The 10 most empowering women in business 2021.

1 Most Empowering
The
W
in Business
2021
oOmen
Trait Secrets
Traits of
Successful
Businesswomen
Rachel
Lemos
Leading Intentionally and Leaving an Exceptional Legacy
VOL 06 | ISSUE 03 | 2021

Leading With
Competence
to Achieve
Ambitious
Goals
he current business world is in need of empowering
Twomen leaders, who with their inclusive and
empathetic approach can do wonders in any
organization. Women leaders are believed to be ambitious
in their approach. They have ambitious plans, meaningful
purposes, and worthy goals. They motivate their teams by
creating a aspirational goals. They transform challenges
into opportunities. They grab opportunities diligently and
make them count to make a diﬀerence. They lead with
emotional intelligence, empathy, competence, and
compassion.
Moreover, empowering women leaders in business are bold
and courageous. They understand that it is essential to be
bold to thrive in a world with a cut-throat competition.
Empowered women encourage other women to be bold and
brave and they never lose the sight of their goals. They
empower each other to go against the norm or prejudices
and be strong and courageous in the pursuit of their
ambitious goals without giving into the opinions of anyone
else. They don’t allow themselves to be demoralized by the
opinions of negative people. They prepare a strategic plan
to implement their novel ideas. They are result-oriented
leaders and they judge a thing on its merit. Such women
lead from front and set the exemplary standard.
In addition, empowering leaders are proactive in their
approach. They are enthusiastic to take on new challenges
and deliver a topmost performances. These leaders never
become victim of any fear or any mediocrity. There is
harmony in their words, thoughts and actions. They are very
much aware of their potential and don’t limit themselves
anywhere. They know that they can thrive in any ﬁeld they
choose to be in. They are clever at making maximum use of
opportunities they have. They are never trapped by dogma,
fanaticism, fear, and distractions.
Leadership is a serious responsibility and not a post to
enjoy. Empowering leaders utilize all their resourcefulness
Editor’s Desk

to drive the growth of the organization. They give
momentum to the growth of the organization. They
make a difference in the lives of their employees as
well as their clients. They like to walk in the light of
creative altruism than walking in the darkness of
destructive selfishness. They have great role models
in their lives. And they also lead in such a way that
they become the role model for future generations.
They are driven by the spirit of contribution for a
worthy causes and they do that with utmost grace.
In this edition of “The 10 Most Empowering
Women in Business, 2021”, we are presenting such
empowering women who are leading ambitiously
and that are contributing to the most significant and
worthy causes.
Featuring as the cover story of this edition is Rachel
Lemos, the Director, Corporate Procurement at
Canadian Western Bank (CWB). Rachel is a
strategic and highly results-oriented procurement
leader with over 20 years’ experience in large and
international companies specializing in strategic
sourcing, public procurement, and supply chain
operations management. With a diverse background
in both private and public sectors, she has
demonstrated ability to deliver a world-class
procurement, driving results that directly affect the
top and bottom-lines of organizations.
Delve into more such inspiring stories and lastly,
never stop learning with our CXO standpoints
written by the industry experts and the creative
articles by our in-house editorial team that will help
to improve your skillset.
Have a look at their exemplary leadership styles and
their most worthy contribution!
sharad@insightssuccess.com
Sharad Chitalkar

Rachel
Lemos
Leading Intentionally
and Leaving an
Exceptional Legacy
08
Trait Secrets
Traits of Successful Businesswomen
30

Adele Spraggon
Helping People Reach Unprecedented
Levels of Success
16
Christianne Kerns
Ensuring Excellent Legal Service to Clients
24
Jennifer Cisneros
Promoting a Culture of Water Innovation
36
Summer Kim-Davis
Helping People Achieve their
Dreams as Homeowners
44
Twanieka Alcindor
Providing Expert Advocacy in Legal Matters
52
Amy Martinez
A Committed and Trusted
Senior Attorney
20
Donna Loughlin
Delivering Results that Drive Leadership,
Momentum and Growth
32
Nina Marino
A Proﬁcient White-Collar
Defense Attorney
40
Taiwing Tian
Leading to Bring Impact Around Her
48

sales@insightssuccess.com
June, 2021
Editor-in-Chief
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Brief
Company Name
Canadian Western Bank
cwbank.com
Rachel Lemos
Director Corporate
Procurement
CWB Financial Group is a diversified financial services
organization providing specialized service in banking, trust and
wealth management.
Adele Spraggon
adelespraggon.com
Adele Spraggon
Owner
Adele Spraggon is an award -winning author, a thought leader,
an international trainer and a fearless speaker.
Nina Marino
Chief People &
Culture Officer
Kaplan Marino
kaplanmarino.com
Powerhouse law boutique, Kaplan Marino represents business
professionals, executives, entertainers, public figures and other
individuals under investigation or targeted by serious
allegations of white collar and other criminal matters. .
Donna Louglin
Founder & President
LMGPR
lmgpr.com
The Loughlin/Michaels Group was founded in 2002 by Donna
Loughlin Michaels, a PR veteran known for her tenacity and
creativity in leading public relations programs for early stage
technology innovators taking them from start-up to IPO and
often acquisition.
Switching-Time
switching-time.com
Taiwing Tian
Co-founder
Switching-Time is the premier integrated communications
agency for Fashion, Beauty, Luxury & lifestyle brands Ever
since Switching-Time was founded in November 2012.
Summer Kim-Davis
Founder
IKON Mortgage
Inc., ikonmortgage.com
IKON Mortgage Inc. is a residential mortgage company that
stands for Integrity, Knowledge of the market and products,
Outstanding service, and New and better ways of helping
cliental.
Amy Martinez
Senior Attorney
RMO LLP
rmolawyers.com
RMO LLP's mission is to provide a sense of relief to its clients
and their family. It does that by advocating, handling every
facet of client's case efficiently and cost-effectively, and getting
the best result for the least amount of legal spend.
Christianne Kerns
Managing Partner
Hahn & Hahn LLP
hahnlawyers.com
Hahn & Hahn LLP has been an institution in the California
business and retains its long traditions of integrity, service, and
excellence in the practice of law while looking ahead to the
changing needs of its clients as the 21st century advances.
Twanieka Alcindor
Manager & Consultan
Alcindor Law
alcindorlaw.com
At Alcindor Law, the team of experienced and reputable
lawyers specialise in providing legal representation in all
matters.
Jennifer Cisneros
Vice President of
Marketing
BioMicrobics, SeptiTech, and Scienco/FAST manufacture
integrated, sustainable, water utilization treatment systems land
and sea.
BioMicrobics, Inc.
biomicrobics.com
Featured Person
Most Empowering
WOMEN
in Business, 2021
1
The

Rachel Lemos
Director Corporate Procurement
Canadian Western Bank

Rachel
Lemos
Leading Intentionally and Leaving an Exceptional Legacy
CWB Financial Group is a diversiﬁed
ﬁnancial services organization
providing specialized services in
banking, trust and wealth
management for small- and medium-
sized companies.
‘‘
‘
‘
Cover Story

Impactful leadership is one that is able not only to make
long-lasting contributions to the organization, but
ultimately to its people. A strategic leader must focus
on the legacy that they want to leave for their teams,
looking at each of them individually and collectively at the
same time. It is about seeking to understand the strengths of
every individual and the potential gaps that make their
teams up. One of the instances of such impactful leadership
is Rachel Lemos, Director, Corporate Procurement at
Canadian Western Bank (CWB). CWB is a diversified
financial services firm that provides expert advice and
specialized financial services to business owners.
Rachel is a strategic and highly results-oriented
procurement leader with over 20 years’ experience in large
and international companies specializing in strategic
sourcing, public procurement, and supply chain operations
management. With a diverse background in both private
and public sectors, she has demonstrated ability to deliver a
world-class procurement, driving results that directly affect
the top and bottom-lines of organizations.
Recognizing Opportunity, Learning and Contributing
Rachel was brought to CWB with a mission that seemed
absolutely enticing to her: to build a corporate procurement
function from the ground up. That meant to lay down the
foundations, to bring to life a department that did not exist
before, which was, at the same time, intriguing and exciting
to her. It was intriguing because CWB is a mature
organization with over thirty-five years of existence, which
made Rachel ask herself how CWB grew for all these years
in a decentralized model and yet doing so well. And it was
exciting since she has spent her entire career in supply
chain and procurement fixing things up, improving
processes, and that was a unique opportunity to ‘customize’.
Nevertheless, it was not an easy decision for her to make.
Accepting that exciting opportunity was going to represent
a major shift in her career journey, moving from the public
sector (which is where she worked for the previous ten
years), as well as learning a new industry. She then did
what she loves to do, put all the pros and cons together,
which made her realize she had a golden opportunity at
hand: to learn something new and to deliver something
tailor-made, which would all result in enriching her career
and further contributing to the growth of a flourishing
organization. Therefore, she made her move and joined the
amazing CWB Financial Group – also known as ‘Team
Teal’.
Being new to the financial industry was great and Rachel
humbled herself to learn new things every day. As soon as
she joined CWB, she started a deep dive-in into the
financial industry standards. The next step was to get a
better understanding of the internal processes. She started
an analytical exercise into processes, systems, and tools, so
that she could come up with recommendations to fill in the
gaps and to support the new corporate procurement function
at CWB to establish the framework for purchasing, strategic
sourcing, and risk management, while establishing and
developing the new procurement team.
Delivering Seamless Banking Experience for Business
Owners
CWB offers all the same products and services that
Canada’s big banks do, except the company does it with a
focus on business owners. CWB looks to make a seamless
banking experience for business owners who obviously
have personal banking and wealth management needs as
well as financial needs for their business operations.

