International Women's Day (March 8) is a global day celebrating women's achievements. In celebration, we want to shine the spotlight on some of the amazing women from Dot It Nation who have shared their diverse and inspiring thoughts by answering a few questions about themselves.

Keri Smith

Where were you born and raised?

East Texas, small town called Nacogdoches

What’s your current role?

President

What was your last job before working with Dot It?

Restaurant Manager

What are your hidden talents or hobbies?

I have no hidden talents, not even one! But I do have a lot of hobbies. Traveling is my favorite. My husband and I also have a goal to visit one new restaurant per month in the Dallas Fort Worth area.

Have you faced any barriers in your career due to being a woman? If so, how did you overcome them?

Yes, but what continues to stand out to me is when I introduce myself as the company President and it continues to surprise people. Women make up too few leadership positions, but there are a lot of us out here leading our organizations well.

How do you balance your career, personal life, and passions?

I love answering this question. There is so much pressure on a woman to “do it all”. However, we cannot do it all, all at the same time. We can travel the world, reach the top level of your organizations, be home to raise our babies, learn new hobbies, etc. We can do all those things; we just may not be able to do all those things at the same time. So, for me, balance is focusing on what is most important right now, knowing that some of what I want to do may come later in life. Today I balance being a present mom, wife and daughter while also having the privilege of leading my organization. 10 years from now, I hope I still have the privilege to lead my organization, but my daughter will be out of my house opening up more time for my hobbies like traveling.

Who was/is your role model and/or leadership mentor?

I have had a lot of mentors help me along the way. I also love Sheryl Sandberg and her book Lean In. I find myself listening closely to other female leaders and learning from what they learned in their careers.

What’s one leadership lesson you’ve learned in your career?  

I have found in my leadership of Dot It, that there is so much value in a diverse team. A diverse team brings different perspectives into important discussions and can impact real and meaningful change. I could not lead successfully with a group that just agrees with everything I say but at the same time, will respect my decision when it differs from their opinions.

What would be your advice for the next generation of female leaders?

You may not be able to change the culture of the company you work for, but you can choose to work for a company that values you. There are many companies that will value you and treat you equally. Don’t spend time investing your talent where it is not appreciated. Be sure to share your passion and career goals with your manager. I really believe one of the main reasons I am President of my company today is because my leaders knew my ambition. I volunteered for every project I could, I listened and learned everything even when it wasn’t directly related to the role I was in so I could make myself qualified one day for a larger role. And then I never backed off expressing my desire to advance my career.

Rebecca Poole

Can you please introduce yourself?

My name is Rebecca Poole. I have been with Dot It for 11 years in multiple different roles. 

Where were you born and raised?

I was born in Georgetown, Ontario, Canada but got to Texas as quickly as I could at the age of 3 and grew up in Irving.

What’s your current role?

Senior Operations Project and Compliance Manager

What was your last job before working with Dot It?

Man, this was so long ago, but worked as an assistant manager in a restaurant.

What are your hidden talents or hobbies?

My favorite hobby is playing or watching softball/baseball (or really any sport my children are playing). My involvement level now is more on the watching side of my children in their sporting activities but hope to someday get back to playing softball.

Have you faced any barriers in your career due to being a woman? If so, how did you overcome them?

I believe if you put your mind to something there is no barrier that you can’t conquer. I personally have never felt that there was a barrier in my way due to being a woman.

How do you balance your career, personal life, and passions?

I have always believed that work hours are for work and personal time is for family and your passions. I enjoy being in the office so there is a definite line between work and home life with the drive to and from, although I sometimes struggle with putting my phone down and not checking that last email or text message. I try to make sure that I am in attendance of my children’s extracurricular activities and school events, by adjusting my work hours to accommodate their schedules too.

Who was/is your role model and/or leadership mentor?

My current mentor is David Jones the Director of Operations at Dot It, whether he knows it or not, I look up to him in his leadership ways and have in such a short time learned more about who and what a leader is vs. a boss or a coach.

What’s one leadership lesson you’ve learned in your career?

You must engage with your team. Understanding that all employees have an opinion and want to be heard is very important. Making sure your team feels heard, supported, and empowered goes a long way with building a great team. Leading by example but understanding no two employees are exactly the same is key to success in building a stronger team. Each team member brings completely different strengths to the team and empowering them to use those strengths and weaknesses, only makes them stronger.

What would be your advice for the next generation of female leaders?

Stand up for what you believe in and know that you are capable of anything you put your mind to. As long as you face the challenge head-on and learn to say “No” you can be anything you want to be.

Melissa Chavez

Where were you born and raised?

Hobbs, New Mexico. Raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

What’s your current role?

Director of Sales and Customer Experience

What was your last job before working with Dot It?

National Accounts Sales Director for Coca-Cola

What are your hidden talents or hobbies?

Photography – I love taking photos and capturing memories

Have you faced any barriers in your career due to being a woman? If so, how did you overcome them?

