“I try to live an interesting life, why be boring when you can be exciting?” exclaims the SF BAWJ June feature Artist, Eve Shen!

Eve’s parents set the stage for an exciting life when they moved their family from Taiwan to the United States.  She was 11 at the time and her parents settled their family in New Jersey.

Art has always been a part of Eve’s life…starting with coloring books as a child and later as her favorite class in high school.  That interest continued into college where Eve attended the Fashion Institute of Technology and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Graphic Design.  Feeling stuck in New York, she eventually moved to San Francisco to pursue her passions and see new things!

Art is Therapy for Eve

Eve describes art as her therapy.  When she is creating she is often “dancing” at the same time.  Her artwork provides a way to get her energy out and to feel good.  It’s also a place where she can explore new things and do what feels right to her in the moment.

Chocolate Rasberry

Being a Mom is a New Kind of Creative Expression!

And lately…her moments have been filled with a new kind of creative expression…a son. Today Eve finds herself in the fulltime role of “Mom”.  She happily says that her art right now is finding creative ways to raise her son!

"Bulls Eye" was featured on the June cover.

Art Provides Self-Expression and Life Balance

Visual art still has a place in Eve’s life. She relishes the opportunity for self expression and balance that it brings to her life today. Her son and his wonderful imagination are an endless source of inspiration as well as the simple act of stepping outside and experiencing the natural beauty of the Bay Area.

Eve describes her work as organic, fresh, colorful and happy!  To learn more please visit her web site at eveshen.com.

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Janine Popick, CEO VerticalResponse

Janine Popick didn’t get the memo.  The one that says women don’t start up successful tech companies.  Not that it would have mattered!

by Deborah Burstyn
SF BAWJ Feature Writer
(This article is available in the SF BAWJ magazine.)

Popick, the 42 year-old entrepreneur and CEO would still have shattered that silicon ceiling. Her company VerticalResponse helps small businesses and non-profits stand tall with affordable ways to create, send and track professional-looking email newsletters, direct mail postcards and online surveys. 

In less than a decade since she launched VerticalResponse in San Francisco, Popick has grown the company to over 75,000 customers, $18.6 million in sales and 90 employees – plus she offers 10,000 free emails per year for non-profits.   And she blogs: for Inc. Magazine and of course, for VerticalResponse.

VerticalResponse Growth and Success Soars ahead with…
Customers, Revenue and Awards!

Popick and VerticalResponse have racked up numerous awards and accolades acknowledging the growth and success of the company.  In 2009, VerticalResponse was Ranked #244 on Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500and #52 on the San Francisco Business Times List of  “Top 100 Fastest Growing Companies in the Bay Area”. 

The VerticalResponse Marketing Blog for Small Business was also recognized by the Web Marketing Association with the 2009 Award for Blog Standard of Excellence.  Most recently Popick was named the 2010 San Francisco SBA Small Business Person of the Year!

A Conversation with Janine Popick…the Past, Present and Future!

The SF BAWJ sat down with Popick to talk about her amazing journey, and the twists and turns that led her to where she is today!

On Early Exposure:  My dad was a tech guy at IBM. He was a lone worker bee for 35 years. He developed some cool stuff, and had a few patents.  IBM had family days and we’d all get to go in and look at main frames. I loved it.

On Work Ethic:  I was not one of those kids who went backpacking around Europe. The day after I graduated from college, I went to work at WCBS-TV in New York.  Radio and TV were my passions.

The VerticalResponse Team

On Changing Gears:   At a certain point I knew that was as far as I could go in TV. So I jumped ship and started doing ad sales for a newspaper in Brooklyn. I was going door to door. I realized it wasn’t for me when I got mugged. So I got a job in direct marketing.

On Heading West:  I had a bad relationship with a boy in New York. I came out here with a friend on a trip and decided someday I’d be back. A short time later I got a great job in direct marketing for a small ad agency on the peninsula. 

