Cool Girls with Tag: entrepreneur

Shalonda Menefee

July 31, 2020 Sock Robot 1 Comment

Name: Shalonda Menefee
Age: 45
Location: Portland, OR
Occupation: Homebuying Specialist and Entrepreneur

Artist, coach, and entrepreneur Shalonda Menefee cannot be easily confined to a single label. This community leader makes sure to channel her energy into many productive and inspiring avenues any chance she gets.

“I consider myself a creative “healing artist,”’ she explains. “I’m a certified Sacred Woman Practitioner, energy worker, empowerment coach, clothing designer, mystic and artist. I’m trying to find a name that encapsulates all of who I am as there really is no label for what I do,” she laughs.

It was through years of life experiences and struggles that sparked Shalonda to start SISTAS: SISTAS Initiating Strategies to Achieve Success. Working with her community, she hosts empowerment workshops and events that help other women grow and maximize their full potential.

“Shortly after high school, I became a young mother and a wife. I did not continue the path I had hoped for myself, and retreated to taking care of my family. I also carried a little shame of having to drop out of college and losing my full scholarship all after being a Rose Festival Princess,” she explains.

It was only after she returned to college at 24, a divorced single mother of three, that she felt compelled to look for encouragement from those around her.

“I began to reach out to the community to find support in helping me regain my confidence and self-esteem as a black woman in Oregon, let alone a single black mother,” she says.

She found that, at that time, a sisterhood movement wasn’t available, so she created SISTAS as a place women of color could come and feel connected. This fostered a community that allowed women to lean on each other for resources, support, and encouragement.

Beginning in 2005, Shalonda began to hold SISTAS monthly gatherings where her friends would have dinner and share ideas. Over the years, it has expanded and shifted, with SISTAS holdingvarious workshops and events, providing business consulting and empowerment coaching, as well as crafting clothing and accessories. There is even a Back 2 Basics Youth program as well as the SISTAS Doll Workshops, and Shalonda is now working to achieve nonprofit status for SISTAS Empowerment Corp.

“SISTAS’s mission is creating an atmosphere of empowerment,” Shalonda explains. “It’s a movement that encourages and honors healing, individual expression, empowerment, and unapologetically embracing and honoring who we are inside and out, no matter our past and current circumstances.”

After several losses that weighed heavy on Shalonda’s emotionally, she decided to use her sewing machine to get her out of a depression. She took to creating and sewing cloth dolls and headwraps and accessories as a method of healing, and it was from that experience that the SISTAS doll workshops were born.

“I made my very first cloth doll in 2012, and that was so therapeutic I developed SISTAS Dolled Up workshops. This led into headwraps and accessories, which led me into making my first skirt. It was shortly after making the skirt my mother reminded me that I used to talk about being a clothing designer, and I’d sketch different types of clothes in high school. Life took me a different route, but now I’m back.”

Currently, Shalonda is working on an associated clothing line, called SHAMEN, which includes a New Normal 4 Now line of protective masks and accessories.

“As I began to learn tools to heal and grow, I learned to tap into my inner power,” Shalonda recalls. “I wanted to make sure I created the things that I needed so that others could have resources and support. In Oregon, there is a small population of black people, and it is hard to feel safe and encouraged with so much institutionalized racism and prejudices. With so many barriers, it’s hard to really feel confident that you could be successful. But it’s also challenging to pursue something if you feel like you are alone.”

Today her sewing is being used to create masks and protective gear in light of the current pandemic, further proving that – like the community – the SISTAS enterprise is vast and adaptable.

What advice does this inspiring and passionate community leader have for young girls out there, growing up in these chaotic times?

“No matter what you have been through, know that you have survived, and you are stronger than the day before. Even the hardest experience we survive is a testimony of victory, and overcoming that will help someone else.”

“Always choose you first! Have a lot of fun learning about yourself,” she adds. “Always stay safe.”

Incredible advice! For her tireless work lifting up her community and helping others to heal and grow, we think Shalonda Menefee is an exceptional Cool Girl!

Follow along with Shalonda at any one of the links below!

