Stay ConnectedA podcast for working parents presented by Lori Mihalich-Levin, JD, founder of Mindful Return, and Jason Levin, MBA, founder of Ready Set Launch, exploring work-life integration in all different roles, industries, and professions.
Techniques for parents in dealing with everything from sleep deprivation and managing work-life issues, to help you excel at work while also raising your family.
Copyright: © 2019
Lori Mihalich-Levin and Jason Levin continue with their two-part series on an issue that working parents in all careers, roles, and industries struggle with: how household labor gets divided.
In the second part of this series, Lori and Jason are excited to have an amazing dad, Sergio Rosario, joining them to carry on the conversation about the important, emotionally-charged, and controversial topic of who does what in the home!
Sergio was born and raised in Puerto Rico. Nine years ago, his life and work brought him to Virginia. He met his beautiful wife, also from Puerto Rico, and a US Army officer, seven years ago. They live in Fayetteville, North Carolina, but they will soon be moving back to Virginia. Sergio is a social worker, musician, educator, fatherhood advocate, the founder of Soy Super Papa, and the course coach and lead for Mindful Return’s Spanish Language Working Dad Course. Sergio and his wife have a five-year-old daughter named Stella.
In this episode of Parents at Work, Sergio dives into what makes household labor a critical topic and why it is so full of emotion. He offers some excellent advice to help couples start a conversation about household labor and avoid allowing emotion to interfere with our discussions about chores. He also talks about the benefits of good communication and explains how he progressed towards taking responsibility in his relationship.
Stay tuned to today’s conversation to hear what Sergio has to say about finding common ground around a healthy division of household labor!
Show highlights:
Links and resources:
Mindful Return’s Spanish Language Working Dad Course
Mentioned in this episode:
Get the new book: Relationships to Infinity, the Art and Science of Keeping In Touch from Ready, Set, Launch
Head over to www.readysetlaunch.net to grab your copy of the book, Relationships to Infinity, the Art and Science of Keeping In Touch.
In this episode, Lori Mihalich-Levin and Jason Levin took a detour from their usual pattern of interviewing moms and dads in different industries and sectors to discuss an issue that all working parents struggle with - how household labor gets divided. They have created a two-part series of special guests to dive into this important, juicy, and emotionally-charged topic!
Today, Lori and Jason are delighted to welcome Eve Rodsky to the podcast. Eve is a mom and a working parent celebrity. She is the author of the New York Times best-selling book Fair Play: A Game-Changing Solution for When You Have Too Much to Do (and More Life to Live). She is also the author of the brand-new book, Find Your Unicorn Space: Reclaim Your Creative Life in a Too-Busy World.
Eve is a lawyer, and she has done extensive work in family mediation, strategy, and organizational management. She is married to Seth, and they have three children. Zach is thirteen, Ben is ten, and Anna is five.
In this episode of Parents at Work, Eve unpacks the relationship evolution that takes place in a marriage after the children come along. She shares the Fair Play origin story, explains the power of having systems in place, and plays a game with the Fair Play cards to help couples understand how baggage and assumptions make things emotionally charged.
Tune into today’s conversation to learn about the value of systems and find out how couples can share household chores without triggering each other.
Show highlights:
Mentioned in this episode:
Provide an Employee Benefit for Moms Returning After Maternity Leave
Join over 75 companies who currently provide an employee benefit course to new Moms. Mindful Return is a 4 week course that will help your employee retention at this critical time in your employee's life.
Lori Mihalich-Levin and Jason Levin continue with their tradition of interviewing moms and dads in different industries and sectors. In this episode of Parents at Work, Lori and Jason focus on the narrow yet important niche of dads in executive search and interview the dynamic dads, Julian Ha and Patrick Gray!
Julian has been an Executive Search Consultant for more than fifteen years. He is a former corporate attorney, venture capitalist, and investment banker. He is a partner with Heidrick & Struggles, based in Washington DC, and a member of the firm’s CEO and Board practice. He leads the firm’s global Government Affairs and Trade Association work and co-leads their Professionals of Color Employee Resource Group.
Julian has been married to his wife, Annette, for almost twenty years. They have two teenage boys, a ten-year-old daughter, and a rescue dog called Blake.
Patrick is a former US Army Intelligence Officer. He has been an Executive Search Consultant for almost twenty years. He established the DC area office in the Aerospace and Defence practice at Raines International, and he leads their Industrial practice. Raines is an executive search and leadership advisory firm with nine offices.
Patrick has been married to his wife, Megan, for 24 years, and they have four children. Aiden is 21, Colin is 18, Rylan is 15, and Tristan is 13.
