“I’ve heard through our friend, Cathe Kruger, that you are embarking on an exciting endeavor with your new business & life strategy consultancy, Joyful Planet. Congratulations! I share your vision of a more joyful planet created by 7.2 billion people all coming from a place of joy, engaging joyfully with one another and making joy-filled contributions to the world. My heart fills with joy to know that you are dedicating your life to this vision!

I wish you much success, fulfillment and JOY in this important work for our people and planet.

Thank you, again, for all the great work that you and your former agencies, PadillaCRT, CRT/tanaka and PT&Co., have done for more than a decade in bringing hope, love and joy to the people of South Africa through your valuable support of The Phelophepa Train of Hope.

With Much Gratitude and Joy!”

  • Desmond Tutu, Archbishop-Emeritus, Cape Town, South Africa

“Patrice, you were so much more than a traditional presenter! You went above and beyond, working with each of the women individually a month before the conference even began, encouraging them to dig deep and learn what brings them joy and gives meaning to their lives. Your mentorship and helping each of them craft their individual Life Purpose Statement was transformative, and they are now poised for tremendous success.

Following the conference, we asked the women about their ‘shining moment’, and many shared that it was because of you working with them to realize their purpose that they now have courage to act and reach higher. Caroline, one of our Delegates, shared this sentiment that really captures the essence of your tremendous guidance:

‘My shining moment was when Patrice Tanaka helped me define my Life Purpose Statement. Tears rolled down my face as I realized my inner compass had been churning to steer me, but I didn’t have the belief in my abilities. Now, I own them. My purpose is to live fearlessly, advocate for women who do not have a voice, and help them persevere through their challenges to gain resiliency, confidence and, ultimately, to find their voice.'”

“Patrice it was a ‘joy’ to have you as our first speaker of 2023 for our Global Women in Public Relations Inside Stories.

“Having heard you speak at a breakfast meeting in New York for Ragan’s ‘Communications Week’ in November I was determined to have you talk to our global members about “Finding Your Purpose and Joy”.

“The start of any year is always filled with well-intentioned resolutions that usually fall by the wayside well before Easter! Instead of talking about a long ‘to do’ list you spoke from the heart about the importance of ‘Purpose’ and how this can be the most fundamental steppingstone required for a fulfilling and successful career and the key to achieving the right work/life balance.

“There is no doubt that there is a “competitive advantage” in having a clear view about one’s life and leadership purpose. It is the single, most efficient, and powerful way to find greater success, fulfilment, and joy in 2023 and beyond.

“Your talk inspired our audience, and we had such a terrific feedback from the event that I was more than reassured I had done the right thing in persuading you to join us in helping to create a new journey for the year ahead.”

  • Susan Hardwick, Co-Founder, Global Women in PR

“Last Fall, Patrice Tanaka and I started talking about a custom workshop that she might present for Black Public Relations Society-New York members. She had the great idea to do something in January of 2020, to help refresh from the winter doldrums that often set in after the holidays and to optimize the first quarter of the year.

The result was her affirming and inspiring signature workshop, “Discover Your Life and Leadership Purpose,” which was a tremendous success. We received excellent feedback from all the participants, and several reached out to Patrice for individual consults. One of our board members told me as he left, “I will never be the same again.”

Given the grave, collective challenges we have all faced this year, I am so grateful that we began the year with a focus on purpose. Patrice stresses that knowing one’s purpose and never losing sight of it, creates a particular insight and agility to successfully navigate the ups and downs and unforeseen, both personally and professionally. What a gem!”

  • Tracey Mendelsohn, President, and CEO Black Public Relations Society-New York; Principal, Human Impact Solutions

“Patrice Tanaka packs a powerful punch of Joy! Her business couldn’t be more appropriately named. She facilitated her “Discover Your Life & Leadership Purpose” workshop during an annual team meeting I host for Univision’s corporate communications and publicity teams and the session was among the highest rated! Her accomplished career in communications serves as an excellent base for this important session on purpose – identifying one’s purpose and strategically leveraging it for career impact.”

  • Rosemary Mercedes, EVP, Chief Communications Officer, Univision Communications, Inc.

