Everything Counts

In this episode, Kristin speaks with entrepreneur, coach, and speaker Tiffanie (she/her) about what it means to rebuild your life when the version you've been living no longer fits. From leaving a religion and an early marriage to walking away from a successful corporate career and advocating for herself through a breast cancer diagnosis, Tiffanie shares how each turning point became an oppor...

In this episode, Kristin speaks with leadership speaker, executive mentor, and author Carol (she/her) about what it means to redefine success before it costs us too much. Carol shares her nonlinear career journey from corporate leadership to entrepreneurship and back again, reflecting on the personal experiences that forced her to rebalance her life along the way. Together, Kristin and Carol explo...

In this episode, Kristin speaks with mindset trainer and entrepreneur Lin Yuan-Su (she/her) about ambition, reinvention, and learning to trust yourself when something no longer fits. Lin shares her journey from growing up in China to becoming the first international student licensed as a registered dietitian in Ontario, only to realize within weeks of starting her career that it wasn't the pa...

In this episode, Kathleen (she/her) reflects on a career full of challenges she wasn't entirely sure she wanted, and somehow excelled at anyway. From becoming a nurse despite initially deciding she didn't want to be one, to earning dual master's degrees, moving across the country, leading healthcare teams, and completing a doctorate while raising a family, she has developed a remark...

In this season three premiere, Kristin sits down with Iranian human rights activist Zolal (she/her), whose life has been shaped by a decades-long fight for freedom, democracy, and women's rights in Iran. Zolal shares the story of growing up in a family of activists, losing her father to political violence as a child, and dedicating more than two decades of her own life to the Iranian resistan...

In this episode, we’re closing out Season 2 with our signature advice episode, but with a twist. No listener questions this time. Instead, Kristin and Loren reflect on what’s actually been working lately, from rethinking how we structure our time to reducing decision fatigue and figuring out how to “hack” ourselves in ways that make life feel lighter. Along the way, they break down workplace behav...

In this episode, Kristin sits down with Liz (she/her), Global Co-Head of Brand Consulting at CAA, to talk about building a career that doesn’t follow a straight line and why that might be the point. From studying sociology and planning to become a social worker, to working a string of unexpected jobs, to eventually leading a global team connecting brands to culture, Liz’s path is a reminder that t...

In this episode, Kristin talks with Nicole (she/her)—a literature PhD, high school teacher, and maker—about what happens when the life you worked toward doesn’t turn out the way you expected. From growing up in a working-class family where work was about survival, to navigating academia, nonprofits, and ultimately finding her way to teaching, Nicole shares a deeply honest look at ambition, burnout...

In this episode, Kristin talks with Lauren (she/her), founder of Hormonally, a nonprofit focused on hormone health education and access. Lauren shares how her work challenges a common assumption: that education alone leads to better health outcomes. In reality, many people still struggle to be heard, often leaving medical spaces feeling dismissed or unsupported. Together, they explore what it actu...

In this episode, Kristin sits down with Megan (she/her), a senior accounting leader whose career has been shaped as much by intuition as it has by strategy. From her degree in fashion merchandising to navigating Big Four accounting and beyond, Megan shares how she’s built a career that blends structure, creativity, and strong instincts. They talk about what it really means to feel off track, the e...

In this episode, Kristin sits down with Nichole (she/her), founder of Success on the Spectrum—the first autism treatment franchise in the U.S.—to talk about building a business that truly changes lives. What began as a personal mission to support her daughter grew into a nationwide network serving thousands of families, after Nichole saw firsthand how few spaces existed for children with autism to...

In this episode, Kristin reconnects with Vera (she/her), a public sector professional working in the Dutch national government, to explore a career that took shape slowly and unexpectedly over time. From moving to the U.S. after college and taking on a series of “random” jobs to returning to school and ultimately finding purpose in public service, Vera shares how her path came together in hindsigh...

In this episode, Kristin talks with Susan (she/her) who spent years building a successful career in the legal world before realizing that being good at something is not the same as feeling aligned with it. Together they explore the path from paralegal to massage therapist, what it meant to choose a more embodied and values-driven life, and how self-employment changed her relationship to work, stab...

