Female Founders: Déborah Heintze of Lunaphore On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
The most important thing to know is that starting a company will take much longer than you expect. It’s not a sprint — it’s a marathon. But, at the same time, work-life balance is important. And while you should put your full energy into your work, be mindful that it can be a long journey.
As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Déborah Heintze.
Déborah Heintze is Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer at Lunaphore where she oversees marketing and product management. Prior to joining Lunaphore, she worked at the EPFL Technology Transfer Office and as a research trainee at the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology in Boston, where she developed a microfluidic platform to test drugs on cardiac tissues. She obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Life Sciences and Technology and a Master’s degree in Bioengineering at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL).
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
When I was young, I always had a passion for both mathematics and sports. I actually placed second in an international mathematics and logics competition years back. Back then I also played sports competitively. Even now I love ultra-trail, beach volleyball, tennis, biking — I could go on. I love to challenge myself and the human body. The idea of doing something you’ve never thought you’d be able to do and then mastering it is something that’s always appealed to me.
Seeing how sports and science were connected was fascinating to me — sports are a brilliant display of what the human body can do. Similarly, life sciences and bioengineering are synergistic and two areas that I grew to be passionate about academically. This led me to get a Bachelor’s degree in life sciences and technology, and a Master’s degree in bioengineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL).
But I also wanted to go abroad and be exposed to new ideas. As a research trainee at Harvard and MIT, I was introduced to the science of microfluidics applied to cardiac tissue engineering. The project was very multidisciplinary and involved engineering, physics, biochemistry, and biology. So naturally, I was passionate about the project I was working on, which would ultimately bring me to work on a similar initiative with my fellow Lunaphore co-founders.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?
Fundraising at the startup level was really challenging, but I learned early on that it’s vital to have investors who you like and who you know well. In the early stages of Lunaphore, we had a potential investor whose vision for the company didn’t align so well with ours. We actually decided to walk away from that relationship right before the company might have run out of money, despite the fact that we may have needed to close the company altogether if we could not raise the funds in time. We knew, however, that it was the right decision for the company, so the risk was worth taking. We had a certain vision for Lunaphore, we stuck to it, and we made it a reality.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Looking back at our first business plan, we thought that launching a product would be a far quicker process than it really was. We assumed we would launch one new product per year starting our first year! In reality, in our field, it might take around three to five years to ensure the product is mature enough before launch. But it was a good reminder to stay bold and enthusiastic, even if our initial assumptions were quite lofty.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I learned early on that you can’t build a company on your own. I am very grateful for my two other Lunaphore co-founders with whom I have a strong bond and trust. The connection we have has been absolutely essential in helping Lunaphore get to its current stage. Additionally, we worked with a business development coach who pushed us to get out on the market as rapidly as possible. While a lot of us, by nature, are very science-minded, trying to get our business plan perfect was a newer concept to us. Our coach challenged us to put ourselves out there and helped us feel more comfortable pitching our vision and business to investors.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. According to this EY report, only about 20 percent of funded companies have women founders. This reflects great historical progress, but it also shows that more work still has to be done to empower women to create companies. In your opinion and experience what is currently holding back women from founding companies?
As someone with a lifelong interest in science and mathematics, I grew up in an environment with predominantly men. When I was younger, I admired the guys creating cool high-tech startup companies, but I didn’t see it as a possibility for my own career. We need more role models for young women. We need more women founded startups and more women in STEM, from which many high-tech startup companies can be created, in order to foster more inspiration for young girls.
I am proud to say that we’ve been successful in this goal at Lunaphore, where women make up half of our leadership team. It has always been our vision to build a company where every employee loves to work and where we are one team with diversity in gender, race and opinion. This is what makes us strong, innovative, and impactful. I personally wanted this company to be an inclusive place where women’s careers can thrive and their achievements are celebrated. I hope that we can serve as a model for other companies in the STEM field.
Can you help articulate a few things that can be done as individuals, as a society, or by the government, to help overcome those obstacles?
Aside from more inspirational role models for young women, we need to create more incentives for women to pursue jobs in STEM. In the Switzerland startup ecosystem, for example, we are trying to create an environment where women feel empowered to pursue careers in STEM, and we are already making great strides by promoting role models and inviting girls to attend one-day introductory sessions to expose them to more mathematics and scientific courses.
This might be intuitive to you as a woman founder but I think it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you share a few reasons why more women should become founders?
Diversity is integral for innovation and allows ideas to move forward. This is why things like gender equity and racial equity are so important. Diversity is beneficial within companies but especially beneficial in the larger society. It encourages diverse role models and more well rounded and equitable leadership teams. This is something we value at Lunaphore, but more specifically, it is our goal to continue building a company where people, especially women, actually want to work. Innovation is best forged through diversity of thought.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a founder? Can you explain what you mean?
For many, there is this perception that it’s a huge risk to start a company. Although there are risks, particularly financially, I still believe that it’s absolutely worth trying. You gain so much from the experience of trying to start a company. During the first year of founding Lunaphore, I got the chance to talk to so many executives from other companies, including some of the largest companies worldwide; this was an experience you would rarely find in any other situation.
Even if your company lasts only one year, you’ve already learned so much and faced so many different challenges and experiences during that one year. For example, you may find this experience equips you to take on a more senior role in another company. The on-the-job education, insights, and connections during the process are so unique — you can’t put a price on that kind of knowledge. Even if it does not work out, you learn the process first-hand, preparing you for the next venture or position.
Is everyone cut out to be a founder? In your opinion, which specific traits increase the likelihood that a person will be a successful founder and what type of person should perhaps seek a “regular job” as an employee? Can you explain what you mean?
I think successful founders have a few traits. You must be eager to learn and enjoy taking on new challenges and be adaptable to new situations. At the beginning, newly founded companies present so many moving parts and new challenges, successful founders must be willing and able to wear many different hats.
It’s also interesting to think about how my co-founders and I settled into our roles. I had an interest in competitive intelligence and marketing. I started picking parts of the initial business plan that I liked, as did the other co-founders. At that point, we pretty naturally settled into our roles, even as they evolved and expanded with time. I think that having rigid, defined roles early on would have slowed us down as we were trying to get the company off the ground.
Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)
The most important thing to know is that starting a company will take much longer than you expect. It’s not a sprint — it’s a marathon. But, at the same time, work-life balance is important. And while you should put your full energy into your work, be mindful that it can be a long journey.
It can be lonely to be a founder. Sometimes you feel like you’re the only one who fully understands the challenges in front of you and all the intricacies of the business. It’s so important to talk with others who may be familiar with the process of starting a company or with other coaches and mentors who can help support you.
You must learn to be adaptable. There are so many ups and downs, and the only way to deal is to learn to be adaptable to the volatility of the nature of founding and running a startup. Over time, you develop a higher tolerance for stress and unpredictability — the issues that kept you up in the past may not bother you as much in the present. In some ways, it’s become a super power for me.
Titles do not always convey the full scope of your responsibilities or skillset. In my initial role as Chief Operations Officer, I oversaw various aspects of our business including marketing, product management, sales, operations, regulatory affairs, quality assurance, human resources and others. However, people may make assumptions about your role and engage with you based on that.
It’s incredible to see how people become loyal to your company and values and how this can scale even as we grow to more than 100 people. It truly helps you become more self-confident knowing that people feel invested in your work and mission.
How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
At my company, Lunaphore, we have been focused on fueling the next generation of scientific research and drug development by making spatial biology more accessible to every lab. Spatial biology is the study of tissues within their own two-dimensional or three-dimensional context. We have new research tools that can improve how cancer research, for example, is done today so that people living with cancer can have access to better therapies.
On a personal level, I strive to be a role model and empower younger women who want to pursue careers in science. I am happy that I’ve helped build a company where people are happy to work, have an impact in what we do, and also have a healthy work balance. I hope to serve as a model for other companies, and especially for the next generation of leaders.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
There is so much more we can do to improve the health and wellbeing of people. I would want to raise awareness about how food and diet impacts diseases in people. With modern research methods and tools, we can analyze data to better understand the influence of food on our bodies. I’d love to see this take shape as a global health initiative.
We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.
I’d love the chance to sit down with either Michelle Obama or New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. These two incredible women inspire me immensely, especially in how they have managed to stay humble. I’d love to talk about something that many women face, imposter syndrome, as well as their doubts and challenges and how they might overcome them.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
Female Disruptors: Susan Goldsberry of Ina Labs On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Live life with a purpose — Growing up in the Philippines, I have a strong sense of community that was culturally instilled in me. So I have always felt the need to do things for or to help others. In my mind, creating products, building teams, and now building a brand that will be built by a community of women are all ways of doing things for others, and that gives me purpose. It’s been the purpose that gets me out of bed every day.
As a part of our series about women who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Susan Goldsberry of Ina.
Susan Goldsberry — a renowned cosmetic chemist, entrepreneur, and beauty industry veteran — has always been at the forefront of product development innovation in the personal care, beauty and cosmetics industries. Susan has formulated thousands of clean beauty products for babies and adults over the years, but it wasn’t until she began caring for her elderly mother that she realized there was a gap in the market for evolutionary, better-for-you personal care products. As a clean beauty chemist, Susan was shocked to discover the ingredients in personal care wellness products for the 60+ demographic were filled with questionable ingredients and unnecessary chemicals.
Upon speaking with her niece, Dr. Beri Ridgeway — an accomplished OB/GYN — about her findings, Dr. Ridgeway echoed these concerns that she saw in her practice daily. The pair then began dreaming of a collaboration between them that ultimately resulted in Ina Labs. It was a 15 year journey to develop the ideal, clean formulations that the brand offers today for purposeful feminine care.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
I was born and raised in the Philippines on a small, primitive tropical island called Polillo. I have always been inspired by the connection between nature and science having grown up surrounded by pristine natural beauty. When I was 19, I immigrated with my family to the US and was accepted to UC Berkeley and earned a degree in Environmental Science. I always thought I would pursue a career working to better the environment, yet life had a different plan for me. I took the first job I was offered after college as a chemist in an R&D lab of a cosmetic company, and from there, I never looked back — I had found my passion.
For six years, I worked in several R&D labs in the beauty industry developing formulas that were botanically based before accepting a VP position with the preeminent R&D lab on the West Coast where I stayed for over 20 years before starting my own company, Benchmark Cosmetic Labs.
Over the next 14 years, building my own business and fostering numerous ‘unicorn’ brands along the way was the most rewarding, exciting and challenging time of my career. I sold Benchmark Cosmetic Labs in 2019 and I’m now starting another chapter pursuing my passion project — Ina Labs, a revolutionary intimate care brand for women.
For 40+ years I have had the privilege of working with some of the most iconic brands and people in the beauty industry, developing products that are still legendary today. From Fortune 500 companies such as P&G, Estée Lauder, J&J; doctor brands such as Murad and Obagi; and founder-led brands such as Drunk Elephant and Haus Labs by Lady Gaga, the list is long, however I cannot disclose many of them due to confidentiality.
Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?
Looking back, much of my work has been unintentionally disruptive. The lab has always been my playground. In a sense, I was never afraid to try something new and fail. My team and I would experiment with new raw materials, processes, formulas and technologies to create first to market products. So I guess I’ve always pushed the boundaries of what is possible to deliver breakthrough innovation and in doing so, we were disrupting the norm and shifting the industry towards new trends.
With my new adventure, Ina Labs, I believe we are here to disrupt the intimate care category. Years ago, while caring for my mother, I realized that most feminine care products were developed without consideration for clean ingredients, efficacy, comfort or user experience. I knew there was a better way. Together with my Co-Founder, Dr. Beri Ridgeway, we created Ina Labs to revolutionize intimate care for women.
Our mission includes: changing the narrative in women’s intimate health, using proper anatomical words like “vulva” and “vagina” in our communication, creating a community and educating consumers (both men and women) on the importance of intimate care as the foundation for overall health and wellness.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
It wasn’t funny at the time, but now that I look back at it, it makes me laugh. I’m not sure how I managed. I was hired to lead an R&D lab focused on natural products, with only one year of experience on the bench.
I really didn’t know what I was doing. I made a lot of mistakes, mixing things that never should have been mixed together. I learned on the job by making those mistakes. I believe this trial by fire made me a much stronger chemist and an early expert in clean formulations (before clean was a claim). In a span of 3 years, I created 300+ formulas. It was a really fun part of my career.
We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?
So many people have helped me throughout my career, yet three stand out as being pivotal. Duane Tabata hired me out of college without any work experience. This first job set me down the path that I’m still on today.
Next is Ralph Akyuz, owner of Raffaelo Research Laboratories where I worked for over 20 years. He was an amazing chemist. He taught me the ethics of hard work, yet instilled the practice of refining a formula to perfection. Our work was also very collaborative, which was a very different way of doing things. We worked with hairdressers and aestheticians to create products that worked the way they needed to work. Under his mentorship I was able to create some of the most iconic hair care and skincare products that to this day are still bread and butter products for brands.
Probably the most influential mentor was Sally Yeh. She was one of the first Asian-American women that I worked with who held a high position in a company. She was the president of Murad, and before that, of Bijan Fragrances. She was an inspiration and still a role model to this day. She believed in me before I believed in myself. She taught me that there was more to life than work… that family was the most important and that there needed to be a balance between both.
