Woman of the Week – Maya A. Bordeaux

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Each week, we feature a fantastic new woman we think you should know. Some of these women are clients, some are friends, some are women we’ve only just met. But they all have this in common: they are dynamic, interesting gals who have agreed to share with us their insights and secrets to success.

Maya A. Bordeaux

My Current Job/Company: Vice President, Human Resources, NorthShore University HealthSystem

My Birthday: January 25th

My Work: I am responsible for the human resources functions across four hospitals and home health services, as well as corporate-wide leadership for nurse recruitment and retention. I provide leadership oversight of HR services to an employee population of 10,000. I am also a lawyer and oversee legal affairs and mitigate employment law matters prior to litigation. I am most proud of designing and leading the implementation of the corporation’s first diversity and inclusion strategy and serving as executive sponsor. I also provide corporate-wide leadership for several other critical customer loyalty business initiatives.

My Passion: People. I love all people! I am particularly driven by helping others become better versions of themselves.

My Family: My pride and joy. I have been happily married for 18 years to my best friend, and have two beautiful daughters, ages 11 and 8, who keep me on my toes! I am very close with my extended family as well, and fortunate for all of them to live nearby.

My Heroes: My mother and Oprah.

My Escape: The Caribbean. Also, I experience a great sense of pride and joy from party planning for special events of family and friends. I even do weddings!

My Pet Peeves: Dishonest people. Also mean people really annoy me.

My Indulgence: Chocolate and wine.

My Roots: Very family oriented Chicago native with West Indian roots from my maternal ancestors who are from Guyana.

My Future: Limitless.

My Love(s): Life. Love. Laughter.

My Movie: Do I have to pick just one? Top favorites are “The Notebook” and “Titanic.” I’m a romantic comedy junkie as well.

My Quote on Life: “Live with a heart full of dreams, love from the depth of your soul, and embrace every moment of laughter.”

My Accessory: Sassy shoes. The higher the heel the better.

My Advice to Young Women: Be yourself and be comfortable in your own skin. It’s important that we fit where we need to fit, but to do so without losing one’s self. Trust your incredible gift of “woman’s intuition” and you’ll do the right thing every time.

How I Balance it All: Like Nike, “Just do it.” No excuses. No complaints. I just make it happen and believe firmly that you can’t wait for life to happen to you, you have to make it happen. Anything worth having will require hard work, dedication, and patience. But what you get out of life is directly relative to what you put in to it. So, every single day, I give it my all. Life is our greatest gift, so I demonstrate my gratitude each day by being the very best I can be. I also make sure that I have a lot of fun in the process. Work hard and play hard…that’s truly my balance.

Woman of the Week – Traci Dunn

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Each week, we feature a fantastic new woman we think you should know. Some of these women are clients, some are friends, some are women we’ve only just met. But they all have this in common: they are dynamic, interesting gals who have agreed to share with us their insights and secrets to success.

Traci Dunn

My Current Job/Company:
SVP-Inclusion, Talent & Organizational Effectiveness Director/Huntington National Bank

My Birthday:
02.27.73

My Work:
I enable high performance by creating an inclusive culture that welcomes diversity of thought so more and better ideas come faster. Additionally, I support the development of high performers through talent management, capability and leadership development as well as organizational effectiveness interventions.

My Passion:
Helping others help themselves.

My Family:
Single, no children but proud Aunt to 2 nephews and 5 nieces.

My Heroes:
My parents. They were married 54 years when my father passed in 2008. Such amazing role models!!!

My Escape:
Water and Sun

My Pet Peeve:
Negativity

My Indulgence:
Shoes

My Roots:
Southern, Family Oriented, Servant Leadership

My Future:
Exciting

My Love:
Traveling the world.

My Movie:
Sparkle – Can’t wait for the remake in a few months.

My Quote on Life:
Actually my favorite scripture on life: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” – Philippians 4:13

My Accessory:
Chunky rings

My Advice to Young Women:
I’m going to give you a “mama-ism” (wise words from my Mama)….You are characterized by the company you keep. Surround yourself with like-minded people and people in place you aspire to be.

