Lifting Up: Lessons from Verizon Women Leaders

Take a hike - on the trails of encouragement, with Pacific Retail Vice President Ana Aguilar, and Mountain Retail Senior Director Monica Pate! Ana and Monica have not just been shining examples to scores of the people they lead - but shine on each other to super (and solar) charge each other. Including when the trails get extremely rocky - and Ana and Monica get real and vulnerable sharing personal struggles they navig...

Join us for a behind-the-scenes look at Season 6!  Introducing new hosts Jacinda Jack from the business, Adriana Dawson from public policy, and Gabrielle (Gaby) Kohlmeier from legal dishing on what brought them together as the new hosts for a new Lifting Up Season, with a new cross-organization focus, and even more guests than ever before sharing stories and uplifting insights - inspiring us all ...

Weaving together the threads of gumption, going-after-it, grace, and gratitude — Market President Michelle Miller kicks off the expanded and reimagined Season 6 of Lifting Up with her own colorful story (from obtaining a Kinesiology degree, to defying expectations rocketing to the top as a successful leader in the telecommunications industry

One of the biggest sports fans you'll ever meet, Market President Leigh Anne Lanier lands gems of wisdom like Steph Curry lands free throws in this elite episode. Bobbing and weaving between the importance of agility, adaptability, and a willingness to embrace change, Leigh Anne lays out how to build self-mastery and a winning team - with an emphasis on thinking bigger and playing big...

Nasrin Rezai is Chief Information Security Officer at Verizon. As a 25 year veteran in the tech sector - including 17 years in cybersecurity - Nasrin has learned to embrace the benefits of a broad and non-linear career that gave her the ability to learn a little bit about everything. This curiosity coupled with the power of asking "why" opened up opportunities and she urges others never to shy away from asking questions. Nasrin sha...

Karen is Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of Business Transformation and Customer Operations. In this episode, Karen describes how she surrounded herself early on with risk-takers and people who wanted to see one another succeed. She shares the value of stretching into new areas and making lateral moves into different business areas to build a more expansive professional portfolio towards new leadership opportunities. Kare...

Sue Vinci proudly states she has the best job at Verizon as its Chief Privacy Officer. Little did she know a fateful conversation with a headhunter that was supposed to be eight to 12 weeks of litigation support over the summer would turn into a 20+ year career with Verizon. In this episode, Sue candidly shares decisions she's had to make about her health and the mantra she held onto during that journey. She shares the wisdom and i...

After a 20+ year career as a legal assistant, Jeneen Harris decided to take on a new challenge when she
joined Verizon three years ago. Jeneen, a Sr. Analyst, describes how she had to refresh her mindset and
learn how to embrace tackling new challenges and situations, pushing through that imposter syndrome.
She highlights the critical role mentors have played along her journey that have helped her realize that
leadership is woven a...

Kristi Midboe Miller was General Counsel of Verizon New Business Incubation, until recently jumping out of the legal arena that she has dominated for decades to a brand new adventure.   Presciently, in this episode, she speaks about allowing herself to take a leap of faith into new spaces - including when new corporate spaces opened up new opportunities.  She shares about discovering and flexing transferable skills while leaning in...

Sheryl Suarez is Vice President and Deputy General Counsel in Verizon's Public Policy Law and Security Group. She spent numerous years practicing general commercial litigation, before her interest and openness to learn about corporations and corporate practice led her to Verizon. In her time here, she has become a more collaborative problem solver as both a legal counselor and business partner in numerous roles.. Sheryl reminds us ...

Karen Zacharia is Chief Privacy Officer at Verizon. Karen followed her childhood aspiration of becoming a lawyer and shares her multifaceted (and globetrotting!) experiences, as she transitioned to working in house at Verizon over 27 years ago. The wisdom she gained during her career shines through, as she shares the importance of building confidence, asking for help, overcoming imposter syndrome, and taking care of your well being...

Nia Mathis is Vice President for State and Local Government Affairs at Verizon. Nia shares how the wisdom and stories passed down from generations before her empowered her experiences as a professional woman of color and working mother. Describing the power of envisioning a long runway, Nia describes what she gained from practicing patience during difficult times, how learning new things and adding d...

Petra Fioretti is the Director of Legal Projects & Strategy at Verizon Media. Throughout her journey, she's learned the advantages of being flexible instead of rigid with career goals and plans. She is not a lawyer, but provides great value to the legal organization and has positively impacted the Verizon user experience over the past 15 years. Her love of learning led her to her current role, where she leads Project & Change Manag...

Lily Yu is the Lead Counsel for Customer Experience & Strategy at Verizon. From leading a news room to being on the cutting edge with AI initiatives, Lily knows about delivering under high pressure situations. But she also has been on the vanguard of leading with empathy and love, long before today's influencers brought those approaches in vogue. In this episode, Lily reflects on her decision to pivot to law, the new opportunities ...

Andrea Short is Vice President and Deputy General Counsel for Verizon's Public Sector business unit. In this episode, Andrea shares how important flexibility over fragility has been in her career, as well as the significance of paying it forward. Inspiring with her insights, Andrea shares her experiences from working in a law firm to joining Verizon as an inhouse attorney, to building a strong sense of self, while avoiding burnout....