Websites:
www.empoweredsistas.com
www.NewNormal4now.com
Coming Soon: www.shalondamenefee.com and www.tribeofshamen.com

FB:
@SISTASLLC
@SISTASVisiblyInvisible
@Newnormal4now

Instagram:
@tribeofShamen
#newnormal4now
@SISTASLLC
@queendomwear
@SISTASvisiblyinvisible

Jackie Hirsch

April 1, 2020 Sock Robot

Name: Jackie Ossin Hirsch
Age: 43
Location: Maitland, FL
Occupation: Serial Entrepreneur

Floridian business maven Jackie Hirsch always knew she was going to be at the helm of a company, even when she was growing up outside of Orlando.

“I always wanted to own businesses,” she says. “I actually didn’t think that was strange, or that it was strange that I didn’t know of any women who owned their own business. My first real job was when I was 16. I worked at a tourist attraction, took pictures
and made pictures into buttons and keychains. I walked around asking people if they wanted them and made them on the spot; it was face-to-face direct sales. I’d get a lot of “no’s” and then some yeses. I used to earn $30-$50/hr for 4 hours 3 nights a week.”

Not bad for a sixteen year old!

After becoming an entrepreneurial adult and marrying her husband, Michael, Jackie decided that it was time to embark on her other lifelong dream of motherhood. But conception was a challenge. Eventually, their daughter Malena was born, but the struggles did not end with her arrival.

“We hoped to keep growing our family, but after five miscarriages, I felt like a shadow of myself. Outwardly, I led a successful life as a business owner. But grief had left me emotionally and physically depleted. Despite my circumstances, I was determined to
be the best wife and mom I could, but I needed a lift of energy to become that woman again.”

As she struggled with her fertility and the accompanying feelings of loss and defeat, she discovered matcha, an ages-old beverage made from finely-ground green tea powder.

“Matcha was a mood boost for me and then I thought, I wish there were a healthy hot chocolate matcha…pumpkin spice…ginger…,” she said. “I loved that it didn’t need brewing – I could just stir a spoonful right into water. It gave me calm, focused energy and lifted my mood. I started laughing and feeling like myself again.”

It was Jackie’s newfound love for matcha, coupled with the idea of incorporating other superfoods and flavors, that led to her founding Healing Butterfly. “There wasn’t anything like that on the market, so I decided to create it,” she says.

Between networking, sales, manufacturing, new software, technical tinkering and brainstorming, Jackie is always busy. By having a hand in multiple companies, she finds her days can vary from meetings to marketing, managing inventory with her husband, or going out into the community to find new ways to introduce her products.

Fortunately for her, Healing Butterfly provides something that is in incredibly high demand, especially these days: functional foods. Matcha has less caffeine than coffee, so it offers less stress to the adrenal glands. Their new turmeric golden milk blends provide a
tasty way to get antioxidants and anti-inflammatory benefits. And their newest product, Aqua Sprout, is a plant-based protein that also has fiber, omegas, iron, and even immune-boosting, skin-saving chlorophyll. Many of their products are vegan, paleo, keto,
or Weight Watchers friendly, too.

When she’s not spending time with her husband and daughter, Jackie is indulging in yoga, reading, walking outside…or dreaming up new recipes for Healing Butterfly!

So what does this wellness warrior want to share with young girls growing up in a time where health and taking care of your body is more important than ever?

“Love yourself more, then you can love others more and just get along better in the world. If you love yourself, every bit of yourself, you’ll stop judging yourself and you’ll have more compassion for others. Also, eating well saves you time and affects your future
descendants positively for generations; junk food will affect your descendants negatively in the future. Food is that powerful. Consume it wisely.”

Sage advice from this superfood superstar! For her and Healing Butterfly’s healthy contributions to the beverage market, and her body and business savvy, we think Jackie Hirsch is one Cool Girl!

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For more information on Healing Butterfly, check them out on Instagram and Facebook!

Samantha Radocchia

August 30, 2019 Sock Robot

Name: Samantha Radocchia aka “Sam Rad”
Age: 31
Location: Brooklyn, NY / Digital Nomad!
Occupation: Entrepreneur, Author, Speaker

Samantha Radocchia, also known as “Sam Rad” for short, is a woman leading the way toward the future. An entrepreneur, speaker, author, tech advocate, and skydiver, she is innovating and reconstructing the way we think about technology, currency, community, and beyond.

