Discovery
Mentoring Program
About our Discovery Mentoring Program
Our mentorship program provides mentoring and guidance for any female of all ages.
The goal for our Mentors and Mentees is to fully capitalize on the opportunity and ability to connect, communicate and collaborate with more women and leaders in our community. We also offer our mentees to choose from our local or national mentors to consider for one-to-one mentoring. To meet our local mentors join us for our 'Mentoring on the Moment (M.o.M) Speed Mentoring sessions (every 4th Thursday from 6 pm to 8 pm)!
If you'd like to become a mentor, please contact Nina Corder at nina@womenoftoledo.org.
Our Philosophy
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We value diversity of age, ethnicity, gender, religion, ability, experience, class, size and more- and to find ways to drive this through every element.
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We have created spaces where women of many generations can interact and support one another.
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We support participatory of exchange knowledge, experiences, and skill to foster unique opportunities for innovation, learning, and accountability.
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We nurture the goal of learning from the past and reflecting on the present to create a more just and equitable future.
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We also value vulnerability. We have real conversations about where we are and what we need to succeed- and are comfortable with change.
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We want to create a new reality where women all ages can make progress from a real advice from real women!
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We capitalize on the opportunity and the ability to connect, communicate and collaborate with more women in our community.
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We are your Mentors, friends, peer-support and local network that join the movement of local women supporting women.
Meet our Mentors
Meet our National Mentors Circle
Our mentorship program provides mentoring and guidance for any female of all ages. The goal for our Mentors and Mentees is to fully capitalize on the opportunity and ability to connect, communicate and collaborate with more women and leaders nationally. Meet our National Mentors Circle one every quarter via our virtual Speed Mentoring to establish the first point of contact!
Athena Golianis
Athena Golianis: CEO, Creator PINKK LLC and President, Founder of AGW Idea Group, Inc. She has worked on venerable blue-chip brands like Arthur Andersen, Sears, Kraft Foods, Wal-Mart Sam’s Club, Hillshire Farms, Sara Lee, Midas, Alberto Culver haircare brands, (Unilever) Beltone, the City of Chicago in addition to name a few for many formative years. In 2005 she became a dedicated entrepreneur and opened her own agency AGW Idea Group and has successfully run her marketing consulting and branding agency for over 15 years and continues to do so. She has launched start-ups and helped to grow and rebrand others like VENeffect, BreatheAmerica, Precision HealthCare, Citadel Healthcare, Kiva Recovery, Diamond Bank (now Wintrust) amongst others. At this time as she is also taking her understanding of building brands to create PINKK and use her experience and knowledge to empower and inspire coaches and mentors and provide resources for women with this brand experience and platform.
CEO & Founder PINKK
PINKK
Lieutenant Jill Brown
A U.S. Navy Reserves Public Affairs Officer, a Flight Attendant – United Airlines and Global Project Manager – Conference Direct. Lt. Jill Brown is a Public Affairs Officer assigned to the Navy Office of Community Outreach (NAVCO) in Millington, Tennessee. She is the Social Media and Emerging Trends Department Head. She arrived at NAVCO in 2020, and previously served with United States Fleet Forces Command (USFF). While serving with USFF for five years, she participated in several high-profile exercises worldwide, supported hurricane relief efforts, and oversaw the public affairs desk in the Maritime Operations Center. She prepared daily briefs for the USFF Commander, a 4-Star Admiral that was critical to operational analysis and influencing the decision-making process. Lt. Brown was selected as a Media Relations Officer assigned to Joint Task ForceNational Capital Region supporting both the 58th and 59th Presidential Inaugurations. She facilitated numerous media engagements, a media roundtable event, and a press conference that was nationally televised.
She was selected as a direct commission public affairs officer in August 2013 and completed Defense Information School at Fort Meade, Maryland, in 2014. Brown began her Naval Reserve career in 1992 as an enlisted naval aircrewman assigned to VR-56 at Naval Air Station Dallas, Texas. She continued her flying career for more than 20 years transporting military members and cargo all over the world. She supported humanitarian missions to New Orleans immediately following Hurricane Katrina.
Her personal awards include the Joint Service Commendation Medal (two awards), Joint Service Achievement Medal (two awards), Navy Achievement Medals (six awards), Navy Good Conduct Medal, Naval Reserve Meritorious Service Medal Silver Star, National Defense Service Medal, and Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.
