The Stevie® Awards, organizer of the world’s premier business awards programs, has issued the call for entries for its 2021 (18^th annual) Stevie Awards for Women in Business.

Entry kits and complete details on the competition are available at http://www.StevieAwards.com/Women.

The awards are produced by the creators of the prestigious American Business Awards® and International Business Awards®.

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business honor the achievements of working women in more than 100 categories, including Entrepreneur of the Year, Executive of the Year, Mentor or Coach of the Year, Lifetime Achievement Award, Achievement in Equal Pay, Women Helping Women, Employee of the Year, Woman-Owned or -Run Company of the Year and Innovator of the Year. All female entrepreneurs, executives, employees, and the organizations they run, worldwide, are eligible to be nominated.

The early-bird entry deadline is June 30, the final entry deadline is July 28, and late entries will be accepted through August 25 with payment of a late fee. Finalists will be announced on September 23, and the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on November 6 in Las Vegas.

New categories this year include Most Innovative Woman of the Year in Accounting and Healthcare, Mentor or Coach of the Year - Consumer, Women Helping Women - Social Change, Social Change Maker of the Year, and many more.

The Stevie Awards has partnered with Thought Leadership Leverage to offer Thought Leadership awards categories. These categories include:

• Thought Leadership Campaign of the Year
• Achievement in Thought Leadership
• Female Thought Leader of The Year

The 2020 Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award winners reflected a diverse group of large and small organizations around the globe. Winners included, among others: 

• Clare Riches, Group Chief Commercial Officer, thebigword group, New York, NY USA
• Casey Coleman, Senior Vice President, Global Government Solutions, Salesforce, San Francisco, CA USA
• Rebecca Wetherly, Principal Sales Executive, Amazon Web Services, Arlington, VA USA
• Katherine Relle, Private Equity Portfolio Manager, Firmwide Business Resource Group Leader, JPMorgan Chase & Co., New York, NY USA
• Reem AlAfaliq, Sales Planning and Development Manager, DHL Express Saudi Arabia, Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia
• Eunice Wong, Chief Growth Officer for Greater China markets, Ketchum, Hong Kong
• Deana Scott, Founder and CEO, VMORE, Brisbane, QLD Australia
• Gina Qiao, Senior Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Marketing Officer, Lenovo, Beijing, China
• Terri Khonsari, Founder and Executive Director, Families Without Borders, Moraga, CA USA
• Robin Toft, Founder and CEO, Toft Group, San Francisco, CA USA
• Project Box, Pacific Pines, QLD Australia
• Bug Bite Thing, Port St. Lucie, FL USA
• Hegen Singapore, Singapore
• LinkedIn Corp, Sunnyvale, CA USA
• REMAP Network, Toronto, ON Canada
• John Hancock, Boston, MA
• Burger King, Miami, FL

The 2021 Stevie Awards for Women in Business will be judged by more than 200 leading professionals around the world, and nominees will have access to all the judges’ comments and suggestions about their nominations.

Interested in the 2021 Stevie Awards for Women in Business?

• Megaphone Marketing helps businesses grow in competitive markets
• Though the industry is male-dominated, Megaphone Marketing has 70% women representation in leadership roles
• CEO Lauren Oakes works closely with members of the company to promote wellbeing

About Megaphone Marketing 

Megaphone Marketing is an award-winning agency implementing proven digital marketing solutions to help businesses accelerate growth and gain a competitive advantage in rapidly evolving markets. Founded in 2013 and led by a female CEO, Megaphone Marketing has 45 employees based in Australia, and soon Los Angeles. They are known for their authentic client relationships, expert team, and fun workplace culture.

About Lauren Oakes 

Lauren Oakes started as an Account Manager at Megaphone Marketing, and through innovative ideas and initiative, she was quickly promoted to Head of Accounts. After just eight months in this senior leadership role, she was appointed CEO in 2018. Lauren has accelerated client growth, set up a mentorship program to develop candidates with potential into the best talent in the industry, and has grown Megaphone from just four people into the full-service agency it is today. 

Lauren’s clear processes, innovative strategies, and close work with teams to increase productivity while promoting well-being has strengthened the company’s base in Melbourne, resulting in recent interstate and international growth. She implemented a twelve-week internship training program to help bridge the gap between university and working life and has hired four permanent team members through this program. 

