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SUDHARIKA GOGNA: INSPIRING AND LEADING GLOBAL CHANGE
I N - FO C U S
FATIMA HASAN CALLAHAN: AN EXCEPTIONAL TRAILBLAZER
TRAILBLAZING
WOMEN Larisa Miller | Jackie Behr | Nicole Fansler
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CONTENTS
12 COVER STORY
CONTENTS
22 SUDHARIKA GOGNA
CONTENTS
28 FATIMA HASAN CALLAHAN
F E AT U R E D S T O R Y
WOMEN SHAPING THE FUTURE OF AGRICULTURE LARISA MILLER | JACKIE BEHR | NICOLE FANSLER
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Agriculture is arguably the single most important industry to humankind. With our global population, expected to increase by 2 billion by the end of 2050, there won't be an investment in any industry or sector that will make sense if we can't feed ourselves. And yet, as we are urban sprawling ourselves out of our global food security, we are losing family farms at an alarming rate. This burgeoning population means that farmers will be required to produce 70% more food, although, according to USDA data, the number of U.S. farms is in decline. In 2020, there were 2.02 million U.S. farms in 2020, down from 2.20 million in 2007. With 10% of the world's arable land lying within the United States, contributing $992 billion to the American economy annually, we are losing our agricultural land to development at a rate of 175 acres per hour – 3 acres per minute, according to Modern Farm. COVID has shown us just how fragile our global food supply systems are, depending on a complex supply chain, at the mercy of logistical, labor, and operational disruptions. To strengthen and grow our agricultural industry, it is imperative that we innovate processes and integrate technology. This allows us to discard the legacy business models for farming, in favor of new programs and methods which will essentially allow us to produce more with less: more food on less farmland; more food 14
with less environmental impact; and more food with a shorter, more transparent supply chain. THE TRIO OF CHANGE Three women who are helping to transform this traditionally male-driven industry are Larisa Miller, President & CEO of Keystone Farm Future (KFF); Jackie Behr, Head of Business Development and Marketing for R&J Dairy Consulting; and, Nicole Fansler, President of Nicole Fansler Livestock - three unconventional women, shaping the future of agriculture in an unconventional way. Working together on a new model for beef, this powerful female trinity-of-experience is forcing the agriculture industry to re-examine the legacy business model of farming, and the important role that women will play in the resilient future of this critical industry. While these three female powerhouses are bound by the shared commonality of having grown up on family farms, their life paths could not be more divergent. These divergences of experience and expertise, however, complement the attributes and perspective that each woman brings to the table. "The common denominator of mankind – agnostic to race, religion, socio-economics, geographical local or ethnicity is that we all need to eat. To do that, we must be courageous enough to step away from the 'grow and hope' model that agriculture has operated under, almost since agriculture took root in society over 12,000 years ago. Under the traditional 'grow and hope' model, farmers plant their seeds or raise their livestock, hoping for a good market price when it's time to harvest and sell." "Basing a business model on 'hope' will not work as we move into our rapidly transforming future. To have resiliency and security in our supply chains, surety of supply, and to be able to reduce the risk for everyone in the food supply chain – farmers, processors, retailers, and consumers, it is imperative that we look at ways to vertically integrate our agriculture industry," notes Miller. And that is exactly what these three women are doing in the beef industry.
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“SUPPORT RATHER THAN SABOTAGE ONE ANOTHER. WHEN WE STAND SHOULDER TO SHOULDER, EMPOWERING, ENCOURAGING, AND UPLIFTING ONE ANOTHER, WE ARE UNSTOPPABLE.” www.exeleonmagazine.com
LARISA MILLER Larisa Miller, having grown up on a farm in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, started her career with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture in the Animal Health and Diagnostic Commission. Having worked around the world, spending time in the UAE as advisor and head of business development for members of the Royal Family in Abu Dhabi, and later, as CEO of a global consulting irm, Larisa admits that she is always looking at ideas and innovations in agriculture which could bene it farmers in both Pennsylvania and the USA as a whole. Concerned about the fragility of the dairy industry, and the challenges this fragility represents to our dairy farmers, Larisa took the initial seeds of an idea to reshape the beef industry, based on the concept of securing the purchase commitment for beef before building the herd, then reverse-engineered this concept so that it would make sense for the small famers in Pennsylvania. Thus, Keystone Farm Future (KFF) was formed. 15
FEATURED STORY JACKIE BEHR Jackie Behr, who is an integral part of her family-owned business, as well as serving as head of nutrition for Keystone Farm Future, was raised on a farm in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, moving with her family to Lancaster County when she was a young girl. Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, is an area known for its rich tradition in agriculture and a large population of 'plain people' – Amish, Mennonites, etc. A graduate of Penn State University, Jackie is an expert in livestock nutrition, working in the familyowned business, R&J Dairy Consulting, founded by her father, Rick Sehr. R&J is an independent consulting group made up of 7 experts in the areas of nutritional research, marketing support and livestock nutrition. As both a beef and dairy nutrition consultant, Jackie looks at nutrition as more than simply feeding the animal, she prioritizes quality of the endproduct and overall sustainability, building bespoke nutritional programs which not only contribute to a betterquality dairy or meat product, but which have the potential to reduce the impacts of livestock on the environment. Passionate about working with familyowned farms, Jackie is excited about feeding beef cattle, continually researching and problem solving to make a measurable impact to farm pro itability and animal health.