In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time?’ Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive?’ Can you share some examples of what you mean?
In beauty, disruption tends to be good, yet there can be downsides too. For example, clean beauty has definitely been a disruption. Consumers have become savvy to reading labels and avoiding ingredients that are either not good for them personally or they’ve learned are not good for their body. Brands are scrambling to reformulate or create clean formulas because it is what consumers are looking for. Yet, not everything is bad that has become touted as bad in the eyes of consumers. Misinformation has definitely become a hurdle for brands to keep up with and to pivot around.
Our brand, Ina, is an example of disruption that is positive. Our goal is to disrupt with proven, elevated formulas and packaging that is beautiful enough to display on your bathroom counter. We want to destigmatize the use of intimate care, to start the conversation, and to normalize the use of words such as “vulva.” Women shouldn’t be ashamed or embarrassed to talk about what they need or to explore new forms of self care that make them feel good and confident. At Ina, we believe that our bodies deserve better.
Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.
1. Live life with a purpose
Growing up in the Philippines, I have a strong sense of community that was culturally instilled in me. So I have always felt the need to do things for or to help others. In my mind, creating products, building teams, and now building a brand that will be built by a community of women are all ways of doing things for others, and that gives me purpose. It’s been the purpose that gets me out of bed every day.
2. Be a connector
I’ve had the privilege of working with and meeting some of the most amazing people throughout my career. I’ve made a point of staying connected with as many as I can and connecting them to each other. It’s amazing to step back and to think about all of the colleagues who are now friends and some who are now like family.
3. Do what you love
This may sound like a cliché, but it has been very true for me. I’ve been very fortunate to have found my passion early in my career so it has never felt like work.
We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?
We launched Ina on October 20th, so my next adventure is just getting started. Usually at my age, people are enjoying their retirement, but after selling Benchmark Labs, I just didn’t see myself ready to stop. I want to create a brand and build a community that will make a difference through what I know best — elevated, evidence-based products that improve women’s lives. I want to meet the women who use our products and hear their stories, keeping my mother’s memory close to my heart.
In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by ‘women disruptors’ that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?
When I started in the beauty industry 40+ years ago, the most prestigious leadership and respected positions were held by men. I remember going to Society of Cosmetic Chemists meetings where there were only a handful of women in attendance. I read somewhere that female founders secured only 2% of venture capital in the US in 2021. This number is even lower for BIPOC founders. While we have made progress, there are still definite challenges faced by women in science, business and entrepreneurship.
Do you have a book/podcast/talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us?
I love reading biographies and I binge listen to beauty podcasts, such as “How I Built This,” “Unfinished Biz,” and “Beauty Is Your Business.” I am always inspired by other founder stories. I can often relate to the triumphs and struggles of building a business.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
I would love to have an impact on destigmatizing the conversation around intimate care for women. In the early stages of starting Ina, I talked to many men in the beauty industry to get their advice and all of them were very uncomfortable with the conversation. So uncomfortable, that I actually stopped asking their advice. Why do we have to use words like “hoo-ha” or “va-jay-jay” or “down there,” when talking about intimate care? I would love to be part of the solution that makes talking about women’s bodies and women’s intimate needs as open and honest as most conversations about sports!
Can you also please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote?” Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Coming from humble beginnings, I’m extremely grateful for all the opportunities I’ve been given and for being able to live a purposeful life. That’s probably why this quote has stuck with me for years and has helped me in more ways than one. These “Life Lessons” were shared by my mentor, Sally Yeh:
Personally
Love your family
Treasure friendship
Spread kindness
Count your blessings
Enjoy life
Professionally
Unfold your talent
Inspire others
Share success
Lead with grace
Express gratitude
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
Women In Wellness: Ella McCrystal On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Meditation — I teach many of my clients how to employ meditation as part of their daily routine. Different types of meditation work for different people. One client in particular who suffered from chronic pain, would use a walking meditation technique daily and found that this helped calm their mind and set their intentions for the day. Within a couple of weeks they noticed that some days the pain was sometimes not noticeable at all. This is because pain can be exacerbated by stress. Importantly, stress decreases the more one meditates. Neural pathways that link stressful sensations to the medial prefrontal cortex decrease. With time, people who meditate become calmer.
As a part of my series about women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Ella McCrystal.
Ella McCrystal is a Psychotherapist, Clinical Hypnotherapist, EMDR practitioner, Meditation Teacher, and Mindset Coach of 15 years, working with a broad range of individuals and groups. Ella also coaches leaders in the world of business, sport, and the arts to find and reach their full potential. In addition, Ella is an Author, online course creator, TEDX speaker…as well as the Owner/Director of The Northampton Clinic. The clinic (the oldest of its kind in the Country — 93 years old) is an Osteopathic and Multi Disciplinary health clinic. They take an empathetic and holistic view to health and healing. They understand how mental health impacts your physiological health and vice versa.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?
During my childhood, I was repeatedly sexually abused my my father. My mother chose to stay with him — even after he pleaded guilty. This neglect of my feelings and safety was just as damaging to my sense of self and as a result of my experiences, I ended up experiencing many common mental health issues. For years I could not allow myself to feel. I had great compassion and warmth for others, but I could not allow those feelings to touch me. Then, those suppressed feelings would explode in the most horrific of ways. This led to serious self harm and two attempts to take my own life. Going through abuse can cause us to live according to our abuser’s “truths.” We essentially self abandon and feel shame or worthless. Experiencing abuse can make thoughts like I’m damaged, I’ll never find someone to love me or I will never be whole, become entrenched. With intra-familial childhood sexual abuse, your relationships with siblings and extended family is also damaged severely. You can end up ostracised and alone. The ramifications of this type of abuse for the victims and survivors are often ever-present.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?
The most interesting story I can recall is of a patient, who following a heart attack (after childbirth) lost her vocal ability. After 4 years of having no voice, seeing countless specialists and facing more surgery (which came with a risk of stroke), came to see me…desperate for help. Her second child had never heard his mums voice, her first child couldn’t remember her mums voice and my client was limited to the point where she couldn’t work. I used a combination of talking therapies, clinical hypnotherapy and EMDR to explore the issues deeply, reprocess relevant traumas and reframe her belief system. After only six sessions with me, the client regained her voice and was able to go back to work for the first time in years. Not only that, her children could finally hear their mums voice. This was life changing for her and the lesson here was that trauma is stored in the body and that when you access the brain (in specific ways), you can heal so many things that cannot be dealt with from a purely medical standpoint.
It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about a mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
In terms of working in the mental health and wellness industry, I think a good few of us start off thinking we can heal the world through kindness and dedication. My mistakes were often centered around not employing clear boundaries. For example…In my early days, I would answer texts or emails ridiculously late and be super-efficient in my communication with my clients no matter what time it was, where I was or who I was with. At one point, I got very poorly with swine flu and I was totally wiped out for a few weeks. Although I had a practice manager running my diary and informing my clients what was happening, one person in particular got quite annoyed that I wasn’t personally answering his texts and emails. He wasn’t getting my usual speedy responses and he was frustrated. I realised that I hadn’t managed his expectations at all. I had created a rod for my own back. The lesson I learned was that managing expectations and setting boundaries is key to healthy relationships and interactions.
Let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?
My main goal has always been to educate people on why they feel the way they feel from a brain/body perspective and to offer effective, uniquely tailored ways that they can heal the mind, body and soul. I want to offer a safe space where people learn, heal and observe their pain, trauma or shame 1. 2. 3. from a place of self-compassion. I do this through many formats including 1:1 sessions, social media, writing, online courses and public speaking. In addition, I use my pain for power and speak openly on intra-familial childhood sexual abuse. I do this because there is a taboo and a stigma on speaking about sexual abuse when a close family member is the perpetrator. We as victims and survivors feel shame and we are often made the scapegoat in the family unit, because our coping methods are often self-destructive and difficult to understand unless you’ve been there. My work is is an absolute privilege and a total honour. I feel so driven to teach people that whatever they’re going through, they can heal and find happiness again.
Can you share your top five “lifestyle tweaks” that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing? Please give an example or story for each.
Meditation — I teach many of my clients how to employ meditation as part of their daily routine. Different types of meditation work for different people. One client in particular who suffered from chronic pain, would use a walking meditation technique daily and found that this helped calm their mind and set their intentions for the day. Within a couple of weeks they noticed that some days the pain was sometimes not noticeable at all. This is because pain can be exacerbated by stress. Importantly, stress decreases the more one meditates. Neural pathways that link stressful sensations to the medial prefrontal cortex decrease. With time, people who meditate become calmer.
Journalling — I had a client who found talking about her trauma very triggering. But journalling was something she could do. She found 10 minutes every day to express and release thoughts and feelings. By doing this she became mindful and was able to gain perspective. Journalling enabled emotional catharsis and helped her to regulate emotions, gain clarity and that helped her to develop confidence and self-identity.
Affirmations — The practice of affirmations are an often misunderstood and underused life hack! The human brain is very complex indeed. We have billions of neurons in our brain. Furthermore, the brain has several important structures which can change size and shape depending on how much you use them. Neuroplasicity shows us that we can rewire, reshape and reorganise our brain according to what we want to achieve or how we want to live. The structure of your brain can be predisposed from birth but it is not a fixed structure. Everything you do from habits to lifestyle choices can all alter the structure. Essentially your brain is like a muscle and if you use your muscles in a specific way, they will change shape to accommodate the new practice. Of course, if you stop using the 3. 4. 5. muscles eventually they will lose tone and strength. That’s the same for the brain — you have to keep up healthy habits to have a well-functioning brain. Repetition is recognition. Neurons that fire together wire together. Affirmations are one of the habits that can tone the brain. By creating and repeating positive ‘self’ statements, people can overcome low self esteem, build self belief overcome self sabotage. The repetition of these positive statements can help to retrain the brain! By changing your thought patterns, you can ultimately change the way you act and think. A client of mine used daily affirmations to build self belief around career progression. After employing affirmations and other complimentary tools, they became the managing director of the company they started in as a post boy.
Intuitive eating — Many of my clients have come to see me with disordered eating and what they perceive to be weight issues. They feel they have failed at trying to manage their weight or eating habits. My first job with these clients is to coach them that they are not the problem. In fact our relationship with food and disordered eating is often deeply rooted in our pain, trauma or the way food was used in our relationships growing up. This has to be explored. In addition, diets, restrictive eating, weight loss advice or any other health advice that tells you what, when and how much to eat, starts to erode our relationship with food. After exploring the individuals reasons for their eating patterns, I then look at how they can build a healthy relationship with food. This needs to be at the foundation of any changes they make with their eating in relation to their health. We look at everything including anything from weight changes due to a medical condition or menopause, diabetes management, cholesterol and any potential food intolerance. Having a multidisciplinary health clinic I can team up with fellow practitioners to assist the process. Importantly, when advice goes against eating things you enjoy, it is human nature to rebel and of course your relationship with food suffers. So many diets go against our primal drive to seek out food that we enjoy when we are hungry. On these type of diets, your body’s biology will make it impossible for you to stick to the plan for any length of time. Remember, we are born knowing intuitively how to feed and move our bodies. Intuitive eating encourages noticing and acting on internal body cues to rebuild body trust, as well as encouraging awareness and mindfulness of external eating drivers that may be problematic. A client who came to see me after years of a cycle of ‘perfectionism eating’ and binge eating was absolutely lost and suffered with poor self esteem. Her eating style manifested as restrictive, highly focused on the perfect nutrition and perfectly timed for digestion…then swung into losing control and bingeing. After exploration, one of the tools we employed was intuitive eating. This was life changing for her. As part of a individual and unique apprised, intuitive changed her relationship with eating and her body. She did lose weight but most importantly, she stopped seeing food as something she could fail at.
Cold showers — This is a brilliant tool to help reduce anxiety and boost your immune system. Why and how? Well, exposure to cold causes our bodies to release a brief rush of “stress hormones,” including cortisol, norepinephrine and adrenaline. This leads to a shutdown of nonessential bodily functions, which include inflammatory responses, among others. When this happens briefly and on a daily basis , the benefits are immense, much like with exercise which is a “good stressor.” Studies have found that health benefits of cold showers can include reduce inflammation, relieved pain, improved circulation, lower stress levels, and reduced muscle soreness and fatigue. A client of mine that came to me experiencing anxiety and fatigue employed cold showers as one of his tools. He found that going from hot, then gradually decreasing the temperature of the water every thirty seconds until it was cold, and then staying in the cold for one minute (eventually building up over time) was a good place to start. As part of an integrated plan, he noticed his anxiety decreased and that he felt more energised.
If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?
