4word Women

This month, the podcast will focus on empowering the next generation of women and not just the women in the United States, but the next generation of women around the world. How does empowering women on a global scale help you be unstoppable in your own life? Let’s find out together! In this month’s episodes, Michelle Quinn, Vice President Of Business Development at Constellis, shares her heart for helping those who need the support of others to survive and make their communities a better place for all. In this episode, Michelle dives into what female empowerment should really entail and how you can be an advocate for your own empowerment. Guest Bio: Michelle Quinn has worked in high-threat theaters and post-conflict operations for more than twenty years, providing a broad scope of security, operational, Logistics, and training solutions for the Department of Defense, Department of State, Department of Energy and Other Government Agencies. At Constellis, Michelle is focused on critical U.S. Government missions and programs, both CONUS and OCONUS. In all of these roles and across the years, Michelle has led on the imperatives of Women, Peace, and Security (WPS), and has been an unwavering voice asking, “What might be possible in building peace across the globe, if we engage, include, empower, and give voice to the other half of the world’s population?” Michelle joined at Constellis in 2021; previously, she served as Senior Vice President at Patriot Group International; Vice President at VxL Enterprises; Vice President of International Programs at A-T Solutions; Operations Manager for a multi-agency Counter-Terrorism program at the FBI National Lab; and Manager of Operations and Training for DOS’ Worldwide Protective Services Programs at DynCorp International. Michelle has also worked on Capitol Hill, supporting the House Banking Committee on legislation tied to work and funding of USAID, IMF, World Bank; at the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB); and at several private family philanthropies. Michelle currently serves on the Board of Directors of the International Code of Conduct Association (ICoCA), holding the Americas Security Industry Pillar/seat for Private Security Contractors. She also serves on the Boards of The Friends of the American University of Afghanistan and Eagle Online Academy, supporting the undying educational needs and dreams of Afghan women and girls. Michelle chairs the International Stability Operations Association’s Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Working Group and stewards ISOA’s formal WPS Certification program for the private sector. Michelle is privileged to be member of www.4wordwomen.org.   Most importantly, Michelle is the proud mother of four fearless, fierce, world-changing daughters, all out-and-about the world accomplishing great things. Orginal broadcast dated: Mar 2023 Click here for the latest Podcast from 4word - Work Love Pray Podcast - 4word (4wordwomen.org)

In our last episode, you met Liz Forkin Bohannon with Sseko Designs. Liz followed God’s calling in her heart for the women of Uganda and through her tenacity and willingness to ask the hard questions and take the big steps of faith, she has written a story full of the beautiful results of being open and willing to follow after God’s plan, no matter how daunting each twist and turn along the way may look.  In this episode, our conversation with Liz wraps up by talking about the idea of prosperity and how to get in the right mindset about what success looks like for your dream. Liz also shares the advice she would give to anyone standing at the starting line of taking their dream or belief and making it their life’s destiny.  Guest Bio: Liz Forkin Bohannon is the founder of Sseko Designs and the author of the book Beginner’s Pluck: Build your life of purpose, passion and impact now. Sseko Designs is an ethical fashion brand that works to educate and empower women. By providing employment and educational opportunities, Sseko enables women to continue their education and become leaders in their country. Liz graduated from the University of Missouri with a Master’s degree in Journalism. In 2008, she moved to Uganda where she met an incredible group of talented young women who were struggling to finance their higher education. After traveling the country by motorcycle to find raw materials and learn how to produce footwear by hand, Liz hired three young women and started Sseko Designs. Since then, Sseko Designs has grown from three women making sandals together under a mango tree, to an international fashion brand that provides employment, educational opportunities and entrepreneurial training to hundreds of women in East Africa and across the globe. Using her unlikely story of a journalist-gone-shoe-maker, Liz shares her passion for social enterprise, conscious consumerism, social justice, creative leadership and gender-equality. Liz and the Sseko story has been featured in dozens of publications including: Vogue Magazine, Redbook Magazine, O Magazine, Inc, Fortune and others. Sseko has appeared on national broadcasts including ABC’s Shark Tank and Good Morning America. Among other notable honors, Liz was recently named a top three Transformation Leader by John Maxwell and Bloomberg Businessweek named Sseko as a top social enterprise. Forbes named Liz one of the top 20 public speakers in the U.S. Liz’s powerful, disarmingly authentic and witty voice captivates and inspires her audience. She now splits her time between Uganda and Portland, Oregon, where she and her husband Ben run Sseko Designs and raise their two young sons. Orginal broadcast dated: Feb 2023 Purchase Liz's Book HERE Click here for the latest Podcast from 4word - Work Love Pray Podcast - 4word (4wordwomen.org)

