Empathy

Wonder Woman in Business, Ana Brown

Ana Brown

Exciting things are happening at 3583 Market St, the former home of Empire Acro Gymnastics, which has sat vacant for over seven years. On February 3, Ana Brown hosted a pop-up preview at The Raincross District, her new “curated marketplace, wellness studio, and event space” in Downtown Riverside.

Just a few years ago, Ana and her family lived in Corona and would frequent Riverside for our downtown restaurant scene and walks up Mt. Rubidoux. It was on one of those morning walks when she was overcome by her vision to open a wellness studio. When she descended Mt. Rubidoux Brown immediately began driving around Downtown looking for a place that could house her vision. The idea to open a studio grew once Ana found the property a few steps away from the Riverside Food Lab.

“Don’t quit your day job while you’re working on your day dream” Brown told me while working her job as a loan officer from her laptop behind the counter of her newly opened marketplace which is breathing new life into this expansive storefront.

It wasn’t long after Ana and her husband acquired the property and began renovations on the space that they also purchased a home on Mission Inn Ave., less than a quarter-mile from their shop. Restoring the aging building was a family affair, Ana’s husband, Michael Carey, was the contractor for the renovation and their children hand picked off the crumbling plaster to help restore the walls. Not only has Ana made Riverside home for her family and business, she is also working to make it the home for other aspiring small-business owners.

“Finding a highly desirable location at a reasonable price is a challenge for the small business owner. By creating a collective of small businesses in one location, we eliminate high overhead allowing the small business owner to offer competitive prices and focus on growing their business” says Brown.

The Raincross District, which will celebrate a grand opening in March, is currently home to 11 vendors with room for ten more. Wall space is made available for free to local artists, like Julie Rose of the Eastside Art House, to exhibit and sell their work. Riverside’s Richie Velazquez, better known as Deladeso, installed some of his slime and grime work.

For a city with four major colleges and universities with a total of over 70,000 students, The Raincross District is a welcome addition to the city–providing a well curated home for creative expression and impeccable shopping.

Connect with Ana

Email: ana@raincrossdistrict.com

The Raincross District

Open from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m. daily

3583 Market Street in Riverside, CA

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Wonder Women in Business, Amanda Scott

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Amanda Scott

At Willis Towers Watson, Amanda Scott is the Global Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) Leader based in London. She leads a global team that helps clients evaluate and address the critical people-related issues, assets, liabilities, risks and opportunities surrounding corporate transactions. She inspires people to think differently about the future as they implement large-scale organizational change to drive innovation, diversity, and positive growth.

She is also the CEO/Founder of Mike’s Mates, a mental health charity in the UK. Additionally, Amanda is a Board Member for Global Women 4 Wellbeing (GW4W) and the Viviana Durante Ballet Company; remuneration committee member for Pensions Management Institute (PMI), and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion council member at Bayes Business School.

She regularly publishes industry thought leadership, provides commentary to the UK press and social media, and is an active public speaker. She has also received awards for Excellence in Leadership from Consulting Magazine; Corporate Leader of the Year by National Business Women’s Awards; HERoes for Inclusion and Diversity by Yahoo Finance; and was awarded as one of the UK 50 Leading Lights for Leadership & Kindness from Women of the Future.

Amanda graduated with an MBA in Management & Organization, and Finance from the Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland. There she was the 2007 President and 2006 Vice President of Finance of the Board of Directors for the Part-Time MBA Association. Additionally, she holds a BA in Natural Sciences from Johns Hopkins University.

Enjoy the podcast.