It would meditation for sure. We all know that the world and society are changing at an exponential rate. It’s apparent than now, more than ever before we are more over-worked, and under-pressure than ever before. There are so many stressors! We are time poor and we are burdened with financial worries. We are trying to juggle relationships, family, work deadlines, social lives! All these are having detrimental effects on our health and well-being. We are becoming more susceptible to cardiovascular disease, insomnia, headaches, ulcers, fatigue, digestive problems, poor memory, anxiety, depression! There are many studies that show meditation triggers a relaxation response in the brain and body, that opposes the physiological stress response (fight or flight). Importantly, meditation is non-invasive, requires almost no effort, and really only takes a few minutes time each day to reap its rewards. The many benefits of meditation are thoroughly backed by science and can be seen plain as day on a brain scan. Here are a just a few of the benefits:
Improves productivity
Increases one’s ability to cope with demands and pressure (i.e. stress)
Lowers blood pressure
Reduces anxiety
Reduces fatigue
Improves rational decision making
Improves digestive function
Improves sleep patterns
Increases immunity
Increases ability to control cravings
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?
Be mindful of people pleasing
Take time to do the things you love
Trust your instinct
Don’t try to do it all
Have clear boundaries
All of the above are imperative to managing our own wellness, thus enabling us clinicians to do the healing work without becoming burned out or triggered.
Sustainability, veganism, mental health, and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?
Mental Health, but more specifically educating others how to understand their brain and body; and how to use an integrative and energy based approach to manage and prevent mental health episodes. My clients are often surprised to learn that their brain is like a super computer. Once they start learning about why they do what they do, think how they think and feel how they feel, they feel enlightened, seen and heard. The integrative tools they use can essentially be customised and they become the experts of their own minds and bodies. They feel empowered and they can overcome the obstacles they thought they would never be able to conquer. They can reach their goals and live a life that they had given up believing was possible. This is the power of education and therapy/healing.
What is the best way for our readers to further follow your work online?
Instagram @ellamccrystal
Thank you for these fantastic insights! We wish you continued success and good health.
To start, I think one of the most important things a woman or anyone needs to thrive in business and succeed as a powerful woman is support. I started my business thinking and wanting to do it all. I felt like I knew best, that very few people could understand why I kept going, that If I had people help me, it would mean I couldn’t do it myself, and I felt that if I shared my enormous successes, I’d lose friends. I was overwhelmed, burnt out, and feeling so alone in everything that I did. I had almost no one to lean on, no one to celebrate my achievements with and no one to bounce ideas off of. My business was doing well, but it felt hard and very alone.
How does a successful, strong, and powerful woman navigate work, employee relationships, love, and life in a world that still feels uncomfortable with strong women? In this interview series, called “Power Women” we are talking to accomplished women leaders who share their stories and experiences navigating work, love and life as a powerful woman.
As a part of this series, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Carrie Cardozo, The Soul Prophet. She is a psychic, a healer, an energy worker and an activator of gifts. Carrie teaches energy work and psychic development at a level most have never experienced. She works with those who are ready to dive deeper into energy than they ever have before to help them make a stronger connection to their soul, their psychic abilities and the reason they’re here.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood “backstory”?
I grew up in a small town with two brothers, one of which has special needs. My parents spent a lot of time taking him to doctors as a young child and working. I spent a lot of time with my other brother or alone. When alone, I saw things, heard things, and experienced things that at the time I believed were just like every other child. At the age of 5, I lost my best friend to cancer. I remember the day my mother told me. I remember not understanding what death was or why I couldn’t see her anymore. But I continued to see her in my mind. My entire childhood I experienced feeling energy, seeing people around me and knowing things about people that were unspoken. Each time I tried to tell anyone about it I was told it was my imagination, or I was just brushed aside.
During those years, I saw very explicit things about my own life. I saw my parents divorcing; me getting pregnant at a very young age, having cancer, and even losing people I loved.
By the age of 27, I realized that almost all the things that I saw as a child had come to fruition.
Can you tell us the story about what led you to this particular career path?
At the age of 33, I was deeply involved with an amazing man. It was at a time in my life when I finally felt like things were turning around for me. I had been struggling in the years prior, feeling like life just kept handing me things to overcome. I had a baby at 20 and chose to leave college, had cancer at 26, left a toxic marriage by 29. I felt like each choice I made led me deeper into struggles, but then I met Mike and started to see everything shifting. We both had children previously, and we were planning on moving all of us into one big house. We had picked the perfect one. The kids knew the plans and were excited. We had everything planned out for the life that both of us dreamed of.
Then, the morning before we were putting in an offer on a house, I woke to find Mike unresponsive and not breathing. At the hospital, they informed me of what I already knew. He had passed away. This led me to a very dark place. I felt totally alone; abandoned by the Universe. I felt like I was being punished. Everything I had wanted had suddenly been ripped away. I didn’t have him, our dreams, the house, or his boys anymore. Life had completely changed.
At first, I was in a very dark place. Completely lost. But soon I realized how much my kids were suffering from the loss as well and my focus shifted to healing. I set out on a path to uncover what happened to Mike. Not how he died, but more of where he went. What happened after death? I met several shamans, mediums and angel channels who each kept circling back to me that I was psychic and that I could connect with him. What I wasn’t telling anyone was that shortly after he passed, I started seeing him. I could feel him. I could even hear him.
I thought people would think I was crazy. But the professionals I was consulting with all affirmed my connection. I was psychic, a VERY powerful one. Soon after this realization, I knew that this was a huge part of my journey.
Shortly after I started uncovering my abilities and healing, the company I worked for went under and I was left on my own. I knew straight away that there was something I needed to do with my abilities, my experience and my business passion.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
Oh boy, there are so many. Working with spirit, with dead people and with healing, I think that each day is incredibly interesting. The stories that make up my life weave together to create a powerful experience full of lessons, healings, and expansion that make me the person I am today.
One thing that really stood out to me in the beginning of my career was how much others believed in me and turned to me for guidance and direction, even though they had been in the industry longer. In the early part of my career, when I was building my business and growing my psychic abilities, I was led to many different psychics, shamans, mediums and energy workers. At the time I believed I was being led to them for them to help me master my craft. What I soon realized was that I was being led to them to help them master their craft even though some of them had been in the industry longer than I had been alive. This was a powerful confirmation that I was doing exactly what I was meant to be doing and could make it a success.
You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
For one, my connection to spirit and my psychic abilities. From the moment my life shifted with Mike passing, I have been led down a very direct path. Each time I struggled, my psychic abilities would lead me to where I needed to be. When I was first starting my business, I struggled a lot. I didn’t want anyone to know that I was psychic. I kept trying to hide it in my work with others. Each month that passed, I’d get more and more frustrated that I wasn’t making money. Each time I asked with my abilities why, all I would hear is “You must tell people you are psychic.” I refused for months to do this. Bringing in on average $1,000 a month. Then one day I decided to just try it. I started telling people I was psychic and what I really did while guiding them in business and that month I brought in $9,000. I have followed the guidance of my abilities since.
The second character trait I know has been incredibly important in my life is my determination. In life, I have been through a lot. Each time life has knocked me down, I have gotten back up. When I was young and single with kids, when I had cancer, when I was a single mom, struggling to keep my house, building a business, my determination is what got me to where I am today. I was told by many to not risk it, to go back and get a job, that I couldn’t do what I wanted. But I have never given up. Each time I desire something, or see something is possible for me, I do not quit. I might change directions, take a step back to refocus, but if there is something I know I am meant to achieve, something I desire to achieve, I will find a way to do it. I always have.
The third thing, and I personally think it’s the most important one for me, is my level of integrity. In everything I do, in each step of business, I lead with integrity. It’s one of those traits that people comment on because of how high I hold my standards for myself. I will not work with someone who is not ready. I will not take money from others if they are not aligned and I will only use my psychic abilities when it’s for the highest good of others. I have had people come to me to invest in a $20,000 program where I have told them not to because they were not ready for it. I have shown them what to do to prepare, but I would not take their money till they were ready. In all of my business transactions, as well as my personal life, I make sure that my integrity level is of the highest, no matter what.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. The premise of this series assumes that our society still feels uncomfortable with strong women. Why do you think this is so?
First, I think it has gotten SO much better over the years. I think successful women are much more accepted and appreciated than they were in the past. I see two very deep aspects of this.
For one, many successful women look like they have it all together. They have the ability to juggle million dollar businesses, keep the home organized, raise kids, have a personal life, and find time to help others out. Not to mention, they are incredibly confident. And most do it in a way that LOOKS effortless. For many, this is very intimidating because people don’t see or even know how they can possibly help a woman who seems to not just have it all, but have it all together. People don’t understand where they fit in or how they can add value to a life that looks so great and that seems to be in such flow!
For some people, it makes them feel less valuable because they can’t help, and for others it creates jealousy because they see in the successful women all that they desire to be but haven’t achieved yet.
What I think many don’t realize is that we don’t always have it all together. That we actually do need help, putting us on a pedestal isn’t helping nor an accurate representation of what we desire.
I’m a psychic and an energy reader, and when you look at this energetically, there are a few very interesting things that come about. Something that is very prevalent is the shift of masculine and feminine energy that has gone on over the years. Each person has a disposition to hold more of one energy or the other. Meaning that coming into this life, you are more likely to have either a dominant masculine or feminine energy. What has been happening over the years is that more and more women are tapping into their masculine energy to compete and create success where it wasn’t as readily available as had been in the past. At times, tapping into that masculine energy can create a forcing energy if not maneuvered correctly. That imbalance of energy can be felt by others and if they are not secure in their own masculine or feminine energy, can be seen as combative or uncomfortable.
What I have seen in the energy reading and energy work that I’ve been doing is that the world is trying to balance the masculine and feminine flow more and more. This means that masculine will feel more at ease and the feminine will feel more accepted and the roles each chooses to play will be more aligned.
I feel this is what causes the uncomfortable energy people feel when women are in power. Hopefully the more people master their own energy and heal their own shortcomings, the more powerful and successful women and men will be accepted by all.
Without saying any names, can you share a story from your own experience that illustrates this idea?
For me personally, I’ve always been one of those women that just does everything myself. It was taught to me and although it’s served me well at times, it’s come as a detriment and a challenge when in relationships or even in receiving. I’ve worked for years to unlearn this and still keep growing my success.
When I first started my business, I had a lot of people who I deemed as friends become very uncomfortable with my success. I remember one time specifically. I was putting together an event and had invited several friends to join me. During the entire process, there were several times that I heard statements like “How come it’s all about you?” “Why is it always Carrie this and Carrie that?” And the one that hurt the most was when a woman I considered a really good friend of mine said “Well we can’t all be as great as Carrie Cardozo now, can we?” when I was giving her advice on her business that she had asked for.
The level of jealousy and judgment that often comes with this level of success can be very disheartening and can cause you to feel very alone at times in the success and building process.
What most people don’t realize is that this jealousy is not necessary. We all need help. We all need support. And we very seldom have it all together. But even in these situations, we are still able to reach enormous success.
Although the process may look effortless, the determination required to move beyond your comfort zone and ask for help, let others in, or whatever that looks like for you, to be the leader you are meant to be sometimes requires moving through the stumbling blocks placed in front of you to embody the feminine and masculine energy required of a leader. I believe that once you master the energy you are meant to hold, no matter if you are male or female, it allows for others around you to feel more at least and be more accepting of your leadership because YOU are in balance.
What should a powerful woman do in a context where she feels that people are uneasy around her?
Being really successful can be challenging. On one hand, it feels amazing to reach all these new levels, to achieve goals you never thought you’d reach and to see all of your dreams unfold. But on the other hand, it hurts when you’re stereotyped for the money you make or judged for how you choose to live your life, or people you love most feel insecure with their own success when they compare it to yours.
What I do is powerful. It’s unusual for a lot of people and frankly, it can freak people out. I not only do what most people can’t do for work, but I also am very successful doing it. When I know that people are uncomfortable around me, I meet them where they are at. I have very strong beliefs and opinions. I see things most can’t. I know things that others don’t. And that makes people uncomfortable and guarded. So, I meet people at their level. I talk in a way that helps them feel heard, seen and comfortable. I allow others to see that although what I do is incredible, that I can show them how to do it.
The main focus of my work is to teach others how to tap into their psychic abilities and show them how to build a business and life with them. I show people how to create their desired level of success with the gifts they were born with.
I work to allow others to see that my success is incredible, but that I’m not an anomaly. I have 100% confidence and believe that others can have it as well and I do my part to show them how. I allow people to see that I’m real. I have had my struggles; I have failed; I have broken; I have felt totally lost, but I have also worked through everything that life has thrown at me and I have CHOSEN, and that is the key. It’s been a choice each and every step. I’ve chosen to keep putting things back together and never given up on my dreams, even when others try to make you feel bad for the success you have.
What do we need to do as a society to change the unease around powerful women?
Boy, would I love to see this. I believe it will take a few things. We need to start by normalizing success in whatever way it looks like for each person. Whether it’s money, accolades, impact, or being famous, we need to bring more acceptance into those achievements.
We also need to celebrate other people and help those around us to see that it’s possible. I think that very few people see their desires and dreams as possible. I think a lot of people still see the “American Dream” as something that they have to achieve.
We need to start celebrating people who do things differently. Kids who don’t want to go to college, moms that don’t want to stay home with their kids, people who want to travel.
I have high school and college-age kids right now and I can’t tell you how many teachers and adults have made comments to my children about how if they don’t go to college and get a good job, then they won’t be successful. How doing what they want isn’t going to give them security.
I didn’t go to college.
I didn’t follow what most people thought I should.
