Welcome to Words of Wisdom from
Kick-Ass Women
Conversation. Storytelling. Experiences. Lessons learned. And some damn good advice!
Kick-Ass Women aren’t afraid to be powerful. To push harder to blaze trails. To look at the world differently and unapologetically. The stories you’ll hear are from women of this caliber and from every walk of life. Through their stories, they will inspire all of us, especially younger generations, to reach even higher.
Meet Your Kick-Ass Hosts
Liz Brohan
Kick-Ass entrepreneur, CEO, marketing executive and writer
For more than 25 years, Liz was CEO of one of the nation’s premier advertising agencies where she and Mary Olivieri created a series of Words of Wisdom from Kick-Ass Women books. Liz’s passion for helping girls and underserved communities is evident by her marketing activity with Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Girls Scouts of Northern Illinois and Northwest Indiana and The Off The Street Club just to name a few. She also served on the Executive Advisory Board for Governors State University. As a marketing executive, she has helped drive brand and customer growth for such notable companies as Eddie Baurer, Ace Hardware, Discover Financial Services, Whirlpool and more. In 2016 she was named Direct Marketer of the Year by the Chicago Association of Direct Marketing. She is the creator of Friend-To-Friend Marketing, Market What’s Meaningful and Brand + Demand®. Today, she serves as Chief Growth Officer for The Motion Agency.
Mary Olivieri
Kick-Ass author, creative director and improv expert
Mary Olivieri is the President and CEO of Manasa Marketing. With decades of Copywriting, Creative Direction, and Strategic Marketing under her belt, she has led scores of communications professionals in delivering materials designed to trigger an emotional response in target audiences of every kind. Leveraging her Second City and improvisational theatre training background, Mary has developed custom-created, improv-based creative exercises that have been called “Zen-like” and “groundbreaking.” Leveraging those skills, she has not only worked with SheSays Chicago, but also has independently mentored young women in Marketing – helping them find their voice and a seat at the table. Mary has worked with hundreds of notable companies including Whirlpool Corporation, Blue Diamond Almonds, Firestone, Coca-Cola, Heineken, Proctor & Gamble and many more. Look for her book, ‘Yes, And...Write!’ coming out in late 2025.