“I had the great opportunity to work with Patrice Tanaka, a founding sister of the Center for Asian Pacific American Women (CAPAW). She lives her mission by helping people discover their purpose so they have greater clarity to actively live it. Patrice does an incredible job by sharing her own story and connecting with everyone. Recently, CAPAW brought together a multicultural cohort of 25 young women leaders and everyone worked with Patrice to discover and articulate their life purpose statement.

“Her work positively impacted their self-confidence, because they were asked to declare who they are at their essence, what matters most to them and how they serve the community. I am thrilled to be bringing Patrice back to work with The Center for Asian Pacific American Women – this time to work with a cohort of AAPI women under our Asian Pacific American Women’s Leadership Institute. Patrice is a compassionate and caring leader and I want her to be a part of influencing our future leaders.”

  • Sue Ann Hong, President & CEO, CAPAW

” ‘Joyful’ certainly is an apt description of what it’s like to know Patrice and work with her-especially when it comes to purpose. When she’s talking about purpose, her enthusiasm and joy are contagious. Whether it’s your individual or corporate purpose, Patrice understands how critical it is to make sure you stay connected to, and grounded in, your values.

“Last year, she worked with us at LIXIL to help create a purpose-themed program for our annual kickoff event. In her keynote session and in a subsequent panel she moderated, Patrice illustrated how building purpose on a solid foundation of values ultimately brings us joy and fulfillment, and that goes for people as well as organizations. She helped us understand that our success lies at the “intersection of individual and corporate purpose” and, as a result, we continue to successfully engage with, empower, and activate our thousands of employees across the region. Thank you. Patrice!”

  • Daniel Nestle, Leader, Communications and Corporate Responsibility, LIXIL Americas

“Patrice Tanaka is an inspirational speaker, mentor and powerful force who spreads the message to ‘pursue your joy with a sense of urgency.’ I’m grateful to have been the beneficiary of her encouragement to pursue my joy. Patrice was one of the first people to suggest that I start my own publishing business. And as a testament to her confidence in me, she also signed up her then-PR agency to be my first client.

Today, I am the publisher of CommPRO.biz, a global community of 200,000+ global corporate communications C-suite professionals. I’ve had the great good fortune to provide the platform (at a NYC networking reception and a Google+ Hangout On-Air) for Patrice to share her message of “joy” with the CommPRO community. She ‘wowed’ them. Her talks, her words – pure joy.

I am so thrilled to see Patrice focusing her energy through Joyful Planet to help many others live their life’s purpose and unleash greater fulfillment and joy in their life. Our planet is definitely a more joyful one because of Patrice!”

“Let me start by saying…you are one amazing woman! I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to meet you – your drive, coupled with your story of “burn out” was all too familiar. I was so inspired by your words of hope and courage in finding our passion and purpose and most of all, our joy!

Thank you for sharing your story in the hopes of lifting up and empowering others. That’s the story of Eleanor Roosevelt, and I know she’s smiling on you with pride.”

“Since the initial offering of the Franciscan Career Transformation course at St. Francis College, Patrice’s “Discover Your Life and Leadership Purpose” workshop has been an integral component of the class. Patrice works closely with each student during and subsequent to the workshop to ensure each student can clearly articulate her/his Life Purpose. The students quickly see why being able to articulate their Life Purpose as part of their self-introduction gives them a significant competitive advantage especially as they interview for internships and jobs.

Patrice is a joyful Franciscan who gives much more than she receives. She makes it so easy for students to see the Good inside themselves – something not easy to do in the concrete jungle of New York City. One of my students summed it up best by after collaborating with Patrice by stating, ‘My elevator pitch to success is what I call it, now that I finally have one of my own.’ God Bless Patrice Tanaka forever!”

  • Brother Gregory Cellini, O.S.F., Franciscan Advisor & Adjunct Professor, St. Francis College.

“Patrice Tanaka presented to my three Business Executives Group in December of 2017. Her topic, ‘Discover your life & leadership purpose,’ was in alignment with the goals of my groups. All of my business executives strive to grow their businesses, and grow as leaders of those businesses. This presentation got them out of their normal comfort zone and asked them to look at their lives and a bigger purpose of being. Patrice has a wonderful life story about how she was led to discover her life’s purpose and how that discovery has changed her life. A must experience for any leader.”