Megaphone Marketing has achieved 70% female representation in leadership roles in an often male-dominated industry through its focus on training, equity, and support. The team had the opportunity to give back as part of a manageable workload and empower four not-for-profit organizations this year through pro bono marketing services.

Megaphone Marketing won a Silver Stevie for Company/Organization Awards Categories - Women-Run Workplace of the Year - More than 10 Employees in The 2020 Stevie Awards for Women in Business®.

Interested in the 2021 Stevie Awards for Women in Business?

• Kids Code Jeunesse is a charity organization that offers Canadian kids the opportunity to learn digital skills
• They aim to educate 1 million children in coding, digital citizenship, and creativity by 2030

About Kids Code Jeunesse

Kids Code Jeunesse is a bilingual Canadian charity determined to give every Canadian child access to digital skills education, with a focus on girls and underserved communities. KCJ teaches kids and their educators about artificial intelligence, code, digital citizenship, and how these integrate with the Global Goals so that children have the confidence and creative tools they need to build a better future.

KCJ delivers education through four pillars of service virtually and in-person:

• Code Create Teach includes teacher training and in-class workshops
• Code Create Celebrate hosts international events that relate to STEM, including Hour of Code and Astro Pi
• Code Create Play has extracurricular workshops that focus on kids’ hobbies like arts and sports
• Code Club Canada is a national network of over 1,000 clubs where kids can learn to code in small groups outside of school hours

After much discussion with international researchers, in 2019, KCJ launched #kids2030, a long-term initiative that brings together artificial intelligence, algorithm literacy, digital citizenship, and sustainable development goals to all of its programs and to the forefront of children’s education. It aims to educate 1 million kids and 50,000 educators by 2030. 

As of 2019, KCJ was the first national organization to offer free AI education in the classroom. Its services are frequently in demand from schools, caregivers, and communities. Between September and December of 2019, over 1,000 classroom workshops were booked. The BC Ministry of Education invited KCJ to consult on their curriculum, the Ontario Ministry of Education had KCJ advise on their math curriculum, and KCJ’s Chief Knowledge Officer was a senior advisor on the Pan-Canadian Computer Science Framework. 

In March of 2020, KCJ launched the Algorithm Literacy Project, a collaboration with the Canadian Commission for UNESCO, which is supported by the Canadian Council of the Arts, Microsoft, and RBC. The project teaches kids how algorithms work and provides materials to facilitate conversations about the role algorithms play in our world. 

In the first month of the COVID-19 emergency, KCJ reached out to over 1,000 educators, parents, and children through virtual workshops and resources. It was the first CanCode-funded organization to adapt in-person services to completely virtual offerings. Within days of school closures, KCJ was running virtual Code Club sessions that coached kids through coding projects, and within 2 weeks, it was offering virtual Code Create Play workshops on topics including space, nature, art, and sports. 

KCJ’s Foundation for the Future

Kids Code Jeunesse focuses on creating quality and inclusive educational experiences that support the needs of communities. It teaches concepts of collaboration, computational thinking, creativity, and digital citizenship. This approach is pedagogically driven, more similar to the humanistic approach of Renaissance learning than the post-industrial model that focuses on vocation. 

KCJ is a charity that operates like a startup: it is agile, striving to learn, and fostering a nurturing culture that encourages team members to innovate. Its big-picture thinking enables KCJ to offer influential change on an international scale. It is committed to serving underserved communities by focusing on public schools and co-ed classes. 

As KCJ continues to adapt to the changing world, it is focusing on leaving a meaningful impact. It doesn’t just teach kids how to code; kids are armed with the curiosity, creativity, and collaborative skills they need to apply knowledge to a digitally-driven and evolving world. KCJ’s work isn’t about preparing the next cohort of programmers; it’s equipping a generation with the ability to solve major global issues and the confidence to thrive in an unpredictable future. 

Kids Code Jeunesse won a Gold Stevie for Company/Organization Awards Categories - Organization of the Year - Government or Non-Profit - More Than 10 Employees in the 2020 Stevie Awards for Women in Business®. 

