Women in Tech Trailblazers: Authenticity Unleashed

Do It Afraid with Marissa McCourry

Trailblazers, this one is for the overthinkers, the planners, and the almost-ready crowd. Tiffany Benitez welcomes Marissa McCourry, an executive coach and leadership expert, to discuss what happens when women keep waiting for the fear to leave before they make a move. You know that moment when an opportunity shows up, and your brain starts working against you? Maybe I need more experience. Maybe I should ask one more person. Maybe this is not the right time. Marissa has seen that pattern with leaders at every level, and she brings a reminder that feels simple but hits hard. One of the best parts of this episode is Marissa’s AAA rule: “Action alleviates anxiety.” She does not make it about one huge leap. She talks about the power of taking one small step and seeing what opens from there. Marissa also shares a moment from her own career where a boss reacted strangely to a word she used in a meeting. It became one of those moments that makes you pause and wonder why your voice is being questioned in the first place. She also breaks down the four people every woman needs around her: a mentor, a sponsor, a good boss, and a coach. Here are the key takeaways:  (4:26) Authenticity starts with alignment (9:41) Why women’s voices get heard differently (12:00) The subtle side of bias at work (14:03) Use your seat and speak with value (16:21) The boss comment that made her pause (20:08) Courage means doing it afraid (22:44) Choose your hard and move anyway (24:20) AAA: action alleviates anxiety (27:20) Imposter syndrome is not just a you thing (29:58) Why every woman needs a mentor (31:59) The sponsor who says your name (33:10) What a good boss can change (33:47) Why a coach gives you a safe space (35:19) Stop waiting to feel ready  This episode is a push for anyone who has been waiting to feel ready. “Do not wait to be ready. Stop waiting to feel ready.” Tune in and send this one to the friend who keeps talking herself out of the next step. About Marissa McCourry Marissa McCourry is an executive coach and leadership development architect whose work has impacted nearly 35,000 leaders. She has experience across academia, Fortune 500 consulting, Visa, and Vanguard. Through executive coaching, she helps leaders sharpen their thinking, presence, communication, and impact. She also builds leadership programs that help organizations grow talent at scale, with a focus on leadership impact, emotional intelligence, executive presence, and leading through complexity. Connect with Marissa: LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/marissamccourry/] About Tiffany Benitez  Tiffany Benitez leads Data Governance at Compass Group USA, ensuring data quality, integrity, and compliance across all business units. She is passionate about driving data excellence and advancing women in tech and STEM. Connect with Host:  Tiffany’s LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiffany-benitez-csm-safe-itil-65ba64126/] Disclaimer This podcast is for informational purposes only. The content should be considered other than professional advice. Listeners are encouraged to consult with professionals regarding specific situations or concerns.

Who Told You to Stay in Your Lane with Tiffany Vandemark

Hey Trailblazers! In this episode of Women in Tech Trailblazers, Tiffany Benitez sits down with Tiffany Vandemark, author of Inside the Ring, for a conversation about authenticity, mindset, boundaries, and reinvention. This one gets into the pressure women feel to always seem fine, always seem polished, and always have everything under control. They talk about the idea that success should not require perfection. The conversation gets into what it means to deal with your feelings without living in them, and why being authentic does not mean having every day figured out. As Tiffany puts it, “it is okay to not have it together all the time.”  They also get into a mindset and the inner critic that can get louder than everything else. The conversation looks at how much power that voice can have, when it starts helping, and when it starts holding you back. There is also a strong reminder that protecting your peace sometimes starts with what you stop telling yourself. Community is a big part of this episode. Tiffany Vandemark shares why women's empowerment is not something you talk about. It is something you do. They dig into helping younger women, checking whether your circle is adding value, and recognizing that not everyone is meant to have the same access to you. One line says it best: “not everybody gets the same level of access to you.” They also talk about mission, personal brand, and why your story matters. Tiffany Vandemark shares one of the strongest lines in the episode: “Reinvention is your secret weapon, and your story is your superpower.” Here are the key takeaways:  (3:49) What authenticity really looks like (5:29) You do not have to have it all together (7:55) Mindset, inner critics, and protecting your peace (9:45) Why women empowerment is a doing (12:00) Building a circle that adds value (13:12) Boundaries, seasons, and access to your energy (16:38) Why mission shapes personal brand (21:14) Reinvention is your secret weapon (25:50) Stop living by everyone else’s expectations (28:01) Three questions that reveal your mission (29:42) The legacy of being remembered as a light If you have been questioning what still fits and what needs to change, this episode is worth listening to. About Tiffany Vandemark Tiffany Vandemark is a speaker, coach, author, and brand strategist who helps people reconnect with their voice and move through change with more clarity. She is the author of Inside the Ring and leads Vandemark Partners, where she works in brand empowerment and marketing consulting. Her work focuses on mission, mindset, personal brand, and growth. She also speaks on reinvention, storytelling, and using life experience to help others move forward. Connect with Tiffany: Website [https://tiffanyvandemark.com/] About Tiffany Benitez  Tiffany Benitez leads Data Governance at Compass Group USA, ensuring data quality, integrity, and compliance across all business units. She is passionate about driving data excellence and advancing women in tech and STEM. Connect with Host:  Tiffany’s LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiffany-benitez-csm-safe-itil-65ba64126/] Disclaimer This podcast is for informational purposes only. The content should be considered other than professional advice. Listeners are encouraged to consult with professionals regarding specific situations or concerns.

