The team at SHE SHINES ON is dedicated to inspiring girls’ confidence through dance, travel and personal development. In order to make this happen, we have an amazing team of, yup you guessed it- GIRLS! The SSO team is made up of such inspiring women! We wanted to introduce you to a few from our various departments.
KIM (Our Boss Lady)
Kim was born and raised in New Zealand where she was actively involved in dance, theatre, and the performing arts. Kim went to Victoria University of Wellington where she completed an LLB/BA – Politics and Theatre. After 7 weeks at a law firm, Kim decided she was not being true to who she really was and quit to go traveling. Kim has won numerous entrepreneurial awards such as Rock Your Business NZ and the Global Entrepreneur X-Factor Competition.
In 2013, Kim launched SHE SHINES ON to inspire, empower and build confidence in dancers worldwide. Over the last 10 years, Kim has transformed her life into one of passion and purpose, combining her love of the arts, travel (all 7 continents) and personal development into a business committed to empowering dancers to live out their full potential.
Currently, Kim resides between New Zealand and the USA, as a working TV host, personal development coach and mentor and is married to her wonderful American husband, Jason.
Quick Questions:
- Hometown: Napier, New Zealand
- Current City: Los Angeles, California, USA
- Favorite Female: “Once upon a time you were a little girl with big dreams that you promised you’d make real one day. Don’t disappoint yourself.”
- Advice to young females: You are 100% responsible for your life. Therefore, your successes are in direct relation to the effort you put in. Step out into the world, think BIG, do what no one else is willing to do and purposefully go after your dreams. You can achieve everything you believe you can achieve. Therefore, your self-confidence, self-belief, and mindset should be your full focus. Mindset is everything. Invest in yourself and your personal development, it is the foundation of an extraordinary life.
- If you were a superhero, what power would you have? Learn the truth of the world, everything past and present.
- What female has inspired you the most? Oprah- she created an empire out of nothing but hard work and authenticity.
- What’s the toughest decision you’ve had to make and how did it impact your life? Leaving a life of what I thought I should do (law) versus what was in alignment with my heart, even when I had no idea of what that looked like or how that would pan out.
- What accomplishment are you most proud of? Building SHE SHINES ON and impacting the lives of thousands of young dancers worldwide, traveling to 7 continents in one year, building a strong property portfolio, and pursuing my hosting career in Hollywood.
- What inspires you? Successful people, philanthropy, love, and kindness.
- What are you most grateful for? The life I have created based on my passions – travel, the arts, and personal development. My incredibly supportive family and husband, as well as myself for having the insight early on to realize that I am responsible for my life and investing a lot of time and resources into my personal development and mindset to create an extraordinary life.
- Where would we find you on a Saturday morning at 10 am? Ha! It depends on the country I am in! But I definitely believe in working hard and playing harder!
- Why do you love the most about SSO? I hope we are the gateway to a life of bigger thinking, discovering opportunities and realizing it is a big world out there and absolutely anything is possible if you step outside your comfort zone, believe in yourself and take action. SSO is currently the first step into this way of thinking – with some incredible new opportunities that are coming out soon! That will really take lives to the next level!
KAT (Our Marketing Wizz)
Kat was born and raised in a small beach town in Florida. After completing her Masters in Advertising at the University of Florida, Kat began her marketing career in New York City.
After 5 years of living in the big city, Kat decided to book a one-way ticket to New Zealand for a well-deserved break! However, she never made it out because of a crazy little thing called love. Fast forward, 9 years later and Kat’s now married with two beautiful ½ American, ½ Kiwi kids!
In her spare time, Kat enjoys spending time with her family, travelling, and of course dancing! In addition to SHE SHINES ON, Kat runs a BnB, is an Instagram Influencer and always has other projects in the works!
Quick Questions:
- Hometown: Pace, Florida, USA
- Current City: Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand
- Favorite Female Quote: “You get in life what you have the courage to ask for!” – Oprah Winfrey
- Advice to young females: When you leave high school, find a way you can get paid to travel (i.e. flight attendant, cruise ship, etc.). Live it up for a handful of years and SAVE what you make! Then come back knowing who you are, what you want, and hopefully with a big chunk of savings to invest!
