Listen To My Latest Podcast Episode:

OM142: Catharine O'Leary | Uncover the Top Client Attraction Gaps That Are Keeping Your Business From Soaring

Listen To My Latest Podcast Episode:OM142: Catharine O'Leary | Uncover the Top Client Attraction Gaps That Are Keeping Your Business From Soaring

Terri Howard

by | September 10, 2019

Overcoming Mediocrity - Volume VIII

FEARLESS WOMEN

Terri Howard

Terri Howard was born on June 29, 1957, in Savannah, Georgia, to Barbara (nurse) and Harold (postal worker). She was the middle child of a Christian, middle class and seemingly functional family. She never felt like she had a childhood, since she was given the responsibility of caring for her younger sister at an early age. Terri and her older brother found themselves not only being supportive of their co-dependent mother but were in the middle of many abusive attacks to their mother by their father.

Terri and her family moved to New York. Soon after her graduation, her mom left her dad and took the younger sister with her back to Savannah, her brother soon moved to California and Terri was left alone to raise herself. Terri felt totally alone again, with the exception of the dreams that God had put in her heart to one day be able to help people.

She then got married and had her only child. However, once again, she was in an abusive and dysfunctional family. Within 18 months, God gave her the strength to take her daughter and move to Georgia. This was the beginning of her downward spiral into darkness, where she indulged in drugs.

On November 30, 1998, while on the road to recovery, she started her new journey. However, Terri had forgotten her dreams. Through God’s love and her hard work, two years into recovery, she started to dream again. God gave her the vision to help those like herself, who needed a hand up and not a handout.

Still not feeling adequate enough, she enrolled in a Christian College and majored in Organizational Leadership. She knew she didn’t want to make her life in Corporate America, so she started her own non-profit, Home for Heroes. She is dedicated in her commitment to providing a safe place for our heroes’ veterans with clean and safe living spaces. This will give them an opportunity to resurrect their lives.

In November 2010, Home for Heroes opened their first home in Charlotte, N.C. Today, her daughter (who never wanted to be like her mom), is eagerly running A Place for Heroes that helps house more than 50 vets (female and male) and their families.

Terri feels her greatest achievement today is having her daughter by her side on this journey. They are both a loving example of mother and daughter love.

 

Terri Howard
A Place for Heroes
howard.terri7@gmail.com
www.aplaceforheroes.org
704-499-0059

 

My Story

The Struggle Is Over

Terri grew up in Savannah, Georgia, and graduated from high school in New York City. Family dysfunction didn’t allow time for family time, hugs or showing love.  Early adulthood consisted of marriage, divorce, becoming a single mom and struggling with substance abuse. In her fifties, she finished college, found her voice and started a non-profit. Terri’s dreams and visions have become her purpose. She is no longer just the mentee. She’s a servant leader and a mentor of many. Her family, peers and strangers now present her with honors, tributes and most of all, love. 

 

Jackie Schwabe

by | October 3, 2017

Overcoming Mediocrity - Volume VI

INFLUENTIAL WOMEN - These stories are meant to inspire and encourage women to realize their true potential.

 

 

 

 

Jackie Schwabe

Jackie Schwabe is CEO of Mindlight, LLC and vice president of leadership research at North of Center. She is a certified caregiving presenter, caregiving consultant, and caregiving educator. She received her BA in management computer systems from the University of Wisconsin – Whitewater and her MBA in technology project management from the University of Phoenix. She has been active in the area of healthcare integration, healthcare IT, telemedicine, product development, and product management for over twenty years. She has been a cross-sector, cross-discipline leadership practitioner her entire career.

Jackie wakes up motivated to help others. Her mission is to provide the tools, opportunities, and connections people need to be their best selves. A career in health IT allowed her to figuratively and literally connect thousands of systems and people. A mother of four children, one with autism, she often says different is not less and communication happens in more ways than verbally. She co-founded Mindlight, LLC as a way to technologically help caregivers. She joined North of Center because she saw a way to use the communication-based leadership framework to help others. She is confident her roles at Mindlight, LLC and North of Center will guide individuals to their best selves, and she wants to be there to help. She is a servant leader and her passion is to lead by service to others in her community.

 

Jackie Schwabe
Mindlight LLC
jackies@mindlightllc.com
www.mindlightllc.com
414-909-3169

 

 

 

 

Finding Balance in Chaos – Juggling Birds

Everyone thought Jackie had it all together. Life threw her quite a few curve balls: an autism diagnosis, a new baby, four children, the death of their family pets, the illness of her parents, and then losing her job. All of this was being juggled with Jackie’s 245-pound body and a new diagnosis of narcolepsy. An unexpected muse allowed her to find the balance in her chaotic life. She stopped juggling balls and started juggling birds. The end result was a more blessed and celebrated life. 

