Each week, Aspire spotlights a woman business leader who is betting on herself and winning. They are among Central Ohio's most powerful women entrepreneurs, business owners, and allies with a stellar track record of community economic results, job creation, business scale and social impact. As we applaud them, we encourage you to learn from them, follow them and engage with them- we are stronger together.
April 14, 2026: Elizabeth Blount McCormick
HER WHY — How a Family Legacy Became Her Own Mission
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Elizabeth Blount McCormick did not set out to run a travel company. She set out to bet on herself.
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In 2006, with a career in corporate retail behind her and a global perspective shaped by working in San Francisco, Miami, and New Jersey for brands like Gap and Bono’s Edun label, she returned to Columbus when her family needed her. Her mother was winding down the family travel business. The question was simple: would Elizabeth take the reins?
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“At that moment I really wanted to take a chance on myself and be an entrepreneur.”
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She did. And she has never looked back. What began as a family commitment became a shared mission, built alongside her sister, to honor a legacy while transforming it into something built for the future.
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WHAT FUELS HER - The Responsibility Behind the Ambition
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What drives Elizabeth Blount McCormick is not just growth. It is what that growth represents.
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“I’m driven by the idea that we can redefine what leadership looks like, especially as a Black woman in business, and prove that you can scale, lead, and win at the highest levels without compromising who you are.”
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For Black women business owners, the stakes are personal. She has faced the misconceptions directly, the quiet doubts from others about whether a Black, women-owned firm can compete at the national level. Her answer has been consistent and unambiguous. She works harder. And Uniglobe delivers.
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HER POWER PLAY - What She Has Built
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Uniglobe Travel Designers is not just a travel agency. It is one of the first Uniglobe franchises ever established in the United States, founded in 1981 and now carrying more than 42 years of history. Under Elizabeth’s leadership since 2006, the company has more than tripled its revenue, grown to approximately 40 employees, and reached annual revenue of 29 million dollars.
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The recognition has followed the results. In 2022, Columbus CEO Magazine named her CEO of the Year. Columbus Business First honored her as a Forty Under 40 winner. She received the 2016 NAWBO Columbus Visionary Award, the 2016 SBA Minority Small Business Champion designation, the Smart 50 Award, the Family Business Reinvention Award from the Conway Center for Family Business, and a Tuck Executive Education scholarship to Dartmouth College. She is a graduate of Spelman College, one of the most prestigious historically Black colleges for women in the country.
42 years of history. $29 million in annual revenue.
One Black, women-owned firm reshaping what national travel management looks like.
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Her leadership superpower: building trust so deep that national organizations across healthcare, education, and the public sector choose her firm not just for what it delivers, but for what it represents.
THE MOMENT THAT SHAPED HER LEADERSHIP
​There was no playbook for what Elizabeth faced when COVID-19 shut down the travel industry overnight. Every client. Every booking. Every contract. Everything her team had built stopped.
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“I had to make decisions quickly, communicate with clarity, and lead with both strength and empathy. That experience taught me that leadership isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about showing up consistently, making tough calls, and taking care of your people even in uncertainty.”
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She didn’t just survive it. She discovered something in herself during those months that she had not fully seen before: a level of grit and gumption that reset her understanding of what she was capable of.
WHAT SHE'S MOST PROUD OF
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Elizabeth Blount McCormick has sustained a family business through the single most disruptive event in modern travel history, expanded it nationally, and maintained the relationships and values her mother built. That is a rare combination of resilience, discipline, and loyalty.
“I’m most proud of sustaining and growing a family business while navigating industry disruption, economic uncertainty, and the evolving needs of our clients. Above all, I’m proud that our work continues to support our clients’ missions and create opportunities for our team.”
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The national GPO contracts she holds in healthcare, education, and the public sector are a statement. They reflect trust earned over decades and credibility that speaks for itself.
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HER BIGGEST CHALLENGE & HOW SHE NAVIGATES IT
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The pandemic tested every part of Uniglobe Travel Designers. It tested the business model, the client relationships, the team culture, and Elizabeth personally.
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She stayed transparent with her team. She made disciplined decisions. She leaned on trusted advisors. And she held the company together through a period when most small travel firms did not make it to the other side.