On Love and Marriage:  People who say you’re never going to meet a guy in San Francisco are wrong. I met my husband four weeks after moving here. The attraction was instant. We’ve been together for 15 years. We still always manage to tag along on each other’s business trips. We are a rare breed that really likes to hang out together.

On Inspiration:  My husband and I once found ourselves not working at the same time. So we moved to Paris. We talked about how everyone was giving out their email addresses. We’d both worked in big companies. How were small companies handling this?  They were using Outlook. There had to be a better way.

On a Typical Day:  I get up 6:30 a.m., do a half hour of email, check Tweet Deck, get on a treadmill for an hour and switch between VH1 and The Today Show. I do my sit-ups, some weights and get to work.  There I focus on what’s going on in the market, our customers and our competitors.

Between 5:30 and 6:30 p.m., I walk home and grab a glass of wine with my husband to wind down.  He has an agency that has a lot of wineries and in our spare time he has a food and wine blog called VinDivine.  We have a lot fun.  One of us cooks while the other works. Then we go to the couch with our computers and watch TV. We loved Flight of the Conchords, Madmen and The Office.

On Reading:  Right now my favorite books are ReWork by Jason Fried and David Hansson and The Referral Engine by John Jantsch.

Reviewing the VerticalResponse postcard product.

On Success: The more smart people I can have around me that know things I don’t know the better.  That’s a big reason behind my company being successful.

That’s our strength as women. We understand our deficiencies. We accept that we are not going be perfect in every aspect. Women are great at leaning on other people.

On What Comes Next:  I am going to continue growing VerticalResponse. We have a great company that I am happy to come to every day.  Anything next for me is going to be in non-profit.  During the past two years I’ve set up formal company volunteering events, where we helped cleaned up the beach, read to second graders, rebuilt a playground and helped clean up the zoo. That’s a great day for me!

If you enjoyed this article and want to share it with a friend or the world:) …it’s easy. Click on the Share/Save button and you can e-mail, Tweet or Bookmark it!

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Connect-Discover-Shine! was the 2010 theme for the Professional Business Women of CA (PBWC) Conference held May 11 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.

by Debbie Josendale, Publisher
San Francisco Bay Area Women’s Journal

The PBWC was started 21 years ago by Jackie Speier who today serves as  U.S. Congresswoman, 12th District CA.  Speier’s vision to create an organization that inspired women in both their careers and personal lives was in full swing with a blockbuster lineup of keynote speakers and workshops.

Here are some of my favorite sound bites of “wisdom” and other memorable  moments from the conference:

“It starts with you.  Trust in yourself first.” Misti Burmeister, who led a fabulous workshop on Expanding Your Influence.

“Leaders have to be the light.  Leaders have to bring possibility thinking.” Dr. Cile Chavez, who shared insights on The Leadership Imperative.

“The answer to “How are You” should be more than “just fine”. Your answer is an opportunity to share and promote yourself.” Chris Melching, whose workshop Paddle Your Own Canoe…Tips for Selling Yourself, was filled to standing room only… and, overflowed out the doors.

“Change your thinking from networking to net-worthy. Net-worthy is about abundance and asking yourself how can I be a resource to others?” Sarah Michel on The Art of Intentional Connecting.

“If you can see it, YOU can be it!”…the tag line from Jennifer Siebel Newsom, First Lady of SF, new documentary Miss Representation.

Safra Catz, President of Oracle

One of the highlights of the day for me was the keynote given by Safra Catz, President of Oracle Corporation.  Frequently named to the Fortune 100 Most Powerful Women list among many other accolades and accomplishments, it was a rare gift to hear from the media shy Catz.

Delightful, witty and clearly a razor sharp mind Catz shared her thoughts on things she learned on the way up, that she wished someone would have told her .

1. You can never be #1 by chasing someone else’s business. To be #1 you have to do something different.  And quite often in that pursuit, people will think you are an idiot until you are a genius!

