May 2021 by Austin Woman Magazine

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FEATURE

THE WOMAN IN THE MIRROR BY SABRINA LEBOEUF

FEATURE

FIELD OF IMPACT BY KATHRYN FREEMAN

ATXWOMAN.COM | 7

CONTENTS | MAY

COUNT US IN Women in Numbers

STAFF PICKS Be Your Own Boss

FROM THE DESK OF Gina Guercio Hoff

A CHAT WITH Sharon Mays

SEE HER WORK Installation artist Beili Liu

DINNER WITH Jenna Choe

ON THE MONEY Retirement Planning

I AM AUSTIN WOMAN Gabriela Bucio

ATX WOMEN TO WATCH ROLL CALL

26 24

8 | AUSTIN WOMAN | MAY 2021

CATHY HARM

KATHERINE MCLANE

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TO INVEST WITH GREATER CONFIDENCE Ladies, when it’s time to sit down for a review of your financial goals and investment performance, are you in attendance at that meeting? If you are at the table, do you have the confidence to ask questions and make decisions aligned with a defined vision for what you desire for your resources to accomplish? Venturi Private Wealth is hosting two virtual events in 2021 to empower women to sit with confidence at the table. It’s not about forcing ourselves to learn a list of technical financial concepts but rather leaning into our unique strengths, refining our goals and aligning ourselves a little more each day with the values that are most important to us. The speaker for these events, Kristen Heaney, wealth coach and author of In Three Generations: A Story about Family, Wealth, and Beating the Odds and The Super Special Altogether Ordinary Day, was just 21 when her father died and she found herself at the head of the financial decision-making table in oversight of substantial family assets and a family foundation. With this life experience as inspiration, she’ll offer:

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12 | AUSTIN WOMAN | MAY 2021

CONTRIBUTORS This month, we asked our contributors: Who is an entrepreneur you admire and why?

A PUBLICATION OF AW MEDIA INC.

VOLUME 20, ISSUE 9

ANNIE RAY Cover photographer, “The Woman in the Mirror,”

DAWN WESTON

page 48.

Publisher

• She loves romance novels. • She begins decorating for the holidays on Sept. 30.

JAIME ALBERS

Interim Art Director

• She is an avid salsa connoisseur. “I LOVE Mel Robbins; she is one of the most motivating people I follow regularly. Her outlook on life is so practical, and as a woman, she is amazing.”

CY WHITE

Managing Editor DARBY KENDALL

Copy Editor

SABRINA L. LABOEUF

PARKE BALLANTINE

Director of Events and Branding Strategy

Writer, “The Woman in the Mirror,” page 48. • Alligators are her favorite animal. • She’s named after a movie.

OLIVIA HUNTLEY

• She’s learning French as her third language.

Marketing Sales Specialist ANNE COX

Operations and Production Coordinator CONTRIBUTORS

Editorial: Gabriella Bucio, Jenna Choe, Kathryn Freeman, Madelyn Geyer, Monica Godinez, Jenny Hoff, Sabrina Laboeuf, Cy White Art: Beili Liu Studio, Mesh Bhakta, Nicol Biesek, Blue Way, Gabriela’s, James Hornois, John Davidson Photography, Amos Morgan, Rino Pizzi, Annie Ray, Tso Chinese Delivery, Jessica Wetterer INTERNS

Paige Cissel, Madelyn Geyer, Monica Godinez, Allie Justis, Janelle Marquez, Chloe Young

AW MEDIA INC. MELINDA GARVEY

KIP GARVEY

Co-founder/Co-owner

CEO/Co-owner

SAMANTHA STEVENS

Co-founder

“Growing up going to the farmer’s markets, there was always this old man that sold bread but would give my sister and I free loaves and lemonade. Looking back, that must have been a lot for him to give away. I admire how much he cared about making us smile, even if it meant losing a profit.”

KATHRYN FREEMAN Writer, “Field of Impact,” page 56. • She’s graduating from Baylor’s Truett Seminary this month. • She has an irrational fear of being hit by a car. •S he hates raisins, but greatly enjoys both grapes and wine. “I really admire Rihanna as an entrepreneur because she’s constantly defying expectations, but she’s also a visionary. She saw gaps in the fashion and beauty industries, so she filled those gaps while pushing her competitors to be more diverse and inclusive.”

ASHLEY GOOLSBY

CFO

Austin Woman is a free monthly publication of AW Media Inc. and is available at locations throughout Austin and in Lakeway, Cedar Park, Round Rock and Pflugerville. All rights reserved. To offer feedback, email feedback@awmediainc.com. For submission information, visit atxwoman.com/jobs. No part of the magazine may be reprinted or duplicated without permission. Visit us online at atxwoman.com. Email us at info@awmediainc.com. 512.328.2421 | 7401 West Slaughter Lane, Austin, TX 78739

JESSICA WETTERER Illustrator, Women in Numbers, page 18. •S he knew she wanted to be an artist at the ripe age of 5. • She’s originally from the bluegrass of Kentucky. • Shakshuka is her signature dish. “I admire Spanx founder Sara Blakely. I first heard her story on How I Built This. I thought to myself, “What a woman!” Imagine trying to sell Spanx before Spanx existed. She did that by believing in herself, her ideas and by not giving up.”

ATXWOMAN.COM | 13

FROM THE FOUNDER

One year ago today, I was writing this letter with tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat, driven by that awkward balance between sheer fear and uncertainty and enormous and overwhelming gratitude. Last May we were forced to divert from the Austin Woman norm of featuring one cover woman because due to the lockdown all across our nation, we were physically unable to do a photoshoot, interview and all of the other human interactions it takes to create each issue. Current advertisers were pulling or reducing their campaigns, new advertisers were nonexistent and our revenues plummeted over 40%. We feverishly awaited the first round of PPP, which we applied for the very first day, even the very first hour one was able to. Yet we were still given the bad news that “money had run out” prior to us making it through the system. My instinct was to panic, but my intellect told me that I just had to get creative and figure out a solution. I picked up the phone and called dear friend and former cover woman Andra Liemandt to bounce some ideas around. I knew she wouldn’t judge me for breathing into a paper bag for most of our conversation. What I wanted to run by her was an idea I had about bringing former cover women together to help us not only get the May 2020 issue out with great content as our readers expected, but also to drive some muchneeded financial support for the magazine. Andra immediately jumped on the idea of former cover women “leaning in” and being the driving editorial and financial support that Austin Woman needed in that moment. Andra gave me the courage to reach out to nearly 20 years of cover women and ask for help. The response was overwhelming and the May 2020 “Lean In” issue was born. If you missed it, be sure to check it out at atxwoman.com/tag/lean-in. It is a testament to the power of community we have here in Austin and the women who unequivocally have your back. This May, we are approaching what we might call our new “normal.” Vaccinations are free flowing, businesses are opening back up and, God willing, positive COVID-19 cases and subsequent deaths will begin to plummet. Throughout these past 12 months, Austin Woman has continued to publish, in print, each and every month. As a team, we made that commitment to our readers because we intrinsically understood that this past year, more than any other year in our nearly 19-year history, it was essential that we stay the course and continue bringing you positive role models, heroic stories and hopefully, even during some very dark days, the inspiration to continue moving forward. That commitment from the team, however, did not come without sacrifice. Today, I want to thank them, from the bottom of my heart for leaning in; by tightening our belts financially, by putting out our very best work with a fraction of our usual page count, for manually mailing out copies of the magazine to our very generous readers who supported us with subscriptions and for charging ahead with our two signature events in a new and unchartered virtual space—and making them the best events to date—and even creating a new event to address mental and physical wellness that so many women were craving. I am proud of each team member for her diligence and sacrifice. I especially want to thank Niki Jones, who for the past seven and a half years led Austin Woman’s creative vision and is now going to make her mark on a new company. We send her our outstretched arms to buoy her on her new journey, our love to warm her and our gratitude to uplift her. On May 19, we will host our signature Woman’s Way Business Awards, live and in person at the Long Center with a safe, socially distanced environment where we can come together to celebrate female-led businesses in our city. It is so important that, especially as we learn about the effect that COVID-19 has had on women leaving the workforce, we continue to show up and champion women. I hope you will join us and become an active member of our incredible tribe of women leaders and change-makers. Full of love, gratitude and hope for the future,

MELINDA GARVEY CO-FOUNDER

14 | AUSTIN WOMAN | MAY 2021

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Photo by Rudy Arocha.

Publication of Austin Woman would not be possible without the support of our monthly advertisers and sponsors, who believe in the impact we are making in the Austin community. The following businesses have stepped up their support of our efforts beyond traditional advertising and we are proud to recognize them as our partners. The team at Austin Woman is grateful for these businesses that have shown their commitment to the advancement of women in Austin and hopes you, as readers, recognize their efforts and support these businesses and all our regular advertisers.

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Can’t get enough of this issue? Check us out at atxwoman.com.

Shaping Austin from the Ground Up With fearlessness and a passion for helping people, the women of Benchmark Land Development are moving and shaking the very foundations of Austin. International Transgender Day of Visibility

Sydney Townsend: The Fight of Her Life Former boxer Sydney Townsend enters the ring with her toughest opponent yet: leukemia. But the cancer is no match for her ferocious tenacity. Don’t forget to visit and subscribe to the Austin Woman YouTube channel!

