PowerHouse Women

POWER HOUSE WOMEN

By Megan M. Seckman Photos submitted

Power, like women, is not a monolith; it comes in many forms. How women harness their power is as complex as the female species itself. Some lead by example, some take risks, some are not afraid to show their strength, others stay humble and behind the scenes. What all these PowerHouse Women have in common, however, is passion and the uncanny ability to turn a dream into a reality. They all believe in what they do and use that sense of purpose to become the best in their industries. Meet five PowerHouse Women from the Louisville area who work to inspire others, cultivate change in their fields, and blaze trails wherever their leadership gifts guide them.

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k KATHY PLEASANT

If you need a small business loan in Louisville, you will probably hear Kathy Pleasant’s name. She is, after all, vice president and director of Small Business Association (SBA) lending for Republic Bank &Trust. However, apropos to her name, Kathy Pleasant is not only a PowerHouse in the field of small business lending, she is also quite pleasant. Kathy’s ability to showcase her expertise by helping budding businesses achieve the financial backing they need to grow stems from her philosophy that, in business, you should always be accessible and willing to work hard.

m (JULIE) VALLE JONES

You can’t experience downtown Louisville without experiencing something that Valle Jones helped to create. From the Whiskey Row Lofts to 111-119 West Main Street, to most recently the ambitious project aimed to revitalize the Russell neighborhood, Valle has left her mark on the grid of Louisville. She is, without a doubt, a PowerHouse Woman in the commercial real estate industry with her 35 years of experience and leadership in the revitalization of our city.

Her work is tangible in our city’s skyline, so it is par for the course that Valle believes firmly that success is measured by the vision of the end result, not in the recognition you receive from completing a task.

For the past 27 years, Lara Collett has been running Aebersold Florist, a family business that was started in 1908 by her great-grandfather Alfred Aebersold, a Swiss immigrant. To Lara, being a PowerHouse Woman means continuing the family legacy and brightening up her community one bouquet at a time.

k RENEA SAGESER

In 2007, as a stay-at-home mother of two, Renea Sageser noticed a deficiency in speech services for children older than three in her community. Using her passion for speech pathology and her servant’s heart, she began taking pediatric clients into her home — for free. After several months of juggling two small children and a full house of clients, her husband suggested that perhaps it was time to separate family and business. That year, she rented a space and began Associates in Pediatric Therapy.

Today, she runs eight locations in Kentucky and Indiana and employs over 150 people. Renea believes in the power of family, and that tenet fuels the relationships she builds with her clients and employees. In fact, APT offers daycare to employees in their Shelbyville office and has been voted one of the Best Places to Work for three straight years.

l ANGIE M. EVANS

After earning her Juris Doctor of Law degree from the University of Kentucky, Angie M. Evans spent over 25 years leading others in the public and private sectors.

Before her current position as vice president of corporate responsibility and community affairs at LG&E and KU Energy, she was vice president of community leadership at the Community Foundation of Louisville. Before that, she served as director of planned giving at the University of Louisville and spent eight years in the financial industry as a vice president and private banker at National City Bank (now PNC). Evans’ career began in the public sector, where she worked as special assistant to Louisville Mayor David L. Armstrong and as the director of Affirmative Action.

Angie: My success has been a long winding road, and the commonality has been my commitment to building positive relationships and helping others.

Renea: I look at success in terms of who I am, not what I have or have not accomplished. I am a Wife, Daughter, Mother, Sister, Friend, and CEO. With is making sure we have a great

each of these titles comes different responsibilities, and each has shaped me into the woman I am today. I sometimes just show up at one of our offices and sit in a waiting room and look at the big picture of APT and am reminded of the journey that brought us where we are today and the journey we continue to be on to impact the families we serve. I feel so blessed to be a part of this organization that is truly changing lives. Valle: I respect the tradespeople on and not ego-driven. It goes a long

Kathy: I owe a lot to God for putting the right people in my path to support me. I have created strong and supportive teams everywhere I went.

Lara: The pinnacle of success was being able to let my parents retire by me fully taking over the family business. This has not only been a success in my professional life but also personally. I would also say just being able to continue a family business past the 100-year mark and further the Aebersold Lara: I believe that consistency is key. We want our customers to be happy and to order from us again for other occasions. A large part of being consistent with our flowers product. Most of our employees have been there 10+ years. The group we have has really made an impact on our success as a business.