In last month’s episodes, we talked about planning and strategy with Melissa Peak. If you haven’t had a chance to listen in on that conversation, you can go back and listen here!  As you learn how to be unstoppable this year, you will see that planning and strategy are only effective if you put them to use. How do you take that first step of your plan for the year? What does it take to turn that dream or belief you’re carrying close to your heart into a tangible destiny?  This month, you’ll hear more about this journey of turning a belief into a destiny from someone very near and dear to the 4word community and someone very familiar with following after a desire: Liz Forkin Bohannon, founder of Sseko Designs, an accomplished speaker, and best-selling author of Beginner’s Pluck: Build your life of purpose and impact now. Liz was also named by Forbes Magazine as one of the top 20 public speakers, and Bloomberg Magazine named Liz as one of the top social entrepreneurs to watch.  Guest Bio: Liz Forkin Bohannon is the founder of Sseko Designs and the author of the book Beginner’s Pluck: Build your life of purpose, passion and impact now. Sseko Designs is an ethical fashion brand that works to educate and empower women. By providing employment and educational opportunities, Sseko enables women to continue their education and become leaders in their country. Liz graduated from the University of Missouri with a Master’s degree in Journalism. In 2008, she moved to Uganda where she met an incredible group of talented young women who were struggling to finance their higher education. After traveling the country by motorcycle to find raw materials and learn how to produce footwear by hand, Liz hired three young women and started Sseko Designs. Since then, Sseko Designs has grown from three women making sandals together under a mango tree, to an international fashion brand that provides employment, educational opportunities and entrepreneurial training to hundreds of women in East Africa and across the globe. Using her unlikely story of a journalist-gone-shoe-maker, Liz shares her passion for social enterprise, conscious consumerism, social justice, creative leadership and gender-equality. Liz and the Sseko story has been featured in dozens of publications including: Vogue Magazine, Redbook Magazine, O Magazine, Inc, Fortune and others. Sseko has appeared on national broadcasts including ABC’s Shark Tank and Good Morning America. Among other notable honors, Liz was recently named a top three Transformation Leader by John Maxwell and Bloomberg Businessweek named Sseko as a top social enterprise. Forbes named Liz one of the top 20 public speakers in the U.S. Liz’s powerful, disarmingly authentic and witty voice captivates and inspires her audience. She now splits her time between Uganda and Portland, Oregon, where she and her husband Ben run Sseko Designs and raise their two young sons. Orginal broadcast dated: Feb 2023 Click here for the latest Podcast from 4word - Work Love Pray Podcast - 4word (4wordwomen.org)

In the last episode, you met Melissa Peak with Amazon Web Services. You were likely able to very quickly pick up on the fact that Melissa truly wants to see women just like her grow and succeed in their workplaces, but at a healthy pace that brings true joy and fulfillment to them while also honoring God and the path He has laid out for each of us.  In this episode, the conversation concludes by tackling why women take on tasks and responsibilities that we KNOW are not meant for us, and Melissa walks through what a healthy planning and strategy session for your new year goals and plans could look like. Guest Bio: Melissa Peak, is a seasoned management executive with more than 2 decades of experience leading organizations to growth and customer success, while building an engaged workforce. Leveraging her transformational leadership style, Melissa has repeatedly built thriving teams that deliver unprecedented market penetration, customer satisfaction, and revenue results. Career highlights include delivering double-digit, top-line revenue growth; placing a Fortune 500 company on the Federal GSA Schedule; 40% of direct reports promoted into expanded roles; creation and execution of a strategic digital marketing campaign resulting in a 400% increase in social media engagement after one year. Melissa has led business operations with teams exceeding 200 people, and managed P&L responsibility exceeding $150MM. Over her career, Melissa has engaged with hundreds of employers as a trusted advisor on key talent strategies. By delivering powerful results for these employers, Melissa has built strong relationships with a large network of CEO, CIO, CTO, COO, CHRO, Diversity and Learning Colleagues across North America, with International impact. As a first-generation college student, Melissa is a determined advocate for those who are taking a “road less traveled.” Whether it is hosting a conference, roundtable, one on one coaching or serving as a connector for the determine, yet un-equipped, Melissa has opened doors of opportunity for thousands of individuals. Melissa is proud to have been named a “2020 Top Woman to Watch” by Diversity Journal Magazine. She serves as a member of the Board of Directors for Women Business Collaborative, and an Advisory Board member for Working Nation. Melissa resides in Goshen, KY with her husband Michael and their five children. She earned her Executive Certificate in Strategy and Innovation from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan’s School of Business, an MBA from the John Sperling School of Business at University of Phoenix, and a Bachelor of Science in Literature from Indiana Wesleyan University. Orginal broadcast dated: Jan 2023 Click here for the latest Podcast from 4word - Work Love Pray Podcast - 4word (4wordwomen.org)

