Mind the Ceiling: Recent Episodes
Tamara Laine
Trailblazers. Visionaries. Disrupters. What does it take to get to the top of your industry? Find out and listen in on candid conversations with disruptive womxn leaders, shattering the myths of what it takes to get to the top of any career and find purpose. Hear the unfiltered and undeterred stories of fearless womxn who have shattered ceilings in their industries and changed the world we live in. Mind The Ceiling is a podcast that gives you an inside look at their stories before they became iconic. Uncovering secrets to their success in moments that defined them growing up, finding purpose, and how they also learn to love and trust themselves. These are women who defy convention and pursuing their dreams in careers spanning from aerospace, technology, philanthropy, science, national security, fashion, and more! Join host, Tamara Laine, every week for a new journey and new tips on how you can reach your goals and shatter ceilings.
Has someone ever asked you to describe your superpower? And by superpower, they didn’t mean teleportation or the ability to fly (although we wish that were true), but instead, they meant to ask what you excel at and what makes you stand out. Everyone reading this post right now has a superpower, and whether or not you’ve been able to find yours yet, you’ll enjoy listening to our episode with Haley Lieberman, CEO of ShopTomorrows, where she discusses why your passion is a business unicorn. Growing up, you’re either told to follow your passions or to separate your passions and work. Many of us want to follow our passions, but fear that they will not lead to success, so how can we hone our superpowers and build a business around them? Listen in to hear how you can harness the power of your purpose and discover the tactics ceiling breakers have used to find success.
Follow Haley on Twitter: @haleyliebermanz
Visit ShopTomorrows: https://www.shoptomorrows.com
Episode Takeaways:
- Being super bold about doing what you love doing
- How do you figure out what your superpower is?
- Building a business around your passion
- Finding your passion through what you don’t enjoy doing
- Setting frameworks and expectations to hone our superpowers
Quotes we Keep in Mind:
“You have a superpower; That superpower is the combination of the thing that you are passionate about, that you are excellent in and the thing that you feel most confident about bringing into the business world.”
“I think where founders get into trouble is when they want to start a business for the sake of it and they don’t know where to begin.”
“Don’t try to change yourself. Figure out your spark and do that thing.”
Did you know that 67% of organizations report an increase in productivity as a result of mentorship creating a highly cross-functional and motivated workplace?
Join us in an episode with Ashima Sharma, where she discusses how to use the power of mentorship to reach your true potential. Ashima is currently the Founder and CEO of Dreami, a company that is dedicated to making mentorship accessible for everyone. No matter what stage you are in life, having a mentor can be a life-changing experience and the push you need to accomplish your limitless dreams. Listen in to hear how you can harness the power of your purpose and discover the tactics ceiling breakers have used to find success.
Follow Ashima on social media:
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ashimash
Visit Dreami: https://dreami.io
Episode Takeaways:
How to approach finding a mentor
The power of empowerment in mentorship
Shattering myths about mentorships
The do’s and don'ts of a mentorship relationship
Quotes we Keep in Mind:
“Some of the best mentorship relationships are often the ones that are the most organic. Tapping into your existing network can be an effective way to find and sourcing potential mentors.”
“Mentorship is for life”
“A lot of people think mentorship is about just giving advice; it’s not that, there’s more to it. Really the power of mentorship is empowerment and passing along that empowerment to the next generation.”
Have you ever been told to ‘listen to your gut’ when making an important decision or in a difficult situation?
What this really means is to be in tune with your mind and body and following through with your emotions. Our intuition is the most powerful tool in these situations, yet it is often dismissed as unreliable. However, if you really think about it, who else is going to know you better than well… you! Joining us on a very important episode to continue this conversation is Elissa Weinzimmer, founder of Voice Body Connection, who talks about running a business from a place of embodiment. Listen in to hear how you can harness the power of your purpose and discover the tactics ceiling breakers have used to find success.
Episode Takeaways:
-The power of embodiment.
-Using embodiment to help you reach your goals.
-Listening to your body and following through with your emotions.
-What happens when you’re disembodied?
-The frameworks for honing your intuition.
-The importance of taking breaks and replenishing your body.
Quotes we Keep in Mind:
“That process of going into my body and following through to what I want is what I call the voice body connection process.”