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NICOLE FRANSLER With Keystone Farm Future, both Miller and Behr work to ensure that the cattle are grown to the speci ications of excellence determined by the client, who ultimately owns the herd. The success of their program begins with the purchase of well-backgrounded, high-quality stocker calves, with many of these calves coming from the Nicole Fansler Livestock Company. Nicole Fansler resides on her commercial poultry and beef cattle farm in Mathias, West Virginia with her partner, John, and their son, Jacob. Born into a farming family, poultry and beef cattle have always been a part of Fansler's life. "I became interested in the livestock marketing aspect of agriculture while attending livestock auctions with my grandfather, when I was only a child," notes Fansler. "I have a deep connection to agriculture, but my focus and passion has always been on beef cattle." Fansler formed her agricultural business of cattle buying to ill the gap between cattle farmers and the cattle feeders/ inishers and is now known around the country for her exceptional-quality cattle. “Some of the inest heifers and steers I've ever seen come from Nicole, and I'm in initely proud to not only have these high-quality feeder calves coming into our KFF program, but to have it be a woman-owned agricultural enterprise is an additional value-add, showing the signi icant contribution that women make to our modern-day agriculture industry," mentions Miller. STANDING OUT IN THE INDUSTRY Working to secure the supply chain for supermarkets which were heavily impacted during COVID, Keystone Farm Future works with the supermarket to identify a determined percentage of beef the supermarket requires weekly, subsequently purchasing and managing the herd to meet this need. Placing cattle on local family farms to fatten, working with small- and medium-sized meat processing plants, and structuring the operation to be compliant with both the Pennsylvania Preferred Program, a certi ication program for Pennsylvania's locally produced agricultural commodities, as well as the Pennsylvania Beef Quality Assurance program,
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“BASING A BUSINESS MODEL ON ‘HOPE’ WILL NOT WORK AS WE MOVE INTO OUR RAPIDLY TRANSFORMING” FUTURE. 17
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FEATURED STORY Keystone Farm Future is able to make a positive impact on Pennsylvania agriculture, supermarkets, and consumers. “This is the era of women. And yet, in this very complex world, women are still too often underworked, undervalued, underestimated, and underpaid. Having the opportunity to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with women leaders and innovators in agriculture, like Jackie Behr and Nicole Fansler, supporting one another and setting the example for young women to follow, makes it possible for us to collectively leave an indelible mark on the agriculture industry and society, both now and for the future," notes Miller. Miller, Behr and Fansler are all charged with inding solutions to a very unpredictable and challenging industry. "Agriculture has always been faced with challenges. From weather related disasters to economic hardships, and yet, the American Farmer seems to always persevere. Personally, I have faced many challenges as a woman in agriculture. I feel I have overcome the challenges through hard work, at times having to work harder than my male counterparts to earn the same level of credibility, while upholding both personal integrity, as well as the integrity of quality products. I would encourage women to stand up for their ideas and follow their dreams. The greater the challenge, the bigger the reward," remarks Fansler. CHALLENGES IN AGRICULTURE A food secure future depends on governmental support for the agriculture industry, introducing resources and inancial programs which will allow farmers to realize www.exeleonmagazine.com
increased yield and productivity, helping to meet consumer needs. As Behr states, "The agriculture industry is often the forgotten industry. We aren't a loud industry and that is often to our own detriment. Our elected leaders need to protect our farmers, or we will see more and more of them exit the industry. They need to provide resources and programs to protect our small farms and provide a level playing ield with opportunities and fairness in the market so that small farms can be competitive and pro itable." Behr continues, "Looking to the future, I want my kids to be able to go on the same family farms that I worked on and say, "my grandpa used to work with your dad when he sold feed" or, "my mom used to work with your dad". But something must change, or we are going to see more and more family farms disappear." PASSION PREVAILS GENDER STEREOTYPES The USDA recently unveiled their Census of Agriculture, which revealed that 36% of U.S. farmers are women and 56% of all farms have at least one female decision maker. Also of note, according to USDA, farms with female producers making decisions tend to be smaller than average in both acres and value of production.
recordkeeping and inancial management. "It is challenging to be a minority in a predominantly maleled sector of agriculture industry," notes Fansler, "but I have always been motivated by the challenge. I feel completely con idant in my business because knowledge and integrity are powerful tools. I know the care and love the American farmer puts into their beef herds, and I feel a responsibility to the cattle farmers to promote their quality products thru my business." Miller, who was the architect of this new model for beef production, is proud to serve as an example for young women who aspire to enter professions which have historically been occupied by men. "It takes a great deal of courage to step into careers which are largely maledominated, however, courage is the antivenom to regret, and no one wants to live with regret. Follow your passion without allowing gender to become your hurdle. If you choose a career pathway and you ind that there is not a seat for you at the proverbial 'table', then pull up your own chair," says Miller. She goes on to urge women to "support rather than sabotage one another. When we stand shoulder to shoulder, empowering, encouraging, and uplifting one another, we are unstoppable.”
