54: Moms in Professional Development

Lori Mihalich-Levin and Jason Levin are excited to bring you the second in their two-part series of interviews with moms and dads in professional development! 

Today, Lori and Jason are happy to welcome two wonderful moms in professional development, Aisha Greene and Stephanie Felder, to share their stories.

Aisha is the Director of Attorney Development and Training at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP. She oversees firm professional development programming, including the formal assignment systems, partner and associate mentoring programs, upward and downward attorney performance evaluations, diversity programs, pro bono and corporate social responsibility initiatives, and all formal training and continuing legal education programs. Aisha lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband and two wonderful daughters, ages 10 and 13. 

Stephanie has more than fifteen years of experience in attorney professional development at two Am Law 100 firms. In her current role at Groom Law Group, she is responsible for creating a comprehensive training and development curriculum for all attorneys at Groom and developing and overseeing the execution of strategies related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Stephanie lives in Richmond, Virginia, with her husband Zach, her 8-year-old daughter, and her 5-year-old son. 

Stay tuned to hear what Aisha and Stephanie say about their experiences as moms working in the field of professional development.

Show highlights:

• Aisha and Stephanie share their personal working parent journeys. (4:02) (5:55)
• How Stephanie’s legal professional development training and skills prepared her for being a mom. (8:15)
• Aisha describes what it’s like to be a parent in professional development today. (9:26) 
• Aisha discusses the contrast between being a parent in professional development and being a parent as a legal associate. (10:23)
• The workplace supports that were the most helpful and impactful for Stephanie when she became a working parent. (12:27)
• Aisha talks about the magic of having informal workplace support. (16:09)
• Stephanie gets into what she learned from her challenging first job as an infant room teacher at a daycare center. (21:10)
• Skills Aisha gained from being a parent that have been helpful in her job. (26:20)
• Changes in the field of professional development that are impacting parents. (28:54) (31:14)
• Aisha discusses the importance of having working parent-caregiver groups across all industries. (35:56)
• How Aisha and Stephanie’s approach to time management changed when they became parents. (38:22) (40:10)

Links and resources:

Aisha Greene on LinkedIn

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

Stephanie Felder on LinkedIn

Groom Law Group

If you’re a leader of a working parent or caregiver employee resource group or affinity group (or would like to start one at your place of employment), join the Working Parent Group Network (WPGN) learning collaborative, at to www.mindfulreturn.com/wpgn

Books mentioned:

Work Parent Thrive by Dr. Yael Schonbrun

How to Talk So Kids Will Listen, and Listen So Kids Will Talk by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish

The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

Impact Winter by Travis Beacham

Mentioned in this episode:

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