What exactly is a Morphmom?
That is the question Kathleen Butler Smith, founder of Morphmom, will answer. To give a hint, it's about a re-invention, a new beginning starting later in life. Or, perhaps, a substantial change in career earlier in life.
Kathleen, a former prosecutor in one of the busiest counties in New Jersey and possibly the US, now runs the company Morphmom. Morphmom is a website, events where women (and men) can learn about how to change their career paths in life, and also a popular podcast in NYC, interviewing some of the most prominent women in the New York metropolitan area.
Next Event:
On October 22nd, she is hosting a Morphmom Event in the NYC suburb of Ridgewood NJ. It is a day long event featuring speakers and inspiration. The best part is that attendees have the opportunity to have personal conversations with any of the participants. For info and to register visit: www. Morphmom.com
Q: How
did you come up with that name? What does it mean to you?
Kathleen Smith: I liked alliteration and it perfectly
captured the idea behind it.
That
is, working women who took time off to raise children and were able to
transition to their next step.
Q: Tell
me your story, You were in a different profession, an attorney. What inspired
you to start something different?
Kathleen
Smith: I was an Assistant Prosecutor in Hudson County for many years, stopped to
raise my three children and was never able to return. I had a very difficult
time trying to figure out my next step, and rather than reinvent the wheel- I
decided to document women's stories and to connect them with those in similar
situations. I began with a website- http://morphmom.com - where I have over
600 interviews from around the country. After meeting all of these women, I
realized there was an incredibly strong need to build this support based
community so I began to host cocktail parties around the country to these
connect women as well.
Q: Tell
me about Morphmom Radio.
Kathleen
Smith: It is a live international weekly broadcast that reaches 100,000
listeners in 45 countries. I am the host and we feature both men and women and
their inspiring stories of success and change.
Among
our notable guests:
Here
is a short sample of some morphmoms from both the website and the radio
show:
Arianna Huffington
Kara Ross
Kelly Corrigan
Chrishaunda Lee Perez (Oprah's niece)
Dorinda Medley (Real Housewife of New York)
Nancy Armstrong (MAKERS- producer)
Lucy Danziger
Joan Barnes
Francine
LeFrak
Donnica
Moore
Pamela
Redmond Satran
Ann
Shoket
Jude
Connally
Jane
Sarkin
Movie Producer Suzanne
Curry
Movie Director Caytha Jentis
Emmy-award winning Director Sonia Blangiardo
You can find all the interviews on our website or podcasts on Itunes.
Q: Women
have a long history of working in this country. First in the fields, then
factories, then offices. We are now in a new generation in which women working
is the norm, and now women are also wanting more. So to me this is a new
phenomenon, wanting a change especially at an older age. What is giving women
the courage to shift - or morph?
Kathleen
Smith: 50 is the new 30…we are not ready to retire and our motivation and
courage comes from so many women who have already reinvented themselves
-“Morphmoms"
Q: Can
you tell me some of the most interesting "morphs" you have come
across?
I want to
briefly mention a few women from across the country that represent the
varied stories and experiences that I try to represent..
Isabelle
Holocaust
survivor at the age of 5 - Author at the age of 75
From one of the wealthiest families on Poland, yet when the war started
they lost everything and were sent to a ghetto. The 14 year- old daughter of a
Catholic family that worked for them snuck Isabelle out of the ghetto in the
middle of the night and she spent years hidden in their attic until
reunited with her mother at the end of the war. Her father and most of her
family were killed in Aushwitz. Sixty years later she was reunited with
Meva- the 14 year old that saved her. She kept her story a secret until the age
of 75- when she decided to write a book for her grandchildren.
After publishing the book she was also reunited with a cousin she had
believed was killed as a child.