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INSPIRING AND LEADING GLOBAL CHANGE SUDHARIKA GOGNA
Director, Emerging Markets and Expansion | Flexport 22
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ransformational leaders encourage, inspire, and motivate employees to innovate and create change. The change that will help shape the future of the company. They are the leaders that accomplish great things by setting an example. They are open-minded, deeply committed, and always lead with humility. Sudharika Gogna is a seasoned leader with over 20 years of experience in driving intentional transformations. As the Director of Operational Excellence, she is involved in leading process excellence teams, enhancing process improvements, global operations, management consulting, and program management. Moreover, her highvelocity ideas and concrete execution continue to add immense value to multi-milliondollar global companies. In her professional journey, she has had the opportunity to work with some of the best leaders. She says, " I always try to imbibe those learnings in my leadership style. As a leader, I feel successful when I help others feel successful." Sudharika is a visionary thrilled by a desire to experiment and as a leader, she has seen her visions come to life. Additionally, her chief impact is through her sense of what could be, the excitement about working with different people, or an interesting mix of people, technologies, projects, and ideas. "I ind joy in the process of turning chaos into simplicity and bringing that into my leadership style all the time," she asserts. www.exeleonmagazine.com
A BEAUTIFUL CONCOCTION OF TWO CULTURES
mom, a working individual, and a caregiver all at the same time.”
Sudharika grew up in India in a small city that had a very large in luence on her life. The vibrancy of the place along with its diversity, education, and comfortable quality of life shaped her childhood.
She also grew up heavily in luenced by sports like basketball where her earliest memory as a leader was as the school captain of her team. She learned to lead a team by combining everyone's individual skills to win many games and championships.
She belongs to a thick middleclass family where her independent mother held her and her brother to high standards of discipline and responsibility. She recalls, "My mom was a single mother raising two kids and many of my early leadership lessons came from seeing her manage all her roles so ef iciently. She was a
Growing up in India, she believes she has experienced it all — the cultural diversity and its charm. It taught her compassion, embracing differences, and cultivating a passion for culture. After spending the irst half of her life in India studying and working,
HER LIFE'S PHILOSOPHY Sudharika's life resonates with one of her favorite quotes from Eleanor Roosevelt, 'One's philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes and the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility.’ Hence, her advice to emerging and aspiring women leaders would be to believe in yourself and your potential. "Keep the vision, know the difference between a manager and a leader. In the end, trust your talents, work hard, enjoy the journey and celebrate your successes. And find a mentor," she concludes.
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it was work that bought her to the United States; it was here that she started to build her life and family. HER KNACK FOR CREATIVE INITIATIVES Sudharika has played many leadership roles in her career and in her recent role as a global head of transformation and Quality was multidimensional. Being a Lean Six Sigma practitioner she typically uses the DMAIC (De ine, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control) mindset to drive a consistent approach. It included building operational resilience, including in-process design, organizational change, and collaborating on product priorities. She also designed and lead complex global initiatives for both operations and go-to-market teams and worked as a key product owner and stakeholder by collaborating with product and design teams. This ensured the teams build the right products for users and customers. In addition, she brings the ability to build strategies from the ground up and implement them, while passing along the knowledge of their operations to the right people. She now will be using her skills to transform and lead the strategy and execution of global expansion efforts There are many methodologies in the market for problem-solving approaches. As a company scales and starts to enter new markets, it creates more sophisticated
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products or services that will inevitably create more complexity. This is the starting point in understanding why and how things happen before they become increasingly complex. Sudharika shares, "I try to keep things simple and focus on the essentials. I typically follow a process where you irst understand the situation and the challenge I am trying to solve. Once the situation is clear, I bring the focus to de ining the problem.” Keeping things clear and crisp is Sudharika's mantra. She believes it's important to ind a root cause of a problem, develop alternative solutions, and then test the solution. She adds, "Always pilot your solutions and test for repeatability." This helps her to implement the solution and evaluate the outcome. CULTIVATING THE RIGHT MINDSET Being an industry veteran, thought leader, advisor to executives, a lean six sigma master black belt among many others roles, Sudharika believes that there is no perfect de inition of work-life balance. She feels the pandemic has, especially, blurred the lines between work and life, and iguring out that balance has gotten trickier. Additionally, being remote has created an environment of multitasking, distractions, and overworking. To combat burnout, Sudharika follows this advice in life: "Being a
mom, a wife, a leader, a mentor, a daughter, a friend you end up wearing multiple hats with multiple balls in the air. You need to know which balls are glass and which are rubber. You will understand that work is most of the time a rubber ball which when falls bounce back, however, family and health are the glass balls which will shatter if you drop it." The understanding of this concept helps her strive for a balance in life. She has a realistic schedule and not a perfect one. Some days she ends up focussing more on work and other days are reserved for her family and herself. HER CONSISTENT BREAKTHROUGHS Sudharika's journey, personally and professionally, has been riveting. Growing up in two different cultures and across two continents has shaped her into an amicable global leader. She recollects, "I started my professional journey out of college working with GE and spent years implementing business strategies, as well as leading and managing a high performing team to solve the supply chain inef iciencies." With over 20 years of experience in management consulting, organization strategy, and design and implementation of large-scale enterprise transformation and innovation programs, she has gained expertise within the supply chain, operations, and inance processes in various
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industries including GE Aviation, Genpact, Brook ield Asset Management, Cognizant, and Flexport. Furthermore, she has led operational excellence programs to drive business value, implemented digital strategies to enhance manual processes, and built methodologies to bolster strategic initiatives. Along her journey, she has grown immensely and thoroughly enjoys the work that she does. She believes that her background in working across different cultures and places has made her resilient and adaptive. Looking back, Sudharika is proud of her accomplishments and where she stands today. But if she had to do something differently, she would have disciplined herself earlier and built intentional downtime, to re-generate the energy. "It is equally important to need down-time as much as we need our show-time," she adds.
