Meet Valerie: ©Amy Boyle Photography 2020 In her own words- “For many years, I worked as a school social worker on the south side of Chicago. The job wasn’t easy, but I worked with so many amazing students and I absolutely loved it. However, I quickly saw that there were so many factors outside of school that impeded my students’ ability to succeed in school. I saw far too many students struggling with challenges that no child should ever have to endure such as homelessness

Meet Claudia: ©Amy Boyle Photography 2020 In her own words… “As thinking of my why behind my what, I’ve come to realize, my whole life I’ve lived to help people grow and feel good about themselves as evidenced by my being an interpreter, teacher, business owner and influencer. The path to use social media as a positive environment to bring happiness and value to my community has always been a core goal in my life-long dream to have a larger platform and host events where thos

Meet KJ: ©Amy Boyle Photography 2020 In her own words – “Necesita saber a caer para luego poder a volar. You have to learn to fall to later be able to fly- a line from a song I learned as an exchange student in Costa Rica has stuck in my mind for the past 32 years. I sing it all the time thinking, what I am doing today to take flight? This is after decades of watching others get on the plane while I stood on stand-by wishing for an amazing life. I perceived myself as less t

“You’ll want to stay home anyway and we have to let go of one person”. Meet Cara: In her own words – ©Amy Boyle Photography 2020 “That is what my former employer told me, while I was pregnant. I was shocked & devastated. All my life, I dreamed of having a family, but I was also fully committed to my work. Getting laid off while pregnant, took a decision away from me. Yet, I craved having a purpose, interaction with other adults. I wanted to have impact on something outside my

Meet Jenni: In her own words – ©Amy Boyle Photography 2020 “I’m terrible at drawing dogs. It’s a silly thing to be embarrassed about, but for decades, my bad dogs made my childhood dream of becoming an artist feel unattainable. Instead, I focused on becoming a writer, a flexible medium in which I could play. Today, with more than 30 years of professional writing experience, I’m humbled by the gifts writing has given me, including: – The power to inform and educate others – Th

Meet Amanda: In her own words – ©Amy Boyle Photography 2019 “From this time forward, you will never see things the same again,” my architecture professor told my freshman class as we began our 5 year design journey. It took me a while to appreciate what he meant. But it was absolutely true… Once you open your eyes to patterns, proportions, colors, and overlapping systems, you really see the world differently. Design to me is like solving a puzzle. There’s always a set of rule

Meet Kim- In her own words—- ©Amy Boyle Photography 2019 “I am passionate about the education of African American children and specifically the improvement of literacy among African American boys in the fourth grade. I want to eradicate illiteracy among these youth and improve their dismal test scores. For this reason, I established a not-for-profit organization called We Got You Covered (WGYC) out of sheer desperation to save lives. WGYC hopes to alleviate the learning g

Meet Sheri: In her own words – “I love Dr Seuss’s quote, “Why fit in when you were born to stand out?” Knowing that all of us don’t fit in in one way or another, instead of trying to I believe it is important to accept and embrace our uniqueness and from that vantage point, make a difference to ourselves and the world. I do this in my personal life and through my work at The Charmm’d Foundation, a non-profit organization which strengthens leaders, their teams and their organi

Meet Jen – In her own words – “My kids get so annoyed every time I do it, but there is nothing better than driving toward the city on Lake Shore Drive on a crystal clear Chicago night, holding up my arms with our incredible skyline in between my hands, and telling them how lucky I feel to sell this city every day. I own Suite Home Chicago and my job is to help those in transition, whether it be during a relocation, a home displacement, or maybe an extended project or TV show

Meet Joyce: In her own words… ©Amy Boyle Photography 2019 “I am impassioned about my role as a public speaker, where I share a message of positivity and attaining self-love. I believe in a deeper philosophy than just mental health, but mental wealth. Mental wealth is how we transcend our mental health issues and welcome great prosperity, both personally and professionally. My intention is to always help others rise to their own success. My life has been dedicated to helping o

Meet Jenn: In her own words – ©Amy Boyle Photography 2019 “After learning that exercise can reduce cancer recurrence for breast cancer survivors by up to 50%, I founded Recovery on Water (ROW), a rowing team for patients and survivors of breast cancer in 2007. ROW started as a volunteer effort and became an incredible passion in my life. The women on our team are strong, resilient and fierce. After being immersed in the team’s energy, in 2010 I decided to take on a challenge

Meet Melissa and Brittany: We need to understand that there is no formula for how women should lead our lives. That is why we must respect the choices that each woman makes for herself and her family.” – Hilary Rodham Clinton ©Amy Boyle Photography 2019 “A little over a year ago, my best friend and colleague, Melissa and I were commuting home together and using our carpool commute to decompress after a long day. We had gone from being next to each other on stage at dance rec

“Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference” Winston Churchill Meet Alyssa: In her own words – ©Amy Boyle Photography 2019 “During my first job out of college, I briefly worked at Smith Barney in Chicago as a sales assistant, and I will never forget the way one stockbroker brought so much joy to the office. Whether markets were up or down, if it was pouring rain or sunny and bright, she always had a cheerful attitude. She would greet everyone with a boisterous hel

Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life! Meet Sarah – In her own words… ©Amy Boyle Photography 2019 “I’ve lived by this motto all my life and it’s shown up in the form of entrepreneurship. Even as a little girl I loved using my creativity and leadership skills in entrepreneurial ways. I’ve always marched to the beat of my own drum finding creative ways to feed my ambition and feel happy. One day I’d be running a book sale out of my bedroom an

Meet Becky: In her own words… ©Amy Boyle Photography 2019 “Whenever I am asked why I do what I do, I say the journey that began as a child. I grew up in the projects – Washington Park Homes – in a home where alcoholism and domestic violence were common. I am the second of seven children. My mom was the best I could ever ask for. She made the best out of the worst situation. This environment’s normal was almost daily gunshots. We were located right between two rival gang m

Meet Wendy: In her own words: “I grew up in a very loving nurturing middle class family in Queens, NY. I am the oldest of 4, my mother was a stay at home mom and my father was a hardworking roofer and owned his own business. Every day at 5pm we sat down as a family to a delicious home cooked meal. ©️Amy Boyle Photography 2019 Growing up I always did what was expected of me; I got good grades in school, I stayed out of trouble, I went to college, I got a good job which lead

“Pain has a Purpose: From Surviving to Thriving” Meet Trupti: In her own words… “I believe that pain has a purpose. The purpose is to guide us to be more connected with ourselves and thus less connected with the demands of world around us. I believe this is true, because this is my story. ©Amy Boyle Photography My life began in survival mode. After being smuggled out of Africa at the tender age of 6 months, my life began in Chicago with very few resources. My mother’s mantra