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“Those experiences strengthened my resilience and shaped me into a more grounded and determined leader.”
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For the Aspire woman navigating a crisis in her business: Elizabeth Blount McCormick is proof that the moments that almost break you are the ones that define your leadership ceiling. You find out who you are when there is no script to follow.
HER 5 - YEAR VISION
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Elizabeth Blount McCormick is preparing for her next chapter, and it is bigger than Uniglobe.
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Over the next five years, her goal is to successfully sell the business and transition out of daily operations while ensuring the legacy and clients remain well supported. Then she is redirecting her energy toward mentoring, investing in, and creating opportunities for Black women in business and leadership.
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Impact. Ownership. Opening doors for others.
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She has spent nearly two decades proving that a Black, women-owned firm can compete at the highest level. Now she wants to use everything she has learned to make that path easier for the women behind her.
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WHAT HER BUSINESS DOES BEST
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Uniglobe Travel Designers excels at earning and maintaining national GPO contracts with complex organizations across healthcare, education, and the public sector. That is not a small achievement. Those contracts require credibility, consistency, and a service model that can perform at scale.
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“We are not just participating in the industry. We are helping reshape it.”
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The work is about more than travel logistics. It is about building a company that delivers real value while also creating space for diverse leadership at the highest levels of a traditionally homogenous industry.
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For the Aspire woman building in a space where she is underrepresented: Elizabeth Blount McCormick has been in that room. She didn’t wait for an invitation. She earned the contract, delivered the results, and let the work speak for itself.
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HER ADVISE - To Women Stepping Into Their Power
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Elizabeth Blount McCormick does not have time for hesitation. And she doesn’t want you to either.
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“Trust yourself sooner. Don’t wait for validation, permission, or perfect timing. Those things rarely come. Your voice, your instincts, and your perspective are your advantage. Step into the room like you belong there, because you do. Don’t shrink to make others comfortable.”
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THE BOOK THAT CHANGED HER BUSINESS
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Elizabeth Blount McCormick points to a book she has returned to throughout her leadership journey.
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Good to Great by Jim Collins reinforced something she already believed but needed to see articulated clearly: that building a great company is about disciplined leadership, having the right people in the right seats, and creating something that outlasts any one individual.
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“It shifted my perspective from simply growing the business to creating a sustainable organization grounded in purpose, strong culture, and long-term value.”
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That shift is visible in everything she has built. Uniglobe Travel Designers is not just a company that survived. It is a company built to endure.
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April 7, 2026: Elizabeth Martinez
HER WHY — Why She Built This
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Elizabeth Martinez was born in Carolina, Puerto Rico, and grew up understanding early what it means to need someone in your corner. That understanding became her life’s work.
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For 23 years, she has shown up for the young people of Central Ohio through Big Brothers Big Sisters. She joined as a Hispanic Mentoring Manager in 2003, rose through every level of the organization, and in 2016 stepped into the role of President and CEO.
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Her leadership philosophy was not shaped by a single defining moment. It was forged over decades of showing up, navigating hard decisions, and staying grounded when the path was unclear.
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“Leadership is not about having all the answers. It is about staying grounded in your vision, being thoughtful in your choices, and remaining committed to purpose and impact.”
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That mission extends beyond BBBS. As a Certified Executive Coach, Elizabeth works with executives and professionals, helping them gain clarity, step into their power, and expand their impact. Two platforms. One purpose.
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WHAT FULLS HER - The Engine Behind the Work
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Ask Elizabeth Martinez what keeps her going and she will not point to a title or a recognition. She will point to purpose.
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“What fuels me every day is the knowledge that I am part of something bigger than myself. Our work is about creating systems that empower young people, strengthen families, and uplift entire communities.”
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Her coaching work adds another dimension to that fuel. Every executive she guides, every leader she helps step into their power, is one more person who carries that impact forward. That sense of purpose keeps her energized and focused even on the hardest days.
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HER POWER PLAY - What She Has Built
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Under Elizabeth’s leadership, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Ohio has grown into the largest BBBS agency in Ohio, spanning 15 counties and serving more than 4,000 children annually. It is one of the ten largest BBBS agencies in the entire country.
