We asked our team who their female role models were for this week’s #WomenWednesday. Who are some of the leaders, trailblazers and heroes that you look up to? From Kamala Harris to Dolly Parton, our team looks up to a variety of iconic women who have demonstrated what it means to make meaningful change.

Paige Velasquez Budde — Sara Blakely

Sara is unapologetically funny, bold, driven and confident. Her story of resilience while building Spanx is incredibly inspiring. I love how she has built an online community of passionate women. 

Rusty Shelton — Dr. Stacey Vitiello

A champion for women battling breast cancer with an emphasis on education that leads to early detection.

Patti Conrad — Kamala Harris

 She is the United States’ first female vice president, the highest-ranking female official in U.S. history, and the first African American and first Asian American vice president.  A very inspiring woman who broke through so many glass ceilings.

Wes Fang — Oprah

 Born in poverty, this talk show host turned business mogul is at the top of her class in turning a brand into an empire. Through her ventures, she’s become the richest self-made woman and first African American billionaire.

Nichole Williamson — Dr. Shruthi

 Dr. Shruthi M. is a trailblazer in female and reproductive health. She seeks innovative methods and is a leader in research that is going to absolutely change the world. 

Shelby Janner — Dolly Parton

 What is not to love about Dolly Parton? Not only did she help fund the Moderna COVID vaccine, but she’s always spearheading charitable causes such as her Imagination Library, which has gifted over 150 million books to children around the world. Plus, she’s just fabulous, and a role many to so many to live their authentic selves.

Melanie Cloth — Stacey Abrams

Honestly where to start? She took her gubernatorial loss and turned it into a massive grassroots movement for voter’s rights. What a badass.

Sara Pence — Kendra Scott

As an Austinite, seeing Kendra Scott start as a local jewelry brand and completely take off over the last several years has been so inspiring. I recently listened to her interview with Guy Raz on the “How I Built This” podcast, and was blown away by her story and what it took to build such a successful business!

Fabiana Melendez — Josephine Baker

A woman who did it all! She was an American-born French entertainer, French Resistance agent, and civil rights activist.

Katherine Bingham — Janet Mock

 Janet’s an amazing trans woman of color who is a creative working in the entertainment industry! She was the first trans woman to direct for Netflix.

Nathalie Patajo — Greta Thunberg

 Despite being so young, Greta has influenced many (including world leaders) to be proactive in combating climate change. She has proven that no matter how old you are, you can make a difference.

Anushree Bhat — Emma Watson

 Emma Watson may have started out as an actress and climbed her way to the top, but she chose to really make change with the privilege she holds. She is a UN Women Goodwill ambassador as well as activist for gender equality and women’s rights. She continues to push for positive change and inspire those around her.

Macey Pieterse — Michelle Obama

Michelle Obama is a lawyer, writer, and happens to be the wife of the 44th President, Barack Obama. Her advocacy for young women’s education and health makes me eager to see a better future for young ladies across the world. 

Avery Huffman — Serena Williams

Serena Williams is a legend in the world of sports and tennis, having won more Grand Slam singles titles than any other tennis player, male or female. As a woman who played tennis as a kid, it was so inspirational to watch Serena achieve so much and become such an admired and well-known athlete.

Karly Weiner — RBG

Ruth Bader Ginsburg sadly passed away last year, but she left a legacy for women all over the world. She broke barriers in the US Supreme Court, showing that even in the face of adversity a woman may succeed. She is one of the most important feminist icons who inspired millions. She was only the second female justice of the Supreme Court. 

Caleb Hall — Carey Lohrenz

Her work speaks for itself, inspiring in so many ways and a huge role model and icon to anyone and everyone out there, especially women. 

Haley Snider — Rosalind Brewer

Rosalind was the first black woman to be COO at Starbucks Corp. She just took on the role as Walgreen’s new CEO, which makes her the third black woman in all of history to be in charge of a Fortune 500 company and the only current black woman to be CEO of a Fortune 500 company. She speaks out on her experience as a black woman in the business and science fields, and empowers women’s voices. 

Sydney Panter — Whitney Wolfe Herd

As the founder of Bumble and the youngest woman to take a company public, Whitney is paving the way for young women who have dreams of being Corporate Executives.