The Movement Blog — Take The Lead

How Digital Financial Tools Help Women-Led Businesses Scale 

By Rose Martin

Women entrepreneurs are having a remarkable impact on the American economy. Forbes recently released its annual list of America's Richest Self-Made Women, highlighting entrepreneurs, executives, entertainers, and founders who built substantial wealth through innovation, leadership, and business ownership.

The list includes household names such as Diane Hendricks, Judy Faulkner, Oprah Winfrey, Rihanna, Kim Kardashian, and Taylor Swift, demonstrating the growing influence of women across industries.

While these success stories represent the highest levels of entrepreneurial achievement, they also reflect a broader trend taking place across the country. Women are starting businesses at unprecedented rates and becoming an increasingly important force in economic growth.

Take The Lead’s Power Up Conference, Audacity: Leadership In Action, features entrepreneurs an, investoresnd wealth management experts on the panel, Invest in Herself: Women, Money & Long-Term Success that will explore how women are redefining financial success, building wealth on their own terms, and using economic power as a catalyst for leadership and long-term impact.

Take The LeadJuly 16, 2026Comment

Graham Platner: A Lesson in Character and Complicity

Issue 2892 -July 13, 2026

Didn’t the great poet Maya Angelou warn us, “When someone tells you who they are, believe them the first time?”

His excuses for having the Nazi symbol tattoo on his chest should have been enough to tell the politicians and political consultants who were enamored of his seeming “manly man” in a politically progressive persona that serious flashing yellow lights were likely to tank his ambitions.

As you probably guessed, I am talking about Graham Platner, whose candidacy for U.S. Senator from Maine fell from its meteoric rise to its ignominious fall. His 11-minute video is full of excuses for the demise of his campaign, including the growing number of incidents of sexual misconduct for which he has been accused by multiple women.

The Sum, EventGloria FeldtJuly 13, 2026womens leadership, leadership, power, gender parity, lilly ledbetterComment

Future Faith: Why GenZers Act To Change America

My trust is in William He to be the first Gen Z president of the United States, the first Asian-American president and the most qualified individual to bring America together for a brighter future.

That is because two years ago on July 4, when he was 16, He founded Dream For America, and Dream For Action, a non-profit movement with 1,200 volunteers across the country, 1 million followers, 1 billion social media hits and $600,000 in funds raised. He is speaking at Take The Lead’s Power Up Conference 2026, on Women’s Equality Day, August 26.

“Too many young people have lost faith in democracy,” says He, now 18, who recently completed his freshman year at University of Texas-Austin where he is a pre-law, government history major.

Michele WeldonJuly 10, 2026Comment

Control Your Narrative: Ann Patchett On Power of Storytelling To Change The World

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“You can’t save the world, but you can take care of the postage stamp in your yard.”

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Ann Patchett, 62, best-selling author of 17 books, winner of the PEN/Faulkner award, Pulitzer Prize finalist, winner of the Women’s Prize For Fiction in the UK, the President’s National Humanities Medal, named Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the world, and owner of Parnassus Books in Nashville, told a crowd recently as part of the Chicago Humanities, that stories frame everything.

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In an on-stage conversation with Lisa Lucas, former senior vice president at Knopf Doubleday, and former executive director of the National Book Foundation, Patchett says, “What we all need is a sense of community, something we feel good about, that is something I am thrilled to be a part of.”

Her mission to use storytelling for leadership and change is aligned with the work of Kendall Cherry, Founder and Chief Storyteller at The Candid Collective, who is leading a Storytelling workshop at Take The Lead’s Power Up Conference August 26.

Michele WeldonJuly 5, 2026Comment

What I'd Be Thinking at Taylor Swift's Wedding Tonight

Issue 2891 -July 3, 2026

Tonight, approximately 1,000 people are walking into Madison Square Garden for what is being called the American royal wedding. Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are getting married. In New York City. On the Fourth of July weekend. Because why not now and why not there?

I wasn't invited. You probably weren't either. But I've been thinking about Taylor Swift for over a decade now, and tonight feels like a moment worth marking — not just for the celebrity spectacle of it, but for what this woman's arc actually means.