I have often been one of few women on a leadership team. I found mentors who were able to support my development and guide me through challenges. Having an ear and advice helped me overcome obstacles and build my confidence in choosing what was right for my career and me – professionally and personally.

How do you balance your career, personal life, and passions?

I have developed an appreciation for life balance. Life balance for me means choosing to be where and when I’m needed be it work, home, or me-time. Having the flexibility to meet my work, home, and self-care needs is important to me. I will give heavily to one or the other depending on the situation/timing and in the end, I achieve life balance.

Who was/is your role model and/or leadership mentor?

My leadership mentors have been many. I never stop growing and I have found in every stage of my career, inspiring leaders around me that I learn from. Keri Smith, my supervisor, and our President is a role model as a hard-working, driven leader who will always put family first and encourages her team to do the same! Keith Mitchell from whom I learned a great deal from was my supervisor when I accepted my first leadership role many years ago. He was a model leader of people. Keith demonstrated an appreciation for differences that I adopted (not an acceptance or toleration but a real appreciation). Keith also helped me understand what I seek from a company and career and encouraged me to strive for greater – I received strong support and guidance from him, and I hope I have offered similar for those I’ve had the honor of leading.

What’s one leadership lesson you’ve learned in your career? 

Collaborate and listen – the best solutions come from diverse inputs and ideas. The very best comes from the front line.

What would be your advice for the next generation of female leaders?

Earn a seat at the table, have a voice, speak up for the change you know is possible, and have confidence in yourself and your decisions! Find a mentor and be one!

Adriane Arnold

Can you please introduce yourself?

My name is Adriane Arnold-Baumgardner. At work, I use Arnold because Baumgardner is hard to spell.  Everywhere else, I’m Adriane Baumgardner.

Where were you born and raised?

Longview, TX 

What’s your current role?

National Sales Manager

What was your last job before working with Dot It?

Sales Manager for a paper cup company but also worked at Dot-It previously.

What are your hidden talents or hobbies?

I’m really pretty boring – I like to hangout with my family and friends and watch other people’s hobbies like my kids swimming or playing golf.

Have you faced any barriers in your career due to being a woman? If so, how did you overcome them?

I’ve been very blessed to be a sales person in this industry and I get treated as an equal, I don’t believe there have been any barriers due to the fact that I’m a woman.

How do you balance your career, personal life, and passions?

I just sometimes have to shut it down for real around 5 – I know most people don’t and sometimes I’d like to not but my husband works out of town for 2 weeks on and 2 weeks off and my kids are babies and they need me when they’re home. I could die to tomorrow and be replaced at work within a couple of weeks. At home – I’m irreplaceable to my kids, therefore, I owe it to them and my family to be present, we are not promised tomorrow.

Who was/is your role model and/or leadership mentor?

I have two people here – My mother, who is a boss at work and a boss at home.  I never understood the capacity at which she operated until I was a mother with a full-time job also. The sacrifices she made for us while being the main breadwinner in our house for most of my life are almost unfathomable, and she did it, in silence, with a smile on her face and is still doing it today!  My second person is Melissa, I’ve never worked for a female before her and she not only inspires me, but empowers to be my best self at work.  She’s a great leader and I hope if I get the opportunity to be in a leadership position one day, that I will be half the leader she is. I still have so much to learn from her!  

What’s one leadership lesson you’ve learned in your career? 

Hmm, there are so many, I guess one of the main ones if I had to choose is that the customer is NOT always right, and you don’t have to be afraid of them or asking for what you need or want out of them.  I’ve learned in fact, oftentimes, people, in general,don’t expect to be right all the time and are more than willing to meet half way or to negotiate.  It’s just the communication part that can be tricky.

Tahlia Aranda

Can you please introduce yourself?

My name is Tahlia Aranda I am 22 years old. I was born here in the DFW area and have lived in Cedar hill and Arlington most of my life. Dot it is actually my first job, I started working here part-time at the age of 18 and since then I have managed to work my way up to my position now of kitting lead. My biggest hobby outside of work is playing music. I am a classical violinist and I play at the college I attend, playing my instrument is one of the ways I like to relax.

Have you faced any barriers in your career due to being a woman? If so, how did you overcome them?

I can’t say I have although sometimes I fear I may not be taken seriously due to how I look. I overcome those thoughts by learning as much as I can at my job so I can be a credible and reliable person to come to.

How do you balance your career, personal life, and passions?

It isn’t an easy task as I am a full-time employee and student trying to keep up a social life, however, I have set up a schedule for myself that works. It may have taken a few trials and errors, but if I’ve managed to keep a hold on it and am always looking at ways to optimize my time.

Who was/is your role model and/or leadership mentor?

I would say one of my role models would have to be my mom. She’s always managed to keep a full schedule but never compromised on her quality of work.

What’s one leadership lesson you’ve learned in your career?    

One big lesson I’ve learned that can sometimes be a hard pill to swallow is you can’t make everyone happy no matter how hard you try.

What would be your advice for the next generation of female leaders?

My advice for future female leaders is to always go for the things you want even if it may take some time.