She Talks
MAGAZINE
“YOU ARE
ENOUGH”
MARCH 2026
VOL 3 | ISSUE 3
RESILIENCE: A
BADGE OF
COURAGE
THE YEAR OF
THE FIRE
HORSE
ABIGAIL
DUCHARME
FEATURE:
YOUTH AMBASSASDOR
PERMISSION
SLIPS, POWER
MOVES, AND
PINOT
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CONTRIBUTORS
Editor-in-Chief
DR. JULIE DUCHARME
Cover Layout and
Magazine Design
DR. JOSHUA DUCHARME
Contributing Writers
JOANNE BROOKS
WENDY M WATSON
STARLA FORTUNATO
GABRIELLA POMARE
JENNIFER DAVY
AMANDA TAYLOR
DR. JULIE DUCHARME
LISA E KIRKWOOD
NIURKA CASTANEDA
KAREN GRAY
CATHY DOMSCH
Table of
Contents
Being the First Woman in the Room
From Inheritance to Influence: How Women
Can Rewrite the Story of Wealth
Resilience: A Badge of Courage
Not All Brand Photographers Are Equal
Celebrating Women, Love, and the Arrival of
Spring
You Are Enough - Abigail Ducharme
By Cory Fisk
By Amanda Taylor
By Niurka Castaneda
By Starla Fortunato
By Lisa E Kirkwood
By the She Talks Team
14
19
27
21
FEATURE
31
By Jennifer Davy
When Therapy Speak
Becomes Emotional
Manipulation
34
By Wendy M Watson
Not All Businesses Are
Built the Same:
Cognitive Builds vs
Intuitive Builds and
Why Leadership
Sequence Matters
38
By Joanne Brooks
The Structure
Problem: Why the
Smartest Experts
Build the Worst
Online Courses
42
By Karen Gray
The Year of the Fire
Horse
47
By Cathy Domsch
Confidence Is Built,
Not Given
49
By Dr. Julie Ducharme
Permission Slips,
Power Moves, and
Pinot
53
By the She Talks Team
She Talks Australia:
A Global Movement
Lands in Sydney
56
FROM THE EDITOR
Founder, Lead and Empower Her She Talks
March carries a certain kind of promise.
It’s the space between what was and what’s about to bloom. The days stretch a little longer, the air shifts,
and we begin to feel that familiar sense of renewal that spring always brings. There’s something powerful
about this season—it reminds us that growth is not only possible, it’s natural.
And at the heart of this month is International Women’s Day—a global celebration of the achievements,
resilience, and impact of women everywhere.
I love that this day lives in March. It feels intentional. As the world begins to thaw and reawaken, we pause
to honor the strength, brilliance, and courage of women who are building, leading, nurturing, innovating,
and transforming their communities every single day.
Many of you reading this are entrepreneurs, executives, creatives, mothers, visionaries—or all of the
above. You are balancing ambition with responsibility. You are carrying both strategy and heart. You are
navigating boardrooms, businesses, households, and dreams—often simultaneously.
International Women’s Day isn’t just about celebration; it’s about recognition. Recognition of the risks
you’ve taken. The late nights you’ve powered through. The boundaries you’ve learned to set. The
confidence you’ve grown into. The resilience you didn’t know you had until you needed it.
It’s also a reminder that leadership is evolving. Women are redefining what success looks like. We are
choosing alignment over burnout, collaboration over competition, purpose over pressure. We are building
companies that reflect our values. We are modeling strength for the next generation—not just through
achievement, but through authenticity.
As we step into spring, I encourage you to reflect on what you’re ready to grow. What ideas have been
waiting quietly for your attention? What bold move have you been postponing? What part of yourself
deserves more space this season?
Spring doesn’t rush. It unfolds. And so can you.
This issue of She Talks Magazine is dedicated to honoring the many ways women lead—globally and locally,
publicly and privately. My hope is that within these pages, you feel seen, inspired, and reminded that your
voice matters.
