Team Spotlight: Colleen Olson

I built my career at the Harlem Globetrotters organization and truly enjoyed my time traveling the world with the sports entertainment icons. When it was time to start my own family, I made the tough decision to pause my career and spend time with our children. I felt fortunate to have had this precious time with them and tried to take in every moment!

After stepping away from a fast-paced, on-the road-career, I did what many parents do in these situations. I jumped in and led school parent organizations, chaired local fundraising efforts, and began freelance consulting for friends and former work associates. I enjoyed the variety of work and projects planned from conception to completion. The years went by quickly, and I realized it was time to start the next chapter in my journey. After a few delays including having two kids e-learning at home due to CoVid, I finally devoted time to finding my next opportunity.

I’ve always been interested in supporting women in all roles and functions. From being trained as a domestic violence volunteer advocate, to creating a mentoring program for younger employees, to coaching my daughters’ sports teams, dance teams, and girl scouts, I knew my next career had to focus on empowering women.

When a friend spoke about relaunching her career, I first learned about the power of iRelaunch which helped her find her own new path after attending an iRelaunch Return to Work Conference. I started following the company and all the amazing work Carol Fishman Cohen was doing not just for women, but anyone that had decided to take a career break. It felt right to rejoin the workforce with a company whose mission is to guide others during this part of their life.

I live in the Chicagoland area with my husband Jeff, two amazing daughters, and the newest member of our family, our puppy Cora. When I’m not working or driving our girls to dance, athletic, or musical theatre practices, I prefer to be doing anything outside. I also love yoga, traveling with my family, and cooking (but not baking- I leave that to the girls!). It’s appropriate that I’m writing this around Thanksgiving time, since I’m so thankful to be on such a talented team where I hope to help women and people of all backgrounds connect to their next chapter. Here’s to relaunching together. I’m excited to see what the future holds!