I turned my back on everything that others told me was the right thing.
As a society, we need to start showing people that there are many more ways to become successful. We need to start guiding people to follow that deep inner knowing. And most importantly, we need to help people see that in all of this, you still need to show up and do the work. Nothing, and I mean nothing, is handed to you. Your level of commitment and determination are necessary for success.
The more people who truly get to see what this is all about, the more this level of success will be accepted by all.
In my own experience, I have observed that often women have to endure ridiculous or uncomfortable situations to achieve success that men don’t have to endure. Do you have a story like this from your own experience? Can you share it with us?
I grew up in a family where I was always told I could do anything the boys could do, so this was very much not an issue for me. I competed with the boys. I was as smart as them. I was able to get jobs just as they were. I’ve never felt less than.
I have, however, seen that my looks have caused me much more unwanted attention than most men receive. This has been my biggest struggle.
I hear a lot that I’m really smart for being so pretty. Or that they didn’t expect someone like me to be so good at what I do.
I’ve received a lot of undesirable attention for my looks and my skills were an afterthought.
In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by women leaders that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?
Although I don’t often feel at a disadvantage in my leadership, I can see a few things that are bigger challenges. The biggest one being credibility. I have seen that men have a more favorable view from others when it comes to credibility and trust as a leader in most industries. If a man is in a leadership role it’s assumed that he knows what he’s doing and others willingly trust him. I’ve often seen that women are made to prove their credibility and expertise before someone trusts their leadership.
Let’s now shift our discussion to a slightly different direction. This is a question that nearly everyone with a job has to contend with. Was it difficult to fit your personal and family life into your business and career? For the benefit of our readers, can you articulate precisely what the struggle was?
It absolutely was challenging. When I first started my business, I was a single mother who had my three young children 80% of the time. I had been working outside the home, but upon starting my business, I moved everything to the house. Navigating that switch was not easy for me or the kids. To them, me being home meant I wasn’t working. They even used to tell people that I didn’t work anymore. They had to relearn that if I was in a specific room that it meant they couldn’t interrupt what I was doing.
It also was very challenging to juggle everything. I was committed to building my business. Reaching certain levels of success. Some of those levels were even just to afford the house, car, food and activities that my kids and I were used to. So me putting hours and energy into my business was key. But I also committed to being the mother I desired to be and had been for my kids. Navigating everything was not easy. I never missed a sporting event, a Dr appointment, a parent meeting, or family dinner time. I was there at everything my kids did, from getting them to and from school and doing all the activity drop-offs. This often meant that I was up at 3:30 am to finish a project or I brought my laptop and worked in the car while I waited for practice to end.
There were times when it was so busy that I was getting four hours of sleep at night, juggling everything and still focusing on my healing. It was a time that I was 100% committed to me, my kids and our future and although it was incredibly challenging with very little support, it was the best decision I made!
What was a tipping point that helped you achieve a greater balance or greater equilibrium between your work life and personal life? What did you do to reach this equilibrium?
A true tipping point for me was when I realized I shouldn’t be doing it all on my own. When I first started my business, I had no idea how hard it was going to be. I knew I could do it all, focus on my healing, be a great mother, build my business, take care of all the household things, and still have time for me. As dedicated and determined as I thought I was at the time, I didn’t realize just how stressed out I was and needed help.
I remember one time I was prepping for a big in person event. I had people coming in from all over the world, people who needed to be picked up at the airport, things to still be purchased, and kids who needed to be an hour away from home at the same time that I had to pick up clients. Organizing it all was stressful. I had navigated all of it except for a client pickup at the exact time I would be at the opposite end of the state. I had asked someone close to me to help and hours before I needed their help that person decided to start an argument and throw it in my face that they were helping me.
I remember having a complete breakdown emotionally. I felt so unsupported and exhausted. I knew that if I was going to make all of this work, in the way I needed to, then I had to find people in my corner who wanted to see me succeed and were working on my team. That moment stays so prevalent in my mind. It was the tipping point of the shift that happened in my business to give me more support, more freedoms and an entire team of people around me and in my business who desired to see me reach all of my goals. From that moment on, I made the decision that I was done giving my energy to things or people that didn’t help me achieve an amazing personal and business life.
I work in the beauty tech industry, so I am very interested to hear your philosophy or perspective about beauty. In your role as a powerful woman and leader, how much of an emphasis do you place on your appearance? Do you see beauty as something that is superficial, or is it something that has inherent value for a leader in a public context? Can you explain what you mean?
Personally, I place very little effort into my outside beauty. I don’t dye my hair, I’ve done no beauty treatments other than a facial once a month, I only wear mascara (except on photo shoots), and I can be ready, out the door in less than 15 minutes. I also would rather someone else pick my clothes for me.
For me, it’s all inner beauty. It has everything to do with your energy, how you make others feel and how you show up to serve others while still respecting your own boundaries and standards. Your energy has such a powerful impact on how people respond to you. You could be the most beautiful woman in the room, but if your energy is low or off, it’s going to be hard to take who you are or what you do very far in life.
I absolutely agree that a beautiful face or a well put together body will grab the attention of both men and women, but if you truly desire to serve, to lead those around you, your looks hold very little importance in comparison to what you hold inside.
How is this similar or different for men?
I think this holds true for men as well. The way they hold themselves, how they show up, how they treat people is so much more appealing and attractive than just a handsome face or a nice body.
Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. Based on your opinion and experience, what are the “Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Powerful Woman?” (Please share a story or example for each.)
To start, I think one of the most important things a woman or anyone needs to thrive in business and succeed as a powerful woman is support. I started my business thinking and wanting to do it all. I felt like I knew best, that very few people could understand why I kept going, that If I had people help me, it would mean I couldn’t do it myself, and I felt that if I shared my enormous successes, I’d lose friends. I was overwhelmed, burnt out, and feeling so alone in everything that I did. I had almost no one to lean on, no one to celebrate my achievements with and no one to bounce ideas off of. My business was doing well, but it felt hard and very alone.
When I started to allow people to support me, everything changed. I had help around the house, people to consult with, an entire team to take so much of the weight of the work off my plate, and friends who truly wanted to see me succeed and to celebrate with. The support that I receive now is a total game changer for myself and my business. The level of ease it’s created and the flow that’s been established, as well as feeling as if it’s not just me building this legacy, is such an amazing feeling.
Second, you have to have a focus. You have to know why you’re doing what you’re doing. You have to have a bigger reason for getting up early, doing things you don’t want. Failing, getting up, trying again and then failing again. When you don’t have a why, then you don’t have a bigger pull to keep going. Without your why your soul is just not in it. I meet so many people who are struggling in business because their ultimate goal is just to prove they can be successful. To prove to others that they can make something. The majority of these people are unfulfilled and exhausted. They often say they are working for the money, to make millions and thinking that they have to keep selling or pushing harder to make it. When you have a reason why, not only does the money come much easier, but the journey you take every day to reach your greater goal is so much more fulfilling when you finally attain it. Following that calling deep within your soul that quietly guides you forward creates much greater results that are much more fulfilling!
Next, I truly believe that your level of belief in yourself is KEY! I see people every day who are amazing at what they do. For years, I helped people design and grow their businesses. I guided them on how to share their gifts with the work. Now I train psychics, healers and energy workers. The men and women are truly talented and powerful in their work. What I have seen is that the individuals who truly believe in themselves and what they do sell faster, attain more money, and become more widely known simply because of their belief, not their talent level.
As an entrepreneur, there are very few people out there screaming your name, being your biggest cheerleader, especially in the beginning. That is all up to you. You have to tell people who you are, what you do and how you can help them, and if you don’t hold that belief in all of it, then others want to believe it either and it’s going to take a heck of a long time to reach your goals.
The next thing I believe is incredibly important for attaining levels of success is your faith and truths. I’m not religious, never have been. There have been times in my life that I’ve felt completely lost. But one of the things that has shifted the entire focus of my business and my success is my faith and truths. Believing in yourself is crucial, but so is believing in something much bigger than you and holding those beliefs even in the most uncertain of times. There are certain beliefs that I have that help me to hold a level of certainty, trust and knowing in all the experiences I have been through. These truths that I have built my business around, when held to, have never failed me. Understanding what my truths were was difficult. It forced me to question what I knew, to evaluate what was truly unfolding, and to lean into a deeper understanding of how the Universe worked. But for me, my faith and my beliefs are what guides me through every single challenging moment I face.
I have a belief that every single thing in life happens for a reason. I have the belief that everything always works out in the end. I believe that I am always supported by the Universe and it’s never let me fall. I believe that energy is the core of everything. I believe that I am always led exactly to what I need to learn, heal and grow to continue to succeed. It doesn’t matter what your actual beliefs are. Find things that resonate, that have been proven over and over again to you, then hold on to those beliefs as you navigate down the winding path toward success.
The final thing I believe is crucial for success is integrity. It’s what I’ve built my business around. It’s why I have 90% repeat clients. It’s how I’ve gained enormous amounts of respect, admiration and trust. It’s built my reputation and allowed me to be part of life altering events with so many clients. Integrity for me is not just doing what I say when I say I’m going to do it. It’s also about doing what’s for people’s highest good, even if it means it’s not the best for me. It’s about always leading with full transparency and truth. Never putting money ahead of what’s right and always yielding the power I hold for the good of others.
I’ve seen a lot of people, especially in my field, shove away their integrity to make themselves seem more important, to put others down, and to make more money. I have never and will never do it. For me, it’s not just about getting to the top of my industry. I’m great at what I do. I’m one of the best. But what’s most important is to pave the way for others to do it as well and not just show them how to get there, but to turn around and help them make the way. In business, I’ve seen how competition, jealousy and abuse of power can literally destroy people. I choose to work with others, to teach them what I know and to celebrate all of their victories without worrying that their success is taking away from mine. Integrity is the most important thing I believe a successful, powerful woman should hold!
We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.
If I could choose one person to have lunch with, it would be my future self. The future is filled with possibilities, with different options and pathways. The actions we take and every choice that we make creates our destiny. Although I can see the future, I’d love to chat with myself 10 years from now, or 15 years and ask what I need to know most to get to where I desire. I don’t want to know everything, but I’d like a little insight into what is important, where I’m wasting my time, what I should stop worrying about, and if it’s time to give up on certain things? Our future self holds so much valuable information and a lunch with her would be amazing!
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
Communication and organization — Making sure to keep each other in the loop about what is going on with our busy schedules is more important than ever.
As a part of our series about lessons from Thriving Power Couples, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jonathan & Rebecca Falcon.
Jonathan & Rebecca Falcon are Hudson Valley residents that operate Slutsky Lumber in Ellenville, NY. They purchased the lumberyard in the summer of 2021 and have shifted from corporate life in New York City to running a small business in the Catskills. They have both embraced their new life upstate.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you two to your respective career paths?
Both of us had corporate jobs in Manhattan for almost the last 10 years. Rebecca has always loved all things related to design since visiting Macy’s and Bergdorf Windows as a little girl. She worked doing corporate visual merchandising and later 3D design. She was still working from home when Jon left his foodservice consulting job to work full time on Slutsky Lumber. He always had a passion for woodworking and met the owners of a small lumberyard in the Catskills that were looking to retire.
We worked our full-time jobs when we purchased the lumberyard but quickly realized how much more satisfying running our own business was versus working for others. Once it became feasible, Jon left his job. After almost two years of working from home, glued to the computer, Rebecca joined him. She now offers design consultation and interior decorating. Our skills complement each other well — Jon handles operations and logistics while Rebecca handles marketing and design.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you two got married?
I think the most interesting thing that has happened since we got married was moving from the city to a farm and completely changing our careers at the same time. We had planned a weekend upstate with friends for March 15, 2020 and once we got here the world locked down. Our friends returned to New York City but we ended up staying for what we thought would be a month in the Hudson Valley. Since getting married, we got rid of our apartment in the city, moved upstate and bought a lumberyard. All of this was an unexpected adventure that we wouldn’t have believed would ever happened.
It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Watching Jon on the forklift at first was funny for a while. Pretty much trying to use any machinery or move any wood in the lumberyard is a lot harder than it looks. A lot of the work done there requires skill and knowledge more than strength to be done efficiently. We gained a lot of respect for the people who work what many consider to be unskilled jobs in construction. Working in the yard as a picker or loading and unloading trucks requires a lot of skill. This is especially true at our place which is located on an old farm with items stored in modified barns rather than a proper warehouse.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
Slutsky Lumber is the last lumberyard remaining in Ellenville, NY. Thirty years ago, there were three other competitors in the area that have closed over time. A reputation for quality lumber and great service has kept our doors open. A lot of locals come to us but also people from further away when they need something rare that other stores most likely don’t carry. Our staff all has extensive experience and can spend a lot of time helping customers with their specific questions or challenges.
Recently, someone came to our store looking to replace some cedar shingles that were an odd size. Cedar products are very hard to come by these days but we had what they were looking for and were also able to help explain to them how exactly to install them. Asking questions on how to use items bought from big box stores is pretty much useless. Our staff is able to walk customers through all different sized projects — from insulating your basement, to building a deck.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
Yes, we are! We’ve just launched the 2023 Slutsky Lumber Calendar. It features local artists, business owners and customers taking cheeky pictures around the lumberyard. A portion of the proceeds are going to support Family of Ellenville, a local nonprofit. They offer crisis intervention, emergency short term counseling, child care, emergency housing services and a lot of other crucial services to people in need in the community.
