What I Do: Career Stories: Recent Episodes
Alexa Loken
Ever wondered what other people really do in their careers? Listen in as career and business coach Alexa Loken interviews a medley of people with interesting jobs.
Josh Silberstein is currently the CEO of Social Venture Partners, Boulder County; he’s spent almost two decades in the nonprofit world and was previously a professional musician.
Dr. Edward Brodkin is a tenured Professor of Psychiatry at UPenn and a co-author of the bestselling book Missing Each Other: How to Cultivate Meaningful Connections.
Ann Messer, MD, is an educator and family practice doctor. She’s found One Good Turn, a nonprofit providing global health workers tools and knowledge to build self-sustaining, healthy communities.
Nic Moe is Data Visualization Engineer at Lumere. He’s worked in a variety of roles in the healthcare world and received his Master's in public health in 2018.
Dave Wells is a Program Manager at Cisco, and was previously at HP for decades as a project and supply chain manager; he holds both a BS in Engineering, an MBA and a PMP.
Alex Lau is a Senior Software Engineer at Mystery Science and has been a programmer for over a decade.
Mindy Jensen is a real estate agent, investor, author in Colorado, and the online community manager for BiggerPockets.com.
Daniela Iannello started Milwickee Candles, a luxury candle company during the first month of COVID.
Lisa Kettyle is the COO at Marfa Public Radio (MPR), and has always been involved with her local, artistic community.
Kimber White Erlinger is a co-founder and co-owner of E3 Properties, a real estate brokerage firm she’s run for 12 years. Previously, she was a writer and researcher at National Geographic and Discovery in DC.
Diana Chavez works in higher education, heading global university recruiting and promoting diversity and inclusion.
Kelly Herrington is a creative filmmaker for charity: water, a nonprofit working to eliminate the water crisis around the world.
Sarah Flores is an HVACR installer and “handy ma'am”, previously she was a plumber’s apprentice and served for 7 years in the Marine Corps.
Julia Moon is the Head of Operations at Seafair. She’s worked at Uber, 2 of the Big 4, and is a recent Wharton MBA grad.
Jess Warren is an artistic and creative Product Designer. She started her career as a graphic designer, ran a design consulting business, and taught herself UX/UI.
Liana Nicklaus is a Senior Design Engineer at Arm. She has both her BS and MS in Electrical Engineering.
Susie Vulpas works in international Marine Conservation in Indonesia. She was a Fulbright Research Scholar in Java researching mangroves, a U.S. State Dept Critical Language Scholar, and did the Peace Corps in Mali.
Julianna LaRosa is a Producer. She’s currently the VP, Head of Development and Production at ChangeUp Productions in LA. She’s previously worked in TV development and casting.
Scott Yeates is the founder and president of Mythology Distillery, a craft distillery in Denver. His whiskey, gin, vodka and other spirits have been named Best CO Distillery two years in a row and its spirits have been awarded many Medals.
Zach Olschwanger is the founder of The Austin Bouldering Project (the largest bouldering gym in the country) and he recently cofounded Crafted Energy, as well as finishing his MBA from LSE this year.
Sean Woods is a Literary Manager and Development Executive at Fourward, a management firm in LA. He works closely with writers to put their creative work into production.
Alicia Kort is a journalist. She’s based in NYC, has written for 15 magazines and online publications. She's currently a full-time eCommerce Writer at SHE Media's sites.
Claire Hoverman is a medical doctor of obstetrics and gynecology (OBGYN) in Austin. She treats women of all ages, and all diagnoses from irregular periods to pregnancy to prolapse. If she’s not in clinic, then she's probably out delivering babies (like mine, last December!) and previously has volunteered with Doctors Without Borders in Sierra Leone.
Amanda Maltz is a manager for learning and organizational development at Warner Brothers Entertainment in LA. Previously, she was a Senior HR Manager at Legendary Entertainment, worked with talent at Netflix, and headed Learning and Development at Lionsgate.
Bowen Vernan is a US Navy Officer and helicopter pilot! He’s currently transitioning to the civilian sector as a commercial airline pilot. He worked on the operational policy side of the Navy doing international planning and security, working with NATO and facilitating security cooperation with Middle Eastern countries.
Carson Sartain is the Senior Media Relations Manager for The Nature Conservancy’s Texas Chapter. Previously she was an Account Lead at an agency, did freelance work, and worked in LA in production and writing on TV shows.
