I’m an introvert by nature and occasionally cringe when a client asks me to cover a live event. Yet, never has there been a time when I didn’t come out more informed and grateful for the experience. After all, it’s the innate knowledge junkie that drove me into a career as a writer.

The scenario wasn’t much different when the Ford Motor Company Fund asked me to attend EmpowerHER, a challenge program created to help develop the next generation of women leaders, where I discovered 12 women-run companies seeking to solve social problems. Each company competed for more than $25,000 in cash and business-service support and three of the impressive startups won:

                                                  

• Every Two Minutes is developing technology that could help prevent sexual assault;
• Motor City STEAM is working to bridge the gap between STEM education and the arts; and
• SignOn is creating jobs for the deaf community while helping homebound students learn.

No one can put a cap on the drive and innovation of women on a mission.