Work it Girl!

CREATING – AND MAINTAINING – A DIVERSE WORKFORCE

by joyce wiswell | photo by daniel lippitt

As a black woman in a field filled with white men, Phyllis Golden Morey knows what it’s like to stand out.

“I have certainly had experiences, especially early in my career, when I walked into a meeting, and they were expecting someone who looked different,” says the attorney, who is a shareholder at Brooks Kushman P.C., an intellectual property law firm in Southfield.

When the firm recently decided to step up its efforts to attract a diverse workforce, it tapped Morey for the newly created position of chief diversity officer.

LOCAL PR GURU SAYS WHEN LOOKING FOR WORK, YOU’RE THE PRODUCT

by jeanine matlow | photo by daniel lippitt

Thanks to a strong background in public relations, Sharlan Douglas, APR, knows what it takes to make a good impression. The president of Douglas Communications Group LLC in Royal Oak is ready to share some trade secrets with those in pursuit of a new profession.

COULD YOU TURN A HOBBY INTO YOUR LIFE’S WORK?

by sandra dalka prysby

Wouldn’t you love to get paid to do what you love best? It isn’t just a pipe dream. Sometimes only training is needed to make specialized interests into an employment opportunity. Three local experts reveal what’s involved and how to go about turning your passion into an employment opportunity.

You love: Solving, leading, being your own boss

Your path: Entrepreneur

Catherine Gase
Chief, Marketing & Outreach, and Women’s Business Ownership Representative U.S. Small Business Administration, Detroit

Simple tips for overcoming 5 common struggles

by joyce wiswell | photo by daniel lippitt

Jennifer Eichenberg knows what it’s like to feel trapped in an unsatisfying job. “I spent a lot of time in my 20s having thankless jobs I didn’t like,” she says. “But often the struggle is not about the work – it’s internal.”

When she decided to go back to school to pursue a master’s degree, “something magical happened,” Eichenberg says. “My whole mind-set changed because I saw myself in a different situation.”

GIFT-WRAPPING GURU OFFERS TIPS ON EXPANDING YOUR HOME BUSINESS

by joyce wiswell | photo by rosh sillars

Lisa Gleeson always had a knack for wrapping gifts, but she never dreamed she’d turn it into a career.

After retiring from the computer industry to become a full-time mom, a friend asked Gleeson to show her moms’ group some gift-wrapping tricks. The next thing she knew, Gleeson was teaching classes just about everywhere – one year teaching 46 between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Meanwhile, people were paying her to wrap their gifts – a cottage industry that threatened to take over her entire Troy home.

VISTA MARIA CONTINUES 125-YEAR TRADITION OF PROVIDING HELP AND HOPE TO GIRLS

by sandra dalka-prysby | photo by brett mountain

Women and girls share a legacy of positive lessons at Vista Maria, a nonprofit child-welfare agency in Dearborn Heights. From left, Ninoshka, Vista Maria teacher Denise Daniel, TaSheema and Patricia Lynett, chief operating officer at Vista Maria.

Nine months ago, Ninoshka* was in juvenile detention.