Meet Joanna.

I’ve always known that my life’s work would somehow be connected to facilitating discovery in others. What I didn’t know was how that concept (it’s a big one!) would translate into a career.

After college, I was on a marketing career track. I moved from Washington D.C. to NYC and, a year-and-a-half later, got what felt like a huge career break—I landed a marketing job at Redken, a L’Oreal brand. I felt so proud of myself. L’Oreal! A worldwide company and household name with a lot of prestige. I felt as though I was starting my adult career.

And then in 2007, my mom passed away very suddenly. In the few months after that, I had a “come-to-Jesus” revelation about what I really wanted out of my life. And let me tell you, I was not so passionate about marketing hair products. Frankly, I felt like my work was stifling my creativity. And it wasn’t at all connected to what I had thought my purpose would be.

During this eureka moment, I decided that I would apply to graduate school. I wanted to study some form of psychology—it was clear to me that people, not products, ignited my enthusiasm. As I looked back on the marketing jobs I’d had—two jobs at small companies, and then my job at Redken—I was always running the welcome wagon. People would come to me with questions ranging from “Where’s the bathroom?” to “Who should I talk to about this?” to “Is so-and-so in a bad mood today?” While I didn’t love marketing hair products, I loved talking to people and using my intuitive, empath side to help them navigate workplace dynamics.

That’s why I decided to go to grad school for social-organziational psychology. I busted my ass to study for the GREs, applied to two graduate schools in NYC, and went to the one that gave me a scholarship. And what do you know—the focus of my program was targeted to the exact things I was passionate about. My hope of what my career might be wasn’t just a concept anymore—I could actually see a way forward with it.

After I graduated from Columbia with my master’s degree, I started working in the field of leadership development. I loved how applicable the principles were. When employees of a company took what they learned in trainings and seminars and put them in action in the workplace, you could SEE the results.They became more authentic and effective leaders.

That was really amazing to witness. I’ll be honest—especially when I was just starting out in this field, it showed me that what I was doing was meaningful and important. Of course, I knew that in theory, but it’s always incredible to see it in practice. To see the moment it happens—when someone shifts how they present themselves, and it shifts how people see them.

At a certain point in my career, I moved from teaching about leadership in the workplace to leading my own teams. I learned...a TON. Especially when it came to remote teams. These days, participating in a remote meeting is basically second nature. In 2014, it was a totally different animal. And I wasn’t just participating in those meetings—I was leading them.

Seemingly overnight, I had teams of 25 people, 50 people, 75 people. Eek! I had to figure out how to be a good leader through my screen—nobody taught me that. My understanding of leadership development and organizational psychology came up big time here. I knew that looking put together, communicating with my team, and being thoughtful in how I spoke and acted was key.

But, let’s be real—it was NOT easy. When I meet women who want to be better leaders for remote teams, my heart skips a beat—I find such purpose in helping them learn to do this.

My decision to launch Copper + Rise wasn’t only informed by my professional life. Parallel to my career journey is my weight loss journey. I gained a lot of weight when my mom passed away. Then I lost a lot of weight. Through the weight fluctuations, I dealt with a kind of body dysmorphia—I had no idea how large or small my body really was.

To not even truly see myself when I looked in the mirror was incredibly unsettling. Especially in the wake of such an intense loss. I desperately needed something to hold on to.

I did eventually find my thing to hold onto. It was style. Fashion—something I had always loved—helped me figure out my identity again. Wherever I hear people say that caring about fashion is “unimportant,” this is what I wish they knew—that style can be life-changing.

After many years of loving fashion, and frankly, appreciating how much it had helped me through such a challenging time of my life, it became obvious to me: style was a part of my purpose too. (It probably had been all along, and I give my mom and grandmother a whole lot of credit for pushing me to this realization...they both had their own interior design businesses, which is one reason I was encouraged to start a business that brings me joy. That’s a whole other story, though!)

I founded Copper + Rise as a style coaching firm, with the intention of helping women create wardrobes that made them feel confident every single day. I soon found, though, that my conversations with clients went way beyond style. We talked about their jobs, their goals, their challenges at work, the ways their boss did or didn’t listen to them. We talked about it all.

I think that’s because of who I am and what I believe. Clothes were never something I loved for superficial reasons. It was always about identity and presence. There was never any way NOT to talk with clients about their career goals. It was Copper + Rise as it was always meant to be.

It’s taken me a long time and many twists and turns to get here...but I finally feel like this is the exact way all of my passions and areas of expertise can and should come together.

It’s always been a bit of a patchwork quilt. But now, the puzzle pieces actually fit. It was probably there all along—but some things, you just have to grow into.