Administrative Professionals Day is tomorrow Wednesday, April 21. It’s a work holiday recognizing the contributions of assistants and office staff and showing appreciation for them.
Ways to celebrate the day
I celebrated my birthday last week with some very close friends and family.
This birthday was so much better than last year when we were in the beginning of the lockdown.
It was also so much more meaningful because I have grown exponentially as a result of being through a lot both personally and professionally which enabled me to find happiness again.
If you follow the blog, you know that it was like a bomb went off in my life about a year and a half ago. It basically sent me on a completely new path in my personal and professional life – one that I didn’t necessarily choose – but that I looking back, I can see I was ultimately destined for.
I used to hate change and be so afraid of the unknown. And now I am not. Don’t get set on anything in your life because you just never know what might happen and trust your gut most of all.
2020 gave me a new life along with wisdom, perspective and the tools to navigate new challenges. I’m really proud of the person that I am today. She’s a better friend, employee, sister and partner.
Here are a few other things I learned over the past year.
The next Women Who Wows is Dallas-based Leigh Doyle. Leigh is a marketing, communications and business development leader with more than 18 years of experience in the healthcare technology, startup and legal industries.
Her passion for people and human development is evidenced both in her education and training and in her daily operations at Winstead PC, where she works closely with high growth industry groups and attorneys to design strategies and initiatives that accomplish business growth goals.
Leigh is a mom of five (!) and they range in age from 20 all the way to 5, a runner, a lifelong learner and is passionate about helping others achieve their goals.
Laura Frederick is a commercial contracts attorney with 25 years of experience at international law firms like Morrison & Foerster and cutting edge companies like Tesla.
She is the Managing Attorney at Laura Frederick Law PLLC, a boutique law firm in Austin, Texas that helps sophisticated businesses with their vendor contracts. She also is the Founder and President of How to Contract, a training and skills platform for lawyers and professionals to learn how we draft and negotiate contracts in the real world. How to Contract features a robust community of 240+ contract enthusiasts in the How to Contract Network. Laura posts daily practical contract tips on LinkedIn (you can follow her here).
Last year, she published Practical Tips on How to Contract, a best-selling book full of practical drafting and negotiating contract techniques and tactics in her book.
I met Laura on LinkedIn (of course!) – and I love her voice on LinkedIn and her uniqueness on the platform. She really does stand out in the sea of sameness with so many lawyers. Learn more about her in this Women Who Wow profile.
The next woman who wows is Dallas-based employee benefits and executive compensation lawyer Misty Leon. Misty is a tax lawyer who also specializes in laws that apply to employer-sponsored benefit plans, such as ERISA, the Affordable Care Act, COBRA and HIPAA.
Misty has represented both public and private employers, including state and local governmental entities. She has extensive experience representing companies that provide services to employee benefit plans, which means she’s seen both sides of many employee benefit transactions. She worked at several global firms and now is at an employee benefits boutique firm where she says she is able to continue doing interesting work with more flexibility and direction over her practice.
In addition to practicing law, Misty is interested in innovating and improving upon the delivery of legal services to clients.
Learn more about her in this Women Who Wow profile and connect with her on LinkedIn.
The next woman who wows is Deb Knupp, a Managing Director at GrowthPlay where she works with leaders in the legal, manufacturing, accounting and financial services industries to align
Lynn Tellefsen-Stehle is the Chief Marketing Officer at Wilentz, where she directs the marketing, business development and communications strategy and operations for one of New Jersey’s largest and most successful law firms.
In addition to being a leading CMBDO, Lynn is exploring her entrepreneurial side as the co-owner of a farm-to-table restaurant, Cave Bistro, at the Jersey Shore with her husband. It’s a great example of how women can be business owners while have a satisfying, progressive career. Learn more about Lynn’s restaurant and her career.
As an extroverted extrovert, social distancing was not easy for me. But now that restrictions are starting to lift and many of us have already gotten the vaccine, we will
Michelle Friends is the Executive Director at Denver-based law firm Fairfield and Woods, P.C. where she oversees all aspects of the firm’s administrative functions. She is also very active in the Legal Marketing Association and is currently the Treasurer Elect of the International Board. Learn more about her in this Women Who Wow profile.
I’ve had a few one and two-year stints at various jobs and have found myself explaining why when I applied for other roles in the past.
I’ve often felt like