Renea: Flexibility and adaptability are key factors in any industry but especially when working with children. Things change, life happens, and we have to adapt. Pairing my passion for children with the dedication to meeting the needs of our patients has brought opportunities of success for our company.

the construction site. I talk to people doing the actual work — they will take me aside and tell me the truth. I want to be respectful of their work

legacy is a huge success. Valle: Business school and non-profit work taught me that you will never have all the info you need. Well, too bad. You have to gather what you can and make an informed decision. When I first started out, I didn’t know what I was doing, but I have learned to problemsolve, think on my feet, do my research, and self-correct. I’ve learned that no one has to have all the skills — you just have to learn how to form a good team.

OVERCOMING YOUR MOST CHALLENGING MOMENTS?

Renea: Toxic people, fear of failure, and constant negativity have been a few of my challenging moments as a leader. It is important to feel your feelings. I realize that it is OK to feel pain, be sad, angry, or frustrated. I know that everyone struggles, and no one is perfect. way to seek everyone’s perspective and build a community. People feel part of the team and want to be a part of the hard work it takes to complete the project. Angie: While I’ve never considered myself as “powerful,” I know that I have the power of influence and impact at this point in my life and career. That is purposeful.

Kathy: Power is having the ability to influence. I always focus on the positive and try to make a positive and immediate impact on my clients and community.

Renea: The definition of power actually means “energy.” As a leader, you have to exalt energy within your company. It takes energy to keep your company alive.

Valle: Power is the ability to find the right team in order to make

great change.

POWER HOUSE WOMEN

VALLE’S INTEREST IN NON-PROFITS

Valle has helped to connect the corridors of the Waterfront to Main Street, but she attributes her success to the ability to connect her diverse skill sets. In the 1970’s, she helped to found My Sister’s Place, a domestic violence non-profit in Washington D.C. This was before she returned to school and earned an MBA from Yale University. Upon graduation, she moved to Boston, where she could merge her non-profit skills with her business acuity; there she met a husband-wife architect team who saw the crossover between the two worlds. From that point on, Valle has been focusing on historical revitalization and affordable housing developments in urban areas, known in the industry as “infill.”

POWER HOUSE WOMEN

WHY RENEA HAS A SPECIAL INTEREST IN SPEECH

As a child, Renea Sageser was not expected to go to college. She struggled in school due to a severe speech disability that impacted her verbal expression and reading comprehension. But three life events changed her path and laid the foundation for this PowerHouse Woman. From the age of 3 until fifth grade, she participated in speech classes, an experience that forever changed the trajectory of her life. Years later, as a senior in high school, her mother was in a severe car accident that left her with speech problems. Renea said that was when God called her to become a speech therapist and help others overcome their disabilities.

ADVICE TO THOSE SEEKING A CAREER PATH?

Kathy: Find your niche and do it really well. Others will begin to see your hard work, but it may take time. It won’t happen overnight — sometimes it takes years — but hard work will always pay off. If it means you have to stay until 8pm, then that is what you have to do. I started to get recognized as an expert in my field because my bosses realized how hard I worked. It took three years, but my reputation was built in the community, and that changed my career.

Lara: Find something that you enjoy and are passionate about. Once you decide what that is, educate yourself as much as you can about it and get to know people in that field to make connections. Take constructive criticism and feedback and use it to improve yourself.

Renea: What is your passion? How can you be the change? Do what you love to do and don’t do it for the money or to get noticed. That is just an extra bonus if it happens. Valle: Women tend to be task-focused, not ego-focused, so women and minorities need to be careful in how much credit we allow others to take for our work.

HOW TO GET BETTER AT YOUR JOB?

Lara: Stay educated on new products, designs, and the latest floral trends. I also believe we need to stay up with the latest technology. The way we are able to reach people has changed significantly since I first started here.

Renea: I have been mentored by incredible leaders who challenge me and are sounding boards during the highs and lows of business. I also think that as leaders we must continue to invest in learning and developing both personally and professionally.

Valle: Understanding the needs, learning to make quick decisions, and knowing how to manage a team. Angie: I serve on the boards of two foundations and am a member of the One Louisville Fund, which raised and deployed $11 million since March in response to COVID-19.

Kathy: My children are very important to me. I taught them how to transfer skills and run a business (we once owned a Baskin Robbins). One of my sons has followed in my footsteps and now runs a CDFI (Community Development Financial Institution). I’ve always taught them the proverb that if you give a man a fish, he eats for a day. If you give him a rod, he feeds himself for a lifetime. My son is helping to feed a multitude of folks, and I taught him everything he needs to know.

Renea: My father expressed that when I was a child, he wasn’t sure that I’d ever go to college, so to see how proud they were of me and being a testament that a disability doesn’t have to be a deciding factor in how far you go in life.

