Hi! I'm Kara Richardson Whitely, a new-ish member of the Co-Co.

As an author, I often work solo at home, except when I'm traveling for speaking engagements. (I've presented at Google, Uber, Pfizer, Dartmouth, Purdue and more and I've been featured in the New York Times, on Good Morning America, The Today Show and many other publications including Backpacker and Daily Beast.)

My journey began when I was just 19 years old and I packed up a backpack for a gap year to travel around the world. I started out in the south pacific and eventually found myself in north eastern India. While I was there, I met so many children coming from Nepal, fleeing from the effects of the country’s ten-year civil war.

Meet Deborah Munies - Executive Coach and Podcast Host

I always had the desire to help people but didn't know what that was supposed to look like. I hired an Executive Coach while I was managing Corporate Communications for the Mortgage Division at Lehman Brothers during the mortgage industry highs and lows. Once I experienced the personal and professional life changing impact of those sessions, I knew coaching others in that way was what I was meant to do. It was like this big question had been finally answered! But it still took a lot of internal wrestling to finally admit to myself I was changing my path. When my job at Lehman came to an end, I took my severance and entered a training program to become an Executive Coach and then Master Certified Coach. That was over 7 years ago. No regrets! 

Vani Krishnamurthy of the CoCo Gallery

Like many other people who are in charge of their home decor, I have always struggled to find works of art that truly speak to my family and me. Most people set out looking for artwork that is specific to an idea they have or a space to furnish, but they end up getting frustrated by high price points and a lack of connection with art that was made for different contexts. Having worked with artists all my life and armed with a Harvard Business School degree, I formed CoCo Gallery (www.cocogallery.com) in 2015 to solve this problem.

Kathy Cowan of The Co-Co

I like to say I'm from Williamsport, PA however I need to embrace that I'm a Jersey girl, having lived in Madison NJ for 23 years, longer than PA!! Graduated from Villanova University (GO CATS!) with degree in Finance. Over the years I've worked for a business consulting firm and two HR companies where I specialized in college recruiting and staffing. Volunteering and my family(3 kids, 2 very bad dogs and 1 husband) took the forefront for many years. But now I'm pivoting...inspired by our engaged and talented community. Showing up and thrilled to be a part of our members dreams, ambitions, and bright futures.

Erin Halper of The Upside

My business journey started back in 2009 on a beautiful August day. All of the partners and senior execs at my company were off with their families, enjoying the beautiful summer month, and I was stuck inside an air-conditioned office with hardly any work to do. I was about to get married that fall, and planned to start a family as soon as possible.

I was really good at my job, and super efficient, so I thought, “I just want to be paid for my time.” My fiance (now husband) encouraged me to take the leap and launch my own consultancy, giving me the flexibility and autonomy that I so desperately wanted. 

Suzanne Willian, Co-Founder, The Co-Co

I woke early for the 9am start of a three-day coaching course, the second in a series of five towards professional certification. Almost everything was as expected: typical hotel meeting room in suburban Denver, chairs in a U shape, room filled with high-energy extroverts. What was not expected was the anxiety - my heart racing and palms sweating. After a 15-year career break all l could think was: do I belong in this room? I’m sure I’m the only one with “Stay-At-Home Mom” on their resume!

Sita Kedia MD, MPH, FAHS, Chief Medical Officer | PALM Health

Incorporating stress reduction into your daily life:

Lay on the ground (office floor, in front of the couch at home, anywhere). It should be either on the floor or the ground. Feel the weight of that support. The grounding of our body. The hydrating of your spinal cord. The equilibrium of your body. Gravity is working on your body at equal pressure from your head to your toes. Let yourself just relax, letting thoughts come and go as they want. Just 5 minutes. That’s all your need.