Interested in the 2021 Stevie Awards for Women in Business?

• Alexandra Paxinos has multiple areas of interest in tourism, marketing, and policy
• Her work with TheSouth Australian Tourism Commission elevates tourism and events in Australia and helps areas impacted by crises

About Alexandra Paxinos 

Alexandra (Alexi) Paxinos is a marketing manager, Asia specialist, partnerships strategist, professional development advocate, and policy advisor. From the age of 9, Alexi has been the sole caregiver of her mother following an accident that left her paraplegic. At 10 years old, she performed for Pope John Paul II with the Australian Youth Choir in Italy and has since gone on to host the current Prime Minister of Singapore, and meet with the Duke of Cambridge, Prince William, after being nominated as a Young Community Leader of South Australia by Carers SA. Alexi’s first promotion came at age 14 when she became Corporal in the Australian Air Force Cadets, before graduating high school at 16 and purchasing her first investment property at 19. Her first international influencer campaign won four international awards including the Silver Award for ‘Best Influencer Strategy’ in the 2016 Marketing Magazine Hong Kong PR Awards; a position second only to Procter & Gamble, and 'Social Media Influencer of the Year' at the 2016 Mumbrella Awards Singapore. Her work has been published in globally distributed magazines, on bus-wraps in Hong Kong, across train stations and live-streams in China, and on live-feeds in South Korea.

Alexi is the Senior Marketing Executive of The South Australian Tourism Commission (SATC), a state tourism organization focused on marketing South Australia to national and international audiences, and bringing new and exciting events, conferences, and festivals to South Australia. 

In February 2020, Alexi was promoted to Senior Marketing Executive, North Asia, and simultaneously Marketing Manager, Hong Kong at the South Australian Tourism Commission (SATC) – her fourth promotion in four years at the organization. In July, Alexi was appointed to the Board of Directors–and in September, Chair of Events Committee–for Spence Club Inc, a networking not-for-profit aimed at developing and retaining female talent in South Australia. In August, Alexi was seconded, in addition to her two marketing roles, as Government Affairs Advisor where she leads policy initiatives and responses on behalf of the SATC. She was also promoted to Vice Chair of Young Australian Tourism Export Council of South Australia (YATEC SA), after becoming a general committee member in January. Alexi has managed this while crisis-managing SATC activities in Hong Kong due to the anti-extradition protests, South Australian bushfires, and global COVID-19 pandemic.

Alexandra Paxinos won two Bronze Stevie Awards for Female Employee of the Year - Government or Non-Profit and Woman of the Year - Government or Non-Profit in The 2020 Stevie Awards for Women in Business®.

Interested in entering the 2021 Stevie Awards for women in Business?

In 1990, Jane Johnson launched a technology consulting business; and, like most entrepreneurs, she eventually decided to sell it.

Then came the proverbial “wake up call”: just because you want to sell your business does not mean you will. Most U.S. entrepreneurs - 85% - decide at some point to sell and only 15% can do so.

Enter Johnson, who in 2013 inaugurated Business Transition Academy (BTA), the first U.S. business dedicated to educating business owners on how to prepare themselves and their businesses to sell - at the right time, to the right buyer, for the best price and without the anxiety, poor advice and high fees that usually come with it.

As Johnson knows, the missing link is education and a strategic exit plan.

“Without a plan, success on your terms is unlikely and consequences can be pretty serious. It’s not unusual for that free time you’ve dreamed of to be replaced by a job working for someone else because you didn’t get enough for your business.”

It was Johnson’s experience selling her own company that inspired her to spend her life helping others avoid the pitfalls of exiting. In Johnson’s case, the business broker she had hired withheld information during the negotiation so that she and her partners would sell quickly for a lot less than the business was worth.

Johnson fired the broker; the sale was ultimately successful; and Johnson’s passion to help owners avoid this and many other pitfalls was ignited.

Enter BTA, which stands alone in taking a “holistic” approach to a business sale at a time when the norm is for owners to hire multiple experts – a broker, wealth manager, attorney and/or CPA - each of whom handles one aspect of it. All BTA exit plans are multi-faceted; and if you are working one-on-one with Johnson, there’s a quarterback to execute the plan for you. If you need an expert, Johnson will tell you and if necessary, recommend the best one(s).

