REACH - A Podcast for Executive Assistants
Episodes
In this episode of REACH, LaChristian Taylor, Executive Assistant at Exabeam, shares her story of how she’s been able to break down barriers and find the common ground between herself and her colleagues/executives in order to allow true collaboration to happen. LaChristian knows what it feels like to be the new kid on the block. As a woman of color who supports at the highest level, she has often found herself to be the only minori...
In this episode of REACH, Clarivel Barajas speaks about the emotional demands and challenges of the Executive Assistant role and provides tips for how to avoid burnout when working in a demanding role. We hope Clarivel’s raw, relatable, and deeply personal story motivate you to establish healthy boundaries and practice self-care so you can avoid some of the hard lessons Clarivel learned in her career. This episode takes an unexpect...
Starting at Expanse, Curtis Casella served as the Chief of Staff to the Founder and CEO there and was eventually promoted to Event Marketing Manager and ultimately, Senior Event Marketing Manager. In this episode, Curtis shares how his role as an Executive Assistant allowed him to explore and discover opportunities in marketing. From chasing a whim that led him to two, career-defining years in South Africa to angling his EA role to...
In this episode, we hear from Kristen Quint, Director of the Office of the CEO for Anne Wojcicki, CEO of 23andMe. Kristen points out the distinction between what it means to support a CEO versus what it means to oversee the Office of the CEO as well as when it’s necessary to build out a more robust infrastructure to support your CEO effectively. Kristen walks us through the challenges she set out to solve, her thought process, the ...
In this episode, Brandon Bailey, Executive Assistant to the SVP of People of Postmates, shares his temp glory story! Prior to joining Postmates, Brandon made the conscious choice to contract for a few years, while doing some simultaneous soul-searching. Through his commitment to adding value and treating every open door as an opportunity, Brandon was able to successfully convert one of his contract positions into a meaningful and l...
In this episode, Melissa Silva shares her story of supporting Andrew Dreskin, the CEO of Ticketfly, through two acquisitions! Melissa gives REACH listeners a peek behind the curtain as to what it’s like to support someone through such intense periods of change and how she adjusted from being the sole admin in a scrappy startup to part of a broader admin team at Pandora and later, Eventbrite. If you’re wondering what it’s like to tr...
As Executive Assistants, being prepared for any situation, whether it’s a minor crisis like a missed connection or something much harrier, is essential to your craft. We did a podcast swap! In this episode, Jeremy Burrows, Executive Assistant to the CEO of Capacity and host of The Leader Assistant Podcast, discusses the role an Executive Assistant plays in a crisis whether it be a PR crisis, a global pandemic, or whatever else gets...
We can’t tell you how many times a client of ours comes to us looking for an Executive Assistant with board relations experience under their belt. In this episode, Danielle Hill, Chief Administrative Officer at Knox Lane, speaks about the value of Board Relations experience when it comes to the Executive Assistant career path and how getting that experience on her resume opened up doors to opportunities she never would have dreamed...
In this episode, Jordan Sugar-Carlsgaard, Senior Executive Assistant to the Co-Founder and CEO of Airbnb, Brian Chesky, shares her story of “making it.” Jordan walks us through her career path from supporting notable political figures in DC (she was an even an appointee on the Obama Administration!) to landing a job for one of the world’s most recognizable tech brands, Airbnb. Listen in as Jordan discusses the pivotal moments in h...
Lauren Richards, Executive Assistant to the CEO and CPO/Co-Founder of Webflow, joins us for a conversation you’ll definitely want to share with your executive! In this candid and thoughtful dialogue, Lauren shares her advice for executives about everything from how to nail the hiring process and find the right person to how to structure an effective and enduring partnership rooted in mutual respect and regard for one another. Whet...
This is part one of our two-part series with Heather Keenan, President and CEO of Key Events. With this series, we’re pivoting the conversation by inviting some of the most distinguished resources, companies and service providers we think it’s vital for you to know about. In this episode, event planner extraordinaire, Heather Keenan, gifts us with her wisdom and advice around carrying out a successful virtual event. As many of us a...
Many EAs would say their relationship to their executive is a core contributor to overall job satisfaction in the EA role. In this episode, Rowe Hoffer, Senior Executive Assistant to the Co-Founder and Chairwoman of Mozilla (who she’s supported for almost 9 years!), talks to us about what it means to be a tenacious EA when combating workplace challenges. More specifically, Rowe speaks to working relationships that may not be “ideal...
In this episode, we’re tackling your COVID19-related questions and concerns, Q&A style and guerilla-style. Yes, kids may interrupt, doorbells may ring, tea kettles may whistle, but our priority here was to address your very relevant and legitimate questions in a timely manner even if that means raw and un-cut. Whether you were recently laid off or you’re feeling vulnerable right now to a potential lay-off, or simply want to pro...
With the increasing popularity and buzz surrounding remote EA work, we decided it was time to get some real insight from a remote Executive Assistant in our network. In this episode, we interview LJ Cohen, remote Executive Assistant to the Partners of Uncork Capital (formerly known as SoftTech VC). In this episode, LJ addresses everything from the importance of asking the right questions in the interview process to ensure success i...
With the increasing popularity and buzz surrounding remote EA work, we decided it was time to get some real insight from a remote Executive Assistant in our network. In this episode, we interview LJ Cohen, remote Executive Assistant to the Partners of Uncork Capital (formerly known as SoftTech VC). In this episode, LJ addresses everything from the importance of asking the right questions in the interview process to ensure success i...
In this episode our guest, Carina Ruggiero, reflects on some of the challenges she’s faced and how she has not only triumphed, but also used them as a catalyst for career growth and personal evolution. In this episode, Carina talks about how she made a significant mental shift from achieving to serving. Her inspiration? The one and only Tony Robbins. She encourages us to stop taking ourselves so seriously as she puts it, “Sh*t happ...
In this episode, the oh so relatable and authentic Anh Castro shares the story of her childhood as a daughter of a Vietnamese immigrant, who grew up in the working-class neighborhoods of Los Angeles and later became an established Executive Assistant and Personal Assistant who supported prominent women like Dianne Feinstein, Kamala Harris and Danielle Steel, and some major figures in the venture capital world. Despite Anh’s humble ...
Success in an Executive Assistant role is predicated on establishing the right practices and behaviors with your executive from the outset, boundary setting, mutual respect and open dialogue. Ligaya Fieler, Senior Executive Assistant at SurveyMonkey, walks us through how she’s personally accomplished these things with her Executives over the years – one story includes how she earned the respect of a traditionally “grumpy” Exec! In ...
In a service-oriented role, sometimes it can be a challenge to strike a balance between being helpful and supportive of others and their needs while also ensuring you don’t take on too much. We all know that sometimes we need to be able to “manage up” and push back. Chances are, this is probably something that you’re already doing on a daily basis. However, the act of managing up is truly an art, and one that can always be worked o...
Tanya has always had a passion for leading and mentoring Executive Assistants, starting first with her role as a Staff Supervisor at Merrill Lynch and ultimately landing in a hybrid Admin Manager / EA to CEO role at Okta. In this episode, Tanya shares the history of how she evolved and elevated the EA function within Okta and ultimately created a world-class EA team. From leading by example to teaching more junior EAs how to own th...