Between Meetings & Motherhood

Join Alexa Starks as she sits down with Jiemi Gao, founder of the mom mentorship platform Nori. In this episode, Jiemi shares her transformative journey from a high-paced career in strategy consulting to creating a supportive community for mothers. Discover how motherhood reshaped her identity and inspired her to help other moms navigate their unique paths. Tune in for insights on balancing career...

Join Alexa Starks and special guest Kayla McGuire as they explore the transformative journey of motherhood and its parallels to leadership. Discover how skills honed in parenting can empower women in the workplace, and learn practical steps for new moms to harness their leadership potential. Whether you're navigating the return to work or seeking to redefine your identity, this episode offers...

In this empowering episode of the Reentry Room, host Alexa Starks welcomes Elisabeth van der Wilt, a holistic doula and women's health coach, to discuss the realities of working motherhood. Together, they explore the challenges of imposter syndrome, the importance of authenticity, and the power of community support. Elisabeth shares her journey from overcoming doubts to embracing her role as a...

In this episode of "The Reentry Room," host Alexa Starks challenges the traditional notions of ambition, especially for working mothers. Alexa shares her personal journey of redefining ambition after motherhood, highlighting the stark differences between ambition and tolerance for workplace nonsense. She critiques the outdated corporate systems that fail to support women, particularly mo...

In this episode of The Reentry Room, Alexa Starks welcomes Laura Niebauer, a job search strategist and career coach for women re-entering the workforce after a career break. They discuss the challenges and strategies for working mothers, including the importance of clarity, networking, and self-advocacy. Laura shares her personal experiences and insights on balancing motherhood and career, offerin...

In this episode of "The Reentry Room," host Alexa Starks welcomes Katie Falcone, co-founder of "I'm Her Story," to discuss the challenges and realities of working motherhood. They delve into the creation of safe spaces for women to share their stories and seek support, addressing issues like ageism, toxic workplaces, and the struggle of balancing work and family life. Katie...

In this episode of the Reentry Room, host Alexa Starks welcomes career strategist Klara Ganter to discuss the challenges and opportunities for working moms transitioning from corporate roles to entrepreneurship. Klara shares her insights on creating a strategic exit plan, the misconceptions about freedom in entrepreneurship, and the importance of setting boundaries to avoid burnout. Alexa and Klar...

Motherhood doesn’t just change you, it asks you to outgrow the version of yourself who thought she had to do it all. In this episode, Alexa Starks reflects on the messy, beautiful process of shedding old expectations and rediscovering who you actually want to be now. From performance-based worth to redefined ambition, she shares what happens when you stop trying to “bounce back” and start becoming...

In this episode of the Reentry Room, host Alexa Starks speaks with perinatal expert and psychologist Dr. Emily Guarnotta about the challenges of working motherhood, particularly during the perinatal period. They discuss the shift to online therapy, the importance of specialization in mental health, and the struggles many mothers face, including feelings of inadequacy and the impact of social media...

When you’re becoming a mother, everyone tells you how to prepare for birth — but no one tells you how to prepare for after. In this episode, Alexa sits down with doula and Share the Drop founder Kelly Cox to talk about postpartum realities, building real systems of support, and the power of community among moms. Plus, Kelly steps into The Confession Chair for an honest moment every mom will relate...

You’re back at work, doing all the right things — but something feels off. Everyone around you says, “It’ll feel normal again soon,” and yet deep down, you’re realizing… maybe you don’t want normal. In this episode, Alexa Starks unpacks the quiet, uncomfortable truth that many moms face after maternity leave: the life you worked so hard for doesn’t fit anymore. She explores what that ache really m...

In this episode, Alexa Starks gets honest about the quiet moment so many new moms face after maternity leave: when gratitude for your career collides with the deep knowing that something no longer fits. Alexa walks through the identity shifts, mindset reframes, and practical steps to help you figure out whether you’re burned out or truly ready for change. From redefining ambition to designing a th...

No one talks about how much of yourself you lose—and find again—after becoming a mom. In this episode, Alexa Starks unpacks the emotional and professional identity shift that happens when motherhood collides with ambition. She shares why returning to work can feel like living in two worlds, how to release the version of yourself that no longer fits, and what it really means to rebuild your sense o...

