Power Night Archives - Emerging Women

Special Event: Power Night to benefit SheEO at Galvanize, Denver

November 7, 2016 by Chantal Pierrat

Now more than ever we need to come together as women and leaders to create a collective vision for increasing our power and influence on the planet. I hope you’ll join me at this special event to become re-invigorated, strengthen our networks and create new ways of making capital available to the women entrepreneurs who are creating waves of impact in the world.

Together with our sisters from SheEO, Emerging Women is hosting a Power Night on November 17th at Galvanize in Denver’s Golden Triangle. We’d love for you to join us.

This celebration will feature amazing women who have been blazing the trail to a brighter future and building great businesses in the process. You will also find deep connection and community in our signature Power Circles as you experience the in-the-moment power of asking for and receiving what you need in acts of radical generosity.

Power Night will benefit SheEO and its movement to redesign how woman-led businesses are funded, supported, and celebrated. Despite women starting businesses at twice the rate of men, they are still wildly underfunded. SheEO is out to change that by building a whole new field of play, created by women for women and built on Radical Generosity. This video explains how:

Emerging Women is supporting SheEO’s Colorado launch, and we want YOU to be part of this growing movement by conencting with and getting inspired by brilliant Colorado women. Ready to make this happen?

EMERGING WOMEN POWER NIGHT

NOV. 17th | Galvanize, Denver

5:30-6:30pm – Private Reception (become an Activator to join)

6:30-9pm – Keynote, Power Circles and Panel Discussion (free admission)

Register HERE

Interactive Keynote: Jen Louden

Jen Louden is a personal growth pioneer who helped launch the self-care movement with her first book The Woman’s Comfort Book. She’s the author of 5 additional books on well-being and whole living that have inspired more than a million women in 9 languages. Jen has spoken around the world on self-care, written a national magazine column, and even sat on Oprah’s couch talking about the power of retreats.

Panel: Grace and Grit: Founders’ Stories of Vision, Perseverance and Heart

Featuring Niki Koubourlis, Founder and CEO of Bold Betties; Jillian Gibbs, Founder and Global CEO of Advertising Production Resources; Amy Bayer, CoOwner-CoCEO, PorchLight Real Estate Group; Victoria Qunitana, Co-Founder & Board Chair of Istonish, Inc.

Every major life decision Niki Koubourlis made up until 2012 was motivated by a desire for security. The career she chose, the schools she went to, and the man she married were all based on a desire for security. But when she had built that secure little world, she found it wasn’t enough. Her life lacked purpose and passion.

Since leaving her 80+ hour workweeks behind, she has spent a lot of time outdoors, trying new things, seeing new places and making new friends. She is not your stereotypical hardcore, accomplished outdoorswoman, but she discovered that it doesn’t really matter if she is with the right people.

That is why she founded Bold Betties and Bold Betties Outfitters. Bold Betties takes the intimidation out of adventure by connecting women to each other, the outdoors, and ultimately their fabulous selves.

Jillian Gibbs founded APR to set new standards for advertising production consultancies. She sees APR’s role as a true production partner, not a cost-containment advisor. Her vision is to take a more comprehensive approach that helps clients optimize advertising production with stronger processes, greater efficiencies and cutting-edge production approaches across all media. Jillian has helped define new standards and best practices within the production industry throughout her 20+ year career for industry associations like the ANA, WFA, ACA and ISBA.

Today, APR is one of the nation’s fastest-growing advertising production consultancies with subject matter experts in all major production centers (Europe, North America, LATAM, and Asia). Jillian continues to expand APR’s original mission, providing clients with a growing choice of service offerings that reflect the ever-changing media landscape.

As a top-producing REALTOR® in Denver, Amy Bayer averaged more than $10 million in annual sales but inherently knew there was a better way to conduct business. She believed in a company based on emphasizing long-term, authentic relationships—a real estate company that looks at real estate in a different way—one totally committed to the client and that gives back to the communities they serve.

Amy co-founded PorchLight Real Estate Group with her partner, Carol, to raise the bar in the industry. By instituting the highest level of agent education and training standards, the pair created a sophisticated infrastructure and in just 12 years they have risen to the top three brokerages in Denver market share and are arguably the most tech-savvy brokerage in Colorado. A professed self improvement junkie, Bayer leads with eternal optimism, support of her 150+ brokers and is 100% immersed in achieving excellence across her business.

