Guest Jill Faherty Lloyd grew up athletic and a tomboy with an investment banker father who encouraged her to become a female banker. An “ADHD Survivor,” Jill’s father taught her early that her differences made her special; they were her “superpower” and would lead her to decades of success on Wall Street. Jill “leaped before” she, “thought,” was thrilled by risk, didn’t get stuck in the negatives, enjoyed the “game”, and she loved being the only woman in the room. Through her studied clear communication, Jill found ways to lead and to “grow things;” she learned to “fill her shoes” and to be powerful and smart in the boardroom. In her current role at UBS Private Wealth Management, Jill helps founders and their families navigate successful financial transitions. Jill uses her banking expertise and personal experience to help women normalize their power, ambition, and money, and their need to ask for help. To model this, Jill generously shares her Rolodex, encourages founders to seek out mentors, even surrogate moms, and dads, and recommends when you meet with a potential contact you close by asking how you can help them, even those more experienced than you.

Guest Christine Astorino was five years into her career as a trained landscape architect when she had an aha moment. Human-Centered Design and innovation were her passions, and creativity was her “north star." Christine joined her family business to redesign a children’s hospital and saw how transformational Human-Centered Design could be; even just entering a brightly colored parking space can create an emotional connection and contribute to a healing hospital experience. A long-time champion of solving challenges from different perspectives, Christine founded Fathom, a company that reflects passion and creativity through Human-Centered Design and development, allowing her to assist businesses she loves while inspiring her employees to lead. While holding a unique perspective can cause discomfort, Christine benefits from not being boxed into a single perspective. Her drive to develop emotional connections fosters collaboration, as Christine has developed her mindset for success by reaching out to people whom she knows well, being disciplined, and trusting her voice.

Guest Jennifer Freed founded her own company after obtaining her film degree at Stanford. Twenty years later, Jennifer decided to start a second business. An early realization of wanting to thrive at work, while still having a flexible schedule for her and her family helped to shape her entrepreneurial choice. Jennifer’s business success relies on finding the right people to help her grow her business. A top priority for Jennifer is for her employees to feel invested in the company. To do this, she chooses employees with strengths in areas that her company needs. Expanding her areas of expertise mitigates Jenifer’s fear of failing or not knowing enough. Jennifer takes care of herself by letting others help her and being with family and friends.

Guest Tiffany St. Bernard was a competitive figure skater from the age of eight to eighteen. Skating taught her determination, discipline, hard work, and the importance of getting help. Tiffany's father and grandmother were entrepreneurs, helping pave the way for her to become an entrepreneur herself. Since childhood, Tiffany preferred to “go against the grain” and not fit in. Instead, she sought challenges, thrived on doing innovative things, and was comfortable getting the answers to all the “stupid questions.” Tiffany can experience the fear of failing, but her conviction that she will accomplish what she sets out to do always pulls her out ahead. A female techie can be a lonely business, but parents, siblings, friends, and her puppy help her reset.

Guest Kate Pletcher grew up in a family of nine siblings and knew early on that she wanted to be an entrepreneur. Her large family taught her to barter for things that she didn’t have and accept what wasn’t available - both have helped her shape her boutique executive search firm. Companies needed amazing but part-time employees and moms wanted flexibility in their work schedules. Kate saw this as an opportunity to place moms in companies that needed their talent part-time – a win for both parties. Kate’s drive to learn and create empowering relationships helps her meet business challenges. To build her team, she seeks people with different skills than hers to problem solve. Kate also draws her support on the difficult days from her husband, family, friends, colleagues, and a flexible schedule.

Guest Ashley Reed had a successful marketing career for eighteen years when she felt something was “off.” A health crisis led her to reevaluate how her personal values needed to be reflected in her work. She went on to found her own business to support personal success in high-performers. Ashley’s curiosity, independence, and comfort with questioning the norms have helped her forge her path. Ashley is keenly aware of the toll of work stress. She sees a crisis as an opportunity to take care of yourself and to “scale back things without falling.” Supportive friends, colleagues, and coaches are how Ashley takes care of herself.

Guest Dr. Katie Kam is a vegan wanting to end animal slaughter by creating the win-win solution of providing cultured meat that avoids harm to animals and the environment. Her role as founder and CEO of BioBQ is the culmination of 25-years of cumulative experience as a biologist, chemist, civil engineer, community planner, business owner, science teacher, and engineering research professor. Through her experiences with the development of BioBQ, Katie has leaned into becoming comfortable in uncertainty. She highly values engaging her mind and is not afraid of pursuing what she feels is right.

Guest Jennifer Harris is the founder and CEO of Technology Management Concepts (TMC), a Gold-Certified Microsoft Partner specializing in ERP & CRM, and the “premiere” Microsoft Dynamics Partner in Southern California. With her solid foundation of over thirty years in the field, Jennifer is known as a visionary leader as she leads one of the fastest-growing women-owned technology companies in the nation. She believes that unknown strengths can be found in adversity, ultimately leading to the idea of failing forward. Jennifer relies on both gut feelings and her ability to pivot to embrace the possibility of failing.