DIY Influence

This week, we are delighted to spotlight our member, Katie K.. Here are a few things to know about Katie: 🔷 Katie thrives at the intersection of strategy and execution, guiding leaders to build businesses they love to lead. 🔷 Inspired by the collaborative spirit of her small-town business community, Katie embarked on a successful two-decade career in professional services. 🔷 Now, at her boutique consultancy, Cultiveren, Katie leverages her diverse experience in finance, operations, strategy, and risk management to empower leaders to cultivate sustainable growth and the capacity to scale their businesses. 🔷 Katie serves as a trusted advisor and her unique perspective helps business leaders take a holistic view and connect the dots for effective execution—from strategic planning to leadership alignment and operational excellence. 🔷 A lifelong learner and creative problem-solver, Katie’s approach is grounded in collaboration, curiosity, and a deep care for her clients. 🔷 Clients consistently value Katie’s ability to distill complex challenges into actionable solutions and provide a “fresh perspective on business strategy that is tailor-made” for their needs. 🔷 When not leading Cultiveren, you’ll find Katie giving back to her community, exploring new destinations, reading, golfing, and soaking up the ocean breeze. Connect with Katie to discuss your business goals and turn your vision into reality!

We’re here for this nudge from member Karen Jones!! ❤️💡👏

This week, we are delighted to feature our member Ricki Pasinelli. ✨ Ricki wears numerous hats. She is a Founder | Strategic Sherpa | Master Connector | Brand Builder & Grower | Speaker... and also the teller of tall, mostly funny tales. 😉 ✨ She works with CEOs and Founders, guiding you from the dense forest of day-to-day firefighting to the clear-skied summit of industry dominance. ✨ She'll pull you and your leadership team out of the tactical quagmire and plant your feet firmly in visionary terrain - with a people-first approach that honors your company culture, core values, stakeholder goals and concerns, and promotes the long-term health of your company. ✨ With 25+ years of experience working in growth planning, brand, marketing, and business development strategy for Fortune 500 clients, Ricki has now turned her focus to midsize companies (50+ employees with revenues from $20M-$75M), bringing her brand of BOLD strategic thinking and making impact that drives results. ✨ She's been found on many a stage launching brands, making people laugh out loud and reminding leaders not to take themselves too seriously, while sharing her personal thoughts on strategic growth, leadership, and why core values matter. ✨ Ricki has taught university-level public speaking. ✨ She moved to Italy for love. ✨ Ricki founded the Make Partnership in 2022. ✨ She is a hiker, cyclist, skier, gym rat, mentor, wife, mom of two, and sometime runner. Ricki helps her clients make magic happen every day, and she brings that energy every time she shows up at a DIY Influence event!

Celebrating the launch of member Kristen Brun Sharkey’s new podcast!! We can’t wait to listen in!! 👏👏👏

DIY Influence co-founder Melissa Cohen!! 👇

Celebrating you, Elizabeth J. Sandler! 👏👏

This week, we are delighted to feature our member, Corean C.. Here are some things you must know about her: 💠 Corean is a Life & Leadership Coach and Play expert. 💠 She is the Co-Founder of Shift to Play, a culture strategy firm that uses improv and play to make work better through custom workshops and programs. 💠 Corean is a former COO and spent 20+ years in marketing and advertising where she led (and built out) just about every agency function. 💠 Her mission? To help people live happier, more joyful and fulfilled lives. Her guiding principle? One of the greatest influences on the quality of our adult lives is our work. If we make work better, we make life better. 💠 Check out her Remember to Live podcast - out on all platforms. 💠 Corean gave a TEDx Talk about why play is so important for adults, and is now a TEDx Speaker Coach. 💠 She has been an improviser and sketch comedy writer and performer for 15 years. 💠 Corean teaches yoga, breathwork, mindfulness and is a Reiki Master. She also holds a certificate in Positive Psychology & Well-Being from Stanford and loves learning about how to improve our health and well-being.  💠 She became a mom before she could legally vote and is the proud mother of two amazing humans. 💠 Corean loves cacao ceremonies on Sunday mornings, and she loves elephants because they remind us that gentleness can be powerful. We are grateful to Corean for reminding us of the importance of play in our lives. We can all use more play (and a cacao ceremony)!

We love this, Corean C.!

This week, we are delighted to feature our member Erin O'Mara. Here are some things you need to know about her: 🔶 Erin is passionate about quality journalism and is on a mission to make everyone else love it too! 🔶 She believes the human experience connects us and when moments of triumph or strife are shared — When we have access to a shared set of facts — We have the opportunity to learn and grow.  🔶 A core belief: Words matter. Erin strives for thoughtful word choice and maximum impact. 🔶 Another: "Communication is a loop and as perfect as my word choice might be, it's my responsibility to make sure the person I'm talking to understands the meaning I'm trying to convey." 🔶 In high school, teachers told Erin that she was terrible at math. The good news is this led her to develop her critical thinking skills. The other good news is that she learned we shouldn't believe the stories people tell about us, even if the story-tellers are authority figures. We get to be our own narrators. We get to decide what's true, about and for ourselves. 🔶 Disinformation and misinformation scare her greatly, and she works hard to improve media literacy. Pssst: Birds aren't real. Pass it on. 😉 🔶 Erin knows that humor is a great connector and laughter is a memory-maker. She is always looking for more of both. 🔶 Her signature drink is a margarita. 🔶 She loves to write and is proud of her column, Never Not Amazed, in her local paper, the Harpswell Anchor. She is also co-editing an anthology of essays and has dreams of writing a book. 🔶 Breaking news alert -- Erin is going to have much to share in the coming weeks about the new entity she's developing to serve the public good. We can't wait to hear more about what Erin is working on -- and we are so proud of her work and the impact she has had on journalism and media literacy.

On July 27, 2023, with the encouragement of the DIY Influence | Thought Leadership Community, I made my first post on LinkedIn. This week, as we celebrate the independence of the United States, I’m feeling both reflective and slightly nostalgic. In re-reading my previous 98 (!) posts, I see a common thread woven through each one: the importance of community, identity, and values in leadership. These elements shape how we lead and connect with others, driving the humanity, compassion, and care foundational to great leadership. 💡 Community reminds us that we are stronger together. By fostering connections and support, we create environments where everyone can thrive. 💡Identity is about knowing ourselves and embracing our unique strengths and experiences. When leaders are authentic to themselves, they inspire trust and commitment in their teams. 💡Values guide our actions and decisions. Staying true to our core principles ensures that we lead with integrity and purpose. Thank you for joining me on this journey! Your engagement and insights are appreciated.   I’m committed to building a future where leadership is grounded in humanity, compassion, and care. A journey is better together, so I hope you come along for the ride! #Leadership #Community #Identity #Values