From Camden Council to MBE: Dr Shabnam Ahmed on Building School of Shabs, Pioneering Anti-Racism in Social Work, and Why Safety Isn't Universal

Women Who Lead

From Camden Council to MBE: Dr Shabnam Ahmed on Building School of Shabs, Pioneering Anti-Racism in Social Work, and Why Safety Isn't Universal

After 26 years shaping social work practice at Camden Council, Dr Shabnam Ahmed didn't just leave to start a business. She crystallized decades of frontline expertise, doctoral research, and anti-racist advocacy into School of Shabs, a training company reshaping how practitioners across England approach supervision, equity, and professional
From São Paulo to Tampa to Founding Controller Works: Mariana Alvarez on Growing Up in a Family Business, Healing from Divorce While Building a Virtual Accounting Firm, and Why "I Understand When They Say 'I Barely Have Money to Make Payroll This Week'"

Accounting

From São Paulo to Tampa to Founding Controller Works: Mariana Alvarez on Growing Up in a Family Business, Healing from Divorce While Building a Virtual Accounting Firm, and Why "I Understand When They Say 'I Barely Have Money to Make Payroll This Week'"

Mariana Alvarez, MSA, EA is the founder and CEO of Controller Works, a virtual outsourced accounting firm serving small to mid-size family-owned businesses in Tampa and beyond. But her path to building Controller Works came after enduring a challenging divorce that dismantled her family and forced her to rebuild her
From Condé Nast to LoveReading and brave&bold: Deborah Maclaren on Building Two Purpose-Driven Businesses, Donating £100K+ in Books to UK Schools, and Why Purpose Is Your Competitive Advantage

Women Who Lead

From Condé Nast to LoveReading and brave&bold: Deborah Maclaren on Building Two Purpose-Driven Businesses, Donating £100K+ in Books to UK Schools, and Why Purpose Is Your Competitive Advantage

Deborah Maclaren is Chief Executive of LoveReading and LoveReading4Kids, and Co-Founder of brave&bold, a female-focused consultancy providing fractional expertise to organizations. But her path to building two purpose-driven businesses came after nearly three decades in media and publishing, where she started at Condé Nast, and climbed the corporate
From Am Law 200 Chair to Co-Founding Conn Maciel Carey: Kara Maciel on Leaving Big Law to Build a Boutique Employment Firm, Compliance Mistakes Startups Make, and What Non-Unionized Companies Need to Know About the NLRA

Law

From Am Law 200 Chair to Co-Founding Conn Maciel Carey: Kara Maciel on Leaving Big Law to Build a Boutique Employment Firm, Compliance Mistakes Startups Make, and What Non-Unionized Companies Need to Know About the NLRA

Kara M. Maciel is a co-founding partner of Conn Maciel Carey LLP and Chair of the firm's national Labor & Employment Practice Group. But her path to co-founding a successful boutique employment law firm came after serving as Chair of the Hospitality Employment and Labor Law Outreach Practice
From Laid Off and "Captive" in a Cubicle to Founding YellowBook-CPE: Leita Hart-Fanta on Teaching Yellow Book Standards with a "Three-Ring Circus," Surviving Breast Cancer, and Why Healthcare Should Never Keep You from Entrepreneurship

Women Who Lead

From Laid Off and "Captive" in a Cubicle to Founding YellowBook-CPE: Leita Hart-Fanta on Teaching Yellow Book Standards with a "Three-Ring Circus," Surviving Breast Cancer, and Why Healthcare Should Never Keep You from Entrepreneurship

Leita Hart-Fanta, CPA is the founder of YellowBook-CPE.com, a government audit training company she launched in 1996 after seven years of feeling "captive" in traditional audit positions where she "went to work in the dark and left work in the dark." Today, YellowBook-CPE provides enjoyable,

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From Background Vocalist to Award-Winning IP Attorney: Jo-Ná A. Williams on Protecting Creatives from Exploitation, Negotiating Without Killing Deals, and Building a Law Practice That Doesn't Lead to Burnout

From Background Vocalist to Award-Winning IP Attorney: Jo-Ná A. Williams on Protecting Creatives from Exploitation, Negotiating Without Killing Deals, and Building a Law Practice That Doesn't Lead to Burnout

