The Marie Elizabeth® company name and brand are inspired by one woman - my grandmother, Marie Elizabeth Knippen O'Leary. I didn't have to look far in life to find one of my heroes. She truly understood what was valuable in life - holding close to the family that adored her and always being first to help someone in need. She frequently rode the train from her home in small town Illinois to Chicago to watch her Cubs play baseball.

To this day, I have never eaten better roast beef, gravy, and you-name-the-pie for Sunday dinner, and after we ate, everyone loved to play cards with her because she giggled uncontrollably when she had a good pinochle hand. I have forgotten many times in my thirty-plus years that true wealth isn't measured in dollars, diamonds or Dior, but in how you have cared about another person's life. Happily, every time I hear her name, I get a reminder.

Thank you Grandma.

Paula Davis-Laack
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About The Marie Elizabeth Company Founder

Paula Davis-Laack, JD, MAPP

Paula Davis-Laack is the Founder and CEO of the Marie Elizabeth ® Company, LLC.  She is a work/life performance coach, resilience educator, recovering lawyer, athlete, author, and speaker.  Paula uses her self-developed and research-based “Find Your Strong” program to help high achievers and goal-oriented professionals manage stress, perform at their best, and build strong, healthy lives.

Paula’s “Pressure Proof” blog about resilience, stress management, and work/life performance appears on Psychology Today, and to date has been read by over 53,000 people.

She’s often asked, “Why did you start your company?”  Here’s the answer:

Concerned about the levels of stress and burnout she saw in Corporate America and experienced herself as a practicing lawyer, Paula decided to pursue a degree in the multidisciplinary science of high performance, an area of study that focuses on what causes companies and individuals to thrive and flourish.  As a result, Paula is one of the first 200 people in the world to have completed the master’s program in applied Positive Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania.

After receiving post-graduate training in resilience from world-renown resilience expert, Dr. Karen Reivich, Paula joined an elite training team that provides resilience training for military personnel in the U.S. Army, the first training of its kind in the military designed to improve leadership and performance in combat and within the soldiers’ day-to-day lives.  She is also part of the Yellow Ribbon Program, a Department of Defense initiative that supports National Guard and Reserve service members and their families before, during, and after deployment.

In addition to her work with the military, Paula has developed and conducted resilience, mentoring, and strengths training workshops for teachers, attorneys, law students, and other professionals.

Prior to founding her own company, Paula was a commercial real estate attorney for seven years in both a large law firm and as in-house counsel for a Fortune 500 company.  She credits her daily walks with Sadie, her golden retriever, with slowing her brain down long enough to realize that her career path was meant to go in a different direction. 

Paula’s Philosophy

Paula’s favorite activity is sitting down with people to hear their story, so whether she’s speaking to a group of 90 or working one-on-one with a coaching client, her goal is to create an environment that reminds you of pulling up a chair with a good friend to talk about life. 

 
 

 

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Paula’s Top 5 VIA Strengths: social intelligence/industry, diligence & perseverance/gratitude/zest, enthusiasm, & energy/kindness & generosity

Paula’s Top 5 StrengthsFinder Strengths: achiever/competition/individualization/learner/focus

International Coach Foundation