How I Balance it All:
By realizing there is no such thing as balance, it’s all about integration. Balance to me is half and half. If I only gave 50% to my job – I’d get fired. If I only gave 50% to myself, family and friends I’d fail. I just try to find ways to integrate the two. That might mean checking emails on my ipad while lounging on my deck or adding a weekend to a business trip to attend my nephew’s track meet.

8 Things a Dad Can Give His Daughter

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8 Things a Dad Can Give His Daughter
by Chasity Kuttrus

It’s Father’s Day and what a great opportunity to celebrate all the wonderful men in our world!

While my role is to elevate, develop and promote women in the workforce, let’s face it ladies – we won’t get ahead without the support of amazing men!

Ernst & Young recently put together a compelling article about how women who have a male “sponsor” significantly increase their likelihood of getting ahead in the work force.

With all the social media, technology and communication outlets that create self-image issues with our young girls, they need all the support we can give them.

My personal belief is that it starts at home. Young girls need a lot of positive support and reinforcement and it begins with Mom and Dad. I want nothing more than our Katie to have an incredibly confident, happy life and this is on my mind all the time!

Today and every day, I’d like to celebrate the guy who taught me some fundamental things that have stayed with me forever. Here’s to my incredible dad! And here’s to all the dads out there including Katie’s dad….my husband, Jack.

Fathers, teach your daughter these 8 things and she will love you forever!

1. She is a part of something bigger…she is Family!
Let her know you will always lover her and love her mother. Having a strong family unit creates the daily confidence she needs. Model the loving marriage you want her to have someday. Have fun!

2. She is Unique….and she is Amazing!
Tell her this regularly. Affirm it. Believe it. Let her know that her natural beauty is all the attractiveness she’ll ever need. Remind her that you love her exactly the way she is. Tell her over and over and over: it’s not okay to be like “someone else.”

3. She is Interesting!
Teach her to be intrigued by other places, people and things. When she is excited about something new, you must show interest and excitement. My dad loves the world and traveling and guess what? So do I! Live life fully!

4. She is Thoughtful…she is Respectful!
Yes, you need to help your daughter be confident and independent, but let her be respectful of others and of those who are not like her. She needs to learn to treat everyone with dignity – the military, teachers, neighbors, her parents! This gift of reinforcement has helped me a great deal in life. Experience everything.

5. She is Beautiful!
Show her examples of beautiful. Being attractive is being authentic. Young women that wear clothes that are revealing are crying out for attention. Teach your daughter that there are boundaries to what is acceptable and what is not.

6. She is Smart…she is Financially Independent!
Let your daughter figure out how to live on her own. What a wonderful sense of self confidence that will give her. This is liberating. My dad taught me early on how to live on a budget. He shared with me that debt is dangerous. He showed me the basics of how to manage my money and ways to save. I still give myself an allowance every week and when it’s gone….it’s gone!

7. She is Content!
Teach her to be content. Don’t let her fall victim to hyper-consumerism. It is a path she won’t like. Recognize “enough.” Give generously. This understanding comes from home. Be giving.

8. She is Your Love….Forever!
Guys come and go but your daddy will always love you. Above all else, show that your love is unconditional. You may not always like your little girls’ behavior, decisions and outcomes, but you will always love her! Make sure above all else, she knows this.

Thanks, Daddy. I know you love me forever!

Woman of the Week – Kristin Mack Deuber

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Each week, we feature a fantastic new woman we think you should know. Some of these women are clients, some are friends, some are women we’ve only just met. But they all have this in common: they are dynamic, interesting gals who have agreed to share with us their insights and secrets to success.

Kristin Mack Deuber

My Current Job/Company:
President, Kristin Mack Deuber, LLC

My Birthday:
August 23, 1975

My Work:
I help companies and people manage their reputations through smart public relations and marketing strategies.

My Passion:
Helping connect people and giving back to my community and my profession.

My Family:
My husband of almost 5 years, Christian, and our dog Kadi.

My Heroes:
I don’t have just one person who is my hero. I believe there is something to admire about almost everyone you encounter.

My Escape:
Traveling, especially along the California coast.