This March, celebrate yourself. Celebrate the women who walk beside you. Celebrate how far you’ve come
—and the incredible places you’re still headed.
The world is brighter because of women who dare to rise.
With gratitude and belief in every one of you,
Being the First Woman
in the Room
remember the first time I realized I wasn’t
just the only woman in the room. I was the
young woman in the room. Not seasoned.
Not established. Not buffered by years of
That was many years ago. And a lot has changed.
And then… a lot hasn’t.
When You Are Present but
Unconsidered
Back then, there was no consideration for what my
ears were taking in. Conversations flowed as if I
weren’t there. Jokes landed without hesitation.
Language wasn’t filtered. Not because every man
in the room was trying to make me uncomfortable,
but because the idea that someone different
might be impacted hadn’t entered the equation
yet.
I wasn’t being included or excluded.
I was simply unconsidered.
By Cory Fisk
credibility or authority. Just young, new, and
surrounded by men who had been in the
industry longer than I had been alive. Men twice
my age. Men in positions of authority. Men who
controlled decisions, schedules, budgets, and
money—and whether they knew it or not, the
tone of the room. And yes, men who did not
much care for a woman invading what they
considered their workspace.
There was no announcement. No pause. No
acknowledgment that maybe the dynamic
mattered. It simply was what it was. I took my
seat, listened closely, and learned quickly that
awareness—real awareness—was not yet part of
the culture.
SHE TALKS | 8
And being unconsidered is its own kind of
isolation.
Being young amplified everything. I didn’t yet
have the confidence to challenge a comment. I
didn’t have the experience to separate what
was cultural from what was personal. I didn’t
yet have the language to name discomfort
without feeling like I was the problem. So
instead, I did what many young women do in
male-dominated industries—I absorbed it. I
internaliz ed it. I learned how to stay composed
while quietly deciding how much of myself I
was willing to bring into the room.
Women are different from men.
Not better. Not incapable.
Different in how we contribute, how we listen,
how we lead.
The Preparation I Didn’t Know
Was Training
What I didn’t realize at the time was that I had a
quiet advantage—a kind of preparation most
people never see.
I had a dad who made sure his little girl could
do what the neighbor boy did. He didn’t lower
expectations because I was female. He raised
them because he believed I was capable. He
compared how many points I scored in
basketball, how big my buck was during hunting
season, and celebrated when I earned my
college degree with the same pride.
To some, that might look like undue pressure on a
young girl. To me, it became armor.
My dad was 6’4”, 235 pounds, a mountain man made
of steel. Not many men intimidate me. That
upbringing prepared me—unknowingly—for
resistance, confrontation, and standing my ground in
rooms where I would be questioned before I was
heard.
But here’s the truth: not everyone gets that kind of
preparation.
Which is why support, mentorship, and guidance
matter so much—especially for women navigating
complex, high-stakes industries designed without
them in mind. Knowing how to work through difficult
conversations, power dynamics, and uncomfortable
moments is the difference between burning out and
breaking through.
This is where Women Working in a Man’s World
Bootcamp exists—not to toughen women up, but to
equip them. To provide mentorship, perspective, and
practical tools to help women navigate environments
that were never designed with us in mind.
Because today, we are no longer optional—we are a
necessity. And many industries are still struggling
with our inclusion because they’re trying to design
where we fit. What they haven’t realized yet is that it
isn’t up to them.
We are paving our own way.
Learning the Rules Without Being
Given the Rulebook
Construction never intimidated me. The work made
sense. The systems, the logic, the outcomes—I could
grasp those. What caught me off guard was the
unspoken expectation that I would adapt without
acknowledgment. That I would grow thicker skin
before I was given room to grow confidence. That I
would learn the rules without anyone ever explaining
them.