As a kid, Sam was exposed to a ton of tech, even though she may not have realized how it was going to shape her path.

“My brothers–and by extension, me–were into gaming, learning basic coding at a young age,” she says. “My dad ran a retail business and was a systems thinker. I remember running around in warehouses and being fascinated with all of the sorting machines, automation, computer programs running off the mainframe which would direct the packages to certain areas of the warehouse and certain trucks.”

In college, she became riveted by how technology interplayed with human behavior, so she dedicated her studies to anthropology, neuroscience, and theater.

Her anthropology thesis centered on a virtual world called Second Life, where Sam ran a small digital t-shirt shop and sold the digital t-shirts to other avatars in the world using virtual currency called Linden Dollars.

“That’s probably around when I got into bitcoin and could see this entirely new world forming where people spent more and more of their time in or on computers, phones, and technology,” she recalls. “Yet, while I found technology fascinating, I always found the change to be scary, and even a bit dystopian.”

She channeled this anxiety into a theater program where she created plays that focus on technology’s effects on people, particularly the elderly. The union of creativity, tech, and humanity is where Sam found her career; today she delivers keynote speeches all across the globe, and oversees corporate trainings that ensure companies that they will keep their workforce dynamically shifting with the current of tech in the future.

Sam’s path to entrepreneurial success in technology included some predictable speedbumps.

“In my personal experience, it was difficult to be a young woman in the tech space,” she says. “When I founded my first company, there weren’t many resources at the time to support women or other diverse folks in the industry. There were a number of times I would sit in meetings and be asked where my ‘technical co-founder’ was. I can also recall numerous accounts where investors or other folks in a position of power used that power to make inappropriate comments or advances.”

In spite of this, she wasn’t discouraged. Moving into conceptual thinking and blockchain, Sam started Chronicled, a company focused on a decentralized supply chain protocol and network.

On her blog, Radical Next, Sam showcases her ideas about technology’s impact on people and society.

“The concept of ‘Radical Evolution’ is where you let go of all assumptions, unlearn what you have learned or been conditioned to believe, and experience a sort of life-changing, world-changing, society-changing growth,” Sam says. “So Radical Next describes these radically new ideas, and of course, combines some elements of living a ‘rad life’.”

The driving force behind Sam is her passion for the future, the future of work, production, governance, cities, finance, health, sustainability, and beyond. Her writing, speaking, creating, and her contagious personality has led to success; in 2017, she was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 List for Enterprise Technology. And have we mentioned that while her profile in the tech world has skyrocketed, she’s also a competitive skydiver with over 700 jumps to her name?

As she helps the world manifest a better future, Sam insists that we are all able to contribute on some level.

“We’re all taking part in building a new social operating system, the operating system of the future. A better future. A future where we restore connections with ourselves, with each other, with our environment, and with the products we consume,” she says.

Her work reminds us that we can all embrace the change by being empowered, as she was, by the global network we’re all a part of.

“My biggest support system has been, plain and simple, community.”

So what advice does Sam Rad have for young girls growing up in this age of new ideas?

“You are powerful. You are capable. You have a place as leaders in this world. Build the future that you want to live in. Speak up. Support others. Build Community. Have fun.”

For her work creating a better virtual world and reality, and for her incredible energy and dynamism, we think Sam Rad is a very, very Cool Girl!

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To learn more about Sam Rad, follow her on Twitter, check out her blog Radical Next, or buy her book Bitcoin Pizza: The No-Bullshit Guide to Blockchain.

100 Cool Girls

January 12, 2018 Sock Robot

Since we initiated our Cool Girl movement in 2009 we’ve featured scientists, athletes, artists, entrepreneurs, hopers, dreamers, and doers. We’ve had the pleasure to meet and get to know a lot of amazing women of all ages doing amazing things. And as of December 2017, we hit 100 Cool Girls!

But, who is a Cool Girl? A Cool Girl is someone who defends awesome: an everyday superhero! Someone who exudes positivity, and leads by example. Cool Girls make a difference in their communities and the world, challenge the norm, and aren’t afraid to be themselves.

We’d like to take this momentous occasion to highlight some individuals who have made a lasting impression. Each and every Cool Girl is inspiring, but if we included them all this post would be, well, 100 Cool Girls long. So, please use this as a teaser of truly extraordinary women and then take a look through the whole blog.