We also recently started building tiny homes on wheels at the lumberyard. There is a housing shortage in the Hudson Valley and Catskills. Tiny houses on wheels are an affordable option for people looking to get their own place. We’re also working to get the tiny homes on farms in the area to help farmers who struggle to find affordable housing for their seasonal staff.
What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?
When shifting careers or starting a passion project, keep your full-time job as long as you can handle both. Having stable income for as long as possible allows entrepreneurs to take bigger risks with their passion projects. Outside income makes it easier to pay your employees before you pay yourself.
Delegating and trusting employees is key. There is a lot that goes into running a business and nothing is more important than working with people who show up and care about what they are doing.
How do you define “Leadership”?
Leadership is finding the right person for the job and engaging with them so they take ownership and pride in what they do. Once a business hires employees, leadership is what sets the culture of the organization.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
Kelly, the manager of the lumberyard has made buying and operating Slutsky Lumber possible. He has worked at the store since the mid 1980s when he was in his 20s. He agreed to stay and work with us for a few years to teach us the ins and outs of the business. Even though he no longer owns the store, he still takes a lot of pride and ownership in what he does.
Pretty much everyday, Kelly goes above and beyond as the manager of the store. He’s the type of guy who will spend an hour walking a customer through a project. I’ve even seen him goes as far as stopping at a customer’s house on the way home to give them advice on getting a project done.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
We have conducted one building workshop at the lumberyard and hope to host many more in the coming year. Becoming a hub where people can come to learn different building practices is important to us. We see that the average age of carpenters going up and that a lot of knowledge isn’t being passed down to another generation. We are planning on our workshops to allow younger homeowners or aspiring contractors to pick up some useful, technical skills.
What are the “5 Things You Need To Thrive As A Couple”? Please share a story or example for each.
•Communication and organization — Making sure to keep each other in the loop about what is going on with our busy schedules is more important than ever.
•Time together without discussing work — We make it a point to have a date night during the week where we don’t discuss work. Since we never clock in/out it’s easy to let our venture consume a lot of what we do at home. Taking a break from even talking about work for a few hours is necessary.
•Patience — There’s a lot of frustrating things that happen running a business. We are both very patient with each other and try to avoid getting frustrated when anything doesn’t go as expected.
•Trust — We always trust each other to make the right decision when we are working independently.
•Sense of humor — It’s important to be able to laugh at some of the issues that come up. It’s better to be able to laugh at issues that can’t be fixed than let them get you upset.
You are people of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
We’d love to inspire people to find ways to make their houses greener. A lot of people don’t realize little things they can do to make their home more energy efficient, even if it is a rental. Blocking cracks under doors or properly sealing windows can go a long way to reduce your energy consumptions. Insulating a basement or attic can also save a significant amount of oil or electric from being used to heat a house.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
You are responsible for your own happiness. We were both waiting and expecting things to happen at our old jobs that would make us happier or more satisfied. Going off on our own showed us that we needed to take more control over our work life to be happy. We think a lot of people get stuck in a repetitive, comfortable cycle instead of taking risks to potentially live a happier life.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
We’d love to meet Anthony Capuano, the CEO of Marriott. We both think of our lumberyard as a kind of hospitality company as much as it is a construction company. We love when people want to spend time at our store, picking staff’s brains or asking questions about different things they want to build at home.
How can our readers follow your work online?
Instagram @slutskylumber
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.
There’s a quote from Steve Jobs that my co-founder Tom and I love: “You can’t join the dots looking forward. You can only do so looking backwards.”
For us it sums up perfectly that — there’s no way you can predict the future exactly, and that your journey is going to change and surprise you in new ways. You can only make the best decisions in the present in order, to take the next step forward. Keep making these decisions the best you can and you’ll see that they build on each other in some way that makes your path uniquely you.
As a part of our series about women who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Nicole Tj.
Nicole Tj is co-founder and CEO of Travis — a travel startup with a mission to empower a new generation of creators to earn through travel. With 10 years of experience as a creator, influencer manager and strategy consultant at Deloitte Digital, she combines her industry experience with frustrations as a traveler, to pioneer a creator-led commerce future for the $800B online travel industry.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
My career path is something I definitely could not have planned for years ago.
I did a Bachelor of Music specializing in classical piano performance, and then a Master’s in Marketing. It was also at this time that I built my side hustle as a fashion/travel influencer for three years. This provided first-hand insight into how the relationship between influencers, consumers and brands were changing — and I’ve been fascinated by it ever since.
I also then founded my first business, anon, with my partner/co-founder Tom. Anon was a music and experiential design studio producing and performing in events in Australia and even resulted in an invite to perform at TEDx in Washington DC to 2,000 people.
We ran this part-time while I worked full-time in consulting at Deloitte Digital for five years, which was where most of my early career development took place. This experience taught me about building and launching new products and businesses for consumer industries, particularly in travel.
These experiences, combined with my personal frustrations in trip planning, now shapes our vision at Travis.
Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?
Creators and micro-influencers have been the biggest disruptors of the travel industry over the last 10 years. Not only have they changed how we discover travel, but they are also influencing real-world planning and booking decisions. With more creators than ever, ways to monetize travel have become more demanding. Travis is enabling creators to earn from their existing content and community with a vision for travel consumers to be able to discover, plan and book any trips based on creator recommendations.
There are 200 million creators in the world today (Linktree), of which 90% are micro-creators with under 100k followers. This is the biggest and fastest-growing segment facing the highest barriers in earning a recurring income. In fact, our research with 512 micro-creators shows that 48% of respondents want to move from being part-time to full-time creators within the next year. This shows the strong desire of creators to grow and monetize regardless of their audience size.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I don’t recall a specific event in particular, but when you first start something new you’re doing everything possible that you can to try to bring it to life. This means turning dinner with friends into design testing sessions and spending incredible amounts of time just obsessed with moving things forward. Looking back, I’m sure some of it was ridiculous and very laughable, but the experience taught us to pick up new skills, adapt quickly and be resilient in making things happen.
We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?
I established several mentors while working in a corporate setting who played a huge role in my formative, early career years. They taught me to be confident in myself, build on my unique strengths and how to be an empathetic leader in working across teams, and highly adaptable — especially in stressful and ambiguous situations.
This set the foundations for my startup founder journey — and my adaptability and resilience in the face of adversity (hello COVID) has definitely been tested. As a small team, knowing how to flex and build on each other’s strengths — including having our complementary skills move us forward together as a whole — has been crucial.
In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?
Every industry evolves whether due to shifts in consumer behaviors, new technologies, or external factors — and such events require innovation within the solutions offered to keep up with behavioral change. To stubbornly refuse to innovate in this case would probably not go well! I think the biggest companies we use every day like Netflix, Airbnb and Uber are all examples of this.
‘Not so positive’ disruptions in my view are when innovations are driven purely from a technological perspective because these solutions usually result in empty innovations for a market that doesn’t quite need them — or know what to do with them.
Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.
There’s a quote from Steve Jobs that my co-founder Tom and I love: “You can’t join the dots looking forward. You can only do so looking backwards.”
For us it sums up perfectly that — there’s no way you can predict the future exactly, and that your journey is going to change and surprise you in new ways. You can only make the best decisions in the present in order, to take the next step forward. Keep making these decisions the best you can and you’ll see that they build on each other in some way that makes your path uniquely you.
We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?
While there’s so much innovation to come in the travel industry, another important aspect I want to focus on is empowering young women of color to be able to speak up and act. There are lots of gender — and generational — bias in addition to expectations that need to be adjusted. It’s not something one person can do alone in a short amount of time. It’ll take many more inspirational women to come forward and tell the world that you can craft your own path.
Creators have helped the travel industry take a step towards showcasing diversity across travelers, travel styles, and even destinations. It’s something I’m passionate about and that we’re conscious of cultivating across our platform and community at Travis. We’re constantly asking ourselves: how do we enable more diverse voices to showcase travel experiences through their own lenses — which can be very different depending on your personal background — and allow that to be valued?
Very often it is the diversity of people and experiences - — whether because of race and culture, professional and creative backgrounds, gender and more — I often find the most exciting part. Discovering experiences by people with entirely different lives to you helps you broaden your perspective of the world we live in.
In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by ‘women disruptors’ that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?
Well, being a woman and Asian, I inherently present myself in a different way to my male counterparts. While I (thankfully) haven’t had any awful experiences, over the years I’ve had to learn to be more assertive in putting my views forward whether in verbal, written, or body language — and also support these views despite challenges.
For example, speaking in a more direct, concise manner compared to something a little more conversational, which could come across as being too friendly and chatty. Being aware of my speaking inflections going up, or letting out an accidental giggle — which might work in a bonding manner with certain people, but could very well work against me in a setting with males who are 20 years older than me. This is especially so when pitching our vision at Travis — and our perspective on the future of travel.
Do you have a book/podcast/talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us?
How I Built This has had a deep impact. It provides insight to the journey of many great brands and companies that we know today humanizes the start-up founder process and reminds you that you are not alone in the challenges that you face in building something new.
The ones I enjoyed most were by Payal Kadakia (Classpass), Shan-Lyn Ma (Zola) and Melanie Perkins (Canva) — perhaps by no accident they are female founders who are of what would be considered diverse backgrounds, and without a technical engineering background. Each of their own paths - — successes, setbacks, and strong-willed resilience along the way — have been truly relatable.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Take the opportunity to travel as much as you can. It is a luxury to be able to travel — the pandemic drove that home — but seeing more of the world beyond your every day has such power in teaching you about different people, culture, flavors and ways of life and you come back with a broader perspective and deeper empathy.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“We’re all going through life for the first time.” — Melanie Perkins, CEO of Canva
It’s always easy to think that other people have it all figured out, yet on the inside it might not be the case. It’s easy to have prejudice thinking of others, but when understanding that we’re going through life for the first time, it makes it easier to see things from other people’s perspectives.
Inspirational Women in STEM and Tech: Professor Katherine B Ensor of American Statistical Association On The 5 Leadership Lessons She Learned From Her Experience
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Be transparent — As the president of the ASA, I am empowered to speak on behalf of the membership. This is a responsibility that I am honored to have, but I recognize the challenge of representing the diverse views of our over 15,000 members. While some may disagree with a position, I strive to be transparent about the process.
As a part of our series about “Lessons From Inspirational Women in STEM and Tech”, we had the pleasure of interviewing Katherine Bennett Ensor.
Dr. Ensor, an expert in many areas of modern statistics, develops innovative statistical techniques to answer important questions in science, engineering, and business with a focus on the environment, energy, and finance. She is a fellow of the American Statistical Association, a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and has been widely recognized for her leadership, scholarship, and mentoring. She is President of the American Statistical Association’s (ASA) Board of Directors (2021–2022) and served as Vice President of ASA’s Board of Directors from 2016–2018. She was a member of the National Academies Committee on Applied and Theoretical Statistics (CATS) from 2015–2021 and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the NSF Institute on Pure and Applied Mathematics (IPAM). She is an Accredited Professional Statistician® (PStat®) and holds a BSE and MS in Mathematics from Arkansas State University and a Ph.D. in Statistics from Texas A&M University.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
As president of the American Statistical Association, my path has included a fascinating journey through a rich and rewarding career in statistics with a continual focus on community, outreach, and a deep commitment to statistics as a science that contributes to solutions to important challenges faced by society. I was always naturally gifted at mathematics, quantitative reasoning, and computing and instinctively found my way to a faculty position in statistics at Rice University in Houston, Texas. From the start I developed new methodologies, but I also put these methods to work building statistical systems to address issues in environmental science, risk management and finance among other areas. Today, as the Rice Noah G. Harding Professor of statistics and Director of the Center for Computational Finance and Economic Systems, I look back and appreciate the contributions I have made to society through my many roles.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began at your company? How do you pick one interesting story, from a lifetime of interesting stories?
Let me pick something from my role as a consulting statistician. Throughout my career I have selectively served as an expert witness in court cases that require statistics expertise. I see this as another form of public service and promote this perspective by offering through the ASA Leadership Institute a course on the statistical expert witness.
Early in my career, while still an assistant professor, I was serving in this capacity and was going through a rather contentious and long deposition. On the other side of the case was a senior, extremely well-known and well-regarded member of the statistics profession from an elite east coast university. The lawyers retaining him had flown him in for my deposition and he was feeding them questions. I stood by my answers, and they kept asking me about the same point I made but in different ways. At one point, I heard him whisper to the attorneys, “It doesn’t matter how you ask her; she is not going to give you a different answer because she is right.” The deposition came to a quick close after that. It was quite a moment, as this was a big case and the difference in our stature in the field was obvious. Now that I understand more about the role of a statistical expert witness, I find this story even more fascinating.
And back then, yes, I was the only woman in the room. The lawyers’ faith in my ability to understand the statistical question and retain my composure through rigorous challenges spoke volumes at the time.
