Gretchen (Holt) Witt paired cookies with cancer and created one of the most powerful, clever combinations to raise awareness and much-needed funding for pediatric cancer.

Gretchen unexpectedly formed what would become Cookies for Kids' Cancer in 2007, after her 2-year-old son Liam was diagnosed with pediatric cancer. Due to her background in PR and communications , she understood how challenging it was to talk about cancer, let alone pediatric cancer. She also knew that it would take a lot more awareness, advocacy, and funding to help children diagnosed with cancer to live longer, healthier lives.

By allowing people to connect cookies with learning about kids cancer, Cookies for Kids’ Cancer is now a well-respected nonprofit that has had more than 16,000 grassroots fundraising events in all 50 states and 26 countries and has granted more than $21 million to the leading pediatric cancer research centers across the country.

Until recently, Gretchen worked full time in PR & communications and part time to help drive the nonprofit forward.

Contact Info:
Gretchen (Holt) Witt - Guest
Gretchen's LinkedIn account
Cookies for Kids' Cancer website

Julie Berman - Host
www.womenwithcooljobs.com
@womencooljobs (Instagram)
Julie Berman's LinkedIn Profile 


   

Send Julie a text!!

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I absolutely LOVE being the host and producer of "Women with Cool Jobs", where I interview women who have unique, trailblazing, and innovative careers. It has been such a blessing to share stories of incredible, inspiring women since I started in 2020.

If you have benefitted from this work, or simply appreciate that I do it, please consider buying me a $5 coffee. ☕️

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/julieberman

Thank you so much for supporting me -- whether by sharing an episode with a friend, attending a LIVE WWCJ event in Phoenix, connecting with me on Instagram @womencooljobs or LinkedIn, sending me a note on my website (www.womenwithcooljobs.com), or by buying me a coffee! It all means so much. <3

Lydia Fenet is one of the most successful charity auctioneers in the world. She has a two-decade career as a charity auctioneer and has raised over one BILLION dollars for more than 800 organizations and broken-down countless barriers for women in the auction industry.

While honing her skills as a charity auctioneer at night, during the day, she worked at Christie's as the Global Managing Director of Strategic Partnerships. She basically had two full-time jobs.

She now runs the Lydia Fenet Agency, which is a boutique auctioneering agency representing best in class charity auctioneers and training the next generation of talent.

She takes over 70 auctions a year and has graced the stage for the largest grossing charity events in the world including Robin Hood, The Naples Winter Wine Festival, Tipping Point, The Elton John Aids Foundation, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and over a thousand more. She also has stood alongside celebrities including Bruce Springsteen, Hugh Jackman, Elton John, Matt Damon and Jerry Seinfeld.

Lydia is the author of two best-selling books, The Most Powerful Woman in the Room is You and Claim Your Confidence and is the host of the "Claim Your Confidence" podcast.   

Contact Info:
Lydia Fenet - Guest
Lydia's LinkedIn account
Lydia's website

Julie Berman - Host
www.womenwithcooljobs.com
@womencooljobs (Instagram)
Julie Berman's LinkedIn Profile 

Send Julie a text!!

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I absolutely LOVE being the host and producer of "Women with Cool Jobs", where I interview women who have unique, trailblazing, and innovative careers. It has been such a blessing to share stories of incredible, inspiring women since I started in 2020.

If you have benefitted from this work, or simply appreciate that I do it, please consider buying me a $5 coffee. ☕️

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/julieberman

Thank you so much for supporting me -- whether by sharing an episode with a friend, attending a LIVE WWCJ event in Phoenix, connecting with me on Instagram @womencooljobs or LinkedIn, sending me a note on my website (www.womenwithcooljobs.com), or by buying me a coffee! It all means so much. <3

Heather Moyse is a 2x Olympic gold medalist (who competed in 4 Olympics games), a three-sport national athlete, a World Rugby Hall of Famer, a motivational speaker, an author, and a coach.

Heather started training just five months before her first Olympics at the age of 27 in 2-person bobsleigh, with her last Olympic competition at the age of 39.

In this episode, she shares specific techniques and mindset work that she uses to achieve her goals and that we all can use to help us live up to our potential.

