Embrace the Squiggle: Change happens. Growth is a choice. – Details, episodes & analysis

In episode 99 (!!) of Embrace the Squiggle, Colleen and Kristine welcome Kristie Raymond to discuss her journey - that all started by trying a bunch of stuff out.

From launching Models Inc in 90's Boston with only a 1.5 years of professional experience, Kristie shares how her childhood dreams evolved through a diverse career path. On this journey she spotted a massive gap: where's the diversity in media?

Enter Humankind – Kristie's company pushing for inclusive casting that actually reflects the world we live in. Listen in for the real talk on breaking down barriers in media and why representation isn't just nice to have – it's necessary. Kristie discusses the challenges and successes in advocating for the inclusion of historically excluded groups, especially those with disabilities, in media. Tune in to hear about Kristie's inspiring squiggles and the impact of just trying stuff.

Connect with Kristie Raymond: linkedin.com/in/kristieraymond

Humankind: https://www.youarehumankind.com/

Stay in Touch with Your Hosts:

• Colleen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/comara/
• Kristine on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinethody/

Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts for more conversations that transform career complexity into your competitive advantage!

Hair loss at 15. A twenty-year journey from hiding to helping others. This week's conversation is all about turning personal struggles into powerful purpose!

We sat down with the incredible Tami Wong, founder of Hair Loss Pride, whose unexpected path from biotech professional to advocate and coach demonstrates how our biggest challenges can become our most meaningful work.

Squiggles You'll Hear:

• Tami's journey from childhood dreams of becoming an artist and vet to healthcare and biotech
• How being laid off became a hidden blessing that led to writing a children's book and starting a company
• The 20-year emotional journey of coming to terms with hair loss
• How Hair Loss Pride was born from the support Tami wished she'd had

This conversation is a beautiful reminder that our most challenging experiences often lead us to our most meaningful work!

🌟 Connect with Tami:

• Website: https://therealtamiwong.com/
• Instagram: Instagram (@hairlosspride)
• TikTok: @‌hairlosspride
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@hairlosspride

👯‍♀️ Stay in Touch with Your Hosts:

• Colleen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/comara/
• Kristine on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinethody/

Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts for more conversations that transform career complexity into your competitive advantage!

“You have to say yes to things in order to know what you're gonna say yes and no to.”

Colleen and Kristine dive into Anita Costello’s squiggle, from her beginnings influenced by her mother's flair for fashion to discovering her passion in high school. Anita shares her path from studying journalism to transitioning into apparel design.

The conversation explores her entrepreneurial journey, the importance of community support, and the development of her own fashion line, Biita. Anita offers insights on overcoming challenges, the balance between creativity and business tasks, and the significance of having a supportive network.

Connect with Anita: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anita-costello-93a3b42b/

Biita Use Code: SQUIGGLE for a discount!

🎧 Ready to Embrace YOUR Squiggle?

Want to be our next guest? Apply here!

👯‍♀️ Stay in Touch with Your Hosts:

• Colleen on LinkedIn
• Kristine on LinkedIn

Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts for more conversations that transform career complexity into your competitive advantage!

Ever wondered how a creative soul thrives in the world of heavy machinery? This episode is your roadmap!

Join us as we chat with the incredible Michele Downie, marketing powerhouse at American Crane and Equipment Corporation, who's smashing stereotypes and making waves in manufacturing.

What You'll Hear:

• Michele's journey from artist to manufacturing
• How her creative background became her secret weapon in a technical industry
• Why AI tools are her friends for staying ahead of the curve
• Her refreshingly honest take on retirement planning while still crushing it at work

🌟 Connect with Michele:

• LinkedIn: Michele Downie
• Instagram: @isleofviewarts
• Check out American Crane & Equipment Corporation
• Explore her creative side at Isle of View Arts

👩‍🏭 Curious about Women in Manufacturing?

Michele's passionate about making space for women in the industry! Learn more about the upcoming summit: WiM SUMMIT 2025

🎧 Ready to Embrace YOUR Squiggle?

Want to be our next guest? Apply here!

👯‍♀️ Stay in Touch with Your Hosts:

• Colleen on LinkedIn
• Kristine on LinkedIn

Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts for more conversations that transform career complexity into your competitive advantage!

This week on Embrace the Squiggle, Casey Stevens blew us away with her candid take on mixing traditional therapy with what she calls her "witchy wisdom." From divorce to career zigzags, she kept it real about following your gut - even when life gets messy!

What we love most about Casey is how she bridges science and spirituality without apology. No stuffy therapy talk here - she's all about helping people tap into their intuition and make radical transformations. If you're feeling stuck or just need a reminder to trust yourself, this episode is your sign! Casey proves you can be professional AND intuitive in a world that often makes you choose.

Check her out on Linkedin

Casey on Instagram

Want to be a guest on Embrace the Squiggle? Apply here

👯‍♀️ Stay in touch with your hosts:
🔗 Colleen on LinkedIn

🔗 Kristine on LinkedIn

🎧 Subscribe for more conversations that transform career complexity into your competitive advantage.

What happens when a poem you write goes viral? Our guest this week knows!
Kristine and Colleen speak to Jennae Cecelia who you may know as the author of the poem “I met my younger self for coffee” to discuss her squiggly path.