“When we’re just a head on a body separate from each other, we can just keep going and going with what we’ve been doing without questioning whether it’s aligning with how we feel.”
“Embodiment is the process of checking in with what’s really going on.”
Have you heard of the saying: treat others the way you want to be treated? Well, the same can go for the energy that we give off. We are all beaming with energy and oftentimes, the energy we bring into a space will greatly determine the energy that we get back. To get what you want, one must strategically plan to show up where they don’t think they belong and keep a neutral mindset for what’s to come. In this episode, we had the chance to sit down with Maiko Sakai, founder of Airtight Concepts Inc, and learn more about her secret sauce for capturing people’s attention by giving up your ego. Listen in to hear how you can harness the power of your purpose and discover the tactics ceiling breakers have used to find success.
Episode Takeaways:
- Driving forward with imposter syndrome
- Standing out in a crowd
- Getting in touch with your inner self
- Having difficult conversations with yourself
- Learning to let go of your ego to achieve your goals
Quotes we Keep in Mind:
“Dive into the places where you don’t think you belong.”
“You can’t really bs your way out of a relationship with yourself.”
“Look inward and do your inner work. When you show up, people sense those vibes and they’ll go along with it.”
“I always ask this one question and it’s a simple one: ‘what do I want at the end of this? – whatever ‘this’ is’”
Join the Mind The Ceiling Movement:
MIND THE CEILING LINKEDIN COMMUNITY: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mindtheceiling
MIND THE CEILING INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/mindtheceiling
MIND THE CEILING SHOWNOTES: http://mindtheceiling.com
Have you ever thought about changing career paths but have no idea where to begin? From a corporate and legal background to breaking into the spirits industry, Mara Smith, founder of INSPIRO Tequila, has had her fair share of building her way up in an unfamiliar industry. In this episode, she shares with us the research hacks to launching a product as an industry outsider. Listen in to hear how you can harness the power of your purpose and discover the tactics ceiling breakers have used to find success.
Episode Takeaways:
-Breaking into a new industry with limited knowledge
-Strategies for learning and researching what you don’t know.
Quotes we Keep in Mind:
“You can innovate in an industry, even as an outsider, if you are willing to put in the hard work and do the research. The more prepared you are, the better.”
“To enter any new industry, you really have to put in the work and take advantage of every resource out there.”
“If you want to learn something new, there are so many resources out there, and they’re all at your fingertips.”
Join the Mind The Ceiling Movement:
MIND THE CEILING LINKEDIN COMMUNITY: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mindtheceiling
MIND THE CEILING INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/mindtheceiling
MIND THE CEILING SHOWNOTES: http://mindtheceiling.com
Have you ever sat down for an interview and tried to tailor yourself to the job description? Statistically speaking, women and BIPOC are less likely to apply for a job unless they meet almost 100% of the job requirements. Upon learning this, Pascale Joseph – founder of Equity Through Liberation – knew that she had to work against the statistics and began engaging in conversations and applying to jobs that she wasn’t entirely qualified for. In this episode, Pascale dives into how to remain true to your authentic self in order to pursue your lifelong dreams. Rather than making yourself small and undisruptive, Pascale suggests that you begin practicing that organizations are lucky to have you and what you have to bring to the table. At the end of the day, the organization that you work for should understand your worth and provide you with the space to grow. Want to unleash your authentic self? Listen in to hear how you can harness the power of your purpose and discover the tactics ceiling breakers have used to find success.
Follow Pascale on social media:
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/pascalej-mid
Visit Equity Through Liberation: https://www.equityxliberation.org
Episode Takeaways:
- Committing to your authentic self
- How to tell when you’re being your authentic self
- Shattering the guilt that comes with retreating and not speaking your mind
- How reflecting on your feelings can lead to significant career growth
- Asking candid questions during interviews to find where you belong
Quotes we Keep in Mind:
“Early on in my career and even before I started my career, one of the things that have really guided my growth were the things that people told me that I should do or who I should be or the dreams that I should have.
“From there, I realized why am I silencing myself to make other people feel comfortable?”
“I started being very vocal – inserting myself into conversations and made it a point to be there.”
“I still made it a point to make sure that there were empty seats for people who I felt should be there as well.”