Brown holds a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Saint Leo University and has earned certifications in event and program management from the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida. She also holds the Certified Government Meeting Professional (CGMP) certification. She recently completed a Project Management Certification Course in 2021 to help prepare for the PMP certification. As a civilian, Jill Brown is a Flight Attendant for United Airlines based at Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia for more than 20 years. She was previously a management employee for United Airlines in Chicago, working in the employee engagement department. She recently affiliated with Conference Direct as a Global Project Manager with the conference management team.
Engineering
The U.S. Reserve Navy Officer
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Tita Arroyo
Tita Arroyo is a Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach and National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach at LIFE LOVES Health Coaching, Founder of Life Loves Co. a natural products company, and Global Buyer for Intelsat Inflight.
With a BA in Spanish from the University of Illinois (Urbana), her varied corporate career includes managing customer accounts and exports for Patterson Medical, Emerson Electric, and Mars Incorporated. Her mission and passion are in empowering others to realize they are in control of their health and helping them implement simple, realistic, self-directed changes to lead their healthiest and best lifestyle!
Tita stays active in the community as PINKK Mentoring Assistant Manager and Associate Board Member and Engagement Committee Chair of Facing Forward to End Homelessness. She lives in Chicago with her energetic Boston Terrier/Boxer mix Moonpie
Coach
Stephanie Douglas - Navy Executive
Ms. Douglas currently serves as the Executive Director for Cyber Engineering & Digital Transformation Directorate (SEA03), at the Naval Sea Systems Command-. She provides Executive Leadership for the execution of a unified effort to ensure afloat and ashore systems are cyber resilient, the execution of a digital transformation, Logistics Information Technology sustainment, and Information Technology services.
Ms. Douglas was selected for appointment to the Senior Executive Service in April 2016. She previously served as the Executive Director for Industrial Operations. She was responsible for policy development, mission direction, program execution, information systems, and corporate leadership of the Naval Shipyards; Supervisors of Shipbuilding Conversion, and Repair; Trident Refit Facility, Bangor; and Ship Repair Facility, Yokosuka, Japan. She also served as the Executive Director for Navy Regional Maintenance Center from 2016 to 2019 where she oversaw the operations and management of all Regional Maintenance Centers in private sector repair, intermediate level, and fleet technical support for surface ships.
She has six years of civil service experience as Deputy Director for Fleet Maintenance at
U.S. Fleet Forces Command. In this role, she was responsible for fleet maintenance policy and budget in support of two Naval Shipyards; three Regional Maintenance Centers; Trident Refit Facility, Kings Bay; and Readiness Support Group, New London, to deliver mission-ready ships to combatant commanders and achieve the expected service life for fleet ships.
Ms. Douglas served as a naval officer from 1981 to 2010, retiring as a Captain with 29 years of service. She was an Engineering Duty Officer and served on USS Emory S Land (AS-39) as Electrical Repair Officer and at numerous maintenance activities. Her tours included Charleston Naval Shipyard as nuclear and non-nuclear ship superintendent for submarines; Portsmouth Naval Shipyard; Supervisor of Shipbuilding Conversion and Repair, Portsmouth (now a portion of Mid-Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center); and Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility as Production Resources Officer. During this tour, she led the damage removal efforts in Guam for USS San Francisco (SSN 711) following the ship’s collision with an undersea mountain. She served two tours at Ship Repair Facility and Japan Regional Maintenance Center, Japan; her second tour as Commanding Officer, where she made all preparations for the arrival of USS George Washington (CVN 73), the first nuclear-powered warship to be home-ported overseas and which made its first forward-deployed Naval Forces availability at the facility. Her staff assignments include Commander, Navy Surface Forces, Atlantic, as Surface Type Desk Coordinator, and at Naval Sea Systems Command, as the Deputy Director of the Shipyard Management Group. Her final active-duty tour was as Surface Ship Program Director in the Fleet Maintenance Directorate of U.S. Fleet Forces Command.
Ms. Douglas graduated from Auburn University where she earned a bachelor’s of science in Chemical Engineering and her commission from the NROTC program in 1981. She earned a Naval Engineers Degree, a master’s of Science in Mechanical Engineering, and a master’s of science in Ocean Systems Management from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1992.
Senior Executive Service (U.S.)
The Naval Sea Systems Command
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Judith M. Myers
Judith M.Myers with JMMyers Marketing is an Ally for Equality and Warrior for Social Justice. Throughout an accomplished career in marketing that gave voice to prominent commercial brands, Judith Myers always kept a foothold in serving those without one.
As a communications expert, Judith transforms corporate storytelling and content into shared experiences that engage “consumers with merchandisers;” “buyers with sellers;” and most importantly “advocates with causes.” Her craft results in resilient customer loyalty, strong bottom-line gains, and passionate allyship for charitable and civic service. For the last decade, Judith works with a variety of clients through her private consultancy, JMMyers Marketing.
