power: byashvanloo x fenske foto

an art + portrait series benefiting girls empowerment network

in honor of international women's day 2021 & women's history month, ashley + i teamed up to highlight women in our community and celebrate what makes them uniquely powerful. these stories were beautiful, fun & invigorating, and we've decided to share them all below and on our instagrams. please enjoy!

consider reaching out to a powerful female in your life and celebrate what makes her uniquely powerful! if you're moved, please feel free to donate @ girls empowerment network to add to our $1135 donation!

by the way, byashvanloo is absolutely amazing. watching her bring these portraits to life was such a treat. check out more of her work here - byashvanloo website.

o p e n | christine

to kick off our series, we start with christine. one word to describe herself: open. in meeting with her, you feel this instantly. christine's super power is that she radiates energy. she identifies as a highly sensitive person (HSP), meaning she feels emotions & experiences very deeply. in doing so, she can relate to anyone about anything. 

a couple of years ago, she picked up and moved from seattle to texas with her husband, and she's been open to quite a transformative couple of years away from her family. her journey includes taking charge of her finances head-on, changing jobs to leave a career she truly loved for a better opportunity, buying a home & transforming it into a rental property (made possible with an entirely female team 💪🏼).

she's most vulnerable when she is working on self-trust. to go inward and trust yourself can take real courage. 

p o s i t i v i t y | jenn

one word to describe herself: positive. we’ve known her collectively for well over a decade and there isn’t a more perfect word for her. her superpower is empathy. she’s able to quickly build relationships with those who have varying perspectives and truly takes the time to understand each individual. generous is an understatement, especially for those who know her well!

she’s most proud of herself when she overcomes her “imposter syndrome”, particularly in her career. she took a leap of faith with her first job, which required her to travel nearly 100% of the time. that job created change and growth within herself, and ultimately gave her courage to again challenge herself when a new and unfamiliar opportunity arose back in austin. since taking that job two years ago, she’s held three different roles, and never thought she’d hold the position she does now (which she loves & crushes!).

on top of all of that, she’s an extremely loyal & supportive friend, & an extremely inspiring boss babe!

r e f i n i n g | raven

raven was an intern at the company where i work, and when i met her, i was immediately blown away by her presence. she is smart, kind, beautiful & easy-going.

her superpower is naturally standing out, leading a group, and never being afraid to advocate for what she believes in. she's outspoken & extroverted, but is calming & a great listener when she needs to be.⠀

she loves that she is constantly growing & refining herself. part of that journey is wrapping up her final semester at huston-tillotson university and is in the midst of applying to film programs for graduate school. she's super passionate about story-telling, especially her own, and we can't wait to see what amazing things she is sure to accomplish in the future.

i n c l u s i v e • gigi | d e d i c a t e d • mary

to mary, family is always first. so when we reached out to her about this project, she asked if her mother, gigi, could join. of course, we couldn't think of anything better than celebrating this gorgeous duo & showcasing the multiplier effect of strong women!

gigi is an amazing mother to mary & her brother. her superpower is supporting & encouraging others in all walks of life. she is inclusive & welcoming to all of the important people in mary's life and we witnessed that first hand. 

another way she demonstrates her superpower is through her work as a court-appointed & trained casa advocate. she has supported 3 families over 4 years, advocating for children's well-being in an overburdened child welfare system in court, at school, & doctor's appointments. she was awarded advocate of the month last july! congrats gigi!

the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. since mary is the recipient of so much love & support, she's empowered to channel her own super power: generosity & support for her friends & family. plus, she can throw one hell of a party! 

mary is a dedicated, hard working engineering leader, who also invests ~20 hours a month as a casa advocate, following in her mom's footsteps. she organizes a social calendar flawlessly & is always looking for ways to spend time with her loved ones. you always feel taken care of around mary, and it's not hard to see why!

e m p a t h y | lauren 

upon first meeting lauren, she is striking in so many ways - truly beautiful inside & out. she is a full time ICU nurse, which leads us to her superpower: empathy. lauren will always try to put herself in someone else's shoes and consider how things affect them as well as herself. 

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she’s most proud of becoming a mother. she receives so much joy from watching her daughter, zoe, learn and grow each day - as if nothing else in the world matters! because she describes herself as a “people pleaser”, she feels most vulnerable when her actions are questioned. 

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on top of all of that, lauren runs a chic, bohemian airbnb @atxbohobungalowthat was renovated & designed by the bachelorette’s own jojo fletcher & jordan rodgers! check it out!

c u r i o u s | andrea⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

andrea was the first woman we photographed for this project & we were so thrilled to have her. one word to describe herself: curious.

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andrea is brave, resilient & strong. her superpower is reinvention. she is not afraid to start over or from scratch. she demonstrated this while both building her business as a realtor & raising her baby girl, lucia, amidst the pandemic.

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she is not afraid to take a risk and recently she switched realty companies to continuing growing her business. it's paid off! andrea is on track to sell over 100 homes this year - an all-time career high!

g r i t | daniela

daniela + i sat next to each other on the very first day of our professional careers over a decade ago. it was instantly clear that daniela possessed grit, grace & a desire for excellence.

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her superpower is being personable & really getting to know people so that it feels as if you've always known her. she feels most vulnerable when she feels like she is playing catch up to 'earn her stripes', which then becomes her driving force. 

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daniela's story is also one of profound loss. at 30 weeks, she experienced an earth-shattering loss of her first baby. because of the timing, she was forced to both grieve for & heal from this loss very publicly. she felt lost, completely unsure how to process her emotions and how to carry on. she picked herself up, piece by piece, and simply tried to survive.

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she's come out on the other side stronger, with the ability to now bring her whole self to the spaces she occupies, advocating for women in the workplace everywhere. her healing journey is healing for us all & it was an honor to witness it. daniela lives in dallas with her amazing husband & two miracle babies, joe + evelyn.