MIND THE CEILING LINKEDIN COMMUNITY: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mindtheceiling
MIND THE CEILING INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/mindtheceiling
MIND THE CEILING SHOWNOTES: http://mindtheceiling.com
Networking can be a daunting task especially if you’re trying to break into a new industry and are more on the introverted side. What if we were to tell you that you can use Twitter (yes 280 characters) as a tool to leverage your network right from the comfort of your own home? Sounds amazing, doesn't it? Join us on this episode with founder and CEO of Petminded, Sonali Nigam, to learn about her tips for using Twitter to build community and network in a new industry. Whether you’re completely new to the social media game or you’ve been a lifelong user, everyone has something to learn from the media that is constantly evolving. Want to learn more? Listen in to hear how you can harness the power of your purpose and discover the tactics ceiling breakers have used to find success.
Follow Sonali on social media:
Twitter: @sonalinigamnyc
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/sonalinigam
Visit Petminded: https://petmindedtravel.com/events/
Episode Takeaways:
-How to approach finding micro-communities on Twitter
-The steps to approaching someone on Twitter
-Building your presence on social media
-Tips for how to improve your Twitter profile for increased engagement
Quotes we Keep in Mind:
“I think my tactic works particularly well for introverts”
“A lot of us associate twitter with a lot of toxicity and political discourse, but something that I’ve discovered about Twitter is that there are many micro-communities.”
“There are influential leaders everywhere”
MIND THE CEILING LINKEDIN COMMUNITY: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mindtheceiling
MIND THE CEILING INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/mindtheceiling
MIND THE CEILING SHOWNOTES: http://mindtheceiling.com
Walking into a room full of people, who you don’t feel like you belong with, can be a frightening experience. That’s what Jill Goldenziel felt when she walked into a room full of men dressed in camouflage on her first day as a professor at Marine Corps University-Command and Staff College. Prior to this moment, Jill had no military experience. In this episode, she tackles the topic of shattering gender roles while in a leadership position. Listen in to hear how you can harness the power of your purpose and discover the tactics ceiling breakers have used to find success.
Follow Jill on social media:
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jillgoldenziel
Website: https://jillgoldenziel.com
Episode Takeaways:
-Realizing that leadership has no gender
-Keeping a team mindset
-Advice for harnessing empowerment when walking into a highly male-dominated environment
-Eliminating the gender lens
Quotes we Keep in Mind:
“My gender doesn’t matter much on a day to day basis because I’m just part of the team”
“In the marine corps, you are a team. Trust is assumed and you can’t function without trusting the people that you’re working with”
“When you’re stuck in a room of people for a week in a windowless room going through PowerPoint after PowerPoint, you can’t help but have some kind of shared bond and begin breaking barriers.”
“A lot of what we know about gender can easily lead to self-limiting beliefs”
MIND THE CEILING LINKEDIN COMMUNITY: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mindtheceiling
MIND THE CEILING INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/mindtheceiling
MIND THE CEILING SHOWNOTES: http://mindtheceiling.com
Want to know how to radically and sustainably improve your productivity? Try energy plotting.
The Mind, the Ceiling team, wanted to dive into this fantastic tactic, so we chatted with Jackie Ghedine – Co-founder of Modern Gen X Women – a company providing business and career coaching to modern Gen X Women, so that they can live the life that they want. She shares with us how she uses energy plotting to enhance productivity. YES!
As a career and life coach, nothing excites Jackie more than coaching clients. After a coaching session with Jackie, you are bound to come out feeling refreshed and ready to take on the day with her energy plotting tool. As we enter into 2022, many of us have set resolutions to be more productive. However, productivity can often be a tricky road to navigate. Want to learn more about the tool that countless entrepreneurs incorporate into their day to reach peak productivity levels?
Listen in to hear how you can harness the power of your purpose and discover the tactics ceiling breakers have used to find success.
Follow Jackie on social media:
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jackieghedine
Visit Modern Gen X Women: moderngenxwoman.com
Episode Takeaways:
What is energy plotting – a basic breakdown
The debate about whether you should do tasks that give you negative energy
How to get started with energy plotting
Quotes we Keep in Mind:
“Energy plotting is a way to tap into your own inner energy and leveraging it so that you can become more productive.”