Jennae shares how her passion for writing blossomed from her childhood and the key moment when a viral poem on TikTok brought her significant attention. Jennae has self-published 13 books – the most popular being, The Sun Will Rise and So Will We and Healing for No One But Me which have sold more than 75,000 copies combined! Her current interests as an author is to tell stories around life experiences that in the moment seem insignificant but become nostalgic as time goes on.

She is now signed with Andrews McMeel, a partner of Simon & Schuster to publish her first traditionally published book, Deep In My Feels, available anywhere books are sold.

Jennae has expanded into helping brands form an intimate connection with their audience. She has formed creative partnerships with Pinterest, M Fairview Health, Papier, American Eagle, and Canva - to name a few.

She lives a life of simplicity centered around art! Her latest interests are pottery and thrifting – anything vintage, people-watching, and hosting themed dinner parties!

Buy Jennae’s book: https://www.jennaececelia.com/

Want to be a guest on Embrace the Squiggle? Apply here: https://forms.gle/HFaPMwHHg9kN6RxPA

👯‍♀️ Stay in touch with your hosts:
🔗 Colleen on LinkedIn
🔗 Kristine on LinkedIn

🎧 Subscribe for more conversations that transform career complexity into your competitive advantage.

Ever wondered who's working behind the scenes to bring Embrace the Squiggle to life? This week, we flip the script and put our producer, Lili Paxton, in the spotlight!

Episodes Squiggles:

• From editing her mom's podcast "Fraudish" to becoming a full-fledged podcast strategist
• How Lili's adventurous spirit led her from the US to Spain, Australia, and finally London
• Her journey through the London School of Economics
• The creative TikTok strategy that helped her build a vibrant community in a new city
• Lili's unexpected pivot toward sustainability

Join us for this behind-the-scenes conversation about taking risks, finding your people across continents, and embracing life's unpredictable turns. all from the person who usually edits out our awkward pauses!

Connect with Lili on Linkedin

Listen to Packing Up & Peacing Out

Follow Lili on Instagram

Listen to Lili’s Mom’s Podcast Fraudish

👯‍♀️ Stay in touch with your hosts:
🔗 Colleen on LinkedIn
🔗 Kristine on LinkedIn

🎧 Subscribe for more conversations that transform career complexity into your competitive advantage.

If helping people is your north star, this episode is for you. This week, we chat with Amanda Wininger who skipped college but still rose through the corporate leadership ranks becoming a doula and yoga instructor. It many seem random, but it's all been about helping people.

Episode Highlights:

• How Amanda recognized and leveraged her natural talent for supporting others
• The surprising parallels between corporate HR and birth support
• Why emotional intelligence trumps technical skills in leadership
• Setting boundaries as an act of self-preservation and leadership

Amanda shares practical wisdom on creating authentic human connections in both work and life, proving that your unique combination of skills and interests isn't random, it's your superpower!

Connect with Amanda: @‌lovelydayyoga | LinkedIn

👯‍♀️ Stay in touch with your hosts:
🔗 Colleen on LinkedIn
🔗 Kristine on LinkedIn

🎧 Subscribe for more conversations that transform career complexity into your competitive advantage.

Ever found yourself nodding along to career advice that doesn't actually feel right for YOU? This week, your favorite career coaches throw out the rulebook completely! Colleen and Kristine tackle the question we've all secretly wondered: "Do I really want that promotion, or am I just supposed to want it?"

What We're Squiggling About:

• The permission slip you need to define success YOUR way (even if it means saying no to that fancy title)
• Why keeping a "humble brag" list isn't conceited, it's career self-defense
• The surprising freedom in considering a demotion (yes, really!)
• How we're both using AI as our secret weapon (without letting it replace our human magic)

Ladies, we've all sat in that performance review, downplaying our accomplishments while the guy next door is taking credit for the coffee run. This stops now! We share our personal struggles with self-promotion and habit that's changing our confidence game.

And for those of you eyeing AI with suspicion: we get it! But after resisting the robot revolution, we've discovered some genuinely game-changing ways to make technology work for us without losing our souls in the process.

👯‍♀️ Stay in touch with your hosts:
🔗 Colleen on LinkedIn
🔗 Kristine on LinkedIn

🎧 Subscribe for more conversations that transform career complexity into your competitive advantage.

Ever wondered what happens when "Take Your Daughter to Work Day" turns into a full-blown career? This week's episode is a delightful deep dive with Lindsay LaBonte, who turned her childhood fascination with her dad's mortgage business into her own financial industry adventure!

What's in store:

• The real story of how Lindsay went from "playing bank" as a kid to actually running one 🏦
• The juggling act of motherhood, leadership, and that pesky thing called "parental expectations"
• How to delegate better as a leader
• Why discovering your strengths might be better than therapy (StrengthsFinder for the win!)

Lindsay spills the tea on the art of delegation (spoiler: it's not just dumping work on others), how to create a team that doesn't make you want to hide in the supply closet, and finding moments of joy in the financial world.

Plus: Learn why sometimes the best career move is taking a nap! Lindsay's refreshing take on energy management will have you booking that vacation day you've been putting off.

This episode is perfect for anyone who's ever thought: "I have no idea what I'm doing, but I'm doing it anyway!" (Which is all of us, let's be honest.)

Looking for a mortgage in the Western Mass Area? Connect with Lindsay: https://www.appliedmortgageteam.com/lindsay-labonte  

👯‍♀️ Stay in touch with your hosts:
🔗 Colleen on LinkedIn
🔗 Kristine on LinkedIn

🎧 Subscribe for more conversations that show how real women squiggle through their careers.