243: Meet the 2025 Leading Lady Ambassadors

Hi there. You’re listening to the Leading Lady podcast. I’m your host, AliceAnne Loftus, and I’m a certified professional coach specializing in leadership and work-life balance. I work with clients to shift their limiting beliefs, insecurities, and self-doubt. This podcast will be filled with tools and strategies to help high-achieving women like you feel connected, empowered, and in the lead of your life, both personally and professionally. Let’s transform your life starting now. Lead yourself, the rest will follow.

Hi there, leading ladies, and welcome to today’s episode, the first episode of 2025. I’m going to be sharing with you about our 2025 ambassadors.

What the Leading Lady Ambassador Program Is

Now, the Leading Lady Ambassador Program is a mastermind group curated by me to bring together a select group of women entrepreneurs who excel in their fields and meet high standards of quality.

What’s interesting and unique about this program that is part of Leading Ladies is that it is invitation only, and I have personally worked with each of our Leading Lady Ambassadors. Now, these ambassadors are innovators, creators, and visionaries dedicated to uplifting other women emotionally, financially, personally, professionally, spiritually, and physically.

Their mission is to inspire, empower, and connect women in business and leadership. If you look at the strategic wheel, if you have downloaded that (if you haven’t, I’ll drop it in the show notes), when I go through my strategic planning, I use something called a strategic wheel to do an audit of your level of satisfaction in seven or eight specific areas of your life.

Now, what is really cool about the ambassadors is that each ambassador actually fits into one or more of those spokes of the wheel. So they offer resources that can actually help you feel more satisfied, more empowered, and more in control of your life and your business. The ambassador program fosters a supportive community where women can connect and refer within the group and network with others on a similar leadership journey.

So having the ability to work with the ambassadors, you (and I’m saying you as in all of us as women entrepreneurs and leaders), we’re able to connect, we’re able to share business referrals, build our networks, and meet people who might be in similar places where we are or might be a few steps ahead or a few steps behind.

The commitment of the Leading Lady Ambassadors is, number one, to provide a safe space for women to connect and grow, both personally and professionally. They offer expert support and guidance. They are dedicated to the success and empowerment of women in business. We live in such a society where we’re constantly looking at competition and who’s gonna be a threat to us, who’s going to get in the way of our success, and that is totally not the point of the Leading Lady Ambassadors.

We come together and say, “Who can we connect you with that’s gonna take you to that next level, that’s gonna help you feel more satisfied and more fulfilled in your life and your business?” Overall, the Leading Lady Ambassador program is designed to build women up in both business and leadership through connection, support, and collaboration.

How the Ambassadors Support Women in Business

So providing that supportive community, they create a safe and empowering space for women entrepreneurs to ask questions, to gather resources, to share experiences, and to navigate challenges together. They also share their knowledge and their expertise. Ambassadors offer mentorship, insights, and resources tailored to the specific needs of women in business.

This can include advice on leadership strategy, balancing personal and professional responsibilities, health and wellness, spiritual development. Oh, it just runs the gamut. Again, if you look at the strategic wheel in my strategic planning process, you will see that in several areas, ambassadors have provided resources that can immediately help you in that area and beyond.

We also talk about how the ambassadors help us to expand our networks. Through events, referrals, and collaborations, the ambassadors help women business owners broaden their reach, find new clients, and establish partnerships. We know that our partnerships are invaluable in our business. We want to do business with people we know, like, and trust. And actually, that’s who all people wanna do business with, people they know, like, and trust.

And so being able to connect with an ambassador, collaborate with her, is just a great way to expand those networks. Ambassadors also help to promote visibility. They showcase the talents and success of women in their network. They amplify their voices and increase their presence in the marketplace.

There is something to be said about collaboration. This is why community is so important to the Leading Ladies, why the ambassadors are all on board with building community, and it just helps us all to amplify our business and show up and be seen.

Encouragement, Collaboration, and Community

We also, as ambassadors, offer emotional and professional encouragement. The ambassadors focus on building confidence, resilience, and self-belief among women entrepreneurs and leaders, helping them to thrive in competitive industries.

We just had our first collective meeting of 2025. When this airs, we will probably have had our second, but I just left our group this morning, and to see how the ambassadors show up, cheerlead, and champion for each other and for the other women in the room, it’s nothing like I can describe. You truly have to experience it.

