2023 Highlights
Amazing women's voices & stories
As the new year approaches, let’s celebrate the voices and stories that gave this newsletter shape in the year that was — and toast to new voices and stories in the year ahead!
Early in 2023, I interviewed the inimitable Ada Williams Prince of Pivotal Ventures (a client of Mighty Forces), who said the following: “…The look in someone’s eyes the moment they begin to recognize their own power…that’s my fuel.” SAME, ADA. She also told us, “My team is unofficially (but officially) known as Team Wakanda. They’ve created a world built around afrofuturism and the strength of women…Even when the Black Panther was a man, the story largely evolved around power and leadership of women — as is often the case in our companies, families, organizations and the world.” (Connect with Ada on LinkedIn.)
With loneliness at epidemic levels (not just my opinion — the surgeon general says so), I turned to brilliant workplace experience expert and client Mirit Cohen to share how work can actually BOOST our wellbeing (instead of turning us into empty husks that #hustle capitalism has drained of our very life force). She wisely counseled that companies stop thinking about the experience thier workplaces offer in terms of “perks”: "Our experience of work isn’t about the perks we do or don’t receive, it’s about our emotional, psychological, and physical wellbeing as humans.” (Connect with Mirit on LinkedIn.)
And then there was Sofia Corcho, whose story blew me away. HUGE thanks to writer Christine Taylor for connecting us. As Christine tells it, “I met Sofia at my high school reunion — she’s married to a guy I went to school with. After talking with her for a few minutes, I said, ‘You’re smarter than he is, aren’t you?’ And she smiled and said, ‘Yes.’” When Sofia and I connected by Zoom, she told me this story:
I came to the U.S. at 23 with $20. My first conversation in the country, the customs officer asked, “Where are you from?”
“Colombia,” I said.
“Are you hiding cocaine?”
This was my first interaction. I thought, “Wow, this is going to be tough.”
What I said: “Sorry, I don’t have any for you.”
No one will put me in a box.
Do yourself a favor and read our full conversation; I dare you not to be inspired. (Connect with Sofia on LinkedIn.)
Continuing with the theme of “Thank goodness for the amazing women I know who introduce me to other amazing women,” this year the fabulous Lisa Gates (who teaches a class for LinkedIn on coaching and developing employees) connected me with Jay Fields, an embodiment coach with whom I immediately felt a deep connection.
What’s an “embodiment coach,” you ask? “‘Embodiment’ means experiencing yourself and the world, versus thinking about yourself and the world,” Jay explains. Imagine that. And then there’s this: “Being smart isn’t enough. We don’t need more brilliant minds — we need embodied people who know how to relate.” Can I get an amen?! (Connect with Jay on LinkedIn.)
And then there was Venu Gupta. Venu admires and follows my client, the wise and mighty Suzanne Ehlers, on LinkedIn; she saw a lovely shout-out that Suzanne gave me there, which prompted her to hire me for a LinkedIn Makeover. From moment one, we vibed — hard. I just knew this was a woman I wanted more of in my life.
Venu and I ended up having a wide ranging conversation that I appreciate so much for its complete avoidance of typical “so what do you do”-type questions — we just got very real, very fast, covering everything from LA Law to travel as a form of escape. We talked a lot about power:
“I've been thinking about power and what it means to have it and what a corrupting force it is,” Venu told me. “And why it's so seductive for so many people, not for everybody, but many — something in the way we're wired. And it seems particularly sought after in the United States and maybe Western European countries. And I guess that to me is potentially derivative of not having a more spiritual centered life, where something else is more important than power.”
Some of you know that back in the day, improv comedy was the center of my life. My improv team, JINX (part of DC’s Washington Improv Theater) was my second family; we traveled to comedy festivals together, and practiced and performed together constantly. We even had a Cheers-like bar we frequented. On that team was none other than writer, comedian, and actress Aparna Nancherla, who has gone on to become famous for her stand-up, as well as for roles on shows like Bojack Horseman and Corporate.
This fall, Aparna published her first book, Unreliable Narrator: Me, Myself & Imposter Syndrome, and I was so happy to interview her about it and its themes, including social media and mental health. She told me, “My own brain constantly toggles between managing my mental well-being and creative expression. The same brain that sees things as particularly, inextricably doomed or hopeless can at other times step back and frame the whole struggle as absurd, laughable, and ridiculous. It’s a constant zooming in and out of perspective, and I try to remember both things are a part of me.” (Follow Aparna on Instagram.)
As someone with several close family members who are neurodivergent, I am passionate about creating a world that is more inclusive of neurodivergent folks, and about raising awareness of the extent to which ADHD and autism are still missed in girls and women (since diagnostic criteria center on male norms). I put out a call for neurodivergent women’s stories, and my friend Eden, whom I know because our kids were in daycare together in Brooklyn back in the day, recommended I speak to Julia Armet, who had just led an Unmasking Neurodivergence workshop at the company where Eden works (you can learn more about this and other workshops that Julia offers here).
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Julia shared how attending NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study was such a great fit for her — “I experienced what was possible when you as the student design your own educational journey” — something that resonated deeply for me given my rocky college experience. She also shared how, early in her career, she internalized the idea that she had to play a part in order to be accepted. She would tell herself, “Okay, I can't go too much into my authenticity because if I become too authentic, I'm going to be ostracized.” I bet every single one of you reading this can relate to that. (Connect with Julia on LinkedIn.)
Last but definitely not least, I interviewed Jimi Okubanjo, a management consultant and filmmaker I met earlier in the year through my work with the Healthcare Businesswomen Association’s Gender Equity Think Tank. Jimi screened her documentary, Arise Firebird, for us, and the stories about abuse that she and other women of color experienced in the workplace were so powerful. When we spoke, Jimi reflected that ”many of my friends and colleagues didn't realize how bad it was for me, until this was a film, even though they were in my life when it was happening.” She also compares DE&I work to mayonnaise, and you’re going to have to read our conversation to find out why :). (Connect with Jimi on LinkedIn.)
….And reader, these are just a FRACTION of the amazing women with whom I interacted in 2023. We are everywhere, folks — and when we take the time to amplify each other, we rewrite the story of the world.
Who should I interview in 2024?
Finally, a reminder that you (yes, you) are a mighty force, and the world is richer when we hear your voice, your stories, and your ideas. Follow Mighty Forces on LinkedIn for weekly prompts to inspire you to share more.
Happy almost-new year!
Amanda