It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
At the beginning of my career, I could be very defensive in the classroom or giving talks, and avoided “thinking on my feet” for fear I would think incorrectly. This happens a lot as one is starting out. I quickly learned that this was not beneficial to my audience or to me and adapted. The adaption required sufficient preparation so that I could be at ease in front of an audience. Eventually, I didn’t need so much preparation and could default back to my more natural intuitive state and speak extemporaneously. There are some really funny stories around this evolution, and for all those students and audience members who helped, thank you!
I returned to that intense preparation for my Presidential Speech at the Joint Statistical Meetings in August of 2022. Fortunately, it worked, and I managed to sell an audience of approximately 2,000 people on my vision of the foundational and practical importance of our science.
What do you think makes your organization stand out? Can you share a story?
Let me speak here to the American Statistical Association (ASA) as my “company,” as it represents the largest community of statisticians at about 15,000 members, and stands out for the important role it plays in the international field of statistics.
I’ll start by asking you and your readers to think about an invention, maybe something they rely on to do their jobs or to stay healthy. It is not an exaggeration to say that whatever is in your mind be it your computer, smartwatch, cholesterol medication, or your stock portfolio. All of these and many others depend on the practice and profession of statistics. As president of the American Statistical Association, I represent the over 15,000 members who work in business, academe, and government. This active community of volunteers supports 16 scholarly journals, 70-plus regional chapters, 40-plus sections and interest groups, and a large contingent of committees addressing the practice and profession of statistics.
The story I will share is of one of our members Nan Laird, who received the 2021 International Prize for Statistics. Laird’s work gave researchers the tools they needed, which allowed them to answer important questions in health, medicine, psychology, and more. This jump-started a field known as “random effects modeling for longitudinal data analysis,” and the methods Laird introduced in 1982 are still the most widely used techniques in both observational studies and clinical trials today.
This is just one remarkable story illustrating the many ways in which the statistics work of our members are advancing science, business, and quality of life. Witnessing and honoring these stories close up is what makes serving in ASA leadership so inspiring.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
I always have an exciting project underway. Recently I have been part of the hugely successful team that brought forward the wastewater epidemiology program for Houston, TX. Our team was named a National Center of Excellence by the CDC for wastewater epidemiology, and the analytics team which I lead plays a big part in our program.
For ASA, I would also like to say that I am super excited about the ASA Leadership Institute that was formally launched in October. In November we held the inaugural ASA Influencing Discovery Exploration & Action (IDEA) Forum with a focus on the powerful role statistics plays in managing the global impact of climate change and supporting sustainable infrastructure.
Ok super. Thank you for all that. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview. Are you currently satisfied with the status quo regarding women in STEM? What specific changes do you think are needed to change the status quo?
How can I be happy with the status quo? In my recent experience and those of my professional colleagues around the nation, the conversations happening in some faculty and administrative search committees take me back 30 years. Where were all the women in the pool? And why were the few women in the pool scrutinized much more closely than all others by some members of the search committee? I always thought that within my professional lifetime we would close this gap and end these additional questions by some. I was sadly reawakened to the continual challenges professional women face in STEM.
In the field of statistics women fare much better than other quantitative STEM fields, but are still mainly concentrated in areas associated with biostatistics. For example, the elected ASA Board of 12 members consists of 10 women, and the Association will have female presidents from 2020 through 2024. However, if you look at the representation of other metrics, e.g., female members of editorial boards, authors of papers, university faculty, federal grants, corporate leadership, or government leadership of statistics agencies, our profession still needs to better capitalize on this amazing talent pool.
In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by women in STEM or Tech that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts? What would you suggest to address this?
Most people face challenges as they begin any endeavor. Peer encouragement can distinguish between success and directing one’s energies to other paths. This is a universal human condition. There are a few individuals who will succeed regardless of the challenges before them, and of course, we would all like to think we are amongst that group. But alas we are not. So maybe it is just a numbers game.
But I think there are a few things that we can continue to do to improve the situation. Perhaps most important is to continue our focus on mentoring and providing opportunities both formal and informal for networking. Each year at the Women in Statistics and Data Science conference we have the opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments of women. The students and early-career participants need to be able to see and learn from the successes and challenges of more senior women. Our field has a rich history of contributions by women so we need to tell their stories.
Professional societies play a critical role in growing a diverse and inclusive professional community. This includes something as basic as the climate at professional meetings to the more subtle challenges of ensuring that policies for publications and dissemination of new science are transparent, fair, and just. I am proud that ASA works hard to meet this societal challenge and serves as a beacon for other professional societies.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a woman in STEM or Tech. Can you explain what you mean?
At the 2022 ASA Women in Statistics and Data Science Conference I gave the keynote and included a slide titled, “I Was Young Once… .” Although I am ecstatic about the many opportunities our young people have, I am concerned about the resurgence of overt attacks on women’s rights and the slow erosion of significant advances made over the past 50 years. Maybe I’m not dispelling a myth as much as highlighting the need to be vigilant and respect the different paths our career journeys take.
What are your “5 Leadership Lessons I Learned From My Experience as a Woman in STEM or Tech” and why. (Please share a story or example for each.)
Lesson 1: Be transparent — As the president of the ASA, I am empowered to speak on behalf of the membership. This is a responsibility that I am honored to have, but I recognize the challenge of representing the diverse views of our over 15,000 members. While some may disagree with a position, I strive to be transparent about the process.
Lesson 2: Learn to tell your story — As a field, statistics is collaborative and outward-facing. We collaborate to develop new insights and methodologies, but connect outside our discipline to advance science and serve society. The ability to tell this story in a way that engages our colleagues and the public leads to impact. A big part of the success of my community analytics projects is that I focus on telling the story in an accurate but understandable manner.
Lesson 3: Grow your community — When faced with difficult decisions, a trusted community is essential. During my year as ASA president, I’ve worked to advance initiatives to move our profession forward. Without input from trusted advisors, I would not be as confident about the path we are on.
Lesson 4: Go for a swim — I try to start each day with a swim, a bike ride, or practicing yoga. Prioritizing your health is critical to success as a leader.
Lesson 5: Be comfortable with uncertainty — I probably have an advantage here because statistics is all about dealing with uncertainty, but I believe this is an important leadership lesson. You need to do your homework and seek the advice of experts, but ultimately a leader needs to make a decision almost always in the face of uncertainty.
What advice would you give to other women leaders about the best way to manage a large team?
The ASA Ethical Guidelines for Statistical Practice offers advice that I believe is relevant. The guidelines state that leaders should “engage competent personnel to conduct statistical practice and promote a productive work environment and support statistical practice that is objective and transparent.” Certainly, true for statistical practice but more broadly applicable. A leader of a large team needs to engage competent personnel and then provide an environment that is transparent. As a leader of a large team, you need to have a mechanism by which your team can communicate concerns and be able to listen carefully; then you need to allow the competent people to do their work.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I’ll look back to my graduate education. I was well-educated in statistics as a student at Texas A&M, but I also learned the importance of community. I knew I was entering a profession and building a career. The support from the faculty was amazing, especially from department chair Bill Smith, who went on to serve the ASA as its executive director; Joe Newton, who became my adviser; and Prof. Manny Parzen, a renowned statistician. Manny would regularly catch me in the hall to check on how I was doing and engage me in fascinating conversations about statistics, its importance, and its impact.
I was fortunate to work with Joe as my dissertation adviser, and, wow, what a fantastic decision on my part. I could not have found a better intellectual match in terms of interests and perspectives. Joe and his wife, Linda, are two of my closest friends. When I was honored with the Texas A&M College of Science Distinguished Alumni Award recently, they secretly coordinated with my mother and sister, who surprised me at the ceremony. Imagine that moment and you understand how truly blessed I am.
In addition to this great start at Texas A&M, I am thankful to my colleagues at Rice University. Renowned statisticians David W. Scott and the late James R. Thompson, took a chance on me in 1987, to help them found a statistics department known globally for its path-breaking contributions to statistical science and its applications and for educating leaders in statistics.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
I believe my work in community analytics has an impact. For context, my working definition of community analytics is bringing the best of statistical science — in collaboration with municipal governments, universities, local businesses, NGOs, and community organizations — to improve lives through a better understanding of our communities and how we live, work, learn, and play. My contribution to Houston’s management of the pandemic helped save lives. I also led the development of the Urban Data Platform, a data repository and secure computing environment serving as the leading source of curated and published geo-temporal-referenced information for the greater Houston area. I think of the platform as a “one-stop shop” for curated, research-ready data to address community-based questions.
As director for the Center for Computational Finance and Economic Systems at Rice University, I have led the development of educational programs that prepare our students for the finance industry. It is a sector that draws heavily from the expertise of statisticians and data scientists. It is also an industry that underlies the health and well-being of the global economy. We have witnessed in our lifetime examples of the failure of this system and its catastrophic impact on the human condition. At Rice, we strive to educate our students not only on the tools driving the financial markets but also on the real impact of markets with a goal toward positive outcomes. The ASA Ethical Guidelines for Statistical Practice speak to this industry as well.
I also bring substantial benefits to the world through the diverse cohort of students I help educate, from undergraduates to graduate students. I am amazed at their immense and collective contributions. To educate a doctoral student, you spend at least four years working in close collaboration. I am privileged to work with some of the best talents in the world and cherish the fact that they appreciate my knowledge and perspectives. For example, if you are looking for a fun evening with your children, check out my former student Dr. Talithia Williams’ NOVA, Season 49 episode 19, “Zero to Infinity”.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
As the president of the American Statistical Association, I share the vision which imagines a world that relies on data and analytics to drive discovery and inform decisions. I acknowledge the challenges to attaining this vision are significant, so collaboration is key. The movement that I would inspire is to grow the collaborations between business leaders, policymakers, and the statistical community. In my world, every CEO and world leader would appoint a Chief Statistical Officer to advise on all decisions.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
John Tukey, whose contributions to statistics are immense, is reported to have said, “The best thing about being a statistician is that you get to play in everyone’s backyard.” I will share this as my life quote because the opportunities to collaborate with amazing colleagues has and continues to truly inspire me. The stories we are able to tell enrich my life.
We are very blessed that very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
I would like to have breakfast or lunch with President Biden to encourage him to elevate the position of Chief Statistician of the US to a Cabinet position.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
Fill your cup first. It is imperative to pour from a filled cup. Designate time each day for YOU. It is an absolute must-do whether that is time invested at the gym, reading, writing, meditating, or some other activity that helps you feel refueled. I read for 15–20 minutes per day and make sure that I get at least 30 minutes of exercise daily — this helps me feel more productive and fulfilled and gives me the patience to sit still and be present when it’s time to pour into my kids.
Meet Jason Burke, the founder and CEO of The New Primal. In 2009 he swore off junk food, embraced a more active lifestyle and a healthy diet, and started a meat snacks company — in his very own kitchen to help provide protein-packed and on-the-go options for others. And with the introduction of better-for-you sauces, dressings, and seasonings, The New Primal aims to offer innovative ways to make healthy eating easy, convenient, and delicious. Today, they are distributed in over 5,000 stores nationwide!
Thank you so much for joining us! Can you tell us your “childhood backstory”?
I grew up in Tampa, Florida, in Section 8 housing. Neither of my parents finished school, and both worked blue-collar jobs. My dad grew up poor in a small town in southwest Virginia, and my mom was one of eight children of a Cuban immigrant father. My mom dropped out of school as a teenager and went to work in an Italian restaurant in Tampa, FL, where she learned to cook. She took great pride in serving people through cooking. Growing up, my home was THE gathering place. This had nothing to do with the size of the house (it was tiny) and everything to do with its aroma. My mom cooked for the neighborhood — literally — and everyone always felt at home and welcome under our roof. She was the go-to when it came to cooking for milestone events: graduations, birthdays, weddings, and even funerals. It was customary to have extended family, and, at times, scores of neighbors drop by for dinner.
In the sixth grade, I was underperforming in school, and my mom secured a special assignment for me to attend a school in the most affluent part of the school district. Because of that, I lived a very polarizing childhood between my friends with wealthy parents and my friends who lived in my apartment complex. I believe this is where my entrepreneurial spirit was born — I wanted the things my rich friends had, and I began looking for creative ways to make money as early as 10–11 years old. I didn’t play sports or join social clubs in high school, but I started a lawn service where I learned the ropes of managing a small business. I took that business into my college experience but sold it as I was about to graduate and enter the corporate world.
Can you share the story about what brought you to this specific point in your career?
In 2008, I left that career for a software sales job in Charleston, South Carolina. Shortly after I moved, both of my parents were diagnosed with chronic illnesses directly related to unhealthy lifestyles and diet. Their diagnoses sparked a keen interest in food and its impact on our overall well-being. I discovered “Paleo” in 2009 as a dietary framework, which changed my life forever. While packing desk snacks for my software sales job, I began making homemade grass-fed beef jerky on my kitchen counter with an at-home dehydrator. People would steal the jerky from my desk drawer, so I finally started making people pay me for it. About six months later, I had six dehydrators in my kitchen, and my wife came home from a girl’s night out complaining that all her clothes smelled like a BBQ. At that moment, we realized we might be onto something, so I set up a website to sell jerky online and rented a small space to make the product and save my wife’s sanity. About 18 months later, I went full-time into the meat snacks business. Today, we make over 30 products and distribute them to retailers nationwide, like Whole Foods, Sprouts, Publix, and Kroger.