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In 2020, Columbus Business First named her among Central Ohio’s most admired executives as a C-Suite honoree. In 2021, Columbus CEO Magazine awarded her CEO of the Year in the small nonprofit category. In 2022, the National Diversity Council recognized her as one of the top Latino leaders in the country. She was named Woman of the Year by the Ohio Diversity Council and honored as a 2023 Smart 50 recipient.
23 years. 15 counties. 4,000+ children. One unwavering mission.
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Her leadership superpower: seeing potential in people before they can see it in themselves and building the systems, relationships, and cultures that allow that potential to become reality.
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She also completed the Young Americans Leadership Program at Harvard Business School and holds a BA in Psychology from Ohio Christian University. The combination reflects both her strategic thinking and her deep commitment to understanding people.
WHAT SHE'S MOST PROUD OF
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Awards and rankings tell part of the story. What Elizabeth holds closest is harder to measure but impossible to miss.
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“I’m most proud of helping people see their own potential more clearly and supporting them as they build the confidence to pursue the life and work they truly want.”
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That shows up in a child who discovers what they are capable of through a mentoring relationship. It shows up in an executive who finally steps into the leader they always knew they could be. For Elizabeth, the work is always the same: illuminate the potential that was already there.
HER BIGGEST CHALLENGE & HOW SHE NAVIGATES IT
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Leading one of the largest nonprofits in Ohio means operating in a landscape of constant change. Shifting funding environments. Evolving community needs. The ongoing challenge of proving impact in a sector that is too often under-resourced.
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When the pandemic arrived in 2020, Elizabeth moved quickly. She deployed virtual mentoring, trained Bigs to create safe spaces for difficult conversations, and made the
call to reopen Camp Oty’Okwa with protocols built from scratch. She didn’t wait for the path to clear. She built it.
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“Every challenge affords the chance to unearth an opportunity.”
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For the Aspire woman navigating uncertainty: Elizabeth Martinez’s leadership is a masterclass in staying mission-focused when everything around you is in motion. The mission doesn’t change. Your response to the circumstances does.
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HER 5 - YEAR VISION
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Elizabeth is focused on growth that doesn’t compromise depth. Over the next five years, her goal is to expand BBBS Central Ohio’s reach, build stronger systems, and scale her coaching practice to support more leaders navigating transitions.
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Expand the reach. Deepen the impact. Develop the next generation of leaders.
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For Elizabeth, scaling is not just a business objective. It is a moral one. Every new county reached means more
children with someone in their corner. Every executive coached means one more leader who pays it forward.
WHAT HER BUSINESS DOES BEST ​
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Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Ohio excels at what most organizations only aspire to: making people feel genuinely seen. Through one-to-one mentoring, leadership development at Camp Oty’Okwa, and capacity building through MENTOR Central Ohio, the organization meets young people where they are and walks with them toward where they could be.
“This is not charity. This is long-term, systemic change. True social impact work. We are unlocking potential and building structures that empower young people, strengthen families, and transform communities.”
The relationships cultivated at BBBS are intentional, lasting, and life-changing. Elizabeth believes in young people before they fully believe in themselves. That is not a program model. That is a philosophy that runs through everything her organization does.
For the Aspire woman who leads teams, organizations, or communities: the most powerful thing you can do is help someone else see what you already see in them. That is leadership. That is what Elizabeth Martinez has built a career on.
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HER ADVICE — To Women Stepping Into Their Power
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Elizabeth Martinez does not soften this message for anyone.
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“Stop waiting to feel ready. Growth comes when you step in before you feel fully prepared. Use your voice, even if it shakes. Sit at the table, even if you feel out of place. True power is not about being the loudest. It is about knowing who you are, staying grounded in your values, and using your influence to open doors for others.”
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Surround yourself with people who challenge and support you. Step in. Show up. Open the door for the woman behind you.
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THE BOOKS THAT CHANGED HER BUSINESS
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Elizabeth doesn’t point to one book. She points to three, each one shaping a different dimension of how she leads.
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The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown taught her that authenticity and vulnerability are not liabilities. They are the foundation of every genuine connection she builds with clients, colleagues, and the young people she serves.