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WIN THIS! $100 at Gabriela’s Boss babe Gabriela Bucio has been a commanding force in the restaurant and event industries since opening her first restaurant, Gabriela’s, in 2018. Now she has multiple locations of the popular restaurant and multiple new ventures to boot. For this month’s Win This, Gabriela’s is giving away a $100 in gift cards. Enter to win by following us @austinwoman on IG. We’ll choose a winner at the end of the month.

16 | AUSTIN WOMAN | MAY 2021

@ austinwoman

Benchmark photo credit: Nick Blok. Sydney Townsend photo courtesy of Sydney Townsend. Transgender day of Visibility photo courtesy of p1nkstar.

March 31 was International Transgender Day of Visibility. On this day, it’s important for us to remember and honor those who live life fearlessly as their complete selves.

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Benchmark photo credit: Nick Blok. Sydney Townsend photo courtesy of Sydney Townsend. Transgender day of Visibility photo courtesy of p1nkstar.

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COUNT US IN

WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS AND FINANCE

A financial background and understanding of fundamentals plays a key role in the success of entrepreneurs. BY MONICA GODINEZ ILLUSTRATIONS BY JESSICA WETTERER

2,000 Black Barn Financial, an investment advisory firm founded in Austin, has over 2,000 members. Black Barn prides itself on the guidance, support and financial assistance they offer women.

31% In 2020, The Bureau of Labor reported that 31% of women in finance are represented among financial advisors.

78% SCORE (the largest network of volunteer expert business mentors in the nation) conducted their “Megaphone of Main Street” study in fall 2019. The study surveyed 1,000 small businesses and their financial means. In the report, 78% of the participants stated they used personal funds to finance their businesses.

4 $35,000 In Fundera’s quarterly “The State of Online Small Business Lending” report, it was found that women ask for an estimated $35,000 less for financing for their businesses than their male counterparts.

18 | AUSTIN WOMAN | MAY 2021

According to a 2018 report from the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, in the U.S., women own 4 out of every 10 businesses. This demonstrates the large strides women have made in the entrepreneurial world.

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STAFF PICKS

BE YOUR OWN BOSS

Members of the Austin Woman team reveal their dream businesses.

JANELLE MARQUEZ MARKETING SALES SPECIALIST

Although I’ve never formally visited a winery, I love learning about and, of course, drinking really well-crafted wines. But it’s all about the experience and the ambiance. So, naturally, my “place of business” would be a sprawling winery where wine enthusiasts could relax by a wood-burning fire and taste an endless selection of whites and reds. Furry friends are welcome too. :)

PARKE BALLANTINE DIRECTOR OF EVENTS AND BRAND STRATEGY

I’ve always wanted to own a social club. An inclusive event venue and gathering space for the arts and community. As an events professional I began my career as a bartender where I loved being a hostess, entertainer and connector for many years. I’ve also maintained an artistic habit and have many friends who are creative in one medium or another. It’s been a passion of mine to provide a space that brings people together and expands resources, connections, ideas and movements. I imagine lots of dance parties, artistic creation, workshops, dinners and impromptu gatherings in this club of mine. If I could work a pool, hot tub and fire pit into this dream as well, then I’d have my own full live/work fantasy.

20 | AUSTIN WOMAN | MAY 2021

MARKETING INTERN

If I had the means to create my own dream business, I would develop a high-end mobile consignment business. I am not talking thrift, but a model similar to TheRealReal who extends the “life cycle of luxury goods.” I would do the same but would go to the seller’s house and curate their closet. They would identify a section of clothing they no longer want, and I would keep the items with the greatest potential to sell, marketing them on several platforms both virtually and in person. I want to create a business model that embraces the new market. I have worked both consignment and highend boutiques. My model would merge the two. The convenience to the seller along with a greater return for them over resale would make my mobile consignment business a hit!

MONICA GODINEZ EDITORIAL INTERN

From an early age, I have witnessed my mother support minority groups in a variety of ways. As a member of the Latinx community, I hope to one day do the same. That is why if I were a business owner, I would directly support small businesses experiencing language and resource barriers. My team would consist of business, marketing and legal advisors helping Latinx businesses through their life cycle.

All photos courtesy of respective staff member.

OLIVIA HUNTLEY

All photos courtesy of respective staff member.

Wear Life Beautifully. Wear it Like a Mom. S H O P M OT H E R ’S D AY G I F T S AT K E N D R A S C OT T SOCO | LAMAR | DOMAIN

FROM THE DESK OF

FORGE YOUR OWN PATH

With fearlessness and a will to hustle, not even a language barrier can stop you. BY JENNY HOFF

Gina Guercio Hoff was a young girl when she and her family boarded a boat from her native country of Italy to sail across the Atlantic Ocean to New York City. There were no cultural programs to help her adapt or ESL classes in her new school. She was forced to teach herself a new language, learn a new culture and harness her own unique talents to not only survive, but thrive in her new country. She now runs Gina’s Italian Villa at ginahoff.com, where she offers language and culture classes and virtual cooking events for groups. Instead of trying to fit in, she stood out and utilized her differences to forge her own path. Hoff shares the five lessons she learned as a young immigrant that helped her create her dream life.

YOU’RE STRONGER THAN YOU THINK. If you don’t have to deal with adversity, you never get to witness your own strength. When I first arrived in America, my school held me back a grade because I didn’t know the language. Nothing spurs a kid on more than being stuck with younger students! I taught myself English and then doubled up my course load so I could skip a grade and join my peers. My parents didn’t speak English, so I had to argue on my behalf at the PTA meeting. That taught me at an early age how much I am really capable of when motivated to do something difficult.

LEARN TO HUSTLE. When you don’t understand a culture or language, you learn quickly how to “fake it ’til you make you make it.” After all, my parents didn’t speak a word of English and managed to open restaurants in Queens and Staten Island, with us kids as interpreters. Those hustling skills came in handy when I got divorced, was studying for a master’s in education and needed to earn money to support my children. I placed an ad in the paper, offering personal chef services. When I got calls, I dug through old family recipes to use, and they were a hit! I went on to do cooking classes on television, in villas in Tuscany and at Williams-Sonoma. When the pandemic hit, I had to quickly figure out how to take my offering virtual, while still offering a fun and unique experience. I now teach multiple Italian language and culture classes and have done many virtual cooking events for companies and private parties.

Sometimes financial distress can lead to incredible opportunities, if you create them.

CAPITALIZE ON YOUR DIFFERENCES. As both Italian and American, I can bridge the cultures to bring unique experiences to my customers. When I bring groups to Italy or teach them online, I can tell stories in a way that captures their attention, share legends that only locals would know and create unique experiences that no strictly American tour company could do. For instance, I became friends with a woman in Orvieto who had Etruscan caves under her home. Just for my tours, she would host dinners in the caves, with candles flickering and multiple courses as I shared the stories of the Etruscans with my customers. Instead of trying to mold my business to be like competitors, I used my differences to create something valuable and new.

FOCUS ON WHAT YOU HAVE, NOT WHAT YOU LACK. Don’t let perfection be the enemy of the good. If you focus on what you need in order to do something, you’ll never do it! I am glad no one ever asked, “Do you want to learn English? Do you want to create a new career so you can support your children?” I was just forced to do these things and I did. We already have so many skills, so much knowledge and life experience to add value to the world. So, don’t hold back. Do it!

When I first went to college, I followed my older brother’s example and studied broadcasting engineering. But when I applied for jobs, the employers actually laughed in my face, telling me I would just distract the men. So, I decided to pursue teaching foreign languages at a university, something I knew no one could tell me I couldn’t do. A few years later, I started a small travel company, hoping to earn a little bit of supplemental income to help with bills. It turned into a successful business, with many customers coming on dozens of trips with me. 22 | AUSTIN WOMAN | MAY 2021

You can check out Gina’s classes, virtual events and upcoming book at ginahoff.com.

Photo by Gina Hoff.

CREATE YOUR OWN OPPORTUNITIES.

Photo by Gina Hoff.

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A CHAT WITH

THE POSSIBILITIES OF FAST FOOD

With a tenacious spirit, Sharon Mays works to give fast food a place at the table. BY MADELYN GEYER

Despite the popularity and longevity, no one will ever see a fast food place as a Michelin-star restaurant. But what if fast food didn’t mean bag-soaking burgers and fries? What if it could be truly healthy offerings and wonderful service? Sharon Mays, the founder of Baby Greens, isn’t here to give you the history of fast food. She’s here to rewrite its future. The drive-through salad restaurant is redefining the mindset toward fast food, one salad at a time. Beginning as a pre-med major in college who hadn’t tried Taco Bell until she was 20, Mays was an unexpected candidate for a wildly successful and revolutionary career in the restaurant industry. Her path is beautiful and winding, fraught with victories, challenges and a stranger who unknowingly changed everything.

CREATING BABY GREENS I took a job working at the IRS. Due to an anthrax scare post-9/11, security made it very difficult to leave the building to get food. The big moment came on my dinner break. My dinner break was the marker the day was almost over, and a random man always took his break at the same time. I didn’t know him, but I would just sit there and watch him eat the same two meals every day: burger and fries, club sandwich and fries. I would watch him eat and know that when it was over, I had two and a half hours left of work. One day, he comes in with a salad from Wendy’s. That meant on his own, he went through the security checkpoints to get in and out of the building and traveled all the way to a Wendy’s—while also using most of his break—to get a salad. That was the moment I literally got up out of that cafeteria and ran to my desk. This was my sign to move forward with my idea. I just remember going back to my desk and thinking, “Okay, we’ve got to get out of here right now and do this.” I left and opened up in 2004.