Know some inspirational women yourself? Nominate them to be a Cool Girl. They may get featured here, get some cool socks, and might also get some support for a project or charity of their choice.

If you just want to give a shout out to a really awesome woman in your life, you can also leave a comment.

Lucy Knisley
Graphic novel artist & author
Featured 2016

Lucy has been drawing since she was a kid, publishing comics since she was 19, and published her first graphic novel when she was 21! A lot of her work is autobiographical including growing up with her chef mom (Relish), jet-setting around the world (Age of License), and her work in progress about becoming a parent (Kid Gloves). Read more.

“Other girls and women in cool professions are the best and greatest resource you can possibly imagine. Hold up your fellow lady, and your fellow lady will hold you up!” -Lucy Knisley, Cool Girl

Roxanne Modafferi
Professional Fighter, Writer, Teacher
Featured 2014

Roxanne started practicing Tae Kwon Do in grade school after watching Power Rangers and trained hard to make it onto The Ultimate Fighter 18! She’s triumphed over injuries and ill-timed food poisoning to not only win fights, but teach and write (Memoirs of a Happy Warrior). Read more.

“I was greatly influence by TV superheros who always did the right thing no matter how troublesome, and saved people.” -Roxanne Modaferri, Cool Girl

Irene Gabashvili
Founder of Aurametrix, Inc
Featured 2012

Irene realized there was a serious need for people to be able to alleviate symptoms for certain chronic ailments and conditions on their own. She developed Aurametrix which is like a digital nurse that looks at all of the different details that can contribute to a person’s symptoms in order to figure out what parts of their life are making them feel better or worse. Read more.

“Believe in yourself, dream and aim high. Don’t be afraid to ask successful people for advice.” -Irene Gabashvili, Cool Girl

Anna Stern
Vice President of Tri-North Buidlers, Inc
Featured 2012

Anna is Vice President of one of the largest construction companies in the country. Not only is she a powerful figure in a male-dominated industry, she helps host events like Kids Building Wisconsin, which bring attention and support for the construction workforce she oversees. She also supports events for Women Building Wisconsin, an organization that helps connect women within the construction industry and find newer members mentors. Read more.

“I would say the best advice would be to find a good mentor. I’ve been blessed to have great mentors throughout my career and have benefited from their guidance, experience, and willingness to stand up for me.” -Anna Stern, Cool Girl

Lindsay Amer
Artist, Activist
Featured 2017

Lindsay created her YouTube channel Queer Kid Stuff to bridge the gap in theater and education for LGBTQ+ kids. Lindsay creates fun, easily accessible videos made for children featuring inclusive, queer storylines. She powers through online harassment to push for “a kinder and more equal future.” She does have a lot of supportive fans, though, growing every day! Read more.

“If you love it, do it and be it. Don’t listen to what other people want you to do, or think, or say, or be. Listen to yourself and your wants and needs and just do you. You’ll be so much happier for it.” -Lindsay Amer, Cool Girl

Payton “P-Nut!” Ridenour
Being a kid!
Featured 2012

Payton has been riding since she was 5 and started competing in BMX at a high level when she was 7 and even qualified for the World Championships. She’s traveled all over the United States racing and making a name for herself. She advises other girls interested in the sport: (Read more.)

“They should know that this is an aggressive sport. You need to dress for the crash and not for the ride. But most of all, you need to keep it fun.” -Payton Ridenour, Cool Girl

Julie Wagne
Co-Founder Petal
Featured 2016

Julie co-founded Petal, which fosters a partnership between artists, designers, and weavers in West Africa and San Francisco. She and her partner Ibrahima are committed to providing resources to tribal villages and communities, to exceeding fair wages, giving security to families, and protecting the cultural heritage of the Fulani people that inspires their textile creations. All this while helping provide education for children in West Africa. (Read more.)

“If you want to do something, do it. Believe in yourself and keep going!” -Julie Wagne, Cool Girl

Sharon Lin
Writer, Developer, Activist, Founder
Featured in 2016

Sharon founded two non-profits to educate girls about technology, has written for publications including Huffington Post, and has started hackathons to spark creative development across communities and industries…all this before she graduated High School. Sharon wasn’t done inspiring other students to pursue computer science, so she also founded BitxBit Camp, which partners middle schoolers with older mentors and opportunities to develop projects. (Read more.)

