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Diane Paddison, seemingly, has always been purposeful in her life. She got interested in a career in business from running a cash register and managing peach-pit crews at her family’s Oregon fruit farm. After completing her undergraduate degree at Oregon State University, she continued on to Harvard Business School, before pursuing a career in the real estate industry that advanced her to the executive suites of Fortune 500 and Fortune 1000 companies, such as Trammell Crow (now CB Richard Ellis), CBG, and ProLogis. All the while, like many of us, balancing her career with being a wife and mother to four children.

Women

When Diane set ambitious goals early in her career, she enlisted mentors to guide her in the male-dominated commercial real estate industry. That mentoring and the value she received in mentoring became the seed for what she refers to as Chapter 4 of her life. Diane’s passion to influence and mentor women led her to a higher calling in establishing a national nonprofit, 4word, to connect, lead and support young professional Christian women to fulfill their God-given potential. 4word’s goal is to help women working outside the home see their work as the place God called them to be, and to make their relationship a priority, and to see their faith as their foundation.

4word accomplishes their mission by connecting women to others who are walking the same journey. Relationships are fostered locally in 4word Local Groups across the U.S., in active online communities with a global reach, and through the 4word Mentor Program, a proprietary curriculum connecting one mentee to one mentor. Seven years later, 4word has over 2 million unique visitors via partner and its digital platforms, 250+ volunteers, and 900+ mentor pairs.

The Book: “Work, Love, Pray”

Oh, and did I mention, she also wrote a book? Her book, “Work, Love, Pray” was published in September 2011. Diane wanted to cast a vision for talented women entering a business world where networks and mentoring resources are built around men. She shares her path to the executive suite of three Fortune 500 companies in an industry where women are rarely found in leadership positions. She features stories from fifteen accomplished business women, and includes assessment and group discussion questions in each chapter to spark self-reflection.4word also self-published a companion “Work, Love, Pray Study Guide” that many local groups are using. All proceeds from the book and study guide are directed to 4word

One purposeful woman making a difference in other women’s lives. Diane is a prime example of the PRiME Woman today.

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