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What does it look like to transform unimaginable grief into a force for good? 

This week on When Mommy Grows Up, we’re joined by Melissa Lafsky Saleh, mom, storyteller, entrepreneur, and advocate, whose journey will leave you inspired and in awe. Melissa opens up about her path from lawyer and journalist to co-creator of FairPlayAI, and how the heartbreaking loss of her child reshaped her purpose in both life and work.

Melissa talks with Becca and Marie about how storytelling can be a tool for healing, and the challenges she’s tackling to make technology more fair and equitable. She has turned her pain into purpose and offers a reminder that even in the deepest grief, there’s room to grow, lead, and love again.

Melissa Lafsky Saleh is a former lawyer and journalist turned entrepreneur, storyteller, and advocate for survivors of trauma. With a career spanning technology, media, and brand strategy, she has shaped the narratives of Fortune 500 giants and startups alike.  As the co-creator of FairPlayAI, she works to promote equity and reduce bias in automated decision-making.

Melissa is a speaker on personal transformation, resilience, and leadership. Having endured an ultimate trauma, the loss of a child, she speaks from a place of deep experience, turning pain into purpose and showing others how to navigate trauma with courage and hope. 

https://linktr.ee/melissa.saleh

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Ready to give your LinkedIn a refresh but short on time? In this episode of When Mommy Grows Up, Becca and Marie break down exactly what you can do in just 30 minutes to make your profile pop and your presence shine.

We’re diving into quick, actionable tips to make LinkedIn work for you, including:

Updating your headline to boost searchability, using ChatGPT to draft a compelling About section, engaging with intention, and making connections to expand your network.

Whether you're job searching, building your personal brand, or wanting to give yourself options in your career, this episode will help you take one powerful step forward without spending hours online.

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Attention teachers! Have you ever thought about how you could take your expertise and translate it into a new career path?

If so, meet Kelsey Cook, mom of four and former teacher who turned her education expertise into a thriving business.  

After six years as a kindergarten teacher and then starting a preschool at home, Kelsey pivoted during the pandemic to create engaging educational boxes for toddlers and preschoolers, now shipped across all 50 states.  

Discover how she juggles motherhood, leads a team of 20 employees, and stays true to her passions - all while prioritizing family life.  Tune in for inspiration on embracing your role as a parent and balancing dreams.

https://learningwithkelsey.com

@learningwithkelsey on Instagram

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"I LOVE job searching!" said no one. Ever.

And right now? Ugh. It's rough. With policy changes, economic conditions, and market uncertainty there's a lot out of your control. 

That doesn't mean your job search grinds to a halt though. It can't!

Jobs pay the bills and help us live the lives we want. 

So instead of throwing in the towel, we need be even more strategic about how you spend your valuable time.

With all that in mind, Marie and Becca sat down to chat about what WE would do if we were job searching right now.

The five biggies:

 1. Get clear on target role(s) and target companies

 2. Use tech tools to save time and make our search more efficient.

3. Clarify and sharpen up our pitches

4. Lean into networking!

5. 20% applications, 80% connections

We dive into the details on this week's podcast episode. Tune in today!

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Almost a decade ago, Becca and Karen Johnson met on the wild world of the internet sharing parenting memes and laughs as they both navigated the early years of motherhood. (You might know Karen as The21stCenturySAHM on Instagram and Facebook. She's hilarious!)

Fast forward to today, and they are on the same page again asking the big question "What do I want to be NEXT as I grow up right alongside my growing kids?"

Join Becca, Marie, and Karen as they talk about taking risks, uncovering new passions, navigating perimenopause, and giving ourselves permission to continue to grow up!

Meet Karen:

Also known on social media as The 21st Century SAHM, Karen Johnson writes about all things parenthood and believes that humor is necessary to survive the journey. She is the creator of countless hilarious memes and the mom journal “I brushed my hair today.” Her new book What Do I Want to Be When They Grow Up: And Other Thoughts from a 40-something mom is coming out on May 6.

