Roads Taken

Guest Lisana Gabriel Brown started her career as a graphic designer but felt to constrained by how someone else thought things should look. An astute supervisor saw her technical skills and moved her into the world of IT. Though she had considered the corporate path “too buttoned up” in earlier days, she found that the corporate world—particularly banking—was the right fit and a progression of more and more technical roles led her into business continuity risk planning and disaster response.

She did similar work in the health education industry, but the pace wasn’t fast enough to let her make the impact she wanted. But when she returned to the banking world, she also got the surprise of a baby on the way. Interestingly, it took a pandemic—which she was all too ready for her in job—to give her the work life balance she and her family were looking for.

In this episode, find out from Lisana how sometimes making plans for the future isn’t foolproof and waiting it out is the thing to do …on ROADS TAKEN...with Leslie Jennings Rowley.

About This Episode's Guest

Lisana Gabriel Brown has had a long career in business continuity risk management, predominantly in banking IT and cybersecurity, most recently with MUFG Union Bank. She and her family now live in Charlotte, North Carolina.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

Find more episodes at https://roadstakenshow.com

Email the show at [email protected]

Find more episodes at https://roadstakenshow.com

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

Email the show at [email protected]

Guest Amy Peller, Dartmouth '96, could always be counted on to find the fun in a moment, whether meeting people on the way to the snowboarding lessons or performing magic in the campus pub. Throughout her career in consumer marketing and brand management, she tried to always keep that sense of fun and joy.

Some employers, such as Mattel (where she worked on products from water guns to Matchbox cars), made it easy.  Others, who wanted her to move too far from family or deal with layoffs, not so much.  Luckily, the skills she built at all of them allowed her to envision her own path, an entrepreneurial venture that some may say is for the dogs—a mobile dog grooming company.

In this episode, find out from Amy how sometimes teaching dogs new tricks doesn’t require forgetting old ones…on ROADS TAKEN...with Leslie Jennings Rowley

About This Episode's Guest

Amy Peller is founder and president of Wag & Shine, a mobile dog grooming company in the greater New York metropolitan area. Find Amy and her grooming friends (including her Labradoodle and Chief Happiness Officer Benny Hana) at WagAndShine.com. 

You can follow Benny Hana on his official Instagram @bennyhanadoodle.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Edited by Worth Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

Find more episodes at https://roadstakenshow.com

Email the show at [email protected]

Find more episodes at https://roadstakenshow.com

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

Email the show at [email protected]

Guest Helene Sisti has always wanted to take in every experience life offers, whether in the classroom, on a field or on stage at an Aerosmith concert. Combining her love of sport with her interest in psychology, she found her way to sports psychology. But while pursuing a masters in kinesiology, an early class in neuroscience during opened her eyes to the world of research. She continued on for a PhD in neuroscience, looking specifically at the mind-body connection and how we learn.

As all-season track athlete in college, she was unable to study abroad; so she made sure her postdoctoral experience included a stint in Europe. Along with the memories and souvenirs, though, she returned home with a case of burn-out and wasn’t sure that academia was for her. She tried adjunct teaching and then spent a couple years in consulting, but ultimately found her way back to neuroscience research with new perspective.// In this episode, find out from Helene how sometimes putting something on ice and then returning can be the healthiest thing on ROADS TAKEN...with Leslie Jennings Rowley.

About This Episode's Guest

Helene Sisti is a neuroscience researcher. Being a lifelong athlete, she is most passionate about understanding the nature of the mind-body connection. She has examined the brain from multiple perspectives, ranging from cellular models to human brain imaging studies. While currently an assistant professor at Norwich University, she still tries to do it all, skiing, running, biking and keeping her eyes out for the next thing to try.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Edited by Worth Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

Find more episodes at https://roadstakenshow.com

Email the show at [email protected]

Find more episodes at https://roadstakenshow.com

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

Email the show at [email protected]

Guest Mark Griffin, Dartmouth '96, had two parents in the state department so had been used to lots of moves before boarding school in Austria. The promise of mountains and persuasive literature sealed the deal for Dartmouth. He loved the intellectual freedom the college afforded and he stumbled into philosophy to round out his genetic propensity toward government. Although he knew that public service was in his blood, he worried that the typical law career might pigeon-hole him. He read about applied policy and public administration and continued on for his masters before law school.

After a couple of shorter lived experiences in the law, including in a public defender’s office, Mark stumbled again, this time into an area he’d known nothing about—campaign finance—and has made a career out of it.

In this episode, find out from Mark how keeping your thinking broad and following connections ultimately helps you find your way on ROADS TAKEN...with Leslie Jennings Rowley.

