Women Killing It!

Comedian Catie Lazarus hosts The Employee of The Month Show, a monthly live talk show in New York City and podcast. "Lazarus honors and interviews people she admires who (mainly) love what they do." Her guests have included Gloria Steinem, Jon Stewart, Lin-Manuel Miranda to name a few.  Catie also writes for TV, digital, film, print, and video. Listen to Catie's story of pivoting from getting her PhD in psychology to stand up comedy to hosting her own hilarious show. She'll make you laugh and inspire you to be yourself.

Smadar Landau is the Founder and CEO of Feelter, a startup that collects and analyzes how customers feel about products across social media for ecommerce companies. Smadar's life story is one of fearlessness -- from studying Buddhism in the far east for seven years to winning multiple startup competitions for her company. "Fear is not something that controls me in any way," says Smadar. She is so confident that she will succeed that she does not ever have a plan B.  It is impossible to listen to Smadar and not be inspired to grab life by the horns! 

Genecia Alluora is the founder of Soul Rich Woman, a platform that connects women entrepreneurs in several countries in Asia.  Genecia went from being a two-time Miss Singapore to an entrepreneur with several of her own ventures, as well as role model for other women in Asia to step out of traditional gender roles.  She shares lessons learned on her journey, how she defines success, and how she chooses to live her life by design rather than by fate.  

Brigid Schulte is the Director of the Better Life Lab and The Good Life Initiative at New America Foundation.  She is the bestselling author of Overwhelmed: How to Work, Love and Play When No One Has the Time.  She co-authored the recently released Better Work Toolkit, a science-based approach to designing work-life solutions that work.  She talks about creating better systems to combat overwork, how overwork is a public health crisis, and how basing value at work on hours contributes to the gender pay gap.  Listen for wisdom on how to feel less overwhelmed and live a better life!

Law professor and political activist Zephyr Teachout shares her experiences running for office, first for New York Governor in the Democratic Primary and then for Congress in New York's 19th District. Although Super PACs funded by billionaires spent millions to target Zephyr, she describes running for office as the most human thing a person can do.  Zephyr explains that politics is about meeting, connecting, and listening to people -- all things that play to women's strengths! Not only does Zephyr think self-governance requires candidates of all kinds, especially women, but she also believes everyone has it in them to run for office.  Listen and get inspired to enter politics or to fearlessly take any bold action!

Jen Sincero is a #1 NY Times Bestselling Author, success coach, and motivational speaker. She is the author of the life-changing book, You Are A Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life. Jen talks about her new book, You Are A Badass At Making Money: Master the Mindset of Wealth, and why it is critically important to overcome your self-limiting beliefs about money. Jen will inspire you to take action in the face of fear, get uncomfortable, and find success you didn't think was possible.

Michelle Vautier is on the founding team of dLocal, a tech company that gives people living in emerging markets access to e-commerce and helps companies expand their reach.  In her career, Michelle brought Netflix to Latin America by enabling the platform to accept payments there. She even built Facebook Messenger payments, though a man is widely credited for the patent in her name. With both the tech and payments industries being male-dominated, Michelle is used to being the only woman in the room.  But she has used this as an opportunity to lift other women up and has continued to say yes to opportunities that come her way, even when she didn't feel ready. 

Writer and journalist Jancee Dunn talks about her new, soon-to-be bestselling book, How Not to Hate Your Husband After Kids.  Jancee has had a fascinating career, starting as one of the few women working at Rolling Stone magazine in the 90s and interviewing stars ranging from Madonna to Beyonce, moving on to being a MTV VJ and a GQ sex columnist, and even writing for Oprah and penning Cyndi Lauper's memoir.  Her latest project started as a way to save her child from experiencing marital conflict and resulted in a hysterical, must-have handbook for new moms.  Get inspired by Jancee's courage to "just ask" throughout her career, and even hear who's more alluring in person - Brad Pitt or George Clooney!

Diana Burley, PhD, is a globally recognized cyber security expert, a professor at George Washington University, and Executive Director and Chair of the Institute for Information Infrastructure Protection.  She has testified before Congress and authored books on cyber security.  Diana had to get used to being the lone woman of color in the room throughout her career.  But she views her different voice as crucial to protecting critical infrastructure, as security systems built by people with one perspective are more vulnerable to attack -- hackers are diverse after all!  Listen for her inspiring story of following her passion and learning to get her impact recognized.

