Explore every episode of the podcast She's Got Nerve
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catherine McCauley: Titles Don’t Matter | 06 Nov 2025 | 00:45:43 | |
In this episode Martha and Indira have a conversation with Catherine McCauley, a remarkable administrator who has worked in both Ontario and British Columbia. She is currently a founding partner of Quinn McCauley Giving Strategies Inc. in Vancouver and is sought after for her expertise in charitable giving, public sector fundraising and foundation management. A true leader who has demonstrated “nerve” as a sought-after adviser and entrepreneur, Catherine is an exemplary role model as a leader who often works in mysterious ways! Contact She's Got Nerve
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| Lisa Coleman: Patience is a Virtue | 23 Oct 2025 | 00:55:49 | |
In this episode Martha and Indira have a conversation with Lisa Coleman, the In addition to the Chicago campus, Adler University also has a second campus in Vancouver, making it unique in educating graduate students in both the United States and Canada. Dr. Coleman earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology and anthropology at Denison University in Ohio and her master’s degree from Ohio State University. She received a Ph.D. in social and cultural analysis and American studies at New York University. Prior to assuming the presidency, she held administrative positions at Tufts University and Harvard and was the first senior vice president for global inclusion and strategy innovation at NYU. What a treat it is today to be able to have a conversation with Lisa Coleman, a trail blazer and academic leader. Contact She's Got Nerve
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| Can Women Have It All Special Live Recording With Elite Athlete Jill Moffatt | 27 Mar 2025 | 00:47:23 | |
In this special live recorded episode, Martha and Indira speak candidly with Jill Moffatt, an elite woman athlete and 2X Olympic rower - an individual who has demonstrated “nerve” throughout her entire life. As co-founder of MOMentum, an initiative to advance gender equity in sport and the support of motherhood in women athletes, Jill is passionate about creating a more inclusive future for women in sport. If that isn’t enough, she is currently pursuing her PhD degree at Laurentian University and conducting research on mothers who are elite athletes and how their stories are represented in the media. Jill discusses her own experience as an elite athlete and how she had the ‘nerve’ to get there. Please note this live recording took place on March 13, 2025 at the ‘Breakfast with Champions’ hosted by She’s Got Next at the UBC Alumni Centre, Vancouver. Episode Resources
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| You Bloom Where You Are Planted With Mary Wells | 13 Mar 2025 | 01:01:55 | |
In this episode, Martha and Indira speak candidly with Mary Wells, a Canadian materials engineer who is highly regarded for her research advances in the processing of advanced metallic alloys. She currently serves as Dean of Engineering at the University of Waterloo, the second woman to assume this position. Prior to her appointment at Waterloo, she was Dean for the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences at the University of Guelph. A consistent advocate for women in engineering, she chaired the Ontario Network for Women in Engineering from 2013-2018. Episode Resources Contact She's Got Nerve
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| The Importance Of Curiosity With Susan Hockfield | 27 Feb 2025 | 00:56:56 | |
In this episode, Martha and Indira speak candidly with Susan Hockfield, an American neuroscientist and the first woman to serve as president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) from 2004 to 2012. Prior to becoming president, Dr. Hockfield served as Dean of Yale’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and Yale’s Provost. As the first life scientist to be appointed president of MIT, her scholarship involved the use of monoclonal antibody technology in brain research. Episode Resources
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| Sometimes Girls Only Get To Do The Job When Boys Don’t Want To With Rt. Hon. Kim Campbell | 13 Feb 2025 | 01:03:31 | |
In this episode, Martha and Indira speak candidly with Rt. Hon. Kim Campbell, who served as the 19th prime minister of Canada – the first and only female prime minister of Canada. She was the first young woman president of her high school student council, the first woman president of UBC’s freshman class, the first woman to serve as minister of justice in Canada and the first woman to become minister of defense in a NATO country, to name a few. She has served as Secretary-General of the Club of Madrid, an organization she helped found, which includes former heads of government and attempts to enhance democracy. A Companion of the Order of Canada, she is recognized internationally as a trailblazer and a leader of leaders! Episode Resources
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| Vision Without Execution Is Hallucination With Elizabeth Cannon | 30 Jan 2025 | 01:02:17 | |
In this episode, Martha and Indira speak candidly with Elizabeth Cannon, a leading geomatics engineer, served as the eighth president and vice-chancellor of the University of Calgary from 2010 to 2018. Prior to her appointment as president, she was dean of the Schulich School of Engineering at the University of Calgary. Appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada and a Member to the Alberta Order of Excellence, she has worked tirelessly to raise public awareness about science and engineering careers for women. Episode Resources
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| Being Underestimated Is Like A Stealth Weapon With Drew Faust | 16 Jan 2025 | 01:00:58 | |
In this episode, Martha and Indira speak candidly with Drew Faust, an American historian who was the first woman to serve as president of Harvard University from 2007 to 2018. Drew discusses her own experiences in the position and how she had the ‘nerve’ to get there.
