Female Powerhouses You Should Know
They’re breaking barriers, leading industries, and rewriting the rules of success. Female Powerhouses You Should Know shines a light on the women who are making bold moves, driving change, and inspiring others through their leadership, innovation, and impact. From boardrooms to creative spaces, these trailblazers are proving that influence isn’t just about titles—it’s about vision, resilience, and the power to uplift others along the way.
Elena Czarnowski
What if education didn’t just prepare kids for tests, but for life? That’s the bold question Elena Czarnowski—Founder and Next Gen Re-Imagineer, is answering through Kid Laboratories—a virtual learning platform focused on delivering real-world skills to pre-teens in a way that’s engaging, accessible, and future-forward. With a warm smile and a fierce sense of purpose, Elena leads with intellect, integrity, and a vision that challenges the status quo.
As a mother of three—including an adopted son with special needs—and a triathlete, Elena brings lived experience to everything she builds. Her goal is clear: to provide pre-teens with affordable, virtual learning that truly matters.
Kid Laboratories covers subjects that reach beyond traditional academics. From financial literacy and goal setting to character development and the fundamentals of AI, its curriculum emphasizes real-world skills delivered with empathy and intent. The brand was born from a simple but powerful belief: education should reflect the world students are stepping into. Elena is determined to spark curiosity, deepen self-awareness, and equip 11 to 14-year-olds with tools for both today and tomorrow.
Her broader vision continues to expand and include. Elena invites us all to re-imagine a future where education, healthcare, economics, and even fashion are reimagined through creativity and purpose. It’s an ambitious mission—one that’s gaining attention. USA Today recently featured Kid Laboratories as a leader in accessible, future-forward education.
In addition to Kid Laboratories, Elena is publishing her new book, Smart Mom School: Three Explicit Conversations You Must Have With Your Kids Today: AI, Money and Character. This book offers practical guidance for parents on how to have those crucial conversations with their children, helping them navigate the complexities of AI, money, and character development. To get a sneak peek of her approach, readers can download a free parenting guide that includes discussion prompts and lesson plans about AI, money, and character by visiting SMART Mom Email List.
In a time calling for conscious creators and courageous thinkers, Elena Czarnowski is offering more than a program—she’s creating a movement, one thoughtful lesson at a time.
Mariela Vargas-Irwin
Among the many women advancing care for neurodiverse individuals, Mariela Vargas-Irwin distinguishes herself through decades of leadership rooted in both science and compassion. With over 30 years of experience, she has built Applied Behavioral Learning Services (ABLS) into a respected practice providing applied behavior analysis to individuals across the lifespan. Her clinical work is informed not only by rigorous training but by her own journey as a parent of a child on the spectrum.
Her academic and clinical foundation is as impressive as her impact. After earning her doctorate at Rutgers University and completing postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School’s Children’s Hospital, Mariela launched ABLS in 2002. Under her direction, it has grown into a center of excellence that accepts both private insurance and MassHealth—expanding access to care for families from a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds.
She has presented at national and international conferences on topics including executive functioning, social skills, and procedural integrity. Her Boston Assessment of Behavioral Core Skills (Boston ABCS), developed over two decades, is a standardized tool that evaluates seven domains of functional behavior. As noted in a GlobeNewswire feature, the Boston ABCS “decodes childhood behavior” through structured methodology designed to improve functional outcomes.
Beyond clinical work, Mariela continues to innovate in community inclusion. ABLS is currently launching an inclusive theater program in Wellesley to bring the creative arts to individuals with Autism and their families. This initiative reflects her belief that inclusion must extend beyond treatment settings and into everyday experiences.
Her leadership and commitment have earned consistent public recognition. She has received 11 consecutive Boston Parents Paper Family Favorite awards and was a finalist in four major award categories in 2025. She was also the second president of the Massachusetts Association for Behavior Analysis (MassABA), and was acting president in 2012 when the law allowing independent practice for behavior analysts was passed.
Mariela’s career reflects a singular vision: to improve how Autism is understood, assessed, and supported—through evidence, empathy, and enduring respect for neurodiversity.
Julie Holunga
Julie Holunga equips high-performing leaders with the clarity, credibility, and conviction to break through plateaus and lead with purpose. She works with professionals in high-stakes fields, law, accounting, and asset management, where success depends on strategic communication, trust, and decision-making under pressure.
As founder of Chinook Executive Solutions, Julie partners with mid- and senior-level leaders to shift behavior, strengthen influence, and unlock team potential. Her Trusted Voice Paradigm, a research-backed framework grounded in neuroscience, helps leaders overcome the hidden dynamics that stall progress: unspoken conflict, fuzzy expectations, and unclear authority.
Julie is known for her direct, strategic approach. She doesn’t shy away from hard truths, she invites them. Her clients value her ability to ask the tough questions, challenge outdated patterns, and deliver actionable insight that sticks. Her work is people-first and results-driven, built to create lasting change in leadership presence and team culture.
A TEDx speaker and one of only 30 Master Trainers worldwide with Emergenetics, Julie also holds the PCC credential through the International Coaching Federation. She’s widely sought after by organizations that are ready to raise their leadership standards and invest in their future.
Her drive is personal: after years of witnessing the leadership gaps that stall careers: missing feedback, minimal coaching, and vague expectations, Julie launched her firm to close them. That commitment continues to power her work with every client and team she serves.
Whether speaking on stage or behind closed doors, Julie Holunga is helping redefine leadership in professional services: one voice, one decision, one high-performing team at a time.
Elissa Kelly
Elissa Kelly brings wisdom to executive coaching. After two decades at Fortune 100 insurers, she embraced executive coach solopreneur life.. Within three years, she built a flourishing coaching practice that generates multi six-figure revenue. Her transformation proves you can forge a new career path without sacrificing income.
