Motherhood is a demanding journey, especially when paired with a career. Today, we dive deep with Dr. Tamara Soles, a seasoned child psychologist and parenting coach, who shares insights on how to keep up with the "swirl" of working motherhood. We'll explore practical strategies to navigate this complex balance, emphasizing the importance of self-compassion and realistic scheduling. Yes and yes to that! In this episode, you’ll discover:- How to manage the constant juggle of parenting and prof...

Motherhood is a nurturing, compassionate, and emotional occupation - yet our systems aren’t set up to support women during this transformative time. Today, we engage in a candid conversation with Christine Michel Carter, marketing expert, and leading advocate for maternal mental health and gender equity, who Katie Couric has called the “the mom of mom influencers.” Together, we open a critical dialogue on navigating injustice, racial discrimination, and how to push for true, tangible cha...

With the 2024 Olympics on the horizon, we’re honored to have Betsi Flint join us for a timely conversation on managing motherhood as a professional athlete. Betsi is an integral part of the USA Volleyball Team, boasting an impressive record as a 7-time AVP Champion, 2-time AVCA All-American and still holds indoor records in career aces and digs. At the start of her career, in 2015, she was awarded the AVP Newcomer of the Year award. She has also been awarded the AVP Best Server of t...

Join Mads for a special interview with Gretchen Sisson Ph.D., who recently released “Relinquished: The Politics of Adoption and Privilege of American Motherhood,” to uncover the often-overlooked stories of mothers who relinquish their children for adoption.Throughout the process of writing Relinquished, Gretchen learned how factors like poverty, lack of support, inadequate counseling, and limited access to resources and information force women to make choices they never imagined. She also rev...

What’s more valuable - creativity or productivity? Spoiler alert: it’s a trick question.To understand why these two practices are better together, we brought on social innovation artist, and creator of Rest to Harvest, Moulsari Jain. In this interview, she helps us get in sync with our natural cycles, embrace every stage, and find peace after we hit the pause button. Moulsari challenges the notion of isolated creativity, comparing it to demanding a plant to uproot itself, which is imposs...

Welcome back to Part 2 as we continue our enlightening conversation with Dr. Nikki Pensak. In this bonus episode, she shares her journey of writing her new book, ‘Rattled’ and how she decided to blend personal anecdotes with professional expertise to create a digestible guide for mothers. Personally, we can’t wait to add this to our reading list. 1:18 - The writing process of “Rattled” 3:32 - Addressing the idea that it's never too late to seek help 4:45 - Importance of not projecting...

Postpartum can be a complex time in motherhood, as it is often linked with feelings of depression, anxiety, or similar challenges. Today, we're privileged to bring back trained clinical psychologist, Dr. Nikki Pensak, to talk about postpartum mental health, and her new book, RATTLED, which dives into how to manage and calm new mom anxiety. Rather than viewing this developmental phase through a lens of struggle, Dr. Nikki helps us see it as a time ripe with potential. She explains how our...

Having trouble keeping up with the group chat? We’re all guilty of it. When life gets busy, friendships often take a back seat. But in reality, these connections are critical to our well-being, especially as working moms.  To help us understand the science behind social connections, we brought back one of our favorite guests, Dr. Miriam Kirmayer, clinical psychologist and friendship expert. Together, we discover how to open ourselves up to finding, broadening, or deepening friendships, all...

We’re continuing to explore the ever-present elephant in the room of motherhood: “The Invisible Load.” It's all those behind-the-scenes tasks that keep our lives running smoothly, from meal prep to managing schedules. Could the solution be found in AI? Avni Patel Thompson, founder and CEO of Milo, says yes. In our episode, she explores the concept of the ‘modern village’ we must create and sustain to support working parents. Tune in to find out how her team at Milo is reducing and...

Between pick-ups, drop-offs, activities and calendar conflicts, staying organized can feel impossible. But there is hope. One solution is Maple, an app designed to keep all the chaos in one space. Today, we’re joined by the founder, Michael Perry. Michael is a serial entrepreneur in the tech industry and a champion for parental equality. Together, we discuss the ongoing mental load of managing schedules, and how Maple aims to simplify parenting by organizing various aspects of family life,...

During tough moments, sometimes the best thing you can do is hold space. Dr. Charuta Furey has spent her entire career doing just that. As a trailblazing resident neurosurgeon at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Arizona, she leads patients and families through their darkest times with empathy and understanding.  Throughout this discussion, she shares how she follows her clinical intuition, which has helped her navigate the challenges of balancing a demanding career with...

What stories do you tell yourself that influences your decisions, or defines your personal success in your career or life as working mom?  Initially driven by collecting "shiny gold stars" in her tech and business career, Jess Galica had a career crisis, realizing the conventional path didn't lead to personal fulfillment. Motherhood and a desire for authenticity prompted a paradigmatic shift, inspiring her book "Leap: Let Go to Get Ahead." Remember, it's not about doing it all, but rather...

