Jennifer was a journalism major who had big dreams of working for Glamour Magazine (actually her original career dream when she was five was to be a hotel maid, but that's a story for another time). She read the magazine religiously since her early teens and saved every copy for years. She still has some horrific images of “fashion don’ts” branded in her memory.

 

The dream never happened. [sad face] After college graduation, she started working in technology PR and marketing, eventually starting her own company in 1997 so she could have the flexibility to be home with her children.

 

While she loved her career, the dream of working for a magazine stuck with her, and the path that followed led her to the formation of Becoming. Somehow it all came together. It was, as they often say, “the perfect storm.”

 

Over the course of 25 years, she honed her writing skills, managed large-scale digital media programs, and ghost-tweeted and blogged for prominent corporate executives. All these experiences combined gave her the critical skills and knowledge to create a digital media platform.

 

At the same time, blogging and self-publishing came into vogue. An abundance of DIY website development tools came on the scene, making it easy to “build your own.” And ways to monetize your online presence (hey, a girl’s gotta eat) began to flourish.

 

In her personal life circa 2015, she was just two years away from being an empty nester. One balmy summer evening she was sipping on some Stoller Pinot and pondering “life’s next chapter.” She felt still so young and vibrant and had developed the confidence and buoyancy to want to do something momentous – something that was more meaningful to the bottom line of life. And that, dear friends, was the night Becoming was conceived.

 

When she’s not working at her day job, juggling the many aspects of running a media platform or playing tennis, you’ll find her with her favorite peeps: her husband, Brad, her daughter, Sophia, and her dog Joe (affectionately aka TheBoo).

 

 

Carolyn Schilling, Co-Founder & Chief Lifestyle Editor

 

While Jennifer was pretending to be a motel maid, the 5-year-old Carolyn had more sophisticated aspirations and acted them out by decorating and redecorating her Barbie Dream House – over and over and over again. Barbie was a lucky girl because now people pay Carolyn big bucks to decorate their homes, whereas Barbie got it for free.

 

As chief style editor, Carolyn brings…well…style to Becoming. Not only does she have a knack for decorating, she has a flair for fashion and dresses to a T. She writes and curates articles for the Style and Décor sections, and sources products for the newsletter and website. She and Jennifer collaborate daily about how to keep Becoming real for our readers and stay true to its founding goals and intentions.

 

When not scouring the net, slinging her pen, or flapping her jaw with Jennifer, you’ll find her in someone’s house, decorating and redecorating, just like she’s back in the day with Barbie. She thrives on hunting down unique treasures in odd places and incorporating the items she scores into a home to create an end result that is unexpected, highly curated and always personalized.

 

Although she now lives in a lovely little hamlet outside of Portland, Oregon, she’s really an uptown girl. A Cleveland native, Carolyn graduated from Marymount University with a degree in marketing and started her career in Washington, D.C. as a corporate sales representative in the hotel industry. She then lived on the East Coast for 16 years, including DC, Philly, and CT. After that, she crossed the pond to London, where she spent two years as an expat before relocating to Portland in 1997. In 2001 she channeled her love of design into a career and launched Carolyn Schilling Interiors, specializing in home staging and interior styling. Carolyn and her husband have two daughters, a son, and their pride and joy, a yellow lab named Charley.

 

 

Susan McPherson, Co-Founder & Chief Connector

 

Susan is Jennifer’s dear friend from a lifetime ago, and she roped her into joining Becoming during a girls’ trip to the Hamptons. Susan was cornered. Jennifer had hidden the car keys so she couldn’t leave and couldn’t say, “No.” While Susan is not helping Jennifer brainstorm and spread the word about Becoming, she’s a pretty busy gal with a life filled with a million bazillion friends, a to-die-for condo in Brooklyn, a sweet pooch named Phoebe, and a ton of travel adventures. Oh, and she has her own incredibly successful business. Here’s her bio:

 

Susan McPherson is a serial connector, cause marketer, angel investor, and corporate responsibility expert. She is the founder and CEO of McPherson Strategies, a communications consultancy focusing on the intersection between brands and social good, providing storytelling, partnership creation and visibility to corporations, NGOs and social enterprises. She’s a regular contributor to the Harvard Business Review, Triple Pundit, and Forbes and has 25+ years experience in marketing, public relations, and sustainability communications. She is a featured speaker at industry events including Net Impact, Center for Corporate Citizenship's Annual Summit, DLD Women, TOA Berlin, and Committee to Encourage Corporate Philanthropy's Summit. Susan founded and hosts the bi-weekly #CSRChat on Twitter.

 

Currently, Susan invests in and advises women-led technology start-ups, including ZADY, Lover.ly, News Deeply, Hint Water, Apolitical, Arlo Skye, GoldBean and The Muse.  She serves on the boards of USA for UNHCR, Girl Rising, The PVBLIC Foundation and the Lower Eastside Girls Club, and previously served on the board of Bpeace. Additionally, she serves as an adviser to several nonprofits, including Girls Who Code, She’s The First, The Adventure Project, and The OpEd Project. Susan is a Vital Voices global corporate ambassador and was named as one of 40 Women to Watch Over 40, Fortune's 55 Most Influential Women on Twitter, Elle Magazine's Top 25 Women on Twitter and Fast Company's 25 Smartest Women of Twitter.