourage and coach all my employees, male or female. I desperately want them all to succeed, to be the best they can be,” she said, stressing that the best advice she can give to young professionals is to place great importance in making smart business choices and operating under fair and honest business practices.
“Life is short, choose how you do business. Is what you are doing fair, accurate, and honest?” DeMarse asked, noting that she takes utmost care to make sure she delivers a good product, maintains excellent customer service, and honest marketing tactics. “It’s important to me to maintain a gold standard.”
 
After 40 years within the industry, DeMarse, who also currently serves on the Board of Directors of AppNexus Inc., still upholds her gold standard of excellence and places a strong belief in the moral value of work. She continues to find technology a source of growing interests, including her long-time passion for online financial literacy.
 
Moving Forward
 
In response to the theory that the media places a heavy emphasis on how women in high-powered positions must struggle to balance home life and work, DeMarse finds, “the whole thing preposterous. The media misinterprets real life, and they are making an issue that’s not an issue.”
She hopes her home/work life situation will eventually set an example for what could be the new norm for professional businesswomen.
“I’m one of the rare people who says ‘you can have it all.’ I don’t know how to cook and don’t know the last time I was in a grocery store, but I love what I do, and have two great children and a great husband.”
 
Last week, in a keynote speech at a Columbia University’s Journalism School Gala, DeMarse turned off topic to point out that, “Today, journalism schools are over 70 percent female and Columbia’s MS program 76 percent female.  Yet we are hopelessly out of synch. Newsrooms linger at 40 percent female.  There is a gap is in hiring and promotion. There is a gap is in giving women and minorities a fair chance. Now, let’s discuss the people business journalists are interviewing. Today, in 2014, elite business schools are 35 percent female. Imagine that.”
 
Recently, DeMarse was recognized by the Girl Scouts of Greater New York as a Women of Distinction honoree for her achievements, leadership and integrity, and inclusion and social accountability within her field. And despite her previous accolades (including: Folio’s Top Women in Media, Working Mother of the Year, Most Intriguing Person in Media, NOW Woman of Power and Influence, and Fast Company Fast 50, among others), DeMarse – a former Girl Scout ­– felt more personally connected to her recent award and its young audience, as she was able to reunite with her own youthful experiences and visions.
 
The role model, who inspires “confidence, courage, and character” for intrepid women of all ages, offered a final word of advice, explaining that diverse backgrounds can help open up new possibilities in any career path, in any profession.
“Don’t give up on anything, ever. Be persistent, indefatigable. The idea should be that you do the best job you can all the time and operate at the highest level,” she encouraged. “Furthermore, take on the obligation to make this world a place where women and minorities never experience limits based on their race or gender.”
By Hadley Catalano
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Whitney Johnson, Managing Director, Springboard Ventures, LP, Intrepid Woman

By Nicki Gilmour

Whitney Johnson believes in disruptive innovation. As co-founder of Professor Christensen’s Boston-based investment firm Rose Park Advisors, Whitney Johnson applied the frameworks of disruptive innovation to identify and invest in disruptive companies.

“I connected with Clayton Christensen in 2003-2004, and I was privileged to have him ask me to co-found an investment firm with him in 2007. I realized in parallel that these theories of disruption not only applied to picking stocks but also to individuals. Disrupting your own status quo before you change anything else is the place to start.”

Whitney is in now in the process of launching Springboard Ventures, LP, a fund investing in women in high growth businesses that can scale in tech and life sciences from the initial pool of candidates that are the alumni of Springboard Enterprises, a non-profit accelerator.

She is inspired to help others and claims that her job is many jobs as with so many people these days. “I have a portfolio professional life of coaching, speaking, writing and investing. When I talk to women and they ask me for a single piece of advice – I say get a coach. Regardless of your talent and hard work, it is hard to navigate and a coach can help you understand the landmarks when you are in the ocean of your career.”

Walking the Talk
Whitney moved to NYC in 1989 with her husband who was getting his PhD at Columbia University. She recounts how it was a scary time in New York at that point and she realized that as a couple they had no money and she needed to get a job. She decided that Wall Street was for her, and truth be told, was motivated by Liar’s Poker, Bonfire of the Vanities, Wall Street – and, of course, Working Girl.