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Good to Great by Jim Collins reshaped her thinking about long-term success. The discipline of focus, the courage of the right decisions, and the patience that sustained excellence requires.
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“Start with Why reinforced the power of purpose in driving both personal fulfillment and business impact, helping me align everything we do with a deeper sense of mission.”
Three books. Three lenses. One leader who reads to build, not just to learn.
March 31, 2026: Tami Chapek, PCC
HER WHY — WHY SHE BUILT THIS
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The first time Tami Chapek became a manager, she did everything wrong.
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She micromanaged. She controlled. She assumed that because she had been rewarded for doing excellent work, everyone on her team should do things exactly her way. It took direct feedback, the kind that stings, for her to realize that her intention of elevating the team was producing the opposite effect.
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“I realized that I needed to be more mindful of others and know that my strengths are not theirs. By inspiring myself and others to lean into strengths, we could all be better and more successful in our roles.”
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That moment of reckoning didn’t defeat her. It redirected her. She became obsessed with learning how to lead well. Not just how to manage output, but how to genuinely unlock the people around her. That obsession became a career. And in 2017, it became WeInspireWe.
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​​HER POWER PLAY — WHAT SHE BUILT
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Tami Chapek is an award-winning leadership coach, a Forbes Contributor, and one of the Top 50 Women Leaders of Columbus for 2024. She holds her Professional Certified Coach credentials through the ICF, is a Certified Professional Coach and Master Practitioner for the Energy Leadership Index through iPEC, and is a Certified Diversity Coach. It is a rare combination that reflects both the rigor and the range of her expertise.
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Her client list reads like a Fortune 500 roll call: Google, Novartis, Fifth Third Bank, American Electric Power, Uber, Medtronic, and more. She has spent 8.5 years building WeInspireWe into a full-service leadership development firm offering 1:1 executive coaching, team coaching, leadership training, keynote presentations, and strategic support.
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Nearly 9 years. Hundreds of leaders transformed. One proprietary framework changing how organizations develop talent. ​Her coaching superpower: helping leaders stop performing the role they think they should play and start owning the authentic leader they already are.
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In 2024, she published her first book: Leadership reDEFYned: Defy the Ordinary to Unleash Your Potential. It is a framework-driven guide for individuals, teams, and organizations ready to stop reaching for status quo and start building something extraordinary.
WHAT SHE IS MOST PROUD OF
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Every year on July 28th, Tami Chapek’s heart swells. It is the anniversary of WeInspireWe. For nearly nine years, that date has marked another year of showing up for leaders who needed someone in their corner.
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“In this nearly 9 years of business, we’ve touched hundreds if not thousands of lives. Knowing that we’ve even helped 1 person to be the very best version of themselves is extremely rewarding and well worth the effort.”
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The book is a close second. Leadership reDEFYned is not just a publication. It is the physical embodiment of everything she has built, learned, and believed about leadership. It is her framework in the world, doing the work without her in the room.
Her Biggest Challenge & How She Navigates It
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The hardest tension in Tami’s business is one every founder eventually faces: working on the business versus working in it. As WeInspireWe has grown, stepping back from the day-to-day coaching work has meant trading personal satisfaction for organizational momentum. The coaching work fills her up most. The scaling work is what moves the company forward.
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“I’m still trying to find that balance between operations, business development, and scaling with coaching and facilitation. I regularly assess this balance and work with other small business owners to learn where I can make shifts.”
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The fact that she names this tension openly, and continues to work through it with the same curiosity she brings to her clients, is exactly the kind of authentic leadership she teaches.
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For the Aspire woman scaling her business: the hardest part of growing is often letting go of the part you love most. Tami Chapek is proof that you can build a bigger business without losing the reason you built it.
HER 5-YEAR VISION
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The foundation is solid. Now Tami is ready to scale.
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Over the next five years, WeInspireWe is aiming to double, if not triple, in size. The goal is to serve more leaders at every level and deepen its work as an extension of clients’ HR and learning and development teams. It is not just about more clients. It is about bigger impact, delivered through a model built for maximum ROI.
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Double in size. Triple the impact. Serve every leader who is ready to reDEFY the ordinary.