WHAT HAPPENED IN 2009? [That year] actually started out as an amazing year for Baby Greens. I had three locations and all of the things were coming together. But there just wasn't enough of me to go around. Once I realized that I couldn't get there, I decided that, as risky of a move as it was, I was going to close a well-performing business in order to save it. It was terrifying and heartbreaking, but when you're the boss, your job is to do what's best for the company. I got it all buttoned up and closed, but in my mind, I always knew I wanted to reopen Baby Greens.

AFTER REOPENING, WHAT DID YOU LEARN? I learned what I wanted my company to be about, and also how to plan differently. I learned how to set myself up to say, “I might not have these things today, but I'm going to at least put myself on a path that when the opportunity comes up for these things to come together, I’m ready.”

I really sat down and discovered the reasons why people don’t eat better food. 1. Healthy food is too expensive. 2. It’s difficult to get to. 3. It doesn't typically taste great. 4. The ingredients are baffling. 5. People are afraid they’re not going to feel full at the end of it. When I came up with the idea for Baby Greens, five pillars were a part of what went into creating that brand: to be affordable, to be easy, to taste amazing, to have ingredients that most people have at least heard or seen before and to be really filling. Read the full interview at atxwoman.com. 24 | AUSTIN WOMAN | MAY 2021

Photo by Alison Narro.

HOW DOES YOUR BACKGROUND IN MARKETING PLAY A ROLE IN HOW YOU RUN YOUR BUSINESS?

Photo by Alison Narro.

SEE HER WORK

THE RED THREAD THAT BINDS US

Installation artist Beili Liu highlights the power of woman’s work and the red threads that connect us all. BY CY WHITE

trading of thoughts, ideals, experiences. From it, one gleans who Beili Liu truly is as an artist, a woman, an entrepreneur. Of course, it’s odd to think of artist as businessperson. But Liu visualizes the definition in its barest forms. “Building things up from nothing,” she says. “Let me just dig in and work hard and build something. From that small thing I build it up to something I can be proud of.” This is how she has always approached her art. Her installations Above, Below (2003) and Recall (2006, 2010) are powerful physical manifestations of the abstract idea of patience. “The term I think about is persistence,” she says. “The sense of commitment. That commitment comes with this desire to offer something. This vision of the paraffin house, it needs to be completed because I can share it.” Drops of water on salt brick. Strands of paraffin wax dangling from a barn roof. Patience. “Grit, if I can say it that way.” It’s the work of both the artist who in February was named the Fulbright Arctic Chair, one of Fulbright’s Distinguished Chairs programs, and the little girl from Jilin, China, watching the women in her family sew and talk for hours. “Something I remember vividly is to sew multiple layers of cut cloth, to sew it so dense, it becomes so thick and sturdy it becomes the sole[s] of shoes. I think that care, that tactile quality, the texture, the stitches, I think it was carved in my head.” Duality. Liu’s work is riddled with it. What she calls the “alien and familiar, uncertainty and hope, aggression and stillness.” Woman. Artist. Chinese. Asian American. Immigrant. Daughter. Wife. Mother. Identity is another major aspect of what her work represents. This dance between “duality” and “identity” gives very vivid form and function to her understanding of the woman as a warrior. The feminine as ferocious. “The water that can penetrate stone. I always have to go back to it. When you talk about the strength of women, I see the dripping water as feminine strength.” James Baldwin said, “To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time.” Liu understands that on the same level as any woman of color living in the United States. It informs her work in the most recent years, a rage mixed with incredible compassion. Her installation Each and Every (2019) is a haunting manifestation of a woman, a mother enraged with the injustice of seeing children separated from their parents. “Obviously, I’m not at the border, I’m not traveling from South and Central America trying to come into this country,” she begins. “But what I am is a mother. “I’m sitting at my computer and reading the news and thinking about the kids in the cages,” she continues. “I sob. And the sobbing comes from [knowing] my kid is here. I have my coffee, my computer. My comfort. There’s such a dramatic contrast, and there’s guilt and there’s this sense of inability to help, this powerlessness. The sense 26 | AUSTIN WOMAN | MAY 2021

of I don’t know what to do. And I say as an artist, ‘The only thing I know how to do is to work, is to make something about it.’ “This is also the piece that for the first time I’ve made a project with an object that’s literal,” she continues. “These are figures, clothing. They are exactly what they are even though they’re immersed and stiffened by cement. It’s an honest response. I’m going to bring it out. “In one interview I did at the earlier stage of my career,” she says, “I talk about how I didn’t want to be political, nor did I want to talk about feminism. At this time in my life…I’m welcoming and embracing all of that. It’s this arriving to become bold and to be willing to say, ‘Yes, okay. My recent work has become more political.’ “My dear friend Kay Whitney, who’s an artist and a writer, we were having this conversation. She reminded me of this sentence. ‘The personal is political.’ My work is about the personal and it is about the political. I accept it and I embrace it. It’s a time where I want to work and be unapologetic about what I’m making.” Read the full interview at atxwoman.com.

Photo by Blue Way.

The conversation is casual. Less a question/answer exchange than a

Top right: Photo by Amos Morgan. Middle photo by James Harnois. Top left: Photo by Beili Liu Studio. Bottom photo by Blue Way.

Photo by Blue Way.

“”

It’s a time where I want to work and be unapologetic about what I’m making.

ATXWOMAN.COM | 27

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C AT H Y H A R M

C E N T R A L T E X A S R E G I O N A L V I C E P R E S I D E N T, H - E - B

athy Harm is the regional vice president for H-E-B in Central Texas. She entered the role in early 2020, just weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic began, and used her deep industry knowledge and steady presence to navigate the crisis, leading over 22,000 partners (employees) and 55 stores. Harm’s career includes roles in store operations, category management and importing. Later, as director of Own Brand, she led product development teams for some of H-E-B’s most iconic brands including Creamy Creations ice cream and Cafe Olé coffee. Other roles included director of sales, merchandising and marketing, followed by director of retail operations in San Antonio. Harm is a diversity advocate award recipient who embraces H-E-B’s “Helping Here” and “Spirit of Giving” philosophies. She serves on the board of the United Way for Greater Austin. As an avid cyclist, she uses cycling to support fundraising efforts for the Alzheimer’s Association and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Through her work with H-E-B’s Women in Leadership programs, she aims to empower and develop female leaders to significant leadership roles. Her efforts, however, are not limited to women. She is well known for talent development at all levels and with all groups. heb.com

30 | AUSTIN | MAY 30 SPECIALWOMAN PROMOTION | 2021 ATXWOMAN.COM

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n February 2021, NI announced its 2030 corporate impact strategy, a bold, ambitious plan to increase the diversity of its workforce, support aspiring engineers and create a greater sense of belonging in the industry. As part of the strategy, the company is taking meaningful steps to ensure that by 2030, 50% of its global workforce and 50% of its global people managers are women. NI believes its people are its greatest asset. The company’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts ensure its employees feel welcomed, valued, respected and heard so that they are empowered to bring their best, most authentic selves to their work each day. Join them in building a society that works for all—and a healthy planet that sustains all of us—for the next 100 years and beyond. ni.com

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K AT H E R I N E M C L A N E

FOUNDER & CEO, THE M ACH 1 GROUP

atherine McLane is the founder and CEO of the Mach 1 Group, an award-winning Austin-based public affairs and relations firm. McLane is a communications expert, offering clients counsel to achieve their business goals. McLane’s all-female team has decades of experience successfully navigating media attention, crisis response, reputation management, branding, legislative and regulatory initiatives and campaigns. Under McLane’s direction, Mach 1 has advanced some of today’s most closely followed legislative causes, managed major media crises for some of the best-known brands in the U.S. and rebranded leading nonprofits. A veteran of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s administration, a former press secretary for the U.S. Department of Education during the George W. Bush administration and former VP at the Livestrong Foundation, McLane’s roots are in Texas. She is a proud graduate of Texas A&M University and began her career in Austin where she works and lives with her husband and two sons. themach1group.com

32 | | AUSTIN | MAY 32 SPECIALWOMAN PROMOTION | 2021 ATXWOMAN.COM

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R A C H E L S TA N L E Y OWNER, STRE TCHL AB

achel Stanley has a passion for helping her community live a healthier lifestyle. Since 2018 she has opened three assisted-stretching studios, StretchLab Westlake, South Lamar and Mueller. Your body spends the day trying to hold you together. StretchLab launches you back into your life with newfound energy that comes from your body moving and feeling exactly the way you want it to. Having an increased range of motion and properly balanced body will increase your performance not only in physical activity but your daily routine as well. Everyone has reasons for needing to live a healthier, more flexible lifestyle. Whatever the goal, a consistent assisted-stretching routine will get you there. Stanley’s goal is to be able to keep up with her 2-year-old and 9-month-old baby girls. She is so excited to help others meet their flexibility goals through stretching. stretchlab.com

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MINDY HENDERSON

M O T I VAT I O N A L S P E A K E R , W R I T E R , P O D C A S T H O S T

indy Henderson is a motivational speaker, writer (and Austin Woman columnist!), coach, the host of The Truth About Things That Suck podcast and guest contributor of “Morning Motivations” on CBS Austin’s We Are Austin lifestyle morning show. After a 20-year career in high-tech, Henderson shifted her focus toward normalizing disability and helping others realize their potential. Driven to build a world that welcomes and includes everyone, she advocates for universal design in air travel, architecture and fashion. Henderson’s upcoming book, also titled The Truth About Things That Suck, intertwines a variety of women’s stories of navigating adversity with her own personal stories of learning to travel hard roads. She helps others see how to live more productively and positively. Her mission is to inspire people to understand that when they take responsibility, stop making excuses and own their adversity, they become stronger people and their true potential is revealed. mindyhendersonco.com