Lisa
Lost
her son- Founder of Liam’s Room
Liam
passed away at an early age to a terrible disease. He had an older
and twin brother. Following his death Lisa realized that not only had they
lost a child but years as a family as well. Lisa created a non-profit
Liam's Room devoted to creating comforting environments for terminally ill kids
and their families- a hospital room that resembles more of a bedroom where
families spend many long days and nights with real beds, closets, armoires and
beautiful bathrooms.
Wendy
Founder
of Mixed Chicks
Wendy
was a gym teacher with wild, curly and unruly hair who created her own home remedy for humidity. Her friends began to
ask for the mix and Wendy decided to research and find a way to create,
bottle, manufacture and produce this concoction. Wendy is now head of a multi-million
dollar hair product company- mixed chicks -now on the shelves at every Target
in US and Canada.
Lisanne
Award winning
Writer/Director - Six Letter Word
Lisanne’s son struggled
terribly with autism and the state of California stopped providing desperately
needed services. She fought the state to no avail until she decided to quit her
job as a tv writer and document his condition. She brought this “documentary”
to the state and immediately was granted services. She could not go back to TV
after that experience and wrote/produced directed a film short based loosely on
her experience as a mother of a child with autism. Rumor Willis found out about
the project and took the leading role. “The 6 Letter Word" - was
invited to film festivals around the world and became
an award winning short!
an award winning short!
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| Kathleen Butler Smith with Ann Shoket, former Seventeen Magazne editor and Author The Big Life |
Maria
Super Cleaning Woman
Maria came to the United States
from Portugal at 18 with her husband with only a 4th grade education and could
not speak English. She decided to start a cleaning service out of
desperation to raise her four girl- What moved me most about Maria was the fact
that she almost did not do the interview as she felt she was not worthy to
share her story. I believe to this day her story is one of the most
inspirational stories I was able to document. She was almost embarrassed
at the beginning and would not look at the camera but by the end of the
interview she had grown 6 inches and was sharing her success and 401 K and the
need to pay taxes and always- always make sure your work is respected.
Sue
Star of the National Geographic
show Life Below Zero
Abandoned by her father and mother and husband she escaped to
Alaska at a young age. She enjoyed solitude and landed at a camp on one of
the most northern locations in Alaska. She lives alone for most of the
year-other than 3 months when campers come to fish and hunt. She runs the
camp, hunts for food and her stories are incredible- including her bear attack
where she literally had to crawl away and sew herself back together before
going back out to hunt the bear.
Nancy
Naval Captain
Nancy is the mother of 6
kids- and been deployed numerous times. On one of her last deployments - she
realized upon coming home the men who had lost their lives in service were
recognized. However the 160 women killed on duty were almost forgotten.
She decided to run a mile for each life lost over a week and turned this into a
non-profit called the Valor Run which is now held all over the country.
Q: What
seems to be common characteristics of women who can be successful across many
avenues?
Kathleen
Smith: Courage, support and supportive of other women, and not afraid to fail.
Q: What
will women learn about at your events? How are they set up?
Kathleen
Smith: They will learn how other women have overcome obstacles, garnered
support, overcome failure and actual steps they took to get to where they are
today.
The
events are facilitated panels with a networking lunch.
They will learn how to go after your passion and make
it happen. How to bring an idea to fruition. How to become involved with new
and different volunteer opportunities - not everyone wants to be an
entrepreneur.
Q: Now
a personal question. If you were not doing what you are doing now, what else
have you dreamed of doing?
Kathleen
Smith: Broadway actress- specifically - Annie! ( I made the traveling
role when I was young on the national tour but my mother declined as
one parent would have had to go—and I had 3 sisters)
Q: The
lack of female role models on tv is still lacking, though better than back in
the day when there was only Mary Tyler Moore and That Girl! Can you tell
me some of your favorite movies or shows that are inspiring to women or that
you think show women
in a positive light?
Kathleen
Smith: Meryl Streep, Katherine Hepburn, Julia-Louis Drefus.
Tina Fey, Beyonce
Twitter- @morphmom1
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