What Her Business Does Best
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WeInspireWe doesn’t offer a cookie-cutter coaching program. Every engagement, whether 1:1 coaching, team facilitation, or organizational training, is customized to meet clients exactly where they are and accelerate from there.
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“We are great at supporting individuals to be not just good but excellent leaders that make a positive and lasting impact on those they lead.”
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At the center of everything is the Leadership reDEFYned™ framework, a proprietary approach rooted in authentic, strengths-based leadership. It is not about becoming someone else’s version of a great leader. It is about understanding who you already are and building from there.
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For the Aspire woman who leads people: your unique set of strengths, skills, experiences, and values belongs only to you. No one has your exact make-up. That is not a limitation. That is your competitive advantage.
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HER ADVICE
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Tami Chapek doesn’t soften this one.
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“Know that the unique set of strengths, skills, experiences, and values that you have is unique to you and you alone. No one has your exact make-up, and that makes you powerful. Know that. Own that. Believe that. You have so much to offer the world. Be brave and make your mark.”
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And then, with everything she has built as proof: inspire 1 person. Watch the ripple.
THE BOOK THAT CHANGED HER BUSINESS ​
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Ask Tami Chapek which book changed her business and she will give you an author, not a title.
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Brené Brown’s entire body of work is the intellectual and emotional foundation of everything WeInspireWe has built. Daring Greatly, The Gifts of Imperfection, Dare to Lead. Brown’s research on vulnerability, shame, and authentic leadership didn’t just change how Tami thinks. It gave her the language and the framework to build Leadership reDEFYned.
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“Her stance on vulnerability as a strength shifted my perspective and encouraged me to build out our framework, which is based in authentic, strengths-based leadership.”
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For Tami, vulnerability is not a soft skill. It is the foundation of every great leader she has ever coached. And Brené Brown is the reason she can say that with research behind her.
March 24, 2026: Jeanna Hondel, PE
HER WHY — WHY SHE BUILT THIS
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Jeanna Hondel built Ascension Construction Solutions in 2017, but the decision was made long before she filed the paperwork. It was made every time she walked into a room and didn’t see herself reflected in it.
As a Black woman in construction, which is an industry where her presence was the exception, not the rule, she spent years excelling in spaces that were never designed with her in mind. She mastered the technical work. She rose through the ranks. And the entire time, she carried a quiet, growing conviction that something had to change.
“I wanted something that I hadn’t had, and that was a place that you felt like you belonged. I wanted a place where I fit in.”
So she built it. Not just a firm but a culture. A workplace where inclusivity, opportunity, and belonging are not aspirations on a wall. They are the daily operating standard.
Her mission was never just to build structures. It was to build the people who build them — and to prove that a different kind of company was possible.
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WHAT FUELS HER
Ask Jeanna Hondel what keeps her going and she will not point to a revenue target or a growth projection. She will point to her people.
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“What fuels my ambition is deeply rooted in our people, our team, our clients, and the communities we serve.”
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That desire to build what she never had, so that others always would, is the engine that drives Ascension Construction Solutions forward every single day. It is not a corporate value. It is a personal promise.
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HER POWER PLAY — WHAT SHE BUILT
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What Jeanna has built in eight years is nothing short of remarkable. Ascension Construction Solutions is a 100% woman-owned firm with MBE, DBE, EDGE, and LEDE certifications, serving education, municipal infrastructure, mission-critical facilities, parks and recreation, and commercial construction across Ohio and beyond.
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In 2023, the U.S. Small Business Administration named her Ohio’s Small Business Person of the Year. Columbus Business First recognized her as a Woman of Influence and named Ascension to its Fast 50 list, one of the 50 fastest-growing private companies in the Columbus Region. In 2019, ACS was honored as the Top Female Business Enterprise by Ohio MBE.
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From three employees to 60. From one city contract to a $400 million project portfolio.
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Her leadership superpower: building great people who build great things and proving that a woman-owned, minority-certified firm can compete and win at the highest level of the construction industry.
WHAT SHE IS MOST PROUD OF
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The awards are meaningful. The Fast 50 ranking is remarkable. But when Jeanna Hondel talks about what she is most proud of, she does not reach for a trophy. She reaches for a headcount.
