“Every time a woman stands up for herself without knowing it, possibly without claiming it, she stands up for all women.” - Maya Angelou
Marie Curie. Mother Teresa. Anne Frank. Rosa Parks. Harriett Tubman. Lucille Ball. Billie Jean King. Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Amanda Gorman. I could go on. And on.
The number of amazing women who have come before us and paved a path with their strength, intellect, innovation and courage is astounding. Once you start down this path, you could spend hours on stories of resilience and hope. And it continues. Each day I come across a new woman who impresses me.
During difficult times, we all need additional connection, support and inspiration. I’ve had the great honor of interviewing incredible people who have made their way through challenge to better action for the From Fear to Fire podcast. These experts have learned powerful lessons and are driven to share them from an abundant heart.
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Recent guests have included many influential women in the meeting and event industry. Their experience, hope and words of wisdom are so uplifting that I felt compelled to share them with you. And what better timing than for Women’s History Month!
Here, I’ll share stories of six remarkable women making history right now—leading their teams, companies, families and communities by their impressive example.
Patricia Kerr is a 25-year veteran in corporate meeting and conference management. She has been named a “Changemaker” by Corporate Meetings & Incentives twice in her career and has served on the MPI Executive Advisory Council. As AVP, meeting and event management at Nationwide, she strategically drives enterprise-wide meetings, conferences and events.
During our episode, Patricia and I discussed the topic of leadership and self-awareness. She authentically shared challenging experiences of negative comments from leaders that could have taken her down. But she recognized that a person’s opinion doesn’t make it a fact. She knew in her heart that leadership could be learned. She has definitely proved the naysayers wrong!
Patricia shared excellent strategies that demonstrate what a great leader she has become—tips on vulnerability, engagement and emotional investment.
There were so many great takeaways, but I loved her reference to Nelson Mandela’s quote, “It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership.”
Patricia isn’t about standing back, but diving into action. She has a passion to do the right thing and LIVE the quote. It’s important to her that she gives credit to her team when there are things to celebrate and to take blame when something goes wrong. She says, “The team needs to know you always have their back.”
On January 28, I interviewed Katie Bohrer. Katie is a dynamic hospitality enthusiast who works at Associated Luxury Hotels International (ALHI). In her role, she oversees ALHI internal events and works closely with their prestigious collection of more than 250 hotels, cruise lines, airlines and DMCs to host incredible experiences that bring clients and partners together.
During our conversation, Katie and I talked about taking a leap. When she was looking to find a career, she didn’t know this industry existed. She tried several different things and felt lost, not really sure what she should be doing. A visit to the Gaylord Hotel during the holidays convinced her that she was meant for the event world. She made the brilliant decision to reach out to a friend of the family who was involved to find out more. That cup of coffee ended up with a job offer that led to a rewarding career in hospitality.
The idea of finding something that brings you joy, then being brave enough to ask for guidance, is great advice in today’s world.
I loved Katie’s words of wisdom, “You have to believe that you know what’s best for your life!” That ability to trust yourself comes from working the muscle of taking action in spite of fear.
If you’re interested in giving back, the episode with Gail Lowney Alofsin will be right up your alley. Gail is a national speaker, author, university professor and business development executive. Passionate about volunteering, Gail serves on several nonprofit boards focused on education, hunger, healthcare and business. She has worked in sales, hospitality and event production for Newport Harbor Corp., recently rebranded Newport Restaurant Group, for more than three decades.
During her junior year at Tufts University, Gail had an opportunity to volunteer in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, with her father, Dr. Jeremiah Lowney. The story she tells includes Mother Teresa and the jumping off point into a life of contribution. It’s a good one!
Gail has donated 100% of the proceeds from her book Your Someday Is Now - What Are You Waiting For? to charity. Her philosophy is that she welcomes every day, and 2021 as an opportunity to live life to the fullest.
Another great interview was with Jennifer C. Squeglia, CMP, who started her career in the hospitality industry nearly 35 years ago. Jennifer opened RLC Events (RLC are the initials of her late father - Robert Lee Colburn) in 2007 and has had the privilege to partner with clients from the financial and insurance industries, as well as defense and healthcare.
Forever the optimist, Jennifer’s episode was focused on the power of positivity. She looked at the quotes that inspired her in her journey in the industry and in life.
Just like Gail, Jennifer had a great story about how her father had guided her and led by example. What a pleasure to hear of how we can learn to breakthrough fear and take action to make change! She’ll pass the credit along to other people who have supported her, but I’ll tell you, Jennifer’s positive energy shines through and lifts others all around her.
Lisa Maggiore is very grateful for a long rewarding career in hospitality sales. This began at the front desk of the New York Hilton in midtown Manhattan to most recently in the role of vice president strategic accounts for Hilton Worldwide and member of the board of directors of the Strategic Account Management Association. In June 2020 Lisa was offered a retirement from Hilton Worldwide.
After a lot of deliberation and a fair amount of deep meditative breathing, Lisa took the steps to form an entrepreneurial venture and follow her heart into catering by opening From Mary’s Kitchen. In 2021, wooden spoons and a chef’s jacket have replaced spreadsheets and business suits, and Lisa couldn’t be happier.
Our conversation wound through doubt, change, courage and passion and a great story of the life lessons her mother and aunts gave her as a child that she’s carried through to today.
And we’ll conclude this journey through these outstanding female industry professionals with DawnMarie Kotsonis, whose passion and heartfelt commitment to the nonprofit organizations she serves is apparent from the first story—one that had me laughing and crying all within the matter of a few minutes.
DawnMarie’s introduction to the world of charity auctions began in the 1980s while running a successful commercial auction firm. She was asked to help raise funds on behalf of cystic fibrosis research—a very personal request as the disease later claimed the lives of both her nephew and her best friend.
It did not take long for DawnMarie to realize that working on behalf of nonprofits was far more fulfilling than any commercial auction career would ever be. So she abandoned the commercial side and never looked back. She’s presided over countless record-breaking charity auctions nationwide, with dollars she has raised in the hundreds of millions.
Today, and throughout this month, we pay tribute to all the amazing women from our past. The ones who have molded us into who we are today. And during this time, I am especially grateful for the opportunity to come to know and share stories with the best of the best in our industry. And now, to be able to share those with you.
“We need women who are so strong they can be gentle, so educated they can be humble, so fierce they can be compassionate, so passionate they can be rational and so disciplined they can be free.” - Kavita Ramdas
Photo by LinkedIn Sales Navigator on Unsplash
