3,2,1 iRelaunch

Winifred Ereyi has two engineering degrees, including a masters degree in systems engineering. She spent almost 15 years in the field, including three years as an oil rig engineer - the only female among over 500 men. After a four-year career break, Winifred founded the non-profit ThinkSTEM Foundation, and her own business, eWirecommunications in 2019. She is active in WITI -- Women in Technology International -- and in her local SWE Chapter – the Society of Women Engineers. Winifred describes the day when, as a 14-year-old in Nigeria, she heard a talk by a female engineer that would inspire her lifelong passion for STEM. She also discusses her career path, her advocacy for minority girls and women in STEM, and her work with ThinkSTEM Foundation and eWirecommunications.

Combining the "Best Piece of Advice" from 8 episodes of "3, 2, 1, iRelaunch," you'll hear from Anandi Krishnan on relaunching in scientific research with an NIH Career Reentry Grant; relaunching veteran Ashley-Bria Leo at the start of her Return to Work program; military spouse Karen Golden on the critical role of volunteering in her relaunch; Hang Tran on relaunching in market research; Lori Banov Kaufmann on being a "serial" relauncher; Amy Impellizzeri on relaunching as a published author; relauncher Rochelle Nemrow on the growth and sale of her company; and Charlotte Japp on navigating the intergenerational workforce when relaunching. Be sure to listen to the full podcast content from each of these special guests in previous episodes.

Amy Schmidt is an award-winning podcast host, author, TEDx Speaker, motivational speaker, and founder of the brand Fearlessly Facing Fifty™. She launched her business and brand six months before turning 50. Her mission is to encourage women over forty to push fear aside and create their highlight reel of accomplishments to propel them forward. Amy describes a milestone moment from when she started her business, the challenges of the entrepreneurial journey, and the role marketing and branding have played in building her business.

Natasha Slaughter relaunched initially after a four-year career break due to health issues by starting her own professional services consulting firm NEx Chapter Media Group. A year later, she added a part time role in Human Resources at Dynamic Corporate Solutions, Inc. (DCSI). Natasha is the immediate past president of the Jacksonville chapter of the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) professional association and was also the recipient of the HR Florida State Council 2020 President’s Award.

Natasha discusses how she approached her health and work goals after her diagnosis, how she developed her leadership skills through volunteer work, why your network is your cheerleader, and how professional associations and LinkedIn are important components of your network.

Note: this interview runs a little longer than our typical episode. It is full of great advice for relaunchers!

Amy Miller is a PR and communications expert who wrote to us a few months ago after relaunching her career following an eight year career break and a three year effort to relaunch. Despite doing all of the recommended steps to find a new job, she only got a couple of phone interviews and got to the point where she became so demoralized that she had to stop because she was becoming depressed. Things changed when Amy took a break from her job search, updated her skills, and made the decision to go into business for herself -- a decision which led to a new job opportunity. She shares how she has progressed in her new role and discusses the importance of trusting your gut when relaunching.

This is part of our mini series on relaunching in religion, whether in the clergy, in a non-clergy role as part of spiritual life, or in an administrative role within a place of worship.

Pioneering relauncher Mary Ann McLaughlin worked for over 40 years at the Office of Spiritual Development within the Archdiocese of Boston, which is the fourth largest archdiocese in the United States. After starting her career as a teacher in the Boston Public Schools, Mary Ann was forced to leave when she was pregnant with her first child (yes, those were the rules in the 60's). She had five more children over the ensuing 16 years and returned to work in 1981, over two decades before anyone was talking about relaunching. We are honored to hear about her journey, including the important roles that volunteering and family support had on her relaunch and incredible career, and how she's still really working even though she's technically retired.

Combining the "Best Piece of Advice" from 10 episodes of "3, 2, 1, iRelaunch," you'll hear from guests including Liz Thorne on relaunching in sustainable investing; Cynthia Siemens on recruiting video introductions & interviews; Susan Samuelson on relaunching in academia after a career in corporate law; Mimi Kahn on relaunching in a social work career; Ellie St. John on relaunching as a human resources professional; Pam Waterman on returning to engineering after a 31-year career break; Diane Keane on returning to work in finance in non-profits; Global Head of Recruiting Miranda Kalinowski on Facebook's Return to Work Program (with Guest Host Cheryl McGee Wallace); Becca Rosenthal on transitioning to a technical role from a non-technical background; and Sue Hoppin on relaunching as a military spouse and her role with the National Military Spouse Network. Be sure to listen to the full podcast content from each of these special guests in previous episodes.

Robin Gorman Newman's multiple professional pursuits are the definition of a "portfolio career." We’ll discuss how adopting a child later in life impacted her life and career path, and how her interest in theater evolved into her work as a Broadway producer. In addition to her producing work, Robin is the founder of three organizations; marketing communications and PR firm RGN Marketing, Motherhood Later Than Sooner, a worldwide organization whose mission is to support, connect, and empower later-in-life mothers and fathers, and lovecoach.com, which encompasses a dating website and two related books. We also talk about the post-pandemic theater world.

Caytha Jentis is a successful, independent comedy writer/producer/director who started filmmaking in-between driving carpools in suburban New Jersey as a mother of two. Her stories are character-driven, heightened-reality comedies. Caytha has an MFA in screenwriting from UCLA. She has many credits to her name, including Bad Parents which is currently running on HBO, Apple TV and other platforms. Her most recent film, Pooling to Paradise, is what we discuss, among many other topics. Caytha put her dream career, the one she has now, aside for 10 years when her children were younger. Hear Caytha discuss everything to do with writing, directing, and producing after taking a career break. In this episode, special shoutouts to Lesley Jane Seymour at 21:20 and Lisa Heffernan & Mary Dell Harrington of Grown & Flown at 25:09.

https://www.foxmeadowfilms.com/

Krystal Shorts is a civil engineer and a military spouse working on her master’s degree in civil engineering at the University of Kansas. Currently stationed in Kansas with her husband, a Navy Officer, she is relaunching her career after a 4 ½ -year career break because of childcare decisions and military moves. Krystal is working in an internship with Apex Engineers that almost didn't happen when the COVID lockdown occurred and work went remote. We are going to learn exactly what Krystal said to keep the internship opportunity, how she is relaunching her technical career while moving locations every few years, and the creative way she used LinkedIn to expand her professional network and learn about her industry.