groundbreaking women

Marin Living magazine is honored to feature the most influential women and women-owned businesses in Marin County. These outstanding ladies have proven to be a force in their respective industries. They break through boundaries and provide dynamic services, products and community connection that sets them apart in their fields. Meet the Groundbreaking Women.

Jill Gregory

Sonoma Raceway

What are you doing to inspire the next generation of female business leaders in motorsports and beyond?

Future female leaders must “see it to be it,” so participation in organizations like Women in Motorsport North America and events like Women With Drive summit are a way to show young women what is out there for them.

How are you disrupting the auto racing industry?

Rising through the ranks of a maledominated industry and sport takes professionalism and dedication. I work with our team to make Sonoma Raceway a place that welcomes everyone, not only race fans, but people looking to enjoy a new experience or get up close to race cars and exotic vehicles.

How do you like to show your community that you care?

Sonoma Raceway gives back to the local community via our charitable arm, Speedway Children’s Charities. Funds are raised by fans and guests participating in activities at races and other family events like car shows and laps around the track. In 2022, $200,000 was distributed to local nonprofits.

Sonoma Raceway is in its 55th year, what is new and groundbreaking? Turn 11 at Sonoma Raceway, finished last June, is an extraordinary 19,000-square-foot hospitality destination for spectacular events and parties, offering clients refined luxury and five-star service. Three flexible indoor/outdoor room concepts with large, track-facing garage doors create enviable viewing experiences during race events, corporate meetings, product innovation showcases and private events.

Sonoma Raceway

29355 Arnold Drive, Sonoma, CA 95476 707.933.3900 sales@sonomaraceway.com www.sonomaraceway.com

/@racesonoma

Cassie Zampa Keim CEO and Founder of Innovative Match

Are you ready to meet your perfect match?

How did you get into the business? After college, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. But I was (and am) a people person. I like to get to know what makes others who they are and how I can help them improve their lives. I had an opportunity to apprentice with a matchmaker, so I gave it a shot. It didn’t take long to find my true passion, which is finding love for singles.

What makes a client successful? Commitment. Commitment to the process. Commitment to their goal of finding love. Commitment to themselves to be the best they can be. For clients to be successful at finding love, they have to be all in.

What does a typical client look like? This is the great part about what I do. None of my clients are typical. They range in age from their 30s to their 80s. They come from various backgrounds. They are kind people who lead full lives but know their life can be fuller with the right partner.

Why did you start doing the hot tips of the day on Instagram?

I’ve been in this business for more than three decades and, therefore, I have a lot to say. It’s also why I wrote my book, Finding Love After 50. This led to my hot tips on Instagram (@innovativematch). I realized people wanted practicalyet-inspirational information they could get while on the go.

Homeward Bound of Marin

Helping find homes and much more for homeless people.

What is it about your organization that is groundbreaking?

Homeward Bound of Marin has worked to end the crisis homelessness for 49 years, long before it got headlines. We’ve refined our services and learned from the people we’re privileged to serve about how to create real solutions. That means not just beds or support — it means homes. Last year we opened 50 new units of supportive housing.

Are you doing anything special to nurture women in your organization? We started three years ago to inte- grate Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion throughout our agency. This process is creating a place for everyone to grow in their careers and their understanding. Four of five people on our leadership team are women. women

Does your organization have a notable history in the Bay Area?

In 2000, Homeward Bound of Marin partnered with the City of Novato to open the country’s first shelter on a decommissioned military base. We’re bringing that history full circle to build Marin County’s first apartments for unhoused veterans at our site.

Nancy Rehkopf

Marin Ballet

Get to know the first ballet school in Marin.

What is it about your business that makes it groundbreaking?

Marin Ballet was founded in 1963, and was the first ballet school in Marin County. We are the second oldest performing arts organization in Marin, celebrating our 60th anniversary this year. Marin Ballet has enjoyed female leadership during every year of its existence except for two. The photo shows our team from left to right: Stephanie Taubert, Operations Manager and Registrar; Julia Adam, Performance Director; Nancy Rehkopf, Executive Director; and Catherine Hader, School Director.

Are you doing anything special to nurture and inspire the next generation of female business leaders?

