From Mumbai to Motherhood: You'll Figure It Out (Episode 14)

From Mumbai to Motherhood: You'll Figure It Out (Episode 14)

Growing up in Mumbai, Natasha was surrounded by constant noise—millions of people, endless activity, expectations, and responsibilities. Finding the quiet to hear her own voice wasn’t easy. Then, while she was still in college studying engineering, her father was diagnosed with cancer and died just a year and a half later. Overnight she found herself navigating grief, adulthood, and the realizationthat life cannot be controlled. Searching for a new purpose, Natasha left India to pursue graduate school in the United States, where she faced the challenges of adapting to a new culture, building a career, and navigating years of visa uncertainty before eventually joiningGilead. Later came another transition she couldn’t fully prepare for: becoming both a scientist and a mother. Throughout each chapter of her life—from losing her father to immigrating across the world, from building confidence as a professional to balancing career and family—one simple message from a mentor became an anchor: “You’ll figure it out.” In this conversation, Natasha reflects on grief, identity, motherhood, leadership, vulnerability, and why the people who believe in us often change our lives more than they realize.

The Weight of Legacy: Passing Down Stories without Passing Down Fear (Episode 13)

In this episode of Raw and Real at Work, Sean sits down with Adam for a deeply human conversation about parenting, identity, legacy, and how our personal histories quietly shape how we show up at work. Adam, a chemist and father of a 2-year-old and 6-year-old, shares the unfiltered reality of modern parenting: relentless, exhausting, and profoundly transformative. Their conversation expands beyond day-to-day parenting into generational legacy. Adam opens up about his family’s Holocaust history, the weight of inherited trauma, and the responsibility—and uncertainty—of carrying a story shaped by survival without passing down fear or hate. Together, Sean and Adam explore how vulnerability, intention, and empathy can bridge divides—at home, at work, and across the “tribes” we belong to. This episode is a reminder that our stories don’t exist in isolation. When shared honestly, they become connective tissue—helping us understand each other more fully and work together more humanely.

From Giving Birth in Grad School to Becoming an Executive — The Power of Support (Episode 12)

Jamie Moore, now a Gilead executive, gave birth during grad school and kept going. She was propelled by teachers who spotted her spark, a boss who saved a leadership role for her when she felt ready, and a spouse who took on caregiving so she could step into the lab and the boardroom. Her reflections echo across our series: how early champions, stretch assignments, and shared family responsibility create the scaffolding for talent to thrive. She also shares how thriving inside supportive systems can blind us to the struggles others face Jamie thought she didn’t have much of a story. Yet in her journey, we see the universal truth: drive + support = impact. And it raises the question—what breakthroughs could we see if those conditions were available to everyone?

Lost in America: Searching for Belonging & Connection (Episode 1: Part 3 of 3)

In this episode, my colleague grapples with finding connection and belonging in the U.S.—alone, without family. He longs for Guatemala, especially the loved ones he left behind, and begins to regret his decision to come. As the saying goes, ‘You are the company you keep,’ and when he falls in with the wrong crowd, one mistake nearly costs him his life. But in that moment of crisis, he finds a turning point—one that will change everything.

The Journey to Freedom: Guatemala to the US via Coyote (Episode 1:Part 2 of 3)

In this episode, my colleague shares his journey of attempting to enter the U.S. at just 18 years old—guided by a coyote. He recounts, in vivid detail, the many failed attempts and the risks he faced at the border. But crossing was only the beginning. After finally making it to the U.S., he reunites with his mother for the first time in 13 years—only to find that their long-awaited moment is not what either had imagined. The journey to freedom hasn’t ended. It has just begun.