CWB is a smaller bank than the big 5 or 6, but it is growing
quickly. The organization has made several acquisitions in
the past year, have numerous partner companies that focus
on specialized business sectors like equipment financing,
and it just opened its first physical banking center in
Ontario last year.
Creating a Culture of Loyalty and Cohesion
Rachel carries her own personal leadership style with her
anywhere she goes. It is the kind that looks after people and
goes above and beyond the ‘open door policy’. Rachel is a
proactive leader who invests in relationships and
communicates in a way that says, “let me walk with you,
we're in this together”. She leads intentionally and believes
in creating a legacy worth following.
Providing Exceptional Client Experience with an
Excellent Team
The difference at CWB is how the Bank provides an
exceptional client experience. It is known that banks have a
traditional reputation for being transactional, but CWB
looks at its clients as partners, and they often view CWB as
part of their team too. CWB’s people know business, and it
is proactive about looking for opportunities where
entrepreneurs can grow their businesses. It all starts with its
remarkable culture and values. CWB was recently
th
recognized as the 28 Best Workplace in Canada by Great
Places to Work.
‘‘
Whether you need expert
advice and specialized
financial services for your
business banking, personal
banking or wealth
management – CWB has
everything you need.
‘
‘
Recognizing Importance of Procurement Executives
Rachel acknowledges that the procurement activity within
organizations has significantly changed in the past 20 years,
evolving from a transactional purchasing activity that
supported the operational functions, to a strategically
positioned role. As a result, executive positions for
procurement had grown exponentially, giving procurement
a voice at the table, and significantly helping to shape and
influence organizations’ strategic direction and growth.

Talented procurement executives, with a tailored, well-
though and properly executed procurement strategy has the
power to positively affect the competitiveness of any given
organization, unlocking significant value. The problem
remains that for mid-sized organizations that grow fast, this
can remain an invisible factor, resulting in the continuation
of managing their processes in a tactical fashion. That is
when the executive role becomes even more relevant, with
the vital role of demonstrating the ROI of investments in a
robust and efficient function, strictly aligned with
organizational goals.
Bringing Value of Procurement Function to the Table
According to Rachel, working closely together and playing
as a trusted advisor is the very first step for a corporate
procurement function to succeed, demonstrating its value to
internal stakeholders. There is no better way to get trust in
place than understanding stakeholders’ dynamics and
priorities intrinsically. For example, working closely with
marketing or IT teams will lead to a better understanding of
their needs and therefore an enhanced ability to capture the
benefits that will add value to their business. Those varies
over time, in each moment it may be adding flexibility, or
avoiding supplier dependency, then it may shift to reducing
costs, or it can be various factors altogether.
The second portion of it is maintaining these relationships.
Procurement must act as a strategic partner to business
stakeholders beyond completion of a competitive process,
or contract executions. It is essential to continuously
support their needs that are constantly evolving, whether be
in jointly managing contracts, monitoring vendor
performance to ensure that negotiated KPIs and SLAs are
met, amongst others important enduring activities.
Finally, making the value procurement function bring to the
table known! Rachel says, “Do not miss the golden
opportunity of selling off the results. Make your
contributions visible throughout the organization. Define
value, measure, and report it thoroughly.”
These are vital components that cannot be neglected, which
also supports the maintenance of a strategic seat at the
table.
Keeping Systematic and Forward-Looking Approach
There is no one-size-fits-all approach when trying to
determine whether reducing costs or risks can best support
businesses today and tomorrow. It is our responsibility to

look at the nature of the organization’s maturity level and
where it sits at its roadmap. There are lots of considerations
that need to be made to figure out this. Is the organization
fighting for survival? Or Is it mature and financially stable?
Is the organization in a highly regulated environment? Or is
it in a space that it has a lot more of leeway? The answer to
these vital questions will lead one’s efforts and dictate
priorities. However, Rachel advises to never leave any of
these functions unattended or neglected. They may not be
equally important, but they are both crucial.
Furthermore, Rachel considers it is important to make sure
this is a continuous exercise since the answer to these
questions today may very likely change tomorrow.
Inherently, this should be a systematic approach to
determine where should one put more efforts and resources
to achieve organizations’ strategic goals in each moment,
but at the same time, keeping a forward-looking approach
on one’s industry potential challenges and one’s
organizations’ goals of tomorrow.
Looking Proactively for Solutions
Rachel considers it is important to constantly be researching
current technological trends, but also shaping the ones of
tomorrow. It is not sufficient nowadays to be aligned with
newer technologies; there is a need to influence the
development of innovative solutions. The only way to make
CWB gets to know you –
forming relationships,
asking the right questions,
understanding your
industry – so that it can
provide you with the right
financial solutions.
‘
‘
‘‘
it happen is by closely working with strategic suppliers,
sharing one’s organizations’ bottlenecks and pain points,
and proactively looking for solutions, jointly. One area that
makes a difference of how competitive organizations are is
how they work with their strategic suppliers, and how early
one brings them into the solutioning of their challenges.
As Rachel says: “Business that gets their heads down trying
to keep the lights on and get ‘too busy’to look for
innovations are left behind. Competitive organizations lead
the space, while others follow”. As such, procurement can
help its internal stakeholders and influence transformation
journeys, continuously acting as a conduit for change.
Being Courageous to Deal with Issues
One thing that has served Rachel throughout her career was
never accepting any roadblocks as a dead-end, but rather
creating alternative ways to proceed, and never accepting a
negative without a valid reason to pause or stop anything
that she is convinced to be a benefit for the organization.
Rachel states that every businesswoman should have
resilience, determination, and boldness, and they should be
prepared and courageous to start difficult conversations
whenever needed. She says that dealing with any issues
must be seen rather as a collaborative effort, ensuring one is
paving the road to a better workplace, a better world.
Being Fearless and Determined
To any women aspiring to be in leadership positions
Rachel’s advice is to be authentic, humble, and determined.
Especially to women who are willing to enter financial
industry, she asserts “The financial industry is traditionally
a male-dominated workforce, especially at senior
leadership levels. If you are considering a field with similar
dynamics remove your fear and come with an open mind.
Look at the company’s brand and values, research their
commitment and progress toward diversity and inclusion.
These elements will definitely help you to succeed in pretty
much any industry you are considering to be a part of.”

kimberly Khoury
Paving her Way in Sustainability Development
&
&
The
20
BUSINESSWOMEN
to Watch, 2020
SUCCESSFUL
Most

ADELE
SPRAGGON
re you intrigued by a good success story? Inspired by a “rags to riches” narrative in which the
Aentrepreneur overcomes the odds and makes it to the finish line? These tales are captivating
because they are so rare. The majority of entrepreneurs do not succeed. But what if the lack
of success is due to the operating instructions we are taught to follow? What if entrepreneurs are
taught to blindly follow the wrong rule book? Meet Adele Spraggon. Adele teaches a proprietary
technique called the 4 Step Repatterning Technique that is sweeping the globe because of its impact.
She is an international trainer and speaker, a two-time leadership award recipient, the award-winning
author of the book Shift: 4 Steps to Personal Empowerment, and mainly, a guide who helps people to
smash through barriers, transform their lives, and reach unprecedented levels of ease and success –
from the inside out.
Below are the highlights of the interview conducted between Insights Success and Adele Spraggon:
Please brief our readers about your journey as a Thought leader.
When I first started as an entrepreneur, all I knew was one business model. I was told success
depended on me determining my ideal client and then creating services that fit this client's needs. This
was too confining for me. As a thought leader, I bring my intellectual property to different clients. In
my work in behavior change, I work with couples who want to improve their marriages, with
entrepreneurs who need personal empowerment, with millennials struggling with anxiety and fears –
the same 4-Step Repatterning Technique (same intellectual property) taken to different markets. If a
reader is a thought leader at heart, they will be feeling trapped by the standard business model. A
thought leader's job is to advance her field. Creation at this level is a matter of cross-pollination. I use
findings from all sorts of areas, the ancient arts of meditation and yoga, from philosophy, the arts,
Helping People Reach Unprecedented Levels of Success
16 | June 2021 www.insightssuccess.com

