March is Women’s History Month – a time to celebrate and recognize the historical achievements of women around the world.
In honor of Women’s History Month, we asked our female leaders at WB to tell us about their roles, what motivates and inspires them, and advice they would give to other women.
Get to know some of the incredible women who contribute to our overall success.
Jessica Olson
Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing
What’s your role at WB?
As the Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, I ensure our front-end operations team interacts positively with our customers. I also support the sales team by making sure we meet our customers’ expectations and grow strategic accounts.
What motivates you as a leader?
I’m motivated by watching others grow and take on leadership roles. Coaching and developing people has always been a passion of mine. The most rewarding part of being in a leadership role is helping people take on challenges and succeed.
Who is a woman that inspires you?
My mother is the most inspirational woman I’ve known. She was a mother of five doing daycare full time and going to college at the same time. She showed me that hard work and dedication will pay off. She also taught me that family, love and faith will help you get through any challenge.
What advice would you share with other women?
My advice to other women is that we are powerful in many ways. Challenge yourself daily and strive for excellence. Believe in yourself and understand how great you are. If we set our minds to things, we can accomplish anything. If your dreams aren’t scary, they’re not big enough!
How do you balance your career and personal life?
I balance my career and personal life by making sure the roles I take on in both are obtainable. There are times it’s difficult to manage both but through communication and honesty with all parties, it works. My family knows how important my career is and my boss knows how important my family is; when that’s respected it’s easy.
Stacy Haas
Product Supervisor II
What’s your role at WB?
I’m the first shift supervisor on the flat panel finishing side. I manage day-to-day operations in finishing, making sure product is completed on time and meets customers’ expectations.
What motivates you as a leader?
I am motivated by the individuals I get to work with daily. I like to work with teams and other managers in achieving deadlines and goals. It makes me feel proud of my team and gives me a sense of accomplishment on a completed job!
Who is a woman that inspires you?
My grandmother. She worked hard throughout her career and raising her family.
What advice would you share with other women?
Find your voice. Empower others and it will naturally empower you. Through trust and respect, help yourself and others become motivated in accomplishing goals.
How do you balance your career and personal life?
Here’s what I learned from my previous job: the everyday problems strained my relationships at home along with my health because I took work home with me. When you leave work for the day, go home and find time to unwind and relax. Enjoy time with family and friends, or find a hobby you enjoy. Don’t dwell on the things that went wrong today because tomorrow is a new day.
Teri Lewallen
Customer Service Manager
What’s your role at WB?
I’m currently the Customer Service Manager at WB. My role is to support and guide my team of Account Managers, Estimators, Order Entry Personnel, Routers, and Freight Coordinators.
What motivates you as a leader?
Seeing our success in the results we’ve gotten and how much we’ve grown over the years makes my job more worth it.
Who is a woman that inspires you?
My mom inspires me. She’s always been a go-getter and someone I can emulate. She set an example for me at an early age and no matter what, she perseveres.
What advice would you share with other women?
Be yourself and don’t let anyone try to change you. If you want to change, make sure it’s for you and for the right reasons.
How do you balance your career and personal life?
I really try to separate my workspace and my personal life. When I’m at work, that is my highest priority and I focus on the tasks at hand. When I’m done with work, I leave my work at the office so when I’m at home with my family, they get all of my attention.
Peggy Fifer
Production Supervisor I
What’s your role at WB?
I’m the supervisor of the Armor Edge™ department. I manage employees – including staffing and placement in areas, managing time off and taking disciplinary action when needed. I also track orders to make sure they are staged and completed on time while keeping everyone on task and reacting to problems as they arise. I rotate my employees so they develop all the skills necessary to keep products moving through efficiently as possible and strengthen them as a team. It is my responsibility to ensure that my employees follow practices that help create a clean, safe, and healthy work environment.
What motivates you as a leader?
I’m motivated by seeing my employees succeed.
Who is a woman that inspires you?
My mom inspires me. While my sisters and I were growing up, my dad worked out of town during the week. My mom took care of everything at home, including keeping us busy. Through our daily chores, we learned responsibility, diligence, timeliness, and respect, among other things. This work ethic has carried over into adulthood and the workplace.
What advice would you share with other women?
Knowledge is power. A skill that may seem insignificant at one time may be something you draw upon when you least expect it.
How do you balance your career and personal life?
I’ve never given it much thought. I try to gather the good from each day!
Jenny Burkhardt
Director of Marketing
What’s your role at WB?
