What Will It Take to Make A Woman President?: Conversations About Women, Leadership and Power (80 page)
Authors: Marianne Schnall
And a special thank you to the amazing people who granted interviews to me for this book. I am so humbled by the support I received from so many influential and inspiring people doing such incredible and important work in the world. All the people I interviewed seemed to care so much about this theme and the book’s objective—and so many of the people I interviewed offered suggestions, contacts, or just generally cheered me on, which really meant the world to me. Their belief and support in this project sustained me as I became bleary-eyed towards the end when I would often do two to three interviews a day.
I also have to thank my wonderful parents, Carol and Norman Schnall—their support and enrichment has shaped and nurtured me in so many important and meaningful ways. My mother’s story is inspiring in itself—she was one of the few female executives in a male-dominated
industry and has served as a role model to me. As for my father, I was so blessed that he never made me feel like there was
anything
I could not do, quite the contrary he always encouraged and supported me. In addition, I want to thank my multi-talented, generous hearted, beautiful brother, Eric Schnall. He knows me better than anyone and has always been there for me. I am so happy to have him as my brother and friend.
And I must express my love and thanks to all my women friends—I am so blessed to have such extraordinary women in my life—all the love, laughter, encouragement, and advice I receive from you all continues to nourish, strengthen, and sustain me. And I also want to thank three exceptional women, all forces of nature, who have served as such important mentors and personal inspirations to me: Eve Ensler, Pat Mitchell, and Gloria Steinem.
Lastly, I want to thank my personal inspiration for this project, my extraordinary daughters, Jazmin and Lotus. I feel so grateful and proud to be your mother and love you so much. This book is dedicated to you and all the magnificent girls on this planet: May you deeply know and feel your worth, value your unique and important voice and vision, and believe in your heart that you can do and be anything—but also know that it is less about what you
do
and more about
being
fearlessly, gloriously all that you already are.
© Kelly Merchant Photography
M
ARIANNE
S
CHNALL IS
the founder and executive director of Feminist.com, a leading women’s website and nonprofit organization, and the cofounder of
EcoMall.com
, one of the oldest environmental websites promoting earth-friendly living.
She is also a widely published writer and interviewer. Schnall’s work has appeared in publications such as
O, The Oprah Magazine, Glamour, In Style
, The Huffington Post, Women’s Media Center, CNN. com,
Ms. Magazine
,
EW.com
, and
Psychology Today
. She is a regular contributor to a monthly radio commentary for WAMC’s nationally syndicated show
51% The Women’s Perspective
, which is carried nationally on NPR, ABC, and Armed Forces Radio stations. She is also the author of
Daring to Be Ourselves: Influential Women Share Insights on Courage, Happiness, and Finding Your Own Voice
based on her interviews with a diversity of well known women.
A graduate of Cornell University, she also consults regularly with nonprofits and activists on optimizing their online impact. Visit her at
marianneschnall.com
.
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