2.  Focus on the value that your business provides versus size. It’s all about scale and serving your customers better.

3.  If it doesn’t make sense, it doesn’t make sense.

4. Don’t stand still. You can’t beat the competition if you’re standing still.

5.  Don’t chase fashion! Execute on your strategy and stick to your core.

6.  If you don’t ask, you don’t get!

7.  Just because everything can be put online…doesn’t mean everything should be put online.

8. Integrity is a perishable asset. You can recover from being stupid, but you cannot recover from being a liar.

9.  Business is a team sport.

As Catz finished her talk, the energy in the room was electrifying.  For most of the women in the audience, it was the first time to ever hear a Keynote speech given by a President of a Fortune 500 company…who is a woman!

And Now for the NEXT Generation

And finally two High School Senior young women were awarded PBWC scholarships.  Each of them gave a brief speech that was filled with excitement, enthusiasm and great expectation that they could do anything they set their mind to.  It was such a joyous moment to witness these two young women filled with ambition.  Yes we have a way to go…but oh how far we have come!

If you enjoyed this article and want to share it with a friend or the world:) …it’s easy. Click on the Share/Save button and you can e-mail, Tweet or Bookmark it!

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by Deborah Burstyn-Feature Writer, SF Bay Area Women’s Journal

Ron Benza in his "Mad Men" Days.

In 1993 Benza, the married father of two sons now in college, moved his family to Marin when he took over McCann Erickson’s San Francisco office.  Today he’s a founding partner of the print production firm Benza Gruggen Buckley.  Clients include those you’ve heard of like Netflix, AT&T, Best Buy, WalMart, and Target and one maybe you haven’t heard of – The Family Violence Prevention Fund.

Ron recently talked with the San Francisco Bay Area Women’s Journal about the “meeting that changed his life” and sparked his enduring passion and commitment to end violence against women and children.

The Family Violence Prevention Fund

The Family Violence Prevention Fund  has become a force in Benza’s life and led him to co-found, along with Dr. Buz Kanter, Founding Fathers, a group of thousands of prominent men dedicated to ending violence against women and children, under the auspices of the Family Violence Prevention Fund.  Benza is also a long standing volunteer for the Family Violence Prevention Fund and serves on the FVPF’s Leadership Committee.

On Exposure:  

I had no personal experience with this issue.  In 1997 Blue Shield of California was one of our clients at McCann-Erickson.  Through Blue Shield I met an incredible person:  Esta Soler, the founder of the Family Violence Prevention Fund. 

Esta’s my Oprah. That meeting with her changed my life.  She helped me see that preventing domestic violence until then had been only women helping women – at shelters, rape crisis centers and so on.

Men were either part of the problem or just bystanders.  Though I was not part of the problem,  I did not want to be a bystander either. I wanted to be part of the solution.

On Reach:

Ron Benza (r) with Sen. Barbara Boxer at a meeting in advance of passage of the Violence Against Women Act.

The domestic violence procedures that the police and judiciary use today were developed by the Family Violence Prevention Fund.  The FVPF was instrumental in the passage of the Violence Against Women Act. They have not only instructed judges throughout the land in correct procedures in violence cases, but the Chairman of the Board of the FVPF is the Honorable Ronald Adrine, a judge himself.

We connect with 15,000 to 20,000 organizations all over the world and produce about a million pieces of print material.   We’ve got 100,000 pieces alone going to a Planned Parenthood in the Mt. Shasta area as one example.

Founding Fathers’ program Coaching Boys to Men is even spreading around the world, through out-reach via the UN and other coaching programs. 

On the Economy’s Impact on Domestic Violence:

Unemployment, alcoholism and stress are all triggers. They go together like a witches’ brew; things that are borderline get worse.

On a Highlight for 2010:

Nancy Pelosi and Nicole Kidman participated in the ground breaking ceremony for the New Family Violence Prevention Center.

I just went on a hardhat tour of our new building… or new old building. It is a 1910 red brick building in the Presidio, next to the Disney Museum.  There’s not a lot you can change on the exterior but the inside will be amazing.  It will be home to our new offices and much more-an interactive meeting space, healing center and exhibits.

The Family Violence Prevention Center is going to be a major global conference and education center. It the end it won’t be a place as much as a concept, like the UN is more than a building on the East River. And it is on time and on budget!