- If you were a superhero, what power would you have? I’d like to teleport. There are so many places and people all over the world that I’d LOVE instant access to!
- What female has inspired you the most? I don’t have one person in particular who I look up to the most, but I do like to surround myself with women who are strong, fearless, positive and ambitious- this way I am constantly inspired!
- What’s the toughest decision you’ve had to make and how did it impact your life? When I chose to stay in New Zealand for good. Most people only see the beautiful, happy photos. But what they don’t see are the hard times- being extremely homesick, growing apart from some of your best friends, and raising kids without family nearby. Being 8,122 miles away from your closest friends and family is definitely a challenge. But the good thing about a challenge is that it provides a huge learning curve that results in a whole lotta personal growth! This growth, plus all of the once-in-a-lifetime experiences you collect while living abroad, makes it all so worth it!
- What accomplishment are you most proud of? My kids, Ezra and Lennox. Raising two beautiful humans (inside and out) is hands down the GREATEST accomplishment I will achieve in my lifetime. No matter how much money I ever earn- nothing will top the fulfilment I feel through motherhood. By raising two exceptionally stellar humans, the positive mark and impact I leave on this world is literally multiplied 3x’s over thanks to them!
- What inspires you? My kids inspire me every day. It’s funny how as a mom you think you are the “teacher”, but how amazing is it when you realize that your kids actually end up teaching you so much more about yourself and life than you could ever imagine?! I also have finally started investing time into personal development (thanks Kim!)- now that I am purposely working towards my goals and constantly improving myself as a person, I am more inspired than ever!
- What are you most grateful for? Being healthy and safe- without these things, I’d literally have nothing!
- Where would we find you on a Saturday morning at 10 am? Either being productive working on projects or just enjoying the outdoors with my family!
- Why do you love the most about SSO? Being able to work with other inspiring and passionate women. Plus- It is truly fulfilling working on a mission that positively impacts the lives of so many young girls!
JOJO (One of Our Loveable Tour Managers)
Josephine grew up in Hollywood, California, which has naturally given her a huge passion for the arts. She began dancing, acting, and modeling at the age of 8.
Josephine attended Azusa Pacific University, where she studied Theatre and Creative Writing and was head of the Azusa Pacific University dance team. Her love for travel has brought her to study in the UK and to teach dance in South Korea, China, and Thailand.
Josephine is excited to work with SSO because of the inspiration, creativity, and sheer excitement the program births! “Dancers come to Los Angeles on tour with SSO and their lives change—in the BEST possible way! I LOVE that and can’t wait to meet you!”
Quick Questions:
- Hometown: Los Angeles, California, USA
- Current City: Los Angeles, California, USA
- Favorite Female Quote: Read the poem “Our Deepest Fear” by Marianne Williamson
- Advice to young females: Start investing in YOU early… read books, learn your likes and dislikes, watch inspirational videos, develop your talents. You’ll be so glad you did.
- If you were a superhero, what power would you have? I’d want to be able to teleport so that I could impact and experience as many people and cultures possible in a very short amount of time.
- What female has inspired you the most? I’ve always been impressed by a woman known in the 50s as “The Peace Pilgrim.” She has an amazing story and I loved learning about how her radical determination to commit to what she believed in gave so many people hope and changed the world.
- What’s the toughest decision you’ve had to make and how did it impact your life? The toughest decision I’ve made was to set myself apart from my family and begin to work towards a life that they all said and believed I couldn’t have. Not having their support was so painful, however, my stopping out in faith has helped me to be a light to them and has given them hope that they can also pursue their dreams. It was worth it in the end.
- What accomplishment are you most proud of? I’m most proud of pushing past the generational limitations of the women in my family.
- What inspires you? I’m inspired by people who move in spite of obstacles. People who face hardship have the choice to quit or persevere… I LOVE to see the stories of people who have pushed through things.
- What are you most grateful for? Love.
- Where would we find you on a Saturday morning at 10 am? I’m probably finishing up my morning routine, reading something that makes me smile, writing, or working.
- Why do you love the most about SSO? I love the ability SSO has to impact young people. Watching them develop, begin to believe, and then start to strive for what they want is SUCH an amazing feeling.