“Energy plotting is an absolute game-changer for productivity, the way you work and reserving the use of the prefrontal cortex to the times when it responds best for you.”
“When your energy is highest, do the tasks that take the most energy from you and vise versa.”
Join the Mind The Ceiling Movement:
MIND THE CEILING LINKEDIN COMMUNITY: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mindtheceiling
MIND THE CEILING INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/mindtheceiling
MIND THE CEILING SHOWNOTES: http://mindtheceiling.com
We all live busy lives. Especially as an entrepreneur, your schedule can get really hectic at times. Tune in for an episode with Lori Sussle Bonanni, founder of Elssus, LCC – a multi-disciplined communications consultancy, to discuss boosting your creativity with a maker manager schedule. It is a fantastic tool she developed while working in a corporate job! It was then that Lori came to the realization it was more often than not that she had no control over her own schedule. It wasn’t until she came across the idea of splitting your day into creative chunks using a maker manager schedule that she completely transformed her days and productivity. Now, she wishes to pass down what she’s learned to future entrepreneurs so that they can own their schedules and don’t make the same mistakes as she did. Listen in to hear how you can harness the power of your purpose and discover the tactics ceiling breakers have used to find success.
Follow Lori on social media:
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lorisusslebonanni
Visit Elssus: https://www.lorisusslebonanni.com
Episode Takeaways:
How to transform your day with a Maker Manager schedule
Owning your schedule
How to implement a framework in place and stick to it
Quotes we Keep in Mind:
“I think throughout my career in corporate, I’ve never been able to control my schedule.“
“When I worked in corporate, I used to leave a post-it note on my laptop before I left for the day and I’d put the top 3-5 things that had to be accomplished for the next day. And I will tell you, 9 and a half times out of 10, something would happen in the overnight hours that that list no longer mattered.”
“Having that flexibility to shift to what’s urgent and what’s important has set me up well to be an entrepreneur because every day is different”
Join the Mind The Ceiling Movement:
MIND THE CEILING LINKEDIN COMMUNITY: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mindtheceiling
MIND THE CEILING INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/mindtheceiling
MIND THE CEILING SHOWNOTES: http://mindtheceiling.com
For years, women-managed funds have outperformed their all-male counterparts. And this is not new, with women's tendency to do better than men at investing going all the way back to the early 1990s. So why is it that only roughly 5% of Venture Capital (VC) partners are women?
Meet Shila Nieves Burney, Mariah Lictenstern, and Rachel ten Brink, three women who have topped VC/entrepreneurship charts with accolades that are constantly growing-- a single post couldn't completely describe.
But more importantly, they've always held their beliefs and who they are central to their work.
Their experiences resonated so much with me because their drive is unmistakable and inspires everyone around them-- including myself.
Some of us may shy away from being our true selves in industries where women are underrepresented.
These three women haven't, and it's made them all the more successful and influential as venture capitalists, advocates, and leaders.
Here's what you'll learn from this Mastermind Panel on Redirecting the Trajectory of VC Leadership:
- advice from successful entrepreneurs and venture capitalists on hustle and drive
- how changing the trajectory of women leadership in VCs can transform business and the economy for the better
- what you should know if you want to start your own fund and change the face of VC.
Listen & Subscribe in the Comments.
Follow us to receive much-needed affirmations, care, and tips to boost your career!
Join the Mind The Ceiling Movement:
MIND THE CEILING LINKEDIN COMMUNITY: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mindtheceiling
MIND THE CEILING INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/mindtheceiling
MIND THE CEILING SHOWNOTES: http://mindtheceiling.com
They call her the velvet hammer, although she admits that she’s lost some velvet and is a little more hammer now.
Meet Stacey Kinkead, a Technology Executive with over twenty years of experience in building companies from the ground up in e-commerce, marketplaces, mobile, and healthcare.
Her passion for helping others led her to pioneering technology solutions in healthcare, bringing us one step closer to making healthcare more efficient and accessible for everyone.
In this episode, we dive into Stacey’s entrepreneurial roots in Amazon.com when it was only a 3-year-old startup, her passion for tackling big, hairy, complex problems, women’s rights in the workplace, and her advice on redesigning an unnavigable career growth system for women all around the world. Listen in to hear how you can harness the power of your purpose and discover the tips ceiling breakers have used to find success.
