BABE #335: KENDRA MIGUEZ - Director + Founder, Colorado Women’s Center
Kendra’s passion for helping women build the confidence to become their best self is embodied wholeheartedly by her career. She’s the founder and director of the Colorado Women’s Center, a therapy and counseling center offering individual counseling, group therapy, workshops and couples counseling in Boulder and Longmont, CO. In addition to helping her clients heal, Kendra oversees and manages all aspects of the company’s operations across two locations. We highly commend her for turning her trauma and pain into positive fuel to help women find their unique paths toward success.
The Basics:
Hometown: Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Current city: Boulder, Colorado
Alma mater: LSU; CU Denver; Naropa University
Degree: B.A., Theatre; M.A., Educational Psychology; M.A, Transpersonal Counseling Psychology
Very first job: I worked at a preschool
Hustle: Director + Founder, Colorado Women’s Center
The Interests:
Babe you admire and why?
There are so many incredible women that have walked this earth. It is impossible for me to choose just one. At the Center, I have black and white photos on my walls of the women who have inspired me most: Amelia Earhart, Frida Kahlo, Rosa Parks, Malala Yousafzai, Oprah Winfrey, Maya Angelou, Michelle Obama, Ellen Degeneres, J.K. Rowling, Laverne Cox, and Billie Jean King. These women are on our walls because each one of them has found the courage and strength to break free from limitations, express their truth, and find the courage to live their lives fully. Some endured immense suffering, some endured ridicule, and some endured their own self-doubt. But, all of them managed to find their voice and their purpose, and as a result, made it possible for others to do the same.
How do you spend your free time?
Doing yoga, watching my boys play soccer, skiing with my family, taking a walk with my husband, binge-watching a show, listening to podcasts, researching about space, science, and/or the future of technology, snuggling with my dogs, and laughing until I cry with my friends.
Favorite fictional female character? Why?
Captain Marvel. Finally we have a female superhero who is smart, powerful, and fully clothed! And even better, she knows her worth and makes it clear that she has nothing to prove. I love how the entertainment industry is beginning to shift how they portray women. Captain Marvel becomes one of the universe's most powerful heroes, and the best part, she is in every single one of us.
The Hustle:
Tell us about your hustle, providing an overview of your job and roles.
I started a female empowerment and therapy center called Colorado Women’s Center in 2017. Before this, I had a private practice where I specialized in women’s issues, and I noticed that there was a big need for not only mental health support for women, but coaching and inspiration as well. My deepest passion is helping women build confidence in order to become their best selves. Once my practice became full, I expanded my business and began to hire therapists. We have recently opened a second location and now have 10 therapists at the center. In addition to seeing clients, I also oversee both locations, create the process and procedures, do all of the hiring, provide all of the training, process payroll, create content for our website and social media, decorate the office spaces, network, and plan events. I am also a mother of two young boys and a stepmother of one. So, I am constantly juggling work and personal life, often sending work emails out of my car during warm-ups for soccer games.
What does your typical workday look like?
I try and fit a yoga class in, in the early morning. I then go to my office where I will see clients and/or work on the business. My daily challenge is answering the question, “Do I work in the business or on the business?” After work, I am usually rushing off to pick up my children from after school camp or the bus and then transporting my son and his friends to soccer practice. I then go home and get dinner ready, prepare lunches for the next day, look over homework, get the kids ready for bed (handling any emotional breakdowns, including my own), catch up with my husband on our days, and then in the later evening I’m usually answering more work emails (when did life become so busy?).
What led you to pursue a career in therapy?
My decision to become a therapist stems from one of my favorite quotes: “Be the teacher you never had.” My parents divorced when I was 2 years old, and my father’s presence in my life was very infrequent. And, after all of the training I’ve had, I now know what a huge deficit that was, particularly for a girl. The father’s role in a girl’s life is to build confidence. He teaches her she is safe and, therefore, she can take on challenges that are conducive toward her development. Due to my father’s inconsistent presence, I did not develop a connection to self, which is basically an inner guide and a solid sense of knowing who you are. Because of this, I searched for connection outside of myself, which never ends well. I found myself in many, many dark places. And it really wasn’t until I became a mother that I realized how important this connection to self was—in fact, it’s vital. So, I began to do things that I knew would make me stronger. I faced challenges and when I succeeded, I was able to feel competent, which is ultimately what allows us to be confident. And, accomplishment after accomplishment, I continued to lay a brick of confidence down, slowly building a new self, while still holding on to the parts of me that I loved. I’m not perfect by any means, and I am always working on loving myself. It’s a daily feat, but I am grateful for developing the self-awareness that I now have, which allows me to steer myself in the right direction when I go off track in some way. At our center, we focus on empowering women and helping them to truly believe in themselves. We help them learn to stop second-guessing, to stop having ruminating thoughts, to stop people-pleasing, and to begin to act with a connection to self so they can thrive. It really is that connection to self that fuels happiness and wellbeing.