On Parenting Boys:

I don’t think boys respond all that well to talking.  But your kids are watching you like a hawk and learning from you all the time – how you treat the waiter in a restaurant, how you react when someone cuts you off in traffic.  It is important to show by example.

On Inspiration:

“You did what you knew how to do, and when you knew better you did better.”

That’s a quote from Maya Angelou.  I think she captured the spirit of hope itself. To me it says we don’t have to be saddled with violence as a human condition.
To learn more about The Family Violence Prevention Fund, please visit their website.  And you can find additional information about the Founding Father’s Coaching Boys to Men Program here.

If you enjoyed this article and want to share it with a friend or the world:) …it’s easy. Click on the Share/Save button and you can e-mail, Tweet or Bookmark it!

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Tomoko Maruyama

In every edition of the San Francisco Bay Area Women’s Journal we feature the artwork of a local artist on our cover.  Art enriches and deepens our life experience.  And here in the Bay Area, rich with creativity, we are pleased to bring you artwork each month that we hope touches you in a unique way.

Tomoko Maruyama is our featured artist for May.  Originally from Japan, Tomoko is a San Francisco based graphic designer.  She started her career in Tokyo as a sports teacher for children and seniors. 

But she soon realized her real passion and interest was in graphic design.  This took her to New York where she studied art and began to develop her unique artistic style!

Tomoko strives to create artwork that evokes feelings of happiness and peace which are a reflection of her warm heart.  With a distinctive design style that is warm, positive and soft, she is influenced by the daily experience of the cities that she has lived in including Tokyo, New York and San Francisco. 

Her illustration of the “Golden Gate” is a great example of her style!

On the May cover of the San Francisco Bay Area Women’s Journal we featured a piece of her work called appropriately enough “SF”.  You can see the cover here.

Prints, Apparel, Greeting Cards and More!

Today her work can be found on adorable baby clothes, t-shirts, greeting cards, wedding invitations and hanging on walls across the world!  A favorite illustration has to be “The Painted Ladies”.

Looking at these adorable baby clothes, it’s easy to see why people are effusive in their responses to her work…adorable, so sweet, love the soft colors, breath of fresh air, so happy… are often heard when people see her work. 

Her career switch might seem dramatic, but it’s obvious that she has found her true calling and is living her dream!

For a complete listing of retailers who carry Tomoko’s work, click here.   You can also buy Tomoko’s work from her Etsy shop and visit her website TomokoMaruyama.com to learn more.

If you enjoyed this article and want to share it with a friend or the world:) …it’s easy. Click on the Share/Save button and you can e-mail, Tweet or Bookmark it!

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2. Flower and Art: Color, Line, Balance and Texture
3. Celebrate Life Events with Decorative Painting!

  Here it is!  We hope you love this reading experience. 

With our digital format it’s easy to read, share with others, print one page, or save the entire publication in a PDF format.  And all of the links are hot, so if you see something that you want to know more about…just click!

Speaking of  “click”…click on the cover to take you to full screen mode!

We’d also like to invite you to subscribe!  Just fill in the info box to the right and you’ll never miss a copy!

Thanks for stopping by…we hope you enjoy the premiere edition!

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Dr. Sandi Altman

She’s known around Contra Costa County as the Menopause Maven.  Now Dr. Sondra Altman, who for years has focused her gynecology practice on the health issues of older women, has a new title.

by Deborah Burstyn-Staff Writer, SF Bay Area Women’s Journal

She has been appointed to be the Medical Director of the newly opened John Muir Women’s Center for Continence and Pelvic Health in Walnut Creek!

Medical Center is Unique to the Bay Area

Presenting a mix of treatment options, including biofeedback and physical therapy, the Center is the first of its kind in the area.  

Dr. Altman, 57,  will oversee a dream team that includes urologists, colorectal surgeons, gynecologists  and nurse practitioners to offer women individualized testing and analysis.