Some key takeaways we love:
-How lending out a helping hand has shaped Stacey’s purpose in life
-Finding pathways in obstacles
-The power of self-advocating
-What Stacey believes needs to change in the healthcare system
-Dealing with inequality in the workplace takes redesigning an unnavigable system
-How bold statements can lead to bolder results
- And, why we need more female-founded startups
Follow Stacey on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/staceykinkead/
MIND THE CEILING LINKEDIN COMMUNITY: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mindtheceiling
MIND THE CEILING INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/mindtheceiling
MIND THE CEILING SHOWNOTES: http://mindtheceiling.com
She is a financial powerhouse who strives to promote the highest standards of education, ethics, and professional excellence in the investment industry. Meet Margaret Franklin, CFA, the first woman President and CEO of CFA Institute, a global not-for-profit organization providing financial literacy to professionals worldwide. Shockingly, Margaret’s entrance into the investment management industry was completely accidental, and on the show, she dives into what led her there. She talks about the power of saying yes and finding what you're good at and sticking to it. Margaret also mentions how mentorship can be used as a tool to leap forward in your career. Listen in to hear how you can harness the power of your purpose.
Follow Margaret on Twitter: @CFAInstituteCEO
Quotes We Keep In Mind:
“I think you just have to be very clear about what's important to you, not to let other people tell you, or determine what's important to you.”
“Everything you did gets you to where you are today right now”
"If you love what you're doing, I'd say carry on."
MIND THE CEILING LINKEDIN COMMUNITY: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mindtheceiling
MIND THE CEILING INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/mindtheceiling
MIND THE CEILING SHOWNOTES: http://mindtheceiling.com
Investment Banking? Skydiving? The only thing they seem to have in common is- risk, something Melanie Curtis, Executive Director of the Women's Skydiving Network, co-author of three books, and co-host of Trust the Journey podcast, has learned to embrace with grace. Risk is terrifying. Like many of us, Melanie faced fears about her ability to support herself by doing the thing she loves. It was not until she quit her job and took the leap into full-time diving that she discovered her potential as a prominent skydiver and leader in the community. How does she do it? In today's episode, Melanie dives into how she overcame impostor syndrome, how she heals herself, and how she has carved out a career path in the midst of fear. Listen in to hear how you can harness the power of your purpose and take some positive risks!
Follow Melanie on
Facebook and Instagram: @melaniecurtis11
Youtube: @melaniecurtiscom
http://melaniecurtis.com/
http://trustthejourney.today/
http://highlightskydiving.com/
http://www.womensskydivingnetwork.org/
Quotes We Keep In Mind:
"It [Skydiving] absolutely has gotten easier. It's not that the fear or the anxiety is gone, totally. But it absolutely gets easier with iteration."
"I've continued to be relentless on anything that I want to do."
"So when I jumped, and I landed, and I was not dead, right? It was like my brain was fundamentally altered, in the sense that not all you can do anything, but anything that I'm afraid of, or I think I can't do, I have to at least question whether that's true or not."
MIND THE CEILING LINKEDIN COMMUNITY: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mindtheceiling
MIND THE CEILING INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/mindtheceiling
MIND THE CEILING SHOWNOTES: http://mindtheceiling.com
Audacity-- that's what Tiana Clark lives by. She tells us about her audacity to join the air force at age 19, to continue pursuing her college degree while deployed, to interview for a corporate job that had already extended an offer to someone else, and then rewrote the job description. What values do you live by? On the show, Tiana dives into how she embodies audacity in her day-to-day life. She talks about how to overcome feelings of inferiority in male-dominated industries, how to step into self-advocacy as womxn, and even shares her tips for landing jobs over more qualified candidates. Want in? Press play to listen in to Mind The Ceiling to hear how you can harness the power of your purpose and discover the tips ceiling breakers have used to find success.
Follow Tiana on twitter: @tianasclark
Check out Driver Seat Experience, which launched in mid-September!
Here’s what you’ll learn from Tiana:
- How Tiana found purpose after being orphaned at a young age
- What Tiana does to keep a high vibrational mindset
- Tiana’s tips for landing jobs over more qualified candidates
- How to overcome feelings of inferiority in male-dominated industries
- How to step into self-advocacy as women
- Her advice for dealing with phone addiction and social media
- And more...
