Empowering Moms: She Left Corporate Real Estate to Launch A Breast Pumping Startup


Patrice Meagher had a lucrative career in real estate. For 15 years, she worked in New York City as an Executive Vice President at CBRE, one of the world’s largest, corporate real estate firms.

But like other working parents, she struggled with the challenge of balancing her work life and raising a family of four children. A specific pain point in her career — returning to work after maternity leave and breast pumping milk for her new child. Like many new mothers, she was told to pump in the bathroom which she describes as unhygienic, embarrassing and not sustainable. “For me, breast pumping at work was by far the single-most, inefficient thing I did as a working mom. I knew there had to be a way to make it easier.” 

In March, 2020, she left CBRE and founded MilkMate so that other mothers wouldn’t have to choose between family and career due to the challenges of breast pumping at work. Collaborating with engineers, patent attorneys and other experts, the company created an FDA-approved, multi-user breast pumping system built for the workplace wellness room. And with the recent passage of the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act, MilkMate is helping employers meet the new federal requirements while supporting employees who wish to breast pump in the workplace. Click here to learn more about Patrice Meagher and the unique offerings of MilkMate.

A MilkMate installation in a corporate, wellness room.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“I Work With My Hands Everyday”…Ex-Consultant Finds Bliss Crafting Custom Furniture

Sergio Raynal was at the top of his game. With a staff of 25+, he was responsible for KPMG’s real estate and hospitality consulting for Pacific Asia and the West Coast of the United States.

Woodworking was always a hobby and a way to relieve stress from his high-pressure job. But it became a “side hustle” and eventually a full-time pursuit following a falling out with the management team at KPMG.

“The reward is the sense of accomplishment and creation. That’s what I like about working with my hands. I’ll sometimes be bone tired. I feel every ache and pain but at the end of the day there is a great deal of satisfaction that comes from a day well spent in the shop.”

Sergio uses old-world furniture making and cabinetry techniques – never using a nail or screw in his work. You can view his handiwork at www.SergioRaynal.com.

Conference room table built by Sergio Raynal.
Phonograph table created by Sergio Raynal
Custom desk built by Sergio Raynal

 

Goodbye Journalism…Hello Baked Goods


Laura Raposa and Steve Syre have been married for 30 years. And for most of that time they have worked in journalism – working as columnists for the two largest daily newspapers in Boston, Massachusetts. Laura worked as gossip columnist for at the Boston Herald. Steve worked just 1.5 miles away as a business columnist for the Boston Globe.

In August 2015, they decided to make a change – a really big change. They opened a bakery and lunch spot called The Foodsmith in South Duxbury, Massachusetts. According to Laura, “I’ve never worked this hard in my life…But this is for me. This is for Steve. And that’s just terrific.”

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An Investment Banker Goes Back to School


Dayna English was a highly successful investment banker at Merrill Lynch. She spent most of her career in Latin America. She flew first class, stayed at the Four Seasons when she traveled and wore tailored Chanel suits. But when Dayna turned 50, she traded all that in become a public school teacher.

It’s been a tough, tough road. But every day for the last ten years she gets on her bike in Manhattan, rides to work seven miles and teach math at some of the most difficult schools in New York City.  

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Special thanks to Sarah McKinney of Encore.org for connecting me with Dayna English.

Second Life Bikes is Her Second Act


Kerri Martin was working a comfortable IT job and enjoying life in New York City. But when she watched the first of two planes crash into the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, she knew it was time to do something else.

She followed her love of cycling and created a unique non-profit in Asbury Park, New Jersey called Second Life Bikes. This community bike store is best known for their “Earn a Bike” program which allows area youths to put in 15 hours working as a bike mechanic in exchange for a bike of their own.  “We don’t expect that they all grow up to become bike mechanics, but that we’re giving them some sort of like mechanical skills and some sort of life skills…just showing up at a place at 3 o’clock and signing a time card, and learning how to shake hands and look people in the eye.”

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From Big Law to Methodist Minister


Mark Salvacion had been a lawyer for 25 years but increasingly felt the focus on “making money” and “evading the law in the right way” was crushing his soul. The final straw…after he uncovered a specific instance of fraud within his company and refused to sweep it under the rug, he was fired within two weeks.

So in his early 50s, Mark switched gears from his work as a corporate lawyer and decided to become a Methodist Minister. Today he is the pastor of Historic St. George’s Church in Philadelphia, a church with a long, rich history but also some immediate challenges.

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A Doctor’s Passion Takes Him to Uganda


Dr. Harry Strulovici was a successful plastic surgeon with a thriving practice in Michigan. But when his father passed away, he took a close look at his own life.

He went back to school, enrolling in a global health program at the New York University Schools of Medicine. And then through a different program run by Yale University and Johnson & Johnson, he went to Uganda to work for a three-month period at Mulago Hospital. Upon his return to the United States, he founded Life for Mothers, a program focused on decreasing maternal and infant mortality rates in Africa.

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Special thanks to Sarah McKinney of Encore.org for connecting me with Dr. Harry Strulovici. .

A Second Act That’s Clean and Sober


Jorge Alvarez came to the United States from Honduras at the age of seven. He grew up with his mother and his sister in tough circumstances in the Bronx.

This episode is more about life change rather than career change. Jorge’s story focuses overcoming an addiction to alcohol and drugs. His second act finds him clean and sober and working for a sustainable recycling company. He manages a team of ten people that are in the field working with their clients to recycle glass and aluminum.

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Special thanks to Deb Brown of Back On My Feet for connecting me with Jorge Alvarez.