Get to know the women of the International Women’s Day Summit by World Encounter
With a background in broadcast journalism and nonprofit leadership, Emily joined World Encounter as a consultant in 2017, with the responsibility of growing their marketing. Her work with WE brought her to Tanzania, where she was so moved by the stories of these women that she felt called to continue working as an advocate in St. Paul. In 2020 she became CEO and has since boosted fundraising through advocacy, partner, and give-back programs, workshops and events. She continues to share World Encounter’s story, aiming to boost brand recognition in the Twin Cities (and beyond).
World Encounter creates sustainable economic growth globally by providing capital, coaching, and community to women. Founded in 1996 with offices in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA and Tanzania, Africa, our vision is a world in which empowered women elevate communities and eliminate poverty. WE currently provides microloans to women in rural Tanzania, Africa. The microloans are accompanied by coaching and community to foster accountability and professional development.
Additionally, WE acts as a connection point for women in the U.S. and beyond to mentor, build relationships, and advocate for each other.
Katie started her own company because of her talent and passion for videography. She is a one-woman-band using the power of storytelling to help small businesses and nonprofits expand their reach. When she's not working, she is hanging out with her husband (Matt) and three boys (James, Francis and Harrison), watching movies, cuddling with her dachshund and enjoying a nice glass of wine in their home in Woodbury, Minnesota. Before opening Falco Creative Media in 2017, Katie was a sports reporter/anchor for 7+ years in her hometown of Kansas City.
Falco Creative Media is a video production company in the Twin Cities. Their ultimate goal: to capture and create innovative, unique video marketing content that thrills their clients. They are dedicated to translating your vision into exceptional, compelling video that engages your target audience. They strive to exceed expectations during production and post-production to make sure deadlines are met and the highest quality video is delivered.
An admirer of self-expression through art, Michele volunteers at and serves on the Arts Council as Treasurer. Since making the big move from the Twin Cities to Granite Falls, Michele has opened a small business called Doughp Creations, focusing on providing her customers with quality organic fermented drinks and sourdough bread. She partners with local farmers for organic ancient grains, which she stone mills into flour.
Previously, Michele had careers in education and finance. In her current consultant work, she uses her skills from undergraduate work at UMCP (BA), graduate work at Cardinal Stritch University (MBA), and her Project Management Certification.
Ali is a rural health family nurse practitioner and co-farmer with her husband, Luke. They are parents to three young children. Together they operate A-Frame Farm, growing organic grains and grass-fed beef.
A-Frame Farm includes 600 acres and grows 12+ varieties of grain as a part of their diverse crop rotation. They use cover crops and minimize tillage, never leaving the soil bare through the winter. Their livestock grazes the cover crops and pasture lands. Then the beef is sold directly to consumers in Minnesota and the upper Midwest. They connect with consumers through social media to show transparency and build resiliency back into our food system.
After a long career in the food industry, Tiff’s journey led to partnering as a co-owner at Laune Bread in 2019. She is committed to changing our food system through direct-to-consumer operations. While not baking she enjoys time with her young daughter, husband, and dog.
Laune Bread was established in 2015 by Chris MacLeod (Tiff’s business partner). It is in transition from operating as a subscription/delivery bakery to opening a permanent storefront bakery in 2021. They bake naturally leavened, whole grain sourdough bread and pastries made with Minnesota and Midwest-grown grain and produce. The bakery is focused on providing the community with wholesome, nutrient rich food while also promoting the health of our local food economy. They believe that in order to change the landscape of locally grown/produced food we must play an active part in bridging our farmers with our consumers. Laune Bread’s business model provides a connection to consumers through home delivery, farmers markets, and the use of social media and newsletters.
Hannah founded Seven Sundays in 2011 with four muesli recipes, an old Raleigh bike, some rented after-hours kitchen space at a friend’s restaurant and a crazy desire to flip the breakfast aisle on its head. When Hannah isn’t off selling cereal, she is running, browsing grocery store aisles, or in the kitchen making meals from scratch for her sweet family of five.
After returning home from her honeymoon to New Zealand, Hannah set out to find a muesli cereal—a nourishing and delicious breakfast that she was introduced to during her trip. It was while standing amongst the shelves of brightly colored, sugar-loaded boxes that she realized the breakfast aisle—the space dedicated to the most important meal of the day—was in dire condition. It was impossible to connect the products back to real food. So she created Seven Sundays and does things differently. She connects to the farmers and processors, values relationships all along the way, and creates real and nourishing breakfast from regenerative ingredients. She shares the ingredient stories, so that we can establish a connection between consumers and their first meal of the day.
Molly Gaeckle owns and operates Northerly Flora, a flower farm and design business in Minneapolis. She has worked in the local food and sustainable agriculture community since college but found her niche in local flowers. When she isn't deep in growing season, Molly enjoys spending time with her husband and dog, relaxing with friends and enjoying the delicious food and drinks around the Twin Cities. 2021 brings big changes as she is expecting a baby boy any day now!
Molly started Northerly Flora in 2017 when a city lot opened up for lease near her home in South Minneapolis. She was excited about the idea to transform the space and grow a diverse field of flowers in the city but needed a little bit of startup money to offset the costs of this passion project. Mirroring the vegetable farm CSA model, Molly started her first season with a flower CSA where members received a weekly flower bouquet. Friends and family graciously signed up as investors in the first season. Molly continues growing the farm each year, expanding onto a second vacant lot in the city and a rural site in Hudson, WI. Sales channels have broadened beyond friends, to a larger CSA group, wholesale to local florists, wedding clients, and other special events. Northerly Flora’s goals is to grow and distribute the flowers in a way that improves our ecosystem, beautifies our community, reduces our environmental impact, and spreads joy and beauty.
Anahita is a Persian-American, on-air-host, PR & Brand consultant, founder of Twin Cities Mom Squad, and the ultimate cheerleader!
Twin Cities Mom Squad is a hub led by a community of moms and women from diverse walks of life cheering each other on personally and professionally. We are entrepreneurs, creatives, philanthropists, advocates, mentors, mermaids, magicians, unicorns, cheerleaders, Wonder Women! Come along and participate in our sisterhood, community efforts, share your wisdom, lean on one another, and feel comfortable to be present in a shame-free, judgement-free environment. You don’t even need to be a Mom to be here, all are welcome!
Lisa Harris is an author, speaker, narrative coach, and the founder of Lisa Harris & Company—a personal development business that connects, guides and transforms womens' lives through storytelling. Lisa has spent +18 years in leadership roles working for and with many Fortune 500 companies. As a narrative coach, Lisa uses the power of storytelling and narrative therapy principles to help women shift old narratives, rewrite their stories, and reclaim their personal power.
©2022 World Encounter. All Rights Reserved.
Created with Leadpages