Laura Fu: Why Your Soft Skills Are Your AI Superpower

Hey Trailblazers! Pull up a seat because this episode is one you will want to share with every woman in your circle. Tiffany Benitez is joined by Laura Fu for a conversation about AI, leadership, and what it really takes for women to step forward in a rapidly changing space. Laura Fu is a revenue strategy leader at DevRev, podcast host, mom of four, and author of a brand new number one bestselling book. She has spent nearly two decades building sales systems at startups and global SaaS companies, and she brings a take that most people in the AI conversation are completely missing. She shares how some of those challenges became even clearer after moving from Singapore to the United States and stepping into male-dominated spaces. She speaks openly about motherhood, leadership, and the way women are often judged not just by what they say but by how people receive it. "It was the way that somebody perceived how I was saying it more than what it was I was saying." That one is going to sit with you. Tiffany and Laura then get into the skills that matter most right now, and this part is a must-listen. Curiosity, experimentation, and why soft skills are becoming the most valuable currency in an AI-driven world. "Women were just trained more to be more skeptical of their own opinion. And so that gives them the skill to actually challenge the AI more." Laura breaks down three specific ways women are wired to guide AI better than anyone else, none of them technical.  Laura closes with something personal about legacy and what she wants her four kids to carry forward. "It is okay if not everybody likes you. You are staying true to your values."  Here are the key takeaways:  (3:20) What authenticity looks like in real life (4:50) Why AI needs a new sales playbook (6:22) Growing up without limits, then facing bias (7:58) When bias shows up in how women are heard (11:27) Why women may guide AI better than expected (14:00) The gap between AI opportunity and AI use (15:37) Start small: using AI in everyday life (17:11) The two skills women need most right now (22:40) What Legacy truly means (24:05) Stay true to your values, even if not everyone agrees Tune in, subscribe, share this with someone who needs it, and ask yourself: what would you do if you stopped waiting for permission? About Laura Fu Laura Fu leads Revenue Operations and Strategy at DevRev. Her background includes nearly twenty years of work across startups, SaaS, and global teams, with a focus on revenue strategy, sales enablement, and team operations. She is the author of Designing for Excellence: Sales Enablement in the AI Native World. She also hosts The State of the AI Union podcast, focused on AI and go-to-market execution. Connect with Laura: LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurazfu] About Tiffany Benitez  Tiffany Benitez leads Data Governance at Compass Group USA, ensuring data quality, integrity, and compliance across all business units. She is passionate about driving data excellence and advancing women in tech and STEM. Connect with Host:  Tiffany’s LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiffany-benitez-csm-safe-itil-65ba64126/] Disclaimer This podcast is for informational purposes only. The content should be considered other than professional advice. Listeners are encouraged to consult with professionals regarding specific situations or concerns.

