Lift Up Connections: Rethinking Work. Reimagining Life.

Beth Lingard spent years leading research and product work, most recently at Meta. Now, she’s exploring a very different path: becoming a death doula.

This episode is about what happens when you start paying attention to the deeper threads in your life and begin building around the parts of yourself that feel most alive.

Beth and Christine talk about mortality, grief, community, AI, portfolio careers, and process of figuring out what comes next. Beth shares how she moved from feeling isolated in corporate life to recognizing community as a lifelong North Star, why she thinks of midlife as a “rebirth,” and how her years in research are shaping the work she wants to do now.

They also explore what it means to redefine wealth around time, connection, flexibility, family, and presence and how small experiments can help you discover a next chapter before you have the complete vision.

This is a conversation about building a life that feels expansive, connected, and fully your own.

Episode Notes:

Death Doula and Grief resources: 

What happens when the career path you’ve built no longer aligns with the life you want?

In this episode, Christine sits down with Abby Covert, information architecture expert, author, and founder of the Sense Makers Club, to explore what it means to walk away from traditional definitions of success and build something new.

After years of working in tech and teaching information architecture around the world, Abby made the decision in 2020 to leave her corporate role and create space to figure out what was next. What emerged was the Sensemakers Club, an evolving, community-driven experiment in learning, curiosity, and connection.

Christine and Abby discuss: 

This conversation is deeply relevant for anyone questioning their path, navigating uncertainty, or trying to design a more expansive and aligned life.

What does a long career in information architecture and UX teach us about navigating industry change?

In this episode, Christine Perfetti speaks with UX and content strategy leader Karen McGrane about reputation, career reinvention, and adapting to shifts in the tech industry. Karen shares lessons from decades in consulting, the impact of the recent consulting downturn, and why she recently made the unexpected move back in-house at Contentful.

They also discuss hiring in today’s market, the importance of professional networks, and why many experienced professionals are beginning to think in terms of portfolio careers.

Karen will be speaking at the Information Architecture Conference (IAC26) in Philadelphia, April 14–18, 2026. Use the code liftup for $50 off the main conference registration.

Learn more: https://www.theiaconference.com

In mid-career, many of us reach a moment where the old definition of success no longer fits. but the next one isn’t fully clear yet.

In this conversation, I sit down with Kenyetta Hall, product leader, professor at UNC Chapel Hill, advisor to founders, and creator of The Katalyst Effect to talk about what it really takes to pivot with clarity and confidence.

We explore:

This is not a conversation about quitting your job overnight.

It’s about building your own table thoughtfully.

What if the greatest product you’ll ever work on is you?

In this candid and deeply honest conversation, Christine sits down with career strategist and UX leader Sarah Doody to talk about what it really takes to navigate mid-career uncertainty, especially in today’s volatile tech landscape.

They explore:

Sarah also shares openly about her own recent challenges and offers a rare and refreshing glimpse behind the curtain of entrepreneurship.

This episode is for mid-career and midlife women who are:

In this deeply honest episode, Christine Perfetti sits down with Mugdha Kulkarni to explore what happens when your body finally says enough.

If you’re standing at the edge of change, this conversation will meet you there.

What happens when your body starts telling you the truth before your career does?

In this deeply honest and grounding conversation, Christine Perfetti sits down with Roberta Dombrowski, a coach, meditation teacher, and former VP of UX Research, to talk about reinvention, intuition, motherhood, and the courage it takes to leave behind a version of success that no longer fits.

Roberta shares her own journey from senior leadership in tech to coaching women through identity shifts, including the painful, nonlinear middle: layoffs, self-doubt, postpartum depression, and the temptation to return to what once felt safe.

Christine and Roberta explore:

Six months ago, UX leader and educator Amanda Stockwell said yes to a cup of coffee, never imagining that one conversation would lead her into founding a nonprofit, joining a social enterprise accelerator, and reshaping her entire career path.

In this inspiring episode, Amanda returns to The Reimagining Lab to share what she’s learned in the messy middle of building The Seed List, a nonprofit designed to create equitable internship pathways for students entering the tech and startup world.

We explore:

Amanda’s story is a reminder that reinvention doesn’t require certainty. It requires alignment, courage, curiosity, and a willingness to walk through the “yellow door” when life shows you a path you never expected.

Artist and UX strategist Angela Craven joins Christine to explore how creativity can help us navigate grief, reinvention, and the unpredictable seasons of midlife.

Christine and Angela discuss:

This conversation is an invitation to slow down, listen to your creative voice, and reimagine your life as an evolving work of art.

After 20 years at Custom Ink, Kristin Florin never imagined she’d be laid off. The company wasn't just a workplace. It was the place where she grew up professionally and had helped define her identity and community.

In this powerful conversation, Kristin shares what it’s really like to lose the only professional home you have ever known and how she found her way back to confidence and purpose.

She opens up about the grief of the layoff, the uncomfortable quiet that followed, and the mindset shifts that helped her reimagine what’s possible and find her new leadership position at BreakingT.

You’ll hear Kristin’s reflections on:

Her story is a reminder that sometimes leaving the box isn’t the end of your story. It’s the start of a truer one.