Join the Mind The Ceiling Movement:
MIND THE CEILING LINKEDIN COMMUNITY: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mindtheceiling
MIND THE CEILING INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/mindtheceiling
MIND THE CEILING SHOWNOTES: http://mindtheceiling.com
She was the first female Partner at Zero Capital, a leading fintech VC firm. The face of #MeToo on Wall Street. And that's just from the past few years of her life. Meet Lauren Bonner, an inverter and operator, driving measurable change.
On the show, Lauren dives into how she made big career-altering decisions. But that's not all: for any current or future entrepreneur out there, this show is meant for you. Lauren gives insight into who and what she invests in, shares her hard-earned advice for anyone launching a venture, and discusses how to build and lead successful, outperforming teams. Want in? Press play to listen in to Mind The Ceiling to hear how you can harness the power of your purpose and discover the tips ceiling breakers have used to find success.
Follow Lauren on Twitter: @laurenbonnernyc
Quotes We Keep In Mind
"Fishsticks!"
"Everybody asks lots of stupid questions. So who cares? I had teachers who would never allow me to say, this might be a stupid question. That's what gave me the fearlessness-- to always put myself out there."
"I thought it was just absolutely off the wall crazy to go from, from nonprofit to finance... but okay, I'll give it a shot. And so that's how I ended up in finance."
"How can I be useful here? Both with my time and my capital."
Join the Mind The Ceiling Movement:
MIND THE CEILING LINKEDIN COMMUNITY: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mindtheceiling
MIND THE CEILING INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/mindtheceiling
MIND THE CEILING SHOWNOTES: http://mindtheceiling.com
How do you build the world you want to live in? Not only does Nathalie Molina Niño, technologist, investor, writer, and all-around advocate, have an answer but she is taking steps to create that just world. From day one, Nathalie has been relentless in using every opportunity given to her, from brokering deals to buy her first car, which led to her first business, to using her success to advise multinational companies and foundations, influencing the global economy. On the show, Nathalie dives into how you can find success while still pushing for justice and how storytelling has been her superpower even in the tech and investing industries. Listen in to hear how you can harness the power of your purpose and discover the tips ceiling breakers have used to find success.
Follow Nathalie on Twitter: @NathalieMolina
Instagram: @nathaliemolinanino
Quotes We Keep In Mind
“I stopped using the word empowerment, a while ago, because it reminds me of things like when people talk about giving voice to the voiceless. No one is voiceless right? And what we need to be doing is removing the things that are silencing them.”
“My culture is a big part of where my power is.”
“You can fall into a place of complacency and just be like well that's just how it's always been. That's hopelessness at work and that's in some ways the culture that keeps people marginalized.”
Join the Mind The Ceiling Movement:
MIND THE CEILING LINKEDIN COMMUNITY: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mindtheceiling
MIND THE CEILING INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/mindtheceiling
MIND THE CEILING SHOWNOTES: http://mindtheceiling.com
Season 2 of Mind the Ceiling launches next week!
This season features incredibly candid conversations on making hard choices that lead to a more equitable workplace, building the world you want to live in, and jumping out of planes for justice.
I am honored to have had the chance to chat with these fearless womxn on how they are charting new paths, leading organizations, and fearlessly doing it with passion and purpose.
Don't miss these conversations starting this week:
Lauren Bonner - Investor & Operator
Nathalie Molina Niño - Known Holdings
Tiana S. Clark, The Audacious Commander - Drivers Seat Experience
Stacey Kinkead - Technology Executive
Tamara Horton -Studio Samuel
Margaret Franklin, CFA - CFA Institute
Melanie Curtis - Women's Skydiving Network
If you need to catch up on season 1, you can listen now!
She launched the first female-founded distillery in NYC and was the first solo female distiller in the United States. Within five years of the launch, she formed a strategic partnership with Proximo Spirits, and finally sold the company to launch mission-driven Rockaway Drinks.
