International Women's Day: 8 Women We Admire from Munchkin’s Global Offices

We’re celebrating International Women’s Day by featuring some of the top women in our company. We interviewed team members from all over the globe to learn about how their positions are key to the company’s success and what inspires them. Read their interviews below.

Cat Patton

Senior Marketing Manager, Australia & New Zealand

Provide a  short description about your role at Munchkin:

I am the Senior Marketing Manager, my day to day life at Munchkin ANZ Regional office immerses me in all things marketing from strategy all the way through to implementation of exciting campaigns like our Munchkin Grass Fed Milk Truck. I love working closely with everyone in our local team as well as all of our global offices to make Munchkin the most loved baby lifestyle brand in the world!

Name an influential woman that inspires you:

It’s really difficult to name one influential woman in my life that inspires me. As women, we play so many roles in life, and influence and inspiration comes from many sources every day, my family, my friends, my colleagues. But there is one thing that inspires me, not a woman but our future women. My 5-year-old niece and my best friend’s daughters inspire me to be a strong female and be part of a changing world that embraces equality and diversity.

Favorite empowering quote or statement: 

My favorite hashtag is #thefutureisfemale

Sarah Halliday

Ecommerce Site Specialist, (EMEA)

Name an interesting fact:

I enjoy getting up early for a run before work, It puts me in a positive mood for the day. I also love horse-riding, own 3 horses, and compete in events throughout the year.

Name an influential woman in your life:

My mother – A mother of 3 with a successful career and great work/life balance. My mother has supported me in every part of my life – she is my role model.  She sets an example to me on how to live my life and make wise choices.

Favorite quote from an influential woman:

“Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It’s not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it’s when you’ve had everything to do, and you’ve done it.” —Margaret Thatcher 

Nina Daily

Global Director of Marketing, Los Angeles, CA

Name an interesting fact:

I have four godchildren!

Name an influential woman that inspires you: 

My mom. She was not only a successful marketing executive at a young age, she also raised me as a single parent from age 5 and taught me never to give up on my dreams.

Favorite quote from an influential woman:

“Without leaps of imagination or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.” — Gloria Steinem

Wendy Shin

Senior Manager, Brand Design, Asia 

Name an influential woman in your life:

Any woman who is confident and has a positive mindset are inspiring to me. Self-confidence is one of the keys to success. Staying positive brings strength of mind. It’s a mental attitude that helps to steer it towards actions that are conducive to self-belief.

Favorite quote from an influential woman:

My grandmother always said:  “Don’t let yourself be defined by gender roles.”

Vinitha Ramanathan

Brand Manager, Los Angeles, CA 

Provide a short description about your role at Munchkin:

I work on our bath and potty categories to understand category performance and trends to help guide product development

Name an interesting fact:

I’ve been to 6 of the 7 continents – just need to cross off Antarctica!

Favorite quote from an influential woman:

“To all the little girls, never doubt that you are valuable and powerful and deserving of every chance and opportunity in the world to pursue and achieve your own dreams.” – Hillary Clinton.

I think this was such a powerful quote from her concession speech and I believe it applies to people of any age and gender.

Sheila Macdonald

Marketing & E-Commerce Manager, Canada 

Name an interesting fact:

I grew up riding in horse shows in Montreal, Quebec and winning the occasional medal!

Name an influential woman in your life:

My former colleague, Senior Leader, and now friend, Lesley who believed in me early in my career and taught me the importance of being who you are and treating people with respect regardless of their role, position or status is how you become successful in life and business.

Favorite quote from an influential woman:

“Whatever women do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily this is not difficult.” – Charlotte Whitton, Canadian Politician

Rita Zou

Associate Marketing Director, China 

Name an interesting fact:

Although blog and Wechat (China twitter/Instagram) have been popular for many years, I still enjoy and kept the habit of recording what happens and my thoughts every day through a handwritten diary. From high school to now, I have accumulated more than 20 handwritten diary books.

Name an influential woman in your life:

I would say Sheryl Sandberg, COO of FACEBOOK and the author of Lean In. Her experience and book encourage women all over the world to achieve their ambitions. As a mother, a wife, and a team leader, I have to balance different roles in my life. Sometimes I felt stressed out and frustrated, but I was encouraged by Sheryl’s thinking and speech, which motivates me to embrace the challenges and take on the adventures of life.

Favorite quote from an influential woman:

“It is the ultimate luxury to combine passion and contribution. It’s also a very clear path to happiness.” – Sheryl Sandberg

Dana Boaron

Quality Engineer, Los Angeles, CA

Provide a short description about your role at Munchkin:

I support regulatory, quality, and compliance expectations for nutritional products like our Milkmakers line, ensuring food product compliance against global requirements (US, Canada, Australia, UK, & Asia).

Name an interesting fact:

I was born and raised in Israel, I moved to Los Angeles at 27. I can fluently speak Hebrew and English. I graduated from Technion- Israel Institute of Technology with a degree in Chemical Engineering and have worked for companies like Johnson & Johnson.

Name an influential woman in your life:

My mother. She was an avid believer that “there is nothing that you can’t achieve if you put your mind to it with hard work & effort”. My successes are primarily credited to this belief that my mom had instilled in me. I look back at what I have accomplished and I can honestly say that leaving home on my own, moving to the US, and starting a successful career in the manufacturing industry was no easy task. But her words were proof.

Favorite quote from an influential woman:

“Never stop trying. Never stop believing. Never give up.” – Mandy Hale

How are you celebrating International Women’s Day? Tell us in the comments below.