My role at WB is to guide and grow our marketing team. We collaborate with the other departments to be sure we align with the visions being created by our sales and design teams.
What motivates you as a leader?
Growing strong relationships with each person on my team through the good and bad times. I love the work-family we have become, the value of our support that is shared both ways, and the growth of each one on the team.
Who is a woman that inspires you?
My mother and her determination inspire me because she worked her tail off to get where she is. Watching her taught me what an amazing work ethic looks like and showed me that drive is needed to succeed in this thing we call life. She has shown me that it’s important to stand behind what was right even when it wasn’t popular. There will always be someone to challenge you, but with determination, you can rise up to the challenge and succeed.
What advice would you share with other women?
Be genuine! Do not change who you are and stay determined.
How do you balance your career and personal life?
This is a tricky question … There have been times of trial at different points in my career and I’ve struggled to find balance. Over time, I have come to realize how much of a difference it makes to have good balance because if you don’t, it throws everything off. Everyone must find their own balance because what works for me might not work for the next person. Every family is unique and life changes constantly, so by trying to be more efficient in every aspect of life, I can utilize my time more wisely. I have also learned that you need to let some things go, it’s okay to ask for help and teach your family how to work together.
Megan Robinson
Director of HR
What’s your role at WB?
As the Director of HR, I oversee the administration of various employee and company-related programs such as recruitment, compensation, benefits, employee relations, and much more. I also have a great team that helps support all these programs.
What motivates you as a leader?
I am motivated by seeing team members grow and feel confident. I enjoy empowering them to try new things and learn from their mistakes. I’m also motivated by seeing individuals accomplish new tasks and take pride in their work.
Who is a woman that inspires you?
My sister-in-law is someone that inspires me. As a woman in her 40s, a full-time elementary school principal with a husband and two teenagers, she is on her second bout with cancer. She receives treatments every week, but rarely misses work or family functions, NEVER complains, and is always smiling. Despite all she has going on she is still a wonderful wife, mother, and friend who is always available when needed. You would never know what she is going through when you meet her. Her courage, strength, optimism, and fight are so inspirational to me. I try to mirror her each day of my life.
What advice would you share with other women?
Be confident and true to yourself. Demonstrating that you are genuine, human, willing to work hard, and learn will earn respect. Be an active and empathic listener.
How do you balance your career and personal life?
This has been a bit challenging for me over my career, but I am learning to set boundaries and honor those boundaries. Staying organized has also helped.
Lore Nowobielski
Senior Sales Support Coordinator
What’s your role at WB?
My role is to provide our sales team with all the resources and assistance they need to simplify their job and be successful out in the field.
What motivates you as a leader?
I love being independent and helping my team reach their full potential.
Who is a woman that inspires you?
Michelle Obama inspires me. She was always out in the public trying to help in any way possible.
What advice would you share with other women?
You need to believe in yourself. You are your best advocate.
How do you balance your career and personal life?
It is important to me to keep my professional and personal lives separate. I give 110% when I am working. After I leave work, I try to devote 110% of my time to my personal life.
Missy Spaeth
Furniture Estimating Trainer
What’s your role at WB?
I’m the Furniture Estimating Manager/Trainer! Over the last six years at WB, I’ve also worked in the sales admin area and bill of materials. In my current role, I review RFQs (Request for Quote) for furniture requests and assign them to the team, keeping in mind their workload and expertise levels. I do my best to make sure all estimators have the most recent product and pricing updates as things are always changing. We collaborate with many different departments to get designs and drawings, outside vendor pricing, and verify PO and quote discrepancies.
What motivates you as a leader?
What motivates me is seeing the big picture and how all of us play a part in it. I enjoy working with everyone as a team, both large and small, and want to make sure that everyone knows that they have a part in the success of WB.
Who is a woman that inspires you?
I don’t have an example of one woman specifically that I look up to, but all women who are balancing work and family and doing the best they can to juggle everything successfully inspire me.
What advice would you share with other women?
The best advice I can give other women is not to be afraid to share their opinions or suggestions. Even if it seems trivial, it may lead to other ideas or solutions. Be confident!
How do you balance your career and personal life?
Balancing work and personal life is a team effort. Everyone needs to be responsible for doing their share. A home can’t run efficiently when it’s only one person doing everything (meals, cleaning, running kids to sports, etc.) and neither can a business. When it’s running smoothly, there’s less stress and more time to concentrate on the more meaningful things.