Today, Julian and Patrick share candidly about their lives as working parents. They talk about what it is like to be dads in executive search and dive into workplace flexibility, support, normalizing paternity leave, and shaping the conversation around working parenthood.
Stay tuned today to hear Julian and Patrick’s uplifting working dad stories!
Show highlights:
Links and resources:
The Aerospace, Defense, and Government Services at Raines International
The Association of Executive Search Consultants
Books mentioned:
Relationships to Infinity: The Art and Science of Keeping in Touch, by Jason Levin
The 4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss
Mentioned in this episode:
Get the new book: Relationships to Infinity, the Art and Science of Keeping In Touch from Ready, Set, Launch
Head over to www.readysetlaunch.net to grab your copy of the book, Relationships to Infinity, the Art and Science of Keeping In Touch.
Lori Mihalich-Levin and Jason Levin are happy to be back after a winter hiatus! In this episode of Parents at Work, they pick up on their tradition of interviewing moms and dads in various industries and sectors.
Today, Lori and Jason talk to two inspiring moms, Christina Cary and Debbie Tang, both professionals in executive search.
Christina is a partner at Heidrick & Struggles. Her search work focuses on functional roles in human resources, including CHRO, CPO, divisional and regional heads of HR, and centers of excellence leaders in talent management, talent acquisition, learning and development, HR operations, total rewards, and diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Christina is a member of the Georgetown University board of governors. She is a former president of Hoyas Unlimited, Georgetown’s annual fundraising arm for athletics that supports excellence across all the university’s 29 intercollegiate sports.
Christina’s most important job is being a mom to her son Benjamin and daughter Abigail. Benjamin, known as Ben, Bennie, or Bubba, is a funny, curious, and loving little boy who will turn five in June. Abigail, also known as Abby, is a rambunctious, smiley, fearless little girl who will be two in April. Christina is married to Patrick (Pat), and the Carey family resides in Bethesda, Maryland.
Debbie Tang is a partner at Bridge Partners, a black-owned executive search firm focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Debbie leads global executive searches in both the private and public sectors, from Fortune 100 companies to universities, non-profits, and government agencies. She recruits diverse senior executives across all functions, including CEO, CFO, General Counsels, Chief Legal Officers, Board, and regulatory leaders, in a wide variety of industries.
Debbie is actively involved in the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association of the District of Columbia. She is also on the board of the Washington Project for the Arts and the Norwood School. She received a BA degree from McGill University and a JD from Washington and Lee School of Law, where she served on the Editorial Board of The Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice.
Debbie has a nine-year-old son, Ben, and a six-year-old daughter called C.C.
In today’s conversation, Christina and Debbie talk openly and honestly about being parents in executive search. They share their struggles, talk about workplace support systems, and get into finding the right work-life balance. They also discuss the value of developing relationships with colleagues who are also parents and the support systems they would like to have in the workplace.
Stay tuned today to hear Debbie and Christina’s encouraging accounts of their lives as working moms.
Show highlights:
Links and resources:
Books mentioned:
Back to Work After Baby: How to Plan and Navigate a Mindful Return from Maternity Leave by Lori Mihalich-Levin
Relationships to Infinity: The Art and Science of Keeping in Touch by Jason Levin
Playful Parenting by Lawrence J. Cohen
In this episode of Parents at Work, Lori Mihalich-Levin and Jason Levin continue with their tradition of interviewing moms and dads in various professional roles.
Today, Lori and Jason talk to two amazing CEO dads, Bob Spagnoletti and Charles Bonello. Bob serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the District of Columbia Bar, and Charlie is the Co-founder and CEO of Vivvi, a provider of childcare and early education for children of all ages.
The District of Columbia Bar is the largest integrated bar in the United States, with over 110,000 members practicing in fifty states and more than eighty countries. Bob also serves as the Executive Vice President of the DC Bar Pro Bono Center, an independent 501(c)(3) affiliate of the DC Bar. The Pro Bono Center recruits, trains, and mobilizes volunteer attorneys to take pro bono cases, serving individuals living in poverty who are at risk of losing their homes, livelihoods, and families. Bob and his husband, Bernard, have been together for twenty years. They have two boys, Hunter and Anthony, and one grandson.
Vivvi has programs across the country, including on-campus, in-home, in-office, and virtual tutoring. Vivvi partners with employers of all different sizes to make child care more accessible and affordable to provide parents with peace of mind and allow employers the most powerful tool for recruiting retention and productivity. Before co-founding Vivvi, Charlie co-founded Grand Central Tech and was a venture partner at RTP Ventures. He is a graduate of Tufts University and currently lives in New York with his wife and their three children.
