Designing a Life - Calvina Nyugen on Duty, Joy and Identity
What happens when you’re the only child, a business owner, a mother — and both of your parents have Parkinson’s?
In this episode of Work • Live • Care: The Triple Shift, Denise Brown and Lauren Yankoff talk with brand strategist Calvina Nyugen about leading through one of life’s most complex seasons.
When COVID began, Calvina’s caregiving intensified overnight. She now manages daily meals, transportation, translation, medical paperwork, and the invisible mental load of being a “dutiful daughter” shaped by cultural expectation and love.
This conversation goes beyond resilience.
We talk about:
• Protecting capacity without abandoning ambition • Designing a 4-day workweek that actually works • Using systems (and AI) to prevent burnout • The guilt and gratitude that coexist in caregiving • Why caregiving isn’t a personal problem — it’s a policy gap
Caregiving is not a detour from leadership. It is a leadership season.
If you’re navigating the intersection of work, life, and care — or supporting someone who is — this episode will help you see that aligned design, not sacrifice, is the way forward.
Follow The Triple Shift and share with someone carrying their own invisible load.
In This Episode:
00:00 – Welcome to The Triple Shift (Work • Live • Care)
01:40 – Meet Calvina: Founder, Mother, Only Child, Caregiver
04:15 – When the Pandemic Changed Everything
05:54 – Translation, Fear & the Immigrant Daughter Experience
08:31 – Culture, Duty & the Weight of Gratitude
11:59 – Spark Joy While Tapped Out? What That Really Means
16:59 – Boundaries as Design: Protecting Weekends
21:45 – Making a 4-Day Workweek Work
24:16 – Using AI as Strategic Support (Calendar & Capacity Audits)
25:19 – The Math of Capacity: Scaling Without Burning Out
27:00 – Reframing the “Brand” of Caregiving
33:58 – The Policy Gap: What Caregivers Actually Need
36:42 – Real Resources, Real Waitlists
41:02 – Why We Seek Help Only When We’re Already in Pain
44:33 – Designing a Life Without Disappearing
45:52 – Closing Reflections & What’s Next
About our guest:
Calvina Nyugen is a brand strategist and designer with 20 years of design experience who helps creators, coaches, and consultants bridge the gap between their expertise and online presence. She delivers brand strategy, brand design, and websites that help entrepreneurs look as professional as their expertise and attract ideal clients online. She can be reached at:
Calvina@yourbrandspark
www.yourbrandspark.com [www.yourbrandspark.com]
🌟 Meet the Hosts
Lauren Yankoff
Executive Coach| Speaker & Podcast Host | Leadership & Caregiving Strategist
Lauren helps leaders at the intersection of work, life, and caregiving find peace of mind and clarity in seasons of change. Through her CARE Method™ and deep experience as both a corporate executive and family caregiver, she helps people and organizations redefine success through alignment, not over-functioning.
She brings the same grounded, real-world perspective to the mic that she brings to her coaching — honest, practical, and rooted in care.
🔗 www.theempoweredexec.com [www.theempoweredexec.com]
Denise M. Brown
Founder & CEO, The Caregiving Years Training Academy
For more than 30 years, Denise has helped individuals and workplaces navigate caregiving and difficult life experiences with compassion, structure, and hope.
A true pioneer in the caregiving field, she launched one of the first online caregiving communities in 1996 and continues that mission through CaringOurWay.com.
Her work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, and more.
Denise’s mission is to help people find possibilities and peace in the midst of care.
🔗 www.careyearsacademy.com
🔗 join.caringourway.com [http://join.caringourway.com]
