"I was three years old, in the pew at church, and I told my Father I wanted to be a Catholic priest. He told me that I couldn't be a Catholic priest because that job was only for men. That experience sort of led me on a path to question and then gain access to places where women usually aren't. I am in the tech field, I often find myself in situations and at conferences where there aren't lines at the women's bathrooms and I wonder to myself why aren't there any women here?" Jennifer van der Meer is the founder and CEO of Reason Street, whose mission it is to help companies find the right business model.
Monica
"When I was 7 and 8 years old and living in the Dominican Republic, I was sexually and psychologically abused by a family friend. I didn't tell anyone about it until I was an adult when I confided in a Nun at my church. She helped me and counseled me and eventually I did tell my mother. Now I can talk about the abuse without crying but I still feel an empty space inside of me. I have two children and I am very protective of them, especially my 18 year old daughter." Monica works as a Custodian.