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“My favorite part of the business is that 60 people trust me and this company to provide a career for them and give them the capability to provide for their families.”
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Sixty people. Sixty families. Sixty reasons to show up every single day. That is the metric that matters most to Jeanna and it is the one no industry award can fully capture.
Her Biggest Challenge & How She Navigates It
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As one of the few women, and even fewer Black women, leading a construction firm at this level, Jeanna Hondel has had to earn her seat at every table she has ever sat at. Access to capital. Proving her firm’s capabilities in a competitive market. Navigating an industry that was not built with her in mind.
Her answer has never been to wait for the door to open. It has been to knock repeatedly, confidently, and without apology.
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“Managing challenges as a CEO comes down to one thing for me: people. I surround myself with the right team, lean on trusted partners, and never stop learning.”
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For the Aspire woman navigating a space that wasn’t built for her: the door may not open on its own. Knock anyway. Jeanna Hondel knocked and then she built the building.
HER 5-YEAR VISION
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Jeanna is not managing a business. She is building a movement.
Over the next five years, Ascension Construction Solutions will expand its footprint across new markets, deepen its community impact, and continue growing its team in a way that stays true to the culture of inclusion and empowerment that has defined the company from day one.
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People. Purpose. Relentless Growth.
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Those are not buzzwords for Jeanna. They are the architecture of everything Ascension is building next.
What Her Business Does Best
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Ascension Construction Solutions brings boots-on-the-ground expertise to every project it touches. The firm was built by people who rose through the ranks and who understand the nuances of planning and construction because they lived them.
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“This is not an individual sport. Our work takes collaboration and is about so much more than construction. It’s about proving that a different kind of company is possible — one that delivers excellence and leads with heart.”
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That philosophy is the operating system of the entire organization. Ascension doesn’t just build structures. It builds the people inside them and redefines what it looks like to lead with purpose in an industry long overdue for it.
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For the Aspire woman in business: representation in construction is still rare. Jeanna Hondel is proof that it is possible and that when women lead in spaces that weren’t built for them, they don’t just compete. They transform the industry.
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HER ADVICE
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When asked what she would tell women just beginning to claim their place, Jeanna Hondel doesn’t hesitate.
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“You belong here, even when the room doesn’t look like you. Don’t wait for someone to hand it to you, just go for it. Don’t be afraid to take up space. Don’t lose touch with the passion that drives you. And finally, lift as you climb.”
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Lift as you climb. Four words that capture everything Ascension Construction Solutions was built to be and everything Jeanna Hondel continues to prove is possible.
THE BOOK THAT CHANGED HER BUSINESS ​
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Jeanna doesn’t just read business books. She deploys them.
Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman gave her something rare in entrepreneurship: a clear, practical system for building a stronger and more focused organization. The Entrepreneurial Operating System outlined in the book helped her align her team, sharpen her vision, and execute with the kind of confidence that comes from having a real framework — not just a plan.
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“It’s a must-read for any business owner serious about taking their company to the next level.”
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She didn’t just read it. She used it to catapult Ascension forward. That is the difference between a leader who collects ideas and a leader who builds with them.
March 17, 2026: Cary Hanosek
HER WHY — Why She Built This
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For the woman building a business, managing a growing portfolio, or navigating a major financial transition, the complexity of money can be paralyzing. Cary Hanosek built her practice to change that.
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With 26 years at Merrill Lynch, Cary has spent her career doing one thing with extraordinary consistency: meeting people in the most emotionally charged moments of their financial lives and making the path forward clear.
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“My ‘why’ is grounded in guiding people through complex decisions and the emotions that come up around the topic of money.”
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That is not a mission statement. It is a daily practice and it is why clients call her first when life changes.
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HER POWER PLAY
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Cary is a Certified Financial Planner®, a Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy®, and a Certified Exit Planning Advisor. This is a rare combination of designations that reflects both the depth and the range of her expertise. She leads The Atlas Wealth Management Group of Merrill Lynch, a practice that has earned the Forbes
“Best-in-State Wealth Management Teams” recognition three consecutive years running.
