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Kind of a Big Deal
Ever brushed off a compliment? Downplayed a win? Made yourself smaller so you wouldn’t sound like “too much”? Yeah, me too.
Kind of a Big Deal is my love letter to women building careers and lives they’re proud of. This isn’t your typical Fortune 500 CEO interview. Instead, it’s real, relatable conversations with everyday women - corporate baddies, scrappy entrepreneurs, and everyone in between - who are leading lives we can all aspire to.
Through honest stories and hard-earned wisdom, we shine a light on the victories, the lessons, and the messy middle that rarely make the highlight reel. It’s about celebrating the impact women make (even when we’re tempted to shrug it off).
Because the truth is: you are kind of a big deal.
Episodes
42 episodes
What If Burnout Isn't the Price of Caring This Much?
What does it actually take to stay in mission-driven work for the long haul - not three years, not five, but a whole career? In this conversation, I sit down with Kate, a workforce development strategist who's spent nearly two decades working a...
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When the Job, the Kids, and the Identity All Hit at Once
What happens when a promotion, a pregnancy, and a full identity reckoning all land in the same year?That's where Misty Avila was when this conversation was recorded. VP and Chief Strategy Officer at the James B. McClatchy Foundation. Int...
What If the Voice You've Been Ignoring Is the One You Should Trust Most?
What does it actually look like to build a life around your truest gifts - not because someone gave you permission, but because you finally stopped waiting for it?Brett Blackburn has been doing exactly that for over 20 years. As a psych...
You Don't Need 20 Years of Experience to Lead with Wisdom
What if the clearest leadership lessons don't come from decades in the corner office, but from paying close attention while you're still early in the climb?Savannah graduated into the pandemic with no real plan, found her way into chambe...
You Don't Need a Plan to Start Over. You Need Permission to Choose Yourself.
What does it actually take to build a life and a business that are actually yours, not just impressive on paper?Jen Baxter has rebuilt her career three times: eight years in health insurance, a job in book publishing that ended on a Zoom...
Stop Waiting for a Seat at the Table. Build Your Own Room Instead.
What does it look like to leave a 20-year career not because you have to, but because you finally recognize you're ready?Angeliki is an MD-PhD with 35 years in medicine, the last two decades at Pfizer as a molecular medicine and patholog...
Successful Businesses Don't Choose Between Impact and Income
What if you could build a business that refuses to choose between making money and making a difference - and that treats the people you serve like the full human beings they are?Melissa Camilleri is the co-founder of Stand for the And, a...
Women in Tech: Breaking Silos and Scaling
What does it look like to build a career at the intersection of tech, business, and people - and realize, looking back, that it was always going to end up here?Noa Barak is a tech customer and go-to-market enablement and growth advisor w...
Building in Public: What It Takes to Show Up Before You Have It Figured Out
What does it actually look like to build something before anyone is paying attention?Molly started with a personal blog, written to process her own life. For months, nothing happened. No readers, no traction, just blind faith and a lot o...
The Entrepreneur Who Never Defined Herself That Way
For 25 years, Tamika built something extraordinary. Eight years as lead nail tech at the iconic Claremont Hotel and Spa. Seventeen more running her own salon. Clean books, 45,000 manicures and pedicures by her own count, a product line with cli...
What Happens When You Never Stop Betting on Yourself: Resilience, Reinvention, and a Whole Lot of Heart
Some people's stories stop you in your tracks. Gina's is one of them.She came to the US at 18 from Venezuela with $300 in her pocket, a toddler by her side, not a word of English. She built a career in retail from the ground up, eventual...
How Showing Up Fully in Leadership Becomes Its Own Definition of Success
Some people move through their careers searching for the thread that connects it all. Genevieve Levy found hers - two weeks before we sat down to record.I've known Genevieve for a decade. We met through our kids, - sidelines, carpool, th...
When the Work You Love Disappears: Grief, Reinvention, and Learning to Build a Life on Your Terms
What do you do when the organization you've given everything to - the one you helped build from the inside out - is suddenly gone?Nurit Siegel Smith spent 25 years building a career at the intersection of arts, culture, and social impact...
From Achievement Addict to Authentic: Building a Brand (and a Life) from the Inside Out
What happens when you spend decades achieving everything you were supposed to want - only to realize it fits like an itchy sweater?In this episode, I sit down with Ariana, co-founder and managing partner of Flight Design Co. and co-found...
Corporate, Startup, Freelance, Founder: How to Build a Creative Career on Your Own Terms
What does it look like to stay completely, unapologetically yourself - across every job, every pivot, every industry?In this episode, I sit down with my ride-or-die bestie Vanessa — creative director, UX designer, co-founder, freelancer,...
From Industry Orphan to Entrepreneur: Building a Career on Your Own Terms
What do you do when the career you need doesn't exist yet?In this episode, I sit down with Lindsay Green Barber, founder of Impact Architects - a research and strategy firm helping journalism, media, and philanthropy organizations measur...
Burnout, Starting Over, and Learning to Trust Yourself Again
What happens when the life you built… stops feeling like your own?In this episode, I sit down with Shayne Corriea, who spent over a decade building a successful financial advisory business—only to reach a breaking point where her health,...
Storytelling Isn’t Extra - It’s How Impact Happens
What if storytelling isn’t just how you communicate your work - but how you create impact and shape the legacy you leave behind?Join me as I sit down with Tamiko Heim, a leader working at the intersection of community, government,...
What It Really Means to Lead People Well
What if the most important part of leadership isn’t what you say or do - but how you see people?Join me as I sit down with Jackie Kendricks, Director of Education at Roberts Family Development Center, who has spent years working alongsid...
Leadership, Media, and Why Engagement Matters More Than Ever
“Engagement is the metric of whether people actually care.”Join me as I sit down with Simone Aponte, VP News Director at KTVU, who has spent her career inside newsrooms - from writing scripts at 3:00 AM to leading teams shaping how commu...
Why Difficult Conversations Go Wrong - And How to Handle Them Better
What if the biggest factor shaping your leadership isn’t strategy, experience, or authority - but the emotional energy you bring into the room?Join me as I sit down with communication and leadership expert Beth Wonson, who has spent more...
Stop Waiting Until You Feel Ready
Join me as I sit down with strategic consultant Kyla Bryant, whose work centers on leadership, workforce development, and helping organizations build people-first systems.Kyla’s leadership philosophy started on prom day at a cosmetology ...
Curiosity Is a Leadership Strategy
Join me as I sit down with Shonna Shearson, President and CEO of First U.S. Community Credit Union, whose leadership journey is anything but a straight line.Shonna began her career thinking she might become a teacher, eventually moving i...
Burnout Is a Signal - Not a Weakness: A More Sustainable Way to Lead
Join me as I sit down with psychologist and leadership development consultant Dr. Christina Pate, whose work explores the intersection of human behavior, organizational culture, and sustainable performance.Christina’s path into this work...