HER UPCOMING DIVERSE PLANS Sudharika has achieved many milestones in her career, but she still has the fascination to create better things. She is thrilled about the future as she would continue to focus on supply chain optimization, design and transform processes, implement advanced technology and build strong strategies. She is also passionate about working within businesses to transform them from the inside out. Sudharika loves being on the east coast, and spending time with her family. Her future also involves executing key strategies and eventually, starting on her own. www.exeleonmagazine.com
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AN EXCEPTIONAL TRAILBLAZER FAT I M A H ASA N C A L L A H A N transformational leader actively works to inspire, encourage, and motivate their team. These actions are accomplished by setting positive examples, establishing a strong sense of community and culture, and providing teams with ownership and independence in the workplace.
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Fatima Hasan Callahan is a pioneering example of transformational leadership. She is the Managing Director of Blue Line Security Solutions, a woman-owned and minority-owned company. As a leader, Fatima appreciates feedback and constructive criticism and is always willing to lead her organization sel lessly alongside her business partner, Jack Harris. Fatima maintains a very clear vision for the future. She shares, "I value feedback and collaboration because everyone has a voice and differing perspectives that are meaningful. I enjoy learning from others and gaining new facets of knowledge."
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EARLY ENTREPRENEURIAL INKLINGS Fatima was exposed to business from her youngest years, and she was always curious to know more. Her inquisitive nature encouraged her to become deeply involved in her parents' food manufacturing company, which still operates in Harvey, Illinois. Growing up, she spent a signi icant amount of time reading enjoying novels and manga. Her other interests included riding dirt bikes, training in martial arts, and playing lacrosse. "I also still love to play video games and spend time with my family, friends, and pets. My guilty pleasure is Poké mon," she quickly adds. During her sophomore year of college, Fatima experienced a pivotal moment in her life. Her father was involved in an accident and had to undergo emergency surgery. At this moment, Fatima decided to start going to school part-time to further focus on her career and family business. She
shares, "I sustained full operations for several months until my father recovered and returned to work. This period of my life was incredibly impactful because I became a leader in my family." LEVERAGING HER UNIQUENESS Today, Blue Line Security Solutions stands tall as a respected womanowned and minority-owned company. When starting the company, Fatima shares, "we bounced ideas back and forth and took that time to establish our strategy and intention. We focused on what we wanted to do, how we were going to do it, and why we wanted to do it in the irst place." She adds, "I think we all knew deep down that we were in a unique position to make a positive impact. Our mission from the start was to always focus on the highest quality standards when it comes to service and professionalism." As such, Blue Line Security's management team places a rigorous emphasis on
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advanced training, team building, communication, presentation, technology integration, attention to detail, responsiveness, proactiveness, and more. Blue Line has grown tremendously over the last several years, and its premium services geared toward helping clients and staff have only snowballed. Fatima inds herself extremely fortunate to work with highly talented individuals who have decades of combined experience in law enforcement, business management, legal and regulatory compliance, and private security. Small business owners and entrepreneurs do whatever it takes to ensure their businesses succeed. Fatima elucidates, "I am grateful for my mother and father because they are the ones who taught me this lesson from a young age. I have enjoyed experiencing the growth of Blue Line Security and have illed in many roles over the years." Fatima's string of responsibilities include inance and accounting, sales and marketing, client, and employee relations. Additionally, Fatima works on innovation, team building, growth strategy, regulatory compliance, insurance acquisition, and more. As she explains, she is hands-on and will do whatever is necessary to ensure the growth and success of Blue Line Security Solutions. Invariably, Fatima praises her business partner, Jack Harris, as he plays an integral role in Blue Line's success. She describes him as "a natural leader and an essential part of the company's sales, operations, team building, and more. Jack and I are very different, but we have a great working relationship and get along extremely well. I can always
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depend on him, and he has become a great family friend."
BLUE LINE SECURITY SOLUTIONS: A BEAMING FUTURE
BALANCING THE SEESAW OF WORK AND LIFE
Fatima is con ident that Blue Line Security's future is beaming with progress, success, and new opportunities. Her goal is to bring her company across the Midwest and beyond. She adds, "we are excited to see where the next several years will take us, but we are enjoying the journey and grind for now. When the team has some downtime, we are like a big family and really let our goofy sides out. We have truly established meaningful relationships with one another and enjoy spending time together. For example, our management team often elects to eat lunch together and take time to bond."
Over the years, Fatima faced challenges related to the darker side of business management and ownership. Nevertheless, dedication, perseverance, and sacri ice made her ride worthwhile. Sharing more about her work-life balance, Fatima actively tries to improve it in healthy ways by setting up the proper habits and systems. Moreover, she has learned that organization and time management are critical, and it is essential to take one thing at a time and prioritize oneself. Another crucial factor is establishing a team you can trust and depend on. Fatima also learned to work from anywhere as she ensures that almost everything is accessible digitally. She shares, "I utilize Google calendar for extensive planning and scheduling. I use alarms and reminders on my phone, which keep me on track. My husband also instinctively knows when it is time to pull me away from my computer on those late work nights!" Looking back at her journey, she asserts that she would not change anything signi icantly except investing earlier and cherishing being in the present moment more. Fatima's experiences have led her to practice gratitude in each aspect of her life. In her own words, "we all experience ups and downs, and even though we cannot stop the waves, we can learn how to surf. I have learned not to ight the tide but to ride it."