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Three years. Three rankings. The same standard, honored every time.
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Her CFP® superpower: simplifying complex financial decisions to create peace of mind so that her clients can stop managing their money anxiety and start living their lives.
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Beyond the practice, Cary is a founding member of Women for Economic and Leadership Development (WELD) Columbus, a former Chair of the YWCA Columbus Endowment Board, and a member of the Women Presidents’ Organization. She doesn’t just advise women on wealth; she builds the institutions that create it.
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WHAT SHE IS MOST PROUD OF
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Industry awards come every year. What Cary holds closest is something no ranking can quantify.
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“Clients call us first when life changes, and we walk with them through every transition.”
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Divorce. Inheritance. Retirement. The sale of a business. The loss of a partner. These are the moments that define whether a wealth advisor is truly trusted or simply hired.
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For Cary’s clients, she is trusted
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HER 5-YEAR VISION
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Cary is not building a practice for today’s market. She is building one for the next generation of it.
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The goal: grow nationally, adapt thoughtfully as technology transforms financial services, and build a competitive moat around the team’s financial planning process and advisory capabilities.
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Grow. Adapt. Lead.
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But through every evolution, one thing stays fixed: the trust and human connection that define the work. For Cary, those are not soft values — they are the foundation of everything.
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WHAT HER BUSINESS DOES BEST
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The Atlas Wealth Management Group excels at financial planning for people with complex financial lives such as business owners, multi-generational families, individuals navigating major transitions, and nonprofits with significant endowments.
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What sets them apart is not what they know. It is how they work.
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“We avoid jargon, focus on efficiency, and listen far more than we talk.”
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The goal is always the same: simplify complexity so that clients can spend more time on what matters most — their families, their passions, the causes closest to their hearts. Wealth management, in Cary’s practice, is not the destination. It is the vehicle.
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For the Aspire woman building a business or navigating a transition: complexity is not your enemy. Confusion is. The right advisor eliminates one so you can face the other with confidence.
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THE BOOK THAT CHANGED HER BUSINESS
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When Cary recommends a book, she doesn’t reach for a textbook or a strategy guide. She reaches for a mirror.
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The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel is the book she returns to again and again. It is the one she most often presses into the hands of clients. It is not about portfolio construction or market timing. It is about the way people actually think and feel about money, told through short real-life stories, without a single line of jargon.
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“I have read it many times and have learned different lessons from it each time.”
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That is the mark of a great book and the mark of a great advisor. You don’t stop learning. You just keep going deeper.
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March 10, 2026: Lisa Gutierrez
HER WHY — Why She Built This
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Lisa Gutierrez didn’t start Dos Hermanos to open a restaurant. She started it because she believed hospitality could mean something more — a genuine, nourishing connection between people, food, and community.
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Fourteen years later, that belief is the business. And the business is still growing.
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WHAT SHE'S MOST PROUD OF
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Lisa is most proud of building something that scales — profitably, sustainably, and with purpose. Dos Hermanos has grown into an enterprise that doesn’t just generate revenue; it generates opportunity.
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That growth has given her the platform to give back through mentorship and community collaboration — investing in the same community that has supported Dos Hermanos for over a decade.
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And then there are the moments that stop you in your tracks. Lisa has been invited to the White House and to the residence of the Vice President of the United States — on behalf of Dos Hermanos. That recognition doesn’t happen by accident. It happens when the work speaks loudly enough that the world has no choice but to listen.
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HER BIGGEST CHALLENGE & HOW SHE NAVIGATES IT
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Running a food and hospitality business in one of the most cash-intensive, margin-thin industries in the world is not for the faint of heart. The challenge was never the vision. It was the fuel.
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Finding affordable capital while keeping cash flow healthy is a tension that never fully resolved, it just gets managed. Lisa's approach is disarmingly clear: know what you don't know and hire for it. She surrounds herself with experienced industry professionals who strengthen every corner of the business she isn't standing in.
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That kind of self-awareness is rare. In founders, it is a competitive advanvantage.
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HER 5-YEAR VISION
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Three words define what Lisa is building toward:
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Grow. Scale. Sell.
