AWESOME WOMAN - PERIOD

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Wonder Woman in Business, Sheila Murphy v.2

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Sheila Murphy, Esq.

For over 20 years, as both a senior legal executive and a coach, Sheila Murphy has been working with intelligent, accomplished lawyers to gain greater control over their careers, compensation, and courage. Her passion is helping women in the profession to go from uncertain and uninspired to unstoppable. 

After 20 years of successfully litigating and developing and coaching talent in corporate America and law firms, Sheila is pursuing her passion for helping others reach their full potential. Leading with passion and purpose, Sheila is CEO and President of Focus Forward Consulting LLC and Chief Learning & Talent Officer of WOMN LLC, which are focused on having lawyers and leaders achieve their career and business goals.

In 2018, Sheila retired as Senior Vice President and Associate General Counsel at MetLife where she provided litigation, regulatory and risk mitigation advice. As a well-respected thought leader, Sheila served as an executive sponsor to MetLife’s U.S. Women’s Business Network, co-chaired the Legal Affair’s Academy providing developmental opportunities to legal and compliance professionals worldwide and served as a member of its U.S. Task Force on diversity.  Prior to joining MetLife, Sheila was at the law firm of Thacher Proffitt & Wood. 

Sheila is a member of the Boards of Directors of National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL). Sheila serves on the advisory board of Transforming Women's Leadership in Law and co-chairs the CARE’s Women’s Network of New York, which works on eradicating poverty through empowering women and girls. Previously, she was a member of the Board for Read Alliance and PowerPlay, NYC.

Sheila received  from Corporate Counsel and In-house Counsel the Women, Influence, Power in Law, Lifetime Achievement Award  for her commitment to advancing and empowering women in the legal profession. Women’s Venture Fund awarded Sheila the highest Leaf Award in recognition of her commitment to helping others advance in their careers. She was named a Most Influential Irish Woman by the Irish Voice, a Leading Women Lawyer in NYC by Crain's New York,  a Business 100 honoree by Irish America and one of 250 Inspiring Women Entrepreneurs by Databird Journal. Sheila also has received the Benchmark Litigation In-house Award at the Americas Women in Business Awards, the Virginia S. Mueller Outstanding Member Award from NAWL and a First Chair award for hard work, innovation and significant contributions to the legal community. 

Sheila is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where she served on the Comparative Labor Law Journal and the School of Management at the State University of New York at Binghamton where she graduated magna cum laude.  Sheila earned her Associate Certified Coach and Certified Professional Co-Active Coach from the International Coaching Federation and the Co-Active Leadership Institute, respectively.

Sheila is a frequent speaker on litigation and regulatory issues, talent, and business development, leadership and diversity.

Awards

  • Life Time Achievement Award, Women Influence & Power in Law- In-house Counsel (2019)

  • 250 Inspiring Female Entrepreneurs- DataBird Business Journal (2019)

  • Business 100 Honoree - Irish America (2018)

  • Leading Women Lawyers in NYC - Crain’s New York Business (2017)

  • Top Assistant / Associate General Counsel - First Chair Awards (2017)

  • Benchmark Litigation In-house Award - America’s Women in Business Law Awards (2015)

  • Virginia S. Mueller Outstanding Member Award -National Association of Women Lawyers (2015)

  • Most Influential Irish Woman Award - The Irish Voice (2011)

  • Highest Leaf Award - Women’s Venture Fund (2010)

Enjoy the podcast.

Sheila Murphy, Esq.

Connect with Sheila

LinkedIn: in/sheilamurphyfocusforward

Email: sheila@focus-forward-consulting.com

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Wonder Woman in Business, Rebecca Baumgartner

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Rebecca Baumgartner

Rebecca Baumgartner is the Vice President of Human Resources for the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce. As a champion for personal and professional wellbeing, Rebecca brings her extensive background in human resources, organizational development, and diversity, equity, and inclusion to help others strengthen their personal awareness and build new skills to more powerfully navigate their journey. She draws from skill sets such as emotional intelligence, positive psychology, resilience, and courageous leadership to support others in their goals to become more inclusive and more impactful leaders to themselves and others.