And while the norm is often to get a fast commission, Johnson takes the time to recommend whatever you need. Many times – and especially during COVID-19 – owners need to rebuild their businesses before they can sell on their terms and timeline. Johnson is there for you throughout the process, even if that means five years from start to closing your deal.

As for that future filled with free time, Johnson knows that your life choices are a critical and possibly the most important part of your exit planning. For that reason, every BTA client begins by answering questions related to their exit goals. If you choose to retire, do you know what you want to do next? “Without answering this fundamental question,” emphasizes Johnson, “you can easily wind up with seller’s remorse.”

And, if you are in a family-based business, Johnson will ask you this to prevent serious “damage” that may take place down the road: do you know how to split the assets between adult children who are in the business and those who are not so as to avoid the “sibling strife” that often results, and can sometimes linger for generations? Johnson does.

BTA has a 100% completion rate. Every client can construct a strategic plan that results in a sale – to either insiders or an outside third party.

And at a time when many owners cannot afford to pay the usual $20,000 or more in advisory fees an exit can cost, Johnson had the foresight (right before COVID) to launch the country’s first digital platform aimed at giving owners everything they need – an “exit education” and the templates - to construct a strategic exit plan.

The first level of membership – 100% free-of-charge - helps you, in six steps, understand everything you need to do to exit; the next gives you what you need to put together your own exit plan. As Johnson says, “I care about owners – especially now when opportunistic buyers are ‘dialing for dollars’ in search of businesses to acquire for pennies-on-the-dollar.” During COVID, sign-ups for the free level soared.

As 2021 dawned, Johnson added another crucial program to the digital platform: an interactive “Expert” level that gives small groups of owners everything they need to plan and execute their individual strategic exit plans under the watchful eyes of Johnson and BTA transition mentors who have successfully gone through the process themselves - to advise and answer questions.

This new CEO peer-group offering features live webinars three times/month with Johnson centerstage teaching best practices, answering owners’ questions and interviewing innovative entrepreneurs who have successfully sold their businesses to insiders as well as to external third parties.

You may be wondering – as Johnson admittedly does every day - how is it possible in 2021 that the entrepreneurs who make up this country’s innovative business landscape know so much about business and so little about the one thing they will all seek to do one day – Exit?

With Johnson at the helm, those days are on their way to fading away.

For more information on exit planning and BTA’s educational memberships, please visit BusinessTransitionAcademy.com. Visit the home page for a free copy of Johnson’s Book “Cashing Out of Your Business” and upcoming live webinars showcasing the six steps to exiting well and achieving your goals.

Jane Johnson won a Silver Stevie Award for Female Entrepreneur of the Year – Business Services in the 2020 Stevie Awards for Women in Business.

Interested in the 2021 Stevie Awards for Women in Business?

• StarCompliance is a global provider of financial compliance software
• CEO Jennifer Sun’s experience in the industry has propelled StarCompliance to the forefront of the industry
• Jennifer’s dedication to the company and its employees puts people first

About StarCompliance

StarCompliance is a leading provider of compliance software to the global financial industry. Their scalable, easy-to-use solutions provide a 360-degree view of employee and business activity to help firms monitor and reduce risk, meet regulatory obligations, gain efficiencies, and drive employee adoption.

Star has over 20 years of experience supporting a global client base in more than 83 countries and across a range of financial service disciplines—including asset managers, broker-dealers, private equity firms, insurance providers, investment banks, and diversified financial institutions.

A well-timed agile transformation at the beginning of 2020 allowed Star to pivot quickly to the new remote-work environment of COVID-19. Their software has helped compliance teams stay globally connected. While the pandemic has forced many companies to take a wait-and-see approach, Star’s leadership team and CEO Jennifer Sun have continued to drive the business forward by rolling out even more new products, creating successful virtual events, and publishing the only survey to date that has specifically delivered insights around financial compliance and the challenges of COVID-19. 