Welcome to Season 4 of Work, Love, Pray! This season will feature inspirational stories and God moments from 4word women who are not afraid to be unstoppable for their Creator. Share in these conversations with women who have come up against obstacles and setbacks and have not only figured out how to overcome those things but have learned to be even stronger and more focused on their end goal of being unstoppable for Christ and the work that He has called us to do for His glory.  To kick off this year’s conversations, host Jordan Johnstone spoke with Melissa Peak, Geographic Leader, AMERICAS GEO, Enterprise Skill Transformation at Amazon Web Services. Melissa has more than two decades of experience leading organizations to growth and customer success, while building an engaged workforce. Melissa discusses how the process of planning and strategizing for a brand new year can be a beneficial practice BUT is not without the possibility of running into some roadblocks. And some of those roadblocks might even come from the planner themselves. Guest Bio: Melissa Peak, is a seasoned management executive with more than 2 decades of experience leading organizations to growth and customer success, while building an engaged workforce. Leveraging her transformational leadership style, Melissa has repeatedly built thriving teams that deliver unprecedented market penetration, customer satisfaction, and revenue results. Career highlights include delivering double-digit, top-line revenue growth; placing a Fortune 500 company on the Federal GSA Schedule; 40% of direct reports promoted into expanded roles; creation and execution of a strategic digital marketing campaign resulting in a 400% increase in social media engagement after one year. Melissa has led business operations with teams exceeding 200 people, and managed P&L responsibility exceeding $150MM. Over her career, Melissa has engaged with hundreds of employers as a trusted advisor on key talent strategies. By delivering powerful results for these employers, Melissa has built strong relationships with a large network of CEO, CIO, CTO, COO, CHRO, Diversity and Learning Colleagues across North America, with International impact. As a first-generation college student, Melissa is a determined advocate for those who are taking a “road less traveled.” Whether it is hosting a conference, roundtable, one on one coaching or serving as a connector for the determine, yet un-equipped, Melissa has opened doors of opportunity for thousands of individuals. Melissa is proud to have been named a “2020 Top Woman to Watch” by Diversity Journal Magazine. She serves as a member of the Board of Directors for Women Business Collaborative, and an Advisory Board member for Working Nation. Melissa resides in Goshen, KY with her husband Michael and their five children. She earned her Executive Certificate in Strategy and Innovation from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan’s School of Business, an MBA from the John Sperling School of Business at University of Phoenix, and a Bachelor of Science in Literature from Indiana Wesleyan University. Orginal broadcast dated: Jan 2023 Click here for the latest Podcast from 4word - Work Love Pray Podcast - 4word (4wordwomen.org)

Even though we are in the throes of Christmas right now, some of you have likely already started planning your goals for the new year—or at least are thinking about starting to plan. Is generosity on your goal-setting radar for 2022? You might be thinking, “Good grief, I barely scraped through 2021 and now you’re wanting me to think about GIVING next year?” Well…yes.  If you are a Christian who wants to grow in their faith, being generous is something that goes hand-in-hand with increasing your faith. And the good news? Generosity and giving don’t have to be complicated or difficult to prioritize.  On this episode, Kim King, author of the book, When Women Give – The Adventure of a Generous Life, and former attorney and executive in the Law Department of Exxon Mobil Corporation, talks candidly about why she is so passionate about helping others learn how to live generously and why she believes God wants us to give to others.  Links for this episode:Kim King’s websiteOrder your copy of When Women Give – The Adventure of a Generous Life Guest Bio: For over thirty years, Kim King worked with a major international corporation as an attorney and executive in the Law Department. In 2015 she retired early to pursue writing. She has served on the board of Women Doing Well and the board of 4word: Houston. Currently she serves as an advisor to non-profits on governance and planning. She also is a member of the Board of Trustees of Thrivent Trust Company, a Christian Financial Services Company. She enjoys writing and speaking on the topic of living generously and purposefully. In her free time she enjoys reading, working on her bucket list, and watching Astros baseball. She lives in Houston Texas with her four-legged roommate Callie. Orginal broadcast dated: Dec 2021 Click here for the latest Podcast from 4word - Work Love Pray Podcast - 4word (4wordwomen.org)