What Do I Want to Be When They Grow Up: And Other Thoughts from a 40-Something Mom

The21stCenturySAHM on Instagram

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As moms, we are grownups, but are we all the way grown up yet?

If you're a fan of the When Mommy Grows Up podcast, then you know Becca and Marie would say "No!" We still have plenty of growing up, evolving, and changing to do throughout our lives and careers. 

That’s why Becca wants to invite moms into the pages of her new book, When Mommy Grows Up: Finding Career Clarity While Covered in Kids, to learn more about themselves, define their own versions of success, map out new paths forward, and find lots of humor along the way.

Tackling mid-career confusion with parenting stories, 90s pop culture nostalgia, and expert professional development tips, Becca reframes the lessons we teach our kids like “use your words,” “you need to share,” and “make new friends," as career advice. From figuring out what’s next, to overcoming obstacles, to managing the logistics of a job search or entrepreneurial journey—it’s all covered in a way that’s accessible, relatable, and fun!

Whether we are working full-time, part-time, from home, or inside the home, mothers are all managing their careers, and families, all while managing to laugh through it all. Let’s take on the adventure together!

Find the Book Here

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Life Coach and mom of three Christine Anastasia joins us for a follow-up conversation as she shares her journey of redefining success on her own terms, navigating a job search in 2024, and owning multiple identities as a team member, entrepreneur, and mom. 

Join Becca and Christine to talk about how Christine emphasizes the importance of leveraging multifaceted skills, finding supportive work environments, and creating a career that aligns with family life.

https://christineanastasia.com/

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When Mommy Grows Up: Finding Career Clarity While Covered in Kids can be on your e-reader or on your bookshelf on March 25th! Have your ordered your copy yet?

As we countdown to the release, this week we're diving into chapter 8, Follow the Rules. But this time the parenting lesson isn't so straightforward, because it turns out there is benefiting to following the rules and benefit to breaking the rules.

Join us as we talk about how creating a set of personal rules to follow and breaking rules that don't make sense help you move forward in your career.

www.nextchaptercareers.us/freetraining

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The countdown to When Mommy Grows Up: Finding Career Clarity While Covered in Kids (the book) is on! This week we're diving into chapter 5, Use Your Words.

We teach our kids to use their words instead of lashing out in anger, pouting in the corner, or throwing an epic tantrum in Target. But are we reminding ourselves to use our words as we look for more fulfillment in our work? 

Tune in for toddler parenting stories, Spice Girls lyrics, and advice on how to have the important conversations that will move your career in the direction you want!

nextchaptercareers.us/quiz

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Do you say too many "yeses"? If so, you aren't alone. It happens to the best of us, whether because we are helpers by nature, seek recognition, or pride ourselves on doing ALL the things.

But too many yeses can leave us depleted and distracted. So what do we do about it as busy parents and professionals?

Tune into Becca's conversation with former Career Clarity Program member and successful entrepreneur Dave Kartunen to make a plan for what to say yes to and how to say no.

Find Dave on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davekartunen/
kartoonEDU: https://kartoonedu.com/

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Dave Kartunen is a national-award winning journalist who focused his entire career on better governance. During his 15-year broadcast news career, he reported local and national breaking news as well as political and investigative reporting in Boston, Miami, and Savannah, Ga. He is the winner of the 2016 National Edward R. Murrow Award for continuing coverage of deadly conditions in a Georgia Jail. He also won the 2013 Southeast Regional Emmy Award for continuing coverage, using a series of simple stories to explain the disastrous rollout of the Affordable Care Act.

Dave also taught journalism at Boston University and remains a fierce advocate for trauma-informed journalism.

Since leaving the news, he's consulted organizations large and small, public, private, and nonprofit. In 2023, he turned his focus once again back to better governance and founded kartoonEDU, which creates visual communications to help public schools share complex information with their stakeholders in more engaging ways. In two years, he's worked with more than 60 public school districts and associations in the U.S. and Canada. This year, his company is expanding to offer their products and services to municipalities as well.