The Power of Purpose & Connection – A Conversation with Edie Fraser & Jan Duplain

Welcome to this special episode of Purpose in Action. I'm your host, Esther Aguion. And today I have the incredible honor of sitting down with two women whose decades long friendship is rooted in mutual respect, advocacy and a shared passion for lifting others up. Jan Duplaine and Edie Frazier. In this episode, we celebrate not only Jan's remarkable life and legacy as a cultural diplomat, media trailblazer and bridge builder, but also as the profound bond she shares with her dear friend and fellow purpose driven leader, Edie Frazier. We talk about sisterhood, shared missions, and what it means to use your life's work to galvanize others. Their relationship is a model of what it means to lead with purpose and to love with intention. We invite you to listen in as Jan and Edie reflect on their friendship, their impact, and their vision for a more connected world. Thank you, Edie. And thank you, Jan. Let's begin by reflecting on your remarkable friendship. After decades of knowing and supporting each other, what stands out most about the bond you've built not just as friends, but as champions of one another? Jan, would you like to get us started?

You know, Esther, what we were talking about earlier, about where we came from and then coming here to Washington D.C. i came from a little town in Southern California and my dream was to have a bigger platform to come where I could make a difference. I think I've always had that wanting to be as a young girl, let me be. I really think I, like many, I wanted to be president of the United States. I wanted to have an impact on this, on this planet of ours. And coming to Washington D.C. where I'd actually gone to school as well, to meet people that are making a difference. And from the moment I met Edie, I knew that she was a woman who was on the move because as we've already said, everybody that meets her, she has an impact on. She takes you under the wing and she always, I don't know how else to say this except that she saw me bigger than what I was, that I, what I felt I was. She took what, what was there and she told me in so many ways, Jan, we are on this trip and it's a big trip and it's a big journey and we are going to helping people around the world. We're going to be helping women, we're going to strive for the top. So coming from the little town that I did, wanting a bigger stage and finding an Edie Frazier that says, yes, we are here to move mountains, we are here to do all those things and more Jan, whatever you want to do, we can do together. And together, we always emphasize together. We are going to do this together. So I. That was my dream, to come to a place where I could make a difference. And Edie Frazier is really probably in some respects more than anybody I know any other. I have a lot of friends, I have a lot of acquaintances. I have a lot of people that I have dealt with, but she really is my coach, my champion for my personal self as well as for things that we are doing. So for that, I. She. There's nobody that is like her in my life like that consistently all these years. All these years. And I love her, thinks big, dreams big. She's with all the projects that we. We have been together on, you know, the million women mentors. There it is right there. Not, not. Not small, but huge. And she kept. Every time I turned around, it was million, then it was 5 million, then it was 10 million. I mean, I don't know. It's endless. Million. You know, she. She always takes it to the next step. But I love Edie as a. As a friend and as somebody who is that as. As we have often said to each other, we don't say no to each other. We find a way. And it's like, you want what, tomorrow night, you. Tomorrow night that, yes, we. We've got to move on this right away. So I try to. To always, as she does for me, every single thing I've been involved with she has come for. Whether it's the press club, whether it's the theater world, whether it's art world, whether it's women, whether it's world diplomatic community, whatever, all the many worlds in which she is there for every single one of them. And I'll think, Edie, do you really want to come to the Embassy Chef challenge? That's when we bring every. All the different embassies. Yes, Jan, I want to come just to. I have 10 other things, but I'm going to be there for you that night. I can count on her. Count on that is a very, very dear relationship. But the platform which she's given me to play on and to think big and go for the mountaintop and to make a difference in this life is really why I'm here at this point in my life, too. And I am in a. The age where you really want to say. You want to look back on your life and you just want to say, have I. What have I done? And is it. Am I proud of what's happened in my life and what I'M doing. It's never enough. I will tell you that whatever you. It's never enough. But with Edie by my side, I mean that truly. She is my. She is my go to gal. She is my. Yes gal. She is my right arm, hand, person for everything. That's. That's the beginning.

Thank you, Jan. Edie, what has this friendship meant to you over the years? And how has it shaped both your personal and professional journey together?

I'm humbled by you and your. Your friendship forever. You are our God.