WOMEN TO WATCH: A CELEBRATION OF COMMUNITY

WOMEN TO WATCH: A CELEBRATION OF COMMUNITY

by | Sep 18, 2019 | Blog

By Eleanora Morrison

It was a perfect September night at Ivy Hall in Southtown San Antonio last week, with the view of the Tower of Americas through the palm trees serving as a picturesque backdrop for a celebration and reception in honor of our 2018 and 2019 Texas Women to Watch.

A feature we published in partnership with ELEANORA to highlight women across our great state who stand out as leaders within their communities, we welcomed honorees who traveled from Dallas, San Angelo, Austin, and beyond to gather in-person and meet their power-peers on the feature list.

The women in attendance were encouraged to bring family and friends with them, to give those who support their careers and passions a chance to celebrate too. Tim McDiarmid, a featured Woman to Watch and owner of Tim the Girl catering, hosted the event at her Ivy Hall venue with food and cocktails by The Good Kind, her restaurant on property.

In keeping with the theme of community, and the inspired hint of nostalgia, guests were encouraged to take the photos documenting memories of the night on disposable film cameras that were scattered throughout the venue.

The result? Proof that even in our fast-paced digital age where we can connect with others on-line, the in-person relationships will always make a lasting impact. To read the individual stories in the 2019 Texas Women to Watch feature, click here for more.

Texas Women To Watch 2019: Karen Saunders of Bambinos Boutique & Bambinos Clothing Company

Texas Women To Watch 2019: Karen Saunders of Bambinos Boutique & Bambinos Clothing Company

by | Sep 10, 2019 | Feature

Imagery courtesy of Bambinos

My personal mission is to love God and love others. Hanging above the register at my boutique are the words from Proverbs, “In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.” 

–Karen Saunders

 

What was the defining moment in your past that set you on the career path you ended up following?  
 

The defining moment that set me on my second career path was the birth of my second child, though, I didn’t know it would define my future in business at the time. My daughter was premature, arriving 10 weeks early, and that changed me.  The challenge of that experience gave me courage I didn’t know I was lacking and ultimately the courage to  leave a corporate career in banking and take on business ownership.  

What makes you unique in your industry?

Bambinos is  a small, family-owned boutique, and we design and manufacture a clothing line for both our own store and other children’s shops. This gives us a custom created product designed for and based on client feedback, and also an avenue to collaborate and build relationships with peers in our industry.  While this might seem like a largely creative job, I believe what sets me apart in my field is that I started my career in banking. My corporate management experience has been invaluable in understanding how to use data to drive results in business. The discipline we have around buying, budgeting, throwing events, and analyzing daily, weekly, and monthly results are all based on how I managed business units in the corporate world. 

What is one way you hope to impact your community in the future, either personally or professionally? 

I hope to continue creating a space where mothers, grandmothers, and children feel that they can not only shop, but also be taken care of from the heart. Our business mission revolves around giving back to families that have or have had medically fragile infants. I have had two of my own, so I intimately understand what the families are going through. I want our store to be both known for its mission and as a place of community.  

If you could sit down with any woman in the world–either from history or who is currently living–who would that be and what would you discuss with her? 

I would love to visit with Corrie ten Boom, a woman who helped hundreds of Jews escape the Nazi Holocaust. Her story of faith and gratitude — even in the most horrific situations — has inspired me since I learned of her in high school. She made it a habit to give thanks in ALL circumstances, and at one point that meant giving thanks for the fleas in her concentration camp cell. In time, it was revealed to her that those fleas at Ravensbruck kept abusive guards away and gave the women in her ward complete freedom to speak, share, pray, and study the Bible that one of the women had hidden.  Many times I’ve muttered the words, “Thank God for the fleas” in my own challenging circumstances. 

Connect with Karen Saunders at Bambinos.com, on Facebook and on Instagram @lovebambinos and @bambinosclothingco. 

