Badass Women at Any Age

Raised by a single mom, Candance Chow credits her career journey to the social injustices she witnessed as a child through her mom’s experience. Motivated by the sexism she herself experienced while working at the State Department in Washington DC, Candance began advocating for gender equity and the advancement for women in the workplace. As co-founder and managing director of NEXT Group, Candance Chow is dedicated to engaging and empowering women to be fully valued, both in and out of the paid workforce. She started Next Group in 2019 to provide a supportive community for women looking to pivot or re-enter the workforce and to match these professional women with employers who want and need their talent. Before Next Group, Candance owned Insight Consulting Group, a management consulting firm that would partner with companies and nonprofits to develop growth innovation and operational strategy. She holds an MBA with distinction from Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management in strategy and non profit management and a BA in public Communications for American University in Washington DC. She currently serves on several non-profit boards and served 2 terms as board President in Finance Care for the Evanston Skokie District 65 School board which educates more than 7500 students.

What You Will Hear in This Episode:

Candances journey and her mother’s influence.

Evaluating self and building confidence.

Motivation, responsibility and being self-sufficient

Building Next Group.

Re-entering the workforce.

Talent, acquisition and retention processes.

Developing high level relationships.

Advice for women who want to re-enter the workforce.

The overqualified message

Quotes:

“Can’t, never tried.”

“Doing something is better than doing nothing.”

“What you do next may not be what you do forever.”

“You have to practice asking what you want.”

“More and more employers are thinking differently.”

Mentioned:

Next Group

Conference

https://bonniemarcusleadership.com/

https://web.facebook.com/bonnie.marcus/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/bonniemarcus

https://twitter.com/selfpromote

https://www.instagram.com/self_promote_/

Gendered Ageism Survey Results

Forbes article

5 Tips to own the superpower of your age

IAMMusicGroup

Purchase my book Not Done Yet on Amazon: Not Done Yet

If you enjoyed this episode of Badass Women Podcast, then make sure to subscribe to the podcast and drop us a five-star review.

Fueled by her mother and father’s encouragement and example, Kelly Mooney’s acute awareness of the importance of independence, self investing, creativity and humility led her to chart her own course in life. With a passion for helping young women drive their careers with intention, get the opportunities they deserve, and the pay they deserve, Kelly is focused on being part of the solution to the issues of inequity in the workplace. Kelly is the Founder and CEO of Equipt Women, a public benefit corporation dedicated to making workplace equity the norm by empowering, coaching and equipping young professional women with early career and life momentum. Kelly also founded a sister organization, the Equipt Women Foundation supporting single parents attending Community Colleges with access to emergency funds for childcare, food security, transportation, and mental Wellness. Kelly is the former CEO and co-owner of Resource/Ammirati, the largest independent digital agency in the U.S. Her client roster included Procter & Gamble, Walmart, Victoria’s Secret, Sherwin Williams, among others. Kelly’s agency success was recognized by being named to Advertising Age’s A-List and Wall Street Journal’s Best Places to Work. In 2016, Kelly and her business partner sold the agency to IBM to become part of IBM iX, the world’s second-largest digital consultancy. In recognition of Kelly’s expertise, she was named IBM’s first Chief Experience Officer. Kelly is the author of two books: The Open Brand (2008), foreseeing the impact of social media on brand building, and The Ten Demandments (2002), expressing the newly empowered voice of the Internet-enabled consumer. Kelly has been featured on CBS, CNN, NPR and in the Wall Street Journal, Fast Company and People. Kelly is a frequent speaker at industry events and at universities including Harvard Business School, USC Marshall and Max M. Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University. Kelly currently serves on several corporate boards. She's an active member of the Young Presidents Organization, holds a bachelor Science in Design with high honors from Ohio State, is a long walker, podcast listener, lap swimmer, Mahjong newbie, and aspiring yogi.

What You Will Hear in This Episode:

How Kelly arrived where she is today

Personal and professional greatest challenges

Lessons learned

Leaning in to generosity and doing more than needed

Equipt Women

Young professional women today and the inequities that still exist

Quotes

“It's always important to be more than fair.”

“The notion of independence was so ingrained in me and that I needed to chart my course and my path, and I needed to take risks and I needed to invest in myself and I needed to be responsible for myself.”

“I never really worried about how much money I would make or if I could make a living. I just knew that if I continued to pursue the things that I enjoyed and stimulated me and brought me energy that I would end up in a good place.”

“I'm on a mission to change the data so that women have opportunity at the same rates, compensation at the same rates, and ultimately long term wealth at the same levels as men.”

“Right now, women have a fraction of the total wealth in this country and in the world but they have two thirds of the student debt.”

Mentioned:

Equipt Women

[email protected]

https://bonniemarcusleadership.com/

https://web.facebook.com/bonnie.marcus/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/bonniemarcus

https://twitter.com/selfpromote

https://www.instagram.com/self_promote_/

Gendered Ageism Survey Results

Forbes article

5 Tips to own the superpower of your age

IAMMusicGroup

Purchase my book Not Done Yet on Amazon:

If you enjoyed this episode of Badass Women Podcast, then make sure to subscribe to the podcast and drop us a five-star review.

Amy Ferris is an author, screenwriter, editor and playwright. Her memoir, Marrying George Clooney: Confessions From A Midlife Crisis, is an example of the brilliant, entertaining and creative way that she tells the raw and unaltered truth. I greatly admire her ability to be truly herself, which in turn inspires others to do the same. Amy and I talk about the family issues that gave her a sense of her own voice, how her writing workshops help women to dig deep within themselves, and why it is so very badass to love yourself deeply and put yourself at the top of your priority list. 