In 1990, Victoria Quintana founded Istonish with her sister, Annette. Their initial vision and dedication to creating an organization that was built on service, excellence and unbendable ethics, has led them from assisting companies and governmental agencies in finding the best technology talent, to now building and delivering IT solutions. Istonish is headquartered in Denver, Colorado, but works nationwide across a diverse sampling of industries: Government entities, medical, energy, telecommunications, oil and gas, as well as small organizations and Fortune 15 companies.

Having led Istonish through rapid growth during turbulent economic times, Victoria now serves as Board Chair while also leading a Denver Vistage International group. Victoria has a passion for strategy and participates on executive advisory boards of companies and non-profit organizations, helping them hone their vision, mission, core values, operational and financial plans.

What a stellar lineup! Get your tickets now, and we’ll see you at Galvanize on November 17th.

5 Principles of Being True from Tami Simon

July 22, 2016 by Chantal Pierrat

After decades of interviewing gurus for her multimedia publishing company Sounds True, Tami Simon has picked up the mic to share some insights of her own. Her new audiobook, Being True: What Matters Most in Work, Life & Love, brims with 30 years of wisdom gleaned both from spiritual leaders and her own personal journey inward.

At Emerging Women’s Power Night Boulder, Tami let us in on the “5 Principles of Being True” she outlines in her book. We were captivated by her grace, humor and wit, and transfixed by her fresh perspective on living the truth of who you are. Read on to see why…

1. Recognize that each of us has never been here before

We are all unprecedented, and it’s important to acknowledge that. Referring to us all as “exploding mysteries,” Tami says it’s crucial to realize that no one can actually tell you how to be true. This means a lot coming from someone who’s questioned all the major players in the spiritual wisdom game. No one has the unique formula for your truth except you.

2. Spend time in a place where there are no reference points

We love this about Tami Simon. If you’ve listened to her Grace & Fire podcast, you know that Tami believes in The Mystery, and encourages us to spend time there. “Stop avoiding the void,” she says, and hang out in a space where there are no thoughts or images to rest upon. Why? Because it allows for unique transmissions that will leave you saying “Who the heck knew that?” Give the universe a chance to speak to you to find answers no guru can give.

3. Find directionality through natural inspiration

Tami is quick to point out that the inspirations you receive are often not glamorous, but a “Who knows?” attitude will give the phenomenal world a chance to play its hand. If you want to discover your Sacred Function, the universe is available to guide you towards it, as long as you’re willing to hang out in the unknown and be breathed by it.

4. Be brave and follow what’s needed

Choose “The Path of No Embarrassment.” We do not have to be embarrassed about who we are or whatever conditions we might find ourselves in. If acting on transmissions from the Mystery causes some awkward moments, at least we brought forth our love as best as we knew how. “That’s good!” says Tami, which brings us to…

5. Believe in your basic goodness

Pure goodness, Tami says, is bringing forth our gifts in service to others. You’ve got to believe that no matter what, your heart is filled with goodness. When you focus on that, you are filled with an unconditional confidence in goodness, and can act on your inspirations knowing they come from love.

Tami closed the brilliant Power Night evening with a blessing that reflected these 5 Principles of Being True up perfectly, and we’d like to share it with you here:

“May our Sacred Functions come wildly alive. May you touch gazillions of people. May you shine your light without embarrassment.”

To get in on more high-caliber inspiration like this, join us at Emerging Women Live 2017, featuring Elizabeth Gilbert, Esther Perel, Dominique Christina, Sera Beak, and more, October 5-8 in Denver, CO.

Azure Antoinette: Pulse

June 27, 2016 by Chantal Pierrat

What a gift to be in the presence of an artist who can put the weight of our collective sadness, shame, hope and love into words for us, so that we may both process the trauma and do everything in our personal power to make the world a more empathetic place for those who are bravely living the truth of who they are.

At Emerging Women’s Power Night Boulder, in support of Emerging Women Live, Azure Antoinette screened a video that left no room for doubt why she’s been dubbed “the Maya Angelou of the Millennial Generation.”

Her deep compassion for those affected as a result of the senseless violence at Pulse Nightclub on 6/11/16, a tragedy that left the nation stunned, resonated through the hall with the power that only poetry can.

Azure Antoinette is a luminous example of how vulnerability, courage and open-hearted honesty not only elevates the self, but everyone we touch. Thank you, Azure, for being a part of Emerging Women.

Emerging Women Power Night – June 22, 2016

May 16, 2016 by Chantal Pierrat

Emerging Women Power Night

Power Night Boulder will explore the dimensions of living the truth of who we are through feminine power. You will experience real connection, intentional circles, speakers, book signings, live poetry and groove.