This profile was (Em)powered by Bambinos.

Edited from an interview by Eleanora Morrison. 

Texas Women To Watch 2019: Monica Treviño-Ortega of San Antonio River Authority

Texas Women To Watch 2019: Monica Treviño-Ortega of San Antonio River Authority

by | Sep 10, 2019 | Feature

Imagery courtesy of Monica Treviño-Ortega

“Women’s rights are a generational responsibility. We have to teach our children to continue to fight for the rights we currently have with the same energy and tenacity required for fighting for the rights we haven’t yet obtained.” 
–Monica Treviño-Ortega

 

What was the defining moment in your past that set you on the career path you ended up following?  
 

Without a doubt, the defining moment that significantly altered my career path was the birth of my first child. In a culture of hustle and overstimulation, I was caught up in the fast-track career woman identity in my mid to late 20’s. Once I finished graduate school, I went after a promotion every year, served on any board that approached me, applied to every leadership development program I could find, and pursued bigger bonuses every quarter. It was unfulfilling, and it was never enough. Then, right before my 30th birthday, I had Alessandra.  

When my first daughter was born, I had the stark realization that nothing I had accomplished before her birth could even compare to the empowerment I felt from creating life out of love. I enjoyed every minute of my pregnancy and appreciated my body even more after giving birth. Even the thought of going back to work was inspiring because I was certain that I was going to show my daughter how working mommies get it done: how we raise children, dominate sales meetings, and command the board room all in the same day. Returning to work after maternity leave made me really value my time with my daughter. I knew that if I was going to spend time away from her, it better be for the purpose of making her world a better place. Having my daughter also taught me to respect my own self-worth – I realized that although the pay and prestige of the industry were great, the severe gender pay gap and other sexist structures that existed within the corporate culture were just not worth my time and actually reinforced the gender parity issues we still face.  

I left the corporate world in 2016, took six months off to enjoy being a first-time mom, and then got right back to work in an industry I was truly passionate about: non-profit. I can fully attest that working for an employer that truly values equality, and doing work you are perfectly aligned with can completely alter your life and transform you mentally and physically.  

I now work for a government nonprofit executing special projects that positively impact the outcome of relationships pertaining to multimillion dollar urban developments in San Antonio. My work through my current employer has allowed me the opportunity to become an even stronger advocate and community leader as I have gained more confidence and connections in public and government affairs. Although I’ve been involved with organizations that support women’s and children’s rights over the last decade outside of work, I’ve leveraged this momentum and experience to be more impactful and effective in advocacy for issues that my daughters may or may not inherit as adults.  

Commending the mayor and city council for their support of women’s equality through the City of San Antonio Council Consideration Request for an Equity Impact Assessment and the Women’s Equity Resolution in 2018

Hosting Judge Nelson Wolff and Congressman Lloyd Doggett on a tour of the newly developed San Pedro Creek Culture Park

What makes you unique in your industry?

I think what makes me unique in my industry is the variety of experiences, education, and training I’ve had. We’re all familiar with the saying “Jack of all trades, master of none,” but I’ve really been able to utilize my mixed bag of skills to be effective and successful in a male-dominated industry. My life coach helped me to view this as a positive attribute and we’ve rephrased this saying to be, “Jack of all trades, master of the universe.” It’s about honoring your uniqueness and loving all parts of YOU in the career space. I don’t know any other people working in nonprofit watershed management and urban development that have worked on fashion shows as a makeup artist, cared for children with developmental disabilities, full cycle medical sales, event management, community leadership, civic engagement/public affairs and with a BS in Biology and an MS in Health Promotion. Extremely random I know, but I love and honor my path and I’m very grateful for my experiences. I wouldn’t change a thing about it.  

Andrew and Monica Treviño-Ortega

Monica speaking at the Latina Leadership Institute leadership development program graduation

What is one way you hope to impact your community in the future, either personally or professionally? 

