Dianthe Johnson

"I told myself if I didn't have a baby by the time I was 25, I wasn't gonna have one. I wanted to have a baby, raise her and still be able to be young and live my life. I raised my baby. I'm still young, I move around and I enjoy life." - Dianthe Johnson works in the construction field and is also a Lyft driver in New Orleans.

Omary Carreo

"Coming to this country ten years ago made my life. Being here opened up my mind to what it means to be a gay person.  When I got my NYC city card they asked me whether I wanted to register as a woman, a man, both or neither.  I said, "What? Wow! This is the country that I needed."  In my country, Columbia,  I couldn't come out as being a gay person.  Being here gave me the opportunity to create my business with my wife. The small business center in NYC helped us get through the legal parts of setting up our business and helped us with marketing." Omary Carreo is the c0-owner of Tangerine Cleaning Service.

Nicole Hockley

In honor of the fifth anniversary of the Sandy Hook shooting I am re-posting this EVE. In her eyes I saw the sadness of her loss. But I also saw the calm determination to work towards gun control reform.  Her son who was killed would be 11 this year.  "That protective instinct that comes from becoming a mother - you want to be your best for them. Feeling the movement of the babies inside you and knowing you are growing a person is overwhelming, humbling, exciting and scary. I have two boys, one is no longer living. He was murdered when he was six years old in the Sandy Hook School shooting." - Nicole Hockley is the Founder and Managing Director of Sandy Hook Promise.

Nina Silfverberg

"In my travels and in life in general, being a woman gives me an immediate passport into connectedness with other women.  Twenty years ago on a solo bike trip through the Northern Coast of Scotland, - at every hostel I met women who I could relate to right away.  It's like a Sisterhood. I know that sounds cheesy but really it is a gift we have especially during these times that we are living in. It's a safety net and on an intuitive level you can find a Sister whether you already know them or not - simply because you are a woman." - Nina Silfverberg lives in New Mexico and is a costume/set designer and an avid biker.

Diane

"About 40 years ago I worked for a construction company and I was the only woman working there.  I started doing door-to-door sales of roofing, siding and home repairs for them and I was doing really well. When the other salesmen found out about how well I was doing, I was no longer doing that job for the company. " - Diane and her husband have a seasonal business selling Christmas Trees in East Brunswick, NJ.

Ellen Hagler

"I have amazing kids. Being a woman and being able to have children is wonderful but it can also be confining. I couldn't continue with my career because my husband and I started our family. With my husband's career and schedule it would have been really difficult to maintain a house and a family if we were both working. It was a choice to stay home. I am a rather conventional person and I couldn't see myself taking to the streets. This was during the 60's it was a time of turmoil in this country.  It was the beginning of the women's movement. But I wasn't going to go out and burn my bra in protest. That just wasn't me." Ellen Hagler has two children and four grandchildren.  This is my mother and what better day to feature my mother to whom I am  grateful for so many things including the spread she cooked today. 

Laura Husar Garcia

"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.

Kate Winslow

“The work that I do now, and the life and profession that I’ve created with my husband is due in part to being a woman. My real love is home cooking and I’ve been able to explore it naturally and parley that love into my work partially because I am a woman and that is a real joy. Sometimes I do beat myself up b/c I felt I should be doing something grander. But at the end of the day I don’t think there is anything more important than feeding people or teaching people to feed themselves.” – Kate Winslow is a recipe developer and editor. To see her work visit kateandguy.com or @andweate.

Maya Valentine

"As a woman I understand beauty. I understand what beauty is outside of myself and inside of myself.  I was influenced in the past by societal standards and trying to fit that certain mold. But there's nothing more beautiful than knowing who you are. No matter what you are beautiful." - Maya Valentine is studying to become a journalist.

Martha Lopez

"Many women don't have the opportunity and privilege to live and work in the United States. I thank God that I am able to be here and help my family back in Guatemala. My life is blessed because I am a mother. I am working here so that my son has the opportunity to go to school so he can succeed and achieve his goals.  His father died while I was pregnant with him and I wanted him to have opportunities,  so I came here to the United States.  My son has lived with my parents, his grandparents since he was 5 years old. I haven't seen him since I left and I still think of him as my baby but he is 18. He is a young man now." - Martha Lopez lives in Los Angeles and is employed cleaning houses.

