Roads Taken

When Ilana Davidi Reeves walked into the computer science placement test at the start of college and she was the only woman, she walked out and found a new major. But tech-related internships at ESPN and an early internet company kept her interest piqued and on the second day of her first consulting job out of college, she found herself in their Java lab and kept programming and technology front and center in her career.

Seemingly against the odds, she exceled in software engineering as one of the only women in the field. She had to deal not only with the volatility of the industry but also the discrimination there during the 2009 recession and later when she needed to juggle it all with motherhood. The struggles and the support she found from her network at that time, however, would prove to be beneficial when she found the odds stacked against her in other ways in her personal life later on.

In this episode, find out from Ilana how sticking through the hard things can set you up for success and a sense of gratitude later…on today's Roads Taken, with me, Leslie Jennings Rowley.

About This Episode’s Guest

Ilana Davidi Reeves is a software engineering and architecture leader with 25 years of experiences across diverse industries, who currently serves as Engineering Lead, Fulfillment at Square. She has managed, mentored, and directed local, off-shore, and near-shore teams including the new wave of women in the space. She lives in Atlanta with her husband and their two boys. (252)

For another story about being an outlier in your industry and leading through it, listen to our episode with Tim Chow. 

Find more episodes at https://roadstakenshow.com

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

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]

Having decided on a life of public service, Kristina Marty pursued public administration immediately after graduating college—first in a masters of public administration program and then in various practitioner roles, mostly focused on health and human services agencies. After these work experiences, which included a little research, she decided to go back for her PhD and looked at public administration from the academic side. Starting in a tenure track position and a newborn and felt the crush of trying to do it all but somehow she kept things together. At a certain point, however, she learned that all was not as it seemed and the marriage that she was relying on dissolved. 

The lessons she learned from dealing with this unexpected and unwelcome wrench in the plans taught her a lot about what to do when your first choice outcome is no longer in the set of realistic options. And when health became something more than academic for her, she relied on the lessons learned with her earlier dose of adversity. 

In this episode, find out from Kristina how learning what you can and can't control can ultimately guide you to a little serenity and gratitude.

About This Episode’s Guest

Kristina Marty is a mother and cancer survivor Kristina Marty who also currently serves as Senior Associate Dean in the College of Community and Public Affairs, and Professor of Public Administration at Binghamton University. As she suggested, if you have young people in your life, learn more about the HPV vaccine at cdc.gov/hpv and encourage them to get the vaccine, if eligible.

For another story about learning fundamental lessons from adversity, listen to our episode with Doug Asano.

Find more episodes at https://roadstakenshow.com

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

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]

We wanted to provide quick update about a previous set of episodes. Nakiah Cherry Chinchilla was kind enough to share the story of her husband and son's struggles with Huntington's Disease. In March of this year, her son August Gianpiero King Chinchilla passed away.  In just one week, on what would be Auggie's birthday, Nakiah will be holding the celebration of life that Auggie helped planned. As Nakiah says: "While it took many iterations over the years, he never went too far from his original beach party idea. He wanted a party at the Santa Monica Pier and for his friends to ride the rides all day and eat cotton candy. And so that’s what we are going to do!!" Find out more about Auggiepalooza on Facebook or GoFundMe, keep Nakiah and Auggie in your thoughts next Friday, August 4, and be sure to hug those you love.

Find more episodes at https://roadstakenshow.com

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

Email the show at [email protected]

Throughout her career, Jamie Hansen would often find herself at a juncture where a leap was necessary. She first needed to navigate a start in the start-up world on the wrong coast and then got to the Bay Area just before the dotcom bust. She then needed to navigate her way from web development roles to solutions engineering to find more stability. But the stability afforded by a big company didn’t fit with her personality and so she took another leap into food entrepreneurship.

Along the way, where some people would see high risk, she just saw something to navigate through. Eventually, that outlook prepared her for what she'd face in her personal life, too.

In this episode, find out how from Jamie how defining risk is all in the eye of the beholder…on today's Roads Taken, with me, Leslie Jennings Rowley.

About This Episode’s Guest

Jamie Hansenan experienced solutions leader currently working to help a startup in the procurement space, Zip, move to the next level. She has worked at companies companies large—including Salesforce—and small—including her own wholesale bakery business. She lives in the San Diego area with her twin girls, living it up by the water and basking in the sunshine.

For another story about leaping across careers with baked goods and family in the middle, listen to our episode with Chesley Homan Flotten.

Find more episodes at https://roadstakenshow.com

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

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]

Always with a medical future in sight, George Huang figured he would be a pediatrician just like his father. But when he got to med school and saw what surgery looked like, he changed his plans even as his father worried about the kind of work life balance that he might have in the surgical world. He ultimately found his niche performing surgeries on urologic cancers and progressed in  a successful academic medical career.

Not necessarily due to the speciality, but the rather the environment in which he practiced, he did start to question whether the balance was right in his life. At just the right time, he learned about a place that might suit him better. But again, outside voices questioned his desire to go in the new direction. 

In this episode, find out from George how realizing what will make you truly happy sometimes requires quieting the voices around you…on Roads Taken with Leslie Jennings Rowley.

About This Episode’s Guest

George Huang is a urologist at Kaiser Permanente at Redwood City Medical Center, a physician and surgeon who treats diseases and conditions of the genito-urinary system. He sub-specializes in the treatment of genito-urinary cancers and treasures the patient-doctor relationship he now has in his community practice. He lives in the Bay Area with his wife and two daughters.

For another story about listening to others and finding your way in medicine, listen to our episode with Woojin Kim.