17
|
June 2021
www.insightssuccess.com

literature. The journey of thought leadership is going
beyond to a place where you can reinvent the field.
Being an inspirational speaker, what is your opinion
regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the
mental state? And what you suggest overcoming this
significant challenge?
Every age has its plague, and ours is no different. And, I am
not talking about the COVID-19 pandemic. Today's plague
is stress and anxiety. Our collective anxiety is skyrocketing
inside this stressful modern world, and COVID-19 is
merely shining a spotlight on these mental challenges.
When I work with people's behaviour patterns, we start with
this question. Does what you are currently doing work? I
don't ask them, is it right or wrong, or good or bad, but just
does it work? Our current world is not working for far too
many of us. Right now, COVID-19 is presenting us with an
opportunity that is beyond just fixing a virus – there are
much deeper issues that are leading to isolation – problems
with wealth distribution, class, gender and race privilege,
our divide between humanity and nature. All of this was
there before COVID. So along comes COVID, and
suddenly, we can no longer ignore these issues. All of us are
being called to question who we are being, what we are
doing and does what we are doing work or not work for
everybody. Now we have a choice, we can use COVID as
an opportunity to fix the deep underlying issues, or we can
be a victim of our current choices and return to the status
quo as soon as this pandemic is over. If we are going to
survive our current plague, we need to transform. Perhaps
COVID can help us do that.
Describe some of the vital attributes that every
businesswoman should possess.
There is a metaphor I can use from white water rafting.
Imagine you are in dangerous rapids – there are obstacles
everywhere, rocks and chutes and trees. At first, your
attention is riveted to these obstacles. A novice will focus
on the rocks and, by lending their attention there, is
guaranteed to crash. A master will keep their eye on the
through-path. Every woman has her internal rocks. Women,
for whatever reason, nature or nurture, are often tripped up
by other people's judgements or perceptions; by her inner
critic; by her perceived body-image; by situational issues
such as money, time, the kids. It is far too common for a
woman to silence her voice by listening to these sirens. Be
the rapids, be the way-through. I'm not saying ignore these
obstacles. I'm saying find a method to flow around them.
Start with the question 'does
it work', and if it doesn't,
have the courage to create
from the unknown.
“
The 10 Most Empowering Women in Business, 2021

What were the past experiences, achievements or lessons
that shaped your journey?
For much of my life, I was full of fear and struggled with
anxiety -- social anxiety, panic attacks, and such. I
meditated daily, I did daily yoga, I did talk therapy for a
decade, and when none of this freed me from the anxiety, I
did a deep dive into my own mind to create a method that
works for me. That method is what I teach. Every reader
has something in their past that is painful. It is there, in that
suffering, that her opportunity lies. Turn towards this
suffering and go to the areas that you most want to avoid,
and the journey becomes a lot more fun.
What were some of the primal challenges and
roadblocks that you faced during the initial phase of
your journey?
My biggest roadblocks were quitting and people-pleasing. I
had a terrible pattern of quitting. It was my go-to when
things got tough. This behaviour was predicated on people-
pleasing. Whenever someone had an unfavourable opinion
of what I was doing, I would panic and quit. Once I
overcame this, it didn't matter what the journey threw at me.
Today, I will always find a way through the problem.
Have you in any ways contributed towards the cause of
women empowerment?
My proprietary 4 Step Repatterning Technique is all about
transforming the brain patterns that disempower us. It is not
uncommon for a woman to feel disempowered. We swim in
cultural patterns that undermine feminine values. Values
such as relationships, emotional connection, being aligned
with nature and so on. Women need to understand that their
way of leading is different from men's, but that doesn't
make the male leadership model correct. Our brain is not
shaped hierarchically but heterarchically. Think of a fluid
hierarchy in which leadership transfers from one part of
your brain to another, depending on the needs of the
situation. When women are empowered, this is the
leadership model they produce. Feminine values are needed
today more than ever, and women can lead the way into a
new future by respecting and embracing their way of doing
things.
What is your advice for emerging women
entrepreneurs?
Our current systems are broken, and just because something
has been done in a particular way for millennia, it does not
mean it works. Women entrepreneurs have the power to
reinvent the systems. So be a changemaker, an innovator, a
rulebreaker. Find a coach who will help you identify and
follow your inner voice. Then go out and make the changes
that are so desperately needed today.
19
|
June 2021

Amy Martinez
Senior Attorney
RMO LLP

Amy Martinez
A Committed and Trusted Senior Attorney
Amy realized a long time ago that her skills are unique and
comparing herself to other attorneys provides no value. For
example, an attorney may be very aggressive or have some
other trait that Amy doesn’t possess, but she has the ability
to engage with people on a very human and compassionate
level and her clients know she cares about them as people
and not just as clients. Amy also tries to acknowledge
opposing counsel as individuals she can learn from, and not
just as an adversary. That makes the litigation process more
enjoyable for her. She tries to make friends instead of
enemies because if everyone continues to battle, the clients
will never win.
Embracing Technology
Amy is of the opinion that law firms have to understand that
AI and the use of non-lawyers to perform legal tasks will
soon disrupt the need for so many lawyers. Drafting
documents and conducting legal research, tasks often
performed by junior associates, will soon all be performed
by either AI tools or services such as Legal Zoom. Firms
that do not embrace technology might become extinct, and
certainly, firms that do not train their attorneys to negotiate
and advocate (tasks that cannot be performed by AI or non-
attorneys) will surely suffer a similar demise.
Response to Pandemic
Talking about the pandemic, Amy mentions that working in
a service industry, RMO could have struggled greatly
during the pandemic. Instead, the company swiftly altered
the way business is done by transitioning everyone to work
from home and continuing to maintain high levels of
communication with clients. It also relied heavily on
networking and creating/maintaining relationships with key
business partners. RMO overcame this challenge because
its attorneys are passionate about protecting their clients,
especially elderly clients who were forced into seclusion
Seniors and those with diminished capacity are always
at an elevated risk of falling victim to financial abuse.
The problem has been heightened during the recent
pandemic, but navigating and helping such clients in
litigation with personal one-on-one communication is Amy
Martinez – Senior Attorney of RMO LLP.
As a senior attorney and leader in the Orange County
market, Amy is responsible for developing relationships,
supporting the local community, and mentoring and
coordinating with team and client satisfaction initiatives.
She has been working for more than a decade now and
understands the emotional & financial quarreling clients go
through in corporate, business, and probate litigation. She
strives to present her experience to maximize and secure
economically favorable results for the clients.
An Empathetic Attorney
Throughout her tenure, Amy had to come across various
hurdles. For her, understanding that clients are often acting
and speaking out of emotion, and trying to get them past the
emotion so they can ultimately make wise decisions, was a
challenge at the beginning of her career. Early on, she also
worked tirelessly to build rapport and confidence with
clients, especially those who were much older than she was
as a young attorney. Additionally, ever-changing laws,
rules, and regulations were also there.
In the workplace, Amy made it a priority to create an
entrepreneurial mindset to network and grow the business.
She says, “It can be hard to find your place or maintain
confidence as a woman in a male-dominated field. I learned
early on to stop the mental anguish of comparing myself to
more experienced attorneys, which can only lead to
frustration and self-doubt.”
21
|
June 2021

during the pandemic. The company also focused on
bolstering the relationships between those who work at
RMO and ensuring the mental health of the employees
remains a top priority.
Giving Back to the Community
Helping and giving back is at the core of RMO. Amy
became an adjunct professor at Chapman University School
of Law because she loves supporting students working
towards a career in the legal field. She tries to be extremely
patient and approachable with them because she wants them
to fully understand what they are learning and not be afraid
to ask questions. During every class, Amy emphasizes the
attorneys’ ethical duties because the biggest mistake an
attorney can make is undermining their role as a fiduciary.
“Once you’ve lost your credibility, you might never gain it
back,” advises Amy.
Strategic Growth Mindset
Amy states that her parents always had this growth mindset.
If Amy, or one of her siblings, had an idea, her parents
would say, “Go for it.” There were no limitations, and
nothing would hold them back. If they wanted something,
they should “go for it.” “Knowing that nothing can hold
you back makes you realize that what some people consider
a ‘failure’is merely a minor delay or bump in the road.
Even when I experience a failure, I know that doesn’t mean
I am a failure, it just means I have to take a detour on my
road to success.” Amy tries to engrain the same mindset in
her son so he is not paralyzed by fear when trying new
things or afraid to take a risk. She knows if it doesn’t work
out, the next adventure is right around the corner and he
certainly will have learned a lot along the way.
Imparting Wisdom
In her advice to upcoming businesswomen, Amy says, "Be
a woman who supports other women; acknowledge their
successes, congratulate them on wins. Also, don’t let your
ego make decisions for you. If you live by your ego, you will
never be living your true passion. Don’t focus on salary,
titles, or prestige, but instead, focus on what’s truly
important to you. Make a list of non-negotiables for your
life and never settle for anything less because you deserve it
all.”
Our vision for the next 5
years at RMO is to
con nue to grow into
areas where our client-
first service model can
provide value to people
in need of probate and
trust estate dispute legal
services.