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| Answering The Call To Lead with Alison Richard | 10 Dec 2024 | 00:50:14 | |
In this episode, Martha and Indira speak candidly with Alison Richard, a distinguished anthropologist who is widely known for her research on the evolution of complex social systems among primates, was the first woman to be appointed Vice-Chancellor (President) of Cambridge University. Alison discusses her experiences in the positions and how she had the ‘nerve’ to get there. Episode Resources
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| The Importance Of A Creative Outlet with Anne Giardini | 26 Nov 2024 | 00:51:18 | |
In this episode, Martha and Indira speak candidly with Anne Giardini, a Canadian business executive, journalist, lawyer and author who served as the 11th Chancellor of Simon Fraser University. She was president of Weyerhauser Company Ltd. and has written two novels, The Sad Truth About Happiness and Advice for Italian Boys. She is an Officer of the Order of Canada and a member of the Order of British Columbia.
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| Be Your Best Self with Susan Christoffersen | 12 Nov 2024 | 00:53:15 | |
In this episode, Martha and Indira speak candidly with Susan Christoffersen who is currently serving as the first woman to be appointed Dean of the Joseph L. Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. Susan discusses her own experiences in the position and how she had the ‘nerve’ to get there.
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| Overcoming Adversity and Building Resilience with Heather Munroe-Blum | 29 Oct 2024 | 00:59:46 | |
In this episode, Martha and Indira speak candidly with Heather Munroe-Blum who served as Principal and Vice-Chancellor of McGill University from 2003-2013. Heather discusses her own experiences in the position and how she had the ‘nerve’ to get there. Episode Resources
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| Nadine Caron: When Opportunity Doesn’t Come Wrapped with a Bow | 09 Oct 2025 | 00:57:52 | |
In this episode Martha and Indira have a conversation with Nadine Caron, the first Canadian female general surgeon of First Nations descent, as well as the first female First Nations student to graduate from the University of British Columbia’s medical school, being the top ranked student. She has also received an MA degree in Public Health from Harvard and completed a postgraduate fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco, focused on endocrine surgical oncology. Nadine currently works as a general and endocrine surgeon in Prince George and leads the Northern Biobank Project, which aims to improve patients’ access to personalized medical research in northern British Columbia. In 2014 she co-founded the Centre for Excellence in Indigenous Health at UBC and has played numerous roles at the federal, provincial and local levels to improve health outcomes for Indigenous Peoples. She has received honorary degrees from the University of the Fraser Valley and SFU and is the recipient of the Order of British Columbia. What a treat it is today to be able to have a conversation with Nadine Caron, a trail blazer, a public health advocate and academic leader. Contact She's Got Nerve
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| I’m Just So Sorry That You’re Female with Maria Klawe | 15 Oct 2024 | 00:58:16 | |
In this episode Martha and Indira speak candidly with Maria Klawe, the fifth and first woman president of Harvey Mudd College from 2006 to 2023. Maria discusses her own experiences in the position and how she had the ‘nerve’ to get there. Contact She's Got Nerve
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| Be True To Yourself with Shirley Tilghman | 30 Sep 2024 | 00:56:18 | |
In this episode, Martha and Indira speak candidly with Shirley Tilghman who was the first woman to serve as president of Princeton University from 2001-2013. Shirley discusses her own experiences in the position and how she had the ‘nerve’ to get there.