34 | AUSTIN | MAY 34 SPECIALWOMAN PROMOTION | 2021 ATXWOMAN.COM

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L I N D S AY N E U R E N ,

R E A L T O R , T H E L I N D S A Y N E U R E N G R O U P

Photo by Amaris Photography.

third-generation Austinite, Lindsay Neuren brings a unique perspective to her clients looking to buy and sell in her beloved hometown. Neuren’s vast knowledge of the city’s diverse neighborhoods helps her clients find the area in Austin that best fits their lifestyle. She takes immense pride in providing her clients with the best in service. Neuren started her career in nonprofit fundraising in New York City. With a true passion for helping people, she has found her calling in real estate. Thanks to her optimism and warm personality, she goes above and beyond helping her clients buy and sell homes across the greater Austin-area. She loves to be involved in every aspect of the buying and selling experience. Neuren loves spending her free time with her husband, Jordan, her two kids, Hudson and Blake, and her dog, Kal. A lover of the outdoors, an avid runner and a food and wine lover, Lindsay will help you find a home that fits all of your lifestyle needs in her hometown. lindsayneurengroup.com

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SUSIE BUSCH TRANSOU

HEARTH AND SOUL, FOUNDER AND CEO

usie Busch Transou is a businesswoman, mom, volunteer, friend and the visionary behind Hearth and Soul. The marriage of her desire to enrich others’ lives with the Anheuser-Busch philosophy “making friends is our business” has made Hearth and Soul a dream come true. Transou was inspired to reflect on unmet needs in her world and what feeds her soul. The answer stoked her entrepreneurial spirit and led her to create a unique concept in retail reminiscent of the home; a haven where friends can connect and an inviting place to acquire curated finds. Tucked away in West Austin’s Tarrytown neighborhood, Hearth and Soul is thriving and proudly serves Austin friends and visitors alike. Hearth and Soul also supports a variety of entrepreneurs and nonprofit organizations. Transou is immersed in Austin’s vibrant community and enjoys entertaining at her home in Travis Heights, with her husband Tripp. hearthandsoul.com

36 | | AUSTIN | MAY 36 SPECIALWOMAN PROMOTION | 2021 ATXWOMAN.COM

Photo by Paige Newton for The Scout Guide Austin.

WOMAN to WATCH

Photo by Paige Newton for The Scout Guide Austin.

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JOY WIGGINS, PH.D.

C E O , E Q U I T Y A N D I N C L U S I O N C O N S U LT I N G

oy L. Wiggins, Ph.D. is a TEDx speaker, writer, professor and facilitator who promotes racial and gender justice through compassion and open dialogue to ignite equitable, empowering and transformative business practices. Wiggins offers executive coaching, strategic planning, leadership programs, workshop facilitation, keynote speaking and is known for moderating sensitive topics on race and gender. Based on her co-authored book with Dr. Kami Anderson, From Sabotage to Support: A New Vision for Feminist Solidarity in the Workplace, Wiggins has facilitated over 300 workshops, speaking engagements and has emceed and moderated events around power, privilege and oppression in all forms. She works with corporate, nonprofit and government clients and is featured in numerous media outlets, podcasts and corporate magazines including NPR, WhatcomTalk and in CEOWORLD magazine. She’s on the board of Austin Women in Technology and volunteers with the Girls Empowerment Network and the Embody Love Movement. joywiggins.com

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T E R E S A D AY

S E N I O R V I C E P R E S I D E N T O F M A R K E T I N G , P L A N O LY

planoly.com

38 | | AUSTIN | MAY 38 SPECIALWOMAN PROMOTION | 2021 ATXWOMAN.COM

Photo by Chelsea Francis.

eresa Day is the senior vice president of marketing at Planoly, the industry-leading social marketing platform trusted by millions of users to visually plan, schedule and measure performance across Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. She has a track record of delivering growth for both consumer goods and technology companies through purposeful brand building, storytelling and fostering authentic relationships with consumers. Day has experience working with industryleading companies like Saks Fifth Avenue, Versace, General Mills and Whole Foods. She has brought her expertise to lead the marketing team at Planoly HQ here in Austin. Day is a die-hard sports fan and interior-design aficionado and is currently in the process of building a house here in Austin so she and her husband can host game-day watch parties for their friends and family.

Photo by Chelsea Francis.

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LAUREN SANCHEZ , N.D.

N AT U R O PAT H I C D O C T O R , I N F I N I T Y W E L L N E S S C E N T E R

auren Sanchez, N.D. is the newest addition to the functional medicine team at Infinity Wellness Center. At a young age she watched her parents struggle with autoimmune and heart diseases that were barely managed with traditional medications. Knowing there had to be a better way and worried her health would go down the same path, she sought answers. She received her doctorate from Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine in Tempe, Arizona. With over seven years of experience in private practice, Sanchez is a wealth of knowledge and an expert on holistic health with a focus in plant-based nutrition. Utilizing food and herbs as medicine, she helps her patients find a balance and improve their digestion, hormones, skin health and mood. Sanchez’s passion for alternative health leads patients through dietary and lifestyle changes to help them live the lives they want to. austinholisticdr.com/staff/dr-lauren-sanchez

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BRANDY FONS

FOUNDER /CEO, FONS PR

randy Fons is a seasoned entertainment publicist of 25+ years and the founder/CEO of Fons PR—an award-winning entertainment PR, influencer marketing and event production agency based in Austin. She has represented local cinema favorite the Alamo Drafthouse for the last 12 years among other big entertainment brands, including A24, Amazon Studios, Disney, Drafthouse Films, Fox Searchlight, Lionsgate, Mondo, Neon, Netflix, and Sony. Fons mentors and sits on the advisory board for SXSW and also handles all PR and film studio partnerships for Fantastic Fest. While Fons has lived all over the country, including NYC and LA, she is proud to call Austin home. She enjoys her favorite city with her co-owner husband, Ryan, 13-year-old daughter, Sienna, and dogs Rocket and Simone. Fons shares her fandom for Austin business owners in her eclectic wardrobe, artistic nails and cowgirl hats. You can see her “Keep Austin Weird” spunk best through her TikToks. fonspr.com

40 | | AUSTIN | MAY 40 SPECIALWOMAN PROMOTION | 2021 ATXWOMAN.COM

Makeup artist from her photshoot: Angelica Zamora.

WOMAN to WATCH

Makeup artist from her photshoot: Angelica Zamora.

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DAWN M . PRI CE

O W N E R A N D C E O, B AT C I T Y B U I L D E R S , L L C

awn Price is the owner and CEO of Bat City Builders, LLC, a design-build company based out of Austin, specializing in remodeling and custom building. Their transparent business model sets them apart in the construction industry. They use standard business practices and transparency to provide honest and open communication. Thanks to her master’s in business administration from the University of Maryland and her undergraduate degree in hydrogeology from Western Michigan University, Price conceived her business. Combining her passion for negotiation and genuine desire for helping others, she created Bat City Builders, LLC. This same passion has inspired her to improve communication, thus forming strong bonds and maximizing the transparent business concept. Utilizing her negotiation expertise, she brings cost-effective solutions to homeowners and upholds the transparent business model her company is founded on. With her construction and environmental background, she has brought something innovative to the Austin market. austinbcb.com

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Wilson & Goldrick Realtors

Cindy Goldrick, Broker/Owner Your real estate experts for over 35 years, Wilson & Goldrick Realtors was established in the heart of Westlake and founded by Cindy Goldrick. Her vision was to create an experienced team of realtors to act as ambassadors for incoming residents and those looking to relocate. The company has used its knowledge to grow into a well-respected agency that guides in buying, developing and selling property, while meeting individual needs. Their slogan, “Our Performance Will Move You,” stems from their longtime support of the arts. The company supports many local charities and nonprofits. They take great pride in their strong community presence.

wilsongoldrick.com

Legacy Real Estate Group

Nicole Marburger, Owner/Broker Associate Nicole Marburger is the founder and broker associate of Legacy Real Estate Group. She is an influencer in the Austin real estate market and ranks among the top 2% agents. As a certified luxury home marketing specialist, and with a Texas State University bachelor's degree in marketing with a sales concentration, she creates unique and detailed marketing strategies for each home. Nothing is more important to Marburger than genuine relationships with her clients that last beyond a transaction. Whether she guides you through buying, selling, investing or developing in Central Texas, you have made a friend for life in Nicole Marburger.

legacyrealestategrp.com

Summit Leadership Partners

Corinne Mason, Ph.D., Partner As a partner with one of the fastest growing leadership advisory firms in the United States, Summit Leadership Partners LLC, Corinne Mason is a highly sought-after executive coach and C-suite human capital consultant. She brings over three decades of experience as a former senior leader herself, applying hard-won wisdom to advising mid-market high-growth leaders on how to scale and grow their organizations through their own unique leadership approaches. She also has a passion for helping other women succeed and specializes in helping women entrepreneurs and leaders to advance themselves and their companies.

summitleadership.com

42 | AUSTIN WOMAN | MAY 2021

North Austin Virtual Assistance

Shequana Hughes, Founder and Systems Integrator Motivated by helping small-business owners stay informed during the COVID crisis, Shequana Hughes joined the STL Small Business Task Force in her hometown, offering strategic planning and resources for business owners all over the region. Being a wife and mother of five, Hughes knows all too well the need for support. She decided to marry her 20+ years of executive administrative experience and love of entrepreneurship to give small-business owners their lives back. Since starting Virtual Assistance Agency in 2016, taking her clients out of the daily grind has been her mission.