One of my biggest goals is for my daughters to think how ridiculous it was that equal pay wasn’t a right when Mommy was in her 20s-30s…because they will have that right.   

I consider myself extremely fortunate to be afforded the opportunity through my employer and supportive husband to continue my growth through various leadership development programs and organizations that support women. Earlier this year, I checked an item off my bucket list when I co-founded my own nonprofit with a dear friend that provides training and scholarships to women for professional leadership development programs at the local, state, and national levels. The Latina Power Network will officially launch this fall, and I am extremely proud to help women excel, and aid in the push for parity among public and government boards and commissions.  I truly feel I wouldn’t be at this point in my career if it weren’t for my two and four year old daughters cheering me on and inspiring me along the way.  

I also hope to help move the needle on statistics that currently confirm Latina women faring significantly worse than women of all other backgrounds on subjects such as education, pre-K enrollment, poverty, access to digital technology, insurance coverage, homeownership, prenatal care, obesity, domestic violence and homicide. In my opinion, if you are continuing to help women achieve great feats and break barriers on impenetrable boards and industries, you are no still no better than the structures that created those boundaries if you aren’t simultaneously doing something to bring the women up from the bottom bracket.

Monica and founding Board Members of the Latina Power Network

If you could sit down with any woman in the world–either from history or who is currently living–who would that be and what would you discuss with her? 

If I could sit down with any woman in the world, it would be with either one of my daughters in their late years, far beyond my time on earth. At this time I’d imagine they’d live in a world where gender inequality is an obscure idea, and no race, religion or group is marginalized. We’d discuss how equal pay issues were so retro, in the same way a lot of us take women’s suffrage for granted today. We’d talk about their lives, children, families, careers, and everything in between. We’d discuss the love, healing, acceptance, and understanding the world has for all lives and creatures. We’d talk about what they’ve done to make the world a better place.

Monica’s daughters, Avianna (1) and Alessandra (4)

Connect with Monica Treviño-Ortega and Latina Power Network on LinkedIn, on Facebook and on Instagram @monica.trevino.ortega and @latinapowernetwork.

This profile was (Em)powered by S.H.E Media.

Edited from an interview by Eleanora Morrison. 

Texas Women To Watch 2019: Cassandra King Polidori of CassandraCollections

Texas Women To Watch 2019: Cassandra King Polidori of CassandraCollections

by | Sep 4, 2019 | Feature

Cassandra King Polidori with her CassandraCollections display at Fashion X Austin, 2019. Imagery courtesy of Cassandra King Polidori.

I want CassandraCollections to help make women of all ages feel beautiful, confident and special. Jewelry is the ultimate symbol of femininity and a way for us to show our individual personalities to the world.
–Cassandra King Polidori

 

What was the defining moment in your past that set you on the career path you ended up following?  
 
Nearly 10 years ago, I came to an unforeseen impasse in my career. I had to decide whether I should return to my previous field in which I was trained and comfortable or take a huge leap of faith and pursue something completely new: designing jewelry. It was the most terrifying thing I’ve ever done, but I can’t imagine doing anything else now.  

CassandraCollections ‘Aurelia Earrings’ seen on the runway at Fashion X Austin, 2019

What makes you unique in your industry?

I have worn jewelry my whole life and never once been repeatedly complimented about a particular piece, until I started creating my own. When I designed the first CassandraCollections ring, I was being stopped everywhere I went – from a boutique while out shopping, to Whole Foods while out getting groceries. This made me realize I had something that stood apart in the industry, and it’s why I continued expanding my jewelry line. Every piece is still handmade, no molding or casting, which makes each piece unique. It’s something everyone wants and appreciates in jewelry.  

What is one way you hope to impact your community in the future, either personally or professionally? 

My Texas community has propelled me to where I am today, so as a born-and-raised Texan, it’s extremely important for me to give back to my community. I donate over $10,000 worth of jewelry every year to Texas charities and give my time and energy to various Austin charities throughout the year. My hope is to give back more and more as my company continues to grow.  