Judith is a dynamic leader in areas of marketing, branding, nonprofit and organizational change management. She has strategically guided Fortune 500s, national and global nonprofits, and associations to succeed with their customers, clients, and constituents. She is skilled in writing and design production across multi-channel formats and a variety of industries, including healthcare, professional services, technology, manufacturing, education, and humanitarian aid. Keeping her professional trade sharp, Judith had a long tenure with American Marketing Association Chicago as a Board Director, where she provided leadership and mentorship.
Most recently, Judith has shifted her focus from big business to allyship in support of public service, social justice, and diversity-inclusion-equity advocacy to give voice to under-represented, vulnerable, and at-risk populations. She is a Deputy Registrar and has registered hundreds of high school student voters in the greater Chicago area. She has been involved in political campaigns for local, state and federal candidates and also served as an Election Judge in the 2020 General Election. She served on a citywide community service project developing a database of resources to provide wellness aid to the elderly during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, Judith is active in organizations addressing racial bias.
Judith is a practitioner of mindfulness and compassionate healing.
Aly for Equality
JMMyers Marketing
Maggie Bahler Rizzio
Maggie Bahler Rizzio has been a marketing and communications professional for close to 30 years, cutting her teeth at small agencies after she graduated from the University of Michigan (Go Blue!) She quickly realized customer service was her forte and she worked hard for her clients in banking, auto parts, and eventually healthcare/pharma. Helping those clients craft messages and finding the right way to reach their key customers provided the challenge that has kept Maggie motivated for most of her career. She also spent time in retail marketing, working on well-known brands like Home Depot and Whole Foods Market.
About eight years ago, she veered off the corporate path and joined a small non-profit organization that focuses on providing support to anyone impacted by cancer. Gilda’s Club Chicago is part of a larger organization called the “Cancer Support Community,” which includes a network of 50 affiliates across the US and Canada. Named for comedienne Gilda Radner, the organization supports anyone diagnosed with or caring for someone with cancer – men, women, teens, and children – through a variety of activities, support groups, and events. In early 2020, Maggie brought her marketing and communications expertise to the Archdiocese of Chicago. She leads communication efforts for the structural and spiritual renewal of the Catholic church in Chicago, a movement known as “Renew My Church.”
Maggie got the travel bug early when she lived in Australia as a young girl. Trips back to the U.S. to visit family included stops in places like Tokyo, Moscow, and Manila. Since then, she has traveled extensively and also lived in Toronto, Canada for 11 years prior to her move to Chicago in 2004. On summer weekends you will usually find her on her bike and year-round you will likely find her with her nose in a good book.
She belongs to a few networking groups which keep her connected with strong women and strong marketers in Chicago. PINKK is one of those groups and she is grateful for the friendships that have developed there, as well as all the interesting events that are offered like cooking demos and self-care webinars. She is an active member who inspires us all with all her contributions and involvement.
Maggie is also on the Board of Directors of the Chicago chapter of the American Marketing Association and focuses on member engagement – from New Member Orientation to attendance at events to recruiting volunteers.
Leadership
The Archdiocese of Chicago
Benita Robinson
Benita Robinson is a lifelong Detroiter, learner, and social justice advocate. Centering the voices of those most marginalized, she has over 10 years of experience in advocacy and activism in gender-based violence, pay equity, leadership development, racial equity, trauma-informed program development and management, and community education. Benita earned her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Michigan in Sociology and Women and Gender Studies and a Master of Social Work from Wayne State University. She currently serves as Gender Equity Manager for the City of Toledo. Her self-care practices include traveling and spending time with family
and friends.
Gender Equity Manager
City of Toledo
Emilie Vassar
Emilie has been fortunate to have many mentors in her life as she has traversed through her career and hopes to be a listening ear while providing her knowledge and experience as may be helpful to others. Emilie joined Spengler Nathanson in May 2022 after several years in private practice. Emilie practices in the firm’s education, employment, and litigation departments. Emilie currently serves as the Secretary of the Toledo Bar Association’s Labor & Employment Committee. In her employment practice, Emilie has represented both public and private sector employers across many industries, including manufacturing, healthcare, schools, temporary staffing, non-profit, and performing arts. Emilie assists clients with a variety of issues, such as discrimination, retaliation, disability accommodation, wage and hour disputes, and developing policies and procedures. Emilie also enjoys conducting supervisor and employee training for employers and regularly speaks on employment topics.