And I think that entrepreneurship can be really lonely and can feel very isolating, and you can sometimes be overwhelmed with self-doubt and self-criticism. You need people in your corner that are going to encourage you and clap for you and share that they have also struggled with those things, and they’ve also overcome those things.

So I just think that emotional and professional encouragement is, bar none, really a key piece of what makes the ambassador program so special. Again, going back to fostering opportunities for collaboration, by connecting women with complementary skills or goals, the ambassadors encourage joint ventures and innovative projects.

This holistic approach really helps women business owners grow their ventures while contributing to a community dedicated to collective success. We literally wrote the book We Lead, which is all about connection, collaboration, and community. And if you go through We Lead Volume I or Volume II, you see all the different ways that opportunities and collaboration are fostered, why our communities matter, why that connection matters, why collaborating with other businesswomen, other women leaders, is really integral to your own personal and professional development.

And I know that through the opportunities and the collaboration that I have had with working with the ambassadors, my life has profoundly improved, both personally and professionally. So I wanna share with you who the 2025 ambassadors are, and I encourage you to check them out, get to know them, check out what they’re doing in their business, attend their events if you can, follow them on social media, and I promise you, you are going to receive a wealth of knowledge and resources.

Meet the 2025 Ambassadors

So without further ado, I would like to introduce to you our 2025 ambassadors, starting with Julie Blamphin. Julie is the owner and founder of Stretch Your Spirit, and she is our yoga, mindfulness, meditation, and amazing retreat leader. Follow her on social media. She is all things yoga, and she also specializes in pelvic floor health.

Super, super important, ladies. Especially if you have a pelvic floor. And guess what? We all have a pelvic floor.

The very first time I met Julie Blamphin, I was speaking at an event, and she was so lovely. She came up to me, and there was this gorgeous woman standing in front of me with this beautiful silver hair. She just looked like a little fairy. She had this beautiful energy about her. She introduced herself to me. We chatted for a few minutes. She told me her name was Julie Blamphin, and she walked away, and I promise you right there in that minute, I said, “I need more Julie Blamphin in my life.”

Julie has been with the Leading Lady Ambassador program for the last six or seven years. At this point, we’ve lost count. I think she’s one of my original ambassadors. Once you have her in your life, I think you will agree that everyone needs a little more Julie Blamphin.

Next up is Julie Campbell. Julie Campbell is the CEO of Severn Leadership Group, and I actually just finished going through their fellowship program. She originally asked me to be a mentor in their program. Severn Leadership Group is a leadership development program founded by Sig Berg. Sig was a Naval Academy graduate, and he created this amazing program all around leadership development and really just leading with your virtues, and it’s been an amazing program.

When Julie originally reached out to me to be a mentor, I thought, “Oh, yeah, I would love to be a mentor of that program,” but I’ve always believed that leaders are learners. And I quickly learned that if I really wanted to show up as a strong mentor in Severn Leadership Group, I needed to go through it as a mentee, which they call a fellow.

And I am so glad that I did. I finished that up right at Christmas time, 2024, and I learned so much about myself as a leader, what my blocks were in leadership, how to strengthen my teams in both my businesses and even my team in my family. I can’t recommend that program enough, and Julie Campbell is just a wonderful woman. Every time you’re around her, you are reminded of the quality of excellence, and you just want to be the best version of yourself.

So definitely check out Severn Leadership Group. Follow them on social media. Connect with Julie Campbell on LinkedIn. She’s definitely someone you want to know.

Fitness, Faith, and Nutrition

Next up is Tara De Leon. Tara is a fitness coach, personal trainer. She focuses on body positivity and really helps individuals show up strong by lifting heavy weights. Tara also recently won Trainer of the Year in the world. That’s quite an accomplishment.

I have worked out with Tara for many years on and off, and I have known her through many seasons of my life, and she’s somebody that really encourages you to show up, to take up space boldly and confidently, and to take care of your body so that your body can do the things that you want it to do today and tomorrow.

And so I just love her. She’s a powerhouse public speaker. You can definitely connect with her on social media, and if you’re local to Annapolis, you can visit her and work out with her, but I think she does virtual training as well. In fact, I know she does, and so if you’re looking to start lifting heavy and really just treat your body well and make it strong, you’ll definitely wanna connect with her.