“Patrice helped me clarify my own life purpose – to make wellbeing at work a globally-accepted, basic human right. It’s rare to gain so much value from such a small investment of time. Through her powerful process, Patrice showed me how to articulate in a sentence what I spent years trying to explain to others with only partial success. What I’ve gained from working with Patrice is seemingly boundless energy for my work and a key ingredient for me to live a richer, fulfilling and more meaningful life. Thanks Patrice. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!”

  • Michael Glazer, Senior Consultant, People Focus Consulting.

“Patrice has been a long-time leader of New York Women in Communications as a Matrix Award winner and former President of our organization. We are thrilled that she continues to give back to NYWICI as a coach and mentor through her new consultancy, Joyful Planet. She is warm, loving and highly effective. Recently, Patrice conducted a 90-minute ‘Coaching Salon’ entitled, ‘Live Your Life’s Purpose and Unleash Your Joy’ for 20 of our members, which was very positively received. She generously extended free follow-up sessions to participants, which was greatly appreciated by everyone especially those who took her up on her offer. I wholeheartedly and without reservation recommend Patrice for individual coaching, group workshops and inspirational speaking engagements on her favorite topic, living your life’s purpose.”

“Patrice is an answer to my prayers. As a non-profit professional eager to make a career change to corporate philanthropy, I was in dire need of support and guidance. Patrice was more than I prayed for, she is an advocate, connector, cheerleader and role model.

Patrice and I met through the mentoring program at New York Women In Communications. Patrice mentored me and four other women, all at various stages in our careers. Patrice generously gave of her time and wisdom in support of our career aspirations. I was a perfect stranger but Patrice believed in me as if we were family. Throughout my journey of defeats and finally victory, Patrice’s faith in me never wavered. Without hesitation, Patrice would reach out to her contacts and connect me with professionals that would typically be out of my reach. It is rare to find a mentor who is genuinely invested in their mentee’s success and happiness, but I did.

Patrice has single-handedly changed the trajectory of my professional career because she shared her time and network with me. Patrice is a beautiful example of how we can all make a difference in someone’s life by simply sharing what we have.”

  • Shana Savage, Global Philanthropy, Financial Services Company

“Patrice has been a generous mentor to me for a few years. Though I’ve always appreciated her, I’ve recently been blown away by her skills as a coach and catalyst.

Even after speaking with other leaders, coaches, and luminaries about some ideas I was actively working on, Patrice is the individual who skillfully, subtly, creatively, and masterfully shifted my lens and thinking. She enabled me to more effectively frame years’ worth of work–pointing the way to making them happen. The direction of my work and ability to integrate my own skills and perspectives has powerfully shifted and been clarified in a way that is impacting me every day (and I know will continue to shape me).

Patrice is a tremendously skilled coach, an insightful human, highly creative and adaptive across fields and ideas, and a true leader across environments.”

  • Victoria Long, Dynamic System Designer

“I wanted to reach out to thank you personally for your contributions to such a great session at the 2017 Net Impact Conference. I have read through the evaluations, and wanted to share a few comments that attendees shared about your session:

  • ‘Loved this workshop. Patrice was so knowledgeable, thoughtful and experienced.’
  • ‘The speaker was amazing! Loved the very specific examples. Appreciated how she looked at the WHOLE picture.’
  • ‘This model of framework will shape the way I think about my career from now on. My whole perspective has changed!’ ”
  • Katie Burns, Senior Associate Conference & Events, Net Impact

“Patrice’s mission to help create a more joyful planet is evident in everything she says and does. As a mentor, she helps put that at the center of one’s decision-making; as a friend, her warmth is all-enveloping; and as a business leader, her personal journey is awe-inspiring. If you’re looking for a business coach or speaker who will help you take your own steps towards finding and fulfilling your joy, look no further than Patrice.”

  • Shonali Burke, Shonali Burke Consulting, Social PR Strategist, Adjunct Faculty, The Johns Hopkins University, Founder, #measurePR and Social PR Virtuoso

“Patrice has been a JOY to work with! Her guidance, extensive executive experience, and most importantly her ability to spark joy in the origination and fulfillment of my Purpose has resulted in getting my dream job with THE top leader in the technology space!

Thank you Patrice for challenging me, supporting me and your ongoing encouragement! I feel your smile every time we speak and can put my best foot forward in the world thanks to you! Mahalo!!!”