 

 

Christie Lee Ruffino

by | October 2, 2016

Overcoming Mediocrity - Volume IV

REMARKABLE WOMEN - These stories are meant to inspire and encourage women to realize their true potential.

 

 

 

 

Christie Lee Ruffino

It was during Christie’s journey when she was inspired to create a brand new business called the Dynamic Professional Women’s Network, Inc., better known as DPWN.  It is an industry exclusive networking organization designed to help women create partnerships with each other to generate ideas, alliances, and revenues within a structured referral generating format. She never intended to start that business to replace the job she was in. Her intentions were only to create a better way to get new customers for that job.  However, she recognized the value of relationship networking instead of traditional networking activities and saw the possibility of achieving more success by uniting a small team of powerful, like-minded business women who would invest in helping her as she helped them. And it worked!

A few years later, she transitioned out of her “JOB” to better manage the direction and growth of the organization. There are now referral chapters in many states, along with ever expanding teams of national and international members who meet virtually every month. She then launched a publishing division of the organization as a resource for her members to share their stories so that they could leverage author status and gain increased exposure and credibility for their businesses by participating in one of her Overcoming Mediocrity anthology books or by publishing their own solo-books. Christie also just recently just started a not-for-profit organization in an effort to help other single moms who are going through a temporary life transition, just like she went through, but can’t get help by any other traditional means.

In addition to working diligently to ensure the success of the Dynamic Professional Women’s Network, DPWN Publishing and the DPWN Angel Foundation, Christie is a past Council Member of the Executives Breakfast Club, served two terms as a Board Director of the Carol Stream Chamber of Commerce,  received a 2008 Special Judge’s Recognition for the Citizen of the Year award in Carol Stream, in 2009 was awarded a Distinguished Woman of Business Award from American Family Insurance with great pleasure and received her highest honors by being recognized as an Influential Women in Business in 2009 by the Daily Herald Business Ledger and the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), in 2010 with an Entrepreneurial Excellence Award and in 2015 with a Kane County Women of Distinction Award by Shaw Media.

 

Christie Lee Ruffino
Dynamic Professional Women’s Network, Inc.
Info@OurDPWN.com
www.OurDPWN.com
www.ChristieRuffino.com
630-336-3773

 

 

VisitMySite

 

 

 

 

Success Evolution

The story of one woman’s journey to create a future that provides financial independence and joy for herself and her children while also providing a valuable networking resource for other women called the Dynamic Professional Women’s Network, Inc.

 

 

 

Christie Ruffino

by | April 14, 2015

Overcoming Mediocrity - Volume III

STRONG WOMEN - These stories are meant to inspire and encourage women to realize their true potential.

138aheadshot

 

 

 

 

Christie Ruffino

As the President and Founder of the Dynamic Professional Women’s Network, Inc., Christie Ruffino is passionate about empowering and equipping women to create significant lives regardless of the challenges that they face along the way. Because of the many women who have built thriving businesses in her community, Christie has been dedicated to the continual evolution of the company ensuring that new benefits and opportunities are provided to her members each year.

The Dynamic Professional Women’s Network, Inc. (DPWN), is an industry exclusive networking organization designed to help women create partnerships with each other to generate ideas, alliances, and revenues within a structured referral generating format. There are referral chapters in many states, and each chapter has only one member from any business category. Since its conception, more than 1600 members have joined DPWN, recognizing it as a driving force behind the success and profitability of many of its members’ businesses.

In addition to working diligently to ensure the success of the Dynamic Professional Women’s Network and the DPWN Angel Foundation, Ms. Ruffino is a past Council Member of the Executives Breakfast Club, served two terms as a Board Director of the Carol Stream Chamber of Commerce, received a 2008 Special Judge’s Recognition for the Citizen of the Year award in Carol Stream, in 2009 was awarded a Distinguished Woman of Business Award from American Family Insurance with great pleasure and received her highest honor by being recognized as an Influential Women in Business in 2009 by the Business Ledger and the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) and in 2010 with an Entrepreneurial Excellence Award.

Christie is now dedicated to helping others cash in on their unique strengths by offering them a process to easily discover, craft and deliver their personal story or message in a way that will build immediate intimacy, trust and loyalty with her “Personal Power Story Action Program”.

 

 

Christie Ruffino
Dynamic Professional Women’s Network, Inc.
info@ourdpwn.com
www.ourdpwn.com
630-336-3773

 

 

VisitMySite

 

 

 

 

Overcoming Fear with a Giant Leap of Faith

The story of how and why the Dynamic Professional Women’s Network was founded by Christie Ruffino.

 

 

 

Pin It on Pinterest