The Sum, EventGloria FeldtJuly 3, 2026womens leadership, leadership, power, gender parity, lilly ledbetterComment

On this 4th of July weekend, I am moved to write you a different sort of blog.

Not asking you to donate, take a course, or purchase a ticket to the Power Up Conference for a change. Instead, I’m thinking about what this day means, and I’m curious about what it means to you. How do you celebrate it? Leave a comment and tell me if you’re willing to share.

As for me, I’m a sappy patriot. All four of my grandparents immigrated to this country from Eastern Europe with little or nothing to escape antisemitic persecution and pursue the blessings of a free society. They endured a lot to get here and I marvel at how they made new lives in a strange new land.

Gloria FeldtJuly 2, 20264th of July, FreedomComment

Mindset Is Everything: How to Lead When the Ground Is Shifting

Issue 2890 -June 29, 2026

In 2006, I happened to be in Italy when they won the soccer World Cup. I thought I was going to lose my life as the streets filled with revelers wildly hooting and hollering and hugging anyone in sight. That experience helped prepare me for the current World Cup fever.

Because we all love an underdog-to-victory story, tiny Cape Verde has captured more than its share of attention, mine included.

The Sum, EventGloria FeldtJune 29, 2026womens leadership, leadership, power, gender parity, lilly ledbetterComment

Unstoppable: AI Strategist, Founder Wanjiku Kamau on Creating Systems To Lead Change

Spend three minutes speaking with Wanjiku Kamau, founder, author, entrepreneur, and AI strategist and you believe everything and anything she has to offer. Because it is all backed up with knowledge and innovative insight.

“I’m unstoppable. AI is not the reason, but the tool that has helped me get here,” says Kamau, founder of Teal Voice, co-founder of Teal Bridge, author of Out of the Loop, Into the Algorithm: How I Finally Made Friends With AI, and speaker at Take The Lead’s Power Up Conference August 26.‍ ‍

Michele WeldonJune 26, 2026Comment

Who Is The Madwoman at The River’s Edge?

Issue 2889 -June 22, 2026

I’d wanted to go to Greece for years.

So when my friend Jamia Wilson invited me to a writer’s retreat she was co-facilitating with Narrative Healing founder Lisa Weinert on the beautiful island of Kythera, I enthusiastically signed up.

Kythera is famous for its beaches and mountains, its honey and curative herbs—and as the birthplace of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, desire, and beauty.

Speak Up, Be Independent, Mentor Women: Jill Biden on White House Lessons

Her silence was heard around the world.

Immediately following the infamous June 27, 2024 presidential debate between Democratic candidate Joe Biden and Republican candidate Donald Trump, the expectation was First Lady Jill Biden would publicly express her concern for her husband’s verbal stumbling, confusion and apparent incapacity.

But she only told her husband her thoughts privately and stayed mum publicly. When he waked off the Atlanta stage after the failed debate, he whispered to Jill, “I really f—cked up, didn’t I, Jill?”

Jill Biden, now 75, says she responded to him, “Yes, you did, Joe.”

Michele WeldonJune 19, 2026Comment

Jalen Brunson’s Secret Sauce: Care Enough To Make It Happen

Issue 2888— June 16, 2026 ‍

I’m not much of a sports fan.

My family would say I barely endure the sports obsession some of them have. While they hoot and holler, I’m reading my book.

But I watched this interview clip of NY Knick’s’ Jalen Brunson over and over.

What I see in him is something that can’t be taught as a skill set. But it can be nurtured as a mindset.

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The Sum, EventGloria FeldtJune 15, 2026womens leadership, leadership, power, gender parity, lilly ledbetterComment

Building Trust For Your Best Life: Minda Harts On Why & How You Get There

You can trust a handful of people in your life—maybe—and they might include your mom, sister, best friend, college roommate, partner. Add Minda Harts to that special list. Trust me on that one.

Award-winning, best-selling author, consultant, filmmaker, global trust keynote speaker, equity specialist and workplace communications expert Harts is building trust everywhere she goes with her latest book, Talk To Me Nice: The Seven Trust Languages For A Better Workplace.

She will be sharing her trustworthy insight as a speaker at Take The Lead’s Power Up Conference 2026 August 26 in Washington, D.C.

Michele WeldonJune 12, 2026Comment