By Emily Kestel, Fearless editor The Business Record’s Fearless initiative is celebrating its second birthday this year. We remain steadfast in living up to our goal of empowering Iowa women to succeed in work and life through our articles, stories and community events. At its core, Fearless aims to amplify Read more…
As told to Emily Kestel Mayada Alwan is a senior at Valley High School in West Des Moines, where she is a founding member of RISE, a student club that mentors refugees and immigrants. She and her family are Sudanese, and immigrated to the United States from Lebanon. She is Read more…
A main goal of our Fearless Focus events is connection and inspiration. We were so happy to hear multiple comments from attendees saying the event helped boost their confidence, and some even told us they wanted to share the event recording with their daughters to help boost their confidence. That Read more…
By Emily Kestel Last month the Business Record hosted its second virtual event within the Fearless Focus series. Throughout our conversation, we talked about what confidence means, what it looks like, and how to strengthen it in ourselves and others. We talked with: Cheltzie Miller-Bailey – former assistant director, Center Read more…
Thoughts ahead of Fearless Focus event on confidence By Emily Kestel From imposter syndrome to harmful effects of social media to social norms we learn as kids, women often find themselves on a constant journey to improving their confidence. Confidence can come in many forms – in our bodies, our Read more…
By Emily Kestel As of May 2, I’ve been alive for a quarter of a century. In that time, I’ve had plenty of ups, and a fair share of downs. I’ve learned what I like and what I don’t. I know what my strengths are and I’m still coming to Read more…
As told to Emily Kestel Teresa Zilk is a mental health advocate and the founder of Stories To Tell My Daughter, which is a storytelling experience dedicated to centering the voices and experiences of Black women and other women of color. She is also the owner of Teresa Zilk Creative Read more…
As told to Emily Kestel Mary Kramer made history as the first woman to be independently elected as the president of the Iowa Senate in 1997. In 2003, she was sworn in as ambassador to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, where she served until 2006. She and her late husband, Read more…
As told to Emily Kestel Dalia Kyi is the founder and owner of Unuhe, an interpreting business that specializes in Karen, Karenni, Burmese and Chin languages. She was born in Myanmar (Burma) and moved with her family to the Mae La refugee camp in Thailand to flee the war. Kyi Read more…
As told to Emily Kestel Jo Allen is a nonbinary entrepreneur who started their photography business, Jovisuals, primarily as a way to help LGBTQ people feel valued, empowered and visible. In 2016, they were diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkin’s Burkitt lymphoma. Allen also works as a communications fellow with Future Read more…