AI is one of the biggest topics of conversation in our world right now. With so many uses of this powerful technology, it’s important to look at both the benefits and the risks of integrating this technology into our businesses. Today, Lake Dai is here to talk about the ever-changing landscape of AI. This week’s episode 69 of How Women Inspire Podcast is about using AI to create a positive impact! 

In this episode of How Women Inspire Podcast, Lake Dai is sharing the importance of understanding AI and what it means for the future of business and actionable steps you can take right now to utilize AI technologies for good.

Lake Dai is the Founder and Managing Partner of Sancus Ventures, investing in the next-gen software infrastructure of AI, artificial intelligence, and blockchain. She is an Applied AI adjunct professor at Carnegie Mellon University. Lake has led global product and engineering organizations and public companies and tech startups and is an inventor with five US patents.

Some of the talking points Julie and Lake go over in this episode include:

• Why it’s important to start building AI into you company.
• How ChatGPT and other AI can speed up the process of content creation.
• The three-step process for assessing risk in technology ventures.
• Balancing your head and your heart in the boardroom.

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 

CONNECT WITH LAKE DAI:

LinkedIn

Twitter

CONNECT WITH JULIE CASTRO ABRAMS:

LinkedIn - Julie

How Women Lead

How Women Invest

How Women Give

Instagram - HWL

LinkedIn - HWL

Facebook - HWL

Organizations are always moving, changing, and evolving. And it's important for those in a leadership position to be able to keep up and adapt to those changes. One of the most effective ways to do this is by embracing the innovation mindset. Today, Jennifer Kenny is here to talk about all that and more. This week’s episode 61 of How Women Inspire Podcast is about transforming an organization with an innovation mindset! 

In this episode of How Women Inspire Podcast, Jennifer Kenny is sharing the importance of having a gender-diverse team and actionable steps you can take right now to change your mindset for better leadership.

Jennifer Kenny is a master of innovation practices and bestselling author of The Innovation Mindset. She increases the capacity of leaders, teams, and organizations to fuel innovation, performance, and revenue in complex and emergent technology ecosystems. Jennifer is passionate about helping amazing people deliver highly successful projects by amplifying others.

Some of the talking points Julie and Jennifer go over in this episode include:

• What is the innovation mindset and how can it transform an organization?
• The importance of gender-balanced teams and how they have a significant impact.
• Power with verses power over in leadership structures.
• How social justice efforts are going to serve us all better in the long run.

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 

CONNECT WITH JENNIFER KENNY:

LinkedIn

Website

CONNECT WITH JULIE CASTRO ABRAMS:

LinkedIn - Julie

How Women Lead

How Women Invest

How Women Give

Instagram - HWL

LinkedIn - HWL

Facebook - HWL

Women founders and their companies are vastly overlooked when it comes to venture funding. Only 2 percent of funding is given to women-led teams, and that number gets even smaller when it comes to women of color. Erin Harkless Moore is here today to talk about why this number hasn’t gone up, and what we can do about it! This week’s episode 67 of How Women Inspire Podcast is about women-first investing and knowing your power! 

In this episode of How Women Inspire Podcast, Erin Harkless Moore is sharing the importance of aligning your work with your personal values and actionable steps you can take right now to level up your leadership qualities. 

Erin Harkless Moore is the Senior Director of Investments at Pivotal Ventures created by Melinda French Gates to accelerate social progress in the United States. She leads the organization's fund and direct investment decisions, overseeing a diverse portfolio that drives breakthrough innovations and impact for people in this country. Erin has nearly 20 years of investment experience previously working as the Managing Director at Cambridge Associates.

Some of the talking points Julie and Erin go over in this episode include:

• The importance of aligning your values and your work with your professional interests.
• Challenges and opportunities in the venture capital space.
• Recognizing the biases that hold women back from raising capital.
• Erin’s biggest lessons that have defined her career.

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 

CONNECT WITH ERIN HARKLESS MOORE:

LinkedIn

Twitter

Pivotal Ventures

CONNECT WITH JULIE CASTRO ABRAMS:

LinkedIn - Julie

How Women Lead

How Women Invest

How Women Give

Instagram - HWL

LinkedIn - HWL

Facebook - HWL

Defining and sticking to a set of core values is essential for quality leadership. So is seeing the value and potential in taking on projects that are less than ideal. Today, Jennifer Lee is here to tell us about her experiences with ugly projects, leadership, and more. This week’s episode 66 of How Women Inspire Podcast is about leading with your values and tackling ugly projects.

In this episode of How Women Inspire Podcast, Jennifer Lee is sharing the importance of having a core set of values and actionable steps you can take right now to lead with honesty, integrity, and ethics. 