  • So Yun M., Digital Product leader

“Patrice and I worked together for more than 25 years. I was the very first person she hired and now, more than 25 years later, my relationship with Patrice continues to be strong, rewarding and important. Patrice has been my boss, my colleague, my partner, my coach, my muse and a dear friend. Our collaboration over the years has resulted in hundreds of award-winning campaigns for clients and co-founding three PR agencies recognized as the ‘#1 Most Creative’ and ‘Best Workplace’ in America. I know first-hand that Patrice is dedicated to helping people live their best lives in the workplace and beyond it. It is this commitment that compelled Patrice to leave PR, a profession she loves and one in which she is recognized as one of the industry’s leading lights. Through her new consultancy, Patrice offers rich and wide-ranging experience, her unique blend of creativity and practicality, passion, warmth, enthusiasm and a powerful desire to bring more joy into the lives of individuals, organizations and the planet. I highly recommend working with Patrice. There really is no one else like her!”

“If I could have one mentor for the rest of my life, it would be Patrice Tanaka. Her savvy, intuition, integrity, and heart make her a highly attuned and effective coach. And her generous aloha spirit, commitment to living with purpose and joy, and her own deep life and career experience made brainstorming sessions both practical and profound. I am clearer, more empowered and energized because of my work with her.”

  • Patty Chang Anker, author of Some Nerve, and communications consultant

“I’ve known, worked with and for Patrice for 15 years and I can always count on her to bring new ideas into our conversations. She is both interesting and interested and that’s not easily found in these days of personal branding. I can think of no better person to spur creativity and community in the workplace than Patrice. Over the many years that she owned a multiple of award-winning PR agencies, she created a wonderful spirit that led to great results for her clients. She’s done amazing things through the development of her own life purpose and I believe is a great person to help others do the same.”

  • Jon Stamell, Founder, oomiji

“Patrice is an outstanding inspirational and informational speaker. She was the featured speaker on the topic of ‘Leadership Lessons from the Ballroom World’ at both the Yale Club and the Princeton Club. I organized these programs at both clubs.

The audiences immediately responded to her vision of finding joy in everything we do. Her personal and professional journey seen through the lens of ballroom dancing was daring, courageous and elevating to see and hear. The audience connected with her enthusiasm and commitment to live in the possibility that life presents to us. And, at the Princeton Club, we learned some ballroom steps!”

“As the Co-Chair of Washington Women in Public Relations, we were thrilled to have Patrice keynote our 25th annual PR Woman of the Year awards back in November of 2014. Patrice was so wonderful to work with and had a tremendously powerful story to share. Her speech on ‘Living Your Life Purpose and Unleashing Your Joy’ resonated with our guests that day and gave us all a lot to think about.”

“It fills me with great joy to write this enthusiastic recommendation for Patrice Tanaka, Chief Joy Officer of Joyful Planet. Patrice has helped to co-found three award-winning, PR agencies that have been recognized as the ‘#1 Most Creative’ and ‘Best Workplace’ in America. I believe those honors were strongly driven by her ability to help bring more joy into those workplaces, whether for the team, the clients, or those agency’s leaders.

I really can’t think of anyone more qualified to help you bring more joy to your life or your workplace, which is now proven as a key tool to retain and attract top talent, as well as a way to improve work output, enhance creative product, and grow business. I’m absolutely confident that she’ll be able do this for individuals and companies through all her offerings, whether one-on-one consulting, group workshops, or speaking engagements, all of which encourage people to discover and actively live their life’s purpose.

How am I so sure that Patrice is so effective at this? Not only have I experienced her living and sharing the philosophy of joy as a close friend for more than two decades, but Patrice was one of the first people to encourage me to pursue my love for training and coaching. And, when I started Jacobs Communications Consulting, she offered me the opportunity to conduct a workshop at her then-agency’s annual retreat, which helped me to successfully launch my business. Years later, at her Becoming Ginger Rogers book launch party in 2011 I heard Patrice talk about her life’s purpose to help create a more joyful world. I was so inspired by her words that I decided to expand beyond consulting and leading training workshops, and undergo training and certification so I could become an executive-leadership coach and help people live more fulfilling and joy-filled lives. As a result, I now have a multi-faceted career that brings me infinite joy on a daily basis, and a life far richer and more fulfilling than I ever could have imagined. You should work with Patrice to empower you and your employees to do the same! ­