Heather won gold at the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, and again at the 2014 Games in Sochi. Before she was an Olympic champion, Heather was a mainstay on Canada’s Senior Women’s Rugby Team. Heather led Canada to silver in the 2013 Rugby Sevens World Cup, and was the top try scorer in the 2006 and 2010 Women’s Rugby World Cups. In 2016, Heather became only the second Canadian, and first Canadian female, to be inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame. Heather represented Canada in a third international sport in 2012, when she placed Top Five in two events at the Pan-Am Track Cycling Championships in Argentina.

 Contact Info:
Heather Moyse - Guest
Heather's Instagram account
Heather's website
Weekly video series ( It's a little combo of pep talk + motivation + perspective shift.)

Julie Berman - Host
www.womenwithcooljobs.com
@womencooljobs (Instagram)
Julie Berman's LinkedIn Profile 

Send Julie a text!!

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I absolutely LOVE being the host and producer of "Women with Cool Jobs", where I interview women who have unique, trailblazing, and innovative careers. It has been such a blessing to share stories of incredible, inspiring women since I started in 2020.

If you have benefitted from this work, or simply appreciate that I do it, please consider buying me a $5 coffee. ☕️

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/julieberman

Thank you so much for supporting me -- whether by sharing an episode with a friend, attending a LIVE WWCJ event in Phoenix, connecting with me on Instagram @womencooljobs or LinkedIn, sending me a note on my website (www.womenwithcooljobs.com), or by buying me a coffee! It all means so much. <3

When Julie Berman started podcasting in February 2020, she had no idea what a podcast was or how to even open the podcast app on her phone. Almost 4 years later, Julie has interviewed more than 60 incredible, diverse women with cool jobs in industries that range from tech, to the arts, trades, and much more. In this episode, she shares the five unexpected lessons she learned from podcasting and how learning these can benefit you in your everyday life -- whether you podcast or not:

1. I’m human, and so are you. 
2. Roll with it, we can figure it out (And quickly is best).
3. Becoming an expert means making mistakes. 
4. Curiosity + action creates the foundation for change. Add in some strategy, and you are going places!
5. We are all magic. 

Also, if you're here in the Phoenix, AZ area (or know someone who is) come join me and an epic guest at the 2nd "Women with Cool Jobs" Podcast LIVE Event on January 27th, 2024, from 10:30 am -12 noon. The special guest is Lina Bearat, a transportation engineer!

Send Julie a text!!

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I absolutely LOVE being the host and producer of "Women with Cool Jobs", where I interview women who have unique, trailblazing, and innovative careers. It has been such a blessing to share stories of incredible, inspiring women since I started in 2020.

If you have benefitted from this work, or simply appreciate that I do it, please consider buying me a $5 coffee. ☕️

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/julieberman

Thank you so much for supporting me -- whether by sharing an episode with a friend, attending a LIVE WWCJ event in Phoenix, connecting with me on Instagram @womencooljobs or LinkedIn, sending me a note on my website (www.womenwithcooljobs.com), or by buying me a coffee! It all means so much. <3

Jewelry Designer  Lia Valencia Key is the designer and owner behind Valencia Key Jewelry and a sought-after speaker. She is also a walking ray of sunshine, bringing her energy and love to all she meets! 

She creates inspirational jewelry filled with meaning and intention.  It serves a beautiful, visual reminder to use light, joy, love, gratitude and peace as guiding stars. These principles allow you to unlock your strength and bravery.

Lia is an entrepreneur with immense faith, intelligence, grit and determination. She has many diverse degrees and certifications, including a master’s degree in education and a cosmetology license.

She was born and lived in the most impoverished neighborhood of Philadelphia to a single mother of three. After her mother broke her leg in several places, she could no longer pay for the tiny apartment they were living in. They immediately went to a homeless shelter, where she and her family lived for several years. She was the first person in her family and her neighborhood to get an advanced degree.

In this episode, we talk about:

• The jewelry creation process
• A lesson she learned of being a leader versus a follower at a young age
• Your ability to start planting seeds that grow and the power of your words 
• “Belief” is an action word
• Turning up the “You”

As one of the last episodes of 2023, I hope this one really speaks to your heart.