Cassandra and her daughter, Aurelia. 

If you could sit down with any woman in the world–either from history or who is currently living–who would that be and what would you discuss with her? 

I think it would be Audrey Hepburn. To me, she is the definition of poise, grace and elegance. And what I find most admirable, is how she used her fame later in life to improve the lives of so many through her humanitarian work. She won the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her work with UNICEF, and would have done so much more if she had not lost her battle with cancer at the young age of 63. If I could choose two… I’d have to say my grandmother, Nana. I’d give anything to talk to her one more time and introduce her to my daughter and husband. She was an incredible woman and worked hard for her family all of her life, always with a smile on her face. She is my ultimate hero. 

Connect with Cassandra King Polidori at CassandraCollections.com, on LinkedIn, on Facebook and on Instagram @cassandracollections. 

This profile was (Em)powered by S.H.E Media.

Edited from an interview by Eleanora Morrison. 

Texas Women To Watch 2019: Nina Means of ACC Fashion Incubator and Nina Means LLC

Texas Women To Watch 2019: Nina Means of ACC Fashion Incubator and Nina Means LLC

by | Sep 4, 2019 | Feature

Imagery courtesy of Nina Means

Nina Means at the ACC Fashion Incubator Grand Opening in Austin, Texas

Show up as yourself. You are where you are for a reason. Trust it. 
–Nina Means

 

What was the defining moment in your past that set you on the career path you ended up following?  
 

I did my plan B career first. I worked in public health in Washington, DC in international health and then later on a grant with Avon Foundation for Women with George Washington University Cancer Institute to address breast cancer outcome disparities in underserved communities. As I was working in this space, I had this epiphany that I should pursue my passion before I got too comfortable in my career. If I was horrible at being a fashion designer, then I could always come back to public health. Luckily, I never had to. I believe, when you pursue where you are supposed to be, your destiny will embrace you. It is not because it lacks difficulty, but despite the challenges, you find joy in your journey. For the first time in my career, I found joy in my journey. 

What makes you unique in your industry?

There have been a number of fashion incubators launched across the country in a variety of contexts, but what makes the Austin Community College Fashion Incubator special is the use of technology to create product in an industry that has had a bad reputation for generating too much waste. ACC is partnering with the City of Austin and Gerber Technology to build this industry locally. We are training designers to work more sustainably as they build their brands. It is an exciting time. 

What is one way you hope to impact your community in the future, either personally or professionally? 

By successfully implementing this new program, I am energized by the potential impact. It will change the way fashion reaches all of us. As an advocate for local designers, I am so passionate about making sure they have the tools to build a thriving business from Central Texas. Designers need to effectively reach future customers who have the expectation of participating in an industry that is cleaner than ever. They must do this while also delivering an amazing product. We are in such a conflicted space regarding sustainability in fashion. We want the best price, but we also want to save the planet. We have to do everything we can to make the world beautiful while keeping the beauty we have. 

If you could sit down with any woman in the world–either from history or who is currently living–who would that be and what would you discuss with her? 

So, Michelle Obama is on my vision board (yes, I have one of those). The image I have is of her and her daughters serving a meal at a soup kitchen. If I could speak with her about anything, I would speak with her about balance. I am struck by her ability to be a respected force but also to be so compassionate. That is a difficult one to master. Still on balance, I would pick her brain about supporting family, investing in the needs of your career, and knowing when to yield without completely sacrificing your ambitions. It is no easy feat. Yet, her life seems to illustrate this beautifully. As a mom and wife, for me, this is constantly front of mind. 

Connect with Nina Means at the ACC Fashion Incubator, at NinaMeans.com, on LinkedIn, on Facebook and on Instagram @ninameansusa and @accfashionincubator. 

This profile was (Em)powered by S.H.E Media.

Edited from an interview by Eleanora Morrison.