About Jennifer Sun

CEO of StarCompliance, Jennifer Sun has more than 20 years of experience in traditional finance and fintech and a passion for helping companies reach their ultimate potential. She began her career as a financial analyst at Goldman Sachs. After a few years, Jennifer left Goldman to help launch Epoch Partners: a technology-enabled investment bank. After just 18 months, Epoch was acquired by Goldman Sachs. For the next 17 years, Jennifer dedicated her knowledge of the industry and fast-growth tactics to Ipreo: a global provider of software solutions, data, and analytics to investment banks, PE firms, and venture capital firms. In search of a new opportunity where she could again make a significant impact, Jennifer joined Star in September 2018, excited by the growth opportunities and potential she saw in Star and its employees. 

By putting employees first, Jennifer Sun helps guarantee Star's continued success. Every Star employee knows how the company is performing financially and knows why decisions are made. Jennifer’s frequent Town Halls and firm-wide communications ensure that important information is passed along to everyone. Her continued focus on streamlining internal operations is making Star a well-oiled machine that transcends geography and time zones.

StarCompliance won a Gold Stevie for Company of the Year - Business Products and a Bronze Stevie for Female Executive of the Year - Business Services - 11 to 2,500 Employees in the 2020 Stevie Awards for Women in Business®.

Interested in the 2021 Stevie Awards for Women in Business?

• DATA Inc. provides staffing solutions to multiple industries around the world
• Jennifer D’Silva has been with the DATA Inc. for decades and has led the company to international success
• She is focused on hiring a diverse workforce and promoting a work environment where people across all genders and ethnicities are supported to reach their true potential

About DATA Inc. 

DATA Inc. is a full service staffing solutions provider serving numerous industries across the globe. They provide technical, professional, marketing and clinical services as well as statement of work and payrolling services.

Jennifer D’Silva

To the DATA Inc. family, Jennifer D’Silva is the epitome of resilience and commitment. Born in Kuwait, she escaped to India as a teenager from possible Iraqi detention during the first Gulf War. DATA Inc. hired Jennifer from India as a Junior Account Executive in 1999. As a young woman in her early 20s, she migrated to the United States alone, and through her hard work and dedication, she blazed a path of success with the company by becoming the top producer, working with existing clients, and winning new business throughout her tenure.

Jennifer’s phenomenal track record including her gravitas, executive presence, emotional intelligence, and self-confidence culminated in her taking over as Head of Sales in 2016. During her tenure in leading the sales organization, DATA Inc. has registered double-digit revenue and EBITDA growth year after year and increased its footprint from being a local New Jersey staffing provider to an international provider of staffing, state of work (SOW), and payrolling services. 

Jennifer has built a team of tenured sales account managers across all of the company’s 14 locations around the world, serving as a true mentor and standing by individual teammates when they have gone through a rough patch and helping them in areas of improvement to achieve their true potential. Jen is a huge diversity and inclusion and women power proponent. She has succeeded in cultivating a gender neutral culture at DATA Inc. where men and women have equal access to getting assignments that help them grow and develop. 

Across the staffing industry, less than 5% of companies are run by women leaders. Jennifer’s outstanding drive has brought DATA Inc. to the front of the staffing solution industry. During COVID-19, Jen’s calm and confident leadership has ensured that not only did the company have no layoffs, but it grew geographically and in headcount revenue. She has shown resilience and continued to keep the company morale high with continued engagement, employee appreciation, and motivation. This is a huge contrast to the industry which has seen negative growth and numerous layoffs across the board. 

Most importantly, DATA Inc. is a certified diverse supplier, and diversity and inclusion is incredibly important to the company. Jennifer has worked hard to ensure that not only the organization is diverse, but that they showcase diversity in their services and in community philanthropy. 

DATA Inc. won a Silver Stevie for Female Executive of the Year - Business Services - 11 to 2,500 Employees in The 2020 Stevie Awards for Women in Business®. 

Interested in the 2021 Stevie Awards for Women in Business?

• Belton Executive Coaching & Consulting helps leaders across the globe improve personally and professionally
• Sue Belton has decades of leadership experience that she uses to help others through her books and coaching

About Belton Executive Coaching & Consulting

Belton Executive Coaching & Consulting LTD. is one of the UK’s leading boutique coaching consultancies. Founded by bestselling author Sue Belton in 2008, Belton Executive Coaching & Consulting has helped international business leaders, executives, and even celebrities to change their personal and professional outcomes.