Getting to know yourself means getting to know your nervous system too. Join us as we explore the intricate relationship between physical tension, emotional regulation, and the daily stressors we face as working moms with life coach, Stephanie Rosenfield.  Between personal experiences and expert strategies, Stephanie points out the crucial aspects of the nervous system, highlighting the sympathetic and parasympathetic branches and their role in handling stress. Trust, it makes sense when you...

Anxiety can feel debilitating, but there are ways to address it. To explore the complexities of managing mental health in motherhood, we chat with Dr. Lauren Cook, a psychologist, speaker, and author of “Generation Anxiety.” Throughout this conversation, Dr. Lauren sheds light on her personal struggles with a phobia and teaches us how to calmly approach our daily anxieties, and give ourselves grace.  As a creator herself on TikTok, we discuss the platform's pros and cons when it comes to...

Parenting in the digital age presents unique challenges. With screens now available in every corner of our lives, how can we build healthy offline and online habits for our kids, and us too?   We are joined by Meredith DePaolo, co-founder of Carrots & Cake, who shares her expertise on how we can gain back control, and make screen time more meaningful with a mindful approach. Together, we get honest about the addictive qualities of screens, the impact of social media, and the importance of...

Let's learn how to shake up the status quo. Charlene Li, an influential transformational leadership expert and New York Times bestselling author, teaches us the art of disruption based on her background helping top companies, like Adobe and Southwest, navigate through complex shifts. From her personal journey of forgoing medical school to pursue a career in disruptive leadership to the audacious changes she's helped leaders implement, Charlene's story is nothing short of inspiring. In this...

Ever feel caught in the crossfire between maintaining your health, career, and life at home? Not to mention pursuing a social life, maintaining sleep, and everything else. We're with you. Tune in as we welcome Dr. Andrea Feigl, Founder and CEO of the Health Finance Institute, for a candid discussion on all of the above. We've all heard of the idea of 'having it all' and 'leaning in', but it's perfectly okay not to want it all at every given point in time. One example of this? Dr. Feigl...

Imagine a world where personal finance is not perplexing, but a superpower. This is precisely the world that Shinobu Hindert, a certified financial planner and author, invites us to step into. In this episode, she shares her journey with money, from her early experiences as a first-generation American to her insights gathered as a professional in the finance industry. We also chat about her book that you'll want to get your highlighter out for, 'Investing is Your Superpower."In this...

With federal funds expiring, the childcare crisis is top of mind for us, so we are lucky to have an expert guide us through this moment. Priya Krishnan, Chief Digital and Transformation Officer at Bright Horizons, joins us for an eye-opening conversation on the challenges of balancing child care and the crucial role employers play in supporting working parents.  Prior to this role, she founded KLAY, which has grown to become India’s largest high-quality childcare organization. As she says,...

What does it take to juggle the demands of being a mother in the entertainment industry while dealing with postpartum anxiety? Rachel Platten, singer-songwriter of the hit single, “Fight Song” joins us to share her perspective. Her note to her fans on Spotify says it best, “Emotions are just waves, and I am the entire ocean.” In our Season 3 kickoff episode, Rachel gives us the behind-the-scenes inspiration behind her touching song, “Girls” and unravels her personal experiences as a mom,...

Decision fatigue is real. Especially when you’re standing in front of your closet about to give up and grab your favorite sweats. Instead of listening to the latest trends, why not listen to your gut? In our interview with intuitive style guru, Susan Padron, we discuss how to ignore outdated rules and find clothes that fit our confidence. For tangible and timeless style tips, tune in! Show Notes: Follow Susan on Instagram: @susanpadron_stylistRead her book:...

Would you let your 18-year old self pick out your jeans? No thank you. So why do we let our past expectations define what success looks like in the present?  On this episode, we welcome career coach Becca Carnahan, who has helped hundreds of mid-career parents land fulfilling jobs without giving up the flexibility they need. Together, we discuss how to gain career clarity, address resume gaps and what we can learn from Rihanna’s iconic Super Bowl performance. Trust us, it relates. Join...

Whether you love or loathe it, AI is here to stay. So let's use it responsibly. To teach us how, we brought back in one of our favorite experts, Dr. Kristine Gloria, Head of Data for Blue Fever, a social wellness app for teens who are on a mental health journey. Together, we define how AI applies to our lives, and how we can use it as a positive force for us, and our kids. Join us! Show notes: Blue Fever: https://www.bluefever.com/  Connect with Dr. Kristine on LinkedIn:...

If your family had a mission statement, do you know what it would be?If not, listen closely. In this episode, we are joined by lawyer and law professor turned motherhood coach and podcast host of "The Calm Mom," Michelle Grosser to teach us the art of the family mission statement. Plus, she shows us simple steps to reprioritize our lives so we can renew our energy, reset our mindsets, and be present for the people and things that really matter.Like us, she believes there is a better design...