A Conversation with “Dr. Sandi”

“Dr. Sandi” as she is fondly known to her patients recently sat down with the SF Bay Area Women’s Journal to share her thoughts and unique brand of humor regarding her new role in uro-gynocolgy, her life and calling of the past 30 years.

On Women’s Incontinence – Childbirth is not kind to the pelvic floor. Incontinence typically starts in the childbearing years then accelerates through menopause and the Medicare years.  Of the 13 million Americans with urinary incontinence, 85% are women.

Women think they’re stuck wearing Poise pads. They’re not. It’s fixable.

On Influences - I was studying to be a preschool teacher at Tufts.  Sesame Street was new and exciting. My roommate was pre-med. Whoa. I didn’t know women could be doctors.  It was Boston in the early 70s. The first “Our Bodies, Ourselves” had just been published.

A doctor was arrested at Boston University for presenting a lecture on birth control to co-eds.  The idea that women could receive health information and take control of their bodies was radical.  I had found my calling.

On Geography – At Boston University Medical School, I had to get up an hour earlier just to dig out my car after a snowstorm.  I arranged to do my internship and residency at Kaiser Foundation Hospital in Oakland and never went back.

On Life/Work Choices – When I had two kids in diapers at home, I gave up obstetrics. My former husband also was a doctor and worked long hours.  I was having to leave the house before the sitter got there because I had to go deliver babies.

Doing only gynecology was going to be short-term until my kids were older but as my patients aged, a funny thing happened.

I had to learn about menopausal issues and hormones on my own. Menopause as a field of interest did not exist. I had found a new calling.

On Hormone Replacement Therapy – All the data point to risk of cancer increasing after five years of hormone replacement therapy.   Two to three years  is usually what is helpful for women when they are going through menopause and there is no increased risk associated with that.

So you don’t have to choose between being crazy now or getting cancer later.  The publicity around this has done a great disservice to women.

On a Typical Day – Last Thursday I removed 17 fibroids from a patient’s uterus. That’s like the equivalent of three babies’ heads.  She was a lot thinner afterwards. I also do DNCs and hysterectomies.  There’s paperwork and seeing patients in my office.

I also practice what I preach and exercise every day;  a spinning  class or pilates.  I eat lunch at my desk with People magazine, my guilty pleasure.

On Patients - Most of my patients are over 40. But I also get some of the kids I delivered. They are all grown up now and in law school.

I love what I do. I have the nicest patients. I am so lucky.

On Being a Doctor – In spite of all the changes in medicine it always comes down to the doctor and the patient. That is where the passion and the joy come in.

At the end of the day that’s what you’ve got  – that you made a difference in someone’s life.

On Taking on New Responsibilities – Periodically you need to reset and refresh. I am excited about  the new field of  uro-gynecology and learning more about it.  This is my new calling.

For the many smiles that you have brought from delivering babies to making us laugh at the experience of menopause and now incontinence… (does it ever end)…we  say thank-you Dr. Sandi!

If you enjoyed this article and want to share it with a friend or the world:) …it’s easy. Click on the Share/Save button and you can e-mail, Tweet or Bookmark it!

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by Hilda Oropeza, CARE USA
Director of Community Partnerships, San Francisco

Inspired by stories from the critically-acclaimed book “Half the Sky” by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, CARE’s Half the Sky event – in nearly 500 movie theatres for just one night – will feature an uplifting night of music, celebrity discussion and film.

The event features performances, readings, and appearances by India.Arie, Maria Bello, the Bay Area’s own Michael Franti, Dr. Helene Gayle, president and CEO of CARE, Angelique Kidjo, Nicholas Kristof, Marisa Tomei, Sarah, Duchess of York, Sheryl WuDunn and other notables.  Watch the short video below to learn more about this powerful event!

The World Premiere of Woinshet

Wonishet, a powerful short film directed by Academy Award winner Marisa Tomei and Lisa Leone will launch its world premiere during this event.  The film tells the story of Woinshet, an Ethiopian woman who triumphs over degradation and abuse in a society where women are often voiceless and victimized.