northaustinva.com

The Selfie Stylist

Lana Ashby Rowder, Founder In February, Lana Ashby Rowder launched the first ever personal styling app that connects users with a live stylist. This nurse, wife and mom of two has spent the last few years doing personal styling on the side, and last year creating this mobile app. She wants everyone to have easy, affordable access to a personal stylist. When life’s important moments arise, we want confirmation that we look good. Simply upload up to five selfies of outfits you’re considering; she will tell you which looks best on you! Because “when we look good, we feel good, and then we go out and do good.”

selfie-stylist.com

3 small plates catering LLC

Jen D. Rodriguez (Chef JRodi), Executive Chef and Owner A self-taught chef, Jen Rodriguez’s love for entertaining and cooking evolved into 3 small plates LLC, a contemporary tapas-style catering company specializing in small-plate culinary journeys. Drawing on European travels, residences in Spain and Germany, family experiences along with a culturally diverse group of friends and the love of food, she uses these talents to cultivate one-of-a-kind dishes for clients to experience the artistry of Europe, one plate at a time. An artist at heart, the Texas native is an award-winning DoD journalist and photographer with a rooted passion for serving others. She’s a member of Les Dames d’Escoffier, Austin chapter.

3smallplatescatering.com

ATXWOMAN.COM | 43

Keller Williams Realty

Alicia Carson, Realtor and Salon Owner Alicia Carson is a top producer at Keller Williams Realty. As a born and raised Austinite her success in real estate has allowed her to give back to her community and gain eminence across the Austin market as “AliciaWithTheKeys.” She is passionate about community building, volunteering with the young and is an advocate against gentrification in Austin areas.

alicia.carson@kw.com

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44 | AUSTIN WOMAN | MAY 2021

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THE EIGHTH GRADE GRADUATING CLASS Th e Girls S ch o o l o f Au s t i n

Meet the Girls’ School of Austin’s 2021 graduating class. These thirteen young women include award winning artists, skilled musicians, expert bakers, avid readers, gamers, tennis players, gymnasts and gerbil lovers. Four members of the class qualif ied for Austin’s All-Region Orchestra and they received a combined 12 awards for art in the 2020 – 2021 Scholastic Art Awards including 3 Gold Key Awards that advanced to the national competition. They are actively engaged with local and global issues. This school year GSA’s eighth grade partnered with the Pangea Network to organize a virtual run empowering women and girls in the US and Kenya as well as organizing a donation drive for the Black Leaders Collective, benef iting those in need following the winter storm. Remember these faces. These girls are going places. thegirlsschool.org

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48 | AUSTIN WOMAN | MAY 2021

THE WOMAN IN THE MIRROR

At her core, Emlyn Lee has heart for the community and an uplifting nature that impacts everyone she interacts with. BY SABRINA LEBOEUF, PHOTOS BY ANNIE RAY STYLED BY ESTILO, MAKEUP AND HAIR BY NOEMI ALVARADO SHOT ON LOCATION AT THE LINE AUSTIN

Emlyn Lee passed around an envelope to her new colleagues. One by one, each person in attendance pulled out a garden glove she had purchased from the Dollar Store. As Lee continued her presentation, she explained how these were not garden gloves but glitter gloves, like the very glove Michael Jackson used to wear. Lee pulled up her favorite song on YouTube, and it began to play aloud: “I’m gonna make a change/ For once in my life.” It was a tradition Lee enjoyed with her team at Cultural Embrace, her company that in 2012 was acquired by Academic Programs International (API). She created Cultural Embrace after 9/11 to combat fear of international travel and xenophobia by giving Americans the opportunity to see parts of the world they would not otherwise. Only at that time, there weren’t any gloves—glitter or otherwise. Everyone simply relied on their imaginations, pulling on imaginary glitter gloves and singing “Man in the Mirror” to celebrate client testimonials and hold space for personal reflection. “Take a look at yourself and make that change,” Lee says. “That’s my life.” Lee has been looking at how she can fight the world’s injustices for as long as she can remember. Growing up near Washington, D.C., she recalls walking through the metro with her parents and seeing homeless people lying on the heating grates to keep warm. “Can we bring them home?” she would ask. Her parents replied by tugging her ear, signaling their daughter to keep walking. At Galway Elementary School in Silver Spring, Maryland, the sixth graders put on a class play each year. When she was in fifth grade, Lee noticed how the lead parts never went to the deserving students. For the school’s production of Wizard of Oz, all of the main characters—Dorothy, the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion—were played by white students. Meanwhile, the Black and Brown students were given roles like the lead munchkin, regardless of if they were more talented than their white peers. When Lee reached the sixth grade, the school planned a production of The Prince and the Pauper. She knew she wouldn’t get a starring role. After all, her best friend Michelle was the one with the talent, the one who would eventually pursue a career in acting. But Michelle didn’t get the lead role either. Instead, the school wanted Lee and her friend to act as the lead jesters while the white students once again carried the starring roles. She decided she would no longer have any part in the play. She spoke with other students of color who had received minor roles and convinced them to boycott the play—all except for her best friend. For the school assembly performance, Lee and her fellow students who opted out of the play sat on the ground of the cafeteria with the rest of the school as they watched their peers perform onstage. At age 48, Lee continues to stand up for what is right by making changes within herself and enlightening those around her. After learning about Michael Brown’s murder and countless other Black lives being wrongfully taken by police, Lee decided she needed to focus on fighting domestic injustices, and BRAVE Communities was born. The nonprofit, which stands for Building, Relationships, Awareness, Voices, Engagement in Communities, started in 2016 with a summer cohort called the BRAVE-Makers, where Lee empowered youth through community engagement. In a partnership with Legacy International, an organization that focuses on global leadership development, Lee helped with programming for the U.S. Department of State’s Emerging Young Leaders.

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Take a look at yourself and make that change, That’s my life. Within a year, Lee tacked on BRAVE Community Conversations, monthly events where the community could learn and discuss social issues. Come 2018, she started working with the Saudi Young Leaders Exchange Program put on by the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. On the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, Lee realized there was not a community-wide event in his honor. With that, she came up with BRAVE Fest. It started out as an annual event made to celebrate changemakers in the Austin community and has since evolved into an online event due to the pandemic. But BRAVE’s current focus is empowering the next generation of women to become leaders of social change. In 2020, BRAVE expanded to include both the BRAVE-Maker program, dedicated to giving a summer cohort of high school female-identifying students the opportunity to develop their community engagement skills, and the BRAVE Ambassador program, a reiteration of the BRAVE-Maker program that would allow girls to work with BRAVE throughout the academic year. Jaelin Su joined the BRAVE-Maker cohort in 2020 as an escape from the boredom of quarantine, but it evolved into a life-changing experience. Su started learning about current events and happenings beyond her bubble. As she became more engaged with the community and outside world, she discovered how many things she wished she could change for the better. “BRAVE showed me a way that young people like me, who can’t vote, can be leaders in our community and help create positive change,” says Su. “Honestly, the BRAVE-Maker experience was such a whirlwind of changing how I see the world and how I engage with it.” Through the program, Su gained experience in using social media to engage the community and spoke with her peers about topics like identity and biases. She enjoyed the program so much she continued on as a BRAVE Ambassador. Years before Lee helped Su expand her bubble, she broadened her own. After Lee graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park in 1994, she packed up her bags and left for Wuhan, China, to teach English. It was her way of connecting with her roots and escaping the typical 9-to-5 job and the pantyhose that came along with it. For a year and a half, Lee lived on the seventh floor of a teacher’s apartment complex. Considering that the building lacked an elevator, she built up muscle walking up and down the stairs each day. Every now and then, Lee paid 50 cents to have her hair washed in the market. That first summer, which graced the city with humid 100-degree weather, anytime she craved Western food, she made the 40-minute bus ride to the new McDonald’s for a chance to bite into a Big Mac. The Wuhan portrayed by mass media does not compare to the place Lee called home in her early 20s. Harmful anti-Asian rhetoric from former President Donald Trump, who branded COVID-19 as the “Chinese virus” on Twitter in March 2020, awakened a monster. Pew Research Center found that 31% of Asian Americans have experienced racial slurs or jokes since the pandemic began. Stop AAPI Hate, formed to combat anti-Asian hate brought on by the pandemic, conducted a year-long survey from March 2020 to Feb. 2021 with online harassment accounting for roughly 6.8% of the reports. More than two-thirds of submitted reports were

LOCATION: At the crossroads where Town Lake meets downtown, the LINE Austin draws influence from both the surrounding natural beauty and the creative energy that fuels the city. Once home to a jazz club that broadcast live on local radio in the late 1960s, the hotel is part of downtown Austin history and holds a cultural legacy within its walls as unique as the city itself.