About This Episode's Guest

Mark Griffin is Associate Counsel at the New York City Campaign Finance Board, where he has worked in a number of capacities for almost two decades. His career focus has been on political and administrative law, regulatory compliance and policy implementation. Mark keeps stumbling into good things.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

Find more episodes at https://roadstakenshow.com

Email the show at [email protected]

Find more episodes at https://roadstakenshow.com

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

Email the show at [email protected]

Guest Monica Oberkofler Gorman, Dartmouth '96, had been accepted at Yale Law School and had earned a scholarship to study in Oxford, but her heart lay in public service work in DC so after graduation she took the opportunity of a White House internship—ill-timed, perhaps, given her shared name with another intern at that moment. And although she loved DC, she felt that she needed to see more of how the world worked before she would feel comfortable helping to shape policy. She went to Oxford and get both a masters in politics and stayed for a PhD (turning down Yale in the process).

Knowing she still needed to learn more about the work of work, she hit the pavement looking for a job in industry and ultimately landed a communications role at Gap Inc, just as the clothing giant was under fire for labor practices. She was on the team to write the report that became the model for the entire apparel industry and introduced her to global supply chain, international commerce, and corporate social responsibility. She remained in that world, next at American Eagle and then for New Balance, her entire career. That is, until a new opportunity arose to meld her years of experience and a life-long dream.

In this episode, find out from Monica how how doing what’s right is ultimately good for others and good for yourself on ROADS TAKEN...with Leslie Jennings Rowley.

About This Episode's Guest

Monica Gorman is Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for the manufacturing portfolio in the Biden Administration. Previously, she was the Vice President of Responsible Leadership and Compliance at New Balance and held roles in corporate social responsibility at American Eagle and Gap, Inc. She is a former Clinton-era White House intern.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Editor: Worth Rowley Music: Brian Burrows

Find more episodes at https://roadstakenshow.com

Email the show at [email protected]

Find more episodes at https://roadstakenshow.com

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

Email the show at [email protected]

Guest Shakari Cameron Byerly, Dartmouth '96, recognized that at her core she is someone who brings communities together, shines a light the diversity within them, and amplifies the voices so all viewpoints are heard. She did that in her youth and in college through student assembly work and with the cultural communities that she was a part. She figured that she would have a future in public interest law or public service. But a straight path to law school didn’t feel right and she served the communities that nurtured her by returning to teach high school in the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles. 

Realizing she still had a yearning to work at a more macro level, she worked on the social services side of education and mentorship. But she still had the political bug, so pursued a master's in public policy, worked with the state legislature and think tanks on education policy and economic development, ultimately getting pulled into the world of public opinion polling that she never knew existed. The perfect fit for her community-building values, she now runs one of the only African American-owned polling firms in the country with husband Rodrego Bylery, Dartmouth ’98.

In this episode, find out from Shakari how amplifying and elevating the voices of everyday people can be its own kind of public service on ROADS TAKEN...with Leslie Jennings Rowley. 

About This Episode's Guest

Shakari Byerly is partner and principal researcher at EVITARUS, the Los Angeles-based public opinion research and public policy consulting firm that she runs with her husband Rodrego Byerly, Dartmouth '98. The firm is one of the only African American owned and operated polling firms in the U.S. You can find out more at evitarus.com.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

Find more episodes at https://roadstakenshow.com

Email the show at [email protected]

Find more episodes at https://roadstakenshow.com

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

Email the show at [email protected]

Guest Will Uppington, Dartmouth '96, had a desire to do good in the world, so naturally thought he would follow in his father’s footsteps into medicine. But after a few too many hospital experiences he thought there might be another way to be of service and pursued a double major in economics and government. Worried this might not give him quite enough hard skills, he spent senior year dabbling in Chinese and math and coding. Despite these new skills and yet without any role models in the business world, he still sought a surer footing and so began is career in management consulting.

Consulting experiences in the technology sector and newly-deregulated energy industry led him to a stint in venture capital, just as the dot-com bubble was bursting. Even so, he knew he wanted to pursue a life in technology entrepreneurship after business school. A few start-up experiences later, he was ready to launch his own venture, this time looking more deeply at the models in front of him, namely in artificial intelligence and machine learning.

In this episode, find out from Will how important models can be and how knowing what is inside them is what gives them power on ROADS TAKEN...with Leslie Jennings Rowley.

