Woman of the Week – Emily Hoppert

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Emily Hoppert

My Current Job/Company:
Owner, Joe’s Daughter Photography

My Birthdate:
04/23/1980

My Work
I am a modern portrait photographer specializing in maternity,
newborns, children, high school seniors, engagements, weddings, boudoir, and
families. I offer on-location services in the Columbus area.

My Passion:
My family, my friends, photography, health, fitness, and travel.

My Family:
Jason (Husband), Carmen Ohio (dog)

My Hero:
Bob Pressnell, my grandfather

My Escape:
Dietsch’s Brothers Ice Cream in Findlay Ohio

My Pet Peeve:
Lack of follow through or execution. Pretentious behavior.  Keep it
real folks 🙂

My Indulgence:
A day that would include a purchase at Nordstrom in the shoe
department, a manicure and pedicure, and a big meal followed with an ice cream sundae. This happens too much!

My Roots:
Small town farm girl.  Hard working and inspirational parents. Only
child.  Very lucky to have a loving family and to have met some of my
best friends who are my extended family now as an adult.

My Future:
Very busy, very active, and hope to be challenged and educated on
something new each day of my life.

My Love:
Each day of my life. I am so happy, very full, and love each and every
person in my life very much.

My Movie:
Steel Magnolias…….so many great lessons and so much love
between the girls.

My Quote on Life:
Forgiveness comes when you give up the hope that you can’t change the
past – Oprah Winfrey

My Accessory:
iPhone…..constantly in my hand!

My Advice to Young Women:
Trust your instincts. The biggest decisions will turn into the best
decisions if you use your gut. Be fearless and do what you love, be
who you are, and don’t apologize for getting what you want.

How I Balance it All….
I love what I do and that makes it easier.  I make sure to have time
with my husband, time for my health, and time for my family and
friends.  I get most of my work done while being a night owl.  I make
sure not to deliver a product until it is just right and if that
means working longer, that is fine!

Work Clothes-Mommy Clothes-Me Clothes

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Too often, we fall into the trap of defining ourselves by the things that take up the biggest chunks of our time. When we do this, we sometimes neglect the other important pieces of ourselves that make us who we are.

It took a major crisis (any woman will agree this was a crisis) this week to remind me of this.

It was 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday.  I had a normal day, packed with back-to-back meetings.  My last meeting of the day was with a favorite client and that morning, she asked me to go to the Keith Urban concert with her that evening. Really, I hadn’t been to a concert in years.  And that was the problem…I also hadn’t dressed to go to a concert in years!  I have mommy clothes that I wear in the evenings and on the weekends with my family and I have work clothes that I wear during the day with my clients.  I have nothing in between.  Nothing!  Especially nothing that seemed appropriate for a concert where Keith Urban might actually see me in the crowd! (Love you, Jack!)

After my lunch meeting, I did some quick calculations to figure out how much time I had to go shopping before my next appointment. I discovered I had approximately 18 minutes to speed into the nearest shopping mall and pick out something concert-y to wear. 18 minutes.  This was a real test.

Of course, you can’t find anything you need when you need it.  And then there was the issue of time.  17 minutes….16 minutes…..15 minutes…..Ugghhhh…

Somehow, I ended up in the business suit section. I had to shake myself, clear my head and march right on over to the “fun” section.

As I wandered around Macy’s, I felt bad.  My husband probably gets tired of seeing me in mommy clothes.  I know that sometimes, I get tired of my mommy clothes.  (But, I know who doesn’t mind: my kids!)

So I vowed at that moment to stock my wardrobe with more “fun” clothes  – things I can throw on to go to a concert, things that help me break out of my two major “personas” in life (executive and mommy) and let me be just, well, me.

The 18-minute shopping dash ended successfully. I found a little white tank top with a few silver sequins and it was perfect for me!  It made me feel energized and lively and reminded me of another aspect of myself that sometimes gets pushed aside in favor of my more demanding roles.

Don’t get me wrong. I love my family and I love my work. But don’t be surprised if you see me vacuuming the house or taking a business meeting in my new sequined tank top…….

Woman of the Week – Elfi Di Bella

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Each week, we feature a new woman from our growing community of dynamic professionals. If you know someone who should be featured, contact us!

Elfi Di Bella

My Current Job/Company:
President & CEO, YWCA Columbus

My Birthdate:
06.06.61

My Work:
have the opportunity to work on behalf of a mission that eliminates racism and empowers women and an organization that meets so many critical needs in our community. How lucky am I?

My Passion:
My family, my friends, my community and giving back

My Family:
Katie (daughter, 24)

My Heroes:
My parents, my brothers and some of my close lady friends

My Escape:
A bubble bath with wine and Enya or Vittorio in the background

My Pet Peeve:
Negative people and constant complainers

My Indulgence:
Spa visit

My Roots:
Humble and hard working

My Future:
Busy and Bright. Optimistic.