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Lakeside dining at Kristen Kish’s Arlo Grey, drinks in the open air at P6, tacos from Austin’s beloved Veracruz All Natural and more eating and drinking at the LINE is a journey unto itself. See you where the city meets the lake. thelinehotel.com

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for verbal harassment, making it the largest group of reported incidents. Shunning came in second place with 20.5% of the reports. On March 16, 2021, eight people at three spas across Atlanta, Georgia, were killed; six of them were Asian. While law enforcement did not determine that the murders were racially motivated, many have spoken up otherwise, including Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock. Even more Asian hate crimes have been documented through the news and social media. Then, of course, there are the incidents that never get filmed or posted on the internet. After Lee heard about Atlanta, she grieved. “It’s really sad when we don’t get shocked anymore,” Lee says. “I really wanted to try to process it. It wasn’t just another breaking news [story] on Twitter.” Friends and family reached out to Lee to learn how she was doing. She checked in with her BRAVE Ambassadors to see how they were handling the news. The only silver lining she found was how the community came together. Lee hopes the public attention given to this tragedy will inspire more awareness and further action. She originally intended to host a deep conversation with the BRAVE Ambassadors at a picnic they had planned. The ambassadors had only ever met via Zoom, so for the four who were able to attend, this was their first time meeting in person. As the young ladies gathered on blankets and talked amongst each other about spring break and letting out stress from school, Lee changed plans and backed away. She didn’t want to ruin the moment. However, she made sure to talk with them about Atlanta at another time. Courtney Greene, who met Lee through API, has always

admired Lee’s sense of humor and her ability to remain positive and enjoy life despite all the negativity in the world. When Greene and Lee were still teammates at API, they traveled to Bogota, Colombia, together and explored the city on foot. Lee, who has visited roughly 90 countries to date, loved to turn onto random streets and into alleys to unearth the hidden gems not found in a guidebook. She remained calm whenever things didn’t go according to plan. Over the years, Greene has learned how great of a dancer Lee is, even though Lee would never tell you herself. For her birthday this past January, Lee hosted a virtual dance party where she invited guests to listen to DJ Mel’s online set and party on a Zoom call. Fairly often, Lee likes to turn on oldschool hip hop and go-go music to groove around her house. “It’s unique to find a person who’s really passionate about social issues but still able to be fun, loving and joyous,” Greene says. “When you get engaged with questions of social inequality, I think it’s easy to get bogged down by all of the sadness in the world and how hard people’s lives are.” Lee credits her resilience to faith and a need for survival. It is her way of staying afloat without avoiding ongoing crises, be it health and education disparities or the deaths of Breonna Taylor and Daunte Wright. “For me, systemic oppression and systemic racism are a joke. What we’ve just experienced with COVID and postGeorge Floyd and the racial reckoning, it is so obvious the injustices and the inequities that we have here in this nation that we call the land of the free,” Lee says. “I try to be lighthearted and have a good sense of humor because if not, the negativity will just kill you.” After her time in Wuhan, Lee boarded a ship on the

WHAT ADVICE CAN YOU GIVE YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS ABOUT HOW TO BE BRAVE IN THEIR BUSINESSES? 1. Get out of your comfort zone and take risks. Give up control, take a leap of faith and let yourself go! 2. Opposites attract, especially when building a team or partnership. Find and work with people who don’t think and look like you. You’ll get a broader and better perspective on your business, clients and life. 3. Embrace new mistakes. Be fearless and persevere. Be willing to fail, acknowledge your failures and learn from your mistakes. Dust yourself off and keep moving forward.

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4. Keep an open mind. People and experiences happen for a reason. Be receptive and adaptable to change while you keep your eyes and heart on your end goal and purpose. 5. You matter. Set boundaries. Know your limits and be sure to preserve self-care. Make yourself a higher priority on your “to-do” list, and give yourself some grace.

“” I love seeing the potential in people, and a lot of times people in our society just don’t give people chances.

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“” There’s always positive experiences from traveling, but it’s a big culture of fear because there’s so many unknowns that are out of your control... Yangtze River and joined the tourism industry as a cruise director. She then moved to St. Louis, Missouri, to work as a travel director before reaching the state of Texas. Austin welcomed Lee in 2001. Just one year later, she had immersed herself in her new community. She took up teaching GED classes for Austin Learning Academy and ESL classes as part of an AISD and ACC program. Like the students she taught in China, her students in Austin were on the older side. The ESL program brought immigrants and refugees into the classroom. Hispanic and Latinx mothers and young adults who didn’t want the traditional high school education attended Lee’s GED classes. Despite being the teacher, she felt as though she learned more from her students about their culture and who they were. “I love seeing the potential in people, and a lot of times people in our society just don’t give people chances, whether it’s with language barriers, with their background,” Lee says. “Why dismiss them? They’re still part of our society.” Lee likes to call herself an “educator without the education degree.” What started out as teaching English and GED classes has since transformed into educating the community about ongoing social issues and bestowing the necessary tools to those around her so they can achieve their goals and enact change. She applies the same principles when it comes to helping fellow business owners. Rodney Hair met Lee at Motion Stretch studios where he worked as a masseuse. Lee had gone in for a massage when she saw Hair digging into somebody’s quads. The next time she went in, she requested to work with him. With that first appointment, Lee noticed how much of a difference one of his massages made. Whenever he was available, she would try to go in for regular check-ins. All of that came to a halt when the pandemic hit. The studio closed, but Hair would occasionally check in with Lee to see if she was interested in an appointment. She originally declined, but after getting married in July, her muscles felt tense. He started making house calls mainly because he did not have an office space of his own. Around the same time, Lee’s chiropractor mentioned she was looking to share her office space. After Lee connected Hair with her chiropractor, Hair finally landed a home for his own massage, stretch therapy and fitness training business, 206 Fit. Lee continued talking to him about how to market the business at their sessions

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together. She told him to share his story on social media and taught him about Canva, a website that allows people to make graphics for free. “She’s the type of individual that would not let you fail,” Hair says. “She finds the greatness in you and lets you strive for that greatness. That’s what she does for me.” Just as Lee aided Hair with his business, Lee hopes to give her ambassadors the tools they need to carry the torch and move forward with community and civic engagement, as well as disrupt systemic racism. The ambassadors are currently working on a community nourishment program to feed the hungry in Austin. The initiative, which began early this year, taught them about food insecurity and injustice. So far, the project has involved finding food resources, managing distribution and gathering volunteers—including Lee’s husband, Lysander Lim. “She has this heart,” Lim says. “Other people that I’ve seen, they seem to kind of turn it on and turn it off. Emlyn is always thinking about [how she can help others].” Lim could see Lee’s passion for the community from the moment they met. They had one of their first dates after Lee attended a diversity and inclusion training. Since then, Lee has roped her husband into various volunteer engagements, be it for BRAVE or other ideas she has. Were it not for Lee, Lim says he would never have become involved in as many volunteering engagements as he has. For the first distribution of the community nourishment program on Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, Lee went to pick up boxes of produce, 50 gallons of water and paper bags full of groceries. The load was so heavy Lim could see the fender touching the wheel. That Friday evening, Lim unloaded everything and on Saturday convinced Lee they needed to drive two cars instead of one. Martin Luther King Jr. Day has always been a day of commemoration for Lee. He’s one of her biggest heroes. “He embodies leadership, a servant leader,” Lee says. “His influence to bring change for the marginalized, for systemic racism, systemic oppression, economic empowerment for the marginalized—he was doing it all through the calling of his purpose. His faith and his spiritual walk with being a Christian pastor is one to model.” In college, Lee used to host parties for the occasion. Once, she invited her seven housemates to eat food and watch Boyz n the Hood. She picked the thought-provoking film because of its realistic portrayals of inner-city America. The last thing

she wanted was the usual Hollywood narrative. When she arrived in Austin after her time abroad, Lee reignited the tradition with an annual social gathering. With the creation of BRAVE, the annual celebration has transformed into a community event. Lee began scheduling the first BRAVE event of the year on the day as a way to kick it off with King’s spirit. Greene started attending the parties after they met at API and was taken aback. They were the first of its kind she had ever been to. There would be food and drinks as well as stories being retold over and over again. Party guests could donate funds to a cause of Lee’s choice. At the MLK party in 2002, Lee was introduced to a friend’s colleague who happened to be a member of Greater Mt. Zion Church. The new acquaintance invited Lee to attend the church the following week for Super Bowl Sunday. When Lee arrived, she was stunned both by the church’s level of talent and its diversity. On Dec. 6, 2009, Lee became baptized in the church, and the realization of her faith has played into her life as an entrepreneur. In the same way she tapped into her travel experiences, Lee relied on prayer and wisdom from the Bible to help her make sound decisions for Cultural Embrace until 2012, when she sold the business to API, and now with BRAVE and the young women she champions. “There’s always positive experiences from traveling, but it’s a big culture of fear because there’s so many unknowns that are out of your control,” Lee says. “Owning a business is like that. The only thing I could hold onto is my faith.”

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...Owning a business is like that. The only thing I could hold onto is my faith.