There were moments I questioned whether I
belonged—not because I lacked ability, but because I
lacked reference points. When you’re young and the
only woman in a room full of authority figures, it’s
easy to confuse unfamiliarity with inadequacy. It’s
easy to mistake silence for insignificance.
That’s where imposter syndrome quietly takes
root.
Not because you’ re unqualified—but because no
one told you what resistance actually looks like.
Telling the Truth So
Women Stay
This is the part we have to be honest about if we
truly want more women in construction,
engineering, leadership, and corporate spaces.
We can’t say we want women in these industries
without acknowledging that the early years can
be the hardest—especially when age and gender
intersect. Especially when power dynamics are
uneven. Especially when the culture hasn’t yet
learned how to pause.
Because today, things are different.
Not perfect—but different.
There is now an awareness that rooms are shared
spaces. That words land differently depending on
who is listening. That jokes aren’t harmless just
because they’ve always been told. Men are now
required—by policy, by training, by evolving
culture—to think twice before a poor joke, a
careless comment, or a dismissive tone.
That shift didn’t happen accidentally.
It happened because women stayed long enough
to make presence unavoidable.
Preparation Is Not Optional—It’s Retention
And yet, that evolution doesn’t erase the reality
that it’s still hard.
Wanting more women in male-majority industries
doesn’t mean pretending everyone belongs
without preparation. That narrative sounds
supportive, but it fails women when reality shows
up unfiltered. Some rooms will challenge you.
Some personalities will test you. And yes,
occasionally you’ll meet the one-percenter—the
unsavory character who hasn’t evolved and
threatens to turn you away before you ever
experience the joy of this work.
Preparation is what carries you through those
moments.
Education—technical, emotional, behavioral—is
what builds endurance.
Understanding that discomfort is not
disqualification is what keeps women from
walking away too soon.
SHE TALKS | 10
Because once you find your footing, everything changes.
Confidence grows differently when it’s earned in environments that
don’t automatically make space for you. It becomes grounded.
Steady. Unshakeable. You stop trying to prove you belong and start
focusing on the work itself. You stop shrinking—and start shaping
rooms instead of merely surviving them.
And the industry needs that.
Today’s workforce demands collaboration,
communication, emotional intelligence, and
adaptability. These are not “soft skills.” They are
success skills. And women bring them—especially
those who learned early how to observe, listen, and
navigate complexity before being handed authority.
What excites me most is watching young women enter
these spaces with more tools than I had. More
language. More support. More awareness. Not
because the industry got softer—but because it got
smarter.
This isn’t about replacing men. It never was.
It’s about working with them. Building alongside
them. Learning from each other. Raising the standard
together.
Being the first woman in the room—especially when
you’re young—is not easy. But it is powerful. It is
formative. And it often becomes the foundation for
leadership that is both strong and human.
The rooms are changing. The conversations are
changing. And women are no longer just entering
them—we are helping redefine what leadership looks
like inside them.
And that future?
That’s worth designing—with intention, confidence,
and courage.
Designing the Future,
Not Just Surviving
the Room
CONNECT WITH CORY
https://www.linkedin.com/in/coryfisk7777/
https://leadershipbootcamp.constructionmanagement
online.com
https://www.youtube.com/@CMOnline
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From Inheritance to Influence:
How Women Can Rewrite the
Story of Wealth
By Amanda Taylor
SHE TALKS | 13
The money stories we carry aren’t really ours.
They’re inherited. Passed down through generations
like a family heirloom nobody asked for. “Money
doesn’t grow on trees.” “A woman should be practical,
not greedy.” “Investing is for rich people.” “Don’t talk
about money. It’s rude.”
These narratives shaped how our mothers managed
money, how our grandmothers thought about wealth,
and how we, whether we realize it or not, approach
our own finances today. But here’s what most people
don’t know: we’re standing at the edge of the largest
wealth transfer in human history. And for the first
time, women have the opportunity to be more than
just recipients of that wealth. We can be its
architects.
