As the “Ones to Watch” series enters 2026, Grit Daily partners with Heather Burgett’s Shine Collective to spotlight ten visionary women whose work reflects the courage, creativity and conviction needed for a new era of possibility.
Across leadership, wellness, personal transformation, spiritual growth, health, organizational change and social impact, these women are building bodies of work rooted in both expertise and lived experience. They are creating frameworks, communities, programs, movements, and new ways of seeing the world that help others navigate change with greater clarity, confidence, and purpose.
Together, they represent a powerful truth for 2026: changing the world does not always begin with grand gestures. Sometimes it begins with one woman honoring a calling, turning her story into service and creating something that helps others rise. Here are ten visionary women changing the world in 2026 and beyond.
Executive Leader Helping Organizations Put People at the Heart of Performance
Catherine Rocheleau is an award-winning executive, author, and international speaker who helps leaders spark clarity, confidence, and meaningful impact in their organizations and communities. Recognized as a North American thought leader in leadership, change, and purpose-driven performance, she has been featured on Fox Business’ “Worldwide Business with Kathy Ireland”, CTV, City TV, Bloomberg Television, and other major media outlets.
As a leadership and change strategist with decades of experience, Catherine partners with forward-thinking, human-centered leaders to elevate teams and create workplaces where people and performance thrive together. Known for her ability to “bring all the pieces together,” she is often compared to a skilled band leader—harmonizing people, process, and performance so organizations can hit all the right notes.
Through her signature SPARK™ framework, Catherine guides leaders from uncertainty or overwhelm to confident, focused action—creating environments where work becomes a catalyst for growth, wellbeing, and lasting transformation. Her philosophy is simple: when people are at the heart of business, everything changes.
Founder & CEO of Ignite Leadership International®, Catherine has worked across sectors including professional services, non-profits, healthcare, hospitality, food services, and manufacturing. Her social impact program, MoreThanGreen™, weaves giving back into every aspect of her business.
Now based in Victoria, B.C., Catherine brings resilience, insight, and heart to every stage she steps on—drawing from a life shaped by change, reinvention, and a deep belief in purpose-driven leadership.
Social and Behavioral Scientist Helping Women Turn Setbacks Into Confidence Comebacks
Dr. Marianne Olaniran, DrPH, MPH, MS—known as “The Comeback Doctor™”—is an award-winning social and behavioral scientist, confidence and prosperity strategist, keynote speaker, international bestselling author, and founder & CEO of Joyfully Transcend™. With nearly two decades at elite organizations including Deloitte, UNICEF, Harvard-affiliated hospitals, and the U.S. Federal Government, she helps high-achieving women reclaim confidence, attract prosperity, and rediscover joy after setbacks.
Named an Influential Woman of 2026 and a Top 100 Woman in Power by the Million Dollar Network, Dr. Olaniran has published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at global conferences. Her work has been seen on CBS, Apple TV, Fox, MarketWatch and USA Today, and featured in Influential Women, Becoming an Unstoppable Woman, Million Dollar Mom, Inc. Magazine, FORCE Magazine, She Rises Studios, Sheconomy™, Legacy Woman™ and Bold Journey.
Her book, The Confidence Comeback Code: The Science-Backed Path for Women to Reclaim Unstoppable Confidence, Abundant Prosperity, and Lasting Joy, brings her signature framework to a wider audience.
Dr. Olaniran earned her Doctorate with Delta Omega Honors from the University of Texas and holds Master’s degrees from New York University and George Washington University, with additional graduate work at Johns Hopkins University and the University of Geneva, and her undergraduate degree from the University of Utah. Married for 15 years to an award-winning, Harvard-trained physician-scientist; together, they are raising three children.
Coach and Retreat Leader Helping Women Move From Energy Leaks to Energy Leadership
Marie Smith, a bestselling author and creator of the Golden Flow Framework™, empowers high-achieving women to slow down, tune in, and rise into alignment with the lives they’re meant to lead. Through Golden Hour Coaching, she offers one-on-one coaching, retreats, and group programs like Energize Your Life and The Clarity Catalyst.
Her approach blends personal development, wellness, and soul-level coaching to help clients move from energy leaks to energy leadership. A certified life coach, health and wellness coach, and Clarity Catalyst trainer, Marie also brings over a decade of experience as a personal trainer and her background in education. Her work has been featured in Apple News, Village Voice, Grit Daily, US Business News, Women’s Journal, New York Weekly, Nashville Voyager, and podcasts including “The Self-Love Tonic,” “Momplex” and “Deep Work Out Loud.”