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FIELD OF IMPACT

The dynamic duo at the heart of BEAM is leveling the playing field for female entrepreneurs. BY KATHRYN FREEMAN

Upon meeting Jess Gaffney and Aisha Lewis, the dynamic duo leading BEAM Austin, both women appear joyful about their work and very serious about the task at hand. As the small team behind BEAM, Gaffney and Lewis are working not just to level the playing field but to change the whole ballgame for Texas-based female entrepreneurs. Started as Women@Austin by Jan Ryan in late 2013, BEAM is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that exists to provide networking opportunities and connections that empower women entrepreneurs in Texas by equipping them with knowledge, access to capital and the support they need to be successful. In 2018, the organization became a part of the Notley social impact system and in 2020 was rebranded as BEAM. Gaffney, CEO and executive director, says BEAM “exists to shine a light on women entrepreneurs.” Since coming on board, Gaffney has grown BEAM’s member collective to over 200. She came to BEAM after several years in corporate America, followed by working as a female entrepreneur with a company focused on helping mothers find high-quality flexible work. Gaffney came to Austin from New York seven years ago. She was six months pregnant, looking for the same highquality flexible work, ultimately dismayed about the landscape for working mothers in 2017. “BEAM seemed like such a wonderful opportunity to expand my impact when it came to supporting women,” she said. Dara Chike-Obi wanted to join the group for the same reasons as Gaffney wanted to lead it. She says the BEAM member collective is a place where “female founders from different walks of life who are starting, launching and scaling companies have a judgment-free space to connect, sharing ideas and learning experiences.” ChikeObi, the CEO of Grio (formerly Nwa Bebé), a startup focused on revolutionizing infant feeding time, elaborates, “BEAM is special. It has created a space for female innovation and connection.” BEAM is shining a light on female entrepreneurship in more ways than one. The BEAM membership collective provides various means of support for its members. This is because their members are in different phases of their business development. A significant barrier to women founders’ success is not having mentorship opportunities or access to the networks that can help them tackle business challenges. BEAM provides networking opportunities and takes an innovative approach to delivering mentorship possibilities.

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Gaffney calls it “timely mentorship,” where a woman founder who might be having a marketing challenge can reach out to an expert for specific help for a limited time. “Mentoring does not always have to involve a long-term relationship for [it to be impactful],” Gaffney says. BEAM has signed up an impressive list of community partners and leaders to support its mission, including lead designer, executive chairwoman and former CEO Kendra Scott; co-founder of Black Women Talk Tech and Fundr, Lauren Washington; and Dan Graham, a general partner at Notley and founder of BuildASign. The diversity and breadth of experience among their partners demonstrate that BEAM is committed to supporting women founders through their whole journey. In addition to providing robust mentorship and networking opportunities, BEAM began its own angel investment fund to increase early-stage funding access. Lewis serves as the director of strategic partnerships at Notley, a platform that offers resources for nonprofit professionals and social impact leaders and funders and works on several social impact initiatives, including underrepresentation and entrepreneurship. She is no stranger to the startup space, having worked several years in California for accelerators and other programs to support underrepresented founders. Lewis was brought onto the team at BEAM to help launch its Angel Network last fall. In explaining the new project’s genesis, Gaffney says that access to early-stage funding is critical and was the most consistently mentioned barrier to scaling for female entrepreneurs. She cites the bleak statistics for female startups and adds, “if you are a woman of color, like if you are a Black woman, it’s almost statistically impossible to raise funding…but we are working to change that [through our Angel Network].” Lewis points to two reasons for the gap in funding for womenled companies: “Getting the right resources, being connected to the right people that give mentorship to get access to the same lifechanging business advice [as their male peers],” and that “women face extra scrutiny when they go out and seek funding.” Lewis argues that most funders invest in people they know, so giving women networking and mentoring opportunities is a pivotal way to increase access to capital. There are, of course, systemic issues. Studies show there is bias baked into some aspects of the process. For example, women are more likely to be asked “prevention questions rather than

Photo courtesy of BEAM.

Jess Gaffney, CEO and executive director of BEAM

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Photo by Nicol Biesek.

Aisha Lewis, director of strategic partnerships at Notley

Photo by Nicol Biesek.

promotion questions.” Lewis explains that women face additional scrutiny, and the questions investors ask about their business plans or vision are more often negative in tone. According to a 2017 study published in the Harvard Business Review, men are asked questions about the potential for gains, their hopes, plans for advancement and achievement. Meanwhile, women were asked questions focused on “safety, responsibility, security and vigilance.” The study reveals the difference in questioning has staggering consequences for female founders’ ability to raise funds—entrepreneurs who get preventative questions raised an average of $2.3 million in funds compared to the $16.8 million raised by those asked mostly promotion questions. Despite a record number of female-led startups—women fronted 20% of startups in 2019, double the number of women-led startups in 2009—women continue to lag in access to venture capital funding. According to Crunchbase’s End of the Year 2019 Diversity Report, only 3% of venture capital funding went to female-founded companies. The numbers are even more dismal for women of color; Fortune magazine reports that between 2018 and 2019, Black and Latina women combined only received 0.64% of venture capital investment. According to the Case Foundation, the average amount of funding raised by Black women is $42,000, when the average seed-round for startups is about $1.14 million. BEAM is committed to creating equity in its work with female entrepreneurs, particularly with women of color. “We want to have a diverse pipeline of women founders and investors,” Gaffney says. As such, they are expanding their community partnerships and geographically stretching beyond Austin throughout Texas to meet their equity commitments. Lewis says she wants BEAM to be known as a leader in the space of providing opportunities for women of color entrepreneurs where “they are not just included, but feel like they belong while being supported by people who really care about their well-being and the well-being and potential growth of their company.” The nonprofit is keeping their equity commitment by being as transparent as possible in their external messaging and about their funding process. Transparency might not seem related to equity, but lack of clear information hinders female founders without access to the typical “boys club” of venture capitalists. Further, without tracking the data, BEAM cannot measure its commitment to increasing the number of female entrepreneurs from a diverse array of racial, ethnic and geographical backgrounds. BEAM posts the demographics of their applicants and their investment portfolio, as well as their investors, online. The membership is currently 90% female, 45% being women of color, and women of color led six out of the last nine companies chosen for funding. Studies have shown that despite their paltry share of venture capital funding, women are worth the investment. As women-led companies are more likely to be successful and, according to a 2018 report published by Boston Consulting Group (BCG), “ultimately deliver higher revenue—more than twice as much per dollar invested—than those funded by men.” Women-led businesses are not just good for the bottom line; they are good for the community. Gaffney points

“” BEAM is special. It has created a space for female innovation and connection. out that even when their companies do not have an explicit social impact focus, “the way [women] think about building and scaling always has some sort of social impact, so they’re ultimately going to give back in some way.” Data shows that women business owners are more likely to invest in their local communities, not to mention they are more likely to hire other women. Women-led companies create more opportunities for the flourishing of others. “It is one of the reasons why women are really wonderful leaders,” Gaffney adds. Gaffney and Lewis are not just speaking figuratively about the structural barriers female entrepreneurs face; they are literally working to put the money where their mouths are. Since launching in September, the Angel Network has secured over $1 million from almost 50 investors and community partners to support Texas-based female entrepreneurs. The network has received over 150 applications from female founders seeking funds, and while they have not all been selected, they are all given substantive feedback that helps improve their pitches for future attempts. Gaffney muses that she wishes she had a pot of gold to share with everybody. “I see so many awesome women that just aren’t getting funded, and I believe in them.” While Gaffney and Lewis cannot fund everyone, they are still making a significant impact. In March, the Angel Network announced $500,000 in funding commitments to seven female-led companies. “BEAM has gone above and beyond to give us the tools and resources to help set us up for success,” said Sara Shah, CEO of Journ Beauty. “In addition to the funding, we’ve connected with great mentors, made good friends with other female founders and know we can lean on BEAM.” Lewis adds, “We want to align with the right investors so that women feel supported in the process and not just in this adversarial relationship when they are speaking to an investor, that folks are really behind them long-term and not just writing checks.” BEAM not only impacts the funding side. They also provide essential opportunities for women investors. Chike-Obi points out that part of changing the funding game is putting

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more women in gatekeeping positions. “While it’s great to see men take an active role in helping female founders succeed, I’ve found that women have led the charge in creating room for other female entrepreneurs,” she says. “They are unapologetically redefining roles and the processes within their own organizations (i.e., venture funds, capital equity, banking) to increase access.” Lewis concurs. She shares a story about one of BEAM’s angel female investors, “[She] was a bit younger than the majority of the investors that we work with, but she was very successful in her own right.” Lewis speaks of this investor’s frustration: “She really wanted to get involved in angel investing, but she mentioned to me that it was really difficult for her to just get access to folks who would be able to teach her and be able to help her understand how this all works.” Lewis concludes, “There are a lot of closed doors, which are a missed opportunity because women want to get involved on the investment side too.” BEAM investors are almost 70% women, and having female investors matters for their founder counterparts. PitchBook, a financial data company, found that women are more than twice as likely to invest in startups with at least one woman founder and more than three times as likely to invest in a company with a female CEO. Yet in 2019, Axios reported that fewer than 10% of women are in decision-making positions at venture capital firms. “We should be educating as many women who want to get involved in funding as possible because they usually use their money to invest in another woman founder,” says Lewis. Gaffney and Lewis believe that female entrepreneurship is vital to changing the individual lives of their founders and their communities, and changing the world for the better. From increasing the number of women in the C-suite, to closing both the gender pay gap and the Black/ white wealth gap and establishing universal paid family leave, women entrepreneurs have the opportunity to disrupt the racial hierarchy, patriarchal system that has persisted for generations. Gaffney argues that investing in the success of entrepreneurs who are women and, further, women of color is a tool for meaningful economic and social change. “In supporting one woman founder or a group of women founders, I see a much bigger picture in changing the world,” she says. While investing in women does have world-changing potential, Lewis argues it also just makes good financial sense. According to the aforementioned BCG report, closing the gap in funding between men and women founders is not just the right thing. It is an intelligent thing. They found that women-led startups generate 78 cents per dollar invested, where male-led startups only generated 31 cents per dollar of funding. “Investing in women is not just a philanthropic opportunity; [women] provide a higher return on investment and generate more revenue,” Lewis says. BEAM is not done yet. They recently launched an analyst program in partnership with Steve Hicks and Kendra Scott at the University of Texas. Two female students, one graduate and one undergraduate, will get to assist in the BEAM funding process by evaluating deals and investment opportunities. These sorts of internships are integral to increasing the pipeline of women venture capitalists. The students will gain the kind of firsthand experience necessary to help change the landscape for female entrepreneurs long-term. “I have gotten the biggest high wiring funds over to women during [the COVID-19 pandemic],” Gaffney says with a laugh. Both she and Lewis remain joyfully optimistic about their work, despite the challenges of funding and supporting women entrepreneurs virtually through a 14-month pandemic. “Being a part of something larger than myself [with

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BEAM] through promoting women as they grow their companies and providing space for them to be vulnerable and share their struggles brings me joy even as we work to address challenges,” Lewis shares. Jess Gaffney and Aisha Lewis are making an impact. While it may take extra innings, they are determined to change the game, not just for themselves and the women they support through BEAM, but for women everywhere—one mentoring session, one networking Zoom, one wire transfer at a time.