The Great Wealth Transfer:
What’s Really Happening
Over the next 25 years, Baby Boomers and the Silent
Generation will pass down an estimated $84 trillion in
assets. That’s not a typo. Eighty-four trillion dollars.
And here’s the part that should make every
woman pay attention: women are expected to
control two-thirds of that wealth. Not because
we’re inheriting it from our fathers or husbands
(though many of us are), but because women
statistically outlive men. We’re going to be the
ones left standing, making the decisions,
controlling the assets.
But receiving wealth and building wealth are two
different things. And if we don’t understand how
to invest it, protect it, and multiply it, we’re just
custodians of someone else’s legacy. Not creators
of our own.
The Stories We Inherited
Think about the money advice you grew up with.
Not the formal lessons. The whispered warnings,
the unspoken rules, the things your mother said
when she thought no one was listening.
“Save for a rainy day.” “Don’t put all your eggs in
one basket.” “Stay humble—people won’t like you
if you’re too successful.”
SHE TALKS | 14
These weren’t just financial principles. They were
survival strategies. Our mothers and
grandmothers lived in a world where women
couldn’t get credit cards without a husband’s
signature until 1974. Where investing was
considered “too risky” or “too complicated” for
women to understand. Where ambition was
unfeminine and wealth was unflattering.
So they taught us to be safe. To be grateful. To
manage the household budget but never dream
of building an empire.
But the world has chang ed. And it’s time our
money stories caught up.
The Opportunity: From
Recipients to Architects
The wealth transfer isn’t just about money
changing hands. It’s about power shifting.
Decision-making authority. The ability to fund
the causes we care about, invest in the
businesses we believe in, and build financial
legacies that reflect our values. Not just the
values we inherited.
But to seize this opportunity, we need to do
three things:
1. Challenge the narratives we inherited. The
story that says women are too emotional to
invest. Too risk-averse. Too focused on security.
None of this is true. Studies show that women
investors actually outperform men. We’re more
patient, more research-driven, and less likely to
make impulsive decisions. The confidence gap
isn’t about ability. It’s about permission. And we
don’t need anyone’s permission anymore.
2. Learn how money actually works. Not just how to
save it or spend it, but how to invest it, multiply it, and
make it work for us. This isn’t about getting lucky or
having insider knowledge. It’s about understanding the
fundamentals: diversification, compound interest, asset
allocation, tax efficiency. These aren’t complicated
concepts. They’ve just been gatekept.
3. Invest in alignment with our values. We don’t have to
play by the old rules. We can invest in companies l ed by
women. In renewable energy. In community
development. In anything that matters to us. Because
when women control wealth, we don’t just ask, “What’s
the ROI?” We ask, “What kind of world does this
create?”
The Practical Path Forward
So what does this look like in practice? How do you go
from inheriting wealth to building influence?
It starts with education. Not the kind you get in a stuffy
financial advisor’s office where they talk at you in
jargon. The kind that meets you where you are. That
assumes you’re capable of learning complex things.
That treats you like the high-achieving, intelligent
woman you are.
You learn the language of money. How to read a balance
sheet. What a syndication is. How private credit works.
What the difference is between active and passive
income. You start small (maybe with your first $100
investment) and you build from there.
Then you surround yourself with other women doing
the same thing. Because the patriarchy wants us
isolated. It wants us to believe we’re the only ones who
don’t understand, the only ones who feel overwhelmed,
the only ones who are starting from scratch. But we’re
not. There are millions of us. And when we share
resources, strategies, and encouragement, we all rise
faster.
And finally, you take action. You don’t wait for perfect understanding or the “right time.” You start
where you are. You invest what you have. You make mistakes and learn from them. Because wealth
isn’t built in boardrooms by people who never took a risk. It’s built by women who said, “I deserve
more than what I inherited. And I’m going to create it.”
The Legacy We Leave
Here’s what most people don’t realize about the wealth transfer: it’s not just happening to us. It’s
happening through us.