She is excited to continue developing stronger relationships with her team and working toward their collective vision for Blue Line Security Solutions. "We are currently in the process of implementing new software that will holistically revamp our operations. In addition, we will soon be offering some completely new services to our clients. It is an exciting time, and we truly do have so much fun." In all honesty, Fatima shares, "there is no better feeling than working with your team and experiencing the rewards of your efforts. At Blue Line Security Solutions, we will always continue to dedicate ourselves to our clients, staff, and communities."
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H E R R E F L E C T I V E A DV I C E Fatima holds the importance of time close to her heart and soul and shares, "time is precious. If you have an idea, a goal, a dream, pursue it! Work toward your goals by establishing meaningful systems and habits. Set yourself up for long-term success, and don't be afraid to start small. Take everything as a learning lesson and surround yourself with the right people. I always seek to establish new relationships and gain more knowledge from my mentors."
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She believes that everyone holds a unique asset, and you should always invest in yourself. Furthermore, Fatima believes in the power of consistency. She details, "consistency leads to habits, and habits form the actions that we take each day. Our actions, no matter how insignificant they may seem, lead to our overall success." Fatima also asserts that profits should never be prioritized over the needs of clients and staff.
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INTERVIEW WITH FORMER
MISS. PENNSYLVANIA
MEGHAN SINISI WHAT LED YOU TO COMPETE IN THE MISS PENNSYLVANIA SCHOLARSHIP COMPETITION? During my freshman year at Syracuse University, I was excited to watch the Miss America competition because I learned that the young woman representing New York, Nina Davuluri, was a Syracuse native. In my freshman dorm room at SU, I witnessed Nina be crowned Miss America 2013 as the irst Indian American woman to earn the prestigious title. A few weeks later, I had an opportunity to meet Nina in person when she returned to Syracuse for a homecoming celebration. Her intelligence, charisma, kindness, and beauty were astounding to me, and for a leeting moment, I considered getting involved in the Miss America Organization. I wasn't convinced, though, as I was a bit intimidated by the thought of being judged based on subjective standards of "beauty". It wasn't until the following year when I met Miss New York 2014, Jillian Tapper, that I learned all that the Miss America Organization offers young women – opportunities to create change through a social impact initiative, to develop professionally as a female leader, to highlight commitment to excellence through a chosen talent, and to earn academic scholarships. I immediately registered for my irst competition, and a few months later, I earned my irst title at a local preliminary to the Miss America competition.
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WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO PURSUE A DEGREE IN HEALTH SCIENCE, SPEECH, LANGUAGE AND HEARING SCIENCES? WHAT AVENUES HAS THIS OPENED FOR YOU IN TERMS OF CAREER OPTIONS OR YOUR PERSONAL INTERESTS? Throughout my whole life, I knew I had a special desire to help others. When I was young, I thought that would mean someday caring for sick and injured patients as a nurse, but in my senior year of high school, I became curious in learning about students with disabilities. I asked my aunt who worked in the special education department if I could visit the students in the special education classroom. Prior to this experience, I shared a much-too-common misunderstanding about disabled people. Society had taught me that most people with disabilities cannot live independently or achieve the same level of success as non-disabled people. When I asked for the opportunity to interact closely with disabled students in my high school, I quickly learned how terribly false these ideas are. That day, I met a classroom of students who showed me that if our world viewed disabilities from a new perspective and gave every single person a fair opportunity, a person could accomplish anything they desire. I was frustrated that it had taken 18 years for me to be given the opportunity to see people with disabilities as more than meets the eye and I started to understand how our world does not adequately
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empower disabled people. I enrolled at Syracuse University with thoughts of pursuing special education or social work as a career. When I explored communication sciences and disorders, I fell in love with how being a speech-language pathologist would allow me to help people with autism and other disabilities ind, strengthen, and actively use their voices to achieve success. AS MISS PENNSYLVANIA, WHAT IMPACT DO YOU HOPE TO HAVE ON OTHER YOUNG WOMEN? WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO ACHIEVE WITH THIS PLATFORM THAT IS NOW AVAILABLE TO YOU? Being Miss Pennsylvania has awarded me the incredible platform to serve as a role model for women of all ages and backgrounds. I wish to not only make an impact for those on the autism spectrum, but also to inspire women to pursue their wildest dreams and uplift one another. I never would have imagined that I would compete for Miss America, but through the opportunities that life has presented me, and by listening to the calling that God has placed on my heart, I have discovered exactly who I am destined to be through my role as an advocate in the Miss America Organization. Through this experience, I have developed in indescribable ways, and I want to inspire other women to embrace their unique journeys so they can discover their own path to success as well. Especially being the only girl amongst three brothers, I have always desired to enter spaces where I could be a part of a sisterhood. When I leave this earth, I want to be remembered for my commitment to excellence, integrity, kindness, and for empowering other women.