Send Julie a text!!

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I absolutely LOVE being the host and producer of "Women with Cool Jobs", where I interview women who have unique, trailblazing, and innovative careers. It has been such a blessing to share stories of incredible, inspiring women since I started in 2020.

If you have benefitted from this work, or simply appreciate that I do it, please consider buying me a $5 coffee. ☕️

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/julieberman

Thank you so much for supporting me -- whether by sharing an episode with a friend, attending a LIVE WWCJ event in Phoenix, connecting with me on Instagram @womencooljobs or LinkedIn, sending me a note on my website (www.womenwithcooljobs.com), or by buying me a coffee! It all means so much. <3

Zibby Owens has so many cool jobs that all started from her love of connecting people to books. She's an author, podcaster, publisher, indie bookstore owner, CEO, and mother of four. 

She was a stay at home mom for 11 years before starting the podcast “Moms Don't Have Time to Read Books” in 2018. Since then, she's gone on to create a book-filled empire, including becoming a(n): 

• Publisher at Zibby Books - 12 books a year in fiction and memoir
• Author of the novel Blank, that comes out March 1, 2024, and several other books, including a memoir and a children’s book
• Owner of Zibby’s Book Shop in Santa Monica, CA
• CEO of Zibby Media

 Contact Info:
Zibby Owens - Guest
Zibby's Instagram account
Zibby's website

Julie Berman - Host
www.womenwithcooljobs.com
@womencooljobs (Instagram)
Julie Berman's LinkedIn Profile 

Send Julie a text!!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I absolutely LOVE being the host and producer of "Women with Cool Jobs", where I interview women who have unique, trailblazing, and innovative careers. It has been such a blessing to share stories of incredible, inspiring women since I started in 2020.

If you have benefitted from this work, or simply appreciate that I do it, please consider buying me a $5 coffee. ☕️

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/julieberman

Thank you so much for supporting me -- whether by sharing an episode with a friend, attending a LIVE WWCJ event in Phoenix, connecting with me on Instagram @womencooljobs or LinkedIn, sending me a note on my website (www.womenwithcooljobs.com), or by buying me a coffee! It all means so much. <3

Emmy® Award winner Cynthia Summers is a costume designer who brings characters to life on TV and film through artfully and skillfully creating their costumes and accessories. With more than 60 credits (a.k.a projects) to Cynthia's name that range from fantasy to modern day and fashion-driven,  her cool job allows her to take a concept or dream and make it a reality on the screen.  

While helping create the characters and building the worlds they live in, she collaborates and works with many different people on each project, including the actors, producers, set design team, and many more.  

Her most recent work is on the scary new series “Goosebumps” that’s inspired by R.L. Stine’s bestselling books and is now available on Disney+ and Hulu.  When working on projects that are based on existing books, games, or other creative works (such as the “Goosebumps” series), she goes back to the source and does a lot of research to stay true to the core of the work and what connects it with the audience . When it's something that hasn’t existed before, she follows her intuition, experience, leans into research, and also is highly collaborative with other key stakeholders. 

We talk about:  

• The realities of balancing budget, time constraints, weather and filming conditions, and differing visions/expectations 
• The exciting details of her cool job, 
• How she approaches costume design for diverse characters 

 Some of her incredible awards and achievements include: 

•  Daytime Emmy Award in the Outstanding Costume Design category for her work on the first season of “The Baby-Sitters Club.” 
• 5 CAFTCAD Awards for the second and third seasons of the Emmy Award-nominated “A Series of Unfortunate Events,” starring Neil Patrick Harris, 
• Won and nominated for 2019 and 2020 Costume Designers Guild Awards, 
• 2 Primetime Emmy Awards (2018 and 2019) in the Outstanding Fantasy/Sci-Fi Costumes category. 
• Nominated for a 2021 Costume Designers Guild Award for Excellence in Sci-Fi/Fantasy Television for season one of “Snowpiercer,” starring Jennifer Connelly and Daveed Diggs

Contact Info:
Cynthia Summers - Guest
Cynthia's Instagram account
Cynthia's website
Goosebumps trailer

Julie Berman - Host
www.womenwithcooljobs.com
@womencooljobs (Instagram)
Julie Berman's LinkedIn Profile 
 

Send Julie a text!!

