Welcome to Business Innovators Magazine…Please introduce yourself and a brief thumbnail sketch of your background.
SD: Hello, My name is Stephanie Danner, after graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology, I devoted twelve years to teaching high school students with special needs. For the last two years, I have worked in the Family and Consumer Sciences Department, where I currently teach Life Planning, Parenting, and Nutrition & Wellness. I am an Independently Certified Speaker, Trainer, and Coach with The John Maxwell Team.
In 2014, I published my first children’s book, Ava, After the Divorce, which later afforded me an opportunity to present at the 56th Annual Parents Without Partners International Convention. My hope for this children’s book was for kids to see the experience of divorce as an opportunity to learn coping strategies which would result in a perpetual optimistic viewpoint. Ava offers her readers positive aspects of divorce.
In 2015, I founded CLARITI. CLARITI encourages empowerment by Connecting, Leading, Achieving, Reflecting, Imagining, Teaching and Inspiring others. Its vision is to cultivate positive perspectives, individualized inspiration, and lifelong learning. I am dedicated to those who are struggling to recognize their purpose. My goal is to empower teens and adults to discover their value, identify their passion, develop their imagination, increase their level of awareness, and live their lives fully. Although I enjoy working with individuals from a variety of backgrounds, I am particularly passionate about coaching women who are in transition due to a recent separation or divorce.
I enjoy reading, yoga, running and writing. I live Virginia with my two daughters.
BI: What would you say is the area in business that you are most passionate about and why?
SD: I am particularly passionate about helping mothers who are in transition due to a recent separation or divorce. This is a very challenging time for a mom, and it’s paramount she honor her role as a mother, to protect her children. Mothers are the core of the family. If she neglects her responsibilities by allowing insignificant things to cloud her vision and future path, she AND the children will suffer. If mom maintains her integrity, prioritizes quiet reflection time, and stays focused on the positives, she will become empowered. This is no easy task and usually requires the assistance of a coach.
BI: How are you different than your competitors?
SD: My experience as a teacher engendered a clearly defined commitment to educate, motivate, inspire, and empower others. My enthusiasm can be attributed to my students’ success. Because I continually embrace learning, I will always have more to give and more to teach.
BI: Please tell me about any recent business accomplishments that you are most proud of and why?
SD: Recently, I was asked to be one of the coaches at the 2016 Modern Femme Convention in Virginia Beach, VA. I am extremely proud to be associated with the co-founders of Modern Femme. Their vision is to provide a support network of working women and moms who empower one another. I am honored to work with any group of women dedicated to the empowerment of women, particularly moms. This will be an exceptional experience for all of us.
My role as a coach is to provide an opportunity for women to experience a coaching session-risk free. They’ll be in a safe, supportive, environment conducive to learning and growing. This is just another way in which we’re encouraging women to step outside of their comfort zone.
BI: What Leadership qualities in Leaders do you most admire and why?
SD: The leadership quality I most admire is integrity. Integrity truly defines character. A leader with integrity is one who can be trusted, respected, and followed. Their level of influence is limitless. When a leader possesses integrity, their words and actions inspire genuine change and real results. Within the word integrity AND the one with integrity lies GRIT. Grit is an essential leadership quality, as well, and certainly one I admire. True grit demonstrates the strength of character in a leader.
BI: What has been a key element of your success?
SD: The key element to my success is that I refuse to quit. I am determined to be successful, and when things don’t go as planned, I look at it as an opportunity for growth, a lesson to be learned, and I keep moving forward. I believe that if I focus on being mindful, living a life of integrity, and working in my passion and purpose, I will achieve success. I feel a responsibility to my daughters to model for them what I believe to be life truths. One of these truths is that if you are truly committed, self-aware, and exceeding expectations while following your dream, you will eventually achieve it, along with financial success.
BI: What are some of the business projects that you are currently working on that you are excited about and why?
SD: In addition to writing my next book, I am also working on a coaching program for mothers. I am creating a service dedicated to the empowerment of mothers in any stage of divorce. It would be available to moms at a time when they truly need direction and positive perspectives. Moms strive to maintain peace in the home while enduring the divorce process; however, this is quite challenging. The service revitalizes mothers and protects children from the possible trauma associated with divorcing families. What I intend to do with MotherHub is connect with moms in a way that will prevent them from engaging in a negative outlook on life and the self-perpetuating cycle that inevitably ensues from that type of thinking. I call the program MotherHub because a hub is defined as the core, center, heart, root, or soul, and I believe the mother IS the hub of the family.