ABOUT YOUR NON-PROFIT, FROM A NEW PERSPECTIVE? As an autism advocate, I want to continue developing From a New Perspective (my 501(c)(3) nonpro it organization) to become a nationally known autism resource. From a New Perspective's main objective is to challenge the misconceptions surrounding autism and what those on the spectrum can accomplish. I want to help venues in public spaces, such as airports and sports arena, implement sensory rooms that would allow more people with autism and other disabilities access meaningful community experiences. I want to equip law enforcement of icers and irst responders with trainings that adequately prepare them to respond and appropriately assist people with autism in overwhelming and stressful situations. I hope to also provide training to employers to make the workplace more accessible for those with autism and to educate employers on the value of hiring neurodivergent employees. Finally, I hope to train college campuses to make similar accommodations and to award annual academic scholarships for students with autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders to successfully pursue higher education. Currently, I co-host a podcast series titled Spectrum Sundays, which is now streamed in 17+ countries, and equips autism professionals and self-advocates with the platform to share their stories and inspire acceptance, respect, and inclusion for people with disabilities. WHAT IS YOUR MOST IMPACTFUL MEMORY AS MISS PENNSYLVANIA?
As a person who is not disabled herself but advocates for disability rights, I want to demonstrate to others how powerful it is to care about the things that do not impact us directly. Through this we develop empathy for others' lived experiences and become allies to the people we share communities with.
I have been blessed with a few memories that stand out to me as impactful in my year of service as Miss Pennsylvania. Some of the most beautiful moments have been the ones that no one sees. An example was when an employee at the Miss PA Scholarship Foundation's vehicle sponsor, Hanover Volkswagen in Hanover, PA, took me hand-in-hand and asked to pray love, safety, and courage over me as I serve others and travel across the state.
AS YOU ARE AN ADVOCATE FOR THOSE ON THE AUTISM SPECTRUM, PLEASE TELL US A BIT MORE
Another was when I addressed the Pennsylvania State Senate regarding disability access, inclusion, and rights.
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As a person who is not disabled herself but advocates for disability rights, I want to demonstrate to others how powerful it is to care about the things that do not impact us directly. Through this we develop empathy for others’ lived experiences and become allies to the people we share communities with.
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Immediately afterwards, Senator Christine Tartaglione, who is a wheelchair user, approached me and thanked me for my world – a moment I felt I had made a true impact as a disability advocate. Finally, my one of my most proud accomplishments as Miss Pennsylvania was earning the top Women in Business award and a $10,000 scholarship amongst 150+ applicants across the nation at the 100th Anniversary Miss America Competition in December 2021. This memory will continually serve as a reminder of my ability to make an impact as a speechlanguage pathologist, an entrepreneur, and a business owner. AS A ROLE MODEL FOR WOMEN IN BUSINESS, WHAT DO YOU SEE AS THE GREATEST CHALLENGES FACING WOMEN IN BUSINESS, AND WHAT CAN WE DO TO ALLEVIATE THESE CHALLENGES? The greatest challenges facing women in business are underrepresentation in positions of leadership and signi icant gender wage gaps. Although we have made an incredible amount of progress in women's rights, we continue to face inequity in business and professional opportunities. Globally, women only hold 24% of senior leadership positions and in the U.S., only 8% of CEOs at Fortune 500 Companies are female. Additionally, women earn roughly 82 cents for every dollar a man earns. I am proud to be a woman in business who is eager to dismantle the stereotypes of where women are expected to be seen and to serve as a role model for women to be changemaking leaders. Collectively, our globe must continue to ight to inequity and discrimination against women in all spaces, especially in the workplace. It is a complicated and systemic issue to combat, but the ways I believe we accomplish this is for women to relentlessly demand for legislative change and accountability that ensures fair opportunities. There is also a remarkable power in allyship, therefore, men must speak out against injustice toward women and minorities in the workplace. When women join the ranks of leadership, the next generation of women are inspired as well, and we are able to make profound progress toward success in business. AS A ROLE MODEL FOR YOUNG ADULTS, AND WOMEN IN PARTICULAR, WHAT ADVICE DO YOU GIVE THEM 38
TO KEEP THEM MOTIVATED THROUGH THESE CHALLENGING AND UNPRECEDENTED TIMES?’ The advice I give to young adults and women during these challenging and unprecedented times is to strive every day to make your future self-proud and to remain motivated in how your unique skill sets and strengths can bene it the world around you. Each day is a new opportunity to inch closer to your aspirations and change the trajectory of your future. WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS FOR THE FUTURE AND WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN THE NEXT 5 YEARS? My career ambition is to own and operate an interdisciplinary clinic for children with disabilities and communication disorders. I want my clinic to be a place where families feel con ident in the care their children receive and for it to be an avenue of hope for a child's future, independence, and success. My graduate program at the University of Missouri placed high priority in interprofessional collaboration. Through this, I was able to learn how other professions can work toward a common goal to improve a person's quality of life. I loved the concept of combining unique and specialized ields of expertise to offer the best possible care for a client. Understanding how each therapy professional and health care provider contributes to a child's well-being inspired my dream of opening a private practice that works across a variety of disciplines. I especially aspire for this clinic to provide reliable diagnostic and therapy services to communities who do not currently have access to high-quality care. Until this goal comes to fruition, I will provide therapy services as a pediatric speech-language pathologist, immerse myself in learning all there is to know about being an impactful woman in business leadership, and begin to pursue a doctorate degree. In the next 5 years, I hope to be a wife and mother who, like many females across the globe, demonstrates that a woman can be a loving and caring pillar of support in a family while also being a trailblazing, ambitious, and successful professional.