Rebecca is skilled in professional and leadership development, coaching, and the strategic planning and implementation of diversity and inclusion programs, initiatives, and efforts. She has been a featured speaker for organizations such as National Association for Legal Professionals, Association of Law Firm Diversity Professionals, Tulane School of Law, Central Exchange, Anheuser-Busch, Hallmark, and the Professional Development Consortium. Additionally, she has contributed to and written for publications such as Forbes, The American Lawyer, Working Mother Media, and The Good Men Project. Rebecca was featured by InsightsSuccess as one of the “10 Most Inspiring Business Women in 2021.”

Rebecca sits on the board of the Northland Symphony and Orchestra, dedicated to providing music and arts education to youth in the community, as well as the Racial Equity and Inclusion Kansas City organization.  She serves on the Patron Committee for UnitedWe, is an Advisory Board Member for the Conscious Inclusion Company – a national diversity, equity and inclusion consulting organization – and is a faculty member for the Executive Leadership Institute.  Rebecca has also dedicated her time to national committees including the Law Firm Anti-Racism Alliance Voting Rights Committee and the National Diversity Council.

Enjoy the podcast.

Rebecca Baumgartner

Connect with Rebecca

Rebecca Baumgartner 

Certified Diversity Executive, PHR, SHRM-SCP 

Vice President, Human Resources   

30 West Pershing Road, Suite 301 

Kansas City, MO 64108 

Phone: (816) 221-2424  

rbaumgartner@kcchamber.com   > www.kcchamber.com 

FOR A GREATER KANSAS CITY   

FreemanMeansBusiness.com

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Wonder Woman in Business, Kimberly Marcus

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Kimberly R. Marcus

Director, Supplier Diversity, AARP

Mrs. Kimberly Marcus is the Director of Supplier Diversity for AARP. Mrs. Marcus is responsible for redefining diversity, equity and inclusion within the supply chain at AARP. The AARP supplier diversity program resides at the intersection of who we are, what we do, and how we do it. AARP’s supplier diversity program is directly linked to our mission and why we exist. AARP not only seeks to work with diverse suppliers, we also serve them by helping them grow their businesses and promoting them in the marketplace. 

Mrs. Marcus comes to AARP with over 20 years of combined experience in both the corporate and non-profit worlds. Prior to AARP, Mrs. Marcus was a presidential appointee for the Department of Commerce. Mrs. Kimberly Marcus was appointed in July 2012 to serve as Associate Director for the Office of Legislative, Education & Intergovernmental Affairs (OLEIA) at the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA). In this capacity, she led all Agency efforts in the areas of communications, public affairs, external relationships, outreach, research, and policy development. She also oversaw the Agency’s relationships with elected officials, as well as its advocacy and outreach strategies. Mrs. Marcus focused primarily on stakeholder outreach, with an emphasis on global business development. Fortune 500 stakeholders, both domestic and international, were key to her outreach methodology.

One of her career highpoints before her appointment was when she was the National African American Outreach Director for the Democratic National Committee (DNC). In this high-profile role, Mrs. Marcus worked closely with the African American community to emphasize the importance of the African American vote.

Mrs. Marcus also worked for the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, serving as Executive Director of its Public Policy Institute’s Government Relations office. Mrs. Marcus advocated on behalf of urban communities and minorities by interacting with members of Congress, the Executive Branch, and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). She was responsible for the creation of public forums and the development of influential coalitions, as well as the publication of relevant policy analysis and research studies.

Mrs. Marcus considered her position as Director of Economic Development for the NAACP to be an exciting turning point in her career, as it gave her the chance to tackle issues of immediate relevance to equal opportunity for people of color. Mrs. Marcus is no stranger to the world of minority-owned business, as she owned and ran her own diversity consulting firm, KC Consulting. As the Principal Consultant for her firm, Mrs. Marcus expanded on the type of work she had done for the NAACP. She continued to advise client firms on diversity initiatives, and recommended implementation strategies.

At the outset of her career, Mrs. Marcus worked as a Senior Sales Executive at the Strategic Research Institute (SRI), where she spearheaded the organization’s successful launch of African American/Multicultural conferences and seminars. At Bank of America, she established a Living and Learning Center—a cutting-edge facility designed to help employees enhance skills related to both business and personal issues.