In this episode, Kristin sits down with Brielle (she, her), one of the first friends she made after moving to New York City and someone whose career has always been marked by a rare sense of intentionality. Brielle works in corporate social impact, helping large organizations connect their resources to nonprofit partners and community needs. But her path didn’t begin in corporate boardrooms. It st...

In this episode, Kristin talks with Josie (she/her), a project engineer in the construction industry who helps manage the building of massive projects like hospitals and data centers. Josie shares how she found her way into construction after starting in civil engineering and realizing she wanted something more hands-on, practical, and people-centered. She reflects on choosing an unconventional pa...

In this episode, Kristin sits down with Zakiya (she/her), Vice President of Philanthropic Partnerships at the Climate and Clean Energy Equity Fund, to talk about leadership, identity, and the through-lines that shape a career. A Bermudian immigrant, former therapist, and seasoned fundraiser, Zakiya reflects on what it means to mobilize money at the intersection of climate and racial justice; and w...

Season 2 kicks off with Amber (she/her), someone who has never stayed in a life that didn’t fit. From Texas Tech to flight attendant, from a post-9/11 pivot to a master’s degree in London, from being “under-qualified” for marketing roles back home to building a career across sports, student marketing, and ultimately professional tour guiding, Amber’s story is a masterclass in adaptability. Today s...

In this bonus episode of Everything Counts (but nothing is real) , Kristin sits down with her almost 10-year-old niece, Quinn , for an off-script conversation about school, art, animals, ambition, and all the possibilities that exist before work becomes a defining force in our lives. There’s no tidy narrative arc here, and that’s the point. Through stories about clay figurines, lemonade stand econ...

In this special bonus episode, Kristin sits down with Nana (Loren’s grandmother) to talk about work, family, and the quiet choices that shape a life. Raised on a farm in rural North Florida, Nana spent decades working part-time as a bookkeeper and in banking, intentionally building a career that left room to be present for her children and grandchildren. What unfolds is a tender oral history about...

People matter most. In the Season 1 finale of Everything Counts (But Nothing Is Real) , Kristin sits down with one of her closest friends, Celia (they/them), to reflect on careers, values, and the human relationships that shape our work lives. A feminist philanthropic advocate working at the intersection of gender, racial, and economic justice, Celia shares what it really means to “move money ethi...

Say it, then do it. In this episode, Kristin sits down with Sara (she/her), a longtime friend and education leader whose career has been shaped by ambition, follow-through, and a deep belief in joy as a leadership practice. From nearly two decades in education nonprofits to earning multiple master’s degrees, getting married, and landing a new role as Dean of Student Life (all at once) Sara shares...

A grain of salt and a pair of soft pants. In this episode, Kristin and Loren break the fourth wall on career conversations and swap the usual interview format for a casual, candid advice session. From figuring out what you actually want (versus what you’ve been conditioned to want), to recognizing the difference between burnout and boredom, they talk through the questions so many of us are quietly...

Adaptation is a skill. In this episode, Kristin sits down with her sister Kenzie (she/her) for a conversation about nonlinear careers, survival skills, and what it really means to “read the room.” Kenzie’s path, from reality TV casting to corporate recruiting to a bold pivot toward law school, is a masterclass in adaptation. Together, they unpack how early chaos shapes professional instincts, how...

Do all the things, with purpose. In this episode, Kristin sit down with longtime friend and multi-hyphenate creative Heidi (she/her)--marketer, DJ, podcaster, higher-ed storyteller, civic-tech comms pro, and now small-business founder--to explore the many twists and pivots of her career. From clerk-of-court cubicles to national civic tech work to launching her own consultancy, Heidi shares what sh...

Life changes. So do we. Dolores returns for part 2 to share what life looks like after the classroom. She talks about how retirement became “the best job she’s ever had,” from early-morning VIPKid lessons with students in China to unexpected cultural exchange, care packages, and real connection across oceans. We also walk through the hardest years of her life—losing my dad and later my sister—and...