Meet Bridget Firtle, a serial entrepreneur and investor in a highly male dominated industry-- spirits. Even if your industry of choice is different, everyone has a lot to learn from Bridget. On the show, she talks about confidence and how she cultivated her own from an early age. Bridget also shares important tips about finances-- personal and for any new business. With a hurdle-heavy path to purpose, Bridget reflects on some of the toughest personal challenges she faced in her career that have shaped her life today. Listen in to hear how you can harness the power of your purpose and discover the tips ceiling breakers have used to find success.
Follow Bridget: @bridgetcfirtle
Follow Rockaway Drinks: @drinkrockaway
Quotes We Keep In Mind
"A lot of times you're more smart, more prepared, and more capable than the person you're sitting across the table from."
"So anytime that I'm doubting myself, I'm constantly having conversations with myself. And I'll say like, Okay, I'm not ready to make a decision on this yet, but keep talking to yourself about it. Stay calm, and you will get clarity on the decision. And then you'll have a decision."
"Humility is important, no matter how capable you are."
Let's break ceilings! Join the movement:
MIND THE CEILING LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mindtheceiling
MIND THE CEILING INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/mindtheceiling
MIND THE CEILING SHOWNOTES: http://mindtheceiling.com
How setting boundaries can lead to success, and why nurturing connections can help enhance policy work. Learning these key skills not only helps maintain work and life balance can be the key to so many career elevating steps. Amanda Koonjbeharry did this by recognizing her self-worth! Amanda’s journey into social work took a detour, and now she’s the Director of Public Policy at Citizen’s League, a nonpartisan, thinktank, leading civic engagement across Minnesota on critical issues such as anti-sex trafficking or better policing. On the show, she shares important realizations about her self-worth and how that has led to powerful mindfulness habits, setting boundaries, and trusting herself. Listen in to hear how you can harness the power of your purpose and discover the tips ceiling breakers have used to find success.
Follow Amanda on Twitter: @koonjbeharry
Instagram: @akoonjbeharry
Facebook: Amanda Koonjbeharry
Quotes We Keep In Mind
“I want young girls to know, and what I would have told myself is: You are so freaking amazing. You are so beautiful. You are so worthy. And the folks that are not for you, that's okay, you're going to find a million other people that are, and they are worth your time.”
“I don't want to be afraid of the unknown-- I just wanted to go for it.”
“Nobody is going to die because you are not sitting in this desk right now. And I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, you're right.’ It was like a weight just fell off.”
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She's utilizing her legal degree to fight against today's hardest issues: criminal justice and sustainability.
Meet Tahda Ahtone, lawyer, entrepreneur, prosecutor, attorney, proud mother, and advocate of the side hustle.
After graduating high school at age 16, as an Olympic fencing hopeful, Tahda hit a crossroads in her career, one that changed her trajectory forever. Along the way, she cultivated authentic tactics to network and genuinely connecting with others-- creating relationships that would serve her and her business, years after. On the show, she dives into how she leverages her legal skills, network, and alliances to build her business in an industry dominated by men. Listen in to hear how you can harness the power of your purpose and discover the tips ceiling breakers have used to find success.
Follow Tahda on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tahdaaahtone/
Quotes We Keep In Mind:
"It takes a lot of hard work, that sometimes is painful, but it's worth it. Getting hit or slapped by a saber does not feel good. But getting to walk away with the victory is definitely worth it."
"It helped me to understand the power of people like me, people of color, being in those positions and able to help their people because I was able to, as a prosecutor, take a much more humanitarian stance."
"Society pushes that we [women] should be competing with each other. When really, if we would join together in our networks, we can help lift each other up a lot faster than if we see each other as competition."
She's redesigning our world in a radically new way. How? Systems! By looking at the world through a lens of fostering belonging, Aubrey Blanche, Director of Equitable Design at Culture Amp, is able to see solutions to some of the toughest problems we all face. On the show, Aubrey shares how she found and uses her new approach of building equitable systems in her life and on a global scale in top-tier companies, such as Atlassian. And how staying curious leads to success. Listen in to hear how you can harness the power of your purpose and discover the tips ceiling breakers have used to find success.
Follow Aubrey on Twitter: @adblanche
Medium: @adblanche
Linkedin: @adblanche
Quotes We Keep In Mind
“I go to my dad and he looks me dead in the face. He says ‘You're not as good as the boys at math.’ I thought I was going to die. And then he goes, ‘You're much better than them, and the only way for them to beat you is, if you quit.’”
