PODCAST

Celebrating Mentoring Excellence (WeMentor Podcast | October 2021)

When Dr. Lois Zachary founded Leadership Development Services, LLC and its Center for Mentoring Excellence, her daughter, Lisa Fain, was in high school. Women entrepreneurship was on the rise, “according to the 1988 State of Small Business Report, the number of sole proprietorships owned by women increased 62 percent between 1980 and 1986.  Now, “women entrepreneurs make up 47% of the new entrepreneurs in the United States. 

Lisa says that growing up in a 1980s entrepreneurial home gave her a sense of purpose, place, and accountability. It reinforced an understanding that Lisa could contribute to the world, shape her work, and be independent. This independent thinking started in her formative years when Lisa and her brother were encouraged to make plans and prepare their own meals.

As Dr. Zachary built her educational consultancy and Ed expanded his legal firm in Syracuse, New York, they still managed to be present and engaged parents. Role modeling the benefits of doing fulfilling work fueled Lisa’s entrepreneurial spirit that sprouted in her 30s and 40s. You will hear how she took her diverse interests of political science, sociology, and economics with a social justice bend into acquiring an interdisciplinary degree from Northwestern University in Chicago. Two important courses taught by a cherished mentor helped Lisa understand ways to repair the world. Eventually, she became a lawyer, mediator, coach, and CEO at the Center for Mentoring Excellence.