International Women’s Day Feature: JoJo + Cat!

If you haven’t already heard, March 8 was International Women’s Day! To honor the special occasion, we’re taking a moment to highlight two female Summerwood team members: Region Coach (RC) Catherine “Cat” W. and Area Coach (AC) Joanna “JoJo” M.

Cat: Coaching the Best

We first spoke with Cat to hear a little more about her career and journey to Summerwood. We learned that the RC has been with the Taco Bell brand for a total of 11 years, and before moving to the East Coast, she and her husband lived in Tucson, AZ. While in Arizona, Cat worked for a different Taco Bell franchisee. It was this franchisee who knew about Summerwood and recommended Cat work there upon her relocation. The rest, as they say, is history!

As an RC, Cat spends a lot of time out in the field, a large part of which is spent having meetings with the ACs and Restaurant General Managers (RGMs) she oversees. Cat says that her favorite part of her job, by far, is the people development side. “Seeing someone go from team member to Shift Leader to RGM and beyond is really amazing,” she shares.

Speaking of watching one of her own move up the career ladder, one of Cat’s ACs, JoJo, is celebrating a promotion!

JoJo’s Upward Journey

JoJo is another Summerwood team member who has spent quite a bit of time in the QSR industry. Before joining us, JoJo worked for another franchisee. But in 2019, she decided to make a change and joined our team as an RGM. After about four years in that role, JoJo was made an acting AC. And after a year doing that, she was officially named AC — bringing her tenure with us to six years so far!

JoJo says that the transition from RGM to AC has been pretty smooth. She attributes this to having great rapport with her team already (JoJo is an AC for the same area she was an RGM in) as well as support from Summerwood.

“Summerwood is with you every step of the way,” JoJo shares.

As an AC in Area 8, JoJo spends a lot of her time visiting her teams and troubleshooting problems. For JoJo, juggling eight locations is all about time management. The plus side of JoJo’s promotion is that now, she can make her own schedule.

Her favorite part of the new role so far? Getting to know people better! JoJo shares that she especially enjoys bringing all the “good vibes” to her restaurant visits. “I try to amp them up!” she says of rallying her team, and we have no doubt that she’s successful in the endeavor.

Cat + JoJo = A Dynamic Duo!

In both interviews, it warmed our hearts to hear these two women singing their praises about one another!

As JoJo’s boss, Cat has a special perspective on what made JoJo first stand out to her. “I saw immediately that she had that spark that you look for in a store leader,” Cat says of JoJo.

That spark? Cat explains that “it’s a competitiveness, it’s a drive, it’s a passion, it’s determination … but also an ability to relate to people and get them to want to be their best selves.”

True to her passion for people development, Cat has had the privilege of seeing JoJo grow. She says that at the beginning of her time as an AC, JoJo had to make some tough decisions. According to Cat, JoJo handled everything with confidence and compassion — something that’s truly representative of Summerwood’s values.

And as for JoJo’s praises for Cat? The newly minted AC shares that she and her supervisor have a lot in common. Apart from having birthdays only one day apart, the two see eye to eye about where they see Area 8 heading — making their working relationship a seamless one.

JoJo is also especially grateful to Cat for the time she devotes to teaching her new things.

Cat and JoJo, we can’t thank you enough for being such incredible Summerwood leaders! You’re both fantastic examples of female role models in our industry. Way to go!