Chris anne erns,
Managing Partner,
Hahn & Hahn LLP

Ensuring Excellent Legal Service to Clients
Christianne Kerns
he unprecedented time of pandemic has certainly
Tbeen challenging for everyone. Most people have
experienced things in the past year that we never
anticipated. The legal challenges arising in response to the
pandemic have been life changing for organizations and
many clients have suffered greatly. Dealing with
unprecedented times certainly requires lot of creativity,
competence and resilience. Hahn & Hahn LLP is proud
to have been a resource to clients and partners in the
business community.
One of the shinning lights of the firm, who stands tall in
such critical times, is its leader, Christianne Kerns
(Chris), who is the first female Managing Partner in the
firm’s 122 year history.
Founded in 1899, Hahn & Hahn LLP is one of the oldest
law firms in California and one of the largest general
practice firms in Southern California's San Gabriel Valley.
Chris has served on its Executive Committee since 2011.
As head of the firm and effectively its CEO, she leads and
oversees strategic planning, talent management, partner-
ship matters, branding, business development, finance,
accounting, IT, budgeting, risk management, and human
resources processes.
Strong Work Ethic
Chris reveals the difficult fact that when she was a young
lawyer, women had to work harder and be smarter than
men, just to be seen as equal. But women were never
really equal. That is just the way it was. This instilled a
strong work ethic in her, and to this day Chris works long
hours to provide excellent legal service for her clients and
to further the interests of her firm. Chris believes that a
strong work ethic is a major predictor to one’s success.
Keeping People Happy, Healthy and Engaged
Attorneys work long hours, often working from home
well into the evening and on weekends to manage a busy
practice, so remote working was not entirely new for
lawyers. Remote working for staff, however, was a big
shift. Although it was challenging for the entire firm to
work remotely during pandemic, Hahn & Hahn managed
through leveraging technology and increasing communi-
cation channels across the firm.
Her people’s wellbeing is always top of mind for Chris.
From sta ffconnectivity with regular remote meetings and
social gatherings, to weekly all-attorney meetings by
zoom, remote workshops about taking care of one's
mental health, referrals for professional help, and just
touching base with each other regularly, the firm is doing
what it can to keep people happy, healthy, engaged and
connected.
Adapting Flexible Approach
Chris reports that the pandemic has had a disproportionate
impact on women in the legal industry. Many women have
stepped out of the practice of law to take care of family,
particularly school aged children who are managing
remote learning from home. Chris is hopeful that their
paths will bring them back to the law when circumstances
change, but this will require support from the legal
profession. Building flexibility into firm/organizational
cultures will be necessary to keep top talent. A more
robust remote work environment can be a good option to
help to build flexibility into an organizational culture. As
we adapt office space to the post-pandemic world, firms
may need less office space and open workspaces will need
to be compartmentalized to allow healthy distances and
physical barriers to promote safety and good health.
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June 2021

Making a Difference
In challenging times, Hahn & Hahn is perfectly positioned
to navigate the constantly shifting tides to help businesses
survive and thrive! Throughout the pandemic, the firm
helped many businesses obtain large amounts of emer-
gency funding, affiliate in partnership with other business
organizations, maneuver around forever changing business
restrictions and employment regulations, acquire busi-
nesses in distress to retain value, and buy and sell
companies and properties. Other efforts included
litigation and bankruptcy as needs dictate to protect value
and assets. And it seemed that everyone needed a new or
updated estate plan. Through it all, Hahn & Hahn seeks to
makes an impact on its clients by providing excellent,
value-added service in collaboration with clients and
others.
Working Hard for Welfare of People
Hahn & Hahn lawyers are motivated by their passions;
most are serving the community through various
charitable causes. They volunteer and advise on a
multitude of non-profit boards of directors, including
child services organizations, homeless shelters, animal
rescue agencies, schools, boys’ and girls’ clubs, hospitals,
and the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association. They
are working hard for the good of the community.
Hahn & Hahn LLP
retains its long tradi-
tions of integrity, ser-
vice, and excellence in
the practice of law
while looking ahead to
the changing needs of
its clients as the 21st
century advances.
‘‘
‘‘

Being Prepared to Make Sacrifices
Chris's advice to young women and people with diverse
backgrounds aspiring to a legal career: be prepared, work
hard, and make sacrifices for your future. Pursue the law
with gusto and do not let biases, apparent or inherent, stop
you. Be open to mentors who can help, guide and lead
you, and sponsors who will put you out there for
opportunities and recognition for your good work. Look
for ways to bring positive attention to yourself and your
work – leading to better assignments and higher visibility.
If you are in a situation that does not provide opportunities
to succeed or the flexibility you need, don't be afraid to
consider other options. Partnership and senior counsel
positions exist for women and people with diverse
backgrounds, even in the top international firms and
companies.
Reflecting the Diversity of Community
Hahn & Hahn seeks to maintain its independence as a
small law firm. With women comprising more than 50%
of its partners, the firm is a certified majority women and
minority owned firm and strives to improve its diversity
so that its professionals better reflect the diversity of the
communities it serves.
Commitment to High Quality Service
Hahn & Hahn provides optimal solutions to challenges
that add value and contribute to clients' and their
stakeholders' successes. The firm continues a long
commitment to excellence and integrity, delivering high-
quality representation and sophisticated business and
legal services to longstanding clients and the emerging
leaders of California, while bringing their minds and
hearts to make a meaningful difference in the
communities they serve.
From Le to Right:
Hahn & Hahn a orneys Rita Diaz, Chris anne Kerns & Susanne Cohen.
27
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June 2021

In this modern age, a woman is not conﬁned to the
boundaries of a home. There is a lot of development in
the freedom of woman’s life. Today, a woman toils &
reaches from rags to riches. There are many examples like
Kylie Jenner, Sheryl Sandberg, Mary Barra etc. It is seen
that in all businesspersons in the world, 36% consists of
businesswomen.
What stands strong behind the success of a
businesswoman? Many businesswomen today have their
family support but some of them have had objections,
constraints while starting up a business or enterprise. So,
what are the qualities that make a businesswoman stand out
from the crowd? Obviously, the answer is self-conﬁdence,
but there are many to count.
Ambition – What if a businessperson is not ambitious and
serious with his or her business. What if he or she is not
conscious about business and does not have sense of
purpose. One may come to a point in life where one
squanders everything, comes back to earlier one and doesn’t
become a successful one. Many businesswomen are
successful today because, they are ambitious at something.
They have charisma to achieve what they dream and where
they want to reach.
Humility & Willingness to Learn – A successful person
never give up learning. Be it a successful entrepreneur or an
employee. Learning is what keeps them boosted up. They
open up anywhere to share the knowledge they have and
why not one should do that. It helps at every stage of

human development which leads to a successful
businessperson.
Assertiveness – This is what many lack to be even they are
confident enough to do her job. Being assertive, facing
criticism, answering critics fearlessly and at the same time
being cool, calm and considered are very qualities that a
businesswoman must possess. This results in a positive
response from people around and they respect you for that.
Persistence – Simply starting a business and working
sporadically doesn’t work in this real world. One has to be
persistent with her duties. If not, they will face a big
downfall in business. Sticking to own word and proving self
to the world seems to be just a phrase, but it means a lot
when you step in a business and interact with this pragmatic
world.
We know many famous businesswomen in this world. They
are big names to take but there are many female
entrepreneurs in this world which account to hold a massive
portion of businesses in this world. What percentage of
women own businesses and running them successfully? It is
nearly equal to men owing businesses. It is 48% of women
who run businesses in this world. According to a report by
American Express, the number of women owned businesses
grew by 4.2% each year from 2007 to 2018. Isn’t it an
inspirational news? In this competitive world, where most
of the businessmen feel it difficult to thrive, in such a
situation women hold a good amount of stake in businesses.
This is what motivates other women around the world. A
woman has more responsibilities when she runs the
household and business together.
Though the businesswomen are successful and continuously
manages to be in the position firmly, but it cannot be the
same for her every time. There are many challenges, faced
by women entrepreneurs today. These might be the family
ties, male dominated society, problem of finance. Family
holds to be the most important thing to a woman. In this
world, where a man is deemed to work and earn bread and
butter, and woman to run the households, it is not easy for
people to digest the freedom of a woman and allow her to
work whether she is an entrepreneur or an employee. This
world is by fact, the male-dominated society and no one can
deny but still proving self and standing shoulder to shoulder
make a successful businesswoman stand out of the box.
Trait Secrets
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June 2021