My Love:
Spending time with my daughter and friends and laughing so hard that I snort.

My Movie:
“Hello Dolly” – love the singing & dancing and a woman with a can-do attitude

My Quote on Life:
“Life is good”
and
“To love what you do and feel that it matters – how could anything be more fun?” (Katharine Graham)

My Accessory:
Anything persimmon

My Advice to Young Women:

Network – through one-on-one meetings or by attending different networking events.
Keep an open mind – as different opportunities present themselves – recognize the opportunities within them.
Embrace change – change is constant, change is here to stay and status quo is not an option. If you think change is difficult – try irrelevance.
Seek a mentor – who possesses the skills you lack or want to acquire.
Don’t “sabotage” other women – be confident in your own abilities; support each other and we all win.

    How I Balance it All:
    It’s hard. I am constantly reshuffling. I have a great support system with my team at work and my amazing group of friends. I schedule exercise time and down time to rejuvenate my spirit and soul.

    Woman of the Week – Katina Fullen

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    Each week, we feature a new woman from our growing community of dynamic professionals. If you know someone who should be featured, contact us!

    Katina Fullen

    My Current Job/Company:
    Executive Director, I Know I Can

    My Birthdate:
    10.03.72 (A true Libra!)

    My Work:
    I help make college dreams a reality for Columbus City Schools students and their families. I believe every child deserves access to quality education and to the information, resources and preparation to make the choice to go to college.

    My Passions:
    My family. My Italian heritage. The families of Columbus City Schools.

    My Family:
    Craig (husband) Dominic (son, 6 years) Aurora (daughter, 3 years)

    My Heroes:
    My grandmother, Clara D’Aurora Trimmer. My daughter, Aurora – despite health obstacles facing her, she remains courageous and resilient.

    My Escape:
    My iPod and a six-mile running trail. My Kindle and Jamesport, Long Island.

    My Pet Peeve:
    Selfishness. Complaints with no solutions.

    My Indulgence:
    Good sales. Sicilian (square) Pizza.

    My Roots:
    A large, close-knit family who taught me the importance of giving back. Blue-collar. Down-to-earth.

    My Future:
    Hopeful.

    My Love:
    My kids. Listening to my son read me a bedtime story! Watching my daughter do anything – she approaches everyday life with such joy and determination.

    My Movie:
    Dave. It’s a great illustration of how simple things can be, but how complicated we can make them.

    My Quote on Life:
    From the Book of James 3:19 “Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters! Let every person be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger.”

    My Accessory:
    Pearls. Bought my first strand in 6th grade at Claire’s Boutique with my babysitting money!

    My Advice to Young Women:
    Surround yourself with positive people. Find one or two mentors. Once you do, ask lots of questions and be a good listener.

    How I Balance it All:
    I don’t! I struggle everyday because I LOVE my family and I LOVE my work! But I ask for help…a lot…from my husband and family. I try to be fully present when I am home and save the work until the kids are in bed. This Thursday, our family is celebrating Son’s Day (just like Mother’s or Father’s Day) and next Thursday will be Daughter’s Day. It was my son’s idea to create a day all about the kids. We are doing all of their favorite activities including a pancake breakfast in bed, a trip to the swimming pool and a nightcap at Whit’s Frozen Custard! Don’t tell Hallmark! 🙂

    Thought of the Day…

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    “Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart to give yourself to it.”
    – Buddha

    Do You Have a Circle of 10?

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    As professional women, we know that relationships are extremely important to our success. And we also know that connections and opportunities can arise in the most unexpected places, at the most unexpected times.

    That’s why consciously creating a network of key people in your world is a great idea. I call it the Circle of 10.

    The Circle of 10 is a network of 10 people (a mix of men and women) who are associated to you in different areas of your life but are not connected to each other. For example, a few folks in my circle of 10, a CIO, my pastor, a community advocate, an attorney, my marketing/public relations consultant. All very different profiles and all very connected. In essence, I am connected to their networks as well, creating a much wider sphere of influence.

    We often get complacent about networking and developing new relationships. This is a fantastic way to push you outside you comfort zone to find opportunities to build your networks in different places you hadn’t considered before.

    How do you create your Circle of 10?

    First of all, it’s a subtle, unspoken thing. You pinpoint those people you would like to be in your Circle of 10 and quietly nurture relationships with them. And be sure to choose people who you are genuinely interested in. Authenticity is key.

    Choose someone from every area of your life that’s important to you – work, church, community, social, etc.