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Dos Hermanos was built with intention from the beginning — and the exit is part of the plan. For Lisa, that is not an ending. It is the ultimate proof that what she built was real, was valuable, and was worth betting on.
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WHAT HER BUSINESS DOES BEST
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What makes Dos Hermanos exceptional is not just what it serves — it is what it stands for. Through every season of growth, the mission has never drifted, never been diluted, never been negotiated away for convenience.
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“Nourishing lives. Strengthening community. Honoring heritage. Hospitality, in every way.”
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That is the standard everything gets measured against. Every menu. Every event. Every decision. The mission is not a tagline — it is the operating system.
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THE BOOK THAT CHANGED HER BUSINESS
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Lisa didn’t point to a business manual or a leadership framework. She pointed to a memoir.
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GIRLBOSS by Sophia Amoruso is the story of a woman who built something real by refusing to follow someone else’s map. For Lisa, it wasn’t a how-to — it was a permission slip. Permission to trust her instincts, ignore the conventional playbook, and build Dos Hermanos the way she always knew it should be built.
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Some founders read to learn the rules. Lisa read to confirm she was right to break them.
March 3, 2026: E. Gayle Saunders
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HER WHY — Why She Built This
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Gayle Saunders built The Saunders PR Group into a national, multi-million dollar powerhouse agency with a singular purpose: to amplify voices that deserve to be heard. She didn’t stop there. She also founded The SASSEE Foundation to invest in the next generation of women leaders — because for Gayle, building a business and building a community were never separate goals.
Her dual mission is rooted in a belief she has carried her entire career: that Black and brown creatives deserve more than access — they deserve the whole room. A space to grow, build wealth, soar as professionals, and make a lasting impact through their work. The Saunders PR Group and The SASSEE Foundation are that space, made real.
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WHAT SHE'S MOST PROUD OF
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Ask Gayle what she’s most proud of, and the answer is immediate: the people. Every time she watches someone step into their potential — or sees a campaign her team led actually change outcomes in the community — that, she says, is the reward.
Her work with CelebrateOne’s Real People, Real Stories campaign helped reduce infant deaths in Columbus. Her leadership on the LinkUS mobility campaign helped move an entire city forward. For Gayle, that is what impact looks like — not impressions, but lives.
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HER BIGGEST CHALLENGE & HOW SHE NAVIGATES IT
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Gayle is candid about the realities of building and sustaining a competitive firm. The biggest challenge, she says plainly, is access — specifically, access to the financial resources necessary to grow and maintain a sharp competitive edge in a demanding industry.
She doesn’t offer a tidy solution. “I won’t pretend I have it figured out,” she says. “It is a constant battle.” But what Gayle does have is the one thing that outlasts any obstacle: faith. Through faith and perseverance, she and her team keep moving forward — and as she puts it, that forward motion is everything.
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HER 5-YEAR VISION
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Gayle’s vision for the next five years comes down to two words she chose deliberately: Sustainability. Innovation.
The Saunders PR Group was not built for a moment — it was built for a movement. Her goal is a firm that endures, evolves, and continues to open doors for the next generation of Black and brown creative professionals.
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​WHAT HER BUSINESS DOES BEST
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The Saunders PR Group excels at media relations, reputation management, crisis communication, and campaign development and activation. But what Gayle believes truly sets her firm apart is simpler than any service list: a commitment to work that matters.
Her team doesn’t manage messages — they shape narratives that move communities. The CelebrateOne campaign. The LinkUS campaign. That is the standard, and for The Saunders PR Group, there is no other kind of work worth doing.
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THE BOOK THAT CHANGED HER BUSINESS
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Some books change a business. The ones Gayle carries changed something deeper.
Expect to Win by Carla Harris reinforced a truth she had always known — that mindset, authenticity, and focus are the bedrock of every great leader. And long before she built a national agency, a small book gifted by her sister planted a seed that never stopped growing: As a Man Thinketh. Its message is simple and unshakeable. We have complete control over how we think — and how we think shapes everything we build.
For Gayle, that is not philosophy. It is practice. It is how she navigates every challenge, frames every obstacle, and leads her team forward — with intention, clarity, and an unshakeable belief in the power of the mind to determine outcomes.