About Sue Belton

Sue Belton is a high impact life and leadership coach. Raised in the army, and with over 12 years experience working for the BBC as a journalist, Sue knows the pain that many leaders suffer as they try to develop visionary leadership skills while managing important business decisions, moving away from operational delivery, and focusing on wider business direction. Sue has used her skills and knowledge of corporate culture and the mentally crippling challenges it can bring its leaders to develop a boutique coaching consultancy that is quite literally changing business leaders' lives across Europe.

As a result, Sue quadrupled business turnover, became a best-selling author, and is the first choice for corporate leadership coaching in many sectors including financial, construction, and utilities. In 2019, with her service recommended widely, Sue was approached by the leading European insurance provider Generali to support newly promoted executives to grow into their roles as leaders. Over the following year, Sue worked with a range of executives and leaders who have since made exceptional transformations across their own roles and lives, creating an outstanding impact on the businesses they work for, and in turn driving further business growth.

Belton Executive Coaching & Consulting won a Gold Stevie for Female Entrepreneur of the Year - Business Services - 10 or Less Employees in The 2020 Stevie Awards for Women in Business®. 

Interested in the 2021 Stevie Awards for Women in Business?

• STEMi Makers Africa is a NGO that helps provide young women with technology skills and experience
• Founder Amanda Obedike was part of the Barack Obama Young African Leadership Initiative and continues to work with underrepresented communities to boost their potential in STEM

STEMi Makers Africa

STEMi Makers Africa is a Non-Governmental Organization that addresses the leaky unemployment pipeline and under-representation of women and girls in STEM by equipping them with STEM emerging tools, real-world problem skills that they need to use to excel in STEM lucrative fields and become more experienced for Africa's workforce. The future growth and development of Africa depends on an aligned system that enables young Africans to be technology problem-solvers and self-reliant innovators.

STEMi Makers Africa has built a diverse community and impacted nearly 10,000 people across 17 sub-saharan countries in Africa. They are building a STEM Ecosystem (called Africa By Us, For Us) of a diverse talent pool of young people in African countries to provide a sustainable boost to economic growth and prepare them for the jobs of the future. 

This led STEMi Makers Africa into an ongoing partnership with IBM, Red Hat, and the U.S. Department of State to cultivate a STEM Workforce by training educators across underrepresented communities with project-based learning tools and provide key resources to teachers to help them understand STEM pathways and modern classroom courses.  

About Amanda Obidike

Amanda Obidike is a Certified Professional in STEM by the Open University in the United Kingdom. As the founder of STEMi Makers Africa, Amanda provides leadership and strategic management and oversees the design and implementation of sustainable projects. 

Forbes Science named Amanda as the Nigerian changing the culture fabric for young girls to embrace STEM. She serves as a Mentor in the Cherie Blair Foundation, the 1 Million Women in Tech, the Global Thinkers for Women, and the New York Academy of Sciences where she lends her voice and knowledge and serves as a role model to girls in Africa. In 2018, Amanda served as a regional lead at the Barack Obama Young African Leadership Initiative, and in 2019, Amanda was an awardee of the Public Affairs Section of the USA Consulate General for her work in marginalized communities. 

Amanda Obidike of STEMi Makers Africa won the Gold Stevie for Female Innovator of the Year, the Silver Stevie for Female Executive of the Year, and the Silver Stevie for Organization of the Year, all for Government or Non-Profit in the 2020 Stevie Awards for Women in Business®. 

Interested in entering the 2021 Stevie Awards for Women in Business?

In March 2018, Beth Suereth, Founder and CEO of Caregiving Pathways and a veteran of health care marketing, left a corporate job to launch the only company in the United States devoted to helping family caregivers understand how to manage a family member’s hospital stay and the final stages of life.

Those who know Suereth know her to be kind; her voice is so soothing you’ll want to stay on the phone with her as long as possible. As she cared for her father for five years, Suereth discovered a huge need: “My dad had one hospital stay after another after another. I searched for information about managing the hospital experience, but there was nothing out there. It was all trial and error.” 