    Start out by taking time to learn more about each of your 10. If community service is important to one of them, offer to volunteer or donate to their organization of choice. If there is someone at work with whom you’d like to develop a Circle of 10 relationship, invite him or her to lunch.

    How do you leverage this network?

    Once you’ve established your 10, commit to nurturing these relationships.

    As I mentioned above, find out what means a lot to them and try to give them something to begin with. Donate to their charity, send them a note of congratulations on a promotion, invite them to lunch or, if they have kids, an outing to the zoo. Whatever the case, giving of yourself first is a great way to build a relationship, any relationship for that matter.

    Then, commit to keeping in touch with them a few times a year.

    Some of these relationships will blossom into much more frequent communication, even friendship. Some will remain a simple exchange of emails several times a year. However your relationships, evolve, you’ve established a new connection and hopefully champion for you out there in the world.

    Keep your network abreast of what’s happening in your life. Ask them what’s happening in theirs. Look for ways to help them and they will reciprocate.

    If you find someone who does not seem interested in building a relationship with you, replace them with someone who does.

    The most fun part of this is getting to know new people and broadening your own horizons. You will be surprised at what comes out of these relationships….and they may be too.

    Woman of the Week – Nichole Dunn

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    Nichole Dunn
    Nichole Dunn

    My Current Job/Company:
    President & CEO, The Women’s Fund of Central Ohio

    My Birthdate:
    2-4-75

    My Work:
    I cultivate, steward, and hopefully inspire philanthropy that invests in social change for women and girls.

    My Passion:
    Being happy. Being fulfilled. My family, my work, and smiling.

    My Family:
    Michael (Husband), Abigail (a strong minded, opinionated, and believes every day should have rainbows, 6-yr-old) , Henry (a recently potty trained, orange haired, happy, nicest 3-year-old boy ever!), and Maggie (an 80 pound, 8-year-old American Bulldog).

    My Heroes:
    Can anyone really compete with my mom (Jo Ann Baum)?

    My Escape:
    My backyard on a sunny day.

    My Pet Peeve:
    Clutter… “stuff” left out on counter tops, floors, etc for more than three hours…yep- three hours and I start to itch. Oh- and mean, unhappy people. Not a fan.

    My Indulgence:
    The new salty bon-bons at Pistacia Vera. Mmmmmm.

    My Roots:
    My parents were born and raised on farms in Minnesota and carried that work ethic, focus on family, and humility into raising my sister and I. And having a sense of humor.

    My Future:
    Completely unknown but I am utterly curious and trying to be patient for it to happen while enjoying the right here and now.

    My Love:
    When Henry tells me “ I love you with all my heart, Mommy, I am your son”…. And the volumes of Abigail-created rainbow pictures with she and I holding hands.

    My Movie:
    I am a product of the 80’s/Gen X demographic which can be summed up in the movie “Reality Bites”….or a hopeless romantic with the “Princess Bride”… and a kid at heart with the 1994 remake of “The Little Rascals.”

    My Quote on Life:
    One quote? Oh but there are so many and it depends on the day, the hour, the moment. The short one: “A smile is contagious…so be infectious.”
    Reminder when things are tough: “This too shall pass.”
    Overall: “Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it.”

    My Accessory:
    On the weekends, it’s my kids and a pair of tennis shoes. Monday through Friday, it’s chunky and layered necklaces with my modest but slowly growing collection of shoes.

    My advice to young women:
    Create relationships! Commit to scheduling at least two times a month, a 45 minute coffee talk with women you would like to know, are inspired by, or want to learn from. This simple curiosity, without an agenda or expectation, but simply to meet others can build a rolodex of opportunities and support that last many career choices and life transitions. I strongly believe as human beings we exist fully when engaged and connected to each other, and especially for women, we thrive when we know there are others who have our back.

    How I Balance it All:
    Well, for starters, I am not sure if I do but I try. It helps if I first define what it “all” is. I have a great partner in my husband, Michael, who does the daily pick up and dinner routine. And it means that I am not the Mom who gets the gold star for perfect attendance at all the doctor’s appointments or muffins with mom mornings but we do sing songs in the car and I try not to work more than three late nights in a week. I take full advantage of dry cleaning being delivered to my home and discovered that the personal stylist service at Nordstrom doesn’t cost extra so why not have someone find that jacket or dress for me without me spending hours with two kids playing hide-n-seek in the racks or dressing room. I might show up 15 minutes late to the game but I seem to be the parent who cheers the loudest. I am certain that I don’t have the cleanest house in the neighborhood but at the end of the day, I have a fulfilled life. A life with lots of hugs and giggles, a job that is incredibly challenging and rewarding, and every now and then I even have moments to inhale….and exhale with gratitude and a glass of wine. And this, for me, is what “all” is.