BragTalks

In this episode of BragTalks, Lisa Mae Brunson shares how she transformed and pivoted her life and business with her amazing team at Wonder Women Tech (WWT). This episode is hosted by Heather VanCura, who met Lisa Mae through speaking and attending several iterations of the WWT Summits. Season 2 is all about transitions and pivots, and Lisa Mae shares how the team worked with their partners and community to create engagement and deeper relationships to strengthen the organization. She also shares how she prioritizes mental health and self care in her life. You can join the WWT Online Community or attend the upcoming WWWT Immersive Hybrid Summit coming up in September in Long Beach, California.  Connect with Lisa Mae on Twitter, LinkedIn or on her website.

Please subscribe, share and review this podcast! This isn't just a one way conversation either. Share your story and experience with us by subscribing and filling out the contact form on BragTalks.com. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn as well.

Bio:

Lisa Mae Brunson is a Creative Visionary, Speaker, Author & a Social Innovation Alchemist that is committed to impacting humanity on a global scale.

Lisa Mae is the founder of Wonder Women Tech and the host of the Wonder Women Tech Show Podcast. Lisa Mae was named “100 Powerful Women” in the 2019 Oct/Nov issue of Entrepreneur Magazine, included in the 2019 “Create & Cultivate 100” List, in partnership with Chevrolet; and was a Long Beach Post’s “40 Under 40” Winner in 2017. She also received an award from Congressman Alan Lowenthal for her work inspiring middle school students through STEAM career fairs, and the 2020 Heart-Centered Tech Award from California Senator Ben Allen.

Lisa Mae Brunson was appointed as Commissioner on the Commission for Technology and Innovation for the City of Long Beach, by Mayor Robert Garcia, in December 2016, and is currently serving her third term. She was appointed to the Board for California State University, Long Beach’s (CSULB) Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in December 2021.

As a Black, Latina and Indigineous female, Lisa Mae is passionate about Equity, Inclusion, Belonging and Humanity. She builds programs and initiatives working with Fortune 500 Companies, Government Entities, Schools and Universities, Organizations, and individuals to address the challenges stemming from lack of inclusion, discrimination, systemic racism, gender parity and more.

In this episode of BragTalks, Ellen Leikind shares how she successfully transitioned from corporate life to entrepreneurship using poker strategy to launch her business, Poker Diva.  This episode is hosted by Heather VanCura, who is a fellow Chief member with Ellen. Season 2 is all about transitions and pivots. A senior marketing executive who launched over a billion dollars in health and beauty products, Ellen was intrigued when poker began to rival golf as a form of corporate networking and she saw the strong parallels among the strategies of poker, business, negotiation and life itself. You can connect with Ellen on LinkedIn or on her website.

Please subscribe, share and review this podcast! This isn't just a one way conversation either. Share your story and experience with us by subscribing and filling out the contact form on BragTalks.com. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn as well.

Bio: Ellen Leikind is an entrepreneur, corporate innovator, published author, and creator of PokerDivas and The B.O.L.D. System Negotiation program. Her mission: to show how the strategies of poker can be applied to winning in business and life. In 2006, Ellen founded PokerDivas, a company that provides live and virtual corporate team building, leadership and diversity programs that empower women to become fearless and decisive at the conference table through the skills they acquire at the poker table even if they have never played the game before. Ellen is the author of "POKERWOMAN: How to Win at Love, Life, and Business using the Principles of Poker". She has written on gender issues in business for Parade.com and has been featured on CNBC, Forbes,com, Newsday, and Success magazine. Ms. Leikind has worked at several Fortune 500 companies including Pfizer and L’Oreal; and was an Executive Consultant for the Direct Response infomercial industry. She has an MBA in marketing from Fordham University, a certificate from Cornell University in Diversity and Inclusion, is a native New Yorker and avid dog lover. Ellen’s latest entrepreneurial endeavor is the introduction of The B.O.L.D. System- a blueprint on how to negotiate for yourself and WIN using the principles of poker.

In this episode of BragTalks, Amy Conway-Hatcher shares how she successfully transitioned from big corporate lay to become an Advocate and published Author.  This episode is hosted by Heather VanCura, who is a fellow Chief member with Amy. Season 2 is all about transitions and pivots. Amy shares her brave journey and transition story, as well as some key insights from her book, "Infinitely More". You can connect with Amy on LinkedIn or on her website, for contact information and the links to the non-profits that the book supports (all aimed at supporting women and girl leaders of the future).

Please subscribe, share and review this podcast! This isn't just a one way conversation either. Share your story and experience with us by subscribing and filling out the contact form on BragTalks.com. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn as well.

Bio: Amy Conway-Hatcher is a fierce advocate, lawyer, Board director, warrior career mom, and former federal prosecutor. After decades of managing 24/7 crises, climbing to the upper echelons of Big Law, and sacrificing family for career, Amy did the unthinkable. She left her high-paying equity partner job and an unsustainable climb...to reclaim her life.

Amy wrote Infinitely More to shine a spotlight on systemic workplace inequities that hold women back. Through witty and darkly humorous story-telling, Amy challenges leaders to take bolder actions to fix uneven playing fields, while advocating for women to stand firmly in control of their careers. She firmly believes #wecandobetter.

Today, a partner in a boutique law firm specializing in complex legal problems, Conway-Hatcher thrives as an advocate, author, speaker, and mom of teens. All proceeds of her book are being donated to organizations that support women and girl leaders of the future.

In this episode of BragTalks, Gabriela Marin shares how she successfully founded her first company.  Season 2 is all about transitions and pivots.  Gabriela shares her inspiration and journey for founding her company. Learn how you can find your passion and purpose in unexpected ways through her experiences. 