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PEGGY SMEDLEY 40
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Helping Achieve Sustainability Through Digital Transformation WHAT ACCORDING TO YOU MAKES FOR AN INSPIRING LEADER? I can’t speak for others, but for myself, I just love what I do. I have always believed that you should love what you are doing to be good at it and innovation should always be at the core of everything we are doing. WHAT PROMPTED THE INCEPTION OF YOUR PODCAST THE PEGGY SMEDLEY SHOW? After working on several publications and interviewing thousands of people, one of my staffers suggested that I leverage my interviewing skills on the radio. Candidly, I had never hosted a radio show before, so this was truly a new experience for me in 2008. But after inding my own way, and now some 725 shows later, I have had the distinct pleasure of interviewing some of the most amazing business leaders in the world. These are people who protect our cybersecurity, infrastructure, or help inspire our technology innovation. Some of the interviews: Lt. General James K. McLaughlin, Deputy Commander, U.S. Cyber Command, Ray LaHood, formerly, U.S. Transportation
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Secretary; Glenn Lurie, formerly, President, AT&T Business; and Sam George, Corporate VP, Microsoft Azure, IoT, and so on. HOW ARE YOU HELPING BUSINESSES LEARN AND UNDERSTAND ABOUT DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGIES? It’s all about sharing and awareness. In my book Sustainable in a Circular World, I explain as a result of the societal, environmental, inancial, and digital concerns across the entire world, we are seeing organizations striving to develop disruptive technologies that will have a profound impact on information, food, energy, transportation, and materials, altering civilizations for years to come. The more we are able to share these stories whether online, radio, and social, we will begin to put an end to climate change, soil degradation, water scarcity, deforestation, and more. WHAT HAS THE JOURNEY BEEN LIKE FOR PEGGY SMEDLEY OVER THE YEARS? Life is a journey. It is that journey that has taught me that there is a lot of risk in everything we do. Perhaps
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even more importantly, as I have articulated many times to my radio/podcast listeners and noted in my book Sustainable in a Circular World, we all must chart a path forward to reverse the damage we have created in our ecosystem. That means taking risks. The journey has taken many years. Win or lose, it’s all about staying positive. There is no doubt the risk of lagging behind is far greater than standing still. I started my career by taking a risk. When I was a young reporter, a headhunter approached me convincing me to take a risk and begin a career covering the petroleum industry. She explained that by reporting on the petroleum industry I would be writing on thousands of products in our everyday lives from plastics to cars, houses, pesticides, roo ing, packaging, to toys, you get the idea. As a result, it was this knowledge and insight that helped me grasp a much-needed knowledge into all the products we produce, make, and waste today. It was this perspective that helped me to take a risk and write a book about our workforce and the digital
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transformation now and to address the challenges we all face with moving from grey to green and even blue. LOOKING BACK, WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE DONE DIFFERENT WHEN STARTING OUT? While I focus heavily on the principles of Faith, Family, Business, I still work too many hours and sleep too little. I have never been able to master a good balance. While being present means fully enjoying every experience, I also live in the moment. I do what I am supposed to be doing. Despite the lack of sleep, I always do my best to remain extremely optimistic and energetic. I even it in some workout on the tennis court anytime I can. Again, I strongly adhere to my belief that life is a journey and I see myself still traveling down that road experiencing this amazing ride. WHAT WOULD BE YOUR ADVICE FOR ASPIRING AND EMERGING BUSINESS LEADERS? Take care of your family irst. Or as I like to say, just follow my three principles Faith, Family, Business; the rest will all follow accordingly. Exeleon Magazine
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TALK TO US ABOUT YOUR BOOK, SUSTAINABLE IN A CIRCULAR WORLD, AND WHAT IT AIMS TO HIGHLIGHT. We are at a very important time and it’s truly hard to grasp the magnitude of forces that are creating this incredible disruption. Not since the Industrial Revolution have, we seen such destruction of the environment. As a result, we are now experiencing a global gold rush to move the world from grey to green. We need to protect our people and our planet from the devastating impacts of rising seas, spiking temperatures, extreme weather, and climate impacts that are destroying our environmental human, social, and economic development worldwide. Five generations in the workforce struggling to communicate about the environment for the bene it of future generations is what really increased the urgency of writing this book. WHAT HAS BEEN THE BIGGEST ROADBLOCK DURING YOUR JOURNEY? Love the triumphs. Not taking enough time to celebrate the victories. WHAT DOES THE FUTURE LOOK LIKE FOR YOU? We are all given talents. As quickly as we are given our talents, or as hard as we think we work at them, they can be taken away. I think the pandemic certainly reinforced that message for anyone who was willing to listen. I believe it is my responsibility to leverage my resources to be a good steward to in luence others whether via good storytelling. This might be via radio or something else. Maybe even another book or two on the horizon. FINALLY, WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE MOST IMPORTANT TRAIT FOR A LEADER AND WHY? Empathy. You can’t motivate people if you don’t understand how the world around them is impacting them.