Amanda Scott

Connect with Amanda

Email

Amanda.Scott@WTWCo.com

LinkedIn

linkedin.com/in/amandabscott

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Wonder Woman in Business, Kirtana Kalavapudi

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Kirtana Kalavapudi

Kirtana (Keer-tha-na) Kalavapudi (she/her) wears many hats: Lawyer, Yoga Practitioner, Parent, Partner, Public Policy Advocate, Runner, and Earl Grey Aficionado (the more Bergamot, the better).  Kirtana's professional experience includes serving the public at Social Security Administration and internships at the George Washington University, Hirsh Health Law and Policy Program, Equip for Equality, Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, and Walgreen Co.  Kirtana's academic experience includes a J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law, a Master of Public Health in Health Policy from the George Washington University, and Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Notre Dame of Maryland University.  Kirtana currently lives in Maryland with her partner, spouse, and Husky pup.  She enjoys training for and running in local races, facilitating yoga classes to foster a greater sense of connection in her community, and traveling around the world.  Kirtana also serves as the Co-Executive Editor for the National Association of Women Lawyers' Women Lawyers Journal.

Enjoy the podcast.

Kirtana Kalavapudi

Connect with Kirtana

Email:

kkirtana@gmail.com

IG:

https://www.instagram.com/yogawithkirtana/

Website:

https://linktr.ee/yogawithkirtana

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Wonder Woman in Business, Jan Anne Dubin

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Jan Anne Dubin

A legal industry pioneer, Jan Anne Dubin is CEO and Founder of Jan Anne Dubin Consulting.  Jan is an award-winning consultant with over 35 years of experience leading, innovating, and serving as a change agent and connector. 

Celebrating more than 10 years of delivering value and results to more, JADC assists organizations and individuals to better serve client needs by focusing on developing long-term relationships, strategic communications, revenue generation and by building brand, profile, and visibility.  Jan serves as an executive coach, providing strategic guidance and counsel to organizations and individuals by assisting them to achieve breakthroughs.  Jan has coached hundreds of lawyers, law students, and marketing professionals, including corporate law department and law firm leadership as well as high-potential individuals.  Jan is a career-long champion of diversity and inclusion and is passionate about her work in this area.

She serves as a strategic business partner to the Association of Corporate Counsel and has worked with ACC to create an executive coaching program and career development workshops.  She is a partner to Seyfarth Shaw’s The Belonging Project having created a three-part series for them on Empowered Resilience: Tools for Thriving in 2021.  She is also an advisor and business partner to the Thomson Reuters Legal Executive Institute and provided instrumental assistance to create and deliver its forum on Women’s Transformative Leadership: Empowerment by Improving Participation and Representation.

Jan served as the Chief Growth Officer of LifeXT, LLC (lifecrosstraining.com), where she was responsible for new client engagements by educating organizations on LifeXT’s wellbeing tools and resources.   Prior to starting JADC, she served as the first North American Business Development Director for Baker & McKenzie LLP and as the Director of Client Relations for DLA Piper US LLP and its legacy firms, where she held various senior management and leadership roles for more than 17 years.

Selected by StreetWise, Inc., as one of 20 recipients of its 2019 Inspiring Chicagoan award, Jan was also selected by Chicago Business Journal as one of its 2018 Women of Influence.  Jan was inducted in 2017 as a Fellow into the College of Law Practice Management (COLPM) and in 2016 into the Legal Marketing Association Midwest Chapter’s Hall of Fame.  She has been recognized by Today’s Chicago Woman magazine as one of 100 Women Making a Difference and has received the Anti-Defamation League’s Distinguished Community Leadership Award.

In 1994 Jan was recruited by former First Lady Michelle Obama (then executive director of Public Allies Chicago) to join its board of directors; Jan later became its board chair and today serves on the emeritus board.  In 2020, Jan was recruited to serve on the i.c. Stars Chicago board and has been active in the Anti-Defamation League’s Women of Achievement annual dinner committee, having previously chaired the fundraising event for 27 years.

A 1994 M.B.A. graduate of The University of Chicago, Booth School of Business, she holds a B.S. degree from the University of Kansas, William Allen White School of Journalism.  Jan lives in Chicago with her fiancé David Abrams and Shetland sheep dog Quinn.

