Curating Career Life Stories: How did I get here?

Join me for the career reflections of Daphne Bernicker, emotional intelligence expert and Vistage chair. Born in Trinidad and Tobago, Daphne’s multicultural upbringing shaped her appreciation for diverse perspectives. Initially drawn to psychology, she pivoted to finance, earning an MBA and landing roles at two Fortune 100 companies. After a decade-long break as a stay-at-home mom, she re-entered...

Join me for the career reflections of Ilya Lyubimskiy, managing attorney at Premier Legacy Law. Born in Russia, Ilya moves to Colorado at age eight when his parents sought to maximize the opportunities available in the United States. Challenged with learning a new language and cultural norms, he’s also driven by his parents' high expectations, taking IB and AP classes throughout high school. I...

Join me for the career reflections of TJ Hovel, sales executive, and coach. At the young age of 8 TJ knew he wanted to be a coach in a small town, just like his dad, who coached TJ in high school. Even though school wasn’t his thing, he earns a business degree and starts his own trucking business. After running it for 8 years, the 100-hour work-weeks leave little room for coaching, or anything els...

Join me for the career reflections of Carlene Thissen, singer, songwriter & author. Her dream is to become a doctor, but then discovers she has an aversion to blood. Unsure about what’s next, she drops out of college and gets a job as a secretary. Working as a secretary, and wanting to do more within the business, she becomes an expert in coupon bar code scanning. Leading her to bigger roles a...

Join me for the career reflections of Shara Ruffin, clinical social worker, and consultant. Her dream is to be the next Mariah Carey, once reality sets in she shifts to becoming a lawyer, then to psychology and ultimately social work -- because what's behind human behavior is so interesting! She’s the first born in her family, setting her on path of more firsts: first to go to college and grad...

Join me for the career reflections of Christine Clyne-Spraker, former co-CEO, board member and author. Her dream was to become a civil engineer, but after receiving a “C” in calculus she panics and switches her major to advertising. A bold move after college takes her to California where she’s recruited by Enterprise Rent-A-Car into their management and sales training program. Which turns out to b...

Join me for the career reflections of Amy Friel, program leader at a health tech start-up. Growing up in Detroit in the 70s & 80s she experiences the impact that both Japan and China have on the global economy, the car industry, and her family. These influences factor into her career choices. In grad school she earns dual degrees, her MBA and a masters in Asian Studies. She meets her husband i...

Join me for the career reflections of Susie Moss, Regional Director of Development for the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Mountain States Region. While she didn’t always know her career path, she did know she was someone who needed to be engaged and connecting with people. In college the realization hits her that she is good at sales, which was also her dad’s career, another positive indicator this...

Join me for the career reflections of Karl Peters, creative director & designer of Bluebird Branding. In the fifth grade his design for the cover of the class directory is the top pick! As a result, he knows that this is exactly what he’d like to continue doing but he didn’t know what it was called -- until he’s introduced to commercial art and graphic design classes in high school and college...

Join me for the career reflections of Jervis DiCicco, co-founder & CEO of ProsperBridge. At a young age he’s fascinated by the stock market and investments because both his dad and stepdad are in the financial industry.   But he’s bored with his econ class in high school, so focuses his college courses on international relations and theater, earning a bachelor’s degree with a double major in p...

Join me for the career reflections of Richa Singh, consultant for family-owned businesses. Born and raised in India her dreams as a young girl are to be a pirate -- eye patch and all! She’s fascinated with the idea of being a rebel and traveling the world. As she approaches college, she gets more serious choosing engineering because of her aptitude in math. After graduation jobs are scarce due to...

Join me for the career reflections of Kristy Yoder, founder/CEO of SMART VAs LLC. Born and raised in the Philippines, her entrepreneurial DNA kicks in at a young age helping in her mom’s business doing whatever’s needed to earn a living. She describes living her teen years as young, wild and free! So much so, she drops out of high school at 14. Through her mom’s urging she passes a high school equ...