The line-up for this event is awesomely inspirational – featuring Tami Simon, Nancy Levin, Azure Antoinette, Lisa Wimberger, Kim Coupounas, Leslie Herod and Colleen Abdoulah — all successful visionary leaders, entrepreneurs, executives and creatives who are trailblazing a new way of influencing positive change in the world.

Expect personal stories of what fuels these women and how they were able to achieve uncompromising success by living the truth of who they are.

WHEN: June 22, 2016 TIME: 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
WHERE: eTOWN HALL / 1535 Spruce Street / Boulder, CO 80302
FEATURING: Tami Simon, Azure Antoinette, Nancy Levin, Lisa Wimberger, Kim Coupounas, Leslie Herod, Colleen Abdoulah and Chantal Pierrat
REGISTRATION LINK HERE
COST:
- $45 Networking Reception plus General Admission (includes a networking reception before the main event – enjoy light appetizers and drinks with display tables from local sponsors)
- OR $35 General Admission Only

Networking Reception Starts: 5:00pm

General Admission Doors Open: 5:30pm

General Admission Event Start: 6:00pm

Event End: 9:00pm

Check out an Emerging Women Power Night from San Francisco:

Speakers

Tami Simon is the founder of Sounds True, a multimedia publishing company dedicated to disseminating spiritual wisdom. Based in Boulder, Colorado, Sounds True has published more than 800 audio, video, music, and book titles along with online courses and events. Sounds True is widely recognized as a pioneer in providing life-changing, practical tools that accelerate spiritual awakening and personal transformation. As a pioneer in the conscious business movement, Tami focuses on bringing authenticity and heart into the workplace while honoring multiple bottom lines. Tami hosts a popular weekly podcast called Insights at the Edge, where she has interviewed many of today’s leading teachers, delving deeply into their discoveries and personal experiences on their own journeys. With Sounds True, she has released the audio program Being True: What Matters Most in Work, Life, and Love.

Called “the Maya Angelou of the Millennial generation,” Azure Antoinette is a poet, brand humanist and creative strategist. Antoinette coined herself as a Commissioned Poet in 2008 and was firmly committed to finding a way to live out her mantra of “Do What You Love & Love What You Do.” In her crusade to be authentically committed to her medium of poetry, she has forged creative partnerships with dozens of Fortune 500 companies, worldwide brands, and national organizations by using her unique talent to curate and custom write the story of a brand.

Nancy Levin is the bestselling author of Jump … And Your Life Will Appear, Writing For My Life, and the forthcoming Worthy: Boost Your Self-Worth to Grow Your Net Worth (Hay House, August 2016.) She’s a Certified Master Integrative Life Coach and the creator of the Jump Coaching and Worthy Coaching Programs, working with clients – privately and in groups – to live in alignment with their own truth and desires. She was the Event Director at Hay House for 12 years and hosts her own weekly call-in show Jump Start Your Life on Hay House Radio. Nancy received her MFA in Creative Writing and Poetics from Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado and she continues to live in the Rocky Mountains.

Lisa Wimberger is the founder of the Neurosculpting® Institute. She holds a Masters Degree in Education from the University of Stonybrook, NY, a Foundations Certification in NeuroLeadership and a certificate in Medical Neuroscience. She is the author of NEW BELIEFS, NEW BRAIN: Free Yourself from Stress and Fear, and NEUROSCULPTING: A Whole-Brain Approach to Heal Trauma, Rewrite Limiting Beliefs, and Find Wholeness. As the Founder of the Neurosculpting® modality Lisa runs a private meditation practice in Colorado teaching clients who suffer from stress disorders, and she is a faculty member of Kripalu Yoga and Meditation Center, Omega Institute, and the Law Enforcement Survival Institute.

Panel

Move the People: Changing the World through Connected Leadership

Kim Coupounas serves as a Director of B Lab, a nonprofit organization that certifies “B Corporations” and serves a global movement of people using business as a force for good. Prior to B Lab, Kim co-founded and served as CEO and Chief Sustainability Officer of GoLite, a global mission-driven outdoor apparel and equipment company. She currently serves on the Harvard Business School Alumni Board, the boards of the Alliance for Sustainable Colorado, the Center for Social Responsibility at the Leeds School of Business, and as a Mentor/Advisor for the Blackstone Entrepreneurs Network, the Unreasonable Institute, Boomtown, and numerous other startup accelerators and incubators. She earned an A.B. Cum Laude in Philosophy from Princeton University, an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School and an M.P.A. from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. Among her deep passions are spending time with her family, trail running, hiking, singing, doing yoga and martial arts, drinking great wine and climbing big mountains.