Please subscribe, share and review this podcast! This isn't just a one way conversation either. Share your story and experience with us by subscribing and filling out the contact form on BragTalks.com. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn as well.

Bio: Gabriela Marin in the Co-Founder of Parc Smart, a parking reservation platform that crowd-sources parking data from street workers.  She earned a degree in Aerospace Engineering from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University with a minor in Mathematics and has worked as a Process Engineering and Project Manager for Siemens Energy for over 10 years.  She has been living in Senegal on and off since 2009 and is passionate about creating opportunities for emerging markets.  She now considers herself a full-time entrepreneur.

In this episode of BragTalks, Chauncey Zalkin shares how she became a brand storyteller. As a narrative brand storyteller, Chauncey takes you through her greatest hits and also how she overcame obstacles along the way. She shares her passion for storytelling, creating narratives and strong thought leadership. She also gives us some insights into her secret fiction writing life.  Learn how you can become a brand storyteller to successfully share your stories with the world. For more about Chauncey, check out her website and portfolio. 

Please subscribe, share and review this podcast! This isn't just a one way conversation either. Share your story and experience with us by subscribing and filling out the contact form on BragTalks.com. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn as well.

Bio: Chauncey Zalkin is a writer, brand strategist, and brand storyteller as well as a lover of all things creative and visionary. She specializes in authentic marketing, currently writing a column called Meaningful Marketing for Inc Magazine in addition to her creative writing. She's a former marketing VP and brand documentary co-founder with clients ranging from Beyond Meat to Comcast to Timex. At agencies she led strategy on brands from Coca-Cola to Whirlpool. She's lived in New York, Paris, Biarritz, Barcelona, Miami, and is now living in Raleigh North Carolina where she is raising her amazing twin girls. You can find her on Twitter and LinkedIn.

In this episode of BragTalks, Lisa Askins shares how she considers being wrong her super power and why you should too. As an Executive Coach, Lisa works with technology leaders to strengthen their communication skills and strategize their careers. For more about Lisa, check out www.lisaaskins.com.

Please subscribe, share and review this podcast! This isn't just a one way conversation either. Share your story and experience with us by subscribing and filling out the contact form on BragTalks.com. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn as well.

Bio: Lisa Askins is a Communications Coach and Business Advisor. She enjoys helping people be more inclusive, authentic, and articulate. She believes compassion, integrity, and transparency are fundamental to exceptional leadership and that great leadership is about being great people. She is also passionate about neuroscience and psychology. Lisa is known for creating communication tools that are insightful and easy to use. She is a UCSD communications graduate and has created a niche as an educator and strategic thinking coach.

Fun Facts

Earlier in her career, Lisa worked as a pre-school teacher, a Claims Adjuster, and a Private Investigator.

Lisa has published a picture book about a little girl who befriends a tree.

Friends and family consider Lisa a search string ninja. If Lisa could do anything besides Coaching and Communications, she would be a 4th-grade teacher.

In this episode of BragTalks, Yolande Poirier, shares the story of how she became a social media guru and how you can grow YOUR personal brand through social media. Yolande shares how to position yourself and grow your audience through your personal brand.  Learn from her experience working with the worldwide Java developer community at both large corporations and startups. Yolande empowers developers globally to successfully grow their projects & businesses. You can find her on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Please subscribe, share and review this podcast! This isn't just a one way conversation either. Share your story and experience with us by subscribing and filling out the contact form on BragTalks.com. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn as well.

In this episode of BragTalks, Liz H Kelly, shares the story of how she became an award winning author and how you can get YOUR story recognized. Liz shares that it is always the story behind the story that gets the press interested.  Learn from her experience launching her own public relations agency how you can position and pitch your career or business story to the world and win 'Earned Media".

Bio: Liz H. Kelly is the Goody PR Founder, Award-Winning Author (8-Second PR, 2nd Edition, 2022), Podcast Host (8-Second Branding) and Goody Business Book Awards Founder, who is passionate about Magnifying Good. Based on a unique 360-view (as an author, reporter and entrepreneur), Kelly uses her 15+ years of marketing and public relations experience to promote authors, experts, and brands. After securing 500+ media hits for her first book, Kelly started her own PR Agency to help others share their Wow Story. She’s booked thousands of media interviews for Goody PR clients, including the TODAY Show, PBS, CNN, Fast Company, Forbes, TIME, BBC World News, NPR, and hundreds of local TV and podcast interviews. Learn Kelly’s PR Secrets for a post-pandemic world in her newly updated “8-Second PR” (2nd Edition, 2022), and nominate your book for the Goody Business Book Awards presented by Goody PR. Follow @LizHKelly or visit https://GoodyPR.com and https://8SecondPR.com.

Please subscribe, share and review this podcast! This isn't just a one way conversation either. Share your story and experience with us by subscribing and filling out the contact form on BragTalks.com. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn as well.

In this episode of BragTalks, Theresa Nguyen, shares how she gets out of her comfort zone. Doing new things and learning new skills is one of the best things we can do for our minds and bodies. Theresa shares a story of how a challenging rock climbing trip helped her to grow her career and her confidence. Theresa is a co-host of Brag Talks and a Senior Program Manager at Microsoft.

Please subscribe, share and review this podcast! This isn't just a one way conversation either. Share your story and experience with us by subscribing and filling out the contact form on BragTalks.com. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn as well.

In the episode of BragTalks, John Bates shares how he found his why:  I bring out what is awesome inside you so that you can have the impact you want to have in the world! John is the CEO and founder of Executive Speaking Success: https://executivespeakingsuccess.com/mini-trainings/

Event Listing: https://lu.ma/johnbates

You can find him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnbates/

Please subscribe, share and review this podcast! This isn't just a one way conversation either. Share your story and experience with us by subscribing and filling out the contact form on BragTalks.com. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn as well.