The WanderWomen Podcast

A wellbeing researcher once emailed her co-author about their sleep study. At 3am. His reply has stayed with me: “I can’t work on sleep with you if you don’t sleep.” That story came from my conversation with Charmi Patel , professor, associate dean, researcher, executive education leader, and Thrive mentor. But what I loved most about this conversation was not her titles. It was the way she introd...

Leadership often looks very different from the inside than it does from the outside. From the outside, we see titles, roles, and influence. From the inside, leadership is usually shaped by uncertainty, difficult choices, and moments where we question our own direction. In the latest episode of the WanderWomen Leadership Series , I spoke with Caroline Craven Fourier , Global Head of Diversity, Incl...

For many high-skilled immigrant women, leadership doesn’t begin in a boardroom. It begins much earlier. In quieter, lonelier moments. In the decisions we make long before anyone is watching. This episode marks a shift. What was once the WanderWomen Podcast is now the WanderWomen Leadership Series — a space for deeper conversations about identity, power, belonging, and the inner work that leadershi...

There’s something powerful about beginnings, especially the ones that come after you’ve paused, reflected, and chosen to return with intention. Today marks the beginning of Season 2 of the WanderWomen Podcast , and I couldn’t have asked for a better guest to start this new chapter with than Gitanjali Ponnappa , consultant, global leader, partner at Implement Consulting Group, and founder of Negoti...

“We're much more powerful than we think.”— Victoria Mensch How do you know if you're on the right path—especially when you've done everything “right” and still feel... off? This week on the WanderWomen Podcast, I sit down with Victoria Mensch , CEO of the Silicon Valley Executive Academy, a woman who’s lived many lives across many geographies. From Moscow to California to Spain to Bali, from psych...

“I came with a suitcase and a few degrees. But none of those opened doors. What did? My confidence.” What happens when everything you worked for—your titles, your degrees, your reputation—doesn’t travel with you? That’s what Radhika Raizada discovered when she moved from India to Dubai to the UK, armed with a decade of professional experience… and a whole new identity to build from scratch. Like m...

“Whatever you have here”—she gestures to her heart, to her history—“It doesn’t disappear when you change countries. You bring your suitcase with you. Always.” This episode of WanderWomen shook me. Because Oksana Prokhorova doesn’t tell a polished story. She tells the real one. The one with a burnout so deep that brushing her teeth felt like a triumph. The one where a white-glove immigration experi...

“We think we need to feel confident before we act. But what if confidence is not a feeling—it’s the act itself?” This week on WanderWomen: The Podcast , I’m joined by the wise and wonderful Mildred Fischli —a Filipina-born Swiss professional who speaks with a gentleness that masks the extraordinary depth of her courage. Mildred doesn’t shout her story. She lives it. In this episode, we talk about:...

“No one else will pick you up—you have to do it yourself.”— Hülya Kurt, WanderWomen Podcast, Episode 6 What does it take to rebuild yourself when life hands you a redundancy slip instead of a roadmap? This week’s guest on the WanderWomen Podcast , Hülya Kurt , knows that journey intimately. She’s moved countries multiple times, reinvented her identity, and built a career that spans from secretaria...

You Are More Than Their Labels Migration, Multitudes & Mental Health — with Tatiana Serikova “Don’t let them frame you.”— advice Tatiana Serikova received from a mentor at McKinsey, and a line she’s carried ever since. Most of us—especially as immigrant women—have been framed. Framed by someone else’s perception. Framed by systems that want us to stay in our lane. Framed by cultures that see only...

What does it mean to belong when you’ve crossed every kind of border — cultural, professional, geographic, generational? What does it mean to sit at the table, not just as a token, or an exception, but as a presence that reshapes the table itself ? This week on WanderWomen: The Podcast , I speak with Dr. Shefaly Yogendra , a portfolio non-executive director, emerging technology advisor, and one of...

We’re told to “have it all.”But what if you didn’t have to? What if thriving didn’t mean doing everything —but doing what truly matters , one brave decision at a time? In this week’s episode of WanderWomen: The Podcast , I speak with Bancy Gakuru , a senior HR leader whose career has taken her across Africa, Asia, and Europe—and back again. She shares the real story behind some of her biggest move...

What if the thing that sets you apart is actually the source of your greatest strength? If you’ve ever felt like you don’t quite fit in,If you’ve lived across borders—geographical, cultural, emotional—If you’ve had to explain who you are before being allowed to simply be... This one is for you. In the second episode of WanderWomen: The Podcast , I speak with Hanae Bezad —impact entrepreneur, inves...

In this episode, she shares a powerful insight—one we’ve all felt but rarely admit. Tune in to hear more about her journey and the wisdom she imparts. Get full access to Shivangi Walke at theshivangiwalke.substack.com/subscribe