Next up is Erin Harrigan. Erin is a faith-based business coach for high-achieving women who are also followers of Christ, and she is my business coach and my friend. I’ve worked with her for several years, and I didn’t realize how much that spirituality, that Christian part, was missing from my business, and working with Erin allowed me to align my faith with my business.

She’s not someone that’s pushing religion down your throat, but she stands proudly and confidently in her faith and invites you to do the same, if that’s what you believe. You can follow her as well on social media. I think she really has a big presence on LinkedIn. She also has a podcast, The Hustle with Heart, and she has published two books of her own, and she was featured in both the We Lead books.

Gosh, I’m going through all this from memory, and I’m realizing that I should have written down better specifics on each of these ambassadors, because Julie Blamphin and Julie Campbell were both in both volumes, We Lead and We Lead Volume II. Tara De Leon released a book last year, Hot Mess to Hot Mom, and it’s just incredible.

These women are such accomplished women, so it’s cool, and I know that I’m missing it, and I’m just giving you the cliff notes of who they are. That’s why I encourage you to like, follow, and connect with them on social media, and also check them out on my website as well, ‘cause I know I’m missing stuff, but I’m just giving you a quick run of who the ambassadors are for 2025.

Next is Elizabeth Harris. Elizabeth Harris is our registered dietitian. She owns Elizabeth Harris Nutrition. Like I said, I’ve worked with all of these ambassadors, but the first time I met Elizabeth, I told her that I wanted to lose weight, and there was nothing she could do to change my mind. And she said, “Well, that’s not really what I coach women. I coach women to give up on diet culture and stop measuring success on the scale.”

And I was like, “Oh, that’s cute, but I still wanna lose weight.” And let me tell you, she worked her magic and really helped me let go of diet culture and step not only off but away from the scale, and I have never been happier.

Her approach is so loving and so compassionate, and she really teaches individuals to get back in tune with their bodies and listen to their cues and to ditch diet culture for good. Love it, love it, love it.

Building and Running Your Business

Jen Howat is our next ambassador for 2025, and Jen is a content strategist and Kajabi expert. She has worked with me in all things Kajabi and helped me to build my programs in Kajabi. We’ve got something super cool coming out this year and can’t wait to share that with you.

I met Jen Howat actually through Erin Harrigan, and the minute I met her, I knew that she was going to be somebody that was going to be in my life for a very long time. She’s lovely to work with. She’s so patient, and she’s so kind, and she makes all the things just work so beautifully.

So if you’re looking to build a membership or a digital course or just really move your business into Kajabi, which is like a CRM… It’s a huge platform, and I’m butchering what it actually does because it does so many things. It can host your website. It can host your podcast. It can host your digital courses, your membership, your communities. It’s an incredible platform. She is definitely your go-to person for that.

Next, we have Susan Mahaffee. Susan owns People Rise, and she is all things HR. So she can help businesses and organizations with all of their HR needs and making sure they’re within compliance, if they need help onboarding or building handbooks or policies, anything like that. Susan is really dedicated to helping entrepreneurs be the best for their teams and set them and their employees up for success.

Next we have Gala McCray. Gala is my bookkeeper. She is a QuickBooks expert. She’s just so wonderful to work with because finances are hard. We all know finances are hard. I am someone that loves working in my books and loves working in my finances, and finances are still hard.

And Gala just takes a really loving, patient, compassionate approach to this to help women feel empowered and confident within their books. So definitely connect with her. She owns Two Arrows Admin. She’s just so calm and so thoughtful in how she works, and I promise you she’s going to help take that big, scary bookkeeping elephant in the room and make it manageable and maybe even enjoyable. That might be a stretch, but for me it’s enjoyable.

Next we have Jenn Osterhouse with Jenn Osterhouse Graphic Design. She does all things graphic design. Anything you see of mine that is on my marketing materials, Jenn Osterhouse has done. She has been in graphic design for over 25 years. She’s incredibly talented, a delight to work with.

Again, she’s so loving, she’s so kind, she’s so compassionate about really helping you set your business up for success, and she feels best when your business shines, and she measures her success by how happy and how confident you feel with your marketing materials. So definitely connect with her as well. She’s got some really cool business bundles if you’re looking to either up-level your marketing materials, rebrand, or you just don’t know where to start. She can help you with those things.

