Momentum Matters

Stegemann became known to millions of Canadians when she became the first woman from Atlantic Canada to land a venture-capital deal on the CBC TV show Dragons’ Den (think Canadian equivalent of Shark Tank) for her sustainable perfume company, The 7 Virtues Beauty. She went on to become the “Top Game Changer” in the history of the show for creating her social enterprise.

Since then, Stegemann has been named one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada; won the Ernst & Young “Entrepreneur of the Year Award in the emerging Entrepreneur category for Atlantic Canada”; was ranked as one of Profit Guide magazine’s “Top 30 Cool and Fabulous Canadian Entrepreneurs”; and was also made the first female Honorary Colonel in the history of 14 Wing Greenwood base, Royal Canadian Air Force. (Her four year term was completed in 2015, but Barb remains an Honorary Colonel in the RCAF for life.)
She is the author of the bestselling book, The 7 Virtues of a Philosopher Queen, and the subject of the feature-length documentary Perfume War, directed by Michael Melski. The film tells Barb’s entrepreneurial story, and has garnered many awards to date, including being named Best Feature Documentary, Atlantic Film Festival; Cineplex Audience Choice, Victoria Film Festival; and Best Humanitarian Film, Sedona Film Festival, Arizona.

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In this episode, Ellen Holladay shares her journey from lessons learned as a child at the family drugstore in Jasper, Alabama, to a seasoned C-Suite leader and Chief Information Officer.
Ellen has more than 35 years of experience helping companies achieve operational and digital excellence. She began her career with Ernst &Young where she led technology initiatives in the manufacturing, distribution, engineering, and healthcare sectors. Having recently retired after 24 years as Senior Vice President, Chief Information Officer and Operational Excellence Officer of Motion, a premier North American industrial solutions company, Ellen currently serves as an independent board director for Crescent Electric, a leading electrical distributor and B&D Industrial, a regional industrial solutions provider. She also volunteers as a C-Suite Advisor to Bronze Valley, an early-stage venture investment platform that supports underrepresented technology innovation founders, and as a mentor for Momentum Leaders.

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In this episode, Momentum CEO interviews Salaam Green.
Salaam Green is proudly born and bred in the Black Belt of Alabama. She is a 2018 New Economy’s Fellow, Freelancer Writer, Deep South Storyteller, Poet, and Master Healer. She is the founder of Literary Healing Arts & Red Couch Writers, Rural Organizer, Artist in Resident for Arts in Medicine, 2016 Poet Laureate for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and 2018 Tedx Speaker with an M.S. in Early Childhood Education.
Salaam will present a breakout session at the upcoming Momentum leadership conference. Her session is called Rewrite Your Leadership Success Story. Join Salaam Green in this brave space where professionals in diverse stages of leadership share and set intentions to rewrite their success stories. As a result participants will gain a better understanding of how to shift success blocks, learn ways to remove self-limiting definitions of success, and leave with resources to write a success plan for life.

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In this episode, Momentum CEO April Benetollo interviews Claire Hubbs Gray, Manager of Community Outreach at the Forge Breast Cancer Survivor Center. Claire is the first graduate of Momentum's Upward early-career program to be featured on the podcast. In this interview, Claire shares how she decided to apply for Upward, her advice for early-career women, and the great work happening at Forge for breast cancer survivors.

Visit our website: www.MomentumLeaders.org

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Leslie Claybrook currently is the General Manager for the Birmingham Squadron, the G League affiliate to the NBA New Orleans Pelicans. She is one of only a small handful of women to hold that title in men’s professional sports. In her current role, she manages all aspects of business operations including corporate partnerships, ticket sales, marketing and public relations. The Birmingham Squadron also has a heart for the community and will be featuring special game nights including a Women's Empowerment Night on March 9, 2023. Scheduling information and tickets are available at BirminghamSquadron.com.

Prior to The Birmingham Squadron, Claybrook served as the President of CrossRoads331, a consulting business for the athletics industry. From 2011-2020, Claybrook served as an Assistant Commissioner at the Southeastern Conference. At the SEC, she was responsible for the oversight of women’s basketball, soccer and softball, including ticket sales and corporate sponsor engagement. Claybrook also collaborated strategically with athletic administrators, coaches, SEC staff and outside constituents in developing a COVID-19 Return to Competition Plan and teamed with the SEC Council on Racial Equity and Social Justice to develop the “TOGETHER. It Just Means More” campaign on racial equity and social justice, developing resources and strategies for campuses, national engagement, and change.

In her spare time, Claybrook has been actively involved in refereeing basketball at the collegiate, WNBA and international levels. Her expertise allowed her to represent USA Basketball as a referee at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro.

A native of Luverne, Alabama, Claybrook is a graduate of the University of Alabama where she was a four-year letter winner for the women’s basketball team and a three-time selection to the SEC Academic Honor Roll. She received a master’s degree from Mercer University while an assistant women’s basketball coach. She is married to Perry Robinson who is the varsity volleyball coach at Pelham High School. They have one daughter, Lillian.

Visit our website: www.MomentumLeaders.org

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