Freeman Means Business' Wonder Women in Business Podcast

Alice is a writer and PR strategist from South Africa. She's written for HuffPost, Refinery29, VICE, and more. When she isn't running her publicity business or writing personal narratives, you can find her sharing freelance advice on social media. Follow her on Instagram at@alicedraper.

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Born in Oklahoma, Caren lives in Vermont with her hubby, a rescue pup, and a barn cat turned happy house kitty. Caren is also a mom to two incredible humans and is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation. Henderson House is her first novel.

Caren’s career spans more than three decades as a communications professional with experience in public relations, technical writing, and social media consulting. Caren’s past clients include Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Frito-Lay, and Nabisco. Since moving to Vermont in 2014, she has consulted for The Artist Book Foundation, Southern Vermont Arts Center, and The Vermont Association of Realtors. Caren is an active member of her local community theater, The Dorset Players, with recent roles including Aunt Eller in Oklahoma and Ethel Banks in Barefoot in the Park . She is a member of The Dorset Church choir and serves as Vice Chair of Southwestern Vermont Health Care’s Foundation Board. When she is not writing, you can find her in the kitchen, in the garden, or out enjoying the beauty of Vermont with her rescue dog, June Bug.

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Anne Gallagher is a Chicago-based writer, actor and communications professional.

Anne is the executive director of the Luxury Law Alliance and a member of the editorial team for The Global Legal Post. She has spent her 30+ year career consulting, writing, training and creating strategy for business and legal organizations and professionals. As an actor, she has appeared in film and commercials and recently narrated the audio book Her Name Shall Remain Unforgotten, the story of a holocaust survivor whose mother was murdered at Auschwitz.

She recently completed the manuscript for her debut book, Two Weeks to $10 Million: A Memoir of Financial Infidelity, Fraud and Redemption (working title), which tells the story of how her marriage to a charismatic con man devolved into a true crime story rife with forged loans, mob hits and federal indictments and a criminal trial. “It’s important to tell our true stories,” she says. “No matter what has happened, we must move forward. Every life has meaningful pain and it can open us up to new understandings, opportunities and great new chapters in our lives.”

When she’s not working on her next book, Anne spends time with her two adult children and is an avid tennis player.

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Nori Jabba’s career spans 30 years in corporate real estate, community development, and affordable housing. In 2012, she started consulting to have more flexibility and time with her family. After several successful years and when her kids were grown, she decided to look for employed work again. Unexpectedly, she realized she'd lost her seat at the table when no one would hire her, despite relevant experience, a master's degree, credentials, and several awards, including Businesswoman of the Year from the Chamber of Commerce.

After multiple disappointments, she abandoned her job search and began a quest to better understand why job hunting was so challenging for middle-aged women. What she learned was eye-opening -- and too valuable not to share. Through her journey, she gained her seat back at the table, landing the job she was looking for in her field, and launching a new chapter in her life as a writer, professional speaker, and mentor.

In KEEPING YOUR SEAT AT THE TABLE, Nori shares her eight-step journey of growth and transformation. Is ageism real? Yes. Was there something she needed to do differently? Yes. Did it work? Yes. 

Nori now works for a Bay Area city managing housing programs.She is the mother of three adult daughters and a rescued Doberman, “Nessa.” Her passions are writing, walking her dog while escaping into a great audiobook or podcast, and empowering women. 

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Dr. Michelle K. Johnston is a management professor, executive coach, and leadership expert who is the Clifton A. Morvant Distinguished Professor in Business at Loyola University New Orleans. Her first book, The Seismic Shift in Leadership, The Seismic Shift in Leadership: How to Thrive in a New Era of Connection, is now an Amazon bestseller. She was recently named A Woman of the Year by CityBusiness and one of the most influential New Orleanians.

Michelle is a celebrated keynote speaker presenting at conferences and events nationwide. She received her Ph.D. in Communication from Louisiana State University and was named to the prestigious 100 Coaches Group, which consists of the top executive coaches worldwide.

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Barbara Kaplan is CEO of BSK Strategies, a business development consulting practice working with individual lawyers and small and mid-sized law firms to build their brands, target and win new and higher-value work, establish thought-leadership, and develop innovative strategies and approaches to distinguish themselves in a competitive and uncertain marketplace.

She has worked with firms of every type and style, each with a unique culture and set of challenges.  She considers herself fortunate to have corporate, full-service, boutique, niche, personal injury and class action firms as well as small entrepreneurial business as clients.

She brings to her consulting and coaching work over 20 years of experience helping clients define, pursue and win the business they want.  She is devoted to helping them make that skill second nature.

 In recent years, Barbara’s work has focused on helping woman create an enduring and differentiating personal brand, guiding them to:     ·  Stand tall with a new level of confidence ·  Pick up the reins and create their own futures with a brand that distinguishes them, ensures they stand out, set themselves apart and keep the promise they make in the marketplace, every single time.

·  Banish the roadblocks, i.e., one’s inner critic, that stand in the way of being unstoppable

·  Realize the respect, reputation, recognition and fulfillment they have earned and deserve for their distinctions and accomplishments 

To quote Barbara: “You have the luxury of choosing how you want to stand out and prosper in the new world of work. You are the CEO and head marketer for the brand called YOU. You are the CEO of Me, Inc.”

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Curious, resilient and humor-forward professional services marketing executive and proven revenue generator. I am a 30+ year Big Law marketing veteran (hence the humor-forward attribute) focused on outcomes driving increased customer loyalty and revenue. I guide and coach lawyers to build and sustain authentic relationships. Internal and external clients value my ability to scope the full customer experience, from the front-end sales process to ongoing service. My portfolio spans account management, industry sector marketing, sales coaching, DEIB, ESG, designing thinking and brand. A few favorite resources: You’re Not Listening: What You’re Missing and Why It Matters; Strategy and the Fat Smoker: Doing What’s Obvious But Not Easy; the Go Giver; Anand Sanwal at CB Insights; anything Axios and Smart Brevity. Certified by IDEO U Insights for Innovation and by Inspiring Comfort as a Trainer.

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Valerie Nelan writes under the pseudonym Valerie Pepper. During the day, Valerie Nelan is Chief of Staff at Baker Donelson law firm, working with and on behalf of the Firm’s CEO and COO. In this role, she operates at a tactical, strategic, and operational level to execute on a variety of Firm priorities and initiatives. She regularly collaborates with multiple departments across the Firm, launching and overseeing special projects, monitoring them as needed, ensuring follow-through, and sustaining the necessary momentum for completion. Throughout her workday, she is a listener, advisor, proxy, doer, goalkeeper, implementer, integrator, and air traffic controller. Baker Donelson is a large, 600-lawyer firm located primarily in the southern United States.

By early morning and in the evenings, Valerie dons her “professional smut dealer” hat and writes steamy romantic comedies as Valerie Pepper. She independently published her debut novel in April 2023 and is working on the next two books in the series. The recipient of the Contemporary Romance Writers’ 2021 Stiletto Award, Valerie holds a Masters in Fiction and has been writing for nearly twenty-five years. She is an incurable optimist and a firm believer in happily ever afters, even if they take more than one try. Learn more at www.authorvaleriepepper.com or find her on social media – Instagram and TikTok are her favorites – @AuthorValeriePepper.

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Wonder Woman in Business, Ana Brown

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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.

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