Jo-Ná A. Williams, Esq. is an award-winning attorney, founder, advisor, and instructor who founded J.A. Williams Law P.C. in 2011 to provide artists, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders with ways to successfully navigate their careers, secure their companies, and protect their intellectual property. But her path to founding her
From MIT PhD to First Chief Innovation Officer at Three Healthcare Giants: Naomi Fried on Building PharmStars, Bridging the Pharma-Startup Gap, and Why Startups Need "an MBA in Pharma"

From MIT PhD to First Chief Innovation Officer at Three Healthcare Giants: Naomi Fried on Building PharmStars, Bridging the Pharma-Startup Gap, and Why Startups Need "an MBA in Pharma"

Naomi Fried, PhD is the founder and CEO of PharmStars, the first and only pharma-focused accelerator for digital health startups, and co-founder of the PharmStars Ventures fund. But her path to launching PharmStars came after an extraordinary track record as a "first" in healthcare innovation leadership across three
From Widowed with Two Young Children to The UK's First Widow Coach: Karen Sutton on Building "Finding Hope in Widowhood," Hosting The Widow Podcast, and Why "It Wasn't Just Him I Lost, It Was the Version of Me That He Knew"

From Widowed with Two Young Children to The UK's First Widow Coach: Karen Sutton on Building "Finding Hope in Widowhood," Hosting The Widow Podcast, and Why "It Wasn't Just Him I Lost, It Was the Version of Me That He Knew"

Karen Sutton is the UK's first specialized coach dedicated to supporting widows and surviving partners globally. But her path to building The Widow Coach Ltd came after the sudden death of her husband Simon in September 2016, when she was left widowed with two young daughters. From the
From BigLaw Paralegal to Virtual Business Pioneer: Pamela J. Starr on Launching StarrParalegals in 2008, Chairing NFPA's Ethics Board for Eight Years, and Building a Career Mitigation Business with Snarky Authenticity

From BigLaw Paralegal to Virtual Business Pioneer: Pamela J. Starr on Launching StarrParalegals in 2008, Chairing NFPA's Ethics Board for Eight Years, and Building a Career Mitigation Business with Snarky Authenticity

Pamela J. Starr, CBA, J.S.M., M.A.T.D., is the founder and "Paralegal Extraordinaire" of StarrParalegals, LLC, a pioneering virtual paralegal service launched in 2008—long before remote work became mainstream. After spending decades in BigLaw, Pamela reinvented herself by creating a model that blended
From IBM Project Manager in Singapore to Co-Founding Norton Basu LLP: Somita Basu on Leaving Management Consulting for Law School, Estate Planning for Entrepreneurs, and Building a Multicultural Firm Called "The Best of the Best"

From IBM Project Manager in Singapore to Co-Founding Norton Basu LLP: Somita Basu on Leaving Management Consulting for Law School, Estate Planning for Entrepreneurs, and Building a Multicultural Firm Called "The Best of the Best"

Somita Basu is the founding principal of Norton Basu LLP, a California-based estate planning and probate law firm that Retired Judge LaDoris Cordell (who presided over Santa Clara County Probate Court for two years) calls "the best of the best." But Somita's path to co-founding a
From 25+ Years on Bay Street to Betting on Herself at Dipchand LLP: May Cheng on Leaving Big Law for a Boutique IP Powerhouse, Building a Specialty Practice in Anti-Counterfeiting, and Navigating Bill 96's French Language Requirements

From 25+ Years on Bay Street to Betting on Herself at Dipchand LLP: May Cheng on Leaving Big Law for a Boutique IP Powerhouse, Building a Specialty Practice in Anti-Counterfeiting, and Navigating Bill 96's French Language Requirements

May Cheng is a partner at Dipchand LLP, a Toronto-based IP boutique that Legal 500 describes as "a small but mighty IP boutique that punches well above its weight." But May's path to this woman-led, seven-partner firm came after spending over 25 years at top-tier Bay
From Growing Up on a Farm to Co-Founding Janzen Schroeder Ag Law: Brianna Schroeder on Environmental Litigation, Agriculture's Big Data, and Leading the National Discussion at the Intersection of Farming, Technology, and Regulation

From Growing Up on a Farm to Co-Founding Janzen Schroeder Ag Law: Brianna Schroeder on Environmental Litigation, Agriculture's Big Data, and Leading the National Discussion at the Intersection of Farming, Technology, and Regulation

Brianna Schroeder is co-founder of Janzen Schroeder Ag Law, a boutique law firm exclusively focused on serving those involved with agriculture—from sophisticated farms to ag technology providers to agribusinesses. Since co-founding the firm with Todd Janzen in 2015, Brianna has become a national thought leader at the intersection of
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