Donna Loughlin
Founder and President
LMGPR

Donna Loughlin
Delivering Results that Drive
Leadership, Momentum and Growth
The importance of news industry has everlasting
impact on the lives of people. This medium has the
power to make a tangible impact on larger sections
of society through the stories it can tell. To deliver efficient
public services having good platform is important. In 2001,
Donna Loughlin formed LMGPR to provide strategic
public relations (PR) services to emerging tech companies.
Donna is a PR veteran known for her tenacity and creativity
in leading public relations programs for early-stage
technology innovators taking them from start-up to IPO and
often acquisition.
Being Exposed to Media from Young Age
Donna’s biggest influence was growing up in the pre-digital
age in the newspaper industry. At a young age she was
exposed to news reporting, publishing, and the print
process, mostly from her father and his brothers. By the
time she was a teenager she had experience working for a
community paper, then book publishing. She also worked
on a local radio station doing advertising writing and audio
recordings. These experiences and her non-stop curiosity
about how things work ultimately led her to getting a
degree in communications and journalism.
Making the Impossible Possible
The pivot in Donna’s career was when she went from
publishing to the technology sector and her senses were
ignited. The tech industry is always advancing and how
things work and impact everyone’s lives fascinates Donna.
She is inspired by influencing change in how one can work
and live with the advancement of technology one story at a
time. Making the impossible possible intrigues her the most
about working with visionaries and futurists.
Creating Real Business Results
LMGPR means — Leadership, Momentum and Growth.
LMGPR is a platform of great storytellers, influencers, and
markets shapers. The platform is formed on a belief that the
right story and the right audience leads to real business
results. Donna believes that creating a great story starts with
a journey of discovery, research and being relevant. She is
an award-winning storyteller and PR influencer working
with visionaries changing how people live in the future. She
is also known for her results-oriented PR programs,
dedication to her clients, and constant enthusiasm for new
innovation.
Innovative PR Approach
With LMGPR, Donna has secured more than a dozen
personal and agency awards from global organizations.
LMGPR has received numerous industry awards based on
its continuous PR leadership, creativity, media relations and
innovative PR approach. Donna believes that client
engagement is about listening and learning, and not just a
transaction. She is highly skilled in every aspect of public
relations and delivers high impact results that drive
Leadership, Momentum and Growth.
Delivering High-Impact Results
Prior to establishing LMGPR, Donna worked with several
tech companies and started her career in publishing as a
reporter/editor working on science and math publications.
She spent a decade working in corporate public relations
positions taking companies from stealth to IPO in a variety
of B2B and B2C technology markets. At the time, there
were a lot of big and mid-sized agencies in the market, but
none providing a strategic approach to launching companies
in less than 6 months, let alone 90 days. These are the
phases that its clients engage with it in and how it quickly
accelerates its business model. As a result, LMGPR is able
to deliver high-impact results that match its business goals
over and over. At this point, it has launched over 500
companies and secured more than a million articles.
Moving Beyond Traditional Press Release
LMGPR works with visionaries and futurists that are often
working from labs and think tanks well before products go
to market. Sometimes these conversations start with napkin
conversations or a series of white board talks. Then it starts
crafting the story board and apply the story to the science to
make it tangible. Once it creates a story, it determines the
medium in which to tell the story, often moving beyond the
traditional press release.
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June 2021

Video is one medium for good storytelling that can take a
customer on a unique experience. LMGPR often ties video
with other interactive digital assets like a short podcast
series or byline series. Then they make a digital press kit
which becomes a key knowledge center repository of all
digital assets for educating both the media and consumers
and giving them a hands-on experience.
Inculcating Creative Process in Telling the Story
No two customers have the same needs as they are at
different phases of their business. It starts with the company
and product vision, then LMGPR stands back and looks at
the market need, challenges, and business goals. Once it has
all this information collected, it can start the creative
process in telling the story. Since it works with emerging
markets, the first phase after story creation is often market
analyst briefings. The market analyst is important as it is the
pulse of the industry and know who other players that are
might be in stealth also.
Paving the Future with Implementation of Advanced
Technologies
LMGPR has continuously evolved with the emerging tech
markets. The last few years it has amplified its
transportation, AI, robotics, and sustainability product
portfolio, bringing some of the most amazing products to
market. The convergence of technology has happened quite
rapidly. The intelligence once in cars is now in smart
tractors, motorcycles, and one’s home.
Additionally, there is an advancement of AI and deep
learning in post COVID-19 wellness and environmental
products. Bringing these products to market requires a lot of
education and LMGPR is delighted to work with companies
paving the future. Donna is also hosting a podcast series,
“Before It Happened,” which is an up-close and personal
series on visionaries and the future they imagine. These are
the idea makers shaping their life and work, and they get a
glimpse into their world before they created their big idea.
Being Informed, Fearless, Agile and Relevant
Donna tries to strive by the “7 Habits of Highly Effective
People” outlined in Stephen R Covey’s book and “How to
Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie.
These books have been great coaching tools during Donna’s
career. She considers it is important to be fearless, agile and
relevant. She learned the latter on the job with some
amazing mentors.
Seeing Diversity in PR
69 percent of the PR industry professionals are women,
making it a great career choice for the next generation.
Donna says to entrepreneurs that not only this career offer
choices in working for corporate, agency or freelance, it’s
also very kind to those wanting families. There are certain
sectors such as technology that the client base is 80 percent
male, making it an interesting dynamic. Donna would like
to see more diversity in PR industry and the college degrees
that enter the field. She states that the College internships
are a great place to start exploring career option.
LMGPR’s goal is to create
a strategic partnership
with its clients where
public relations and
communications
become key tools for
helping clients achieve
their business objectives.

Jennifer Cisneros
Vice President of Marke ng
BioMicrobics, Inc.

Jennifer
Cisneros
Promoting a Culture of Water Innovation
Effective leaders see their daily activities as
opportunities to grow in their personal and
professional life. On a larger scale, effective leaders
see agency-wide projects as doors through which they can
get a glimpse on how the organization is doing and what is
required to help the company grow.
One such transformational and empowering leader is
Jennifer Cisneros. She is the Vice President of
Marketing at BioMicrobics, Inc. She promotes a culture
of Water Innovation. Jennifer is excited to share her
personal experiences, provide tips for career advancement,
and lists three behaviors that have helped her in her current
role. Lastly, she lists some tips, which can help women
pursue a similar career path. The article includes a short
snapshot on her employer’s social media landscape. Her
experience makes her a top thought leader in her industry.
Exemplifying Proficiency
While it has been a challenge to market to multiple
customer segments around the globe in 80+ countries,
Jennifer is eager to support the 120+ BioMicrobics
distributors and help communicate the company's mission.
“Water touches on everything we do on this planet,”
Jennifer shares. “Water is the thing people cannot live
without and seem to value the least.” Jennifer is always
eager to address questions people may have about water.
She brings a strong, technical voice to customer and in-
house conversations. She quickly learned that we needed to
educate our communities about our current technologies,
industry regulations, and the environmental risks that have
a direct impact on our water supply.
In addition to serving as Vice-President of Marketing for
BioMicrobics, Inc. and its subsidiaries, Jennifer manages
her employer’s communications, websites (including
Distributor sites through a DBA Program), 350-plus online
profiles, social media, and tradeshows/corporate event
planning. Behind the scenes, BioMicrobics markets in 17
different languages. She works with international
distributors who assist in translating her material for each of
their markets. In tandem, Jennifer works with Technical
Practices Committees (TPC) composed of scientists and
water process engineers with different skillsets and levels of
expertise for technical documents. She submits high-
priority, technical/environmental management research
questions to Organizations and Innovation Programs. For 6
years, she served as the Marketing Chair of the National
Onsite Wastewater Recycling Association (NOWRA).
Her efforts were paramount to achieving recognition for
BioMicrobics as unveiled by the following awards: Kansas
Exporter of the Year in 2011, President’s “E”[Excellence in
Exports] in 2012, “E Star” in 2016, Top 10 Wastewater
Management Solutions Provider in 2019, and Global Water
& Wastewater Company of the Year in 2020.
Jennifer has been contacted by nationwide manufacturing
organizations that promote and recognize women who
exemplify leadership in Science, Technology, Engineering,
and Production. In this regard, Jennifer received The
Manufacturing Institute’s STEP Ahead Award in 2017 and,
in 2019, the Empowering Women in Industry Award for
Leadership in Manufacturing. Recently, Jennifer was
interviewed as a “Woman in Ballast Water” for her
contributions to one of the company’s most recent
acquisitions. The article described Jennifer as “no stranger
to leading the way and not just in gender equality.”
Carved her Own Path
With regard to her engineering and technical background,
Jennifer confides, “I originally pursued a degree in
architecture/environmental design but changed to marketing
as communications became my passion.” Most of Jennifer’s
operational experience was obtained by working ‘in the
trenches’ at engineering and art departments on projects
with competing priorities and aggressive deadlines.
For most of Jennifer’s career, she worked in high-paced
work environments, which required her to manage her own
workflow. She mentioned she did not have a formal career
The 10 Most Empowering Women in Business 2021
37
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June 2021

