#Fempire

Ep 24: Higher Costs. Deeper Divides. What’s Driving Alberta Right Now?

Alberta can feel like two places at once: a province of mountains, parks, and big ambition, and a province carrying a new political tension that keeps showing up in national headlines.  I sit down with NDP MLA Lizette Tejada, Alberta’s shadow Minister for Immigration and Multiculturalism, to talk through what is actually happening beneath the noise and what it means for everyday life in 2026.  We unpack Alberta’s plan to add citizenship markers to government IDs and why it raises real concerns about privacy, stigma, and discrimination, especially for newcomers and racialize Albertans.  We also challenge the claim the Smith government is putting forward that a marker “streamlines services” when healthcare and education are already under strain, and when added red tape costs money without improving outcomes.  If you care about immigration policy, multiculturalism, civil liberties, or how governments quietly reshape everyday life, this part of the conversation will stick with you. From there we move to the affordability crisis in Alberta: minimum wage stagnation, fast-rising rents, utilities after caps come off, and insurance increases that hit households month after month.  We connect those pressures to the rise in separatist rhetoric, and we talk about how to hold space for frustration without feeding grievance politics that creates uncertainty and threatens Alberta’s economic future inside Canadian confederation. Quick heads up: this episode was recorded on March 6, 2026 so while the news may have changed the thoughts and ideas still remain relevant.  Make sure to subscribe, share the episode with a friend, and leave a review.

Ep 23: Success on Paper, Burnout in Practice

Success that burns you out isn’t success. In Part 2, we continue the conversation with strategist and execution architect Jen Phillips, founder of The New Ambition, to unpack what sustainable growth really looks like and why so many leaders get stuck in the hero habit. If you’ve ever felt like your business is thriving while you’re barely hanging on, you’ll hear a clear framework to regain control: define your success levers, set a true floor and ceiling for each, and run every decision through that lens so the wrong options fall away. Jen shares hard-won lessons from two decades inside high-growth organizations where speed, office politics, and decision loops can stall progress. We talk about the rush of saving the day and why that dopamine hit keeps teams dependent and leaders trapped in every decision. You’ll learn how to shift from fixing problems yourself to building the system and the people who can solve them—raising enterprise value, reducing bottlenecks, and giving your team the space to be great. We also explore autonomy of time, burnout recovery, and practical boundaries that restore executive function. From cutting nonessential commitments to reclaiming an hour by reducing doom scrolling, small moves create real change.  Jen’s advice is disarmingly simple and deeply human: step outside for fifteen minutes, reconnect with people in real life, and remember you’re not alone. The strength of your connections is the strength of your happiness—and your leadership. Ready to trade heroics for clarity, ownership, and sustainable execution? Hit follow, share this conversation with a friend who needs it, and leave a quick review so more leaders can find the show. Your next step might be as small as a walk, and as big as redefining success on your terms. Check out The New Ambition here: https://www.thenewambition.co/ This episode was recorded on January 16, 2026

Ep. 22: The Human Cost of Moving Fast - Inside the AI Race and Burnout Culture

A quiet truth is haunting workplaces right now: speed has become the strategy, and the human cost keeps climbing. In this episode, we sit down with Jen Phillips—former SVP of Global Marketing Operations at Salesforce and founder of The New Ambition—to unpack how the global race to AI, power dynamics in tech, and political instability are reshaping the very fabric of work. Jen takes us inside the operational engine room of modern tech organizations, where decisions are made at breakneck pace and incentives around data centres, energy, and talent create relentless pressure to move faster and ship more. In this environment, velocity is rewarded—while the human cost of burnout, attrition, and the erosion of female talent pipelines is treated as acceptable collateral damage. This conversation reveals how the race to build first is transforming not just technology, but the people expected to sustain it. She also breaks down the data behind the disappearing pipeline for women in tech—higher layoff rates, fewer promotions, and a narrowing path to leadership—and explains why this is not a talent problem, but a systems failure. Jen shares the personal moment that forced a reset and ultimately led her to found The New Ambition, a company dedicated to helping high-performing teams regain momentum—restoring focus, driving execution, and getting the right work across the finish line without burning people out. This episode is about power, pace, and the cost of progress when women are left behind. Listen, reflect, and share this with someone who needs permission to redefine what success really means. If it resonates, follow the show, leave a review, and tell us: what would you change first—pace, power, or policy? Check out The New Ambition here: https://www.thenewambition.co/ Quick heads up! This episode was recorded on January 16, 2026

Season 2: Unfiltered. Unbothered. Unstoppable.