Colleen Abdoulah, who was the only female CEO to lead a top-ten cable operating company, is widely respected for her passionate focus on customer experience and company culture. Colleen guided WOW! Internet, Cable and Phone for 12 years, overseeing industry-leading financial success and creating unprecedented value for employees and shareholders. During her tenure, WOW! quadrupled the customer base served, from 200,000+ to more than 800,000 with revenues of over $1.2B. Under Colleen’s leadership, WOW! earned a remarkable 19 J.D. Power and Associates awards for customer satisfaction, multiple top-provider awards from Consumer Reports, and the PC Magazine Readers’ Choice Award for top cable Internet service provider. She is equally proud of the many awards WOW! received as an employer, including recognition as a 2012 and 2013 National Best and Brightest Companies to Work For winner.

Leslie Herod is the progressive candidate running for State House of Representatives District 8. She is passionate about making a difference in the community through advocacy and civic engagement. Raised by a single mother who was an officer in the Army Nurse Corps, she learned the importance of discipline, hard work and commitment to public service. After more than 10 years of experience working with local and state legislators, Leslie currently owns her own small business that focuses on strengthening community relationships. Leslie is a community champion who will proactively address our disparities in our education system, reforming our criminal justice system and tackling affordable housing challenges within the state.

Chantal Pierrat‘s passion is to empower women through feminine leadership. In September 2012, she founded Emerging Women and Emerging Women Live in order to support the integration of consciousness and business. Chantal’s ultimate vision is to weave feminine leadership and authenticity into businesses. When she is not dancing or working, Chantal enjoys family time with her husband and two sons in Boulder, CO.

Thank You to Our Sponsors

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Emerging Women exists to support and inspire women to express themselves authentically through the work that they do. We strive to provide the tools, knowledge, and network to help women lead, start and grow their businesses in a way that integrates core feminine values like connection, collaboration, intimacy, beauty and heart. We provide a platform for leaders and entrepreneurs to come together to explore and express their inner truths. It is our ultimate desire that women have a strong voice in the shaping of our world’s future. Join us for our 4th annual Emerging Women Live event October 13-16, 2016 in San Francisco, CA.

Sahar Paz Celebrates Her Independence

June 30, 2015 by Chantal Pierrat

On the 4th of July, we couldn’t help but remember the story Sahar Paz told at Emerging Women’s Power Night Boulder.

Not just because Sahar is a firework of a woman. Which she is. “Smokin’ is the word that comes to mind,” said Emerging Women founder Chantal Pierrat.

When Sahar walked out on the stage, she was absolutely owning it. Don’t believe us? Just take a look at her amazing shoes:

But she didn’t start off owning it.

Sahar was born in war-torn Iran, where she never knew from one day to the next if all of her classmates would show up at school, or if the sidewalk in front of her apartment would still be there. She got the feeling that if she just stayed very quiet and very still, everything might be okay. Despite the bombs.

When she moved to America as a young girl, she was stunned by 4th of July fireworks displays. How could these sounds mean celebration and Independence when to her the soundtrack of explosions had always said live in fear and know your place?

In that environment of fear, her personal inner voice was shamed and shushed out of existence before she was 10 years old.

Instead, she aimed for perfection and quiet in an attempt to mitigate “the burden of her existence.” As she got older, the voice of perfection turned into wanting to please not just parents, teachers and friends, but also men. She habitually turned to others to define her value.

Looking around, the direct line to that value seemed to be MONEY.

Her tireless work ethic eventually took her to a corner office in NYC, complete with a view of Manhattan and the Queensboro bridge – the whole bit. From the outside, she appeared to be living a “Sex and the City” life. She was check, check, checking all the boxes, but she was not happy.

What was once a hopeful sadness turned into a hopeless depression.

But Sahar turned things around. How did she do it? She found her voice.

“We all have a war of words within. I learned how to get out of my war way faster because I was dealt a lot of shit way earlier. But that’s probably the only difference between you and me.” Now, Sahar has stepped into a state of permission.

“Turns out Maya Angelou was my guardian angel,” Sahar said.

She bought a ticket to Emerging Women Live 2014 specifically to see the incomparable poet. And though Maya Angelou passed before the event, Sahar knew she needed something and decided to go anyway.