Megan Reilly Cayten is the founder of Catrinka, an ethical fashion and accessories brand with a mission to both empower women financially and educate girls.  She personally works with skilled female artisans in India and Mexico, who reinvest the income they earn in their children and communities.  Proceeds also fund the education of indigenous Mayan girls in Guatemala.  Megan shares her career path of working in infrastructure finance, her experiences of being the first woman to hold many different positions and being the only woman in the room, and her tips for finding what brings you energy and happiness.

Kristy Wallace is President of Ellevate Newtwork, a global professional women's network with the mission of closing the gender achievement gap in business.  She also hosts the Ellevate Podcast, having "conversations with women changing the face of business." On this episode, Kristy shares the wisdom she has learned from the women she meets, as well as lessons learned in her own career.  Before coming to Ellevate, Kristy founded one tech startup and served on the leadership of another, always doing what she loved.  Learn how Kristy crafts her career with intention, takes time to nourish herself, and juggles motherhood of three little ones in the process.

Felecia Hatcher is an Entrepreneur, Author, Speaker and Mom, who now dedicates her talents to promoting inclusive innovation.  She co-founded Code Fever and BlackTech Week when she noticed that startup programs and resources in Miami were not "crossing the tracks."  Previously, she held the title of Chief Popsicle at Feverish Ice Cream, a gourmet popsicle company she started with her husband that counted several Fortune 500 companies as clients. Felecia is working to get everyone a seat at the tech table - or to empower others to create their own table if need be. She shares lessons learned on her path to being epic!

Join me for Part Two of my interview with Liz Wallace and Hana Schank, co-authors of The Ambition Interviews published in The Atlantic. Liz and Hana talk further about the lessons learned from studying nearly 40 of their classmates' career trajectories, including the choices women make at different life stages and the importance of playing the long game in your career.  

Hana Schank and Elizabeth Wallace interviewed nearly 40 women who were their classmates at Northwestern University in the early 90s to see what had become of their career ambitions in the intervening years.  They wrote a seven essay series in The Atlantic, called The Ambition Interviews, that synthesizes the challenges these women faced, the choices they made, and sheds light on the obstacles that still stand in women's way.  We discuss their thoughts on The Ambition Interviews in a two part series.  Stay tuned next week for part two! 

Sheryl Victor Levy is the founder of Savvy Strategy, a digital consulting firm specializing in content and social media strategy.  She describes her career path as going from glamour - think jobs at MTV and VH1 - to purpose.  Cause marketing is her new passion, as she uses her skills to promote worthy causes like NYC's BigApps competition. Learn from Sheryl's boldness in negotiating, pitching, and getting what she wants out of life.

Hira Ali is the founder of three companies, ED Management Consulting, Advancing Your Potential, and Revitalize and Rise.  She has trained and coached women in Pakistan, Dubai, and London and says women face universal challenges at work.  Get inspired by Hira's positive message that we can all play a part in bringing an "avalanche of hope."

I'm done leaving power on the table, and that's why I want you to take the third Women Killing It Challenge - Strive for the Impossible.  Our views of what is possible limit what we can achieve, so throw out the notion of impossibility!  I talk about the role "possibility" has played in the careers of the amazing women I've interviewed.

Accomplished journalist and co-author of A Different Mindset: Why the Economy is Becoming More Feminine talks about why women's involvement in business is critical for economic prosperity.  Rather than being a zero-sum game, women's contributions to the economy create more wealth and improvement for all.  Equality in the workplace, then, is not a "women's issue" but rather everyone's issue.  Listen for amazing stories - like what happened in Iceland when women took control - and Deborah's unique perspective as an american living in Germany.

As a woman who ascended to the highest ranks of Wall Street as CEO of Smith Barney, Merrill Lynch and Citi Private, Sallie Krawcheck has a tremendous amount of wisdom to impart. She shares life lessons in her new book "Own It: The Power of Women at Work," and explains why we have reason to be optimistic for the future.  Sallie also talks about Ellevest, a platform she has developed to close the gender investment gap, as well as her global professional women's network, Ellevate.  Listen for learnings on overcoming failure, seizing the power women already have, and "the most important career advice women aren't getting."

When asked what gave her the courage to start her own company at the young age of 27, Shannon Lorraine answered "blind passion" and "foolishness." Although she may not have known how hard entrepreneurship would be, her company Foundfuture has been going strong for more than ten years now, with Shannon finding the answers along the way. Listen for Shannon's story of creating her own destiny, reinventing existing PR/branding models to a more connected, full-service approach, and finding the time to be hands-on at her daughter's school amidst it all.