WEDO is Empowering Women Entrepreneurs at United Nations, New York

With ten books, three Guinness World Records, and notable media features, Wendy’s work reaches far. She speaks at prestigious events and serves on influential boards, like  Girls Club Capital, Global Women in Blockchain, and the Humane Society of New York. Her mission centers on creating change from the ground up and empowering women globally. She focuses on substance over status and systemic change. She believes in recognizing impactful women and uniting people for positive change.     I interviewed Wendy just a few weeks before the big day, the 10th Anniversary of the Women Entrepreneurship Day Organization. Wendy discussed how the past ten years have been an incredible business school for her. Learning, inspiring and empowering, also for her. There is so much work still to be done in terms of equality, but instead of focusing on the problems, Wendy has been focusing on life experiences and her passion for helping others. Fame, money, and power have never been the goal, instead, the goal has been to change the system from the ground up. We approach the 10-year celebration of WEDO at the United Nations on November 17th, the stage is set for honoring and recognizing the most important women in the world, some of whom are often unheard of. At the same time when Wendy is spearheading the event at the United Nations, national events are happening around the world, also here in Finland. Reflecting on the past 10 years, Wendy still says, it doesn’t feel “big” in the traditional sense. What has always mattered is helping those in need. I asked Wendy about some of the most surreal memories from her path.

Our team in Central America invited me to Mexico with the regional leaders of South and Central America. We were at a retreat in a nice hotel, and then we got invited to visit the state capital.  The retreat hotel did not have good coffee and I saw an espresso bar at the state capital, so I went to get a coffee and then we were running a bit late.  And the next I know, I was in the city hall with the president of the state of Mexico, all the councilmen, and there was a full orchestra playing music.   They officially declared the National Day of Women’s Entrepreneurship in Mexico and it was this big official event. Nobody had told me, it was a big surprise for me. It was a surprise for sure, and I kept thinking I probably would have skipped the coffee and worn something different.  But then the impact really hit me and I said to myself “Look what kind of an impact they did with our tool kit.” Wendy Diamond

  The WEDO ambassador of Finland, Anna Kuusela is organizing a virtual afternoon of disruption on Thursday, Nov 16th. The fun, insightful, and transformative 3-hour-long event gives you inspiration for disruption, and you’ll also get to hop on the stage yourself and connect with others. Speakers include Riina Laaksonen, the founder of Nordic Fit Mama, Tarja Stephens, co-founder of MIA, and I (Katja Presnal) will join Anna Pyykkö, and we will share more about Crush Movement. Read more and sign up for this annual gathering – we female entrepreneurs are more powerful when we come together, so come join and make your WEDO mark on Nov 16th.

Meet Anna Kuusela, WEDO Ambassador of Finland

Anna Kuusela serves as the Finnish ambassador for the international women’s entrepreneur organization WEDO. Anna is an international business professional and a visionary in developing awareness and actions for high-performing leaders. Anna has a background as a ballet dancer and a Big4 consultant, who after working around the world with fashion and luxury companies from London, realized that there must be another way to do business and became interested in utilizing people’s deepest potential. Today, Anna, a certified executive coach, helps business pioneers, especially on the big journeys of growth and development.   

I see the benefits of having local and global networks, and I’m excited to be a WEDO ambassador of Finland and to build a bridge between the local and global networks. I believe that we have so much to give here in Finland and we know so well so many things, but we don’t always know how to communicate it well. I hope that with my involvement, I hope women entrepreneurs of Finland can get a well-meaning kick in the butt to go for it! Anna Kuusela