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In Conversation with Filmmaker
ADI HALFIN WHAT ACCORDING TO YOU MAKES ONE A TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADER? HOW DO YOU INTEGRATE THE SAME THOUGHT INTO YOUR LEADERSHIP? I don't really see myself as a leader. But the leaders I look up to are ones who are truthful and persistent. Leaders don't follow trends. They create them, mostly without being aware of the fact that they do so. The greatest leaders in history are the ones who have swum against the stream and never let anything come in their way to achieve their goals. TALK TO US ABOUT YOUR GROWING UP YEARS AND WHAT LED YOU INTO ENTERING THE ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY. I grew up in Jerusalem. When I was two years old, we moved to London. Then back to Israel and back to London again, so there was a lot of travelling growing up. I believe it opened me up to change, and to getting to know new people and new cultures. I've always known I'd be an artist. I loved painting since I was little and I studied visual arts in high school. I also loved performing on stage, and for a while I thought of being an actress. Then I fell in love with photography, and I played music for a while. When it came to deciding what to study, I thought that ilm would integrate all my passions and combine all the art disciplines that I loved. I am very bad when it comes to decision making, so I thought that studying ilm would mean taking it all and not having to decide. Little did I know that being a ilm maker is all about making decisions. I think it was in important life lesson. www.exeleonmagazine.com
When I irst entered ilm school I felt like a total alien. I felt that everyone around me has been making ilms for ever, except me. It took me two years to ind my place there and to igure out my own path. I realized that I do things slightly differently than others, and it took me even longer to realize that it's ok doing things differently. I created three short ilms during my studies – two of them in alternative experimental paths. But all three ilms were well accepted in ilm festivals, so it gave me assurance that I was probably doing something right. WHAT IS THE PROCESS FOLLOWED BY YOU WHEN YOU ARE WORKING ON A PARTICULAR PROJECT? Every project is different, naturally. The irst and most important thing is to fall in love. You have to love what you do, otherwise it'll never happen. I don't follow any speci ic process. It really depends on the type of project. Right now, I've just gotten back to writing my feature ilm after not touching the screenplay for over two years. The fact that it still thrills me, means that I have to do it. I've been engaged in short term projects in the past few years – mainly music videos and commercials. With music videos, I have to love the track in order to start working on it. Music videos can be challenging to make and you have to be fully engaged in the work. I've always been inspired by music, so I feel that directing videos to music is a real treat. Apart from that, I ind inspiration in almost anything – art,
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photography, people on the subway – there are ideas everywhere. You just need to be open to them and grab them. I've also been meditating for a few years now. It has been a life changing experience. It enhances creativity, trust and passion and reduces anxieties, stress and all those irrelevant distractions to the creative process. BEING A DIRECTOR AND SCREENWRITER, WHAT ARE THE DAY-TO-DAY CHALLENGES THAT YOU FACE? I think that the biggest challenge is to trust myself and my instincts and not listen too much to what others think. I love hearing other people's thoughts, but sometimes I put too much weight on that, and then I lose focus. Also balancing projects and choosing what to focus on can be confusing, especially when you have so many things you want to do! WHAT HAS THE JOURNEY BEEN LIKE FOR ADI HALFIN OVER THE YEARS? I still feel like I'm on an ongoing journey. I think it took me a long time to understand that I have a unique voice. I'm a very slow processor, and it took me a while to even realize that! After inishing ilm school, I had to immediately start working, since I spent all my savings on my graduation ilm. So, I entered the ilm industry as an assistant 48
director. I did that for ten years. It was the best ilm school I could ask for. I learnt from observing other directors and realizing that even the most talented well-appreciated creators make mistakes. Once I moved from Israel to Berlin, I decided to put that chapter behind me and focus on directing. It's wasn't easy starting from scratch in a new place where I knew no one. But I was very eager to work as a director and I invested all my energy in that. I've heard a lot of people say to me that very little people actually make a living from their passion, but I'm a Sagittarius. Once we go for something, nothing can stop us. LOOKING BACK, WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE DONE DIFFERENT WHEN STARTING OUT? I think I would've been cheekier. I wish I would've presented myself as a director from the very beginning. I wish I had the audacity to do that, without spending so many years assisting others, but I guess that was my learning path. TALK TO US ABOUT HOW YOU ARE HELPING YOUNG AND ASPIRING DIRECTORS AND FILM ENTHUSIASTS THROUGH YOUR COACHING. I teach directing workshops around the world – mainly dance ilms and music videos, but also screenwriting and iction directing. I also mentor students personally and help them with their ilm projects. I love teaching. It gives me a balance in life. The commercial business can easily make you lose your Exeleon Magazine
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center and there's something about teaching that is grounding. I love staying connected to the younger generation of ilmmakers. I learn so much from my students. They inspire me. Also, I am always surprised that people are actually interested in what I say and that I can give something back and help young directors execute their dreams. WHAT WOULD BE YOUR ADVICE FOR YOUNG DIRECTORS TRYING TO MAKE A NAME FOR THEMSELVES IN THE INDUSTRY? Work hard. Stay true to yourself. Learn from your failures and from the failures of others. Also remember that 90% of the time, you'll probably hear a "no". Learn how to grow from rejections. Be respectful to the people you work with. WHAT HAS BEEN THE BIGGEST ROADBLOCK DURING YOUR JOURNEY? WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST LEARNING? I think that managing my time properly has been challenging. I wish I had someone telling me "Here's your schedule. Now you should do this". I've learnt to do it myself over the years, but it's always better when someone else does that for you. My biggest learning has been to trust my instincts and follow my heart. MOVING FORWARD, WHAT DOES THE FUTURE LOOK LIKE FOR YOU? BRIEF US ABOUT YOUR UPCOMING PROJECT. I am just on my way to a residency in California to work on a screenplay for my feature ilm. I haven't touched it in two years, and I can't wait to get back to it. It's about a mother-daughter relationship. I didn't do any writing in the past two years, since I've become a mother myself and I was busy raising my little daughter. I am curious to see how this new life experience will integrate into my script.
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