Gail Blanke
Life Coach

Gail Blanke is founder, president, and chief executive officer of Lifedesigns, LLC, a company whose vision is to empower men and women worldwide to live truly exceptional lives.

A best selling author, Ms. Blanke’s newest book, Throw Out Fifty Things - Clear the Clutter, Find Your Life, was published March 20th, 2009, by Grand Central Publishing and has been featured on The Today Show, CNN International and CBS Sunday Morning. The book recently won the prestigious “Books-for-a-Better-Life” award from the Multiple Sclerosis Society. Ms. Blanke’s last book, Between Trapezes: Flying into a New Life with the Greatest of Ease, about thriving on change and mastering the art of self re-invention, was published by Rodale in August 2004. The website www.oprahselects.com included Between Trapezes on its list of “must have” books. In My Wildest Dreams, Living the Life You Long For was published by Simon & Schuster in June 1998 and appeared on Amazon.com’s Best Selling Books list and the New York Times Business Best Seller List. Ms. Blanke was the sole guest on the Oprah Winfrey Show in October 1998 where she used concepts from the book to help empower audience members to create the lives of their dreams. Ms. Blanke’s first book, Taking Control of Your Life: The Secrets of Successful Enterprising Women, sold more than a half million copies. Her column, “The Motivator” has appeared monthly for two years in Real Simple magazine and she is featured as a Business and Career Coach on AOL Coaches. Ms. Blanke appears monthly on Martha Stewart Whole Living Radio, and regularly on CNN International and CBS 2 Sunday Morning.

A renowned executive coach and presentation skills trainer, Ms. Blanke has advised CEO’s, presidential candidates, college presidents – and even a jazz musician. A recent presidential candidate recently remarked, “You’ve enabled me to find qualities in myself I didn’t know I had and express myself with power, grace and persuasion. What a difference you’ve made…If I’d met you 10 years earlier, I’d be President by now.” Ms. Blanke was called in by FOX News to critique George W. Bush’s second inaugural address.

Considered one of the finest motivational speakers in the country, she has delivered keynote addresses for scores of corporations including GE, MasterCard, JPMorgan Chase, UBS, AXA Financial, Citigroup and at events such as the “Global Summit of Women” in Taiwan, the “Decade to Democracy” conference in Budapest and Cornell University’s symposium, “Contracting Out: Danger Signal for Working Women and Men” chaired by Betty Friedan. She’s also delivered keynotes for students at Beijing University, the University of Virginia and the Stern School of New York University. Ms. Blanke has appeared on CNN, FNN, CNBC and FOX TV. Articles about Ms. Blanke have appeared in Newsweek, Business Week, The Wall Street Journal, Reader’s Digest, Ladies’ Home Journal, Redbook and Self. O, The Oprah Magazine, referred to Gail as “The Motivational Maven.” Recently, she delivered a keynote address for the American Heart Association’s “Go Red for Women” gala in New York and was invited to become a board member for the New York Chapter of the American Heart Association.

Ms. Blanke was one of the youngest female senior vice presidents of Avon Products, Inc., where, in addition to her responsibilities as global head of public affairs, she motivated and inspired Avon’s half million sales representatives to live the lives of their wildest dreams. A member of the Chairman’s Executive Council, she led the re-positioning of Avon as the world’s premier direct selling company for women and launched the widely acclaimed Avon Breast Cancer Awareness Crusade, which has raised more than $500 million. Prior to her experience at Avon, Ms. Blanke held numerous executive positions at CBS including manager of special promotions for the New York Yankees.

Ms. Blanke is a past president of the New York Women’s Forum and the first member to hold that position for two terms. She is a past chairman of the board of Fashion Group, International. In 1997, she was elected a corporate director of Sweetheart Paper Holdings, one of the country’s leading paper suppliers.

Ms. Blanke has received the Women Who Make A Difference Award at the 1999 International Women’s Forum Conference, the 1994 Matrix Award for Public Relations presented by New York Women in Communications, Inc. and the 1994 Star Award presented by the New York Women’s Agenda. In 2003, Ms. Blanke was named president of the New York Women in Communications Foundation which provides college and graduate school scholarships for deserving young women, and was among the first wave of women to be inducted into the YWCA Academy of Women Achievers.

Ms. Blanke is a graduate of Sweet Briar College in Virginia and majored in acting at Yale University Graduate School of Drama. She’s related to both William Jennings and Gypsy Rose Lee. She and her husband, F. James Cusick, a writer, and their two daughters, Kate and Abigail live in New York City.