Michelle Patterson - Women Change the World

WOMEN CHANGE
the WORLD

Copyright 2014 by Michelle J. Patterson

Clare Munn photograph 2014 Maria Bello

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

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First e-book edition: June 2014

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication

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eISBN: 978-1-939529-18-3

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contents

name conjures up many creditsvisionary, author, acceleration executive, founder, passionate, talk show host, and dynamic speaker. She is a woman of many dimensions.

Today, Michelle Patterson is president of the Global Women Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity that serves to provide support, leadership, and advocacy for womens initiatives around the globe. The charity, which started almost ten years ago as a local festival supporting twenty-two charities, has grown into a global movement for women.

Michelle is also the founder, president, and CEO of Women Network LLC, a digital media company giving women a voice to share their message. WomenNetwork.coms umbrella platform shines a light on organizations and corporations that empower women and brings them together as a community to experience the Women Networks motto: We Are Better Together. The online digital network provides women resources, tools, and advice to achieve their full potential.

Michelle is driven by the belief that everyone has something significant to contribute and that when people (male or female) come together and support one another, we truly are better together. She is committed to helping individuals discover their talent and connect with the right circle of people to live out their purpose.

Michelle Patterson had the good fortune to interview California governor George Deukmejian when she was twelve-years-old. Governor Deukmejian was just starting the California Womens Conference to advance womens causes. Nearly thirty years later, Michelle took over the reins of the well-known California Womens Conference, continuing its twenty-eight-year tradition as the nations preeminent conference for womena perfect example of the objective Governor Deukmejian set out when he first started the conference.

Michelle is a successful event promoter (Taste of Ladera), a lauded business accelerator (youngest regional vice president and national sales trainer for Robert Half, the worlds largest specialized recruiting firm), a sought-after media commentator (the Huffington Post, CNBC, Fox Business News, Bloomberg, and dozens of California television stations), an energetic and engaging public speaker, and host of a weekly radio show on Women Network Talk Radio.

Beyond her notable business success, Michelle is most passionate about her family. She lives in Ladera Ranch, California, with Eric, her husband of nearly twenty years and a successful corporate CFO in his own right, and their two beautiful children, Jaclyn and Chase.

Warren Buffett says he is excited about the state of the economy as we are just now beginning to tap into the other 50 percent of the talent poolthe female half. The full potential of women will finally be unleashed and the world has no idea what were in for!

Every conversation I have with women always revolves around their need to be a part of something greater than themselves. They are just looking for encouragement and support that will enable them to change the world. As Steve Jobs said, The ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world are the ones who do.

Thats where my story startswith doing something I never thought I would do.

In 2009, as the recession hit and the economy slowed down, the state of California decided to cut funding for the California Womens Conference. A program that had been going on for thirty years would stop abruptly. Thats when I started getting calls. I was one of two women in the state who was already producing large-scale charity events.

Taking on Governor George Deukmejians legacy was no easy task. With months of preparation, I signed up thousands of attendees, brought in more than 250 exhibitors, and secured more than 150 speakers. Things were off to a great start, but as the event grew closer, not all went according to the plan. Funding fell through on the project and, with only seventeen days until the event, I was $1.8 million in the hole. The event was in danger of being cancelled.

The event had to go on! Thousands of people were expecting to attend; thousands of women needed the resources this conference provides. Shutting down was not an option. So I did the only thing I knew how to do: I checked my ego in at the door and asked for help.

Together with the support of family, friends, and my advisors, I went from cancelling the event and filing for bankruptcy to reducing what was owed from $1.8 million to $150,000.

The event went on and it was a great success! Thats when I knew I wanted to take that moment and create a movement.

When I initially took on producing the California Womens Conference, I had no idea what I was in for. The event offers its attendees inspiration, resources, and connections to take the next steps in their businesses, personal development, or philanthropic endeavors, but it taught me a powerful lesson: what happens when we come together and help each other instead of working independently.

With that in mind, I founded the Global Women Foundation, with our motto: WE ARE BETTER TOGETHER.

The Global Women Foundation is a natural extension of the historic California Womens Conference. When the Conference began twenty-eight years ago, then-governor George Deukmejians primary objective was to address the failure rate of women in business in California. Today, our objective for the Global Women Foundation is to harness the passion and ambition the conference embodies and take it around the globe. It is our mission to build a global community of women, men, organizations, and governments that share our vision, and provide a forum for people who share our passion to address issues important to women.

When we sit down with women from all over the world, I realize that we are all the same inside. We are all looking for ways to connect and bring our organizations together because truly, we are better together.

Over the past year, I have traveled around the United States, handpicking those who I believe are world-changing women and inviting them to participate in this movementto be a part of the California Womens Conference and this book. From actresses, motivational speakers, and writers to businesswomen and other high-profile female professionals, this book focuses on womens unique contributions to society. The overall goal is to highlight, through stories and experiences, womens contributions to their own and others success, as well as to empower readers to go out and change the world themselves. Each one of these essays started as an interview, but as we got to know each other better, I realized this movement is even bigger than I initially thought.