Institute for Women, Wellness & Work Institute for Women, Wellness & Work

Jaclyn Ionin, Trademark Attorney, talks about embracing the label bossy, setting goals, and welcoming surprises. She discusses why she chose to leave behind steady employment to launch her own law practice and the benefits of being an entrepreneur as a woman.

Shameka Jones Taylor, Vice President of Corporate Work Study Program at Saint Martin de Porres High School, discusses her passion for supporting our future generations and finding her own superpower.

Genevieve Piturro, author and founder of the Pajama Project, shares how she found her purpose and passion while volunteering to help children in shelters due to trauma and abuse. Inspiring others with her story, she’s appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Today Show, Good Morning America, and the list goes on. To date she is responsible for providing seven million pairs of pajamas to children in need.

If you’re a music fan, you’ll certainly be inspired by today’s guest, music industry mogul Marilyn Batchelor. Senior Vice President of Marketing and Brand Partnerships at legendary Patti LaBelle’s label, GPE Records, she has over a decade of experience in music marketing for indie marketing divisions and nationally known brands, including Universal Studios/Killer Tracks, Interscope/Geffen/A&M, and MCA.



Her brilliance and expertise are behind the marketing plans responsible for the successful launch of albums by



Gladys Knight, Patti LaBelle, Mary J. Blige, Sheryl Crow, and Gwen Stefani just to name a few. 



Marilyn’s creativity, leadership, and commitment to relationship building resulted in establishing partnerships between the music industry and the sports industry as you know it today.



She’s brokered marketing partnerships with BMW, Coca-Cola, Ford, Nike, McDonalds, and the list goes on. It is her tenacity for building relationships that resulted in the multi-billion dollar venture Beats by Dre .



Marilyn is a voting member of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences – AKA The Grammys. In addition to all of this, Marilyn is an ordained Methodist pastor and lives a life of service as chaplain at St. John’s Medical Center, mentor to LA’s inner city youth, and serves on the Board of GoHaiti!, a non-profit orphanage she visits every Christmas.

President and CEO of Jubilee Park and Community Center, Marissa Castro-Mikoy shares her passion for engaging in a career that aligns with her values, her reaction to being named a Champion of Change by the White House, and how she continues to combat imposter syndrome, calibrates career and family, and is finally giving herself permission for some “me-time.”

Coach Julie Jones talks about the importance of personal energy management and the ways we can lead more efficient and fulfilled live by paying attention to what our bodies need.