Woman of the Week – Larissa (Rissa) Blevins

Here at Executive Elements, we like to feature fantastic women 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 women who have agreed to share with us their insights and secrets to success.

My Name:
Larissa (Rissa) Blevins

My Current Job/Company:
Sr. Compliance Director/Nationwide Insurance Company

My Birthday:
03.16.71

My Work:
I mitigate and manage regulatory and reputational risk for our company and members. I’m well suited for this “protection” type of work.

My Passion:
The Arts, both creating and supporting.

My Family:
Trent – a true partner and a man of witty one liners. Our beautiful boys: Jackson (21), Jerrod (18), Owen (10). Henry-stinky white boxer and Sukie–cuddly black lab.

My Hero or Heroes:
Outside of my parents, Brooks McCall, from Wilmington DE. He introduced me to the world of insurance. A true class act.

My Escape:
Bonfires. Living on a wooded lot makes it a practical escape.

My Pet Peeve:
When our boys eat crunchy things and gulp their drinks. It sounds extraordinarily loud.

My Indulgence:
I can take frugalness to an exceptional level, but I recently indulged in a new station wagon.

My Roots:
I grew up in Johnstown, PA, known for steel making and floods. My Mom was an English teacher and my Dad still is a college professor of Geography. A few lines from Children Learn What They Live by Dorothy Law Nolte summed up our home mantra:
– If a child lives with encouragement, (s)he learns confidence.
– If a child lives with praise, (s)he learns to appreciate.
– If a child lives with security, (s)he learns to have faith.
– If a child lives with approval, (s)he learns to like (her)self.

My Future:
A long (God willing) and winding road.

My Favorite Quote:
“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”

My Accessory:
Socks, regardless of whether they look good with heels or not.

My advice to Young Women:
You can take yourself seriously, but learn to laugh at yourself, and laugh often.

How I Balance it All:
I use one calendar to organize work and home life. Every Friday I review the upcoming week to prepare both mentally and organizationally. In December, I put everything on the calendar for the following year, from kids school events, to vacations, to repeating team meetings. And when I start to feel off balance, I head outside for a jog, or to work in the garden.