About This Episode's Guest

Will Uppington is CEO and co-founder of Truera, which helps enterprises analyze machine learning, improve model quality and build trust. Find out more at truera.com. Though his first founder role, this certainly isn't his first rodeo in the technology start-up world. He has a started and grown a number of successful companies and products and always tries to do something that is both of personal interest to him and of use to the greater world. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife Lauren Currie Uppington ’96 and their family.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

Find more episodes at https://roadstakenshow.com

Email the show at [email protected]

Find more episodes at https://roadstakenshow.com

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

Email the show at [email protected]

Guest Shannon Smith-Bernardin, Dartmouth '96, knew she needed to get out of Maine, as the only prospects she saw for herself there were nursing and teaching. With two duffle bags and $400 in her pocket, she landed in Los Angeles and then landed a string of jobs that didn’t feed her soul. In supporting a friend through rehab, she learned more about her own past with alcohol and co-dependent relationships that helped her reflect on how her skills and interests in helping others could be realized in a career in nursing.

Ultimately, she found her place within the community nursing space, helping other people find places to land, if only temporarily. In both professional and volunteer roles, she has developed expertise around the care of homeless populations, the social determinants of health, and alternatives to emergency medicine, particularly the management of sobriety centers. // In this episode, find out from Shannon how finding the community you’re drawn to help can provide you with as much as you give on ROADS TAKEN...with Leslie Jennings Rowley.

About This Episode's Guest

Shannon Smith-Bernardin, PhD, MSN, RN, is an expert in the safe and efficient utilization of sobering centers for caring for acute alcohol intoxication. She is an assistant adjunct professor at UC San Francisco, primarily teaching a course on "street nursing" and currently provides consultation to communities who are seeking help with their homeless populations or are looking to establish or manage sobering centers. She also directs the efforts of the non-profit National Sobering Collective. Find out more at nationalsobering.org

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

Find more episodes at https://roadstakenshow.com

Email the show at [email protected]

Find more episodes at https://roadstakenshow.com

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

Email the show at [email protected]

Guest Shervyn von Hoerl, Dartmouth '96, is Iranian-American and had thought as a child touched by the fallout from foreign policy decisions that he would hitch his wagon to a politician’s star and be Secretary of State one day. Participating as an operative in campaigns during high school seemed to pave the way. But after college, he felt burned out on politics in general and even questioned the point of it all.

Deciding to “sell out” as he called it and make a living in New York in the world of finance, he ultimately landed a job in structured capital. He was surprised to find the work interesting and something that he was good at and so has remained in the industry for two decades. While not completely passionate about the work itself, it has afforded him the opportunity to pour his soul into other thing, namely local politics.  After changing parties and honing a new collaborative style, he is part of something political that fills him up after all.

In this episode, find out from Shervyn how listening to others can lead you to pick the side that feels more authentic for you on ROADS TAKEN...with Leslie Jennings Rowley. 

About This Episode's Guest

Shervyn von Hoerl has more than 20 years of experience in the structured finance industry, having developed innovative capital solutions for many types of clients. He is co-chair of the Fair Haven Democratic Municipal Committee near the Jersey Shore, where he proudly lives in a brightly colored Victorian with his family. 

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

Find more episodes at https://roadstakenshow.com

Email the show at [email protected]

Find more episodes at https://roadstakenshow.com

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

Email the show at [email protected]

Guest Gregory Papajohn, Dartmouth '96, had thought that Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service would be the way to live out the service ethos that he’d grown up with. But, even for a kid who lived in the shadow of Manhattan, he realized during a visit to D.C. that urban life didn’t seem to fit his idea of college. Dartmouth’s setting provided him with a groundedness that he still relies on to help him make big decisions.

A government major, Gregory interned at a law firm during a leave term and went back to law after graduation. Even as he was taking the LSATs, he knew the round-the-clock grindstone was not something he relished. But it was only after law school and a moonlighting gig that introduced him to investor relations did he realize there were other ways to exercise the advocacy muscle. He pounded the pavements for a way into a new career in public relations.

He made a name for himself promoting his large, established financial services clients. But the financial crisis of 2007 made him reexamine the type of companies that were deserving of his efforts. He was pulled more toward fintech and social entrepreneurship. And when he found that his agency wasn’t giving their clients agency at all, he realized he had a better model and pursued it.

In this episode, find out from Gregory how the disruptors to the establishment can sometimes be the ones to follow and then to emulate on ROADS TAKEN...with Leslie Jennings Rowley.

About This Episode's Guest

Gregory Papajohn is a public relations expert with a history of serving big established financial players. After pivoting, he founded the Archie Group, a public relations, marketing and advisory-services firm that helps fintech and other emerging business position themselves in the market, acquire customers and partners, and develop reputational capital. He lives in Connecticut with his wife and three children.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

Find more episodes at https://roadstakenshow.com

Email the show at [email protected]

Find more episodes at https://roadstakenshow.com

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

Email the show at [email protected]