Gender Bias and Showing Up Unfiltered with Robin Sims-Allen

You know those episodes that make you stop and look at the choices you have been normalizing? This is one of them. Tiffany Benitez welcomes Robin Sims-Allen to Women in Tech Trailblazers for a conversation about authenticity, leadership, and why settling for less often starts long before we call it that. Robin talks about authenticity, and her word for it is “unfiltered,” and she explains that no one should be telling your story for you. In her world of tech leadership, that shows up in a very real way. She believes you need to be the same person in every room, whether you are talking to executives, peers, or the engineers on your team. There is also a strong conversation here about gender bias and how women move through it. Robin shares what it looks like to lead technical teams, even as people make assumptions about who she is before she speaks. Tiffany pushes that further by talking about visibility, intentionality, and what it means to lead in a way that gives other women permission to do the same. The episode also delves into work, family, and the pressure women feel to prove they can do it all at once. Robin’s point is not that balance is easy. It is that presence that has to be intentional. Tiffany builds on that with a great point: set clear expectations, communicate well, and decide where you can be fully present instead of trying to be halfway everywhere. Here are the key takeaways:  (3:07) What authenticity means when you are unfiltered (4:01) Why women rarely get to show up unfiltered (6:51) Being the same leader in every room (9:36) Know your audience before you walk in (12:29) What success looks like as a working mother (15:28) Why being present takes intentionality (18:41) Why women start settling so early (23:03) Give yourself permission to try (25:16) Why fixed mindsets keep people stuck (28:25) Tell your story before someone else does And then the bigger question lands. Why do so many women settle before they even realize they are doing it? Robin does not just name the problem. She talks about risk, trying things before you feel fully ready, and why “Give yourself the permission to try” matters so much. Tune in for a conversation about taking up space, making clearer choices, and telling your story for yourself. About Robin Sims-Allen Robin Sims-Allen is the founder and CEO of Phoenix Marcus LLC and a technology and business leader with more than two decades of experience. Her work spans software delivery, consulting, and entrepreneurship, with leadership across teams and products in multiple industries. She also created Total Her, a platform focused on connection, growth, and opportunity for women. Across her work, the focus stays on building practical solutions, leading teams well, and creating space for women to move forward. Connect with Robin: Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/rsimsallen/] About Tiffany Benitez  Tiffany Benitez leads Data Governance at Compass Group USA, ensuring data quality, integrity, and compliance across all business units. She is passionate about driving data excellence and advancing women in tech and STEM. Connect with Host:  Tiffany’s LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiffany-benitez-csm-safe-itil-65ba64126/] Disclaimer This podcast is for informational purposes only. The content should be considered other than professional advice. Listeners are encouraged to consult with professionals regarding specific situations or concerns.

Celebrating Women’s History Month with Brittany Canaski

Hey Trailblazers! This episode of Women in Tech Trailblazers brings a Women’s History Month collaboration with Brittany Canaski, and what unfolds is an honest, relatable discussion so many women need to hear. Brittany opens up about burnout in a way that hits because it did not happen in a job she hated. It happened while running her own business, doing work she loves, and slowly letting work stretch into weekends until, as she puts it, “it does sneak up on you.” That part alone makes this episode worth hearing. Tiffany meets that honesty with her own and takes the conversation deeper. They talk about anxiety, therapy, social media overload, and the quiet ways women keep breaking promises with themselves while trying to hold everything together. They also get into what actually helps, from therapy to journaling to stepping back before you hit the wall. One line that stays with you is this: “It is okay to say no.” Simple, but needed. Then the conversation shifts into something bigger. Tiffany challenges the idea that only certain job titles count as tech, while Brittany reflects on realizing she had been in tech all along. It leads into a strong reflection on how women are often quicker to question their skills than to name them with confidence. Here are the key takeaways:  (4:43) How burnout sneaks up (9:49) Anxiety, therapy, and social media (13:41) Why therapy is underrated (17:27) The priorities audit (18:39) Why your peace matters too (20:04) Redefining women in tech (26:21) How AI is changing tech roles (27:15) Why women downplay their skills (29:47) Finding community in small spaces (32:10) Why growth needs community (37:52) The woman who shaped Brittany (40:01) Making space for the next generation By the end, the focus turns to community, the people who fill your cup, and the women who shaped who they became. There is a really strong final stretch here that ties personal growth to Women’s History Month without feeling forced. Listen in, then share this one with a woman in your life who needs the reminder that her voice, her work, and her presence matter. About Brittany Canaski Brittany Canaski is the founder of Hello Velocity and works in leadership coaching and training. She helps women leaders and teams strengthen their leadership, communication, and growth at work. Through her podcast, Hello Velocity, she opens conversations around burnout, confidence, and the challenges many women face in corporate spaces. Her work is shaped by her experience in business settings and her focus on helping women move forward with more clarity. Connect with Brittany: LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittany-canaski] About Tiffany Benitez  Tiffany Benitez leads Data Governance at Compass Group USA, ensuring data quality, integrity, and compliance across all business units. She is passionate about driving data excellence and advancing women in tech and STEM. Connect with Host:  Tiffany’s LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiffany-benitez-csm-safe-itil-65ba64126/] Disclaimer This podcast is for informational purposes only. The content should be taken as something other than professional advice. Listeners are encouraged to consult with professionals regarding specific situations or concerns.