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I absolutely LOVE being the host and producer of "Women with Cool Jobs", where I interview women who have unique, trailblazing, and innovative careers. It has been such a blessing to share stories of incredible, inspiring women since I started in 2020.

If you have benefitted from this work, or simply appreciate that I do it, please consider buying me a $5 coffee. ☕️

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/julieberman

Thank you so much for supporting me -- whether by sharing an episode with a friend, attending a LIVE WWCJ event in Phoenix, connecting with me on Instagram @womencooljobs or LinkedIn, sending me a note on my website (www.womenwithcooljobs.com), or by buying me a coffee! It all means so much. <3

Ati Williams and Jessica Banks are multi-talented and multi-passionate women in the trades and STEM...and also 2 of 4 cohosts of "Hack My Home" on Netflix.. They show us why it's important to NOT be defined by the "lower third," which in TV terms means the lower part of the screen where they include your title or job description. We can be multi-faceted and multi-talented women, which is exactly what they are.
 

Ati Williams is a licensed general contractor and  renowned design-builder, owner of  Honeycomb – a renovation and design business, real estate developer, TV personality, speaker, and philanthropist. 

Jessica Banks is an inventor, roboticist,  systems engineer, designer, entrepreneur, owner of kinetic furniture company RockPaperRobot (RPR), and TV personality.  

In this episode, we talk about: 

• their winding career paths (dream jobs were astronaut & nonprofit hero)
• the importance of creating more opportunities for women by transparently sharing your experiences, salary, and more 
• why approaching new situations with curiosity can lead to opportunities 
•  why being a woman in male-dominated field gives you an advantage

 With over two decades in real estate and construction, Ati has revitalized numerous spaces, tackling everything from subtle makeovers to extensive rehabs. As one of the few black women in the construction realm, she's passionate about inspiring the next generation of female builders and entrepreneurs.  Ati was born and raised in Kenya and later ventured to Canada, attending York University in Toronto, followed by pursuing her MBA at McGill University. She now resides in the United States.

Jess also consults as a strategic and technical advisor to agencies, corporations, and designers and as a space optimizer to individual clients. Jess is a vocal proponent of female representation in STEM. She speaks publicly on topics ranging from science to entrepreneurship to manufacturing  and has degrees in both Engineering (MIT) and Physics (UofM).

Contact Info:
Ati Williams - Guest

• Ati Williams LinkedIn Profile
• Ati Williams website

Jessica Banks - Guest

• Jessica Banks LinkedIn Profile
• RockPaperRobot website

Julie Berman - Host
www.womenwithcooljobs.com
@womencooljobs (Instagram)
Julie Berman's LinkedIn Profile 

Send Julie a text!!

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I absolutely LOVE being the host and producer of "Women with Cool Jobs", where I interview women who have unique, trailblazing, and innovative careers. It has been such a blessing to share stories of incredible, inspiring women since I started in 2020.

If you have benefitted from this work, or simply appreciate that I do it, please consider buying me a $5 coffee. ☕️

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/julieberman

Thank you so much for supporting me -- whether by sharing an episode with a friend, attending a LIVE WWCJ event in Phoenix, connecting with me on Instagram @womencooljobs or LinkedIn, sending me a note on my website (www.womenwithcooljobs.com), or by buying me a coffee! It all means so much. <3

The representation of women has remained stagnant in the National Security field at about 20% across the board.

Lauren Buitta, a national security expert, is on a mission to get more women into this field. She is the founder and CEO of Girl Security – the only organization dedicated to advancing girls, women, and gender minorities in national security through supportive pathways.

There's a lot more to protecting America's interests at home than just considering intelligence and the military. There's the federal government, think tanks, and even the private sector that all play a part and make up over 160 million people in the national security industry.

Her goal is to bring more diversity into the national security workforce. This will also help shift ideological constructs to include a broader and more inclusive understanding of the factors that affect our safety and well-being in this country.