Can you tell us a bit more about what your day-to-day schedule looks like?
I usually leave enough variability to allow for some fluidity — many days are bound to serve up a surprise or two, and I never want to be so rigid I can’t adapt. I also now work from home, so I’ve eliminated the daily commute time. A general outline of the “normal” days looks something like this:
7–8 AM — Help get the kids ready for school — I typically manage drop offs.
8:15–8:45 AM Coffee/Connection with my wife — catch up on the day ahead before things get hectic.
8:45–9:00 AM — I designate for daily reading.
9:00–10:00 AM — Maker time — I usually reserve this time for personal projects and meeting preparation.
10:00–2:00 PM — Calls/Meetings — I touch all parts of the business — sales, marketing, ops, and finance. Lately, I’ve been taking fewer Zoom meetings and more phone calls so I can walk during those calls.
2:00–3:00 — Break to handle any household business (we bought an old house, so there’s always a project to manage).
3:00–5:00 PM — Reserved for miscellaneous calls and meetings.
5: — 6:00 PM — I like to reserve for workouts — even if only for 20 minutes.
6:00–8:00 PM — Dinner with my family, connect with the kids, and their bedtime routine.
Around 11 PM — Bedtime for me.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the core of our discussion. This is probably intuitive to many, but it would be beneficial to spell it out. Based on your experience or research, can you flesh out why not spending time with your children can be detrimental to their development?
Whenever I’m feeling overwhelmed by the many priorities I’m juggling, I remind myself of a great quote from John Trainer, which is, “Children are not a distraction from more important work. They are the most important work.” It’s a good level-set for me in my thinking. I’m a firm believer in quality over quantity, and intentionality is the key. A small amount of undivided attention pays massive dividends, in my experience (and I don’t mean driving them to an activity or watching TV together). Numerous studies prove that recurring quality time (even in small increments) with kids leads to fewer behavioral issues, improved mental and emotional health, and improved physical health. Kids who spend quality time with their parents are also less likely to participate in risky behavior such as drug and alcohol usage.
References:
Anderson, S.E et al. “Quality of early maternal-child relationship and risk of adolescent obesity.”
According to this study cited in the Washington Post, the quality of time spent with children is more important than the quantity of time. Can you give a few stories or examples from your own life about what you do to spend quality time with your children?
In my world, I find that my daughters LOVE undivided attention, and it doesn’t take hours to fill their cups. For example, sometimes I watch them color or draw a picture, and they are beaming with light to be able to look up at me and say, “Look!” Sometimes we’re just telling riddles or jokes, and they are fully engaged. Other times, it’s pushing the swing or playing a board game. These 15–20 minute increments that force me to slow down suddenly create better listeners, fewer sibling arguments, and very clearly bring everyone a dose of joy.
We all live in a world with many deadlines and incessant demands for our time and attention. That inevitably makes us feel rushed and we may feel that we can’t spare the time to be “fully present” with our children. Can you share with our readers 5 strategies about how we can create more space in our lives in order to give our children more quality attention? Please include examples or stories for each, if you can.
Fill your cup first. It is imperative to pour from a filled cup. Designate time each day for YOU. It is an absolute must-do whether that is time invested at the gym, reading, writing, meditating, or some other activity that helps you feel refueled. I read for 15–20 minutes per day and make sure that I get at least 30 minutes of exercise daily — this helps me feel more productive and fulfilled and gives me the patience to sit still and be present when it’s time to pour into my kids.
Protect your time. Protecting your time might mean dropping a few plates. It could also mean you have hard stops for your daytime meetings, or that people can’t just pop into your office or send you direct messages interrupting your day. You must protect your time so that you can give it to the people and things that need you the most.
Do the thing you dread most first. Your willpower tank gets depleted as the day progresses. Ensure you are doing the things that require the most mental energy, earliest in the day. For some of us, we have to work out in the morning. I block off the morning for reading, connecting with my wife, and working on personal projects before I jump into an afternoon of calls and meetings where everyone else needs something.
Have a daily plan. Having a plan might seem somewhat repetitive from the above comments, but this takes it a step further. Block your day by task and make sure you have a block to give undivided attention to your family. I know — that seems very rigid, and it might be, but it pays massive dividends, in my experience.
Don’t be too hard on yourself. Give yourself permission to drop the ball sometimes. You’re still human. You won’t execute perfectly. But don’t let perfect get in the way of good. As long as you plan ahead and begin working to protect your time so that the people who matter most get the best of you, your life will be more fulfilling across the board. Don’t feel guilty if you get stuck in a fire drill sometimes that throws you off your schedule for the day. Pick up the next day and start again.
How do you define a “good parent”? Can you give an example or story?
My disclaimer to this question is that my definition is wholly mine and may be very different for others. Most of us are doing the best we can with the information and resources available to us.
First, I aim to raise confident, compassionate, emotionally intelligent, and reliable adults. Part of the journey today is allowing them to make mistakes and develop the resilience, resourcefulness, and inner determination necessary for their success. I believe in modeling those attributes in my own life so they are clearly on display. I also have to be intentional about affirming those qualities when I witness them in their lives and course-correct when they’re not. Second, I aim to help them learn their own values. Most people get stuck living someone else’s values and never realize they don’t really align with their inner beings. I want them to learn and define their own values without fear of judgment from me (or anyone else). I will always be a judgment-free, safe place for them to land. Finally, I endeavor to help them learn to directly express their needs, and to understand the needs of others. To me, this is a massively underrated skill given that the majority of issues later in life stem from a lack of communication.
How do you inspire your child to “dream big”? Can you give an example or story?
First, I never create or affirm any limiting beliefs. I reaffirm that they can be or do anything they desire if they work hard and aren’t harmful in the process.
Second, I don’t define “big.” My youngest has repeatedly said she wants to be a “pet rescuer” when she grows up. Her empathetic spirit wants to help all the animals that need rescuing. Whether or not that is considered a big dream isn’t for me to decide. It’s a big deal to her, which is ultimately all that matters. I believe it’s my job to applaud her caring nature, plant little seeds of daily encouragement, and support her in her dreams.
Finally, my kids have the right to change their minds. I’m generally not okay with quitting in the middle of something, but I am okay with trying out a new skill and letting them determine if it’s for them or not. My oldest loves gymnastics. So she thought. We enrolled her and made sure she honored her commitment to be there each week to work on the craft. After a year, she decided she wasn’t inspired by it anymore and wanted to try a new activity. No problem — she gave it a fair shot, showed up and practiced consistently, and decided she wasn’t that into it. She’s free to pivot into a new direction.
How do you, a person who masterfully straddles the worlds of career and family, define “success”?
I’m stealing this from a quote I heard recently (I can’t remember where) and I think of it constantly. I’ll consider myself a success if my kids want to spend time with me when they’re adults. That’s it.
What are your favorite books, podcasts, or resources that inspire you to be a better parent? Can you explain why you like them?
I don’t spend much time on podcasts in this season of my life but as I mentioned above, I’m committed to daily reading. Some of my favorite books on this topic are: “The Male Brain” and “The Female Brain” by Dr. Louann Brizendine. Both books describe the nature and experience of the brain as we pass through various lifecycles. This book helps me better understand myself and my daughters and keeps me much more empathetic to their experience. “How to do the work” by Dr. Nicole Lepara dives into recognizing our patterns, healing from the past, and creating our new selves. It’s a groundbreaking view of human psychology, and it’s helped me heal from my past, to be a better human, and to show up authentically in the world. Finally, “How to Raise an Adult” by Julie Lythcott-Haims is a bit more provocative. It exposes the harms of helicopter parenting and lays out an alternate philosophy for raising kids. The lack of helicoptering for me as a child led to me developing my own resourcefulness and self-confidence and I aim to pass that to my kids.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Don’t let perfect get in the way of good. As I described earlier, many of us feel like we have to be perfect at everything, all the time. I don’t know if it’s social media’s influence in our lives or the natural parent-guilt of comparing to how we perceive other parents around us or what. In my personal life, just as I have in business, airing on the side of taking action and making progress even when the circumstances aren’t perfect is the key to moving the needle. Perfection is a carrot we chase but you’ll never catch it, so I release myself of the guilt of imperfection and focus on taking the next good step forward.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Easy.
As I mentioned, I lost my mom to cancer in January 2018 after a seven-year battle. One of the things I learned about this terrible disease is that it does not discriminate. You all know this; every person reading here has been affected somehow by this ubiquitous plague. But to sit in those (around-the-clock) radiation and chemotherapy clinics, you witness peers of humans having a hard time. No one much notices your background, your sexual orientation, or the color of your skin. Instead, a common empathy flows through the halls and treatment rooms, creating an unexpected, but comforting little community that reaches across races, generations, and belief systems.
And this brings me to the inspiration of “return to the table.”
As I said before, my childhood home was THE gathering place all due to my mother’s unbeatable home cooking, welcoming attitude, and generosity. When I found myself delivering the eulogy to mourn the loss and celebrate the life of the kind community pillar at the center of these meals, I asked anyone for whom my mother had ever cooked a meal to stand. Unsurprised but with my knees trembling, I watched as every single one of the more than 300 guests rose to their feet. At that profound and undeniable moment, I recommitted myself to honor and carry on the impact she had on so many lives.
Now that I’m older, I realize this impact extended well beyond the plate and the palate. At my house, everyone felt at home. Amid the chaos of a full house and the revolving door of guests, there was an overarching peace in that little home. Now I know why. My mom always cooked, and people would show up for her fantastic food. But once there, they’d also share their experiences, opinions, ideas, and sorrows. They’d laugh together and cry together. They would debate (okay, argue), and then they would clasp hands and pray together. My mother had created a space for people to find connection and community. And simply put, the dinner table facilitated that relationship. I believe communion among humans is necessary and critical for our mental health and authentic happiness. A table is a place where we can break down barriers. It’s where life’s most valuable lessons are learned. So it doesn’t hurt if these conversations are fostered by the passing of delicious dishes.
Share a meal with your neighbor. Don’t rush dinner with your family. Eat the dessert sometimes and lean into each other’s company. My journey at The New Primal began with healthy snacking rooted in animal welfare and clean ingredients. It has now expanded into bringing people back together around the table. Honestly, I never saw it coming. But it makes perfect sense…just as I believed creating ways to make healthy eating easy and delicious would inspire healthier snacking, so can it inspire a return to the table. It’s a noble calling and one my mom would be proud of. I invite you to join me.
Thank you so much for these insights! This was so inspiring!
Thriving As A Woman In a Male-Dominated Industry: Danielle Phaneuf of PwC On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman In a Male-Dominated Industry
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Say yes to what matters and ask for what you want. Prioritize saying yes to opportunities that will advance your career, whether that’s building trust with key stakeholders and your internal team or developing new skills. Ask for the lead role on the project even if you aren’t 100% sure you can do it, and say no to doing things that aren’t going to fulfill you, personally or professionally.
In the United States in 2022, fields such as Aircraft piloting, Agriculture, Architecture, Construction, Finance, and Information technology, are still male-dominated industries. For a woman who is working in a male-dominated environment, what exactly does it take to thrive and succeed? In this interview series, we are talking to successful women who work in a Male-Dominated Industry who can share their stories and experiences about navigating work and life as strong women in a male-dominated industry. As a part of this series, we had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Danielle Phaneuf, Partner, Cloud & Digital Strategy Operating Model Leader, PwC.
Danielle leads PwC’s Cloud & Digital Strategy Operating Model practice cross-sector. With over 20 years of experience helping executives transform their operating model and organizations, she advises the C-level on IT & digital transformation, technology operating model and organization design, workforce transformation and cost optimization.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood “backstory”?
I grew up in the LA area as a true “valley girl,” with my mom, dad, brother and 2 dogs. I loved being outside: We lived on a mini-farm in the middle of the San Fernando Valley, and grew every type of fruit and vegetable imaginable (even before it was cool). I played baseball early on and was the only girl on the team until they introduced softball much later on.
Even at a young age, I had aspirations of being in leadership roles — I recently re-read a picture book my mom had saved from my first grade year, and I said I wanted to be the first woman president!
Can you tell us the story about what led you to this particular career path?
I have to admit that I didn’t plan on being a management consultant, even when I was in college. I had aspirations of being a DEA special agent, taking down the Colombian drug cartels. But when I realized what that career really looked like, I decided to try my hand at consulting.
I got a call from a college friend who said there is this fantastic opportunity to move to San Diego, do all sorts of cool work and travel the world. So I started working at Booz Allen Hamilton and never looked back. I got the chance to work on so many different projects with different clients and traveled the world, just as promised.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
This is a hard one to answer, as I feel like each engagement is interesting and challenging in its own way. But if I had to pick one story, it would be something rather recent.
Before I became a PwC Partner, I was working with a healthcare company in 2015 to create its new IT operating model. I served basically as the Chief of Staff to the CIO, a role I loved, and in that capacity, developed a very trusted relationship with him and his leadership team.
