Thank you to @kerrybombe, @katemillerspencer, and everyone at @cherrybombe for including me on their 2025 Power List of 100+ women making the culinary world a more interesting, inspiring, and innovative place! When Kerry first emailed me about it, I thought it must be a mistake. Who, me? I’ve never thought of myself as powerful. Perhaps because we often associate power with hypermasculine displays of wealth, coercion, control, or taking up space—whether on the subway or in conversations. And quite frankly, that’s never been me. Or many women. But here’s the thing: That’s not the only definition of power. I’ve been thinking a lot about power these past few weeks, and what keeps coming to mind is Dr. Maya Angelou’s definition of success: “Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” There is power in that. I’ve also been thinking about my Great-Grandpa Albert, who left Nebraska after seven years of the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression. He started over at almost 50 years old with little more than a flatbed Chevy truck and a Farmall tractor. People called him crazy for doing things his own way—for leaving the land better than he found it. But he did it anyway. There is power in that. I’ve been thinking about the four brothers who built Lundberg Family Farms. Eldon, Wendell, Harlan, and Homer. I think about how they were kicked out of their local co-op because they wanted to grow organic rice. For years, they paid their team members but not themselves so they could continue to grow the company. They believed so deeply in what they were doing that they didn’t let social or financial setbacks stop them. They did it anyway. There is power in that. Because power isn’t about money or control or even approval. It’s about liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it. There is power in that. (continued in the comments)