Welcome back to #FEMPIRE—if this is your first time here, hi, hello, ciao, bonjour. I’m your host, Julia Pennella, and we’re officially kicking off Season 2. This is the podcast where we talk power, politics, money, leadership—and all the messy, complicated, very real stuff that comes with building a life and a career on your terms. Now more than ever, we need community. Real community. Not transactional networking or cold LinkedIn messages—but a space where we can talk honestly about the very real shit impacting our lives. That’s why I created this podcast. And I’ll be honest—this year has been tough. There are days where I curl up into a ball and feel utterly and completely hopeless. Women’s rights are under attack around the world. Everyday feels like we are the cusp of World Ward 3. Our institutions—and the leaders running them—are failing us. And that’s exactly why spaces like this matter. I started #FEMPIRE because it gives me hope. The women who step into this space give me hope. I believe—deeply—that every woman carries a story worth telling. And it’s through those stories that we remember who we are, that we’re not alone, and that our strength multiplies when we stand together. Community isn’t a nice-to-have—it’s how we survive, how we resist, and how we make it through even the hardest battles. If this podcast offers you even a small moment of solace or inspiration, let it be this: we can’t give up. We have to lean into community. We have to show up for one another. That’s the legacy I want to leave—and I hope you’ll join me for the journey. So if this is your first time tuning in, welcome to our community—our fempire. And to my returning baddies: Season 1 was just the warm-up. This season? We’re getting even bolder. And maybe a little more unfiltered. We’re talking strategy. Concrete solutions. How to actually network, build power, and move the needle. This podcast is dedicated to every woman who’s been underestimated, underpaid, or overlooked—and decided to break barriers and build pathways for the women coming next. We’re digging into who really holds power, how women claim it, and what happens when we stop asking for permission and start setting the agenda. You’ll hear directly from women who are changing the game, breaking the rules, and rewriting what success looks like—not in theory, but in practice. Real conversations.  Real strategies.  Real people. Because here’s the thing: confidence isn’t the issue. Ambition isn’t the issue. Access is the issue—and this season, we’re pulling back the curtain. So if you’ve ever been told to wait your turn, stay small, or be grateful for the seat you were given—fuck that. This is your reminder that you don’t need permission to sit at the table. Instead I want you to build your own damn table. I’m Julia Pennella, and this is #FEMPIRE. Let’s get into it.

Ep 21: Your War, Our Lives - The Stories Behind the Headlines with Mina Sharif

Accomplished writer, advocate, and global bridge-builder Mina Sharif takes listeners on a powerful journey in this deeply moving conversation about identity, storytelling, and challenging dominant narratives. Her new book, Your War, Our Lives: Short Stories of the Afghan Experience, wasn’t born from a publishing plan but from a deeply personal desire to preserve memories and offer counter-narratives to the conflict-driven images of Afghanistan so often portrayed in Western media. “What I saw missing was what everyday life in Afghanistan looks and feels like,” Sharif shares, explaining how her writing began as cathartic journaling reflecting on her 14 years of living in Kabul.  After the fall of Afghanistan in 2021, she was invited to speak at countless events — but instead of being asked about her lived experiences, she was met with geopolitical questions rooted in stereotypes. Frustrated, she made it her mission to use storytelling, writing, and art as tools to move beyond the black-and-white narrative of Afghanistan, highlighting its nuance and complexity through lived experiences and everyday stories — not just politics or headlines. Sharif reflects on how returning to her homeland in 2005 profoundly shaped her understanding of belonging. With disarming honesty, she realized that “avoidance isn’t an option” when it comes to cultural identity — but you do have the autonomy to choose how you explore and engage with it.  In this episode, we explore the idea of coexistence and Sharif’s experience of “straddling two worlds” — feeling “so Canadian” in Afghanistan, then returning to find herself changed by her years abroad. She offers powerful insights for anyone navigating dual identities: “Maybe it doesn’t mean that I’m without a home,” she reflects. “Maybe it means I have more than one.” Sharif is also the founder of Sisters 4 Sisters, a nationwide mentorship program for Afghan women and girls that grew out of grassroots community action.  A prominent voice in the Afghan diaspora, she uses her platform to bridge cultural gaps and deepen understanding of Afghan life. She co-authored The Diaspora Journal, writes The Hyphenated Blog, and has been featured across major publications, TV, podcasts, and radio. Her work continues to shape conversations on conflict-affected communities, women’s rights, and uplifting marginalized voices. For Mina Sharif, advocacy starts with storytelling. She believes emotional connection leaves a deeper, lasting impact than facts alone — and that everyone’s story deserves to be told. Listen now to learn why she calls community collaboration “a cheat code” for finding your voice. Learn more about Mina Sharif and her work here: https://minasharif.com/ [https://minasharif.com/]  https://minasharif.com/your-war-our-lives [https://minasharif.com/your-war-our-lives]  Original illustrations by ArtLords: https://artlords.co/ [https://artlords.co/]