“Woinshet is an inspiration to the millions of women across the globe who face violence and oppression,” says Marisa Tomei. “My hope is that people will leave theatres not only cheering her on, but demanding that we end discrimination and horrible cruelty towards women.”

Building on the success of A POWERFUL NOISE Live, CARE’s 2009 International Women’s Day event, Half the Sky will inspire audiences to join the movement to empower women and girls in the fight against poverty and oppression.

“CARE is proud to once again celebrate International Women’s Day with a rousing one-night-only event in theatres across the country,” said Dr. Gayle. “HALF THE SKY is more than just a night at the movies – it’s a rallying cry to stand up and join a growing worldwide movement to empower women and girls to fight global poverty.”

CARE’s Half the Sky event will take place at 7:30 pm in all time zones in nearly 500 movie theatres in the U.S. and Canada. Tickets are approximately $10-$12.50 depending on the theatre and a portion of ticket sales goes to support CARE. To find a theatre near you and purchase tickets today, visit CARE, Half the Sky event.

CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. CARE places special focus on working alongside poor women because, equipped with the proper resources, women have the power to help whole families and entire communities escape poverty.

Women are at the heart of CARE’s community-based efforts to improve basic education, prevent the spread of HIV, increase access to clean water and sanitation, expand economic opportunity and protect natural resources. CARE also delivers emergency aid to survivors of war and natural disasters, and helps people rebuild their lives.  To learn more please visit their website.

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1. Paul Ash: Ending Hunger in San Francisco!

by Deborah Burstyn
Staff Writer, SF Bay Area Women’s Journal

Paul Ash, Exec. Director San Francisco Food Bank

The food is delivered to over 200 food pantry sites around San Francisco to serve those living at or near the poverty line.

Ash, 55, helped develop an innovative program, Farm to Family, which partners with over 100 different growers and packers to funnel fresh and nutritious produce to those that rely on the Food Bank.  This year over 20 million pounds was distributed and 60% of the food that was fresh produce. 

The San Francisco Food Bank distributes more pounds per person in poverty than all other food banks in the nation! 

Ash spoke with the San Francisco Bay Area Women’s Journal about his life and the job he’s held for 20 years feeding the city’s hungriest residents.

On Life Exposure – Back in Oklahoma, both sets of my grandparents had farms. They were mostly subsistence farms with a couple of cash crops, alfalfa and cotton. They worked hard. Yet through no fault of their own – weather, insects – if the crops failed, things could get bad.  My grandparents got old before their time.

When I see people in line at our food pantries, I see my grandparents’ faces in their faces.

On a Typical Day – Breakfast might be followed by a visit to St. Anthony’s dining room where I interact with the clients that depend on the food provided by the Food Bank and then lunch with a CEO of a major corporation who is interested in donating.  I get to see first-hand what a range of success and tragedy we have in this country. 

There are many people who are so bright and working so hard.  Yet because of bad luck, a few bad choices or mental illness, supporting themselves is oftentimes difficult.

I try to get out to visit one of our pantries several times a week.

On Hunger – We live in the richest agricultural state in one of the richest countries in the world. We grow enough food in this country to feed everyone. And still have plenty left to export and make profits.

Yet only 50% of people who are eligible for food stamps receive them. We make it difficult for them. We have this fear of giving people something they are not entitled to.   

We prevent those who are entitled from accessing food stamps.

On Volunteering – Sundays are reserved as family days at the San Francisco Food Bank. We don’t operate the power equipment like the fork lift on Sundays which makes it a safer day for kids to be here.

We have families that come once a month to volunteer together. They make it a cornerstone for teaching values to their kids. The Food Bank is a fun and safe environment for children to learn about the importance of supporting others in need in their community.

Volunteering at the Food Bank is different than serving food in a soup kitchen.  Both tasks are challenging. Many of our projects are hands on work. For example, we buy beans in 2,000 pound bags and our volunteers repackage them into one pound bags. We’re open seven days a week and some evenings for people to volunteer.

On Crisis – We opened several new food distribution sites last summer to support the increase of people turning to the food bank. We’re seeing a lot of new folks coming to the pantries. We encourage people to come sooner rather than later. 

