Statement Mondays: Interviews With Women Who Wear ”Heels” to Work

Kelly figured out how to be taken seriously without having to be serious. She brings a new, bubbly perspective to the financial services sector as one of Morgan Stanley’s rising young female leaders. In this interview, she talks about why she turned down Morgan Stanley twice before accepting their offer, giving insights on taking control over your career, plus examples of the unique ways she's built relationships at h...

Lifting others up drives everything that Lindsey Boylan does. She is a New York politician (running for Manhattan Borough President!) and career urban planner, and also the first whistleblower against NY Governor Andrew Cuomo in February, 2021 for sexual harassment. In this interview, we discuss what makes her bold and unapologetic. She shares how her identity has changed (or not) after coming forward, and explains the connections ...

If someone told you they didn’t think you could do something, would you sit there and agree or would you do everything in your power to prove them wrong? Meet the Elle Woods of the automotive industry, our firecracker guest Emma Kalayjian:

1. She is a user interface & experience designer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (UI/UX @ NASA JPL)
2. She’s obsessed with cars
3. She is also on the 2021 Forbes 30 Under 30 list
4. She never thoug...

Self-worth should not be based on work successes. Susie Kimmel, a leader at a large healthcare IT company (and new mother!), learned the hard way about the importance of separation between day-to-day job performance and her happiness outside of work. After discovering she had breast cancer at age 25, she quickly adopted a more balanced perspective of her many life roles while managing to maintain her identity at work. She is still ...

Professional soccer player Tyler Lussi is the definition of intense. This trait has shaped her personality and launched her career -- all the way through playing at Princeton and then for the past five years on the Portland Thorns. In this episode, Tyler emphasizes the why and how of her “always on” mindset and how it paved the way for her success today, and shares what taking the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) public means ...

What happens when you decide to pursue your life mission instead of the “normal” life path? Paulina Ramos explains why she quit Uber to volunteer with the Syrian refugee crisis, and the irreversible effect it’s had on her career as well as her life in general. Intrigued? You should be because this interview is POWERFUL and you’ll come away knowing more about value-driven lifestyles, the intersect of (or separation between) work and...

No one will fault you for wanting to learn more. Aquatic medicine student and “Aquadocs” podcast host Michelle Greenfield approaches her veterinary studies by jumping at every opportunity available -- even though her “heart is with the dolphins,” she would never turn down the chance to work on something different like equine (aka horse) orthopaedics. Tune in to learn one way to be a trailblazer in your industry without being an exp...

How do you know when to quit? Vicki Chang, a product manager on Facebook's New Product Experimentation team (NPE), is always asking herself three specific questions to figure this out. She has a unique background as a chemistry PhD dropout and infuses her experimental and scientific way of thinking into both her day-to-day and her own Big Life Decisions. This was going to be the last episode of Season 1 but NOT ANYMORE! Look forwar...

Respect in the workplace is highly sought after but not easy to earn. Kate Park is a senior product manager on Tesla's Autopilot team (and one of my closest friends!), and through a series of stories involving Shakespeare Camp and a Tesla Executive meeting she shares what role respect has in her day-to-day... how she earns it, why she needs it, and how she uses it. Her intense and technical workplace has different dynamics and requ...

Be open, ready, curious -- this is Cynthia Grutzik’s life motto, and it has served her well. Cynthia lived the first 14 years of her life in Cameroon, Africa, which has greatly shaped her understanding of the world. She is currently a Dean at San Francisco State University, and she had her first teaching job in Cameroon where she learned how to prioritize the needs of her students. Listen to hear how her unique upbringing impacts t...

Bodybuilders also wear heels...  Salma Mahmoud finally took her needs and wants into her own hands once she realized she had the space and initiative to do so after college. Salma completed a rotational program at Visa while investigating what new hobby she wanted to pursue, and soon dove headfirst into data science and her newfound interest in bodybuilding. In fact, bodybuilding (and the confidence that came with goal-setting and ...

Lauren Jonas understands that confidence doesn't often come on its own, it's gained over time. Now a serial entrepreneur and CEO, she started two companies at a young age (out of necessity!) both focused on plus-sized women: a fashion blog called The Pear Shape, and a community platform called Part and Parcel. In this interview, we’ll hear about how she found self-confidence and success by connecting with other people who have her ...

You'd never guess that Karla Magaña Figueroa was previously an undocumented immigrant until she shares how much strength her background has given her throughout her life and education. She is now pursuing two degrees, an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth and an MPP from Harvard Kennedy School, and is intent on learning more about business and policy and entering the public sector. In this episode she discusses growing up und...

Welcome to our first ever Statement Mondays episode! We talk with Fischer Yan, who has worked on marketing for Uber and GGV Capital, and who derives much of her workplace confidence from her outfits. In this episode, learn how to be a badass well-dressed warrior, and how to find your "personal monopoly" as she reveals the personal experience that led her to start her own consulting business in LA focusing on minority- and women-led...