In today’s conversation, Bob and Charlie share their respective journeys as working fathers who also happen to be CEOs. Bob talks about his and his husband’s experience of fostering and then adopting children as a same-sex couple. Charlie describes what it was like to go from an academic exercise in childcare to needing childcare in real life. They also discuss what it has been like, day-to-day, being both parents and CEOs, how their parenting experiences have enhanced their careers, and how their careers have helped them become better parents. Stay tuned to hear Bob and Charlie’s inspiring stories!
Show highlights:
Links and resources:
Management Time: Who’s Got the Monkey, HBR article by William Oncken, Jr. and Donald L. Wass
Books mentioned:
The Pout-Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen
Setting the Table by Danny Meyer
Jason Levin’s upcoming book, Relationships to Infinity: The Art and Science of Keeping In Touch, will debut in January of 2022.
Lori Mihalich-Levin and Jason Levin are back after taking a break to take an 8,153-mile car trip across the country! In this episode of Parents at Work, Lori and Jason interview Christian Nunes and Radhika Patil, two inspiring CEO moms.
Christian Nunes, MBA, MS, LCSW, is the National President of the National Organization for Women (NOW). She has been the National President since August 2020. Before that, she was appointed Vice President by the board in May 2019. Christian is the second African American president in the organization’s history, the youngest person of color, and the youngest president of the organization in more than 40 years. Christian leads the organization through an intersectional lens and brings together a diverse affiliation of grassroots activists to work against structural sexism and racism. In addition, Christian is the founder of a behavioral health and consulting practice. Her mental health expertise assists her in understanding the constituents’ experience. It also helps her understand where policy and legislation are disconnected from the real experience of the people. Christian lives with her 2-year-old son, CJ, near Washington, D.C. Christian and CJ love taking short day trips to parks, outdoor festivals, zoos, and farms in the DMV area in their spare time.
Radhika Patil is the co-founder and CEO of Cradlewise and mom to a 7-year old and a 4-year-old. Cradlewise is a baby tech company based in Silicon Valley. Their first product is a smart crib for babies with an integrated contactless baby monitor that automatically starts rocking along with music to soothe the baby back to sleep, just like a parent, at the first signs of wakeup. Since building the crib for her babies, Radhika has been on a sleep fitness mission to help other parents. Radhika’s husband is the other co-founder of Cradlewise. In her spare time, Radhika loves to hike, garden, and read books with her kids.
In today’s conversation, Christian and Radhika give open and candid accounts of their experiences as working parents who also happen to be CEOs of organizations. They talk about the workplace supports they enjoyed after becoming parents and those they would like to have had. They also discuss the career-related skills their parenthood experience helped them develop, recount parenthood-related micro-aggressions they have experienced, share their best advice for navigating life as a working parent, and much, much more! Stay tuned to hear the motivating and encouraging conversation with these two amazing working moms!
Show highlights:
Links and resources:
Welcome to Your Child’s Brain by Sam Wang and Sandra Aamodt
In this episode of Parents at Work, Lori Mihalich-Levin and Jason Levin interview Mark Versen and Dale Wright. Mark is the Chief Development Officer (CDO) of the Lutheran Family Services of Nebraska, Inc. In 2020, he set a record for total annual fundraising by hitting $7 Million including the largest gift in Lutheran Family Services history of the 128 years of $3 Million while surpassing 22% growth in total number of donors. Mark is a seasoned professional with experience in private and public higher education institutions and executive leadership in the health and human services non-profit sector. He’s a firm believer that philanthropy changes lives. Mark and his wife Jesse have two children and they reside in Louisville, Nebraska.
Dale is the Associate Dean and Chief Advancement Officer for the Grainger College of Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He’s responsible for the strategy and operations on fundraising and constituent engagement, and he’s the campaigns director for the college’s $550 Million goal in the With Illinois $2.25 Billion comprehensive campaign. As of today, the college is at 109% of its goal. Over the last 20+ years, Dale has held a variety of alumni and fundraising engagement goals in higher education. He’s an active CASE volunteer and also holds membership in organizations such as the African American Development Officers Network and The Association of Fundraising Professionals. He’s also involved in other non-profit work as well including serving on the executive committee of the board of directors for the American Legion, Boys State of Missouri. Dale loves his family and knows he wouldn't be where he is today without the support of his wife and his four daughters.
It’s going to be a really interesting episode as these two dads talk about the most exciting things in fundraising, how they look at things from a completely different angle in order to change advancement, the power of integrating ones family into their work, and the working parenthood challenges they’ve successfully navigated all through their careers. Tune in and get inspired.