Valle: I don’t choose projects that don’t benefit the community. Whiskey Row fills the hole in a donut between Main Street and Waterfront Park. I helped to save the historic legacy of those buildings and fill the space, and that was a gift. I am also thrilled to have been a part of Sadiqa Reynolds’ Louisville Urban League project — the Sports and Learning Complex in the Russell neighborhood. This complex is a critically massive, pivotal gamechanging development in the West

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End. This will change people’s lives!

POWER HOUSE WOMEN

HOW KATHY GOT INTRODUCED TO BANKING

Kathy began working two jobs after graduating from Western Kentucky University — one at WHAS and another, part-time position at the Chamber of Commerce. The latter introduced her to the world of banking, and she was soon recruited by the bank across the street from her office. She became intrigued by the world of banking and community development through small business lending. In the 90’s she began working at the Louisville Community Development Bank, where her charge was to make loans for low- to moderate-income neighborhoods such as Smoketown, the West End, Germantown, Clifton, and Phoenix Hill. She has transferred these skills across a 30-year career and has built the SBA program at many banks across the city.

Kathy: Be present and be accessible. I am always accessible, and I will always pick up the phone the first time. I call everyone back, and you don’t know how that has changed my career. People are shocked — they aren’t used to that type of attention. I don’t care if you need a loan for $5 million or $5,000, I will always return your call and help you get what you need.

Renea: Give back and mentor others. Get involved in the community. We offer mentorship programs at our offices. APT has been blessed to have hired many emerging professionals who have gone on to become therapists and leaders within our company. Even as the CEO, I have always tried to take at least one new graduate under my wing to develop skills as a therapist and leader.

ANGIE IN THE COMMUNITY

Angie serves on several boards including Centre College’s board of trustees, Actors Theatre’s board of directors, American Printing House for the Blind, Bates Community Development Corporation, Community Foundation of Louisville, James Graham Brown Foundation, and Women Influencing Louisville.

POWER HOUSE WOMEN

Valle: Teaching young professionals how to build a good team is key. When I started out, I thought I had to know everything, and you don’t. You have to learn that you are the coach; you don’t want a prima donna or another coach on the team.

POWER HOUSE WOMEN

HOW LARA’S CAREER STARTED

After attending Indiana University, Lara worked at Walt Disney World, where she learned the delicate art of customer service in “The Most Magical Place on Earth.” After a short stint at WLKY, she felt that something was missing and wanted an opportunity to showcase her creativity, so she decided to return to her roots and become a florist. She uses a mix of previous experiences, continuous learning, and “Aebersold family intuition” to continue the New Albany business’ success. She is most proud of giving her parents the ability to retire with the peace of mind that the family business, over 100 years in the making, is in capable and loving hands.

HOW DID YOU GET TO THIS POINT — WHAT DID IT TAKE TO MAKE IT THERE?

Renea: My mom took me to therapy when I was a child for a severe articulation disability. Later our roles were reversed when she was in a car accident. It was at that time I felt called to be a therapist. Our company was founded on the biblical principles of putting God first, family second, and then everything else will fall into place. It has taken lots of faith and dedication to get to this point. God is good.

Valle: I have learned to translate my experiences into the business sector. Most women in business didn’t start there — they took more of a nontraditional roll. They were teachers or worked in nonprofits first. Men get the degree, get mentored, and they are off to the races. Women and minorities have to be creative and resourceful in how they gain access to the industry. I had to learn to translate my passion for nonprofit work into real estate, and I saw that they were connected. I know how to cross-over to different tracks, and that makes me well rounded.

HOW DO YOU USE YOUR POWER FOR GOOD?

Angie: I live by the words of Luke 12:48: “To whom much is given, much is required.” My current professional and community work allows me to be a decision-maker around community investment and social capital. I currently serve on seven boards for organizations that are important to me. My voice and perspective are important around those board tables. At times, I must be the voice of the underrepresented, and I take that responsibility very seriously.

Kathy: I share my resources and see my primary role as an educator. I tell people how to prepare and get the financing they need. I use my background and network of referral sources to help build the financials that will help small businesses become successful.

Lara: The first few weeks after COVID-19 hit, we had our drivers randomly deliver hundreds of azaleas to people in Floyd and Clark counties. It was just a little something to brighten their day and for them to be able to plant in their yards. In addition to small things like that, we donate to schools, churches, and other charities. Not only do we donate, I also attend many events and auctions to support local charities and organizations. Some of these include Personal Counseling Services, Rauch, Indiana University Southeast, The Carnegie Center, and New Albany Floyd County Animal Shelter.