“Never lose hope of the goals you have, and never let anyone else talk you out of them by saying you’re not good enough, or that you’re not meant for this. Seek out mentors if you can, or find older girls who you admire, and befriend them.” -Sharon Lin, Cool Girl

Joan Manaster
Biology Lecturer
Featured 2010

Ever wanted to see Gummi Bears get liquefied by sound waves? This Cool Girl has you covered. Joan works as a lecturer for students studying for their Masters of Science in Teaching Biology, but she wants to reach as many people as possible when it comes to the wonders of science. She thinks it’s especially important that women and girls see science as exciting and are able to see more women in STEM roles. She’s fueling this push with her website and Twitter. (Read more.)

“I find myself with a strong desire to have more women in science be seen and heard, as I think this could really influence young ladies. I hope to accomplish this by creating something of an Internet ‘science channel’ featuring video segments that highlight women in science, and to challenge more of them to be visible in this realm.” -Joan Manaster, Cool Girl

Alanna Wall
Polished Girlz Founder
Featured 2015

Alanna founded Polished Girlz to bring nail parties to those who couldn’t treat themselves to a nail salon. This non-profit visits those hospitalized due to illness or those with special needs who might not be able to paint their own nails and does it for them! While bringing them a little color and company, it also teaches the importance of frequent hand-washing to reduce infection transmission and the potential for resulting hospital visits. (Read more.)

“For girls facing any challenges, I would like to tell them that they are strong and brave and that I am honored to be able to make you smile even if it is just a little while.” -Alanna Wall, Cool Girl

Alanna Wall

July 1, 2015 Sock Robot

Name: Alanna Wall
Age: 15
Occupation: Polished Girlz Founder/Student

Alanna J. Wall is always looking to lend a hand…to make sure that other hands shine! The young, vivacious founder of Polished Girlz has a mission that’s part nail art, part community service, and all heart.

Even though she is only fifteen, Alanna grew up with a desire to help others. At the age of 8 she wanted to make scarves for every girl who was diagnosed with cancer. Being only a child, she was too young to volunteer even though she wanted desperately to do something for those who were needing a little pick-me-up.

Undeterred by her age, she decided to apply her passion for drawing and nail art to girls who are hospitalized due to illness, or those with special needs. Out of her zest for art and her hope to help, Alanna created Polished Girlz, a non-profit organization whose mission is to bring nail parties to girls who maybe can’t paint their own nails, or could use a little color and company. These nail fiestas don’t simply sparkle, shine, and smile, they also teach the value of frequent hand-washing to reduce infection transmission and the potential for resulting hospital visits.

The Polished Girlz don’t merely offer nails that glimmer for girls who are down, they also provide enriching volunteer opportunities for young people, teaching them the value of interpersonal skills, community service, and teamwork. Alanna has truly reached out, creating a group that gives back to all who come in contact with it.

Outside of her organization, Alanna enjoys spending time with her friends and her little brother, playing the violin, diving, and drawing. Polished Girlz is her main passion, though, and she’s started designing jewelry and nail polish, both of which were included in the 2012 Teen Choice Celebrity gift baskets that were given to all of the presenters and nominees!

Alanna hopes to become a veterinarian, and she studies hard in school so that she can go on to do so. “One of the biggest challenges I am recently facing is trying to manage studying for all our state test[s] while still going out to polish,” she says. As usual, Alanna isn’t about to waver in what she wants, or compromise on her goals. “In the future I want the Polished Girlz to be as big as the Girl Scouts with chapters all around the world,” she adds.

She has a special message for any girls, in or out of the hospital, who maybe are feeling a little low today. “For girls facing any challenges, I would like to tell them that they are strong and brave and that I am honored to be able to make you smile even if it is just a little while,” Alanna says. To add your name to the ever-growing list of volunteers, or to start a Polished Girlz party in your neighborhood, check out their website, http://polishedgirlz.org.

For giving back to others and making the world glow, with shiny fingertips and bright smiles, we think Alanna J. Wall is a very Cool Girl!