AdClub Women's Leadership Forum: Founders Panel

As a founder, I’m always looking for spaces where I feel seen—and this year’s Founders Panel at The Ad Club Boston’s Women’s Leadership Forum was exactly that.

These women... They get it. The grind. The vulnerability. The vision you can’t quite explain but feel in your bones. Their stories weren’t polished TED Talks—they were real, layered, and honest. And that’s what made them so powerful.

One left a high-powered finance role in search of something with more heart. Another built a brand rooted in personal loss and community healing. One launched a startup around perimenopause after being completely dismissed by the healthcare system. These weren’t just business moves—they were deeply human pivots. They were acts of courage.

And I couldn’t help but see myself in their stories.

I founded Integral Marketing & Advertising not because the world needed another ad agency (God knows Boston already has its fair share), but because I couldn’t find the one I was looking for. After eight agencies and two brand-side gigs, I stopped searching and started building.

Founding Integral was more than an escape—it was purposeful. I wanted to create a place where women were valued not just for the hours they logged, but for the brilliance they bring. A place where being the primary caretaker at home didn’t disqualify you from being a powerhouse at work. A place where diversity and inclusion weren’t slogans but lived values. Where it didn’t matter who you love, what your skin looks like, or whether you went to college—just that you’re damn good at what you do, and that you care.

Because women do it all. Effortlessly. Quietly. At our own expense. Day in and day out. I wanted to build something that saw that—and honored it.

So when I heard these founders speak about betting on themselves, about building businesses with soul and intention, about refusing to wait for someone else to give them permission—I felt that in my core.

They reminded me of why I started. And why I keep going.

Because even when you’ve built something, the journey isn’t over. Founders are always building—building companies, building teams, building futures. And maybe, more than anything, building the kind of world we want to work in.

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