Alexis Kanda-Olmstead: Social Advocate and Leader Advancing Women in Leadership – 040

Today’s Extraordinary Women Radio Interview is with Alexis Kanda-Olmstead – a social advocate and leader focused on uplifting women’s roles in leadership. With a twenty-year career in higher education, Alexis brings together research from the fields of social psychology, economics, history and biology to advance women’s leadership. I love how she’s weaving research into her work – and she shares some really interesting insights throughout our interview how research is guiding her work. She believes that through everyday acts of courage, we can learn how to develop a new relationship with power, get comfortable with fear, and step into our authentic leadership. And in fact she’s so passionate about this – she’s in the process of co-developing a school called the {Re}Finishing School for Brave Women. Yes, this is a twist on the antiquated view of the old finishing schools. Alexis brings this concept into the modern-day age of empowering women with courage - helping women let go of belief systems that no longer serve us. Thus the {Re}Finishing concept. Alexis has a brilliant way of understanding what the research shows – how we limit ourselves, how we perceive language – and her work helps women step up and lead in bigger and bold ways. I love this. Alexis Kanda-Olmstead is the founder of AKO Collective and co-architect of {Re}Finishing School for Brave Women. Outside of women’s development, Alexis is the lead for talent management at Colorado State University, a wife and partner, mother of two, and social activist. This is a delightful interview and Alexis is a wise woman who is making a big wave of change for women and has very extraordinary ideas that will make a ripple effect around the world. My kind of woman, no doubt! Let's meet Alexis! "Self-Compassion is a Revolutionary Act. If we cultivate self-love, we are unstoppable." ~Alexis Kanda-Olmstead To follow Alexis and her work, visit her web site at alexiskanda-olmstead or follow her on Facebook or connect with her on LinkedIn. To read more about women in leadership you might enjoy my blog post, Lead Like a Woman with Grit and Grace.