mentor. “Fortunately,” Jennifer added, “informal mentors
abound when I stopped to take a look at the people I
worked with and served.”
Within her chain of command and every layer in her
employer’s organizational structure, she has found people
who exemplify the leadership traits she feels compelled to
model after. From the President to the Warehouse Staff, the
BioMicrobics Team cultivates an atmosphere of
camaraderie and inclusiveness.
Finding your Passion in your Current Role
Jennifer asserts that any role can lead to finding one’s
passion as long as we take the time to reflect on what the
company stands for and how we want to serve our
customers.
She adds, “Working at BioMicrobics, I found out I have a
passion for talking about the environment. By contributing
to the distribution of clean technologies, I can help solve
world water problems.”
TIP #1: Be Agile
Jennifer believes a key trait of a good leader is to be agile.
While it is common knowledge that projects must be
divided into manageable, actionable items, we must see
these items as flexible constructs, which must be reassessed
and adapted periodically.
On this topic, Jennifer shares, “we can’t fixate our minds on
a rigid execution plan when we know life will bring us
surprises.” An agile, flexible mindset effectively flows
through the issues and can achieve wide-ranging objectives.
TIP #2: Speak Up
Get your voice heard with your ideas and let people know
where you stand. Speaking up as soon as risks are identified
is essential to the day-to-day management of a firm’s
operations. When company leaders fosters a safe work
culture (e.g. respect of everyone’s ideas and open
feedback), creative ideas flourish which, in turn, brings
forth a healthy dose of risk-taking, new possibilities and
previously overlooked opportunities.
While safety and risk-taking appear to be two ends of the
spectrum, Jennifer feels both are tied at the hip. Within her
organization, Jennifer states, “Without trust, there is no
safety; without safety, there is no space for newer team
members to speak up and contribute.
With safety, you create an environment for people’s ideas to
flourish, even if those ideas may become highly disruptive.
Even if the idea fails, the experience gained will help in the
future. Asking: What went wrong? What could I do better
next time? What can I learn from this?
Undesirable outcomes can open doors for unexpected
opportunities and even valuable life lessons.
At BioMicrobics, there is considerable exposure to political
risks, cultural misunderstandings, economic fluctuations,
and other entanglements. Jennifer said she is fortunate to
work for BioMicrobics whose approach to remain open,
driven and flexible speaks to its heavy emphasis on
diversity, inclusion, and company growth.
Next to her Communications Studies Leadership Award in
her office, she has a small brass plaque that says,
“QUALITY…never an accident; Quality is always the
result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction,
and skillful execution; it represents the wise choice of many
alternatives.”
TIP #3: Participate
Participate in or, if not available, set up cross-knowledge
transfer sessions with your team. These activities are

effective at building a team that works effectively together,
as each participant has a better understanding of how
everyone plays a role in the team and organization. Jennifer
promotes a cross-team mindset by training coworkers on
the same skills and tasks that she is responsible for. Doing
so provides employees with promotion potential and
advancement opportunities. She wouldn't ask someone to
do something that she herself wouldn't do.
She is excited to come to work every day, as she feels she
learns something new every day and she wants others to
feel the same excitement she feels. Thanks to the vision of
BioMicrobics’ founder, the company has expanded its
operations, support programs, and product offerings all over
the world. Her willingness to participate in international
travel has afforded Jennifer many opportunities to grow on
a personal level and in her career. Not only has visited 18
countries (thus far), she has gained a greater understanding
of her distributors’ markets and able to support them better.
Through her travels, she has met the most amazing people
in the Water industry. Many colleagues within the
BioMicrobics network often visit her workplace for training
and participate in corporate events. She states that while
everyone comes from different backgrounds, the interaction
creates unique perspectives. A big plus is that you often
meet like-minded people and sometimes can make life-long
friends to connect with on social media.
Bringing the Water Industry in Limelight
Jennifer expressed her assurance and dedication to the
company’s tag line: ‘Better Water. Better World.’ and the
technologies to aid in efficient water management.
BioMicrobics has spent a quarter of a century in the water
and wastewater treatment industry, manufacturing
wastewater, greywater, recycling and water reuse treatment
systems to provide solutions for small communities,
commercial properties and decentralized homes. For the
past 14 years, she continues to prove vital to the company’s
growth by integrating Biomicrobics’ marketing efforts.
It is paramount that the company effectively communicates
and educates to acquire a new target audience, the
conscious consumer. This audience is highly active in social
media and will engage to most with BioMicrobics Social
Media presence by retweeting and sharing posts about
BioMicrobics’ environmentally-focused content. Jennifer
has helped develop a loyal fan base for the company on
Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, and even
Pinterest (she is in the beginning stages of Tik Tok)
transforming BioMicrobics into a transparent company.
Enlightening Upcoming Businesswomen
Advice she gives to emerging businesswomen, “Be patient
when setting and working on your career goals; always
assess where you want to contribute. Do not rush or stress
over the details as this is where mistakes happen and
deadlines are missed.”
Have a chance to sharpen yourself for the long term through
clear intention and integrity, taking the time to reflect on the
lessons learned and lending a helping hand along the way.
Doing so will help support the organization and customers
with confidence and a clear purpose.
Her final thoughts leaves us ready to reach new heights:
“Besides being agile, speaking up, and participating, be
committed to delivering excellence on every task you
handle; even the early morning emails we send is a
reflection of who we are and what we stand for. This same
reflection is also shared through every daily interaction.”
“Lastly, find your passion, delegate, empathize, develop
boundaries, exercise and drink plenty of water!
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June 2021

Nina Marino
Co-founder
Kaplan Marino

Nina Marino
A Proficient White-Collar Defense Attorney
eing a white-collar defense attorney is a weighty
Bresponsibility because someone’s future is
dependent on your strategy and ability to execute. A
lawyer’s work involves advising clients on all parts of the
law and presenting their best case both in and out of court.
As the business environment continues to be competitive,
an adviser should be well informed, prompt, and attentive.
Leading with all these skills, Nina Marino is an
internationally recognized, white-collar criminal defense
attorney.
A co-founder of her firm, Kaplan Marino, Nina represents
business professionals, executives, public figures, and other
individuals who are under investigation or targeted by
serious allegations of white collar and other criminal
matters.
In an interview with Insights Success, Nina sheds light on
leadership, women’s participation in the legal profession
and life factors that inspired her.
Below are the highlights of the interview:
Please brief our readers about your leadership position
at Kaplan Marino.
I founded Kaplan Marino in 1996 with my husband and law
partner, Richard Kaplan. Since then, we have shared
responsibility for the growth of the firm and the expansion
of the practice. Today, Kaplan Marino is recognized
globally as a white-collar criminal defense law firm.
Being an experienced leader, what are your thoughts on
the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the legal
profession? And how has Kaplan Marino managed to
overcome this significant challenge?
The impact of COVID-19 on the legal profession has been
quite interesting. Whereas previously “everyday” meant an
“office day,” and every meeting was in person, today we
work on a flexible office/work-from-home schedule and
video calls are the new norm. That is certainly not to
diminish the value of person-to-person working
environments. I think what has made COVID-19 a success
for Kaplan Marino is our ability to adapt and thrive in a
virtual environment. It is balancing working virtually and in
the office that has served to grow the firm in 2021.
In what ways do you contribute to the community?
I founded and chaired the Criminal Law Section of Women
Lawyers of Los Angeles for more than 20 years. When I
retired my post, Jennifer Lieser, a member of my firm, took
over as Chair. My partner, Richard Kaplan, was the
President of the Beverly Hills Bar Association. I founded
and chaired the Women in White Collar Subcommittee of
the American Bar Association Criminal Justice Section
White Collar Committee. I also founded and currently chair
the Los Angeles Chapter of the Women White Collar
Defense Association. I am also on the Executive Committee
of the Criminal Justice Section Council of the American
Bar Association, sit by appointment on the Standards
Committee, and chair the Continuing Legal Education
Committee. To say the least, our firm’s culture encourages
giving back to the legal profession and everyone at Kaplan
Marino actively contributes.
If given a chance, what change would you bring to
mitigate risks for companies in cybercrime or money
laundering?
Companies operating in the financial sector must be
familiar with know your customer policies and have anti
money laundering protocols in place. Due diligence is a
must! We work with companies to establish needed
processes and procedures that protect them from would be
bad actors as well as running afoul of government
41
|
June 2021

regulatory oversight. To protect company data from
cybercrime breaches, we recommend regular training of
employees.
What would be your advice for aspiring women
entrepreneurs in law?
Have a vison. Decide who and what you want to be and
make it so. I started out practicing criminal defense law
straight out of law school. After seven years of practice, I
decided I wanted to be a white-collar lawyer. This was and
has always been an exclusive industry. Believe it and it will
happen!
What people, what books, what life factors have
influenced and impacted you?
My parents were entrepreneurs in law, and they instilled in
me that belief that “you can do it!” Over my career there
have been several people that have shaped who I am as a
lawyer. Based on those relationships I remind myself every
day that the most important asset I have is my integrity and
credibility. I will never risk that for anything. As far as
books go, I love to read, so frequently, the last book I read
is my current favorite!
What is your vision for Kaplan Marino for the next five
years?
Kaplan Marino is on the move, literally! We will be moving
to new space later this year that will display our unique
boutique vibe. I expect in the next five years our global
reputation as a white-collar criminal defense law firm will
be furthered by this new space which will reflect our
success, our commitment to our clients, and the results we
get.
Have a vison, decide
who and what you
want to be and make
it so
“
“

Summer Kim-Davis,
Founder,
IKON Mortgage, Inc.

