For our Top-of-Mind Tuesday post this week, we hear from Deanna Tomaselli, a Havas PR account supervisor in our Pittsburgh office.
If you’re like me, scrolling through social media on International Women’s Day left me feeling empowered. So many women (and men!) were taking time out to recognize one another. From women who recently transitioned, to professional women, moms, athletes and everyone in between, #InternationalWomensDay was a hashtag worth following.
In honor of Women’s History Month, here are the top women who are inspiring me right now.
Elizabeth Cutler and Julie Rice, co-founders of SoulCycle
Every time I’m in New York, I make it a point to take a SoulCycle class. Sorry—Soul, as devotees call it. The infectious energy from the bike sets the tone for the entire rest of my day. That’s why when a friend texted me a couple of weeks ago that they were on the How I Built This podcast, I jumped at the chance to listen. Elizabeth and Julie took a chance and built a fitness empire, with little experience or money.
Alli Webb, co-founder of Drybar
Alli is someone I’ve looked up to for quite some time. She co-founded another one of my favorite establishments, Drybar, but didn’t stop there. She launched a podcast, co-founded a new company (Squeeze, the Drybar of massage), was a guest shark on Shark Tank, and continues to dominate the top business lists, all while keeping it real on Instagram. You should also give her (old but still good) How I Built This interview a listen.
Ina Garten
The Barefoot Contessa herself stopped by Pittsburgh on her latest book tour last month and her life is one to envy with book and TV deals, amazing food, and lots of travel. Not to mention, her swoon-worthy Hamptons home. But Ina keeps it simple: Cook for those you love (the perfect dinner party guest number is six), put your work in, but also take your downtime seriously. Oh and never buy imitation vanilla extract.
Taylor Swift
Queen T turns 30 this year, and even though I’ve passed that landmark, I’m feeling inspired by her recent Elle article on 30 things she learned before turning 30. My favorite one was “Trying and failing and trying again and failing again is normal.” She says that it’s good to mess up and learn from it and take risks. This is true personally and career-wise and it’s still OK to make mistakes, even beyond the big 3-0.
Alaina Shearer, Founder of TogetherDigital
A few of us in the Pittsburgh office recently joined TogetherDigital (formerly Women in Digital). I left my first meetup feeling energized, after meeting such a real group of ladies. Alaina created this organization to accelerate the advancement and growth of women in digital fields by giving women the most powerful tool in their arsenal: one another. I’m excited to learn from a powerful group of ladies this year.
To hear more from Deanna, visit her blog PRetty in Pittsburgh or follow her on Twitter.