Why Women Succeed

Kunkler: More nurturing. My husband wants to make the decision and get it done and move beyond it, which sometimes helps me because I make things more than they are. But I want to help someone understand why it's the case. I like the yin and the yang of it. I think we need those perspectives, because it makes us healthier. So while men have some negatives about their style, so do women. But by managing together, and by having a diversity of everything in your organization, it creates a better whole.

Do your companies have flexible work arrangements for working mothers?

Fox: I brought my kids to work on Tuesday (before Hurricane Ivan) because school was closed. They were very flexible. I have found that all the male lawyers that I have worked with have always been great about that.

Green: Bonita Bay is really family-friendly. Even working full time, the company encourages me to have a life and a family outside of the workplace.

Starkey: One of the things that I'm proudest about is Wachovia being in the Top 10 (for its family-friendly policies) in Working Mother magazine. We have so many plans and so many different things that you can do to accommodate needs. The company is very, very good about those things. We even give employees four hours a month to volunteer, which can be in a classroom. One year I saved up my hours and went on field trip to Big Pine Key, and it was a blast.

Anderson: That's one of the contributions that women have made to the workplace.

Any advice for the next generation?

Kunkler: Be true to yourself. Know what you love; do what you love. Don't try to be superwoman, super-mom, super-career mom, because you will kill yourself. You give up your personal time. You have got to realize that you can't do it all at the same time.
And it's wise to give up something now, and realize the kids aren't going to be here maybe in 15 or 20 years, but a career may be. Each time after I've had a child, the amount of hours I've spent at the station has drawn back. It took me a long time to learn that.

Fox: I see so many women make the mistake of thinking that if they don't act just like the male manager above them that they'll fail, and then they fail for trying to be that way. Women are very independent; they have their own management style and have been extremely successful at just following their heart and doing what they think is right. And that is what makes a woman truly successful.

Amira Dajani Fox, 39, is a criminal defense attorney with The Wilbur Smith Law Firm. Before joining the Fort Myers firm, she worked as a prosecutor for the State Attorney's Office 20th Judicial Circuit. She was born in Alexandria, Va., and graduated from American University in Washington, D.C., with a bachelor's in economics and international studies and a minor in French. She earned her law degree from the National Law Center at George Washington University. She has lived in Southwest Florida for 13 years and has served on several boards and community groups, including the Collier County Women's Bar Association and the Shelter for Abused Women.

Audrea Anderson, 57, is associate vice president for community relations and marketing at Florida Gulf Coast University. She earned her bachelor's in English at Allen University in Columbia, S.C., and her master's at Miami University in Ohio. She is responsible for developing and directing the university's marketing program, image campaign, and public- and community-relation initiatives, among other duties. She has served on the boards of the United Way of Lee County, Southwest Florida Community Foundation, Dunbar Improvement Association, as well as the Florida Board of Regents.

Lara Kunkler, 34, is president and owner of Montclair Communications, licensee of WZVN-TV in Naples. A native of Worcester, Mass., she earned her bachelor's in economics from Yale University. Upon graduation, she moved to Southwest Florida as a news producer for WBBH-TV, where she served as news operations manager and station manager before forming her company. She has served on the boards of the Salvation Army and the Lee County Sheriff's Office "Do the Right Thing" program, and is a member of the Junior League of Fort Myers and a graduate of Leadership Lee County.

Kitty Green, 42, is vice president and general manager of Verandah and Sandoval for The Bonita Bay Group. She holds a master's in business administration from the University of South Florida. Green joined Bonita Bay in 1998 and is responsible for the development, marketing and sales of Verandah in eastern Lee County and Sandoval in Cape Coral. She is a member of the boards of Habitat for Humanity of Lee County and the Greater Fort Myers Chamber. She also has served as chairman of the board of the Bonita Springs Chamber of Commerce.

Adria D. Starkey, 49, is executive vice president and Gulfcoast regional president at Wachovia Bank, overseeing centers in five Southwest Florida counties with assets totaling $3.2 billion. She graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's in business administration. She has been in leadership roles for several boards and organizations, including the Economic Development Council of Collier County, Community School of Naples, Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council and the Collier County Education Foundation.