Summer Kim-Davis
Helping People Achieve their Dreams as Homeowners
omen don’t have to be like men to achieve
Wgender equality. All we have to do is embrace
our own femininity and grace, by doing so we
will offer the greatest contribution to the world. Courage is
grace under pressure. With our natural grace, women can
confront any pressure and crossover any challenges that
may come. It is important for women to be authentic and
courageous to lead in the business world with cut-throat
competition. Summer Kim-Davis is one such empowered
woman who also encourages other women to be authentic
and courageous, asking never to lose the grace being a
woman. She advises women to go against the grain and be
bold, and courageous in the pursuit of their goals without
giving into the opinions of anyone else. She is the Founder
of IKON Mortgage, Inc.
In an interview with Insights Success, Summer Kim-Davis
shares her journey and her contribution through IKON
Mortgage, Inc.
Below are the highlights of the interview:
Take our readers through your journey being at the
helm of IKON Mortgage, Inc.
IKON Mortgage, Inc was founded in 2016 out of pure
passion for excellence and outstanding customer service
experience for my clients. I started my career as a mortgage
consultant back in 2006 living in Honolulu, Hawaii, before
I moved to Dallas, TX in 2010, where I realized my client’s
best interests were not in the vision of Corporate America,
motivating the founding of IKON Mortgage, Inc. in 2016.
Most people think that I have a finance background, but in
fact, I majored in Arts and Fashion in college. I was not
interested in math or science when I was growing up
although I was always good with numbers.
I believe my creative background helps me to think outside
the box and finding solutions to unique situations when
others may overlook. About 10 years into my mortgage
lending career, I had a burning desire to create a platform to
serve my clients better, but I could not find a company that
shared my vision. After much thought and planning, I built
the courage for the business adventure. It was not an easy
decision to start a company becoming an entrepreneur
because I always loved the security and benefits that comes
with working in the corporate world. After many sleepless
nights, I finally took courage to pull the trigger. I decided to
go all-in with my vision and willing to take the risk because
I would rather try and fail, than regret later.
What were the challenges you came across founding the
organization?
The biggest challenge was adjusting to a new role as an
entrepreneur because I always liked being an employee
having security of income, benefits, and resources from the
company. When I first started IKON Mortgage, Inc., I had
no mentor or role model, so it was a challenging transition
because I had no one to turn to or anywhere to find
resources that I needed when I first had challenges. A few
lessons I had to learn the hard way, but I was determined to
learn as quickly as I could and embrace my new role as an
entrepreneur. I figured out how to set up a company,
acquiring licenses to become a mortgage broker and now a
corresponding lender. In order to establish structure from
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|
June 2021

the ground up I wore many hats… a mortgage advisor,
running marketing, sales, processing, loan origination,
closing, post-closing, customer service, and CRM
management and the list goes on and on. You name it. I had
to do them all by myself in the beginning and wear many
hats to get the company started and operating.
what is your idea of impactful leadership? What style of
leadership do you personally prefer and have
implemented at IKON Mortgage?
I started reading intensely after I started IKON Mortgage,
Inc. mainly because I needed to self-educate and improve in
order to grow the team and company. I believe impactful
leadership is leading by example. Go explore places ﬁrst, or
testing the waters, so to speak, before I take and lead my
team there. My leadership style is inﬂuencing, encouraging,
empowering them to be the best version of themselves,
perform at their best level, be the best they can be. I
encourage excellence.
Taking into consideration, the current pandemic, and its
impact on global economies, how are you driving the
company to sustain operations and ensuring safety of
your associates and employees at the same time?
I strive to lead my team in humility and practice the lean
business model. We choose quality over quantity. We have a
IKON Mortgage
strives to keep the
mortgage
experience simple,
efficient, and
enjoyable for its
clients.
‘‘
‘
‘

small team with high-quality individuals and run a highly
efficient and structured system. We were able to sustain
growth while not taking on any additional liabilities, so we
can compensate our valuable employees and bring better
pricing to our clients to keep them happy. Also, our lean
business model helps us to leverage and pivot the down
market as needed during global pandemic.
According to you, what essential traits should an
entrepreneur posse to thrive in the present-day
cutthroat business ecosystem?
In contrary to the stereotype, I believe humility is an
essential trait to overcome and thrive in cutthroat business
ecosystems. You can’t run a lean business if you have a
huge ego and desire to have all bells and whistles. Good
reputation within the competitors helps and we believe
there are always more for everyone and we trust our clients
and their ability to make wise decisions for themselves. We
never have to trash talk our competitors to win the clients.
We believe that our job is to educate our clients so they can
make informed decisions whether it is with us, or someone
else.
In what ways have you or the company contributed to
the community? If given a chance, what change would
you bring in Home Mortgage financing & Conventional
Home Mortgage for Individuals, Institutional clients,
and Corporate Issuers?
Our dream and vision to raise the standard in mortgage
lending industry, be an example for outstanding customer
experience.
What people, what books, what life factors have
influenced and impacted you?
I am a Christian and God is the biggest influencer in my
life. Besides that, I love John Maxwell’s leadership books,
Dale Carnage, Daniel Pink, Patrick Lencioni, Brene Brown,
Joyce Myers, and Simon Sinek books.
What would be your advice to the up-and-coming
women entrepreneurs aspiring to enter the Financial
Services Industry?
I would like to encourage all women to be authentic and
courageous, never lose the grace being a woman. We do not
have to demand our seat in male dominated industry. We do
not have to be loud and aggressive to earn the seat. We can
earn the seat with our works, excellence, and reputation.
Never doubt and let others to doubt who you are, and do not
compromise your values because that’s the norm. Go
against the grain and be willing to try and fail. Rise up to
try again. Be strong, courageous, and be true to yourself.
Embrace your femininity because we are only strong when
we can be vulnerable. My personal motto is “Be You. Go
All In. Be Transformed”. (inspired by Brene Brown
books between Gift of Imperfection, Daring Greatly, and
Rising Strong)
47
|
June 2021

Taiwing Tian
Co-founder
Switching-Time

TAIWING TIAN
Leading to Bring Impact Around Her
Atruly impactful leadership has dual focus where it
moves a team towards the goal while also
nurturing their individual growth. It’s an
impressive act. Leaders, who make an impact, recognize
and prioritize their team members’ growth as much as their
end goal. Let’s read about the story of one such business
personality who believes in such kind of leadership and
making an actual impact through it. “I think an impactful
leadership is a combination of courage, humility, resilience,
commitment, strength, hardworking, and with a warm
heart,” Taiwing Tian Co-founder
says . She is the of
Switching-Time and recognized to have a triumphed career
at a young age. She further adds “I personally prefer a
leadership that is to listen, to inspire, to empower and to
support. That’s the direction and style we try to shape our
key leaders at the agency.”
A Visionary Approach
Taiwing Tian co-founded Switching-Time with her partner
back in 2012 with the vision to create unique and impactful
communications agency in China that focuses on Fashion,
Beauty, Luxury and Lifestyle. It has been 9 years, the
business and team had a very healthy and significant
growth. They have developed a large client pool of well-
known international brands, won multi awards at key
international awards programs by providing world-class
work for their clients. Taiwing asserts “For the past 3
years, we have won 3 times in GOLD at Campaign Greater
China Award. Setting it not only on par with 4A agencies,
but ahead of them. This was a big recognization for our
agency and our team.”
Inspiring from Elder
Taiwing considers her father as her inspiration. She keeps
going back to her childhood, specifically growing up with
her dad and gets inspired by him, who has always been very
kind, strong and humble. She recalls one of her dad’s hobby
tai chi, a graceful form of exercise in China, as she used to
watch him practicing tai chi since she was little. This
inspires her to practice the combination of soft and hard, to
stay calm, and focus on inner strength and resilience.
Positive Work Environment is Essential
Taiwing believes a positive work culture is very important
for their agency. As a communications agency, people are
the most valuable assets to them. She considers humility,
respect, trust and courage has been always important part of
the company’s culture at Switching-Time. “We work as a
team, support each other as a family, back up each other,
like a family culture,” “We are
says Taiwing. She opines
here to make sure we inspire, encourage each other daily,
maintain positive energy and stay true to who we are.”
Sustaining Growth through Novel Working Approaches
After 9 years of healthy growth and achievements, Taiwing
now finds it challenging to take Switching-Time to another
49
|
June 2021