With every session, Elissa blends sharp corporate savvy with deep personal insight. She avoids vague theory and recycled tips. Her approach stems from real boardroom experience and hard-earned growth lessons. Clients receive actionable strategies to manage entrepreneur risk, grow with intention, and build a coaching business that reflect their values and strengths.
Her work centers on executive coach entrepreneurs over forty in technology, healthcare, and finance—professionals who’ve climbed to senior roles and now seek meaning, balance, and autonomy. She meets them at this crossroads, offering guidance that honors their expertise, supports their vision, and speaks directly to their unique challenges.
Through her flagship Corporate to Coach program, Elissa delivers a six-week experience featuring cohort sessions, a risk workbook, and access to an insider circle. Designed for executives holding or pursuing coaching credentials who are starting a coaching business, each element offers structure, perspective, and momentum to help clients build confidence and move forward with a clear strategy.
For those ready to make the transition from corporate to coach, Elissa provides comprehensive support through how to build a coaching business methodologies. Her risk savvy strategic entrepreneur approach addresses the unique challenges of launching a coaching business while maintaining financial stability. She understands that successful coach business risk assessment requires both strategic thinking and practical planning.
Elissa’s impact reaches beyond one-on-one coaching. By guiding executives through safe career transitions, she helps preserve vital leadership talent. Working exclusively with certified coaches or those actively pursuing coaching credentials, she ensures her graduates have the professional foundation to build thriving practices themselves, creating a powerful multiplier effect of positive change.This ongoing ripple builds community and empowers women to shape their futures.
With a blend of warmth, clarity, and presence, Elissa brings energy to every interaction. She balances optimism with honest insight and invites both ambition and vulnerability. Her style is thoughtful, direct, and transformative. When executive women are ready to rewrite their career stories, Elissa becomes the mentor who models success in action.
Dawn E. Norman
Dawn E. Norman is reshaping how families prepare for life’s most pivotal—and often overlooked—moments.
While people routinely plan for weddings, retirements, and other milestones, few are equipped for the inevitability of death. As an accomplished attorney, founder of My Death Plan LLC, and creator of The Goodbye Gift™, Dawn is leading the charge to make end-of-life planning less daunting and more compassionate.
Her mission became clear after a deeply personal experience: a close family member lost their spouse just sixteen days after their wedding. Stepping in to handle the legal aftermath, Dawn saw firsthand how unprepared people are—legally, emotionally, and logistically—for loss. That moment ignited her drive to bridge this gap.
She launched The Goodbye Gift, a guided digital platform that supports users through organizing important documents and information that loved ones can rely on during unexpected incapacitation or the loss of a loved one. The guided experience focuses on educating and coaching users through all aspects of planning, from identifying assets, assessing estate planning needs, and planning for financial and medical emergencies. The web-based tool provides encrypted storage of essential information together in one place and grants access to designated loved ones when it matters most. The Goodbye Gift reduces confusion, eases decision-making, and provides loved ones with clarity during difficult times.
Dawn’s background in corporate crisis management adds a strategic edge to her work. Recognized as a Business Litigation Super Lawyer (2014) and Lone Star Legal Aid’s Corporate Volunteer Attorney of the Year (2024), she continues to extend her impact through board service, community thought leadership, and national crisis response efforts.
With a clear and compassionate approach, Dawn E. Norman is transforming end-of-life planning into an act of empowerment and love—making it approachable, more practical , and ultimately, more intentional.
Katja Fašink
Widely regarded as one of the world’s top crisis communication strategists, Katja Fašink has been honored globally for her work in risk and reputation management, corporate affairs, and critical infrastructure security. From high-stakes energy crises to cyberattacks and government-level emergencies, her leadership sets the standard for what modern strategic communication should look like.
Trusted by governments, corporations, and infrastructure leaders alike, Katja operates where public trust is fragile and the stakes are highest. She brings a rare ability to unify cybersecurity, crisis response, and public messaging—turning volatility into clarity, and disruption into resilience.
As CEO of Key7 Communications & Cyber Security, Gmedia, and the forthcoming Gcouncil and Gproduction, Katja leads a global team of more than 30 experts working at the intersection of digital defense, corporate strategy, and crisis communication. Her work doesn’t just manage reputational risk—it reshapes how institutions prepare, respond, and rebuild.
Prior to founding Key7, she served as Chief Communications Officer for Slovenia’s national transmission system operator, where she directed crisis response during major infrastructure and energy events. Her insights are further backed by advanced credentials in AI, corporate affairs, and counterterrorism from institutions including Oxford and Leiden. She is currently completing her PhD focused on influencing nuclear crisis communication. As a Member Leader of the Crisis Communication group in Forbes Communication Council she encourages responsible and result-oriented dialogue among the authorized individuals and institutions who are supposed to protect the lives of people and the environment.
Katja’s work has earned over a dozen global honors, including WCFA Davos awards for Best Crisis Communications Leader, Best PR Leader, and Best Corporate Affairs. She was also named with a second place of Leader of the Future (2025) by WCFA, nominated by Reuters for Purpose-Driven Communications, and recognized for her COVID-19 coordinated response in the energy sector. She contributes to 20+ international networks focused on security and strategic communication.
Beyond accolades, Katja is one of 50 business leaders worldwide shaping the future of communication through collaboration, authorship, and cross-sector innovation. With Gcouncil, she is establishing a global hub where experts, innovators, and policymakers unite to build future-proof systems for energy and crisis readiness, communication and leadership.
Looking ahead, Katja envisions a world where communication is not a last line of defense—but a frontline discipline integrated into every day processes of cybersecurity, infrastructure protection and adaptation, and global trust and peace-building.