Join me for the career reflections of Chelle Johnson, executive career coach & fractional talent officer. Her dream to be a broadcast journalist is dashed in college with feelings of inadequacy after assessing herself against her classmates.   Not one to pitch a tent in pity, she switches majors to speech communications leading to opportunities in Spain, Japan and Mexico. While completing a ma...

Join me for the career reflections of Chris Natzke, life leadership coach & keynote speaker. At age eleven he knows that martial arts will someday be his profession. At age sixteen he’s teaching adults martial arts, and then in his early thirties he opens his martial arts school. The martial arts school was a side gig as he already had a successful career in corporate sales. Until his wife mad...

Join me for the career reflections of An Ly-Tampere, business coach. Her journey starts in a tiny little city in Belgium, that doesn’t exist anymore, traversing to France and the UK, then landing in Singapore right before COVID shuts down that city. An avid reader and excellent student, she works 2-3 jobs while attending college full time. She speaks four languages, holds a law degree plus a maste...

Join me for the career reflections of Nicole Zimmermann, founder & CEO of Zelocin & Partners LLC. Born and raised in Germany she’s fascinated as a young girl with Agatha Christie novels and dreams of being an archaeologist traveling the world discovering new things. Her dad, the voice of reason, suggests that archaeology could be a hobby AFTER she finds a way to earn a living. Following th...

Join me for the career reflections of Heather Hukari, owner of Video Service Hub. As a youngster she loves being in front of the camera, but her focus shifts after taking a multi-media & video production class. She discovers her real passion is making and editing videos. It’s a passion throughout her career and something she always comes back to, even while taking a two-month road trip with a...

Join me for the career reflections of Rachel Jenks, The Brand Boss. She achieves her dream of being a professional ballet dancer at age seventeen, but after a year into it she is heartbroken as her body starts failing. Depression sets in as she sees her dream slipping away. Close to hitting bottom a friend shakes her out of this funk, where new possibilities present themselves. Taking her on the r...

Join me for the career reflections of Jeff Pomranka, executive director of Meals on Wheels. His senior year in college, he switches majors from math to psychology after getting totally hooked from just one psychology class. Preparing him for a life-long career helping people. Midway in his career, after finding Simon Sinek’s first TED Talk, Jeff discovers clarity about his “why” – helping people l...

Join me for the career reflections of Tracy Graf, CEO of FUSE Igniting Communication. She picks communications as her major because it seemed the most useful and applicable. It suits her well -- leading her into careers in PR, marketing and now training. Tracy attributes a big part of her success to bosses & mentors who coach and connect her to opportunities. Of course, one of these new opport...

Join me for the career reflections of Tonia Martinez, founder of Career Transformations. Find out how her love for helping people, a family value, leads her to a career in HR which ultimately becomes the foundation and expertise needed to start her own business. She loves learning about new roles and industries and was a pioneer recruiting veterans and diverse candidates before it was the popular...

Join me for the career reflections of Lori Hanson, The Success Whisperer. Her journey starts in business wanting to be like her dad running a hospital and secretly wanting to know what earning a bonus feels like! Her first roles are in HR in healthcare, shifting then to the insurance industry, another pivot into higher education & training, onto project management, and a stint in sales. All wi...

Join me for the career reflections of Amanda HarNess, fractional COO & business growth "excelerator". Her journey starts as an occupational therapist, a transition to medical device sales, then discovering her true gift -- improving systems and operations. Ultimately leading her to start her own consulting business as a fractional Chief Operating Officer (COO) and business growth "excelerator"...

Join me for the career reflections of Shannon Saviers, VP Sand Cherry Associates. The daughter of an air force pilot, she travels the world growing up. Requiring her to move every two years, so to make friends as the newbie, she finds joining groups like theater, cheerleading and student council help break the ice. Her career aspirations are all about getting into business which she excels at in c...

Join me for the career reflections of Margot Zaher, life empowerment coach & author. A journey that starts with fulfilling her dream to live and work in Paris at a fortune 100 company. The ideal job, right? So why is she so unhappy, constantly doubting herself and feeling a lack of purpose? At the urging of her mom, a recently certified hypnotherapist, she embarks on a personal development jou...