A native of Oakland, California, Mrs. Marcus holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Marketing from Clark Atlanta University. Mrs. Marcus is a recipient of the Top 25 Women in Power Impacting Diversity Award, Top 30 Champion of Diversity Award, 2020 Best of the Best Champions of Diversity Award and 2021 Top 25 Diversity Change Leader by DiversityPlus Magazine, Women of Leadership and Power Award by MEA Magazine, Supplier Diversity Advocate of the Year by Disability: IN and serves on the Capital Region Minority Supplier Development Council (CRMSDC) Board, the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) Board, the WBEC Metro NY and WBEC Greater DMV (WBECNY/DMV) Board and is the Vice Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee for WBENC, Board Chair-Elect for WBECNY/DMV, Chair of the Corporate Social Responsibility Committee for WBECNY/DMV, Board First Vice Chair for CRMSDC and Chair of the Corporate Social Responsibility Committee for CRMSDC . Mrs. Marcus is happily married, with a twin son and daughter.

Enjoy the podcast.

Kimberly R. Marcus

About Kimberly…

In her own words…

Connect with Kimberly

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberly-marcus-b9386b7/

Email:

kmarcus@aarp.org

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Wonder Woman in Business, Kaitlyn Zhang

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Kaitlyn Zhang

Kaitlyn Zhang is an undergraduate student at UC Berkeley studying Data Science and Economics with a certificate in technology and entrepreneurship. Originally from China, Kaitlyn left her family at 16 to pursue higher education in the United States. With a mindset for growth and a heart for adventure, she is constantly looking for challenges and opportunities to grow both professionally and personally. Studying at Berkeley led Kaitlyn to realize the inequities between California and her home province. Entrepreneurship here is a stark contrast to the lack of creativity and innovation in China’s rural cities. Kaitlyn’s goal is to present the underserved community with the same resources and opportunities. Kaitlyn has co-founded and joined organizations that aim to create real-world impacts and promote diversity and inclusion in both United States and China. With professional experience as a data analyst at tech startups, Kaitlyn will be joining a venture capital firm as an analyst intern this winter.

Enjoy the podcast.

Kaitlyn Zhang

Connect with Kaitlyn

E: kaitlyn.zhang@berkeley.edu

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Wonder Woman in Business, Janet Harvey

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Meet Janet Harvey

Enjoy the podcast.

Janet Harvey

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Wonder Woman in Business, Laurie Forster

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Laurie Forster

Laurie Forster

The Wine Coach®

Laurie Forster is one of America’s leading wine experts and author of the award-winning book The Sipping Point: A Crash Course in Wine. Laurie is a Certified Sommelier, National Speaker and TV personality who is not afraid to tell you her first wine came from a box. Her edgy approach to demystifying wine caught the eye of major networks and led her to guest appearances on The Dr Oz Show, FOX Morning News, Martha Stewart Living Today and ABC News at Noon.

Laurie regularly speaks across the country where she edutains a client list that includes MetLife, Discovery Channel, Microsoft, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, LG Electronics, National Association of Catering Executives, American Cancer Society and McCormick & Company to name a few. Laurie has performed her comedic wine tasting at locations nationwide including Carolines on Broadway, DC IMPROV, Caesars Atlantic City and recently as a headliner for the 2018 HBO Women in Comedy Festival.

Forster is also the host of The Sipping Point  and her mobile application “The Wine Coach” was listed as one of the Top 8 Wine Apps in Wine Enthusiast. A former software sales executive, Laurie’s wine career began in Manhattan where she studied with the American Sommelier Association to obtain her certificate in Viticulture and Vinification.  Laurie has since earned an Advanced Certificate with Merit from the Wine & Spirits Education Trust (WSET). She has also trained with the Court of Master Sommeliers and the Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley.

Enjoy the podcast

Laurie Forster

Contact Laurie

Laurie would love to help you demystify wine one glass at a time at your next Client Appreciation Dinner, Teambuilding Event or Wine Tasting. Please take a minute to fill out this form and Laurie will set up a time to speak with you about how she can help make your next event a sparkling success!

Laurie@TheWineCoach.com

410-820-4212

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