Enjoy the podcast.

Jan Anne Dubin

Connect with Jan Anne

Jan Anne Dubin, MBA

CEO and Founder

312.399.3116

jan@janannedubinconsulting.com

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/janannedubin

Twitter: @JanAnneDubin

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Wonder Woman in Business, Carrie Fabris

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Carrie Fabris

Carrie Fabris is known for her energetic force and passion that can fill a room instantly.  As a corporate citizen for 20+ years working for awesome brands like Google, Travelocity, Sabre, Travel Leaders Corporate, and some start-ups along the way, Carrie has learned from some of the best and most influential leaders while spending 14+ years in leadership herself.  From this, she shares her experiences combined with 6+ years of studies in psychology, self-improvement, coaching, and wellness that have helped her build her corporate coaching business, CareerFrame LLC.   Carrie is first and foremost, an influencer. She’s graciously assertive with getting things done and applies her  energetic knowledge plus certifications in CliftonStrengths®, Emotional Intelligence, and Situational Leadership® to help people and teams meet their professional and personal goals.  As Founder of CareerFrame, she uses this platform to reboot, realign and reform leaders and teams.  Born, raised, and residing in Dallas, Texas, Carrie is a mom of two spirited children and married to a Travel tech entrepreneur. Her family loves to travel and have fun. Carrie is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin (Hook ‘Em!) with a Bachelors in Advertising, a twice-published author, and is passionate about helping others grow, personally and professionally. To learn more about Carrie, visit www.carriefabris.com

In this keeping-it-real memoir, certified leadership coach Carrie Fabris shares her journey through the ups, downs, and sloppy sideways of momming hard while finding the inner strength, courage, and determination to create the career she long craved.

Through hiring coaches and advisors, attending seminars with fire walks and ice baths, and doing a whole lot of looking in the mirror, Carrie embarked on a quest to juice up her life from the inside out. Her story demonstrates that stepping into a livelier, bolder, and more empowered version of yourself is not only possible – it’s essential.

Weaving relatable, working-mom truths with humor and the occasional F-bomb, ALL IN provides the incentive and the inspiration to juice up your own life because investing in yourself will always provide the highest return.

At the conclusion of ALL IN, working moms will have a new appreciation for the concept of putting on their own oxygen masks first. By choosing self-love as their number one imperative, they will tap into the energy and the desire to be fully present for everyone else, especially their kids. This book motivates women to take action; going ALL IN is hard, and the results are beyond rewarding.

Buy the Book

Enjoy the podcast.

Carrie Fabris

Connect with Carrie

LinkedIn:

linkedin.com/in/cfabris-reframe-coaching-training

Email:

carrie@careerframe.com

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Wonder Woman in Business, Bianca N. Cotton

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Bianca N. Cotton

Bianca N. Cotton is a thoughtful, strategic, entrepreneurial leader with extensive nonprofit program management, curriculum development, and training facilitation experience.

Bianca is driven to develop leaders who are managerially and emotionally competent in their professional practices. Passionate about intentionally creating positive social change in underrepresented populations and communities of need, while demonstrating sensitivity and compassion for all stakeholders.

Bianca is the founder and podcast host of “Behind the Confident Smile” about a lifestyle and personal development company inspiring women and girls to walk in love, live in hope and be healed from past hurts utilizing the vehicles of workshops, seminars, and educational materials to propel women and girls into purpose.

Bianca has served as a nonprofit professional for over 10 years. Earning both her Master’s Degree in Consulting in the Nonprofit and Corporate Sectors and Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, her passion is for helping women who suffer silently and smile brightly. It is demonstrated through her passionate writings and speaking. She is a five-time author, wife, and mom, and resides in Chicago, IL.

Enjoy the podcast.

Bianca Cotton

Connect with Bianca

LinkedIn:

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

Website:

behindtheconfidentsmile.com

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