It is especially important for those in need with children. If a child misses meals it can impact their health and their learning ability.

We’ve seen a 20 percent increase in those requesting food from this time last year.

On Budget – Our budget is 80 percent donations, which requires a lot of fundraising.

On Decompressing – I like to get outdoors and be in nature. I enjoy bike riding. I like to ski with my children. And I like camping. Last summer we did a fantastic camping trip to the Grand Canyon.

On Reading – My favorite book is Men to Match My Mountains by Irving Stone. It is about the opening of the American West. Right now I am reading Down the Great Unknown about the discovery of the Grand Canyon.

Thanks Paul for taking the time to talk with the SF BAWJ and for your leadership in helping to end hunger in the San Francisco Bay Area!

To learn more about the San Francisco Food Bank, please visit their website.

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Alison Levine

An interview with Alison Levine… the first woman to serve as Team Captain of the first American Women’s Everest Expedition!  She is a demure dynamo powered by sheer determination who has reached the summit of both the business world and the physical world’s highest mountains!

by Deborah Burstyn,
SF BAWJ Staff Writer

Listening to Alison Levine is magic. The sparkle in her eyes and the energy in her voice inspire us to feel that we too can scale new heights! She helps everyone she comes into contact with – whether big league corporate executives or third world village women – attain their goals and connect with their dreams.

Levine, a former Wall Street investment banker and finance director for Arnold Schwarzenegger’s successful campaign for governor, now heads two businesses of her own.  She is the founder and president of DareDevil Strategies, a consulting business specializing in organizational effectiveness, leadership development, and team dynamics.

She is also the founder of the Climb High Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of women in third world countries by training them to be trekking guides in their local mountains. No mean feat as it entails empowering them to overcome the traditional stigma against competing with their men folk.

Levine climbed her first mountain at 32, in between starting graduate school and recovering from surgery for a life-threatening congenital heart condition. Although her call to the wild came relatively late, it came on strong.

In the spring of 2002, she was invited to serve as the team captain of the first American Women’s Everest Expedition.  Although she incessantly travels the world and regularly appears on shows like Oprah and NBC Today, Levine continues to call San Francisco home, making her one of us – a Bay Area Woman.

What prompted you to start climbing mountains?

After years of working in marketing, I was stymied because I couldn’t understand financial statements. At 32, after I had my second and final heart surgery, I decided to go to graduate school. I got accepted to Duke’s MBA program so I quit my job and gave myself a month to travel.

Several girlfriends were supposed to go with me to Mt. Kilimanjaro. But at the last minute they decided they’d rather go to Club Med.  I grew up in Arizona where everyone has a pool so sitting by a pool didn’t seem like a vacation.

I headed to Mt. Kilimanjaro alone. I was too naïve to be afraid. It was great. Every day on the mountain was a new adventure with new challenges. I was hooked. Luckily, I had a lot of frequent flier miles.

What inspired you to create Daredevil Strategies?

After serving as team captain for the first American Women’s Everest Expedition, I realized that many of the strategies employed in the business world are the same strategies used when climbing the worlds highest and most challenging peaks.

Foresight, focus, and flawless execution are equally important in the jet stream as in corporate America. And a good sense of humor is always essential when dealing with an ever-changing landscape!”

What advice do you have for women today?

If you don’t like what you’re doing every day, change it. We spend the majority of our waking hours in our “day jobs” – whether we are working outside the home or in the home. If you are not totally fired up about what you are doing, you need to make a change

We can all recreate ourselves as many times as we want. It’s fun. I am 43 years old and I finally found my niche in the business world. It did not come quickly nor did it come without pain, financial stress, self-doubt, and tears. But I had great friends offering encouragement all along the way.

One of the most important things you can have is a great group of girlfriends. Surround yourself with bright, caring, ambitious women, and if you do you will have the world’s most reliable safety net.

Photo of Alison Levine by Kathi O’Leary, SF BAWJ Staff Photographer!
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