Statement Mondays: Interviews With Women Who Wear ”Heels” to Work

One Big Experiment: Vicki Chang, Facebook PM

How do you know when to quit? Vicki Chang, a product manager on Facebook's New Product Experimentation team (NPE), is always asking herself three specific questions to figure this out. She has a unique background as a chemistry PhD dropout and infuses her experimental and scientific way of thinking into both her day-to-day and her own Big Life Decisions. This was going to be the last episode of Season 1 but NOT ANYMORE! Look forward to more episodes each Monday! And today, listen in to hear why Vicki loves collaborating with people, what she's learned from her career experimentation, and to compare an entirely different product manager personality from last week's guest from Tesla, Kate Park.

Earn Your Respect: Kate Park, Tesla Autopilot PM

Respect in the workplace is highly sought after but not easy to earn. Kate Park is a senior product manager on Tesla's Autopilot team (and one of my closest friends!), and through a series of stories involving Shakespeare Camp and a Tesla Executive meeting she shares what role respect has in her day-to-day... how she earns it, why she needs it, and how she uses it. Her intense and technical workplace has different dynamics and requires different Statement tactics than the previous women we've heard from so far, so listen today for a fresh perspective!

Statement Extra: I Challenge You

Happy International Women's Day! In this new segment, Natalie poses a challenge to YOU and shares some comments she's gotten about Statement Mondays so far. Intrigued?

Passion & Obsession: Rachel Greenwald, Matchmaker

Celebrity matchmaker and bestselling author, Rachel Greenwald, launched her impressive career with an ~adrenaline journal~ and a single Google search. In this week’s episode, Rachel explains her extremist personality and dives into the crazy story of how she became a renowned matchmaker. Throughout the interview, Natalie and Rachel also discuss burn-out culture, passion, and obsession, in and outside of the workplace.

Open, Ready, Curious: Cynthia Grutzik, Dean of Education

Be open, ready, curious -- this is Cynthia Grutzik’s life motto, and it has served her well. Cynthia lived the first 14 years of her life in Cameroon, Africa, which has greatly shaped her understanding of the world. She is currently a Dean at San Francisco State University, and she had her first teaching job in Cameroon where she learned how to prioritize the needs of her students. Listen to hear how her unique upbringing impacts the way she approaches her job now in terms of being patient, interacting with students, and expressing gratitude.

Intentions Make You Stronger: Salma Mahmoud, Bodybuilder

Bodybuilders also wear heels...  Salma Mahmoud finally took her needs and wants into her own hands once she realized she had the space and initiative to do so after college. Salma completed a rotational program at Visa while investigating what new hobby she wanted to pursue, and soon dove headfirst into data science and her newfound interest in bodybuilding. In fact, bodybuilding (and the confidence that came with goal-setting and training), has changed so much about the way Salma thinks, works, and lives. Could her coworkers tell she's a bodybuilder? We'll see! Join us for this week's episode as we discuss the power of body image, personal goals, and the importance of celebrating your hard work.

Becoming a Force: Lauren Jonas, Founder & CEO

Lauren Jonas understands that confidence doesn't often come on its own, it's gained over time. Now a serial entrepreneur and CEO, she started two companies at a young age (out of necessity!) both focused on plus-sized women: a fashion blog called The Pear Shape, and a community platform called Part and Parcel. In this interview, we’ll hear about how she found self-confidence and success by connecting with other people who have her same unfulfilled needs, and by paying attention to how those around her perceive her (that's how she knows she's a force!). She currently works on Facebook's New Product Experimentation team.

Pride in Where You Came From: Karla Magaña Figueroa, MBA & MPP

You'd never guess that Karla Magaña Figueroa was previously an undocumented immigrant until she shares how much strength her background has given her throughout her life and education. She is now pursuing two degrees, an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth and an MPP from Harvard Kennedy School, and is intent on learning more about business and policy and entering the public sector. In this episode she discusses growing up undocumented in America, being a woman in finance, and receiving amazing mentorship and paying it forward.

People Are Scared of Smart Women: Nicole Mueller, High School Teacher

Nicole Mueller is an outspoken woman who doesn’t take no for an answer, not even from herself. She is a high school English teacher in Wisconsin who is so invested in her job as an educator that she steps into an entirely different persona in the classroom in order to best challenge her students. Join in as Nicole and Natalie discuss curated identities and the paradox of being a smart woman.

My Clothing Is My Armor: Fischer Yan, Marketing & Consulting

Welcome to our first ever Statement Mondays episode! We talk with Fischer Yan, who has worked on marketing for Uber and GGV Capital, and who derives much of her workplace confidence from her outfits. In this episode, learn how to be a badass well-dressed warrior, and how to find your "personal monopoly" as she reveals the personal experience that led her to start her own consulting business in LA focusing on minority- and women-led companies in e-commerce.