Which team culture do you think is more productive: one that regularly includes positive affirmation and genuine expression of gratefulness, or one that includes minimal feedback and more tasks being given out than moments of gratitude? It’s probably a no-brainer. As a leader, you may want to be genuinely positive and grateful to your team, but if it isn’t something that comes naturally to you, starting a regular practice of gratitude and creating a belonging culture might appear like too daunting of a task. On this episode, Trina Lee, manager of the 4word Mentor Program and non-profit professional, offers simple and genuine ways that you can bolster company culture with gratitude. She also shares examples of how she has implemented gratitude into her belonging culture at work. Links for this episode: The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace: Empowering Organizations by Encouraging People Guest Bio: Trina Lee is a non-profit professional. She leads the U.S. sponsorship team for Africa New Life, which is transforming the lives of over 11,000 students in Rwanda. Trina is also part of the 4word team, manages the 4word Mentor Program, and has personally paired nearly 700 mentor pairs together. She’s been part of 4word since 2011 and serves on the 4word: Portland leadership team. Orginal broadcast dated: Nov 2021 Click here for the latest Podcast from 4word - Work Love Pray Podcast - 4word (4wordwomen.org)

Gratitude has the potential to radically change a situation. It can soften hearts, brighten days, and make even the most mundane task feel like it’s changed the world.  Unfortunately, gratitude has lost its lustre in the workplace. Being grateful and expressing thanks might sometimes be perceived as weakness rather than kindness. Achievements and cut-throat advancements get more applause than someone taking the time to recognize and thank the team members who helped get the achievement.  So how do we get gratitude in the spotlight? Is it really a practice that could negatively impact your workplace reputation? What does workplace gratitude even look like? On this episode, Cynthia Nwaubani, a corporate banking executive from Nigeria, shares an incredible story of gratitude for where her life has gone and what she has learned along the way. Orginal broadcast dated: Nov 2021 Click here for the latest Podcast from 4word - Work Love Pray Podcast - 4word (4wordwomen.org)

As you build your community, you must stay focused on what your intent is behind having a community. Growing as a person—professionally, personally, and spiritually—will require the support and insight of others if you truly wish to change and develop. But because this is such a personal journey, the makeup of your community will largely depend on what makes you tick. Are there certain types of people or roles within your community that should be filled in order for you to experience growth through community? How do you find those people? How can you be a mutually beneficial community member to someone else? On this episode, Rev. Dr. Nicole Martin, Senior Vice President of Ministry Impact at American Bible Society, talks about what community has meant to her throughout her life, and why community has the potential to give you a powerful, unshakable confidence. Links for this episode:Follow Nicole on:FacebookInstagramLinkedInLearn more about the new Faith & Liberty Discover Center in Philadelphia, PA, hereGuest Bio: Nicole Martin currently serves as the Senior Vice President for Ministry Impact at American Bible Society. She is also an Assistant Professor at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and founder of Soulfire International Ministries. She has published numerous articles in Christianity Today and is the author of two books, Made to Lead: Empowering Women for Ministry and Leaning In, Letting Go: A Lenten Devotional. She serves on the board for the National Association of Evangelicals and on the Board of Trustees at Gordon College. Nicole is a nationally recognized speaker, focusing on engaging all people in the life-changing power of God’s Word. Orginal broadcast dated: Oct 2021 Click here for the latest Podcast from 4word - Work Love Pray Podcast - 4word (4wordwomen.org)

Your tribe, your group, your clique, your sounding board, your homies. Whatever you call your community, it’s an integral part of your life and what makes you who you are. And when that community is not at 100%, you likely start to notice that YOU are not at 100%. It’s not a secret that 4word highly values community. We’ve built up communities in cities across the country and are aiming to reach 10 million women by 2030. In being so passionate about building communities, we’re also acutely aware of how a fracture in a community can quickly, effectively, and sometimes permanently, bring it down.  So how do we build a healthy community that is in line with God’s vision for His children? On this episode, Marion Medina, 4word’s new Director of Programs, shares what she believes God’s role is for community in everyone’s lives. She also discusses how listening—really listening—to each other is the best way to build bridges in communities that might be experiencing some fractures. Links for this episode:Everyday Jesus Daily MeditationsThe Everyday Jesus Follower’s GuideGuest Bio: Marion served in pastoral ministry for 17 years at three local churches including, most recently, Willow Creek Community Church. During her church ministry, she incorporated her organizational development skills with her practical knowledge of effective discipleship to create growth strategies that focused on the equipping and mobilization of congregations on the mission of Jesus. She holds degrees from Trinity International University and Wheaton College in Organizational Leadership and Missional Church Movements. She directed vision and strategy for the Alpha Chicago Board during her tenure as Chairman of the Board, and she partnered with Dr. Rick Richardson to develop and launch the nation-wide Church Evangelism Institute, a ministry of the Billy Graham Center of Wheaton College. As a member of the Christ Together Midwest Board, she provided guidance, training and strategy and individual coaching for pastors and church leaders throughout the central United States.  Marion and her husband, Ray, reside in Dallas and have two adult children and two amazing grandchildren. Orginal broadcast dated: Oct 2021 Click here for the latest Podcast from 4word - Work Love Pray Podcast - 4word (4wordwomen.org)