Emilie’s education practice began more than a decade ago when she managed legal compliance for an educational service center. Since that time, Emilie has continued to advise and represent public and private preschools, K-12 institutions, and colleges and universities on a range of issues. Emilie is committed to working with educational institutions throughout the region to improve the quality and sustainability of these valuable resources in our community. Emilie also serves as a board member of Baby University, a South Toledo organization committed to improving early education by supporting and teaching new and at-risk parents.
When not practicing law, Emilie enjoys spending time with her husband and two daughters and supporting Toledo’s vibrant arts community, particularly the Toledo Symphony and Toledo Ballet.
Attorney
Spengler Nathanson P.L.L.
Dr. Erin Marten, DNP, CNM
Erin Marten is a certified nurse midwife, public health professional, and sexual health educator providing sexual and reproductive health and wellness services in and around the Toledo area. After falling in love with the midwifery model of care, Erin made a career change in 2007 and began attending
nursing school with the intention of becoming a midwife. She graduated from Frontier Nursing University with a Doctor of Nursing Practice with a specialty in nurse midwifery in 2016. Despite finding contentment starting full-time practice as a midwife and providing full-scope obstetric and gynecologic care in Toledo, Erin felt as though she hadn’t yet come to the end of the road academically. Knowing that there is more to health and wellness than simply just medical care, she then pursued an additional master’s degree in public health with a concentration in maternal and child health from the University of
Minnesota where she graduated with honors. Erin’s true passion is in marrying direct health care delivery with public health concepts to truly make change in our communities.
In 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic “shutdown”, Erin began to dream of an organizational concept that would fill in the gaps between the health care system and the communities they serve. Solace Health and Wellness was created to provide education, advocacy, and outreach to all, so that we may better understand the needs of the community and to restore dignity to those who have
lost faith in the health care system as a result of systemic discrimination and bias, both conscious and unconscious. Erin is committed to being an active participant in the changing landscape of reproductive health and the push for equality for all people. Every day, she seeks to implement her education in midwifery and maternal and child health to create meaningful and measurable change in how we care for vulnerable communities and birthing people. Born and raised in Bowling Green, Erin remembers a trip to Toledo being an all day, special event. After having spent the last 20 years living in and loving all that is Toledo, Erin now lives in Maumee with her
beautiful, blended family.
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Solace Health and Wellness
Executive Director
Karen Kiemnec
Karen has 18 years in the field of historic preservation assisting others in restoring private and public historic structures, speaking to various groups & governments agencies on the benefits of historic, and helping communities to form local non-profit groups. For the last 11 years, Karen has worked in the field of Health & Wellness to assist women in releasing old, unhealthy beliefs and emotional issues to allow them to live life fully.
Health & Wellness
karenkiemnec.com
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Audrey Johnson
Audrey is from Canton, Ohio, and is a BGSU alum who majored in Visual Communications Technology/specializing in photography. Her professional journey led her to Toledo. She has been a part of our community as an artist, gallery owner, community volunteer, and founder of the nonprofit UnBounded Artists Development Community. A founding member and past president of Women of Toledo her life’s work is guiding young women and men into "being GREATness". Before residing in Toledo Ohio, she attended Bowling Green State University where she obtained a BS in technology, majoring in Visual Communications Technology, and specializing in Photography. Her passion is photography and arts advocacy, Audrey owned TILMANN Gallery, which was the first African American Gallery in downtown Toledo during the early 90-'s, where local and international artists exhibited during that time. Audrey is a mother of six young adults; family is everything to her.
Development & Communications Coordinator
The Fair Housing Center
Dr. Anju Gupta - STEM Mentor
Dr. Anju Gupta is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical, Industrial, and Manufacturing Engineering and director of Interfacial Thermal and Transport lab (IITL). Dr. Gupta has received funding from National Science Foundation and the American Chemical Society. Dr. Gupta has co-authored nearly 30 peer-reviewed scientific and education journals, and her work has been featured on the journal covers. She is an active member of various professional societies. Her outreach activities center on recruiting female students in STEM by aligning opportunities. She is currently advocating for equitable treatment for female graduate students. Through her participation in WOT, she wants to empower women through education and financial independence. Dr. Gupta enjoys spending her free time crocheting, taking care of her house plants, and self-learning ikebana.
