Women with Cool Jobs

Alisha Fernandez Miranda is an expert and leader in corporate philanthropy and social impact (a former CEO and current chair of a consultancy) who helps large companies and organizations spend their money well and in a way that aligns with their mission and goals. On the flip side, she helps nonprofits successfully raise more money so they can further their mission and make a greater impact in the world. Alisha’s also the author of My What If Year, an epic adventure during the pandemic of 4 different internship experiences while managing life as a mom, wife, and chief executive! 

In 2019, Alisha had checked her life boxes of a Harvard degree, a successful career, a beautiful family, and a nice home. Yet as she approached her 40th birthday, she was questioning whether things felt right. Was she happy? The result was Alicia temporarily stepping away from her job as CEO and doing 4 internships that took her to Broadway, a retro fitness brand, the London art scene, and a Scottish luxury hotel. 

In this episode, we talk about: 

• What it was like growing her business, career, and family and having the courage to take a break and make space for something new?  What's it like to go from being CEO to being a beginner again? 
• What is "corporate philanthropy" and "social impact"? What does a consultant do in this field? Why is it a dream job for many people? 
• How can you take your own “What If?” moments? How can you explor some ways to bring joy into your life?

Alisha helped found I.G. Advisors, an award-winning consultancy that works with organizations and individuals and specializes in philanthropy, corporate impact, and fundraising advice. I.G.'s clients include many incredible organizations, such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Oxfam, Adobe, DLA Piper, The Old Vic, UN Women, Primark and many others.

 Alisha is a Cuban-American, born and raised in Miami, who has spent her adult life in New York and London. She is currently based in Scotland with her twins and husband.
 
Resources:

• iRelaunch

This podcast is sponsored by:

Get SPARKED!!

Does one of these feel like you?

• You're not sure what you want to be when you grow up.
• You're in a time of transition or reinvention.
• You’re so busy and you’ve put yourself on the backburner for awhile.

If so, are you looking to add more of what sparks you and fulfills you into your life or at work? If yes, it's time to Get SPARKED!!

• The more you align what you do with your deeper impulses, you’re more likely to feel that your work: energizes and excites you, drops you into flow, and lets you fully express your potential and show up as your best self.

Get started by learning your Sparketype (it’s free) to find out what sparks you! Got your Sparketype results, but you're not sure what's next or how to apply it to your life? Did you know Julie is a Sparkologist in addition to being a Podcast Host & Producer? Work with Julie!! Schedule HERE to do a free, quick debrief to see how you can take action right away to add more of what sparks you to life and work.

...

Karen Santucci is a veteran court reporter who is now the Director of the Court Reporting Program at Plaza College in Forest Hills, New York. Court reporters play an essential and required role in judicial proceedings, plus they do captioning work when requested in relation to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA.) It’s a cool way to get into the courtroom without being a lawyer or judge, or it allows you to learn about all sorts of things while doing captioning!

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Court reporters have a critical role in legal proceedings, which require an exact record of what occurred. These workers are responsible for producing a complete, accurate, and secure transcript of depositions, trials, and other legal proceedings." In regards to captioning work, this is closed captioning on televisions, and also with college students, business meetings, or anyone that requests to have a court reporter to take down the meeting, lesson, or event on the steno machine.

Karen Santucci began her court reporting career right after high school. After graduating Stenotype Institute in Manhattan , she started working at the Queens County Grand Jury where she eventually became the Assistant Supervisor of the Grand Jury Reporters. After many years, she left to raise her 3 children. In 2001, she returned to the field as a court reporting instructor and realized her true calling was teaching and encouraging people to enter this great profession. Now, she's helping the next generation of court reporters through her role as an educator.

We discuss how diverse and flexible this career path is (so it's awesome for moms looking for jobs with flexible schedules) and how they need more people now. Demand is high, and people just don't know about this job and how many opportunities there are in the courts, classrooms, or even at the Grammy's!

Resources

• National Court Reporters Association (NCRA) 
• Plaza College -- School of Court Reporting

Contact Info:
Karen Santucci  - Guest
[email protected]

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

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Wishing you had your own cool job??