What we do with the wealth we inherit, or build, will determine the stories our daughters inherit. If
we play small, if we defer to others, if we stay silent about money because it makes people
uncomfortable, we pass down the same limiting beliefs we received. But if we step up, if we invest
boldly, if we talk openly about wealth and power and what it means to be a woman who owns both,
we change the inheritance.
We leave our daughters a
different story. One where
women aren’t just grateful
recipients of someone else’s
wealth, but confident
architects of their own. One
where financial literacy isn’t
optional, it’s expected. One
where ambition isn’t
unfeminine. It’s powerful.
That’s what “From
Inheritance to Influence”
really means. It’s not about
rejecting what came before
us. It’s about taking what we
were given—the lessons, the
money, the baggage—and
transforming it into
something bigger. Something
bolder. Something entirely
our own.
The Time is Now
The wealth transfer is already happening. The question isn’t whether women will inherit trillions of
dollars. We will. The question is what we’ll do with it.
Will w e continue managing it the way we’ve been told to: cautiously, quietly, gratefully? Or will we
step into our power as investors, as wealth builders, as women who refuse to play small?
The answer starts with a decision. Not a perfect one. Not a fearless one. Just a decision to begin.
SHE TALKS | 16
To learn how money works. To invest in
alignment with your values. To surround yourself
with women who refuse to accept the old
narratives. To build wealth that isn’t just
inherited. It’s created.
Because when women control wealth, we don’t
just change our own lives. We change the world.
Ready to rewrite your money story?
Join the Investing 101 Cours e: Learn the
fundamentals of investing, asset allocation, and
wealth building in a judgment-free environment
designed specifically for high-achieving women
who are ready to move from income
dependence to wealth ownership.
Connect in the Expand Your Empire Community:
Join a collective of women entrepreneurs,
investors, and wealth builders who are actively
challenging the old narratives and creating new
ones. Share strategies, celebrate wins, and rise
together.
Listen to the Expand Your Empire Podcast: Hear
from women who’ve made the journey from
inheritance to influence, and learn the tactical
strategies they used to build lasting wealth.
The wealth transfer is coming. The question is:
will you be ready?
Connect with
Amanda
@EXPANDYOUREMPIRE.ORG
RESILIENCE
hat do you do when life feels unbearable? I ask you
as the creator of Keep On Living - A story about
standing at the edge that turned into a movement
about choosing to stay. I’ve sat with veterans — men
and women trained for war, yet fighting silent
battles at home that the world never sees.
A Badge of Courage
By Niurka Castaneda
I’ve sat with veterans — men and women trained for war, yet fighting silent
battles at home that the world never sees. And here’s what I’ve learned:
Resilience isn’t about being strong all the time. It’s about staying long
enough to find meaning again. You build resilience — by accepting what you
can’t change, focusing on what you can, and finding one reason to stay.
Resilience isn’t avoiding the storm. It’s learning to move through it. It’s
making the choice to stay. And that decision sends ripples beyond yourself.
Because one life touches many. When someone leaves, families, friends,
coworkers are left asking, “What did I miss?” But when you stay — you
create hope. Courage. Possibility. Sometimes, your staying means you save
someone else. So how do we face adversity? We look at nature and life.
When storms gather, most birds hide, but the eagle rises. It spreads its
wings and sees beyond the chaos. And the buffalo? It doesn’t turn away. It
charges straight through, unyielding, grounded, resolved. One leads with
vision. One with strength. Different paths. Same courage. So however you
face your storms — whether you rise above them or push through them —
remember this: You matter too much to give up.
And when it feels impossible, look to the lotus, a delicate flower. Each night,
it sinks into cold, muddy water. Each morning, it rises its petals untouched.
That mud — represent loss, trauma, pain — things we never ask for…Yet it
becomes nourishment, to bloom. Like the lotus, you are not defined by
what you grow through. You are defined by your choice to rise again. It
becomes living proof that hope is stronger than despair.