“Being wrong is not the worst thing in the world. Continuing to be wrong is the worst.”
“My moon is in Aquarius, if that's funny to anyone, so I analyze every emotion. I'm also a Virgo-- there's a lot of analysis going on. So for me, it's about bringing those things together, rather than thinking of them as different ends of the spectrum, actually thinking about how we can get those to coexist together.”
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How do you build movements that elevate immigrant and racial justice? Award-Winning Writer, Lawyer, Activist, and Trainer, Deepa's personal life and career have always been about groundbreaking work, especially surrounding South Asian American communities. But Deepa’s path to purpose wasn’t simple-- after jumping into the nonprofit space, pivoting to law, and then back to the nonprofit sector, on top of starting her own activist organization, Deepa has tons of life lessons about how to create lasting, impactful social change in a variety of different ways. She reflects on her drive behind her work as a response to her own struggles with race growing up, and she shares tips for other women who find themselves in a similar position on how she shifted her mindset to overcome those challenges and how she relied on her existing communities. Listen in to hear how you can harness the power of your purpose and discover the tips ceiling breakers have used to find success.
Follow Deepa on Twitter: @dviyer
Instagram: @deepaviyer
Quotes We Keep In Mind
“Having that core community that you can trust, that you can go to when you're feeling lonely, overwhelmed, or unsure of yourself, and that can reaffirm who you are is so important.”
“I learned what it meant to have a goal and stick with it, even when a lot of times, things were going wrong or things were crumbling or would crumble and to pick myself back up.”
“I could rise above this, and that you know it did not have to define me.”
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She built her career on her core beliefs, fighting for fairness and civil liberties, leading to her pivotal role as the President of the ACLU through both the Trump and Obama Administrations.
Meet Susan Herman, inaugural Ruth Bader Ginsburg Professor of Law at Brooklyn Law School.
Susan has always been a fighter, battling a sexist American education system as early as third grade. She opens up about how she was perceived as a woman pursuing a law education in the 1960s when university doors were just opening for women students. Susan shares tips on dealing with controversy on both a personal and national level, diving into how she led a national organization during such a tumultuous time. Listen in to hear how you can harness the power of your purpose and discover the tips ceiling breakers have used to find success.
Follow Susan on Twitter: @Susan_N_Herman
Quotes We Keep In Mind
“I put myself in the way of that luck.”
"I just really felt for people who were being treated as if they didn't matter. They can't do that to you. They can't tell you who to be and that you're not important."
"You don't become a successful woman by trying to imitate being a man. You figure out, you know, there are a lot of women who are soft-spoken, but they're going to get their words in."
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Not only the first woman to have her own opinion column in the Chicago Sun-Times, one of America's top newspapers, but Debra Pickett also managed to snag the role a few years after her undergrad. But Debra's early success came from an important realization: Doing “good work” is not enough-- there is a crucial aspect of self-promotion, says award-winning television and print journalist. Debra explains how to authentically self-promote through recognizing your self-worth, something many of us forget to do all too often. In the rooms where decisions happen, her sense of self-worth represents not just her but all the people who look like her and don't have a spot in the room. Listen in to hear how you can harness the power of your purpose and discover the tips ceiling breakers have used to find success.
Quotes We Keep In Mind
"I've been lucky enough to do that [break ceilings] a couple of times in my career."
"You have that added responsibility for being at the top of your game and delivering excellence because it's not just coming from me, but it's coming from me, as a representative of someone who's different from them."
"You know that's the life lesson: You're not going to be number one at everything. But you can find something, and you can find that track if you just dig into it."
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She’s taken on Capitol Hill, worked in the AmeriCorps, and shaken up local policy. How did Emily go from babysitting to a brave councilperson representing one of Jersey's busiest cities and a leading voice for families and children at one of America's top federal agencies? By building a strong network! As a woman, the journey to Capitol Hill was "difficult" but she's driven by the life-changing impact she has on Hoboken and America. However, before she could conquer the ballot box, Emily reveals she had to overcome lifelong battles with impostor syndrome. Now she tells us her secret sauce to creating allies, combatting cyberbullies, and how to push past your inner critic.
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