The 2025 Women’s Leadership Excellence Forum

February 14, 2025 by Amanda Pearch

2025 Women’s Leadership Excellence Forum

Capstone Performance Solutions, Inc and Women in Manufacturing Georgia teamed up to host a day of excellence, focused on leadership, innovation and impact. Attendees participated in team building, gained actionable strategies and heard from industry leaders.

Enjoy these interviews with sponsors, attendees and WIM board members.

Interview with Dr. Tina Woodard, CEO of Capstone Performance Solutions, Inc.

Interview with Claire Gordon Board Cochair of Women in Manufacturing Georgia Chapter & Sr. Commercial Banker, Wells Fargo

Interview with Colleen Japuntich, President of NEMA, Inc.

Interview with Gloriana Teh, Founder of Cleritas Consulting & Coaching

Interview with Jennifer Ott, Founder of Envolee Pilates

Interview with Dr. Ryan Scott of Georgia AIM

Interview with Kelly Plantz of aPiori Technologies

Interview with Donna Ennis of Georgia AIM

Interview with Nadine Vaughn of BMO

Event podcast powered by

In partnership with

Powerhouse Podcasts by

Carol LaBranche, President of AboutFace-USA

February 7, 2025 by Amanda Pearch

Celebrating Powerhouse Women

Carol LaBranche, President of AboutFace-USA

00:00 /

Carol LeBranche and Amanda Pearch

Celebrating Powerhouse Women salutes and recognizes women who are making an impact, whether it’s in business, philanthropy, public service, or elsewhere.

Carol LaBranche/ President of AboutFace-USA

Carol LaBranche is a key figure at AboutFace-USA^®, where she has dedicated the past decade to creating supportive environments for veterans and their families. With a Master’s in Public Administration from the University of North Georgia and a Bachelor’s in Education from the University of Michigan, Carol brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to her role. Her background in business management, sales, and administration across both for-profit and non-profit sectors enriches her ability to lead and advocate effectively.

Carol’s professional journey includes significant experience in real estate as an Associate Broker and Director at the Crye-Leike School of Real Estate, coupled with expertise in mortgage originations and insurance transactions. These roles have honed her leadership, management, and communication skills, making her a compassionate and effective leader within the veteran community.

Her commitment extends beyond her professional duties; Carol is actively involved in various veteran and mental health organizations. She holds leadership positions with the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Auxiliary and is a proactive member of the Forsyth County Mental Wellness Coalition and the Criminal Justice Mental Health Task Force. Her volunteer work includes significant contributions to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), where she instructs and facilitates courses aimed at educating veteran families on mental health issues.

Carol’s passion for improving veteran care is evident in her ongoing research and education in trauma-informed care and behavioral health treatments. Her deep understanding of the challenges faced by veteran families drives her continuous effort to enhance the supportive services offered by AboutFace-USA^®, ensuring it remains a cornerstone for veteran community wellness.

Celebrating Powerhouse Women is presented by

Hosted by Amanda Pearch

Jackie Martin, Founder & Executive Director of BMore Learning

January 10, 2025 by Amanda Pearch

Celebrating Powerhouse Women

Jackie Martin, Founder & Executive Director of BMore Learning

00:00 /

Amanda Pearch and Jacke Martin

Celebrating Powerhouse Women is the series that salutes and recognizes women leaders who are making an impact, whether it’s in business, philanthropy, public service, or elsewhere.

Celebrating Powerhouse Women is presented by

Jackie Martin is the CEO of A Matter of Motivation Inc., and the founder of BMore Learning™, a life skills educational nonprofit based in Georgia. She brings together years of experience equipping teams, corporate leaders, and business owners all over the world with the communication, leadership, change resiliency, and business skills needed in the workplace.

Having just raised two twenty-somethings of her own, Jackie was tired of hearing parents and business leaders complain about, “kids these days…” so working alongside the local school district, she and her team developed a workforce-readiness workshop for students and young professionals to prepare them for life in the real-world. In these fast-paced workshops and hands-on settings, her team arms both students and parents with the social, communication, and leadership skills to take the next, best steps in business and in life.

Hosted by Amanda Pearch

Season 3 Preview Episode: Collen Japuntich with NEMA and Gabrielle Mills & Chrissy Strohmeyer with Sourced.

January 6, 2023 by Mike

Celebrating Powerhouse Women

Season 3 Preview Episode: Collen Japuntich with NEMA and Gabrielle Mills & Chrissy Strohmeyer with Sourced.

00:00 /

Colleen Japuntich, Chrissy Strohmeyer, Gabrielle Mills, Amanda Pearch Marmolejo

Celebrating Powerhouse Women salutes and recognizes women who are making an impact, whether it’s in business, philanthropy, public service, or elsewhere.

On this special episode to officially kick-off Season 3, host Amanda Pearch Marmolejo is joined by Collen Japuntich, the CEO of NEMA, a full-service logistics transportation and storage company; and Gabrielle Mills & Chrissy Strohmeyer, the Owners and Founders of Sourced., a back office management company.

NEMA and Sourced. are the new presenting sponsors of the podcast series.