Engineering
The University of Toledo
Dr. Angie Fitzpatrick
Dr. Angie Fitzpatrick is a feminist activist and educator with more than a decade of experience in higher education. She currently serves as Director of the Catharine S. Eberly Center for Women where she develops programs that uplift women, build community, and mobilize changemakers. The Catharine S. Eberly Center for Women advances gender equity at The University of Toledo and in the community. Since 2015, Fitzpatrick was director of the Women’s Center and an affiliate faculty member in the Department of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies at the University of Cincinnati. Prior to that, she served as assistant director and lecturer in the Women’s and Gender Studies Program at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, S.C., and was an instructor in the Women’s and Gender Studies Department at Bowling Green State University. Fitzpatrick was honored with the Excellence in Teaching Award from the National Society of Leadership and Success while at Coastal Carolina University. At the University of Cincinnati, she received the Equity and Inclusion Award from the Division of Student Affairs. She received a bachelor of arts degree in honors and anthropology from the University of North Dakota and continued her education at Bowling Green State University, where she received master and doctoral degrees in American culture studies.“I have benefited from the energy and wisdom of many Women throughout my life and I feel inspired to invest my energy and wisdom in the women of Toledo” – Angie
Eberly Center for Women
The University of Toledo
Walaa Kanan – Youth Mentor
A graduate of the University of Toledo with a Master’s in social work, Walaa Kanan is interested in helping support and create opportunities for young women. She truly believes that it is so important for young women to be able to look up to somebody who is able to support, guide, and empower them. For Walaa, she is thankful for her mentors, and the people who helped her become who she is today, which makes Walaa want to get back and do the same for others
Walaa currently works as a clinical therapist, primarily in private practice. As a therapist, Walaa’s areas of interest include relationship dynamics, gender-based violence, trauma, and racial justice issues. Her past work experiences include working in sexual misconduct prevention education and working to serve those affected by domestic and sexual violence. In college, Walaa founded the Epsilon Chapter of Mu Delta Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, a Muslim-interest professional and social sorority. Through this organization, she was able to help create opportunities for representation, mentorship, and professional development, for women like me. I’m passionate about serving the community, empowering women, and helping people grow into the best versions of themselves.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/walaa-kanan-toledo-oh/1086078
Clinical Therapist
Tomorrow Begins Today Consulting
Christie McKenzie
Christie McKenzie is the Vice President of Operation and Human Relations at Supplemental Staffing. Christie has her Bachler/Master’s Degree in Dietetics and knows the value of health in a person’s physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects as it pertains to the whole person. She continues to use her education for health and wellness support for family and co-workers. Christie has been a volunteer for Adopt America, Mobile Meals, Toledo Humane Society, Greater Toledo YMCA/JCC. Ohio and local PTA Chapters, Girl Scouts of NW Ohio, Leadership Toledo, Women of Toledo, and more. She was an active Board Member in the implementation of HerHub within Women of Toledo. She led her company, Supplemental Staffing, to become an ISO Certified company, as well as a WBE (national Women-Owned Business) certified company. She started her company’s involvement in the University of Toledo Center for Family Business back in 2000. Christie is the mother of 2 strong and independent teenage daughters. She’s volunteered in almost every sporting and academic program they’ve participated in from Preschool – College. In 2010, she started competing in 5K, 10K, 15k, ½ Marathon, Full Marathon, and Triathlons. Why does she get so involved? Several reasons really, but the 2 most important reasons are: To be a positive role model and leader for her daughters, and to give back to the community she lives in. Christie values the importance of teaching her daughters, her friends, her co-workers, and her community to be productive individuals in our society.
Vice President
Supplemental Staffing
Ramona Collins
Audiences throughout the Midwest have known for quite some time that this Toledo-based singer is one of the region's true treasures and best-kept secrets. Born in Toledo, Ohio, Ramona was reared in Lansing, Michigan, by a jazz pianist/singer mother - the late Alice (Collins) Carter.
Midwest and beyond, and been honored for her contributions to the arts in her hometown of Toledo and been voted Best of Toledo in jazz/blues in 2015, 2016, 2018 and nominated in that category for 2019 and 2020. In 2011 she was nominated in the female jazz vocalist category for the Detroit Black Music Awards. She is a past president of the Toledo Jazz Society and was the driving force behind naming the former Art Tatum Jazz Festival.
She is very active in her community and currently sits on a number of boards including as a trustee on the board of the Arts Commission of Greater Toledo. She is a founding member of Women of Toledo, a group that welcomes women of all ethnicities and celebrates their cultures while engaging and empowering them to succeed.
She views her performing career as part entertainment, part educational. To that end, she has taken aspiring young performers under her wing educating, supporting and encouraging them. “There are a number of young people who have talent and a great respect for jazz,” she says. “I’m thrilled they view me as a mentor -it’s inspiring.
Networking
