She Said / She Said

Latest Episodes:

Leading in Tech & the C-Suite: Perspective from the CEO of the Center for Democracy & Technology (Episode #12) May 02, 2018

Show notes

She Said/She Said tackles technology, data privacy, and what you need to know to be a tech savvy consumer. Our guest, Nuala O’Connor, is an expert in the field, and role model. Nuala is the CEO of the Center for Democracy and Data. She comes to this position following a distinguished career in both government and the private sector. She was the first privacy officer and one of the first executive-level employees at Department of Homeland Security following 9/11. She held similar privacy officer roles at The Department of Commerce, as well as at GE, and Amazon (where her position also included responsibility for customer trust). Nuala successfully combines and embraces the roles of mom (she is the mother of three) and executive, and she provides incredible insights into both. We talk best practices and personal responsibility as it relates to personal, digital security, but we also talk about the growing digital divide, fairness in algorithms, the role of government, and the challenges with balancing data privacy against the needs of government and law enforcement. We think you will be inspired by Nuala’s passion, her insights and her perspective. To learn more about Nuala follow her on twitter @privacymama or at www.CDT.org. And, if you are enjoying this podcast, please leave us a review. We would love to hear from you.

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**Using Data, Solid Analytics & Passion for Women’s Leadership To Understand Governmental Power Centers (Episode #11)** Apr 25, 2018
Show notes

When Gwen K. Young was recruited to lead the Women in Public Service Project she immediately saw an opportunity to tackle women’s representation in government in a different way. Rather than recreating the wheel or using limited resources to duplicate existing efforts, she instead turned her focus to the lack of available data needed to fully understand where women were missing in government and public service. She didn’t focus just on elected positions (where data already exists); instead, she looked at other governmental sectors that include municipal, judicial and civil service positions as well.

Gwen’s approach illustrates a new way of thinking about how we measure women’s leadership and the power women hold in government positions from police chiefs and city managers all the way up to the highest cabinet level positions. Her work training women in conflict regions of Africa informed her perspective and her approach and it was there that she learned the value of partnerships which has been critical to her work.

We talked with Gwen not only about the project and her ambitious goals, but also about her thoughts on her own career and what success looks like. She is an innovative leader whose perspective and approach is nothing short of inspiring!

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Leading From the Heart at The American Red Cross (Episode #9) Apr 11, 2018

Show notes

When Gail McGovern became CEO of the American Red Cross in 2008, the organization was reeling from repeated turnover in leadership, a $209 million operation deficit coupled with significant debt, outdated IT systems, an unworkable organizational structure, challenges in the Red Cross Blood Services operation, and a dated fundraising strategy. Even for a seasoned corporate executive like Gail, it was daunting. Now, 10 years later, she’s the longest serving CEO at the 186 year old organization. She has transformed the Red Cross, reducing its debt, and refocusing its mission on strengthening service delivery to meet increasing and evolving needs. We sat down with Gail at her office in Washington, D.C. She shared tremendous leadership lessons gleaned from both the corporate and non-profit sectors. But most importantly, she shared the value she sees in learning to lead from the heart.

Click here to donate to the Red Cross

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Giving aspiring young women political leaders a “Running Start” (Episode #8) Apr 04, 2018

Show notes

There are many factors that impact a woman’s decision to seek elected office. One may simply be that she hasn’t been introduced to the possibility or told, “You can and should do this.” If you talk to Susannah Wellford, the CEO and founder of a non-partisan, non-profit called “Running Start,” she will tell you that it’s important introduce younger women to elected office as a way to make a difference in her community and to have an impact. By planting the seeds early, Susannah says young women will be much more inclined to seek this path as some point in her career. Running Start not only introduces young women to the notion of political office and elected service, but also provides fundamental campaign and leadership training. We sat down with Susannah recently to talk about her work, her thoughts on career and the importance of knowing your “why” — as in “why does what I’m doing matter to me and have an impact on others. We think you’ll love this conversation and Susannah’s passion and enthusiasm for the topic of women’s leadership. Susannah is what She Said/She Said is all about!

Click here to learn more about Susannah and Running Start.

Disclosure note: Laura Cox Kaplan serves as Co-Chair of the Board of Running Start and teaches a leadership seminar.

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Sex and World Peace: a conversation with author and Bush School of Government & Public Service Professor Valerie Hudson (Episode #7) Mar 27, 2018

Show notes

It’s not difficult to understand why Valerie Hudson is beloved by her students. As the George H.W. Bush Chair of The Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University, Valerie is a unique, spirited, and inspiring voice who is looking at peace and national security from a different perspective. Her data-driven approach, which she has fine-tuned as part of a multi-disciplinary, data-driven research project called WomanStats, is helping the U.S. Department of Defense improve risk mapping and threat assessments.

Sitting with Valerie, who is the mother of eight children, you immediately feel her warmth and passion for the subject of women and peace. But it’s the combination of pragmatism, life experience and intellectual rigor that make Valerie such a unique voice. We discussed not only her provocatively entitled book: “Sex and World Peace,” but also her earlier award winning book “Bare Branches,” which focuses on gender selection and single child policies. And, we discussed the long term impact of those policies, including globally.

We also talked practical economic realities and the impact they can have in fueling terrorism, and we sat fully captivated as Valerie explained how the escalating costs of a wedding in parts of the middle-East have helped terrorist regimes bring in new recruits.

Our conversation is a colorful, insightful mosaic that will leave you thinking. Valerie uses her voice and perspective to have a big impact on others. We think you’ll be inspired! We were delighted to have Valerie join us on She Said She Said.

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