• Not sure what you want to be when you grow up?
• In a time of transition or reinvention?
• Are you so busy that you’ve put yourself on the backburner for awhile?

Get Sparked!
Understand yourself better and learn what feels exciting and fulfilling for you.

Not sure where to start?

Julie can help you figure out what lights you up and fulfills you, so you can do a cool job, too!

• Schedule HERE to do a free, quick debrief to see how you can add more of what sparks you to life and work.

Julie Berman is a Sparkologist in addition to being the Podcast Host & Producer of "Women with Cool Jobs".

Karen Santucci is a veteran court reporter who is now the Director of the Court Reporting Program at Plaza College in Forest Hills, New York. Court reporters play an essential and required role in judicial proceedings, plus they do captioning work when requested in relation to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA.) It’s a cool way to get into the courtroom without being a lawyer or judge, or it allows you to learn about all sorts of things while doing captioning!

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Court reporters have a critical role in legal proceedings, which require an exact record of what occurred. These workers are responsible for producing a complete, accurate, and secure transcript of depositions, trials, and other legal proceedings." In regards to captioning work, this is closed captioning on televisions, and also with college students, business meetings, or anyone that requests to have a court reporter to take down the meeting, lesson, or event on the steno machine.

Karen Santucci began her court reporting career right after high school. After graduating Stenotype Institute in Manhattan , she started working at the Queens County Grand Jury where she eventually became the Assistant Supervisor of the Grand Jury Reporters. After many years, she left to raise her 3 children. In 2001, she returned to the field as a court reporting instructor and realized her true calling was teaching and encouraging people to enter this great profession. Now, she's helping the next generation of court reporters through her role as an educator.

We discuss how diverse and flexible this career path is (so it's awesome for moms looking for jobs with flexible schedules) and how they need more people now. Demand is high, and people just don't know about this job and how many opportunities there are in the courts, classrooms, or even at the Grammy's!

Resources

• National Court Reporters Association (NCRA) 
• Plaza College -- School of Court Reporting

Contact Info:
Karen Santucci  - Guest
[email protected]

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

Ayse Birsel is one of the world’s leading industrial designers. She's designed everything from kitchen gadgets, to toilets, office furniture, concept cars, and so much more. (You’ve probably held or sat on something she has designed for Miller Knoll, Target, TOTO, Toyota, or IKEA, among many others.) She's earned awesome nicknames: Queen of Toilets, Queen Bee (for offices), and Design Evangelista. Plus, she's an author and her most recent book is called Design the Long Life You Love: A Step-by-Step Guide to Love, Purpose, Well-Being, and Friendship. Her most recent book teaches us use industrial design principles -- optimism, empathy, collaboration, open-mindedness, and holistic thinking -- so we can purposefully design a long, wonderful life based on the insights she learned after 1 year of research and collaboration with older adults on the pioneering frontiers of long life.

We talk about:

• What is an industrial designer?
• Why she loves design
• Her design-thinking process called Deconstruction: Reconstruction (DE:RE) 
• The role of play and optimism, plus bringing new solutions to old problems
• How to design a long life you love
• How to learn about and explore a career in industrial design

Among Ayse's many accomplishments and accolades, she is one of Fast Company’s Most Creative People In Business and Interior Design Magazine recognized her as the Best Of Year Product Designer of 2020. Her work can be found in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).

Contact Info:
Ayse Birsel - Guest
aysebirsel.com
@designthelifeyoulove (Instagram)
Ayse Birsel (LinkedIn)


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

Ayse Birsel is one of the world’s leading industrial designers. She's designed everything from kitchen gadgets, to toilets, office furniture, concept cars, and so much more. (You’ve probably held or sat on something she has designed for Miller Knoll, Target, TOTO, Toyota, or IKEA, among many others.) She's earned awesome nicknames: Queen of Toilets, Queen Bee (for offices), and Design Evangelista. Plus, she's an author and her most recent book is called Design the Long Life You Love: A Step-by-Step Guide to Love, Purpose, Well-Being, and Friendship. Her most recent book teaches us use industrial design principles -- optimism, empathy, collaboration, open-mindedness, and holistic thinking -- so we can purposefully design a long, wonderful life based on the insights she learned after 1 year of research and collaboration with older adults on the pioneering frontiers of long life.

