How She Leads

In this episode, we interview Dr. Lisa Williams, Chief Equity Officer at Fairfax County Public Schools. Before taking on her current role, Dr. Williams was the Executive Director of the Department of Equity and Cultural Proficiency in Baltimore County (MD) Public Schools for 11 years. During our conversation, Dr. Wlliams emphasizes the “whole child” educational approach and the importance of self-exploration for all students. Starting as a Biology teacher, Dr. Williams soon recognized limitations of Biology teaching content and pedagogy in order to support diverse students’ learning needs. She then pursued Psychology as a way to better understand and holistically support students. Let’s learn more about Dr. Williams’ journey of advocating for cultural inclusiveness and equitable educational practices at both the individual and systemic level.

In this episode, we interviewed Francesca Raoelison, a social entrepreneur from Madagascar. She founded an NGO, Omena, which addresses emotional and psychological abuse, especially in developing countries. Francesca shared how she was awakened by a peer educator during one of the classes that she was actually growing up in an emotional and psychological abusive environment with a number of very familiar named behaviors. These behaviors seem to be normalized, unquestioned behaviors in many homes in Madagascar. As such, there is an intergenerational cycle of emotional abuse that is passed down from generation to generation. These behaviors leave a profound and lasting effect on an individual’s sense of identity, dignity, self-esteem and mental health. After becoming aware of, and naming these abusive behaviors, Francesca thought things suddenly made sense - her lack of confidence, lack of self-love, lack of boundaries and fear of taking risks. Ever since then, Francesca dedicated herself to breaking the cycle and encouraging healing. Let’s hear about Francesca’s experience of challenging the status quo and establishing new norms to promote social emotional well beings.

In this episode, we interviewed Romina de Costa. Romina has lived in 4 different continents (South America, North America, Asia and Europe) and followed a non-linear career path through anthropology, international education, leadership and entrepreneurship. Her recent passion for understanding the attrition of women in higher education, especially in the areas of science and engineering, have also allowed her to explore female leadership.

Romina grew up in Brazil and was raised in a family of doctors, as such there were expectations for her to follow a traditional and predictable career path. However, Romina’s curiosities about the world drove her to study in the US, first as an undergraduate at Yale University, so she might instead freely explore her interests. Arriving at Yale, even coming from a cosmopolitan city and international school, Romina still experienced “culture shock,” and felt lost in her first two years at Yale. A gap year allowed her to pause and recenter on her core values and purpose. It was a very different story and cultural dynamic when she moved from the US to China where “foreigners” were treated with a different attitude. Romina also had eye-opening experiences in terms of gender stereotypes in China. Let’s take a journey with Romina to understand how gender identities manifest in different cultural forms.

In this episode, we hear from Dr. Goodwin about how she grew up in a competitive environment, and has built great resiliency as a leader who is willing to step up at critical moments and take responsibility, even, and especially when things are not going well. Her multicultural experiences in the East and the West make her comfortable as “the only one” in many cases-- the first in her family to attend college, the only female Dean at the University of Hong Kong, and the only Asian American female Vice Dean at Teachers College, Columbia University. Dr. Goodwin reflects that she may have poked a few holes through the bamboo ceiling by working hard and resisting biased perceptions others projected onto her based on her multiple identities. She believes that overall, society as a whole is making progress (yet very slowly) towards equity. We discuss how the complexities of human behaviors and identities make it impossible to isolate and analyze a leader through a single lens, like gender. Let's hear what insights and advice Dr. Goodwin offers through our conversation.

Avery Blank J.D., is a Senior Contributor with Forbes and owns and manages her own consulting practice, strategizing with clients worldwide to help them achieve their business, career, and policy goals. Avery has worked with some of the most successful leaders and organizations in the world, such as Johnson & Johnson and the Executive Office of the President of the United States. She has been recognized by Bloomberg Law, Stanford Law, and the National Association of Women Lawyers for her work in strategy, women's leadership, and policy. Avery regularly speaks at conferences, companies, and universities and her writing has appeared in journals and publications including The Washington Post, TIME, Fortune, The World Economic Forum, Fast Company, and LeanIn.Org. You can find out more about Avery's work at https://www.averyblank.com/. 

In our interview, Avery describes how her core values guide her career path as a fierce advocate of equality and fairness. Starting with asking questions in the principal’s office to developing formal advocacy training through law school, Avery has now lifted justice and advocacy work out of the classroom and courtroom and brought them to a multitude of arenas and audiences. Avery attributes broadened perspectives (cultivated through travel), understanding differences and developing non-judgmental, keen observation and listening skills as key assets for her work. Avery leverages her own courage and confidence to speak up and to stand up against injustice as what drives her to help women gain gender parity in all corners of society. Avery hopes to help empower all women with these skills to become their own best advocates. Let’s hear what Avery has to share with us.

Amy Chang is an Executive Director for Global Cybersecurity at JPMorgan Chase, where she works on identifying new strategic and high-value business opportunities for the firm and leads cybersecurity collaboration with other leading financial institutions, U.S. government partners, and the intelligence community. Prior to JPMorgan, Amy has rich experience in both the public and private sectors. She worked on Asia-Pacific policy and foreign affairs in Congress, served as an officer in the U.S. Navy, as well as in several consulting roles across defense, technology, and cybersecurity.

In our interview, Amy shares how she became interested in policy work and public service, and identifies some obstacles that all young professionals will encounter. Growing up in a racially diverse community, Amy attended high school with predominantly students of color, after which she studied an elite predominantly white institution (PWI). She discusses how those experiences have shaped her worldview, and how she learned to navigate spoken and unspoken norms as both an insider and outsider. Throughout her career, Amy has found ways to overcome cultural and gender barriers, while noting how institutionalized inequity and discriminatory practices continue to pose obstacles to professionals. Whether it is your career, your skills, your passions, or your education, Amy offers valuable advice to younger women on approaching life’s big decisions.