SHE TALKS | 18
Cracks can turn to gold. And one candle can
light the dark. Lean on your strengths. They
are your superpower. Use them to lift others,
and they will turn into wings for someone else.
And if rising leaves scars, know that there is beauty in that too. Do
you know that Kintsugi — mends broken pottery with gold? Not to
hide the cracks, but to honor them. It makes them more unique,
more valuable… As Kintsugi teach us a different way to see the
cracks. See your scars — not as flaws, but as the badges of courage
they are, the proof that you kept going when things got tough.
And as umbrellas cannot stop the rain but they remind us we can
endure it. Resilience does not mean facing the storm alone. It is
okay to ask for shelter. It is okay to let someone walk beside you.
That’s not weakness. That’s strength. The courage of choosing
connection over isolation. So ask yourself — who will I reach for
when the rain begins?
Trust that something inside you is finding its wings, ready to rise
above the storm, because when you choose to stay, something
within you begins to transform. Like the caterpillar, thinking the
world had ended, only to discover it was becoming a butterfly. So
shift your focus — toward gratitude, growth, hope.
Believe you are stronger than you think. Believe courage can be the
quiet whisper — inside you that says “I’ll try again tomorrow.”And
when life feels unbearable, Remember: Pain lies, This will not last
forever. So when the weight feels too heavy…You stay. You breathe.
You move forward — one moment at a time. Don’t decide your
forever in the middle of a storm. You rise like the lotus. Not
because it’s easy — but because you are needed in this world. You
choose to live. By finding a new purpose and by lifting others with
you.
You join the keep on living
movement by choosing HOPE
— again and again. That is why
Keep On Living - is more than a
film. Watch it. Support it. Host
a screening.
Start a conversation that can
save a life. Become the guide
in someone else story. Simply
by calling, texting someone
that made an impact on your
life, TELL THEM. Your words
might be the thing that pulls
them from the edge
Become the hero on your own
story. Join the Move for Hope
Race. Turn your steps into a
message, where every step
says: “I’m still here.” because
when you choose to stay, you
show others what’s possible.
So keep rising. Keep on living.
Say it loud: MY STORY ISN’T
OVER!
Connect with Niurka
https://www.linkedin.com/in/
niurkacastaneda
It’s March, a time when
nature awakens from its
winter slumber and spring
CELEBRATING WOMEN, LOVE, AND
THE ARRIVAL OF SPRING
BY LISA E KIRKWOOD
Both events are meant to show men’s appreciation and care for their
dear women of all ages, during the months of February and March
and beyond, throughout the year. Those who take part in Dragobete
customs are supposed to be protected from illness, especially
fevers, for the rest of the year.
If the weather allows, girls and boys go to pick snowdrops or other
early spring flowers from the woods for the person they are courting.
When they return home, the traditions mention that boys run after
girls to kiss them. If the girl likes the boy, she lets him kiss her. There
is a saying in Romania about this: "Dragobete kisses the girls".
I
is in the air. Ice and snow
melt, weather is warmer, days
get longer, especially after the
Spring Equinox, there’s more
sunlight, and tree buds are
turning into leaves and
flowers. A time of renewal,
revival, hope, and love.
March is Women’s History
Month, and this year I’d like to
highlight some national
heritage aspects and customs
from my native country,
Romania. The first season of
the year debuts with the
widely adopted observance
of Valentine’s Day, one of the
first foreign holidays to be
integrated into our culture,
shortly after the fall of
communism in 1989.
Along with Valentine’s Day on
February 14, each year,
Romanians also observe the
Dragobete, an age-old,
traditional Romanian holiday
celebrated on February 24,
now revived and repurposed
together with the newer one.
An ancient character from
national folklore, Dragobete is
considered a guardian of love
and wedding. The day of
February 24 is particularly
known as "the day when the
birds are betrothed".
SHE TALKS | 20