How Women Inspire: Invest, Lead, Give

Are you a top executive woman feeling the call for a significant career change, but grappling with the fear of the unknown, the exhaustion of past challenges, or the question of "who am I" outside of your corporate identity? In this episode of How Women Inspire, Julie Castro Abrams, JeanAnn Nochols, and Lori Igleski dive deep into the world of career pivots, offering a roadmap to make your transition less stressful and more fulfilling. Join them as they explore how to align your mindset, leverage community support, and discover your true north in your next professional evolution. This week’s episode 176 of How Women Inspire Podcast is about career pivots: navigating your next chapter with joy and success!  In this episode of How Women Inspire Podcast, JeanAnn Nichols and Lori Igleski are sharing the importance of aligning professional choices with personal values and actionable steps you can take right now to prepare yourself for a meaningful career pivot.  JeanAnn Nichols is an accomplished executive with more than 30 years of diverse professional experience. She has managed engineering, product design, manufacturing, marketing, sales, communications, and IT operations for Fortune 500 companies. Most recently she served as a Vice President and General Manager for a $60B global technology company. Lori Igleski founded Heart-Led Ventures LLC in 2022, leveraging decades of financial services experience to guide organizations through transformational change and ensure the next generation of diverse leaders benefits from her expertise. Throughout her career, she spearheaded over 35 significant merger and acquisition integrations, reorganizations, and technology implementations, passionately advocating for both the client and employee experience by building robust change management and employee engagement strategies.  Some of the talking points Julie, JeanAnn, and Lori go over in this episode include: * Prioritizing professional rest and mindset alignment. * Addressing common fears during a career pivot and embracing self-discovery. * Leveraging community support for resilience. * Building a portfolio career to fulfill diverse needs. What is one small step you can take today to align your current professional path with your deepest values? Share this episode with a friend who might be contemplating their own career pivot, and subscribe to How Women Inspire for more insights on leading, investing, and giving. Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, take a screenshot of the episode to post in your stories and tag me!  And don’t forget to follow, rate, and review the podcast and tell me your key takeaways! Learn more about How Women Inspire at https://www.howwomenlead.com/podcast [https://www.howwomenlead.com/podcast]  CONNECT WITH JEANANN NICHOLS: LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeanann/] Website [https://jeanannnichols.com/] CONNECT WITH LORI IGLESKI: LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/heartledventures/] CONNECT WITH JULIE CASTRO ABRAMS: LinkedIn - Julie [https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-castro-abrams/] How Women Lead [https://www.howwomenlead.com] How Women Invest [https://www.howwomenlead.com/invest] How Women Give [https://www.howwomenlead.com/how-women-give] Instagram - HWL [https://www.instagram.com/howwomenlead/] LinkedIn - HWL [https://www.linkedin.com/company/howwomenlead/] Facebook - HWL [https://www.facebook.com/HowWomenLeadNat/]

Moving your career to the boardroom can be nerve-racking, but it’s never a journey you take alone. Join us as we sit down with Essye Miller, a distinguished public and private company board director. Drawing from her extensive 35-year career at the Department of Defense, including roles as CIO and CISO, Essye shares her unique journey transitioning from government service to corporate boardrooms. She offers invaluable guidance on leveraging public sector experience for private industry opportunities, navigating board interviews, building a robust digital presence, and her core philosophies on leadership and mentoring the next generation. This week’s episode 175 of How Women Inspire Podcast is about translating your experience for the board room!  In this episode of How Women Inspire Podcast, Essye Miller is sharing the importance of reframing your work experience for your board journey and actionable steps you can take right now to prepare yourself for the search for board opportunities in both the public and private sectors. Essye Miller is the former CIO of the United States Department of Defense, where she held governance, charted strategy, piloted the DoD’s information enterprise overseeing its 11-figure budget, and influenced the overall technology strategy. Today, Essye is a public and private company board director and the CEO of Executive Business Management, her consultancy focuses on providing services and advisory to corporate businesses, government, and NGO clients on cybersecurity, information management, information technology, and national defense. Some of the talking points Julie and Essye go over in this episode include: * Knowing when to pivot to a new direction in your career, such as from corporate to board service. * The importance of understanding the culture, dynamics, and values of the company before joining their board. * Creating a body of work with speaking engagements, articles, etc. for people to find you beyond your LinkedIn profile. * Recognizing that Superwoman does not exist and that communication is key in balancing family and work. Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, take a screenshot of the episode to post in your stories and tag me!  And don’t forget to follow, rate, and review the podcast and tell me your key takeaways! Learn more about How Women Inspire at https://www.howwomenlead.com/podcast [https://www.howwomenlead.com/podcast]  CONNECT WITH ESSYE MILLER: LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/essyemiller/] CONNECT WITH JULIE CASTRO ABRAMS: LinkedIn - Julie [https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-castro-abrams/] How Women Lead [https://www.howwomenlead.com] How Women Invest [https://www.howwomenlead.com/invest] How Women Give [https://www.howwomenlead.com/how-women-give] Instagram - HWL [https://www.instagram.com/howwomenlead/] LinkedIn - HWL [https://www.linkedin.com/company/howwomenlead/] Facebook - HWL [https://www.facebook.com/HowWomenLeadNat/]