What You Will Hear in This Episode: 

• Amy was in the middle of writing Marrying George Clooney when her mother was diagnosed with dementia, and that changed the course of her creative path completely. 
• We all have courage inside of us in this world, and it is up to us to bring it out in ourselves and encourage others around us to do so as well. 
• Telling the truth about our thoughts, feelings and desires gets easier with age, but much like an onion, there is always more to be pulled back and shared. 
• Amy’s writing workshops help women dig deep to share their deepest darkest experiences. It is then that once they are done they feel like they can continue being the badass they are meant to be. 
• Not only is Amy a badass on her own, but she encourages other women to discover who they are and fully express it. 
• Women will rise up when we really care about each other as true sisters, and focus more on the power within the matriarch. 
• We must look at all that we have been through to gain perspective and understanding that life is a journey that has ups and downs. 
• Badass is loving yourself a whole lot more, and not giving all our power away to others. 
• There is a balance between being open to feedback and letting others burst your bubble. Seek out constructive criticism from those that can help you grow, but be in touch with your own gut instinct. 
• The Ovary Office series is a partnership with Women’s eNews. It will shine a spotlight on women in politics living courageously, and will serve as an inspiration to women all over the world that it is okay to put yourself out there. 

Quotes: 

• “It was revelatory to write about things that I was shoving in a corner.” 
• “Courage is like building blocks. We build piece by piece.” 
• “I want women to start telling their truth.” 
• “We need to love ourselves enough that we don’t allow someone else to dismiss or discard us.” 

Mentioned: 

Amy Ferris 

@amy.ferris

Marrying George Clooney 

Shades of Blue

Women’s eNews

The Ovary Office 

Lori Sokol 

Starting as a model in the 1990s, Alexis Eizinas transitioned to a two-decade career in beauty retail design. Inspired by her mother's example, she embraced her silvering hair but struggled to find suitable products. During COVID-19, she realized the market gap and, in 2023, founded Silvering, the first North American beauty brand to provide cosmetics and hair care uniquely designed to amplify and never hide the true beauty of naturally silvering hair. Leveraging over 30 years of experience in the beauty industry and her experience trying to find products that worked with her own silvering hair, Alexis created a truly innovative and contemporary product line for the modern woman who has embraced her grays.

She launched Silvering in 2023. The company's tagline, Wisdom Is Beautiful, speaks volumes about Alexis's mission to change the way all women perceive silvering hair, to see it as a powerful, beautiful, outward expression of growing up.

What You Will Hear in This Episode:

03:08 Alexis’s Personal Journey

04:17 Returning to Canada and Further Career

06:00 Founding of Silvering

08:21 Online Influence and COVID impact

19:15 Changing Perceptions of Silvering Hair

26:25 Wisdom is Beautiful

28:43 Visibility and Confidence for Aging Women

33:17 Closing Remarks and Next Steps

Quotes

“I've always been in beauty, and I think really all women are in beauty in some way or another because our identity is naturally wrapped up in appearances.”

“The trick to finding your beauty is really in amplifying those features that make you, you.”

“We want them to see it as a sign of wisdom.”

“A man can walk around with a little bit of silver in his hair. It's considered sophisticated and he's a seasoned professional.”

Mentioned:

Silveringbeauty.com

Facebook

Instagram

eConnect with Bonnie

Gendered Ageism Survey Results

Forbes article

5 Tips to own the superpower of your age

IAMMusicGroup

Purchase my book Not Done Yet on Amazon:

If you enjoyed this episode of Badass Women Podcast, then make sure to subscribe to the podcast and drop us a five-star review.

Danielle Brazell is the General Manager of the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, reporting directly to the Mayor and leading a full-time staff of 85 and part-time staff of 200. Danielle talks about how she overcame obstacles in her upbringing to recenter herself towards a life full of meaning and passion. She shares how she became involved in the arts and made a career for herself helping others share their love of arts and culture. Danielle and I then talk about how arts have been affected in the pandemic, and ways they are reinventing the wheel to adjust to the current situation. 

What You Will Hear in This Episode: 

• Danielle had a multitude of health problems at birth, and the fight to be alive gave her a strong will and a solid sense of morality and integrity.
• A good friend got Danielle to sign up for school again after she had dropped out, and her teacher made a big impact on her life by providing a safe and respectful environment where she could dream big and express herself.
• Danielle had a wake-up call in her mid 30’s and decided she needed to consciously strategize and reimagine what was possible for her, using the tools and knowledge and passion for the arts to make a real difference.
• It is so comfortable to stay in our comfort zone, but growing is really what pushes us forward.
• Not only did Danielle take a plunge in her career, but she bungee jumped and yes, it is as scary (but thrilling) as it seems!
• Danielle and her amazing team are providing relief for artists and creating virtual events to make sure art is as available and as supported as possible during the pandemic. While there have been some substantial budget cuts, she feels confident that they will recover and reimagine their own future.

Quotes: 

• “I’m driven by a strong sense of belief and meaning.”
• “It is so comfortable to stay where we are, but it becomes uncomfortable to stay where we are.” 
• “Public health includes mental health, and we need cultural arts to get through this.” 

Mentioned:

City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs 

Arts for LA

Highways Performance Space