I am a next-generation leader. My mother, Phyllis Thelen, came alongside founder Leona Norman to help provide organizational and financial stability to the young organization. As her daughter, I grew up seeing both my parents develop the Marin Ballet from a single attic studio on Lincoln Avenue in San Rafael to the current 20,000-square-foot facility. Taking the position of President of Marin Ballet was a role for which I was amply prepared. We have other legacy successes at Marin Ballet. There are two generations of leadership provided by other families including the Heller, Henerlau, Klein, Newman, Stewart and Greene-Werby families. We also mentor alums and have hired them as leaders.

Marin Ballet

100 Elm Street, San Rafael, CA 94901 415.453.6705 nrehkopf@marinballet.org www. marinballet.org | @marin_ballet

Margie Peterson

Peterson’s Consign & Design/ Margie Peterson Designs

Find the truly unexpected in design and consignment.

What is it about you that makes you groundbreaking?

I have an eye for quality, originality and a desire for the unexpected in design. My store is not your typical consignment store. I consign unique pieces from people who travel all over the world. Many of my customers have described their purchases as “treasures.”

What makes women so effective at business?

Passion! I believe it is essential to be passionate about what you do in order to be successful.

Are you doing anything special to nurture the next generation of female business leaders?

I encourage them to take risks. Step out of their comfort zone, after all what’s the worst that can happen? If you fail treat it as a learning experience and try it a different way the next time.

What groundbreaking services do you offer?

When I initially walk into a home that needs staging or I look at potential consignments for my store, my goal is to make that home stand apart. I do that by assessing the aesthetic of the home, then furnishing it accordingly. My consignments are selected and chosen very carefully. Nothing goes into my store or staged homes that I would not put into my own home.

Peterson’s Consign & Design/ Margie Peterson Designs

21 First Street, Corte Madera, CA 94925 415.927.4756 | margiptrsn@gmail.com www.petersonsconsignanddesign.com

Kelsay Elizabeth Myers

Dialogical Persona Healing Arts

What is it about you that makes you groundbreaking?

I stand for transformation in all of its forms: embodied, spiritual, creative and living. What this brings to my work as a coach and healing arts practitioner is a commitment to change, growth, lifelong learning and a focus on what is new. My programs are groundbreaking because transformation itself is constantly evolving, covering new ground and expanding our awareness of what is possible personally and professionally.

Are you doing anything special to nurture the next generation of female business leaders?

Women historically have been taught more limiting stories around what is possible on their life paths. I am passionate about helping to unwind these stories to allow the next generation of female entrepreneurs to be more empowered, confident and creative in their leadership, so they can bring their unique vision and voice into our community and the world.

What makes women so effective at business and customer relations?

Growing up as a millennial, I was fortunate to have many women role models, mentors and leaders to look up to from my English teachers to my mother. It’s part of my mission with Dialogical Persona Healing Arts to empower people, especially women, to see the beauty and gifts in their natural personality.

Dialogical Persona Healing Arts kelsay@dialogicalpersona.com www.dialogicalpersona.com

/dialogicalpersona

/dialogicalpersona

Heidi Kuhn Roots of Peace

Cultivating peace through agriculture

What is it about your business that makes it groundbreaking?

In 1997, following the death of Princess Diana, Roots of Peace took up the global torch to turn Mines to Vines — replacing land mines with vineyards and orchards worldwide. For the past 25 years, we have facilitated the removal of millions of landmines, and planted over six million fruit trees on former war-torn lands — cultivating peace through agriculture.

What makes women so effective at business?

Women have the gift of compassion. The word compassion is a combination of ‘passion’ and the Latin prefix ‘com’ meaning ‘with’: literally, the word means co-suffering and occurs when a person is moved by the suffering or distress of another.

What groundbreaking services do you offer?

As a woman founder of a U.S. NGO, I bring hope to farmers and families living in a world where there are an estimated 60 million landmines in 60 countries. By removing landmines, we are cultivating fertile grounds for peace and providing the dignity for farmers to feed their families without the fear of land mines beneath their plow.

How are you thinking out of the box? After removing land mines, we teach farmers to plant high value crops for export and trade.

Roots of Peace

4000 Civic Center Drive, Ste. 330, San Rafael, CA 94901 415.948.9646 | heidi@rootsofpeace.org www.rootsofpeace.org

/rootsofpeace.org | /rootsofpeace