For International Women's Day: the leader who taught me how to lead

It's International Women's Day, and I keep coming back to one name.

Jill.

I met her at one of my first real jobs, right on the edge of the dot-com bubble. I was wide-eyed, teaching myself the digital world in real time, figuring out the tools, the industry, and honestly, myself.

And then there was Jill.

She was poised. Confident. Genuinely empathetic. The kind of leader who made you feel smarter just by being in the room with her. She didn't lecture. She modeled.

She taught me not to gossip. Not to get tangled in office politics, even when it would have been so easy to.

She taught me that real power has nothing to do with your title. It comes from keeping your word. Following through. Every time.

She could hold a room full of executives and then turn around and sit with me (a junior nobody) and actually understand what I was going through. That meant everything to me then. It still does.

She taught me to always be learning. To stay flexible. To stay curious. I have never stopped.

And she taught me that the best thing a leader can do is defend their team. Support them. Show up for them. Because when you do, they show up for you, and together you can do just about anything.

I've carried every one of those lessons into every team I've ever led. Every junior associate I've mentored. Every room I've walked into.

Jill, if you're reading this: thank you. You changed the trajectory of how I lead, how I show up, and who I try to be for the people coming up behind me.

To every young woman finding her footing right now: there are women out here rooting for you. Hard.

We've been where you are. We remember what it felt like. And we are not here to compete with you. We are here to open doors, share what we know, and cheer you on.

That's what women do when we do it right.