Marie’s journey is grounded in service, resilience, and spiritual wisdom. After experiencing deep loss, burnout, and a powerful calling during a retreat, she followed the nudge to become a coach—and never looked back. Her framework helps women reconnect to their energy, intuition, and purpose.
She lives in Nashville and will co-lead destination retreats in Spain and New Mexico in 2026. Marie is known for lighting the way—so other women can shine.
Certified Hypnotist and Mindset Coach Expanding the Reach of Her Redeemed Hypnosis Brand
Karen Glavin has been a Certified Hypnotist for the last 30+ years. She is also a Peak Performance Mindset Coach, speaker and author. She holds several certifications, including Pediatric Certified, Time-Line Therapy, and Complementary Medical Hypnosis.
Karen has a servant’s heart and also served in her church, leading Divorce Care for 18 years. Over the years, the Christian-based program has served over 400 adults and has led to 36 baptisms. She is grateful for social media because it has allowed her to stay connected and watch those adults and children flourish in their lives.
Many years ago, she first learned the power of hypnosis after her brother utilized the modality to help her during trying times. During one of those sessions, she got a message from God: “The world needs to know about this.” Subsequently, she became certified and launched her business.
Karen has always had an inner knowing that her signature Redeemed Hypnosis™ brand is destined to reach a global audience. She works with individual clients and also has developed her signature protocol for hypnotists, mental health professionals, sport psychologists, and coaches with a background in hypnosis—to help clients eliminate their underlying causes.
Spiritual Business Coach Championing a New Era of Divine Feminine Leadership
Carrie Wenzel is a renowned speaker and digital marketing professional turned spiritual life and business coach. As a top leadership coach for Landmark Worldwide’s Leadership Training Program, she is the founder of Trine Soul Education—a company dedicated to transforming the lives and businesses of women worldwide in mind, body, and spirit.
She began her coaching career as a women’s chronic health coach after years of navigating hustle culture, bro-marketing, toxic relationships, and toxic work environments. As a survivor of sexual assault, abuse, and the resulting mental health battles, she was uniquely qualified to address the deeper issues in women’s lives.
In 2021, she underwent a dark night of the soul and spiritual overhaul that changed her life. With a deeper connection to the Divine, she was called to serve women in a bigger way and champion a new era of Divine Feminine Leadership.
Inside her Soul-Aligned CEO program, Carrie develops women from the inside out—uncovering core wounds and mindset blocks, transforming habits, and creating business, sales, and marketing strategies.
Carrie holds a Bachelor’s Degree in psychology from Bard College and certifications in marketing, health and life coaching, and pain reprocessing therapy (PRT).
With over 15 years in marketing, leadership, and business, Carrie equips women to build lives and businesses rooted in clarity, power, soul, and strategy—free from fear, doubt, chaos, and burnout.
Executive Wellness Expert Helping Women Navigate Hormones, Menopause and Career Performance
RoxAnne Eli is a Board-Certified Holistic Health Practitioner, Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner, and Menopause Hormones Practitioner with more than 25 years of experience in corporate health promotion, wellness and leadership. With her extensive credentials and corporate world experience, RoxAnne brings a rare perspective that bridges the worlds of business performance and health transformation.
Through her concierge-level health practice, Apex Executive Wellness, RoxAnne equips women with practical, data-driven, science-based strategies to reclaim their energy, sharpen their focus, optimize their health, and continue excelling in their careers and lives.
Having personally experienced the impact of hormonal changes while climbing the corporate ladder, RoxAnne developed her signature RED DRESS™ Method, a comprehensive framework designed to help women move beyond confusion, conflicting advice, and ineffective solutions to achieve measurable improvements in energy, focus, performance and overall well-being.
RoxAnne is also the creator of the popular educational series, “The Hostile Takeover: How Menopause Hijacks the Careers of High-Performing Women,” a thought-leadership platform and educational movement focused on exposing how menopause can quietly derail the careers and lives of high-performing women in business.
When she’s not working with clients, speaking on podcasts or in front of an audience, you’ll find her cooking or spending time outdoors, gardening, hiking and playing with her two rescue dogs, B.B. and Miles.
Earth Advocate and Consultant Aligning Organizational Leadership With Collective Vision
Katie Augustine is an International bestselling author, Earth advocate and consultant, promoting a message of incorporating collective vision into organizational leadership. As a co-author for Cracking The Rich Code, Volume 12 (with Jim Britt and co-sponsored by Tony Robbins), Katie encourages global consciousness during this time of planetary evolution.
Since 2012, Katie has coached thousands of clients in scaling their lives and businesses. In 2018 Katie joined the Brave Thinking Institute™ as a senior coach and faculty member. Katie was acknowledged as a Top 15 Coach out of Cleveland by Influence Digest Media in 2024 and 2025.