My Pet Peeves:
People who are too afraid to be honest with others or themselves.

My Indulgence:
Wine and coffee

My Roots:
While I grew up in northeast Ohio, Columbus is truly my home.

My Future:
I used to think I had to have it all planned out but being open to new possibilities is much more rewarding and exciting.

My Love(s):
My girlfriends – I don’t know what I would do without them!

My Movie:
Woody Allen movies – I can wait to see “To Rome with Love” this summer.

My Quote on Life:
Stop wishing. Start doing.

My Accessory:
Purses

How I Balance it All:
Focus, prioritization and surrounding myself with people who support and share my dreams.

My Advice to Young Women:
Work really hard and be nice to people and amazing things will happen.

Woman of the Week – Colleen Gilger

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Each week, we feature a fantastic new woman we think you should know. Some of these women are clients, some are friends, some are women we’ve only just met. But they all have this in common: they are dynamic, interesting gals who have agreed to share with us their insights and secrets to success.

Colleen Gilger

My Current Job/Company:
Economic Development Manager, City of Dublin

My Birthdate:
04.19.72

My Work:
I build relationships and affinity between Dublin businesses and the community. I work to retain and grow existing businesses, attract new jobs and develop entrepreneurs. I assist developers, sometimes through financial incentive negotiations, to build new buildings and redevelop old ones. I serve as a liaison and ombudswoman. I am a creative problem-solver.

My Passion:
Christ, my husband, my children

My Family:
Patrick (Husband), Nora (9), Tessa (8)

My Heroes:
Chris and Stefanie Spielman. I just finished reading Chris Spielman’s book; and I am in awe of their love story, their devotion to God, their positive attitudes through difficult times, their resilience, strength and ability to see themselves as Christ’s tools in the community.

My Escape:
The ocean, whether on a cruise ship or a beach. The sounds and smells clear my head and bring me relaxation.

My Pet Peeves:
Parents who still act like teenagers, especially in the presence of their children. People who don’t use turn signals.

My Indulgences:
Wine. Dessert first. Massages. Intensely hot bubble baths.

My Roots:
Cleveland Ohio! Proud Irish roots. Close-knit, loud, extroverted, passionate family. Three siblings. All 4 of us married introverts, or as my mom describes them, “wall flower spouses who allow their butterfly partners the ability to shine.” My dad taught me to love sports. I love me some Browns, Indians, Cavs, and not LeBron.

My Future:
My job allows me to feel such a sense of accomplishment when new buildings come out of the ground; and I knew I had a part in their inception and creation. Dublin has so much land left to develop. I look forward to so many future moment of ground-breakings, ribbon-cuttings and road openings!

My Love:
Being a soccer mom to 2 children who love this sport more than I ever remember loving any one thing at their age. Dave Matthews music which makes me sway, tap my toes and smile. Singing at church. My husband who continues to amaze me when I see him interact with our daughters.

My Movie:
Shakespeare In Love. I love a good love story. And I’m a sucker for anything Shakespearean.

My Quote on Life:
“Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”- Philippians 4:5-7

My Accessory:
A girl’s best accessory is confidence 🙂 One accessory that goes with me always: a small tattoo on my wrist with the names of my husband and children. I can glance down throughout the day and see their names peeking out behind my watch wristband – it always brings a smile to my face.

My Advice to Young Women:
It’s not what you accomplish in life that’s most important. It’s what you experience and overcome along the way. Instead of looking at the end result, embrace the journey.
–When you’re 18, everything seems magnified far beyond its actual importance.
–Stop worrying. When you worry, you are showing a lack of faith and trust.
–Serve your community without question and without expecting anything in return.

How I Balance it All:
I’ve learned (reluctantly) to let go of the working-mom guilt, and to gently say “no” sometimes to all the requests! I have a color-coded world: work, school, soccer, church, book club, date night, etc. The iPhone App “Cozi Calendar” synchs our to-do lists and calendars on our computer, phones and the kids’ iTouches. We always know where everyone is and where we need to be. Multi-tasking is my enemy: I remind myself to focus on one thing or person at a time and ALWAYS BE PRESENT!