Bridgette Beal

""When I was 20 years old I joined a pen pal club - actual pen and ink letters.   The first letter I received was from my now husband. He's from England and we wrote back and forth to one another every day for 14 months. Then we met in person and we were married two months later and we have been married for 26.5 years.  We would never have spoken to one another because he is very introverted. I believe God brought us together. My husband is a very stable person and that allows for me to be myself and launch off of him because I know if I get too crazy he can pull me back down from my ankles." Bridgette Beal lives in Laguna Beach, CA.

Lauren Kearney

"When I was four years old I wanted to play soccer with my brothers but I was wearing a fancy pink dress.  My mother said I could play soccer with the boys, but I had to change clothes. I wanted to do both - I wanted to wear my dress while playing soccer. Instead I stayed in my dress and watched them play from the sidelines. Then, when I became a mother, I became the hero of my own story. Being a mother made me brave and not afraid of anything. I went from being an introvert to talking to strangers, talking to everyone and being an advocate for my daughter. If I hadn't had my daughter and told her bedtime stories I would never have written my book, Ellie Bixby and the Window to Darvlian Orpth"  Lauren Kearney is an author and mother living in Los Angeles.

Margy Elliott

“When I was looking for a new position, I wanted to work on a cause I believe in, I wanted to work with people who are driven, and I wanted to work really hard. I found my perfect fit working at AWS. I lead the We Power Tech campaign to amplify the voices of the currently underrepresented people working in tech, including people of color, LGBTQ, gender-diverse individuals, people with disabilities, and other communities.” –Margy Elliott, Marketing Manager, Amazon Web Services

Sali Christeson

“Clothing is an important workplace issue because people judge you by what you wear, whether you like it or not. Your appearance directly impacts your salary and your earnings potential. We make clothing that is both attractive and functional, so women will feel confident when they walk into that big meeting.” --Sali Christeson, co-founder and CEO, @Argent.\ #wepowertech #amazonwebservices

Sandy Carter

“I love innovation and Amazon is probably the most innovative company in the world. I wanted to be part of the customer obsession that AWS has. I wanted to know how Amazon keeps having hit after hit. If I were giving advice to a young woman, I would tell her to pursue her dreams by experimenting. I would tell her to know a bit about tech because tech is everywhere. And I would tell her that success doesn’t move top to bottom, it goes sideways and zigzags.” –Sandy Carter, Vice President, Amazon Web Services #wepowertech #amazonwebservices

Aaron Levie

Big News: @Amazon Web Services collaborated with Me&EVE at the Girls in Tech conference this year. For the rest of the week I will be sharing what we produced. Thank you again Amazon Web Services for helping me give women an opportunity to be seen and heard. Yes, I realize Aaron is not a woman. On occasion here at me&EVE we feature men who are supporting women to be seen and heard and that is exactly what Aaron Levie is doing at Box.

“At Box, we use AWS in a variety of ways and we think of AWS as a force multiplier. My best advice is to surround yourself with great people that you like spending time with. Be clear on your principles, both professionally and personally, and use them to navigate your decisions.” --Aaron Levie, co-founder and CEO, Box

Matt White

Big News: @Amazon Web Services collaborated with Me&EVE at the Girls in Tech conference this year. For the rest of the week I will be sharing what we produced. Thank you again Amazon Web Services for helping me give women an opportunity to be seen and heard. Yes, I realize Matt is not a woman. On occasion here at me&EVE we feature men who are supporting women to be seen and heard and that is exactly what Matt White is doing at Amazon Web Services.

“The people who have predominantly shaped my career have been women. Amazon Web Services has some really great female leaders and I am a product of that. Our culture is set up to harvest ideas from the ground up. Where is the next big idea coming from? AWS is not a tops-down setup and our goal is to foster an environment of diverse thought and diverse background.” –Matt White, Senior Human Resources Leader, Amazon Web Services