As a banking attorney for 22 years, Katie’s expertise was consulting on strategic risk assessment. She is also an ordained Minister of Walking Prayer®, shaped by years of study with Indigenous elders; therefore, her work is infused with reverence, presence, and Earth-rooted wisdom. This background gives Katie the unique ability to support leaders in strategizing in alignment with their values and the greater collective
In 2025, Katie founded ECS Evolve Consulting Services to support non-profit leaders with her signature EVOLVE 6-Phase Framework. As Katie’s clients align their actions with their values and collective vision, they witness their organizations make a bigger impact aligned with their mission.
Psychologist and Spiritual Well-Being Coach Bridging Nervous System Healing and Conscious Leadership
Dr. Veronika Tracy-Smith, PhD is a psychologist, speaker, executive and spiritual well-being coach. As a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner and contemplative guide, her work bridges embodied spirituality, nervous system healing and conscious leadership. She has mastered the healing arts that she weaves into her personal and professional life.
A breast cancer survivor with decades of experience supporting individuals and leaders through transformation, she is known for creating grounded, compassionate spaces where psychology, meditation, and everyday mysticism meet.
Veronika serves on the hosting/facilitator leadership (stewarding) team for The We ONEing (TWO), an online spiritual community devoted to shared presence and awakening together through relational contemplative practice and “As We” consciousness.
She offers online, community-based coaching courses and has co-hosted international retreats for women, where she teaches spiritual intelligence and contemplative practices for coaches, psychotherapists, business leaders and spiritual leaders. Veronika is also a featured speaker at the University of Tustin.
She is an Amazon bestselling author currently writing her next book, Coming Home to Yourself: A Body-Based Meditation Practice for Those Who Have Tried Everything Else.
Founder of Shine Your Inner Light Helping People Explore Energy, Self-Perception and Possibility
Rita Lorraine Carey is the founder of Shine Your Inner Light, a platform focused on empowering you with your own energy. Through media, books, film, guided meditations, a global community and philanthropic initiatives, her work explores a simple idea: how we see ourselves shapes how we experience life.
After a long career in senior management across sales, marketing, and supply chain for two Top 50 companies, Rita made a pivotal life shift. She left corporate life to volunteer abroad. That experience deepened her inquiry into energy, perception, healing and the connection between mindset, emotion, and lived experience.
She is currently developing a revolutionary Energy Photo App, which will deliver an interactive web experience designed to be playful, fun and reflective. It invites users to explore their sense of self with energy. A visual feature translates personal energy into an artistic “energy photo.” An “I AM” journaling practice supports awareness of inner dialogue, perspective shifts, and intentional focus on what users want to manifest and create in their lives.
Her work also includes rose quartz meditations designed to offer a reflective space for those navigating loss or seeking connection in memory and heart. She is also an Akashic Records teacher, the author of books for children and adults, the upcoming documentary “Revelation of You,” and founder of the Ida Lee Covington Foundation, supporting energy education, crystal research and job opportunities around gem mines.
Holistic Wellness Coach Helping Women Feel Safe, Seen and at Home in Their Bodies
Dr. Jo is a former clinical psychologist, holistic wellness coach, speaker, author, entrepreneur, and founder of TulaSoul. Her journey into healing began at age 12 after being hospitalized with anorexia, an experience that profoundly shaped her understanding of the mind-body connection, trauma, nervous system survival, and the deep longing many women carry to feel safe, seen, and at home in their bodies.
After years in the traditional mental health field, Dr. Jo expanded beyond conventional clinical models toward a more integrative, embodied approach to healing. She is now an E-RYT yoga teacher, meditation and mindfulness guide, embodiment facilitator, and advocate for body positivity, women’s empowerment, embodiment and relational healing. Through coaching, retreats, workshops, speaking, writing, and women’s circles, her work helps women reconnect with their bodies, voices, intuition, and authentic sense of self.
Dr. Jo’s evolving vision for TulaSoul includes the future development of TulaSoul Sanctuary—a regenerative woman-to-woman healing ecosystem rooted in embodiment, reciprocity, restorative community, and the belief that women heal most powerfully when they are supported, celebrated, and held by one another. Her work explores how collective healing, embodied leadership, relational wellbeing, and women investing in women can help address the growing burnout, isolation, disconnection, and economic disparities many women experience in modern culture.
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As this 2026 “Ones to Watch” series continues, Grit Daily and Heather Burgett’s Shine Collective will spotlight more women whose ideas, leadership, and impact are helping define the chapter ahead. Coming next: Women Transforming What’s Next in 2026 and Future-Shaping Women of 2026.