Motherhood cracks us open, reshapes us, and forces us to reimagine who we are in ways no promotion, leadership program, or career pivot ever could. It’s beautiful, but it’s also brutal—and the way our culture and workplaces treat mothers makes it even harder than it needs to be. So this episode unpacks some of your top frequently asked questions about motherhood and how to navigate being a working...

Trying to copy-paste your old schedule onto your new life after maternity leave? That’s the fastest path to burnout—and resentment. In this episode, Alexa Starks unpacks why “bouncing back” is a myth and guides you through a step-by-step framework to redesign your work week around energy, boundaries, transitions, and focused ambition. You’ll walk away with practical strategies to rebuild your cale...

You didn’t lose your edge—you lost your visibility in a system that never learned how to hold working moms. In this episode, Alexa Starks breaks down three concrete strategies to rebuild your influence, reintroduce your voice, and reposition yourself as a leader—without burning out to prove you still belong. This episode is a must-listen if you’re on maternity leave or navigating your first year b...

Leadership doesn’t look the same after you become a mom, and it shouldn’t. In this powerful episode, Alexa Starks unpacks five toxic beliefs she had to unlearn after maternity leave in order to lead with clarity, confidence, and power. From redefining ambition to reclaiming boundaries, Alexa shares the mindset shifts that helped her stop performing and start leading on her own terms. Whether you’r...

In this episode, Alexa Starks gets honest about the unspoken fear driving so many yeses from working moms: the fear of being seen as less committed, less capable, less promotable. It’s not just overwork—it’s over-functioning as self-protection. Drawing from the patterns she sees in every workshop and coaching session, Alexa unpacks how this mindset is quietly burning women out while keeping compan...

After maternity leave, too many brilliant, strategic women come back only to be met with lowered expectations and soft voices. In this episode, Alexa unpacks the emotional and systemic erasure of working moms’ intellect and leadership. Drawing from her own experience and the patterns she sees every day through The Reentry Blueprint™, she offers a reframing of what real support looks like—and how c...

In this raw and reflective episode, Alexa names the fragmentation so many working mothers feel but rarely say out loud: the exhaustion of shapeshifting all day long, never feeling fully seen at home or at work. Speaking not as an overwhelmed employee, but as the founder of a company that’s redesigning systems to hold working moms better, she shares what true integration can look like—and how workp...

We don’t want to quit our careers. We want to quit the broken system. The one that rewards responsiveness over results. The one that praises us for "pushing through" instead of checking in. The one that treats flexibility as a favor instead of a feature. In this episode, we call out the reality that many working moms feel, about being tired of faking it and compartmentalizing work and mo...

No one talks about the middle. Not the first-day-back, not the dramatic burnout—just the in-between. The space where you’re answering emails while reheating dinner. Where you love your job and still fantasize about quitting it. Where the guilt is loud, the grind is relentless, and you’re quietly wondering if you’re doing any of it right. This episode is an honest look at what it means to lead, mot...

The first one-on-one after leave. A full calendar. A forced smile. A quiet hope that someone—anyone—would ask how I was really doing. But no one did. In this episode, I’m sharing the conversation I wish I’d had—and the questions every manager needs to ask a returning parent. We’ll talk about: Why “How’s the baby?” isn’t enough The emotional cost of reentry silence The exact questions I now teach l...

Most managers want to do the right thing when someone returns from leave. But good intentions don’t always lead to good reentry—and silence is louder than we think. In this episode, I’m breaking down five common mistakes managers make when a new parent returns to work—mistakes that often lead to burnout, invisibility, and quiet exits. We’ll talk about: Why “Welcome back!” isn’t a plan The unspoken...

If you’ve ever answered a Slack message from a pediatrician’s waiting room, replied to emails during bedtime, or felt guilty for not responding fast enough—this episode is for you. In this unapologetic truth-drop, Alexa Starks exposes the toxic expectation that working moms must be endlessly accessible to prove their worth. You’ll learn how to stop measuring your value by your availability—and sta...