At Smith Barney, I looked at the bullpen of up-and-coming stockbrokers, and I thought to myself, ‘I am just as smart as they are’ and I wanted it badly so I took classes at night, accounting and finance.” She comments that having a sponsor was critical to her moving up the Wall Street food chain. “I had a boss who let me jump from being secretary to an analyst in investment banking.

Whitney talks of her career climb from music major to one of the top ranked equity research analysts, being ranked 8 consecutive years (1996- 2005) according to Institutional Investor, with her last 4 years being double ranked, her area being Emerging Markets – Latin America – Telecom and Media.

In 2005, “I disrupted myself – I didn’t even wait for another bonus – left in June that year. I was at the top of my game — number one in Media / #2 in Telecom.

In our conversation, Whitney explained why she wrote the book Dare, Dream, Do. She believe her mission is to help individuals (women, in particular) believe that we need to learn to be harbors and ships, to develop our feminine, the capacity for relatedness and love, and masculine (ability to wield power and control situations) to truly succeed.

“I feel that women have to work through the tensions of how do I tend to my dreams as well as the dreams of others who we love?

Why ‘Disruptive Innovation’ is about moving forward.
When I suggested that we do this interview for the Intrepid Women column she candidly admitted that being fearless is definitely a learned trait.

“I feel scared a lot of the time, but I think about innovation going from stuck to unstuck, about finding the problem (or a problem finding you) and solving it.”

When asked about factors that can hold women back in their careers, she states that confidence to disrupt is definitely top of the list. There are many career ‘derailers’ that can stop people from getting ahead.

Whitney talked at length about the dangers of entitlement and how we can overcome this to succeed.

“Entitlement comes in many forms, not just at the beginning of our career. Entitlement can surface as we rise through the ranks, and are literally en-titled. Regardless of rank, you battle entitlement by being willing to do the work to socialize our ideas, to not just expect that people will buy in.”

She advises people to figure out who are their stakeholders are at work stating that they can range from your boss, your peers, your coworkers to your boss’s assistant. Figure out what language your stakeholders speak, she advises and adds,

“If you are in marketing and your boss or sponsor is in finance then you have to communicate in a way with that person that will help you move up the curve to succeed.”

Not being heard? She suggests that it is possible that you need to socialize ideas more, but recognizes that it is also possible you are just not being heard. Research suggests that women needs to be two and a half times more effective than men. Whitney gives insight to what this means in real terms stating,

This shows that it may take longer for women to be successful. Be aware of this so you don’t internalize this. There is nothing wrong with you! But know that you have to have 100% domain expertise, especially because your soft skills are taken for granted as a woman.”

Finally, on the topic of being heard and gaining credibility she shares some sage wisdom,

“People can discover how smart you are by the quality of the questions you ask.”

Check out Whitney at HBR or on her website.

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Intrepid Woman: Kimberly Bryant, Founder, Black Girls CODE

Welcome to The Glass Hammer’s “Women in Tech” month! We will be celebrating successful women in technology all month long!

By Cathie Ericson

Professional Headshot_CompressedKimberly Bryant, tech founder of Black Girls CODE, wasn’t looking to start a non-profit, but realized the need was too great not to. After a series of engineering management roles at various companies early in her career, she left for the opportunity to do something on her own outside of Fortune 500.

Ideally, she had hoped to combine her focus on the health industry with her interest in the start-up field. As she networked with that goal in mind, she became more aware of the lack of women in the science, technology, engineering and math professions – and more than that, the even greater dearth of people of color in the startup space.

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Intrepid Woman: Lucy Sanders: CEO and Co-founder of the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT)

By Cathie Ericson

Lucy SandersLucy Sanders’, founder of NCWIT, interest in STEM fields started early. Her father was an early adopter, and her high school math teacher encouraged her by teaching her computer programming skills. Then she saw that her sister, who had earned one of the early computer science degrees, was enjoying enormous success and decided that was the path for her.

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