Fast forward a few years, and we were doing a similar project for a global retailer. My former CIO client was able to come visit and tell the story of how we helped him to design and deliver this new operating model. He served as a resource for this client in a completely different industry.
It was such an interesting experience to hear our client give the “qual” or reference of the work we did. It was also an incredibly proud moment for me, to know that we did really good work — so much so that a well-respected leader would stand side by side with us telling the story.
It reinforced to me how important building trusted relationships is no matter what client or industry I am serving.
You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
I focus my leadership around three traits — empathy and caring, honesty and candor, and courage — all of which have been instrumental in my success.
For me, empathy and caring means that I look to bring humanity into what is sometimes a very harsh environment, where we are always under pressure and are always being challenged. I am a formal mentor to several folks in our practice, have volunteered as a mentor in our women’s development program and informally mentor many more. When people know you care about their personal well-being as much as their professional success, they want to be part of your circle.
Honesty and candor are important to me both within PwC and with clients. Our clients expect us to give them the hard facts; they don’t want to hear things sugar-coated and our staff deserve the same. Something that I love about PwC is we give people real-time feedback, honestly and candidly, so they don’t have to wait for an end of year review to know how they are doing.
Courage is perhaps the hardest but most impactful trait for me to exhibit. I see it come to life in a few different ways — I demonstrate courage by challenging conventions and speaking up when it is uncomfortable. I need courage to try a new opportunity, whether it’s a new client, new industry, or a new offering. And I need courage to ask for help when I am overloaded with all the things I need to do on a daily basis.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Can you help articulate a few of the biggest obstacles or challenges you’ve had to overcome while working in a male-dominated industry?
I always heard career advice telling women to be more vocal and to say yes to every opportunity. It wasn’t until later that I learned there was a critical piece of this advice missing. It’s good to raise your hand for new opportunities, but we need to be more intentional about what we agree to take on.
Women are more likely to devote up to 200 hours of their time to “non-promotable work,” such as taking on pro bono projects because we think we have to say yes. There was actually a great opinion piece from Jessica Nordell that simulated how this and other biases against women impacts our career growth. For us to overcome this barrier and succeed, we need to evaluate how each opportunity presented to us maps back to our career and company goals. If it doesn’t serve our career, we need to confidently say no.
The other challenge I’ve observed is how to not be only invited to something because I’m the only woman. The way I handle this is only saying yes to those things where I can contribute something meaningful. This is similar to how I prioritize where I spend and reinvestment my time.
Can you share a few of the things you have done to gain acceptance among your male peers and the general work community? What did your female co-workers do? Can you share some stories or examples?
I’ve learned to lean on the fact that I stand out for being a woman in a male-dominated industry, instead of focusing on how I can conform. If you think about it, we actually have the upper hand because being the only one means we instantly become more memorable. I’ve used this to my advantage to set up follow up conversations, network and build relationships.
For women struggling to find acceptance, I say, don’t. Instead, lean on the traits, characteristics, and hobbies that make you unique. I’ve learned to embrace my love of celebrity gossip, new hairstyles and wine to build authentic relationships with my colleagues, regardless of gender. Just today I started a conference call with a client, and we spent the first few minutes talking about my new hair, which was much more fun than jumping into portfolio management.
Ok thank you for all of that. Here is the main question of our interview. Based on your opinion and experience, what are the “Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman In a Male-Dominated Industry?” (Please share a story or example for each.)
1. Be informed and always deliver on your commitments. I always do my research and feel confident that I am credible in every situation, because I prepare. My clients and my teams expect that. And I keep my commitments: Whether it is a critical project deadline or getting coffee with a mentee, I ensure that I deliver.
2. Say yes to what matters and ask for what you want. Prioritize saying yes to opportunities that will advance your career, whether that’s building trust with key stakeholders and your internal team or developing new skills. Ask for the lead role on the project even if you aren’t 100% sure you can do it, and say no to doing things that aren’t going to fulfill you, personally or professionally.
3. Don’t go at this alone. Even if you are the only woman in the room, you can access other resources, like mentors or peers, to help you and provide outside perspective. Build a team of allies and confidants who you can trust and who always have your back.
4. Lean into your femininity, or what makes you, you. Recent data proves that companies need diverse perspectives to improve business performance and customer satisfaction. Own your lived experiences, whatever they may be, and use them to connect with others — for me, that can be sharing my photography experiences or dishing on celebrity gossip.
5. Leave the door open behind you. Seize the opportunity to mentor women junior to you, help guide them and to build the next generation of women leaders.
If you had a close woman friend who came to you with a choice of entering a field that is male-dominated or female-dominated, what would you advise her? Would you advise a woman friend to start a career in a field or industry that’s traditionally been mostly men? Can you explain what you mean?
While it’s overwhelming to enter a male-dominated field, women can use this space to their advantage to truly make a difference. They can make ripples across the industry — inspiring others to do the same. Being the “only woman” or one of few has been a huge differentiator for me in my tenure in leadership. It has allowed me to become a role model for junior women who can now see themselves in a leadership position. Passing on that inspiration and helping to guide the next generation of women leaders is an incredible honor.
I tell my peers that we shouldn’t shy away from breaking the metaphoric glass ceilings of industries like technology. These spaces need innovative ideas and diverse perspectives like mine and like those of the many talented women with whom I work.
Have you seen things change for women working in male-dominated industries, over the past ten years? How do you anticipate that it might improve in the future? Can you please explain what you mean?
The biggest change I’ve seen over the last decade is that I am no longer the “only woman in the room.” Still, there are instances where I may be one of few in the room, but my network of other women and aspiring female leaders has grown tremendously within the firm and across the industry.
I expect we’ll see this trend continue, especially as businesses prioritize supporting women in the workplace, a key component of any diversity, equity, and inclusion program. Companies are working to build an inviting internal culture and thriving business, and diversity is a key component of that. We use Employee Resource Groups, or Inclusion Networks as we refer to them at PwC, to help build this vibrant culture. These networks are used to facilitate professional development opportunities geared toward diverse communities.
I’m also seeing a shift within my fellow peers. Women are becoming more intentional and vocal about their career aspirations across all levels. They are also more comfortable in many environments bringing their true selves to work — whether it is in the way they dress or in their hairstyles and makeup or in showing off their kids on a conference call, authenticity seems to be more prevalent. In the future, I anticipate that more women will step into their strengths and passions at work, be recognized for all that they bring, and claim dedicated seats at that table where decisions are being made. I look forward to helping to make that future a reality.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
Thriving As A Woman In a Male-Dominated Industry: Beckie Shudinis of Burns Pest Elimination On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman In a Male-Dominated Industry
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Cultivate, have confidence and be assertive. Support other woman. Be strong, knowledgeable, always be positive and guide female coworkers. I want to help other women/coworkers to experience and grow within the company and be just successful as I have been.
In the United States in 2022, fields such as Aircraft piloting, Agriculture, Architecture, Construction, Finance, and Information technology, are still male-dominated industries. For a woman who is working in a male-dominated environment, what exactly does it take to thrive and succeed? In this interview series, we are talking to successful women who work in a Male-Dominated Industry who can share their stories and experiences about navigating work and life as strong women in a male-dominated industry. As a part of this series, we had the distinct pleasure of interviewing BeckieShudinis.
Beckie Shudinis has been in the pest control business since starting at Burns Pest Elimination in 2007. Her decades in this line of work have included every aspect of the business — from being a bed-bug inspector with a K-9 unit and termite outbound sales to residential and commercial sales, billing and now Branch Manager. She is based in Las Vegas, NV.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood “backstory”?
I grew up and lived in the Grand Canyon National Park. My K-12 school overlooked the Grand Canyon and had a graduation class of 16. For field trips we would hike the canyon, go on river trips, go to monuments around the Canyon. I played sports and traveled all over Northern AZ. I was able to start working at the age of 14 bagging grocery and then when I was older for one of the helicopter companies that toured the Canyon. It was a small town but had so many advantages. I was always around nature and every year on Earth Day we would plant trees for the forest service. Living there made me what I am now and is what got me to be so comfortable with insects, pigeons, and rodents.
Can you tell us the story about what led you to this particular career path?
There was a job opening in the collections department of Burns Pest Elimination and my friend who already worked there got me an interview. I thrived with collections but wanted more. When bed bugs became a huge issue in Arizona and we started using dogs to track them, I was fascinated by this and went to HR to apply for that department. As a K-9 Inspector I outperformed all of my male co-workers in sales and inspections. I helped train all our new handles and was the go-to for all bed bug related issues. As time went by more positions became available that were wodnerful stepping stones for me to learn more about every aspect of the business, including residential sales, which helped me better understand weeds, general pest, termites and rodents, outside sales and ultimately becoming Branch Manager here in Las Vegas.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
I think the most interesting story is being a part of starting up the Las Vegas branch from scratch. I had to move to another city where I did not know anyone but was able to build amazing relationships and build trust with residents and local businesses alike who now are ongoing clients/partners of Burns Pest Elimination. To see how far we have come in such a short time blows me away!
You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
Being driven, attention to detail and a positive attitude.
I love to succeed, be the best at my job and to share that with my team and customers. I helped build a an extremely successful branch that went from 1 tech to 13 techs in six years. I pride myself in knowing about all insects, rodents, the products we use and our protocols. As a result, my customers love my knowledge and are blown away when I do inspections or treatments. I have a positive upbeat attitude and make a point to get along with my team of all men and also help diffuse situations with our customers. Sometimes being a caring woman helps when dealing with bugs.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Can you help articulate a few of the biggest obstacles or challenges you’ve had to overcome while working in a male-dominated industry?
When I was younger it was harder dealing with male customers, they did not trust what I said and would call my bosses to clarify if I was correct. In my earlier years some of my coworkers would second guess me and I had to prove them them I found bed bugs in areas. It got better as I was at Burns longer. I had to give off a very confident attitude and know everything off the tip of my tongue.
Can you share a few of the things you have done to gain acceptance among your male peers and the general work community? What did your female co-workers do? Can you share some stories or examples?
I make sure I am there for my co-workers; to help motivate them, drive us forward as a team and ensure they know I am trustworthy and knowledgeable. I also admit my mistakes, joke with them and make sure they know we are the same. I am the only female worker on our team of 16 in Vegas but I have female coworkers in Arizona who are very similar to me, just as driven and don’t mind getting their hands dirty.
My team here look at me as one of the guys. They treat me the same as the next and I love it. The executive team at Burns has given me so many opportunities within the company, has not ever pushed me down or held me back and I have never felt I had to work harder because I was a woman. Every person — male or female — is part of the family at Burns.
What do you think male-oriented organizations can do to enhance their recruiting efforts to attract more women?
Market with women; include more photos of women at the company on the website, recruit with women, etc. For us, in particular, it’s about showing that there’s much more to this industry than just spraying for bugs.
Ok thank you for all of that. Here is the main question of our interview. Based on your opinion and experience, what are the “Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman In a Male-Dominated Industry?” (Please share a story or example for each.)
1. Acceptance of who you are. I am a very hard-working individual, I take pride in what I do and I have always strived to be the best and succeed. I never back down from a challenge and have worked my way up with every position given. I find helping build the Las Vegas branch to be my biggest accomplishment and can’t wait to see where the next five years will take me!
2. Respect. Earn it and prove your worth. Personally, I have found you have to be in the trenches with your co-workers, so they know you are dedicated to the job and you have the knowledge and experience. I want them to know I am just like them. It has always worked for me in all my positions of Burns.
3. Knowledge of what you are doing; don’t make people feel less than. I take pride in what I do but can show others and explain myself to customers/coworkers in a way that they can listen to me and trust me.
4. Don’t fear he job just because not a lot of women do it. It does not mean you cant. At Burns, I don’t mind getting my hands dirty. I welcome new experiences, taking on a challenge and then being able to share with others how to get it done.
5. Cultivate, have confidence and be assertive. Support other woman. Be strong, knowledgeable, always be positive and guide female coworkers. I want to help other women/coworkers to experience and grow within the company and be just successful as I have been.
If you had a close woman friend who came to you with a choice of entering a field that is male-dominated or female-dominated, what would you advise her?
Do it, be confident about it, work hard and make a name for yourself.
Would you advise a woman friend to start a career in a field or industry that’s traditionally been mostly men?
Yes, absolutely! Especially if the money is right.
Can you explain what you mean?
I have a 7-year-old daughter and I let her know she can do anything, I would love to see her in the tech world with all of the money that’s there to be made or even joining me at Burns. This company has never kept me down as a woman and I have always been given opportunities to move up.
Have you seen things change for women working in male-dominated industries, over the past ten years? How do you anticipate that it might improve in the future? Can you please explain what you mean?
Over the years Burns Pest Elimination has hired more females for techs, K-9 inspectors and sales. They have all done quite well and more women seem to be interested. If you are willing to get your hands dirty and work hard, I don’t see any limits on what woman can do.
I just hope women realize that they can do anything. I think if we show more women doing typically male careers that they otherwise may have overlooked (be it in the press, at high school career fairs, etc.), it will reinforce that message.
We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.
No one in particular. I just admire people that are good and do good in this world. The people that I admire the most are ones who do things to help others and not put them down.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