We talk about:

• What is an industrial designer?
• Why she loves design
• Her design-thinking process called Deconstruction: Reconstruction (DE:RE) 
• The role of play and optimism, plus bringing new solutions to old problems
• How to design a long life you love
• How to learn about and explore a career in industrial design

Among Ayse's many accomplishments and accolades, she is one of Fast Company’s Most Creative People In Business and Interior Design Magazine recognized her as the Best Of Year Product Designer of 2020. Her work can be found in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).

Contact Info:
Ayse Birsel - Guest
aysebirsel.com
@designthelifeyoulove (Instagram)
Ayse Birsel (LinkedIn)


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

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

Wishing you had your own cool job??

• Not sure what you want to be when you grow up?
• In a time of transition or reinvention?
• Are you so busy that you’ve put yourself on the backburner for awhile?

Get Sparked!
Understand yourself better and learn what feels exciting and fulfilling for you.

Not sure where to start?

Julie can help you figure out what lights you up and fulfills you, so you can do a cool job, too!

• Schedule HERE to do a free, quick debrief to see how you can add more of what sparks you to life and work.

Julie Berman is a Sparkologist in addition to being the Podcast Host & Producer of "Women with Cool Jobs".

Pilar Flynn is a co-executive producer/showrunner at the Walt Disney Company where she's producing the animated TV series “Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur,” which is  based on Marvel's hit comic books.

Pilar is involved in both the business side and the creative side of producing, which is rare. She's a Latina and mom of 2 girls that grew up in Chile and Ecuador. She dreamt of working in the entertainment industry and wanted to be a storyteller. Now, Mickey Mouse is her boss! 

She began her animation career at DreamWorks where she co-produced the award-winning short, "First Flight," and worked on the production of films such as "The Road to El Dorado," "Sinbad," "Spirit," "Madagascar" and "Flushed Away." Pilar then went on to serve as associate producer of the animated feature film "Astroboy." She also co-produced the groundbreaking R-rated animated feature "Sausage Party" starring Seth Rogen.

Pilar is a true leader that values her team and their contributions. She leads with kindness, creativity, and vulnerability. As a result, people trust her and also feel empowered to be creative, solve problems, and take risks. She's also a huge champion of creating more opportunities for diversity and inclusion on show teams and in storylines.

Her most recent project is “Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur,” which is all about a super-smart, Black teenage superhero who roller skates and saves the day with her 10-ton dinosaur that loves hot dogs.  It's out in February 2023. The characters and cast are diverse. The creative style and music are fun, colorful, and unique. Moon Girl says, “One girl can make a difference.” Pilar is  one woman making a difference, too!


Resources:

• Women in Animation
•  LatinX in Animation (LXIA) 
•  Black 'N Animated 
•  Asians in Animation (aka AnimAsians)
• The Animation Guild

Contact Info:
Pilar Flynn - Guest
@pilar.flynn (Instagram)
Pilar Flynn (LinkedIn)

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

Pilar Flynn is a co-executive producer/showrunner at the Walt Disney Company where she's producing the animated TV series “Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur,” which is  based on Marvel's hit comic books.

Pilar is involved in both the business side and the creative side of producing, which is rare. She's a Latina and mom of 2 girls that grew up in Chile and Ecuador. She dreamt of working in the entertainment industry and wanted to be a storyteller. Now, Mickey Mouse is her boss! 

She began her animation career at DreamWorks where she co-produced the award-winning short, "First Flight," and worked on the production of films such as "The Road to El Dorado," "Sinbad," "Spirit," "Madagascar" and "Flushed Away." Pilar then went on to serve as associate producer of the animated feature film "Astroboy." She also co-produced the groundbreaking R-rated animated feature "Sausage Party" starring Seth Rogen.