Jennifer Lee is the Founder and Strategic Advisor behind J. LEE Consulting, which builds on her deep experience and success in biotech and pharma. Jennifer has 20 years of experience accelerating breakthrough therapies from which we've all benefited, from discovery to commercialization. She is also o she is also a board member, an investor, and a startup advisor. And she's passionate about promoting diversity, startup and private boards, and economic equity for women and women of color.

Some of the talking points Julie and Jennifer go over in this episode include:

• How tragic events can shape your passion and purpose.
• Living and leading by the drumbeat of your values.
• The importance of honesty - and the story of The Empty Pot.
• Jennifer’s study of biases and economic equality for women.

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 

CONNECT WITH JENNIFER LEE:

LinkedIn

CONNECT WITH JULIE CASTRO ABRAMS:

LinkedIn - Julie

How Women Lead

How Women Invest

How Women Give

Instagram - HWL

LinkedIn - HWL

Facebook - HWL

As the nature of work and professional careers change, so too must the way we approach leadership. Building trust with your team and putting your people first has become more important than ever. Today, Mai Le is here to share her leadership experience in some of the world’s largest companies and tell us how we can be better leaders. This week’s episode 65 of How Women Inspire Podcast is about building trust with large teams and people-first leadership! 

In this episode of How Women Inspire Podcast, Mai Le is sharing the importance of leading with your values and actionable steps you can take right now to ready yourself for more leadership opportunities. 

Mai Le is Vice President of Amazon Web Services (AWS). Mai has extensive leadership history leading organizations in the United States, the EU, Asia, the Middle East, and beyond. She has been building business products, tech foundations, and organizations for over 30 years for some of the world's largest companies, including Amazon, eBay, Walmart, Microsoft, and Yahoo.

Some of the talking points Mai and Julie go over in this episode include:

• Looking at how to scale a business into the next decade, not just keeping up with the market.
• Building trust with your team, no matter what size.
• How to remain motivated and lead teams during difficult times.
• MAi’s advice for younger leaders and those looking to fill leadership roles.

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 

CONNECT WITH MAI LE:

LinkedIn

CONNECT WITH JULIE CASTRO ABRAMS:

LinkedIn - Julie

How Women Lead

How Women Invest

How Women Give

Instagram - HWL

LinkedIn - HWL

Facebook - HWL

{CW: This episode discusses adult content such as pornography, rape culture, and sex. Listener discretion is advised.}

In today’s society with a lack of real sex education, pornography tends to become the de facto sex education for lots of young people, especially men. But the sex in the porn world and sex in the real world are very different. Today, Cindy Gallop is here to talk about her mission to end rape culture by spearheading the social sex revolution. This week’s episode 64 of How Women Inspire Podcast is about destigmatizing sex in the real world! 

In this episode of How Women Inspire Podcast, Cindy Gallop is sharing the importance of having examples of real-world, consensual, communicative sex and actionable steps you can take right now to end rape culture and promote sex-positive values. 

Cindy Gallop is the founder and CEO of MakeLoveNotPorn, the world’s first and only 100% human-curated, real-world sex video-sharing platform. With over 30 years of experience in brand-building, marketing, and advertising, she continues to do brand consulting and executive coaching alongside running her businesses. Cindy is an outspoken advocate of diversity and inclusion in advertising, tech, and business.   

Some of the talking points Julie and Cindy go over in this episode include:

• MakeLoveNotPorn’s mission to end rape culture by showing great, consensual, communicative sex in the real world.
• The importance of emotional vulnerability for men.
• Cindy’s fundraising and investor-finding strategy.
• MakeLoveNotPorn’s future plans on expanding into a sex education platform with content appropriate for all ages.

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 

CONNECT WITH CINDY GALLOP:

LinkedIn

Website

MakeLoveNotPorn LinkedIn

CONNECT WITH JULIE CASTRO ABRAMS:

LinkedIn - Julie

How Women Lead

How Women Invest

How Women Give

Instagram - HWL

LinkedIn - HWL

Facebook - HWL

Investing is a powerful tool for creating generational wealth and creating a secure financial situation. Often, however, women have less education on investing and are spoken down to by advisors, even though women are more likely than men to take their advice. Freda Zietlowis here this week to talk about the importance of women having financial literacy and finding happiness in their lives. This week’s episode 63 of How Women Inspire Podcast is about happiness and investing strategies for women!

In this episode of How Women Inspire Podcast, Julie Castro Abrams and Freda Zietlow are sharing the importance of financial literacy and actionable steps you can take right now to increase your happiness. 

Freda Zietlow is an international investment banking and wealth management executive. She has over 25 years of experience. She's served on many nonprofit boards and corporations in the last decade. Today, she's the managing director of the Fiduciary Trust, a subsidiary of Franklin Templeton with $30 billion of assets under management. 

