Woman Crush Wednesday.

We love to celebrate female movers and shakers who are successful locally, nationally, internationally, and most importantly, personally.

This week, we are so excited to highlight Donielle Buie, founder of WifeMotherLeader, a program which provides practical advice, coaching and systems to help women build successful careers while they build their families.

We asked her to share with us her story and her thoughts on success.

How did you get to where you are today?

After graduating from college, I worked in a non-profit teaching entrepreneurship to at-risk high school students in Oakland. I knew that I wanted business experience and after a year, I started working in market research in the Pharma / Biotech space.

I spent 7 years at a great company, moving up from analyst to senior director. My experience was like an extended business school case study where I learned about client service, project management, team building, data analysis and sales. I had an incredible mentor who challenged me to not just provide a great service to my clients, but to become their thought partner. That is now part of the foundation that I use for every endeavor. I asked myself, how can I identify problems I want to work on and then partner with and serve others to help solve them?

Once I become a senior director, I was able to provide that same mentoring to others, which makes me really proud. Although I loved the work and my colleagues, I decided to leave (unexpectedly) after my second son was born in September 2013. He was diagnosed with Sickle Cell Disease at birth, and I decided that I wanted to be home with him. I’ve loved being an at-home mother. This experience, combined with my time as a working mom, helped me build the foundation for my new venture, WifeMotherLeader. I am building a program which provides practical advice, coaching and systems to help women build successful careers while they build their families.

What advice do you have for women who are considering a career transition, potentially from outside to inside the home?

If you are considering leaving your job to stay home with your kids, there are a few things you should consider. First, make sure you are leaving work because you want to spend more time with your kids and build a career (however short) as a homemaker, not because you haven't found the right integration of work and family. If you do decide to leave or to make a career transition, think about whether you'd like to return to work one day. If so, you should try to take on freelance or side projects that allow you to use your skills and build new ones.

Donielle Buie is the CEO of WifeMotherLeader. She leads the company’s sales and strategy. This includes the development of the WifeMotherLeader brand and full service offering. Donielle is an experienced educator, project manager, sales director, and mother. Her experience as a parent and background in market research led her to identify the need for WifeMotherLeader. She is passionate about supporting families and solving real, everyday problems. Donielle has a BS in biomechanical engineering and a Masters in Education, both from Stanford University.

Website: http://www.wifemotherleader.com/blog
Facebook: www.facebook.com/wifemotherleader
Email: donielle@wifemotherleader.com