Pilar is a true leader that values her team and their contributions. She leads with kindness, creativity, and vulnerability. As a result, people trust her and also feel empowered to be creative, solve problems, and take risks. She's also a huge champion of creating more opportunities for diversity and inclusion on show teams and in storylines.

Her most recent project is “Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur,” which is all about a super-smart, Black teenage superhero who roller skates and saves the day with her 10-ton dinosaur that loves hot dogs.  It's out in February 2023. The characters and cast are diverse. The creative style and music are fun, colorful, and unique. Moon Girl says, “One girl can make a difference.” Pilar is  one woman making a difference, too!


Resources:

• Women in Animation
•  LatinX in Animation (LXIA) 
•  Black 'N Animated 
•  Asians in Animation (aka AnimAsians)
• The Animation Guild

Contact Info:
Pilar Flynn - Guest
@pilar.flynn (Instagram)
Pilar Flynn (LinkedIn)

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

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

Wishing you had your own cool job??

• Not sure what you want to be when you grow up?
• In a time of transition or reinvention?
• Are you so busy that you’ve put yourself on the backburner for awhile?

Get Sparked!
Understand yourself better and learn what feels exciting and fulfilling for you.

Not sure where to start?

Julie can help you figure out what lights you up and fulfills you, so you can do a cool job, too!

• Schedule HERE to do a free, quick debrief to see how you can add more of what sparks you to life and work.

Julie Berman is a Sparkologist in addition to being the Podcast Host & Producer of "Women with Cool Jobs".

Do you feel like you did all the "right" things? You checked all the boxes. Maybe you got that degree. You have the experience. You got married. Or you had 2.5 kids. But despite all these "right" moves, does something still feel like it's missing, not aligned, or just plain wrong?

Julie shares her story of how she thought she was going the "right" direction, a big lesson learned, and 3 questions to ask yourself so you can figure out the best next "right" turn for you in 2023.


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

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

Wishing you had your own cool job??

• Not sure what you want to be when you grow up?
• In a time of transition or reinvention?
• Are you so busy that you’ve put yourself on the backburner for awhile?

Get Sparked!
Understand yourself better and learn what feels exciting and fulfilling for you.

Not sure where to start?

Julie can help you figure out what lights you up and fulfills you, so you can do a cool job, too!

• Schedule HERE to do a free, quick debrief to see how you can add more of what sparks you to life and work.

Julie Berman is a Sparkologist in addition to being the Podcast Host & Producer of "Women with Cool Jobs".

Do you feel like you did all the "right" things? You checked all the boxes. Maybe you got that degree. You have the experience. You got married. Or you had 2.5 kids. But despite all these "right" moves, does something still feel like it's missing, not aligned, or just plain wrong?

Julie shares her story of how she thought she was going the "right" direction, a big lesson learned, and 3 questions to ask yourself so you can figure out the best next "right" turn for you in 2023.


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

Understanding your ability vs. your capacity can empower you to live a sparked life. You're living now with your current abilities that are based off everything you've done and the person you've been up to this point. Your capacity is what you are capable of doing and who you are capable of being in the future. Your capacity is infinite, which means you have the power to explore who you’re meant to be, what you’re meant to be doing, and how you're going to serve the world in your own special way.

Julie learned this incredible concept from life coach and brilliant entrepreneur, Brooke Castillo, while attending her live event in Phoenix, AZ. She felt so connected to this message and how empowering it is, because the women who have been guests on this podcast have demonstrated that they have this beautiful infinite capacity--just like you, just like her, just like every single human being on this planet-- for what is possible for us in the future.

You can take small, tiny steps and those small, tiny steps add up to something big. They put you on a completely new path that maybe you never even could dream up for yourself, because you are a person who has infinite capacity.

Julie challenges you to act. Write down what is one small, tiny step that you can take to fulfill something that leads you to your future capacity. What can you do? What is that new action? Are you up for her challenge to discover what you are capable of?

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