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Links and Resources
In this episode of Parents at Work, Lori Mihalich-Levin and Jason Levin interview two amazing working moms who are leaders in the fundraising profession, Pradnya Haldipur and Kara Barnes.
Pradnya Haldipur is the Vice President of Development at Code.org, where she leads fundraising and philanthropic strategy. She has more than 24 years of development and management experience in a myriad of national and international settings. She went to Code.org with experience from prestigious academic medical institutions such as Children’s National Medical Center in Washington DC, Mount Sinai Health System in New York City, and Boston Children’s Hospital, as well as think tanks, global development organizations, and the arts. Over the course of her career, she has raised more than $145M to support research, capital projects, endowment, operations, and programmatic projects. Pradnya was born in Mumbai, India but grew up in New Jersey. She resides in Silver Spring, MD, with her husband Joe Clemons, their children, Mirza Cate (age 8) and Xavier Anant (age 6) who are avid Code.org users.
Kara Barnes is the Senior Director of Planned Giving at American University in Washington D.C. where she helps donors structure gift arrangements that create a meaningful legacy at the university and positive change in the world. She has over 20 years of experience in non-profit fundraising, with a focus on major gifts and planned giving. She has served in development positions in the arts and public media as well as higher education. Kara is a proud mid-westerner and lives in Washington D.C. with her husband Dave and son Lewis.
Pradnya and Kara share the tensions and benefits of being working moms involved in mission-based roles that they are very passionate about, and how they manage to stay committed to their work and families while maintaining good physical and mental health. You won’t want to miss this truly engaging conversation about boundaries, relationship-building, and passion.. The lessons to learn are unmatched. So stay tuned!
Show Highlights
Links and Resources
In this episode of Parents at Work, Lori Mihalich-Levin and Jason Levin interview Jewelyn Cosgrove, a government affairs professional in Washington D.C. Jewelyn currently serves Melwood, a 501(c)(3) organization serving people with disabilities, as the Vice President of government relations, bringing with her 15 years of experience in public policy, lobbying, and advocacy. Outside of work, Jewelyn is passionate about elevating the needs of mothers and families and serves as the treasurer of Raising Our Future Political Action Committee, a PAC that’s aimed at electing congressional candidates that prioritize the needs of families.
Jewelyn’s work has been focused on promoting and empowering parents to negotiate and advocate for their needs. She lives in Asheville, Virginia with her husband Greg, two children, and their two amazing cats. She is an alumna of the Mindful Return program and continues to serve the program as a coach to new mums. Jewelyn shares how Lori’s program, Mindful Return, helped her with her career and motherhood and highlights the fact that being a working mom, especially with more than one kid, means more work and a bigger family that you'll want to keep happy and strong.
Organizational skills become more important than ever when you mix in growing your career, and Jewelyn has learned to manage “balancing” her time on a weekly basis, instead of getting obsessed about day-to-day work-life balance. You’ll want to join this lively conversation to learn more about life as a parent who works on Capitol Hill, the challenges of working in government affairs and parenting at the same time, navigating challenging conversations with your kids, and most importantly, how to figure out your own effective way of successfully parenting your kids while growing your career.
Show Highlights
Links and Resources
In this episode of Parents at Work, Lori Mihalich-Levin and Jason Levin interview two working dads who work in government relations: Clif Porter and Jeff McNichols.
Clif is the Senior Vice President of government relations at the American Healthcare Association (AHCA) and the National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL), which represents more than 14,000 for-and not-for-profit nursing homes, assisted living residences, and facilities for the care of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
He has been married for 31 years and has three children (Chanel, 28, Christian, 25, and Clifton, 22). He has served in various leadership positions within his local church and has been actively involved in several professional and community organizations.
Jeff is the Director of the Alliance for Congress at the Partnership for Public Service, a new program committed to strengthening the institution of congress to better serve the American public. His career in government affairs began in 2004 when he left the Navy to work as a congressional staffer. Subsequent opportunities took him to the Department of Defence and the Boston Consulting Group. Jeff has been married for eight years and has two children (ages 5 and 3)
The four of us dug into the life cycle of a government relations career, what it’s like to work as a congressional staffer, the adjustments to make when one has to constantly travel for work to ensure that they still stay engaged as a parent, creating a work environment where parents feel that their family life is considered, thriving at raising kids while building a successful career, and so much more. Cliff and Jeff’s candor on their experience as working parents in the government relations space was not just incredibly insightful but inspirational. Stay tuned for more.
Show Highlights
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