Maureen Porto of Maureen Porto Photography. She is our brand photographer, and she is a dream. I mean, she is the hype woman everyone needs. The very first time I met her, she clasped my hands and just made me feel like I was the most beautiful woman in the world. That’s exactly how she is when you are working with her in photography.

We know that to do well in our business, we have to show up in our business, and sometimes that means showing our face, and I am the most camera-shy person you would probably ever meet. I don’t feel confident in front of a camera. I don’t think that I’m photogenic. It’s very difficult for me to have my photos taken, and yet people tell me I’m the most photographed business owner they know. And it’s because working with Maureen is just so easy, and she makes you feel like a million bucks so that you can show up in your business and really put your best foot forward, your best face forward, and do it with confidence.

Next, Chrissy Rey. Chrissy is with Pongos Interactive, and I kid you not, Chrissy Rey is probably the smartest woman I have ever met in my life. She does all things tech, website, and she’s got over 30 years experience in this. Whenever someone tells me that they need a website, I tell them, “Don’t even bother talking to anybody else. You need to connect with Chrissy Rey.”

And she never makes you feel dumb about it. She listens to you. She listens to the vision that you want. She listens to how you want people to interface with your website, and then she makes it happen. It’s like magic. She’s just a great gal to know.

Next, we have Heidi Schmidt with Heidi Schmidt Creative. Heidi is our social media guru. She also does Leading Lady’s social media, and thank goodness that I was able to outsource that, because social media is hard. Keeping up with the trends, remembering to stay consistent. What do you post? When do you post? How do you post? What’s trending now? I love that I have someone in my corner that can help with that, and she’s just a lot of fun.

She hosts some really cool workshops around reels and carousels and strategy on your social media. She’s funny and just a lot of fun to work with, so I definitely encourage you to reach out to her if you are struggling with your social media.

Next up, we have Lisa Van Wormer. Lisa owns Abrado Analytics. She does government contracting, and she also helps business owners step into the government contracting world by offering some contracting consulting. She’s just a really cool lady. I don’t think I’ve ever had a conversation with Lisa that I didn’t walk away and think, “Wow, she is incredibly funny, has such great perspective, and is an incredible problem solver.”

So if you are looking for somebody to help you kinda tap into that world of government contracting. She’s also our creative writer, so if you’re looking to hone your skills on doing some creative writing and just want somebody to talk that through with, I definitely encourage you to reach out to Lisa Van Wormer and learn more about what she does and how she might be able to help you.

Mental Wellness with Maria Winters

And then we’ll close it out with Maria Winters. Maria is The Coaching Therapist. She’s a licensed therapist who also founded the Emotional Fitness Studio, which is based out of Annapolis. She is all things mental wellness. Her mission is to spread knowledge and information and resources for mental wellness, and she does it through having this feisty, zesty, fun-loving personality.

She’s so vulnerable. She invites people to be vulnerable, to talk about mental health and mental wellness and struggles and dance. She’s just a really feisty lady. Again, she’s another one that I have a conversation with, and I’m like, “I really need to work on how funny I am, because I’m surrounded by funny people, and it’s not fair.”

So follow her on social media. She does a lot in both English and Spanish, and she’s fun. She is fun.

Connect with the Ambassadors

So there are currently 15 of us in the Ambassador program, 14 and myself, and it’s the largest number we’ve ever had. We’re going into 2025 super strong. We’ve got lots of resources for you, so please stay tuned.

And like I said with Jen Howat, the ambassadors and I are rolling something super cool out in probably just a few weeks, so don’t miss that. And if you feel like you want to have a deeper connection or want me to help connect you with any of the ambassadors, I do read and respond to every email, so please reach out to me, and I will personally connect you.

But again, look them up on social media. That’s probably the easiest, or LinkedIn, Instagram. You can find them on my website, and I just encourage you to use them as the resources they are, because they come with an arsenal of knowledge and wisdom and experiences, and they are committed to helping all women in business feel empowered and successful.

So until next time, take the lead.

Thanks for tuning in for another episode of the Leading Lady podcast. You can find all of the links and information mentioned in this episode at www.leadinglady-coaching.com. If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to follow the show so you don’t miss any future episodes. And while you’re there, it would mean the world to me if you would take a few seconds and leave me an honest review. This will allow me to be able to help other high-achieving women find inspiration, connection, and develop strategies to live and lead with purpose and intention. See you here next week.