level to keep a sustainable growth. She mentions that in
agency industry, where the pressure is extremely high, the
common challenge is high staff turnover, and thus, quality
of work gets affected and leads to client turnover. Thus, she
believes in the golden triangle that reflects Growth,
Probability and Happy team. She believes in keeping team
motivated to keep the quality.
With its team leaders, Switching-Time launched the CEO
strategy: C stands for Current Client Focus, E for Education
and Learning, and O for Operational Excellence. Taiwing is
of the opinion that the agency should grow through focus
on current clients or their referrals. This would positively
impact team balance, as well as guarantee the quality of
work, as no time would be wasted chasing “maybe”
revenue.
She believes that education means putting great emphasis
on team capability development, and thus, the company
launched student program ( ), an academy for all team
学堂
members, by support from external training resources, to
make sure people work not harder but smarter.
The team at Switching-Time loves to support local start up
brands and using its expertise and services to help them to
grow. In the next five years, Taiwing wants Switching-Time
to reinforce its status of leading integrated communications
agency in China, continue to be the expert in Fashion,
Beauty, luxury & lifestyle and keep growing current team to
become the future business leaders…
Believe in Yourself
At Switching-Time, 90% of the team members are women,
and Taiwing sees them as the future business leaders of
China. On advising emerging businesswomen leaders, she
opines “Believe in yourself, be bold & open, give 200% of
energy and very important stay humble no matter at what
stage. This will always lead you to somewhere.”
Our Motto at
Switching-Time is Be
Bold, Work Hard,
Stay Humble which
represent our core
values.
“
“

Twanieka Alcindor,
Manager and Consultant Barrister
Alcindor Law

Twanieka
Alcindor
Providing Expert Advocacy in Legal Matters
egal actions can sometimes be overwhelming for
Lmany. Having expert, empathetic, professional, and
relatable legal consultant to assist one in the legal
proceedings is the need of many people. Twanieka
Alcindor is one such reputed and relatable legal consultant
who assists people in their legal proceedings with her
expert skills, empathy, and professionalism. Twanieka is the
Manager and Consultant Barrister of the Franchise
Law Firm Alcindor Law, as a part of Tuckers Solicitors.
Her position involves managing a small team of solicitors,
barristers, and paralegals in a busy high street firm in
Brixton, London. Alcindor Law specializes in Criminal
defense litigation, family law, and conveyancing, and it also
assists in cross-jurisdictional matters in the Commonwealth
Island of Jamaica.
Alcindor Law assists hundreds of clients each year
providing high-quality legal representation and expert
advocacy in a variety of legal matters. Twanieka is
responsible for the training, professional development, and
supervision of all fee-earners in the firm and personally
supervise the case management of every single case that the
firm is instructed in. Twanieka further appears as the
instructed advocate in the court proceedings.
Besides, Twanieka is the Winner of Women in Law awards
2020 - Rising Star - Legal Services Innovator of the Year.
She is the Nominee of Inspirational Women in Law Awards
in the Inspirational Woman of the Year, Under 35 Lawyer of
the Year category 2019. She is the Founder of Pro-bono law
clinic ‘Lawyers in the Soup Kitchen’ since 2014 which
provides free legal advice and assistance to those without
access to legal resources at its weekly advice clinic.
Incorporating Remote Working in Legal Practice
During the pandemic Alcindor Law has experienced several
challenges in providing legal expertise to its clients. Firstly,
the key challenge was facilitating contact with its clients
who are currently on remand in custody. Many of the
prisons were ill-equipped to cope with the sudden increase
in requests for remote video links to the court for clients to
attend court remotely. Coupled with this came the
prioritising of the available remote video slots being
reserved only for court attendances in several prisons which
meant that even where there was availability for a video
conference with the client’s legal representatives these were
not permitted. To add, many prisons simply did not have the
facilities or closed the prison to all legal visits.
These challenges meant that for many months we were
unable to see our clients in custody. They were unable to be
properly advised in time for their hearings and Alcinder had
to depend on telephone calls and sending hundreds of
letters and copies of case papers to be able to take its
client’s instructions and advise them.
The other challenge that the company continues to
experience is that due to the high population of prisoners in
the UK prisons there have been significant additional delays
in case progression as many clients are not being produced
at court for their hearings either in person or remotely as
they are required to isolate if they display Covid-19
symptoms or anyone on their prison wing does. This means
that even if a client has not himself displayed symptoms, he
is unable to attend court or have a video conference with his
legal representatives until the entire wing or those on his
floor have isolated and returned negative COVID-19 tests.
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June 2021

This has particularly caused difficulties for Alcinder’s
vulnerable clients and those who have been remanded in
custody for the very first time. The company has sought to
overcome some of these challenges by making better use of
written correspondence, email to a prisoner and securing
bail for its remand clients in their absence.
Ensuring Justice to Disadvantaged People
As a firm and as part of its wider community, Alcindor Law
provides free pro-bono legal assistance at weekly walking/
remote sessions at the Brixton Soup Kitchen. Its pro-bono
initiative contributes significantly to its community by
providing legal assistance and guidance to those of limited
legal resources in a variety of legal matters.
The recent legal aid cuts have resulted in an increased
amount of people no longer being eligible for legal aid
which both prevents and deters many from having access to
justice or legal recourse. Alcindor Law attempts at not only
providing legal assistance, but it also takes efforts at
equipping those to whom the justice system is alien with the
skills and knowledge required to help themselves with their
legal problems and thereby contributes to the general legal
knowledge of its community.
Alcindor Law’s community homes many socially
disadvantaged people who generally view the law with a
negative light due to their lack of knowledge or exposure.
Through the pro-bono project Lawyers in the Soup
Kitchen’s youth crime initiative, You-tube film ‘Brixton on
Trial’ became the first mock-trial to be filmed in the Royal
Courts of Justice and saw 30 students from the local area sit
as a jury in a real-life murder trial to educate them on the
impact and consequences of knife crime and further provide
them access to legal professionals from backgrounds
similar to their own.
Addressing the Issues of Vulnerable People
If Alcindor Law were able to bring about change for civil
liberties with police actions, it would encourage the
creation of a task force separate to the Independent Office
for Police Conduct to address the disparity in the types of
complaints against the police made by BAME individuals.
Twanieka believes with statistics so high and the amount of
BAME individuals that do not proceed with actions against
the police due to their mistrust of the system and processes
being unfair, a separate task force should be created to
address these issues. This task force would go a long way to
holding the police accountable when excessive or
unnecessary force is used against a detainee.
Fighting Against Odds to Achieve Desired Results
The book that impacted Twanieka recently is ‘In your
defense’ by Sarah Langford. Twanieka states that it is a
book that inspired hope, determination and reinforced her
decision to tirelessly fight against injustice. Additionally,
Twanieka is influenced and impacted by her deceased
Great-Grandmother ‘Rachel Alcindor’. Twanieka’s Great-
Grandmother’s motto that ‘with hard work and
determination one can achieve anything one puts one’s
mind to’ was something that kept her motivated throughout
her studies and continues to motivate her throughout her
career.
The firm is named after Twanieka’s Great-Grandmother as
it represents its efforts to fight against the odds to achieve
the desired results. Twanieka states that it is a constant
reminder that no matter where one starts in life, one can
determine where one ultimately would end up. Evidence to
this is Twanieka’s own personal journey from ‘Brixton to
the Bar’ as a young child from a Brixton counsel estate and
a single parent home who aspired to achieve, and did so,
paving the way for those who were to come.

Maintaining High Levels of Diversity by Being Inclusive
Alcindor Law’s reputation as a diverse and relatable team
of lawyers is something that it is very proud of. Its team
consists of 80% women and 100% of its team members are
from non-traditional diverse backgrounds including
members of the BAME community and further those who
are the first generation in their family to attend university.
Twanieka’s vision for the firm is that in the next five years,
it will continue to develop its reputation for maintaining
high levels of diversity throughout the firm. This will go
towards changing the diversity of the profession as a whole
and ensuring that the company continues to promote access
to justice and careers in law to the wider society.
Alcindor Law wishes to tackle racial disparity in the
criminal justice system at all levels as was highlighted by
the Lammy Review (2020) which detailed that the Jury
system is the only element of the Criminal justice system
where defendants are treated fairly in terms of race.
Slow
and
steady
wins the
race.
‘‘ ‘‘
55
|
June 2021

The 10 most empowering women in business 2021.

The 10 most empowering women in business 2021.

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