A Word of Advice — Get to Know Our Female Leaders

To celebrate October’s National Business Women’s Week, we picked the brains of our agency’s female leaders to share their wisdom with women everywhere.

Claudia Yuen, Senior Art Director

Who was/is your biggest influence or role model? 

“Samantha Toy Warren pioneered the Style Tile design system, a process for developing visual language for a website that is now a popular tool in the industry. She came up with a new process to work with clients and express design ideas without strict layouts. This open-source design process tool is available for anyone to use freely which helps build progress in the industry.”

Colleen Chappell, CEO

Why do you think it’s important to celebrate women in business? 

“Women are leaving the workforce at record pace as a result of the pandemic. In order to regain ground in the workforce, it’s important to show women it is possible to have a career as well as a family. The way we inspire women to get into and thrive in the workforce is to celebrate each other. Realistic role models empower women to strive for their best selves.”

Christine Turner, President

What is one piece of advice you would give to young women in the business world?

“As a young woman, people often told me to ‘pay my dues’. That’s a confusing statement for a young person, and I think it fed an unhealthy point of view where we allowed people to diminish our safe and healthy boundaries and the respect we deserved at that time. So, my advice is more specific – work hard, define your boundaries, know your worth.”

Katy Parsons, Senior Director of Account Strategy

Who was/is your biggest influence or role model?

“My big sister. Unlike most siblings we didn’t grow up together and met for the first time when I was 18 and had just graduated high school. I had 0.00 plans for my future – she had a career she loved and an incredible college education. I wanted to be just like her – I saw college and a great career as something we could have in common. I looked up to her from the moment I met her.”

Anne Hogarth, Senior Account Executive

Why do you think it’s important to celebrate women in business?

“Business has traditionally been a ‘man’s world,’ and especially advertising! Mad Men, anyone? Celebrating women’s achievements and contributions sets a precedent for the future that gender does not dictate success.”

Laura Ruden, Senior Director of Account Strategy

What is one piece of advice you would give to young women in the business world?

“Be a sponge. Soak up as much as you can from as many leaders as you can. Come prepared with questions and make the most of every project, meeting, lunch – anything! Show people you care.”

Morgan Baruth, Senior Digital Media Buyer

Who was/is your biggest influence or role model?

“If we’re being honest, one of my biggest influences is actually my dad. He was a grade school teacher and naturally took an interest in supporting me academically. I’d say he encouraged me to be curious, smart, strategic – an independent thinker. These are characteristics that I still strongly exemplify today as a professional. What I love about my dad is he champions everybody no matter what walk of life they come from; he’s the most patient and optimistic person I’ve ever met.”

Katy Berry, Principal/Controller

Why do you think it’s important to celebrate women in business?

“I think I’m in the minority in that all I’ve ever experienced is a business with women leadership. I’ve been so fortunate to work for women leaders who empower, mentor, and are extremely fair. It’s disappointing that’s the exception versus the norm. So many women experience inequity in the workplace due to their gender. I think we’ve come a long way but still have far to go. We must all celebrate each other and continue to lift each other up, not just this week but every day.”

Colleen Chappell

What is one piece of advice you would give to young women in the business world?

“Chase your dreams, not your competition. Your career is about your personal passion. It’s your journey so don’t compare yourself to others who seemingly ‘have it all.’ All women struggle with balancing professional and personal responsibilities. Surround yourself with those who truly want you to succeed, and you will have a safe place to be vulnerable when you need strength or inspiration.”

Anne Hogarth

Who was/is your biggest influence or role model?

“My mom – she is literally superwoman. She raised two young girls as a single parent after my dad passed and she taught us to be independent, hard-working and to think for ourselves. She continues to be the strongest woman I know!”

Laura Ruden

Why do you think it’s important to celebrate women in business? 

“Because we are business. And women have (and still are) fighting for equality in this business world and to be recognized for the contributions they bring. This pandemic hit everyone hard – including women who dropped out of the workforce at incredible rates to take care of their family. I am all for celebrating us all for our former, current and future badassery.”

Katy Parsons

What is one piece of advice you would give to young women in the business world?

 “Confidence comes from within – not what others think of you or perceive of your craft. You will never win everyone over or get it right 100% of the time. You will disappoint others and yourself. You will fail. When you are able to turn failure into inspiration, you will be unstoppable.”

Claudia Yuen

Why do you think it’s important to celebrate women in business?

“The more we can celebrate women in business, the more voices, experiences, and backgrounds can emerge. Diversity in gender and culture creates more creative and innovative environments which shape the ways we can approach work. It creates multi-dimensional ideas and more comprehensive work.”

Morgan Baruth

What is one piece of advice you would give to young women in the business world?

“Make your own plan because nobody else is going to do it for you. Set goals, get educated in areas that interest you, that add value to your personal brand, talk to your leaders, and vibe with your workplace culture. If you aren’t feeling supported after that —move on! Someone out there is going appreciate your talent and it’s not worth being stuck in a toxic environment.”