HigherWomen.com is owned by Higher Women LLC, a Virginia company founded by President and CEO, Joan Bryna Michelson, who is an award-winning communications expert, journalist, public speaker and lifelong advocate for the advancement of women.
HigherWomen.com is an outgrowth of Joan’s frustration as a career woman, both in Corporate America and as an entrepreneur, and a natural extension of her efforts to raise the visibility of women in various industries, from financial services to the automotive sector, and across science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields.
HigherWomen is also an outgrowth of Joan’s dedication to helping women be the best they can be and achieve their dreams. She saw too many women stymied along their path by corporate leaders who do not understand or value women and the benefits of innovative thinking (even if they give it lip service). She saw too many women stymied by not being able to get to people they need to reach. And, she saw too many women stymied by their own insecurities (hence the coaching and training services HigherWomen offers), which often flow from years of being dismissed or devalued in the workplace.
Joan also met leaders – men and women – who genuinely want to hire more women but are frustrated by the resources it has taken to find talented women. Until now. She got tired of hearing “We can’t find talented women” and of hearing women say they “Feel invisible,” and decided to do something about it.