Tanna Thomas works in medical oncology and previously worked on a cancer unit at a hospital. She works at Texas Oncology Central Austin as their Senior RN for Clinical Research. Tanna went to school at UT Austin and graduated with her bachelor of science in nursing in 2008.
Emily Larson Kubiak is an energy efficiency enthusiast and Certified Energy Manager. She leads the Energy Efficiency and Renewables Program at Sustainable Connections in Bellingham, WA. Previously she educated residents around recycling and worked with low-income weatherization projects.
Matt Henry serves in the Air Force as an officer and a JAG, where he’s currently stationed in Japan! He received his J.D. from Brooklyn Law School in 2014. He was a commercial litigator and intellectual property attorney and is currently the Chief of Military Justice for Yokota Air Base legal office in Tokyo.
Matt Schwartz is a foley artist, which means he is a sound re-recording mixer and sound designer. Based in LA, he runs a business designing sound for films, web-series, commercials, and documentaries. He’s worked as a freelancer for Netflix, DirecTV, and independent filmmakers and also teaches advanced post-production at the LA Recording School.
Katherine Watier Ong is a self-professed digital media geek. She lives near DC and runs WO Strategies, focused on online marketing strategy and SEO. Previously she worked at Ketchum doing online marketing and analytics.
Erin Gurak is the District Director for U.S. Congressman Lloyd Doggett. Erin’s office liaisons between Doggett’s constituents in Texas district 35 and the Democratic Congressman himself. Erin manages 35 people, and oversees all operations and outreach.
Brett Haginas is a labor and birth doula, and also teaches yoga. She has a passion for healing and being of service, whether that’s on a yoga mat or in the delivery room!
Tara Chapman is a beekeeper in Austin. She started Two Hives Honey four years ago (which now has over 200 hives!). Her first job after attending Duke was with the Central Intelligence Agency working in operations in Pakistan.
Hannah Halliday works at NASA measuring air pollution and greenhouse gasses. She got her masters and PhD from Penn State in atmospheric science. She has worked at the NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton VA as a postdoc for the past three years.
Josh Wilkinson has planned and executed over a thousand events in his career. He works events at the Austin Public Library’s downtown Central Library and got his bachelors from UT in Radio/TV/Film.
Wilton Person is an attorney who runs his law office in Chicago, focusing on providing legal services to small and medium size businesses. Wilton earned his undergrad degree, then played baseball with the Atlanta Braves for three years before going back to school to earn his MBA.
Jessica Salerno-Woodbury has always loved music. She's run her music teaching business, Salerno Strings, for 15 years on the Big Island of Hawaii. She teaches students of all ages and learned to play a different instrument every quarter of college!
Collin McMichael heads education programs for environmental nonprofit, TreeFolks. He loves plants, trees, insects and generally the biology of the natural world.
Renee Fouquet launched CLEAN.FIT, a subscription box service for people who want healthy snacks for their busy lives. A self-proclaimed health nut, she earned her bachelors and MBA from Georgia State University.
Sandra Goldenberg is an associate veterinarian at Spicewood Springs Animal Hospital in Austin and she’s been a practicing vet for 4 years. She went to UPenn for an undergrad in biology and then went on to become a doctor of veterinary medicine.
Susan Alfs works in biotech in L.A. as a Process Validation Specialist at Atara Biotherapeutics, launching the manufacture of their first product. She went to Carnegie Mellon and later earned her Master’s of Biosciences.
Rachel Berkowitz is a software engineer, by way of an intensive programming bootcamp, the Grace Hopper Program. She works at Lifion and volunteers with Brooklyn public high school students to teach them how to code.
Carrie Yoder and her husband got into the world of credit card points before most people knew it existed- they then spent 5 years traveling the world FOR FREE!
A deep dive with renowned residential architect Joe Fisher. Joe describes his career, with an in depth guide through his story, and a description of how he creates people's houses.
Introductory Episode of What I Do: Career Stories. Founder of Loken Careers, Alexa Loken dives into how she got to this point in her career and why she loves what she does.
Listen in as Elle Pace, who has worked at advertising firms McGarrah Jessee and GSD&M, talks about her career path in advertising with some of the most iconic southern brands on the market.
Ilyssa Herrington is a personal wardrobe stylist. She started a business working with women who want a wardrobe that represents who they truly are. She worked at Anthropologie for 7 years and went to the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in LA.