Find more episodes at https://roadstakenshow.com

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

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]

Local to the area where he’d eventually go to college, Marc-François Bradley felt it was a happy accident to land there and benefit from good experiences with hockey, friends, education and the opportunity to kindle a relationship with the woman who would eventually become his wife. But like the spirit of accepting what will come for college, he didn’t launch into a career with a particularly pathway in mind. Instead, he said he set a few guardrails based on the guiding principles of seeking to make a difference and expecting good outcomes. He parlayed his computer science skills into various technology opportunities but when his first child was born very early and needed extensive care, a new path took shape, guided by his guardrails and new priorities.

In this episode, find out from Mark how setting your guardrails sometimes provides all the structure you need…on Roads Taken with Leslie Jennings Rowley.

About This Episode’s Guest

Marc-François Bradley is a digital healthcare strategist and manager with extensive experience in innovation, information technology, and development of strategic corporate relationships. For the last decade, he has been founder and CEO of Sophrona, an online patient-physician communication technology and SaaS solution for ophthalmology. He lives with his family in Idaho, racing his bike and appreciating all he has done and will do.

For another story about grounding decisions in values, listen to our episode with Jennie Tranter.

Find more episodes at https://roadstakenshow.com

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

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]

Almost defying her own expectations, Eva Sheibar Heyman navigated a fast-track trajectory as a high-powered career woman with relative ease. She had started out on a marketing track in a company that embraced the digital wave just before it crested and so she developed exertise not only in content but management. After a long initial run at that company and the grounding of business school, she found C-suite roles in a number of organizations.

And while she appreciated her achievements and lifestyle on a cerebral level, it took the covid pandemic and attendant lockdowns with family to help her recognize how much more joy she could cultivate by slowing down and being present.

In this episode, find out from Eva how sometimes it takes settling into the experience to find the joy… on ROADS TAKEN...with Leslie Jennings Rowley.

About This Episode’s Guest

Eva Sheibar Heyman is a seasoned marketing and communications executive who has held C-suite roles in a diversity of industries, most recently as Chief Brand Officer and Global Head of Commercial Operations and Marketing Services, Bloomberg Media, and Marketing and Communications Executive at Civic Entertainment Group. When not in a board room, she can be found in the middle of a comfy sofa in New York, intertwined with her husband and their three children. 

For another story about finding joy through being present, listen to our episode with Karen M. Smith DeBolt.

Find more episodes at https://roadstakenshow.com

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

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]

Although generally a good student, Eric Jensen wasn't particularly driven to excel in the classroom. Slightly more interested in keeping track of his favorite jam bands than his studies, he ditched a science track for an English major. Upon graduation, he still found a way to meld his longstanding interest in science with his English degree, ultimately ending up in advertising for the bio pharmaceutical world. When the time came to try pivoting, he went to business school. Yet when given the chance to choose something new, he stuck with the industry and through a stroke of fate ended up on the track to stay with the same company for nearly two decades. Only when the groove started feeling repetitive did he look elsewhere, finding a new way to amp up the impact.

In this episode, find out from Eric how letting yourself get in the groove can often keep the jam going.… on ROADS TAKEN...with Leslie Jennings Rowley.

About This Episode’s Guest

Eric Jensen currently serves as Vice President, Head of Clinic Channel at Grail, where his team detects cancer early when it can best be treated and cured. Prior to his current role, he spent nearly two decades in a variety of positions at biotechnology giant Amgen. He lives with his family in the Columbus, Ohio area.

For another story about finding impact through early-stage therapies, listen to our episode with Drew Natenshon.

Find more episodes at https://roadstakenshow.com

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

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]

Since he didn't have a solid idea of where or how he would make a career in biology, Stephen Haddadveered away from science in the early part of his career. He started out in management consulting and was happy to get a broad view of how business works, but the siren call of science made him take a smattering of research positions before realizing that he needed to go back to school for more specialized training in genetics and epidemiology.

As it turned out, not getting into a scientific role earlier was a good thing as the field that ultimately was a match for his interests and his skills didn't even exist until more than a decade after graduation. And in the end, it turned out that moving more slowly and methodically in the personal realm was as advantageous as in the professional one.

In this episode, find out from Steve how proceeding slow and steady is required not only for winning the race but sometimes even getting to the starting line… on ROADS TAKEN...with Leslie Jennings Rowley.

About This Episode’s Guest

Stephen Haddad is an expert in applied human genetics with degrees in epidemiology from Harvard and Boston University. He is currently a scientific investigator at GlaxoSmithKline. He lives in the Boston area with his wife and young daughter.

For another story about the letting the path open to you slowly, listen to our episode with Jennie Tranter.

Find more episodes at https://roadstakenshow.com

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

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]

As a kid, Amy Harman Burkart wanted to be a lawyer like you see on tv with the courtroom lawyering and criminal procedure. After law school, she honed in on being a federal prosecutor and set herself up to be in the right place at the right time. Timing, though, is a funny thing. When her husband wanted to go to business school she decided it would be good to try to expand their family so was an adjunct law professor when she became a mother. Then just as she was ready for the role in Boston, there was a hiring freeze and no openings meant she needed an alternate plan.

In this episode, find out from Amy how staying true to yourself can sometimes steer you to the original dream after all … on ROADS TAKEN...with Leslie Jennings Rowley.

About This Episode’s Guest

Amy Harman Burkart is a litigation specialist who has been associated with many esteemed law firms and has had a variety of experiences in the law. Her dreams of serving as a federal prosecutor came true when she served as an Assistant United States Attorney for nearly a decade and was the Chief of the Cybercrime Unit. She is currently a trial attorney at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. She lives with her husband and kids in the Boston area and is always up for a fun time. So call her if the need for a costume box should arise. 

For another story about hanging on until the timing is right, listen to our episode with Elizabeth Manheim.

Find more episodes at https://roadstakenshow.com

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

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]