Some of the talking points Julie and Freda Zietlow go over in this episode include:

• Courageous stances for women in leadership positions to take.
• The type of women Freda likes to advise and work with.
• Current hot topics in the corporate boardroom.
• What we can do to live happier lives as we age.

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 

CONNECT WITH FREDA ZIETLOW:

LinkedIn

CONNECT WITH JULIE CASTRO ABRAMS:

LinkedIn - Julie

How Women Lead

How Women Invest

How Women Give

Instagram - HWL

LinkedIn - HWL

Facebook - HWL

Women CEOs are incredible - they have to be to get to the top - so it only makes sense that their companies outperform others in the stock market. So why aren’t more people actively investing in women? Because the information has not been there, until now. Patricia Lizarraga is here today to talk about how we can consciously invest in women now and in the future. This week’s episode 62 of How Women Inspire Podcast is about WCEO and investing in the future of women’s leadership! 

In this episode of How Women Inspire Podcast, Julie Castro Abrams and Patricia Lizarraga are sharing the importance of designing the world you want to see and actionable steps you can take right now to invest in women now and in the future. 

Patricia Lizarraga is the managing partner of Hypatia Capital and the issuer of the 
Hypatia Women CEO EFT, an actively managed Exchange Traded fund that invests in all publicly traded American companies that have female Chief Executive Officers. Patricia founded Hypatia over 15 years ago when she'd already been working in finance as an investment banker for 20 years, committed to investing in women in leadership. 

Some of the talking points Julie and Patricia go over in this episode include:

• Breaking ground by collecting data on women outperforming in investing.
• Women CEOs are incredible - they have to be to make it to the top.
• What an EFT is and why you should invest in WCEO.
• If you want a certain kind of world, you have to build it yourself.

To learn more about Hypatia and the Women CEO EFT, go to https://www.wceoetf.com/.

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 

CONNECT WITH PATRICIA LIZARRAGA:

LinkedIn

Twitter

CONNECT WITH JULIE CASTRO ABRAMS:

LinkedIn - Julie

How Women Lead

How Women Invest

How Women Give

Instagram - HWL

LinkedIn - HWL

Facebook - HWL

Local government is more impactful than most people may realize. Leaders in local government are able to fly high and change the world, but stay grounded enough to be able to see your impact and know the people your decision affect. Libby Schaaf, former mayor of Oakland, California is here today to talk about her time in local government leadership and how we can support and encourage other women to run for office. This week’s episode 61 of How Women Inspire Podcast is about the value of local government and encouraging women to run for office! 

In this episode of How Women Inspire Podcast, Libby Schaaf is sharing the importance of leadership in local government and actionable steps you can take right now to support the women in your life taking on leadership roles!

Libby Schaaf served as Mayor of her hometown Oakland, California from 2015 to 2023. Prior to being mayor, she worked as an attorney, a mayoral and legislative aide, public affairs director at the Port of Oakland, and Councilmember. Currently, Libby is the interim Executive Director of Emerge California, the nation's premier organization that recruits, trains, and provides a powerful network to Democratic women who want to run for office.

Some of the talking points Julie and Libby go over in this episode include:

• How to deal with the constant criticism women face in the public eye.
• The importance of local government and how local politics makes a difference.
• Why women wait to run for office, and how to change that narrative.
• How to support the women in your life running for office or making other big waves.

For more information and to connect with Emerge, check out their website at emergeamerica.org.

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 

CONNECT WITH LIBBY SCHAAF:

LinkedIn

Twitter

CONNECT WITH JULIE CASTRO ABRAMS:

LinkedIn - Julie

How Women Lead

How Women Invest

How Women Give

Instagram - HWL

LinkedIn - HWL

Facebook - HWL

Choosing a life partner and raising children are two of the biggest challenges people face in life. While this path is different for everyone, there are certain lessons Julie has learned along the way that she feels would be helpful for those asking her to share her personal experiences. This week’s episode 60 of How Women Inspire Podcast is about building strong relationships with your partner and children! 

In this episode of the How Women Inspire Podcast, Julie Castro Abrams is sharing the importance of finding a steadfast life partner and actionable steps you can take right now to develop a positive relationship with your kids. 

Some of the talking points Julie goes over in this episode include:

• Choosing a life partner that shares your values.
• The difficulties of one partner coming from a very gendered environment.
• Taking about your children in a way that sets them up for success.
• Being present with your children while they practice their hobbies will create a stronger bond between the two of you.

Relationships and parenting are not a one-size-fits-all approach, but Julie is happy to share some of these parts of her life and what worked for her.

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 

CONNECT WITH JULIE CASTRO ABRAMS:

LinkedIn - Julie

How Women Lead

How Women Invest

How Women Give

Instagram - HWL

LinkedIn - HWL

Facebook - HWL