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Photo courtesy of BEAM.

In supporting one woman founder or a group of women founders, I see a much bigger picture in changing the world.

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DINNER WITH

IT FEELS LIKE HOME

Restaurateur and Tso Chinese Delivery chief culinary officer Jenna Choe cooks Drunken Noodles for a touch of nostalgia. BY JENNA CHOE

When I was 16, I left everything I knew in South Korea including my family, and came to Austin. I attended high school in San Antonio and eventually earned a degree in interior design at Texas State University. A few years later, I married my now husband, Min Choe, and we began our journey together as entrepreneurs. I’ve always had a passion for cooking and entertaining guests. My husband’s favorite story is that I am incapable of cooking small portions, so it was an easy decision for us to try our luck in the restaurant world. As many restaurateurs would agree, it takes an incredible amount of dedication and is very hard work, but it can also be extremely rewarding. Several restaurant concepts and three amazing children later, we started Tso Chinese Delivery with our dear friends, husband and wife, Angell and Eunice Tsang. Angell is Tso’s chief technology officer, while Eunice is our chief marketing and

people officer. I hold the title as chief culinary officer, and Min is our CEO. In its most basic form, Tso Chinese Delivery is a delivery- and takeout-only restaurant that serves ChineseAmerican food. But we are also a full-stack technology company with proprietary software that combines our e-commerce platform with our own delivery logistics. We take pride in cooking fresh food, which is delivered for free, all while maintaining a strict no-tipping policy. Tso is also proudly registered as a Public Benefit Company, or B-Corp, which means that it is written in our corporate bylaws that our company must also commit to having a positive social and environmental impact One of the things I enjoy most about my job is the relationships I have developed. The most dear to me is the relationship I have with Eunice, who has become a sister to me. We speak daily, both about work and our personal lives, and we draw inspiration from each other to continue to develop and improve as businesswomen. We are very fortunate to have extremely supportive husbands who walk beside us as we all continue to carve and refine our roles as Tso founders. Could you please introduce us to the dish? One of my favorite dishes on our menu at Tso Chinese Delivery is our Drunken Noodles. Full disclosure, Drunken Noodles is a Thai-inspired dish but holds many similarities to its Chinese counterpart, chow fun noodles. The Thai version traditionally includes basil, which I absolutely love, and also, it’s just fun to say “drunken noodles.” When did you first learn to make this dish? I first created this dish in my old full-service restaurant called Jenna’s Asian Kitchen. It was a big hit then, and after we eventually sold that restaurant, we continued to make the dish at Tso. It’s still one of our bestsellers and is a fan favorite on our menu.

When you were younger, what foods made you feel the best? As a kid growing up in South Korea, my favorite meat was always pork belly. I recall when I was about 10 years old, I would often go to the meat shop near my home, where the butcher knew me by my name and my order—thinly sliced pork belly. My parents were often working, so I just threw some pork belly on the stove, stir fried it with some sesame oil, salt and pepper and veggies, and my younger brother and I would have this for lunch and/or dinner. It was my favorite meal growing up, so when I make Drunken Noodles at home, pork belly is my preferred meat choice. Is there a certain ingredient that makes your version of this dish different than other versions? In this recipe, I substitute hot chili oil with a Korean pepper paste, called gochujang. On our menu, we make this dish with flank steak as the protein, but for this recipe, I will include pork belly instead. 62 | AUSTIN WOMAN | MAY 2021

Photos courtesy of Tso Chinese Delivery.

What makes this dish special for you? What does the phrase “comfort food” mean to you? I love the texture of the wide, flat rice noodles, with the crunchiness of the gai lan (Chinese broccoli) stems, the slightly sweet and savory flavors of the sauce, the heat from the Thai chilis and chili oil, all brought together by the great aroma from the basil leaves. It is the perfect comfort food for me. It reminds me of my past at Jenna’s Asian Kitchen, and it hits all of my favorite flavor profiles. It’s so easy to stop thinking about work or whatever else life throws at me, while eating this dish. It feels like home.

Photo courtesy of Tso Chinese Delivery.

DRUNKEN NOODLES Serves 6-8 people

Sauce 3 tbsp soy sauce 1 tbsp dark soy sauce

Noodle 8 oz. wide, flat rice noodles (packaged rice noodles work just fine)

2 tbsp oyster sauce (or mushroom-based oyster sauce)

Stir Fry 4 tbsp avocado oil

1 tbsp cooking wine

8 oz. pork belly, thinly sliced

1.5 tbsp sugar

1/4 cup medium-sized yellow onion, cut lengthwise

1 tbsp chopped green onion 1 tsp fresh ginger, minced (or ginger powder)

1/4 cup red bell pepper, cut lengthwise

1 tsp fresh garlic, minced (or garlic powder)

1/2 cup fresh Asian basil

1 tsp gochujang (Korean pepper paste for heat)

1 cup Chinese broccoli, trimmed 2 Thai chilis (or bird’s eye chilis)

1.5 tbsp water Directions 1. Combine all sauce ingredients into a bowl and mix. 2. Prepare noodles according to packaging and make sure noodles are separated. 3. Preheat wok or large skillet with oil on medium heat. 4. Stir-fry pork belly, yellow onion, red bell pepper and Chinese broccoli until vegetables are slightly cooked (1-2 minutes). 5. Add rice noodles and sauce. Stir-fry until noodles and vegetables are cooked through (1-2 minutes). 6. Add fresh basil and Thai chili peppers. Stir-fry until basil and peppers are fully incorporated (2-3 minutes). 7. Enjoy!

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ON THE MONEY

WHY RETIREMENT PLANNING IS CRUCIAL FOR WOMEN

Don’t get stuck without a plan; protect your future, starting now. BY JENNY HOFF

inancial product advisor, CEO of Brokers International and author of the book Lead, Don’t Manage, Mark Williams, is blunt about the amount of time most people take to plan for retirement. “Unfortunately, people take more time to plan a two-week vacation than they do to plan their entire financial future,” says Williams. This isn’t just an eye-catching statement; studies show it’s on the mark. A recent GOBankingRates study shows 64% of Americans aren’t prepared for retirement, and almost half of the population simply doesn’t care. But gone are the days when social security was a safe bet for dependable income in one’s golden years. With higher life expectancies and lower birth rates, we’re quickly getting to the point where there are more going out than coming in, making social security a risk for later in life.

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your 40s or 50s, when you’ll want to take less risk and start looking at different insurance products that can help fund long-term care when you’re older. Calculating the cost of retirement When considering retirement, you need to think big. Williams suggests coming up with a lump sum and calculating how much 3-5% of that would be—the rate of interest you may earn if it’s invested. The idea is not to hope to save $500,000 and live off it for 10 years, paying yourself $50,000 a year until it hits zero. You may live an additional 20 years! You should aim for an amount big enough where you could live off the interest alone, without touching the principal amount. For instance, if you save $1 million for retirement (not hard if you start young and put even as little as $100/month into an index fund), 5% of that amount would give you $50,000 per year. Is that enough for you to live on perhaps in 10, 20 or 30 years? That’s what you need to decide based on your current standard of living. Once you have your lump sum in mind, you can work with a planner on how to get there.

Do something Even if it’s just dedicating $50 a month to a retirement fun, you need to pay yourself first.

Steps to saving for retirement “Do something,” says Williams. “Even if it’s just dedicating $50 a month to a retirement fund, you need to pay yourself first.” Williams says once you’ve set up a dedicated amount to save, you need to tap into free money resources. If your work offers a matching 401(k), then you need to contribute whatever the amount needed to get the max matching funds. Otherwise, it’s like taking a pay cut, as this is a benefit worked into your compensation package. If you don’t have a full-time employer, you can open an IRA for freelancers and put in the maximum allowed every year, so you can save on taxes. It’s also a good idea to talk to a financial planner. Find a fiduciary, someone who is legally bound to work in your best interests, to map out a financial plan—especially if you’re in 64 | AUSTIN WOMAN | MAY 2021

Why it matters for women Everyone should plan for retirement. However, for many women who may take time off work when pregnant or to take care of small children, Williams says it’s especially important to work with a financial planner and make sure there is a retirement fund set up in your name. “The divorce rate is 50%,” he says. “I’ve seen a lot of women, after giving up their careers to care [for their] children, end up holding the bag in a divorce, with fewer job opportunities available since they may not have worked in many years.” Of course, this applies to any stay-at-home spouse. And it’s something you should talk over now with your partner and a financial planner as a safeguard for both of your futures and peace of mind.

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