"If I were not a woman, I would not have had such intimate access photographing nuns. They gave me a ticket to enter their lives and document everything from death to deep prayer. They were comfortable with me because I am a woman. It was this project that launched my transition from photojournalism to fine art which has been a wonderful adventure where I am able to find my true voice, be appreciated and be heard." - Laura Husar Garcia is a fine art photographer who lives in Chicago.
Jennifer Vandermeer
"I was three years old, in the pew at church, and I told my Father I wanted to be a Catholic priest. He told me that I couldn't be a Catholic priest because that job was only for men. That experience sort of led me on a path to question and then gain access to places where women usually aren't. I am in the tech field, I often find myself in situations and at conferences where there aren't lines at the women's bathrooms and I wonder to myself why aren't there any women here?" Jennifer van der Meer is the founder and CEO of Reason Street, whose mission it is to help companies find the right business model.
Alice Droogan
"I was in a convent for fourteen years and that is something I couldn't have done if I weren't a woman." I met Alice just as the St. Patrick's Day Parade had ended and she was racing off to catch a train. "It was a great parade. I've been in the parade seven times but this was my first time as an aide to the Grand Marshall."