Suereth’s first step was to provide the resources sorely needed by family caregivers to give them the information they need all in one place. “If you don’t know the ins and outs of the hospital environment and culture,” explains Suereth, “you can’t know the right questions to ask, and you can end up being overtreated or undertreated. The number of hospital errors resulting in death is staggering.”

The resources at Caregiving Pathways — available to all free of charge on the company website — are groundbreaking. They focus on everything from handling the hospital stay to end-of-life planning, financial considerations around caregiving, and the many questions family caregivers need to ask, “up front.”

This revolutionary business reached profitability in 2018, and Suereth was on her way to becoming a “superstar” on the growing family caregiving speaking circuit.

Caregiving Pathways has never been as important as it has during COVID-19, with hundreds of thousands of people dying in the United States, many of them older adults with family caregivers who are more stressed than ever. As Suereth states, “People in hospitals and nursing homes have so little communication with their loved ones that they are often declining physically and mentally from loneliness.”

An educated family caregiver can mean significantly improved health outcomes.

Until Suereth, those 53 million U.S. family caregivers (the number according to the National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP) faced so much with so little in hand. Most are women. “And women shoulder a much greater degree of day-to-day hands-on care. As a result, they often leave the workforce with reduced lifetime earnings and retirement savings — which can affect families for generations.”

The comprehensive guides Suereth created for Caregiving Pathways include How to Help Your Loved One in the Hospital (track what happens and ask questions until everything makes sense); End-of-Life Planning Guide (ask how someone wants to spend the time that remains); an End-of-Life Plan (create and share one before you need it); and Complement Your Client’s Financial Plan with a Personal End-of-Life Plan (for financial planners; align financial resources with final wishes).

Suereth provides consulting services for hospitals, financial services companies, and a business that offers trainings for family caregivers and certifications for those who support them. For employers, the company offers strategies that support family caregivers and help businesses manage absenteeism, presenteeism, and retention.

Pharmacists are yet another Suereth focus. As she explains, family caregivers represent two customers in one because they purchase medications for themselves and the person they’re caring for. For family caregivers, a good relationship with a pharmacist can be crucial in helping someone afford medications, keep to a schedule and, notably, look out for duplications — the same medication prescribed by two different physicians.

Suereth also supports and coaches individual caregivers, all overwhelmed as COVID-19 spreads. She provides emotional support and helps them gain insights and perspective, often when they are affected by “visitor” restrictions in the hospital or are excluded from accompanying a family member to a doctor appointment. “During COVID, the key is to understand how communication in these settings took place pre-COVID, how it’s different now, and how to navigate all of that. It can be done.” 

It’s no surprise, then, that Suereth has become in two-plus short years a “name” on the speaking/panel circuit, from the National Caregiving Conference on “When the Care Plan Becomes an End-of-Life Plan” to an invitation to speak to family caregivers in the Virgin Islands and a “Beginning Again Virtual Retreat” for caregivers adjusting to life after a family member’s death during COVID-19. Suereth’s primary talk is titled “How to Help Your Loved One in the Hospital,” an expanded version of her easy-to-read guidebook of the same name.

And AARP, the 38 million-member nonprofit organization, sought out Suereth to join the AARP Public Policy Institute team writing its first-ever series of publications for health care leaders: Supporting Family Caregivers Providing Complex Care. The series includes eight research papers published in 2020, with more to come, and a 2020 webinar series. The publications are available at https://www.aarp.org/ppi/initiatives/supporting-family-caregivers-providing-complex-care/.

The institute also asked Suereth to join the team writing a 2019 research report titled Home Alone Revisited: Family Caregivers Providing Complex Care.

It’s rare indeed that an organization of AARP’s size and power reaches out to such a small company — and a start-up to boot — to tap what is clearly vast knowledge.

Then again, Beth Suereth is a unique combination of entrepreneur, expert marketer, and compassionate family caregiver.

Her time has come, and with the COVID pandemic, thank goodness that time is now.

To learn more about Caregiving Pathways, please visit www.caregivingpathways.com.

Caregiving Pathways won Gold for Most Innovative Company of the Year and the Bronze Stevie for Most Innovative Woman of the Year in the 2020 Stevie Awards for Women in Business. 

Interested in entering the 2021 Stevie Awards for Women in Business?