How did studying child psychology inspire your “child and adult within each individual” approach?
We all have a child within us. For many, that child is wounded. It’s important to acknowledge the pain of our inner child, so we can be free from our past and become present with who we are today. This is called “inner-parenting,” which happens for all of us at some point when we reach a stage in our lives when our parents can no longer fix or heal the broken parts. Our parent’s greatest job is to teach us how to live without them. And, when we can no longer depend on them, we have to depend on ourselves. We need both responsibility and freedom. So, maturity requires both the adult and the child to work together.
Tell us about the Colorado Women’s Center.
Colorado Women’s Center was inspired by the lessons I learned through pain and struggle. It was inspired by my deep need to give back and to make a difference in whatever time I have left on Earth. My earlier life was filled with codependence and self-destruction. I was lost and the only way that I could be found was to encounter a journey filled with steep mountains that I thankfully had no choice but to climb. I started the Colorado Women’s Center with the vision of empowering women. It started with one tiny room of a private practice and has grown into two locations with plans for a third. We have bold colors throughout the Center, which represents the power of the female voice. We believe that women are not just meant to be seen. We also have inspiring women on our walls; they are African-American, Caucasian, British, Mexican, Pakistani, lesbian, and transgender. We have named our therapy rooms after them and we help every woman who walks through our doors to find a similar level of inner strength. To say “no” when needed. To say “yes” when scared. To not be a victim. To stand up for their worth. And, to discover their value. This has always been my vision and I have the most amazing therapists to help me carry it out.
How do you keep your team motivated through tough days?
Watching my therapists grow has been one of the most rewarding parts of my job. They are a huge part of my business. They show up with open hearts every day and touch lives in such a deep way. Being a therapist is not easy. We sit with people’s suffering. But, it also reminds us that we are all human, connected, and in essence, the same. Staying positive for my staff is essential. Letting them know they’re making a difference and changing lives is important. We all need validation, even therapists. As a team, we try to stay motivated and inspired. We have staff meetings and check-ins and are all dedicated to the mission of helping women. The energy of the Center is good—we know that we are a part of something special, something revolutionary. Women are rising.
How has being a woman affected your professional experience?
There have been ups and downs to being a woman in my profession. One of the downs was realizing how much harder it is for women-owned businesses to get lending from banks. Even though the Small Business Administration says women-owned new businesses are experiencing the fastest growth of any sector in the nation, the banks will still lend much more money for a startup led by a male than a female. So, just as we think we are making progress, we run into issues like this and it can be very disappointing. How do we move through it? By supporting each other and coming together in cooperation versus competition. When we see another woman succeed, we need to celebrate her achievements, because she is helping us all rise. The more we understand our worth, the more we can start demanding financial equality. It takes individual and collective confidence for this to happen. I believe we are on our way.
Who are some women in your field you look to for inspiration?
Brené Brown has, without a doubt, been the most influential person in my career. I have read all of her books and I have led several workshops on them. She really brought the topics of shame and vulnerability to the surface in such a raw and authentic way, and she models everything she preaches. She gave me the courage to face my deepest fears and to “step into the arena.” Through her teachings, I learned I don’t have to be perfect—and in fact, I can use my imperfections to create a more fulfilling life with connection and purpose.
Career and/or life advice for other babes?
(1) Embrace pain and hardship, because there is no real success without it. I had a very successful coach tell me once that success cannot come without challenge. He told me it’s not something you buy, inherit, or steal, and that real success comes from earning it while nobody is watching. (2) Know that being a champion is a lonely endeavor. In order to push yourself to your fullest potential, most of your work happens behind the scenes. There is so much hard work that goes unnoticed. Whether it involves an athlete doing drills alone for hours each day, a new mother battling anxiety, or a CEO dealing with constant change, demands, fears, hopes, and loss—most of the grit is not validated. The things that challenge us most, we often have to deal with alone. But it is those very things that determine whether we become a champion. (3) True happiness comes from giving back and making a difference. “The Hero’s Journey,” from Joseph Campbell, is in all of us. We hear a calling, we back down from the challenge, we discover mentors, we face our fears, we fight battles, we get hurt, we pick ourselves up, we heal, we teach others, we come full circle. Business is very similar, filled with fears, risks, ups, and downs. But, if we can remember along the way, in the midst of emails and putting out fires to compliment someone, help someone, find patience, share knowledge, then we will find joy.
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