Celebrating Powerhouse Women is proudly presented by

Colleen Japuntich, President of NEMA Inc. & Cole Porter, President of Porter Steel Inc. Join Hosts Brad Beisbier (GA Area Executive at First Citizens Bank) & Amanda Pearch

September 29, 2022 by Amanda Pearch

Forsyth Business Radio

Colleen Japuntich, President of NEMA Inc. & Cole Porter, President of Porter Steel Inc. Join Hosts Brad Beisbier (GA Area Executive at First Citizens Bank) & Amanda Pearch

00:00 /

Hosts Brad Beisbier & Amanda Pearch are joined in Studio by:

Colleen Japuntich President of NEMA Inc. & Cole Porter President of Porter Steel Inc.

Colleen Japuntich is currently serving as the President of NEMA, Inc., an asset-based Logistics Company located in Duluth, GA. Colleen has been with the company for 16 years and she began her career with NEMA as the Administrative Assistant to the Owner and Executive VP. When the President announced her retirement, Colleen was honored to be named President and took over in June of 2019. Colleen has a degree in Accounting and is currently pursing a degree in Business Management with a Supply Chain/Logistics concentration to be able to bring even more of herself and her knowledge to her current role at NEMA. Colleen strives to be a servant leader and to always do what is best for the company she runs and the people who work there.

Cole Porter is the President of Porter Steel Inc. For nearly 40 years, Porter Steel has been transforming the most widely used metal in the world into impressive creations for our clients. We’ve also built a reputation for doing the job right and conducting business with the utmost integrity and honesty. Family and Community are very important to Cole. Porter Steel is “Powered by Principle”. In business since 1983, Porter Steel is one of Atlanta’s premier providers of structural steel, miscellaneous metals, and architectural metals to General Contractors and other fabricators in the area. Additionally, they have a custom manufacturing division where they partner with other manufacturers in completing the steel portion of their product.

This episode is presented by our #CommunityPartners at:

Co-Host of this episode, Brad Beisbier is the GA Area Executive at First Citizens Bank

Brad serves a high performing team of bankers and branch-based employees across the northern metro Atlanta markets.

A note from Brad: “We are so grateful to our many clients who reward us with their relationships and testimonial referrals to their friends and family who are also business owners. Additionally, we thank our broad network of professional partners who trust us with referrals to their most important clients. It is truly an honor to represent First Citizens Bank in this capacity.”

Connect with us on Social Media @forsythbrx

Listen to shows 24/7 on businessradiox.com/forsyth-studio and SUBSCRIBE wherever you get your #audio shows to “Forsyth Business Radio” to stay up to date with the latest episodes.

SPECIAL THANKS to our #ForsythBRX Studio Print Partner:

Broadcasted LIVE from the Forsyth Business RadioX Studio in Cumming, Georgia

Produced by Amanda Pearch

Special Thanks to Mike Sammond for letting us record in the Gwinnett Business RadioX Studio

Colleen Japuntich, President of NEMA, Inc.

June 24, 2022 by Mike

Celebrating Powerhouse Women

Colleen Japuntich, President of NEMA, Inc.

00:00 /

Celebrating Powerhouse Women salutes and recognizes women who are making an impact, whether it’s in business, philanthropy, public service, or elsewhere.

Colleen Japuntich/NEMA, Inc.

Colleen Japuntich is currently serving as the President of NEMA, Inc., an asset-based Logistics Company located in Duluth, GA. Colleen has been with the company for 16 years and she began her career with NEMA as the Administrative Assistant to the Owner and Executive VP. Over her tenure with NEMA, she grew her role and her experience and advanced up the “corporate ladder” in a relatively quick timeline. She became the Executive Assistant after a few years with the company and took on all of the Human Resources Functions. She was then promoted to VP of Operations and took on the role of Project Manager for the Implementation of Truckmate, a Transportation Management System. When the President announced her retirement, Colleen was honored to be named President and took over in June of 2019.

Colleen moved around a lot as a child, a typical “military brat”. Rather than let it get her down, she learned to adapt quickly to change and see opportunities in the challenges of life. Those challenges have driven Colleen to strive for greatness in every role she has embodied – from employee, friend, spouse, mother, daughter, student, boss, leader, you name it. She goes after every challenge and opportunity with integrity, tenacity, extreme organizational skills, and always, a positive attitude.

Colleen has a degree in Accounting and is currently pursing a degree in Business Management with a Supply Chain/Logistics concentration to be able to bring even more of herself and her knowledge to her current role at NEMA. Colleen strives to be a servant leader and to always do what is best for the company she runs and the people who work there. She is constantly reading, attending classes, working with a business coach, and finding ways to be an even better leader, friend, and all-around person.

Her most recent achievement has been running a successful Logistics business during a Global Pandemic, while battling breast cancer. Any one of those challenges are hard enough on their own – but combine all three – what a challenge. But as most things in Colleen’s life – she digs in, gets to work, and overcomes the challenges often beyond anyone’s expectations of her, and sometimes even her own expectations.

Colleen is now a Cancer Survivor and is always eager to lend an ear, heart, or hand to anyone newly diagnosed to help them get through the overwhelming news of a cancer diagnosis and treatment. She recently participated in Gwinnett County’s Relay for Life and plans to lead a team for the 2023 Relay for Life. Colleen is married, and her husband also works at NEMA, Inc. as the Operations Manager. She has an 11 year-old daughter who wants to grow up and be a rocket scientist or marine biologist. Colleen loves to travel, read books, listen to music, and spend time with loved ones whenever possible.