Breaking Rank

Leadership Through Legacy: What We Owe the Next Generation of Leaders

What does it mean to build something that outlasts you when no one built it for you first? In this episode of Breaking Rank, Diana sits down with Carl Gray III, founder and CEO of Raising Founders and Launch with Carl. Carl grew up in DC navigating a dual life between the streets and the church pew, with a father in and out of jail and a mother who earned her diploma the same year Carl graduated college. The odds weren't in his favor. He didn't just survive them. He built a movement because of them. Carl didn't set out to work with youth. He said he'd never get into education. Then, in the middle of grief that would have stopped most people cold, losing his niece and goddaughter in separate car accidents in the same week, he showed up for a room full of young people anyway. What happened next changed everything. This episode gets into what Breaking Rank is really about: the moment you stop waiting for the systems around you to give you permission to become who you already know you are. For Carl, that reckoning came at 40. A prayer that sounded more like a demand. A beautiful house that felt completely hollow. And the recognition that the people who loved him most were the ones holding him back. Carl and Diana go deep on: * What legacy really means when you don't have children of your own * Why grief can crack open purpose in ways success never will * How Carl built Raising Founders as the "AAU of Entrepreneurship" for young Black teens in the DMV * The cost of performing capability while waiting for someone else's approval * What breaking rank looks like when it's your family, your church, and your entire support system you're stepping away from This one will stay with you. Connect with Carl: * Launch with Carl: launchwithcarl.com * Raising Founders: raisingfounders.net * Email: cgray@launchwithcarl.com [cgray@launchwithcarl.com] Connect with Breaking Rank: * Instagram: @breakingrankpod * TikTok: @breaking.rank.pod * YouTube: @BreakingRankPod * Website: breakingrankpod.com If this episode moved you, share it with someone who's still waiting for permission they were never going to get. Subscribe, leave a review, and join the Breaking Rank community.

Leadership Beyond the Billable Hour: Fatherhood in the Legal Profession

The legal profession has never made it easy to be a present father. Matthew Korn decided to change that. Matthew is a partner at Fisher Phillips and the founder of Dad, Esq., a community built specifically for lawyer dads navigating the intersection of high-stakes careers and hands-on fatherhood. In this episode, he and Diana dig into why working dads face a unique and largely invisible set of pressures, what it cost him to start talking about it openly, and how he turned that honesty into a movement. From the mental health realities of life in law to the power of community to his vision for a profession where fatherhood is normalized rather than hidden, Matthew's perspective will challenge the way you think about success, leadership, and what it means to show up fully in every role you hold. This one is for the dads, the lawyers, and anyone who has ever had to choose between ambition and presence. Spoiler: Matthew doesn't think you have to. Follow Breaking Rank on Instagram and YouTube @breakingrankpod. Learn more about Dad, Esq. at dadesq.com. breakingrankpod.com

Pivot Without Permission: Leading Without a Blueprint

What happens when the plan falls apart and you build something better? In this episode of Breaking Rank, host Diana Lauritson sits down with Jessica Aries, founder of By Aries and Legal Marketing Association International board member, for a conversation that covers it all: growing up in a single-parent household in Austin, TX, walking away from a law career, launching a business in the middle of a pandemic, navigating the emotional weight of IVF, and becoming one of the most recognized voices in legal marketing today. Jessica's story is one of reinvention at every turn. From a childhood where her father's early influence sparked a lifelong love of technology, to a viral LinkedIn post during COVID that brought 9 law firms to her inbox in a single week, to building By Aries into a thriving consulting practice, Jessica does not just talk about playing big. She lives it. In this episode, you will hear: * How a 'COVID job seeker' LinkedIn post changed the trajectory of her career * Why she left law school and found her calling in legal marketing * The hard lessons of launching a business without a fully formed plan * Her deeply personal IVF journey and what it taught her about resilience * Why she believes AI adoption is the defining professional moment for legal marketers right now * The one piece of advice her mom gave her that became her north star Whether you are a legal marketing professional, a woman considering entrepreneurship, or someone sitting on the edge of a career pivot, this episode will meet you where you are. Subscribe, like, and share if this conversation moved you. www.breakingrankpod.com

Alignment Over Ambition: Choosing Yourself in a System That Demands More

What happens when you stop chasing titles and start choosing yourself? In this episode of Breaking Rank, Diana Lauritson sits down with Laura Gutierrez for a deeply human conversation about leadership that is not driven by rank, optics, or traditional ambition. Laura has spent decades building digital infrastructure for marketing teams, but her story is not about climbing a career ladder. It is about resilience, clarity, and alignment. As a queer Latina, solo parent, and breast cancer survivor, Laura was forced to confront what truly mattered when her body and life were pushed to their limits. Battling cancer reshaped her relationship with work, success, and identity. It revealed that ambition without alignment comes at too high a cost. She never chose to chase titles or status. Instead, she chose honesty, sustainability, and a form of leadership rooted in action rather than permission. This conversation explores what it means to lead without conforming, to reject the pressure to perform success, and to define leadership on your own terms. Especially in systems that demand more than they give. This episode is for anyone who has ever questioned the ladder, felt underestimated for refusing it, or learned through survival that alignment is the most radical leadership choice of all.

Leading by Design: Turning Lived Experience Into Leadership

What does it mean to build a life with intention when the odds are stacked against you? In this episode of Breaking Rank, I sit down with Sofia DeMartino for a powerful conversation about leadership shaped by lived experience. Sofia’s journey is not a traditional one. As a young single mother raising three children, she pursued higher education, earned advanced degrees, and built a career rooted in health, performance, and community impact. Today, Sofia works at the intersection of human performance, wellness, and Black maternal health. Through her leadership in the Black Maternal Health Collective and her work as a lifestyle and human performance coach, she helps women reclaim their capacity, their health, and their power. We talk about what it means to lead before you are given permission. We discuss growing up without knowing her biological father, navigating adversity as a young mother, and how those experiences shaped her approach to leadership, discipline, and purpose. Sofia also shares the story behind The Bluprint Academy and why designing your life with intention is one of the most radical acts of leadership. This conversation is about more than resilience. It is about building systems for yourself and others when none exist. It is about turning experience into expertise and hardship into strategy. If you have ever felt like you had to create your own path forward, this episode will resonate deeply. Subscribe to Breaking Rank for conversations with leaders who challenge traditional narratives and build something different. #BreakingRank #Leadership #BlackMaternalHealth #WomenInLeadership #HumanPerformance #Entrepreneurship