Now more than ever, we need more diverse voices in positions of leadership, and preparing and supporting women on their journey to getting a board seat is what we do here at How Women Lead. In this episode, Robin Washington shares with us insights behind her remarkable career, emphasizing the power of self-assurance, strategic networking, and authentic leadership. We discuss discusses the crucial work of increasing Black women's representation in C-suites and boardrooms, offering invaluable advice for anyone seeking to amplify their influence and drive meaningful change. This week’s episode 174 of How Women Inspire Podcast is about diverse and inclusive board representation!  In this episode of How Women Inspire Podcast, Robin Washington is sharing the importance of diversity of thought and inclusivity in business and actionable steps you can take right now to create space for authenticity through your leadership. Robin Washington is President and COFO at Salesforce, where she leads Business Strategy and Operations, Global Finance, Employee Success, Global Strategic Customers and Partners, Marketing, Communications, and Real Estate and Workplace Services. She is responsible for driving profitable growth and operational excellence—while accelerating the transformation of every company into an Agentforce company, in the new agentic era. Robin also currently serves on the board of directors of Alphabet.  Some of the talking points Julie and Robin go over in this episode include: * Robin’s top ten words of wisdom for women everywhere. * The critical importance of increasing Black women's representation in C-suites and boardrooms. * Strategies for building powerful connections and finding allies. * The importance of creating space for your employees and team members to be their authentic selves. Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, take a screenshot of the episode to post in your stories and tag me!  And don’t forget to follow, rate, and review the podcast and tell me your key takeaways! Learn more about How Women Inspire at https://www.howwomenlead.com/podcast [https://www.howwomenlead.com/podcast]  CONNECT WITH ROBIN WASHINGTON: LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/robin-washington-262768/] Black Women on Boards [https://www.bwob.io/] CONNECT WITH JULIE CASTRO ABRAMS: LinkedIn - Julie [https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-castro-abrams/] How Women Lead [https://www.howwomenlead.com] How Women Invest [https://www.howwomenlead.com/invest] How Women Give [https://www.howwomenlead.com/how-women-give] Instagram - HWL [https://www.instagram.com/howwomenlead/] LinkedIn - HWL [https://www.linkedin.com/company/howwomenlead/] Facebook - HWL [https://www.facebook.com/HowWomenLeadNat/]

In this powerful episode of How Women Lead, host Julie Castro Abrams dives deep into the often-underestimated power of mentoring, sponsorship, and advising. Join Julie as she shares crucial insights on how women leaders can fiercely advocate for each other, counter damaging cultural narratives, and actively work to close the gender funding gap. Discover actionable strategies for becoming a vital partner and guide, particularly for women innovating in critical fields like climate tech and social impact, and learn why your unique experience is exactly what the next generation of leaders desperately needs. This week’s episode 173 of How Women Inspire Podcast is about shaping the future through mentoring and sponsorship!  In this episode of How Women Inspire Podcast, Julie Castro Abrams is sharing the importance of supporting founders more than monetarily and actionable steps you can take right now to start mentoring other women.  Some of the talking points Julie goes over in this episode include: * The importance of senior leaders showing up as partners and guides. * Practical advice for mentors, including thinking about new perspectives you can offer. * The role of advisors in supporting social impact leaders and nonprofit organizations. * Ways to begin your mentorship journey, including the Global Advisor program. Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, take a screenshot of the episode to post in your stories and tag me!  And don’t forget to follow, rate, and review the podcast and tell me your key takeaways! Learn more about How Women Inspire at https://www.howwomenlead.com/podcast [https://www.howwomenlead.com/podcast]  CONNECT WITH JULIE CASTRO ABRAMS: LinkedIn - Julie [https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-castro-abrams/] How Women Lead [https://www.howwomenlead.com] How Women Invest [https://www.howwomenlead.com/invest] How Women Give [https://www.howwomenlead.com/how-women-give] Instagram - HWL [https://www.instagram.com/howwomenlead/] LinkedIn - HWL [https://www.linkedin.com/company/howwomenlead/] Facebook - HWL [https://www.facebook.com/HowWomenLeadNat/]

Are you standing at a crossroads, wondering where your life force should go next? This week on How Women Inspire, Julie Castro Abrams invites you to explore middlescence and what it means for your future. It's a time for honest reflection, taking stock of what you've built, and considering the true cost of continuing on the same path. Julie shares her personal journey and insights into the courage required to unlearn, redesign your life to align with your deepest values, and step into your next chapter with greater meaning and impact. This week’s episode 172 of How Women Inspire Podcast is about unlocking your portfolio life in middlescence!  In this episode of the How Women Inspire Podcast, Julie Castro Abrams is sharing the importance of taking time to reflect on where you are currently in your career and actionable steps you can take right now to begin exploring new options for your next stage of life.  Some of the talking points Julie goes over in this episode include: * How to navigate career transitions and make meaningful changes. * Strategies for overcoming cultural narratives and embracing your true self. * The importance of setting boundaries and prioritizing your well-being. * Tips for leveraging your experience for board seats, social impact, and more. Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, take a screenshot of the episode to post in your stories and tag me!  And don’t forget to follow, rate, and review the podcast and tell me your key takeaways! Learn more about How Women Inspire at https://www.howwomenlead.com/podcast [https://www.howwomenlead.com/podcast]  CONNECT WITH JULIE CASTRO ABRAMS: LinkedIn - Julie [https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-castro-abrams/] How Women Lead [https://www.howwomenlead.com] How Women Invest [https://www.howwomenlead.com/invest] How Women Give [https://www.howwomenlead.com/how-women-give] Instagram - HWL [https://www.instagram.com/howwomenlead/] LinkedIn - HWL [https://www.linkedin.com/company/howwomenlead/] Facebook - HWL [https://www.facebook.com/HowWomenLeadNat/]