Mei Xu

Kathryn interviews Founder of Chesapeake Bay Candle Mei Xu, author of "Burn: How Grit, Innovation, and a Dash of Luck Ignited a Multi-Million Dollar Success Story." She tells the story of how she built Chesapeake Bay Candle, filling the home décor shelves at Bloomingdale's, Nordstrom and eventually Target. She went on to meet and counsel thousands of entrepreneurs and business people, and even advise President of the United States Barack Obama on the topic of job creation. To help small businesses in the age of COVID-19, Xu recently launched Yes She May, an online shop for well-designed products in fashion, wellness, beauty and home from women-owned brands. She is a Trustee of the University of Maryland and a member of Fortune's Most Powerful Women. Kathryn also interviews Judy Batalion PhD, author of "The Light of Days: The Untold Story of Women Resistance Fighters in Hitler's Ghettos." One of the most extraordinary stories of the Holocaust and World War II has remained hidden until now: the daring resistance efforts of Jewish women in the ghettos of the Nazi occupation. Batalion shares the acts of defiance and rebellion of women who saw and acknowledged the truth of their time, faced an inevitable death, worked together and risked their lives daily in the fight for justice and liberty. She reveals the ingenuity and tenacity of a handful of astonishingly brave young women, underscoring how their movement was larger and more organized than the annals of history have recorded—until now. Batalion's essays have appeared in the NY Times, the Washington Post, the Forward, Vogue and more.