And she didn’t just go casually. She showed up. “I needed to be in the spit zone,” she said. She sat in the front row as woman after woman reflected versions of her own experience back to her, albeit in different contexts and with different words. She found strength in those women. And strength in herself.

She especially connected with the theme of permission.

“Chantal gave herself permission in front of all of us. She was vulnerable, right at the start, and gave herself permission to eff up during the weekend.” Sahar was moved and gave herself permission to do the same – to show up as her true self, to let her inner voice speak, and to trust that if she eff-ed up, it wouldn’t be the end of the world.

“I was not holding on to that voice of failure,” she realized. “That’s only one voice within me. That is not all of me.” She knew her inner voice had more to say than just censorship, criticism and judgement.

Sahar’s journey has led her from a quiet perfectionist to a fierce woman, embracing her inner voice and encouraging others to do the same. We are thrilled to share her voice with you as an Emerging Short speaker at Emerging Women Live 2015.

“We exist in a world of abundance. All scarcity is here,” Sahar said as she pointed to her heart.

“There is an abundance of pain in this world,” she echoed, “so that means there is also an abundance of opportunity.” Are you ready to take it?

Sahar Paz is going to change the world, but she knows she cannot do it alone.

In one of our favorite moments, she said, “Do not take the voice of comparison – we gotta hold each other’s hands. I’m standing on your shoulders. And I’m reaching for the UN.”

Then she gave herself permission to deliver a badass rap, full of her voice and straight from the heart. And it was smokin’.

What are you reaching for? And whose shoulders are there for you while you do it? We would love to know – please share with us in the comments.

Promise Phelon Blows Up the Stage at Power Night Boulder

June 11, 2015 by Chantal Pierrat

Do you perform and pretend? Promise Phelon does, and raises millions while she’s at it.

The instantly engaging CEO of Boulder’s TapInfluence rocked the crowd of over 200 entrepreneurs, executives and creatives at June’s Power Night Boulder. And though there’s nothing quite as electric as feeling the feminine power flow from the stage in person, we hope you enjoy EW’s recap of her magnetic performance:

Promise Phelon gets real the second she steps on stage.

“There are a lot of things that you can learn about me on Google,” she says. “Lots of billions and millions being thrown around. But what Google won’t tell you is that I’ve pretended and performed my whole life to get here.”

For 7 years, Promise Phelon thought of herself as a stutterer. She avoided speaking in public and hid herself and her feelings because of feelings of inadequacy. Her whole perspective changed when a teacher told her, “You are not a stutterer, you stutter. Pretend through the fear. Start getting over it. Don’t make it pathological.”

This advice changed her life, but it didn’t evaporate her fear. “When I wake up,” Promise says, “the first thing I think is How’s my hair? and the second is Will I stutter today?” But visioning allows her the confidence to get over it. If you can visualize the outcomes, it’s easy to act because the scary stuff has already happened and it turned out okay.

While working toward her 3 degrees at Southern Methodist University, Promise was fascinated by the sorority girls she passed on campus. They smiled and bounced when they walked, they waterskied on weekends, they partied and networked. They had BMWs and pearl earrings, and Promise had a Ford Escort so crappy that she abandoned it on the side of the road when it broke down. But she wanted to know what it was like. She wanted to be elite. So she became the first African American in that all-white sorority.

She had to pretend to be a part of something she wasn’t because she wanted the opportunities that they had. She needed proximity to the people who were going to influence her growth and success.

“We’re all guilty of micro-analyzing too little info, and extrapolating too much from it,” Promise says.

When she first began pitching to raise $5 million, she was met with a wall of no’s. And after each rejection, she would “Molly Ringwald” – Promise’s term for crying in the parking lot of her husband’s work about how terribly everything was going. Her husband asked her, “How many meetings can you have if after each one you have a breakdown? What if you didn’t analyze every meeting, you didn’t decide it was about you, and you just went meeting to meeting to meeting. Would that make it faster to raise the money?”

400 meetings later, Promise had raised $5.9 million.

“Start pretending into the communities that you feel that you’re not allowed,” Promise says. “It is time to get out of criticizing ourselves and each other. It’s time to stop overanalyzing situations. It’s time to WIN.”

*MIC DROP*

Want to experience the real thing for yourself? Join Promise Phelon and the whole Inner Circle at Emerging Women Live 2015, featuring Jane Goodall, Brené Brown, Elizabeth Gilbert, Tererai Trent and more.