 Lauren began her career in national security in Chicago, IL, in 2003 as a policy analyst with the National Strategy Forum, a nonpartisan national security think tank. In 2009 while attending law school, Lauren launched her consulting firm, Stele Consulting, which provided support to clients on local policy issues, including exclusionary land use policies and racial segregation in Chicago.

When she considered what was needed in 2016 (and what was the beginning of Girl Security), Lauren recognized both the continued underrepresentation of women in national security and the need for a more intersectional approach to security.

 Resources

• Girl Security

Contact Info:
Lauren Bean Buitta - Guest
Lauren Bean Buitta's LinkedIn Profile
[email protected] (Email)

Julie Berman - Host
www.womenwithcooljobs.com
@womencooljobs (Instagram)
Julie Berman's LinkedIn Profile

Send Julie a text!!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I absolutely LOVE being the host and producer of "Women with Cool Jobs", where I interview women who have unique, trailblazing, and innovative careers. It has been such a blessing to share stories of incredible, inspiring women since I started in 2020.

If you have benefitted from this work, or simply appreciate that I do it, please consider buying me a $5 coffee. ☕️

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/julieberman

Thank you so much for supporting me -- whether by sharing an episode with a friend, attending a LIVE WWCJ event in Phoenix, connecting with me on Instagram @womencooljobs or LinkedIn, sending me a note on my website (www.womenwithcooljobs.com), or by buying me a coffee! It all means so much. <3

It's the 3rd Podversary episode, and Julie is so excited to celebrate the 3rd anniversary of "Women with Cool Jobs"!!  To celebrate this milestone, Julie asked the award-winning filmmaker and musician, Jillian Speece, to cohost this episode with her. ( She also helped Julie co-host her 50th episode.) 

To celebrate this occasion, you can also join Julie for the first in-person, live event on Saturday, October 7th, from 10:30 AM to 12:00 noon in Scottsdale, Arizona. The amazing Dr. Nika Gueci, who is the Executive Director of ASU’s Center for Mindfulness, Compassion & Resilience, is our special guest. You can find the details here:  

• https://womenwithcooljobs.eventbrite.com

Jillian Speece is a woman with heart and vision, and Julie is so glad to call her a friend. Jillian is one part of a duo with partner Nathaniel Paul Hoff  in a band called "The Bergamot." Together, they created an incredible film called “State of the Unity” -- an 8 year journey that meant traveling to all 50 states and inviting thousands of people to write their messages of unity on the Unity car. (Julie met them while they were in Phoenix in 2016, and she got to sign the car.) 

State of the Unity was selected and screened at 36 prestigious film festivals worldwide and garnered 20 awards, including the Grand Jury and Best Documentary Feature awards at the Las Cruces International Film Festival in New Mexico (2023).
 

In this episode, we talk about: 

• what it takes to go from an idea, a whisper, or an inner knowing  to starting a journey where you don't know exactly where the path will take you or how it will look at the end 
• what is needed to get through those in between moments when following your dreams 
• what it's like to be an independent creator and some of the lifestyle implications and sacrifices it takes 
• the unexpected joys and miracles along the way 
• how to approach a moment where you will be reaching new heights and have new experiences; your rocket ship is about to launch 

You can support Jillian by purchasing “State of the Unity” starting October 6th on Apple TV, Amazon prime, and many other video-on-demand services. 


 Contact Info:
Jillian Speece
"State of the Unity" on Apple TV
thebergamot.com
@jillianspeece (Instagram)
@thebergamot (Instagram)

Julie Berman - Host
www.womenwithcooljobs.com

Send Julie a text!!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I absolutely LOVE being the host and producer of "Women with Cool Jobs", where I interview women who have unique, trailblazing, and innovative careers. It has been such a blessing to share stories of incredible, inspiring women since I started in 2020.

If you have benefitted from this work, or simply appreciate that I do it, please consider buying me a $5 coffee. ☕️

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/julieberman

Thank you so much for supporting me -- whether by sharing an episode with a friend, attending a LIVE WWCJ event in Phoenix, connecting with me on Instagram @womencooljobs or LinkedIn, sending me a note on my website (www.womenwithcooljobs.com), or by buying me a coffee! It all means so much. <3