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| Moura Quayle: The Importance of Designed Leadership | 25 Sep 2025 | 00:49:29 | |
In this episode Martha and Indira have a conversation with a woman leader who has demonstrated “nerve” throughout her entire life. Moura Quayle a renown strategic design scholar and urban systems designer. Moura has done it all—in both academia and government and community affairs. She has been an academic leader at UBC and has served in various leadership roles including Dean of the Faculty of Land and Food Systems, the founding Director of the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, and most recently as Vice-Provost and Associate Vice-President of Academic Affairs, to name a few. In addition to her academic roles, Moura served as Deputy Minister of Advanced Education as well as being the B.C. Commissioner of the Pacific Coast Collaborative. Her research focuses on strategic design, especially as it is applied to leadership—authoring a groundbreaking book entitled Designed Leadership where she applies design principles to leadership. What a treat it is today to have a conversation with Moura Quayle, a woman who has truly had the nerve to “re-design” (if we may) leadership. Contact She's Got Nerve
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| Melanie Woodin: Her First Days Leading the U of T | 11 Sep 2025 | 00:52:51 | |
In this episode Martha and Indira have a conversation with Melanie Woodin, an internationally recognized neuroscientist who studies the mechanisms underlying learning and memory in the brain. Melanie has recently been named the University of Toronto’s 17th president, the first woman to assume this position. Prior to this appointment, she was dean of the university’s Faculty of Arts and Science—Canada’s largest and most comprehensive faculty. She completed her bachelor of science degree in biology and master of science degree in zoology at the U of T and obtained her PhD in neuroscience from the University of Calgary. Following postdoctoral study at Berkeley, she joined the U of T as an assistant professor in 2004 and has spent her entire academic career at that university. Typically, we have interviewed women who have either completed their leadership roles or are in the final years of their respective assignments. In this episode, we are pleased and excited to be interviewing a remarkable woman who is just beginning her term as president—who is embarking upon her journey, rather than completing the role. It was so interesting hearing from Melanie, her perspective as she takes on this new role, what she is feeling, learning, and experiencing in the first weeks of her presidency! Episode Resources Contact She's Got Nerve
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| Autism Is My Superpower With Guest Sara Seager | 26 Jun 2025 | 00:38:17 | |
In this episode Martha and Indira speak candidly with Sara Seager, a Canadian-American, world-renowned leader in astrophysics and planetary science. A professor at MIT, she has been instrumental in advancing the study of planets outside our solar system. Her research has greatly improved our understanding of the wide variety of exoplanets that exist in the galaxy and pushed us closer to finding another Earth-like world that could support life. After obtaining her Bachelor of Science degree in math and physics at the University of Toronto, she earned her PhD in astronomy at Harvard University. She has won almost every academic astronomy award possible including the Sackler Prize, the Helen B. Warner Prize from the American Astronomical Society, and most recently the Kavli Prize in Physics. She is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a MacArthur Fellow, and a member of the American Philosophical Society. In 2020 she was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada. As the author of an award-winning memoir, The Smallest Lights in the Universe, she has distinguished herself not only as a scientist but also a storyteller who explores the wonders of human connections. We are thrilled to be able to have a conversation with Sara, an extraordinary scientist and enlightened humanist. Episode Resources
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| Surfing The Waves With Kim Brooks | 12 Jun 2025 | 00:47:34 | |
In this episode Martha and Indira speak candidly with Kim Brooks, who began her term as Dalhousie’s 13th President and Vice-Chancellor in 2023 after serving as Acting Provost and Dean of both the Law School and the Faculty of Management. Kim has had a distinguished career as a law professor at Queen’s University, UBC and McGill and is known for her expertise in tax law. In addition, she has been a recipient of a 3M Teaching Fellowship and is well recognized as an advocate for university community inclusiveness. She is not only the first woman but also the first openly queer person to hold the position of president at Dalhousie. Episode Resources Contact She's Got Nerve
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| Leadership In The Digital Age With Biddy Martin | 29 May 2025 | 00:51:02 | |
In this episode Martha and Indira speak candidly with Biddy Martin, a distinguished humanities scholar and widely respected leader in higher education. For more than two decades she served on the faculty of German studies and women’s studies at Cornell University. She chaired the Department of German Studies, served as senior associate dean in the College of Arts and Sciences, and assumed the role of Cornell’s provost in 2000. After eight years as provost, she was appointed Chancellor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In 2011, she became the first woman and openly lesbian president of Amherst College, one of the top liberal arts colleges in the United States. Serving for 11 years as president, Biddy Martin is the longest serving president of the college in the last 50 years. Episode Resources
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| You Don't Get The Job You Don't Apply For With Joy Johnson | 15 May 2025 | 00:49:50 | |
In this episode Martha speaks candidly with Joy Johnson, a distinguished health scientist and researcher in gender and health with a particular focus on promoting health and modifying health-related behaviour. In particular, she has studied the different health behaviours of women and men in terms of how gender affects how they react differently to drugs and other therapies. With an impressive record of scholarship and academic administrative appointments, Dr.Johnson was the first woman to be appointed Vice-President Research at Simon Fraser University in 2014. In 2020, she was appointed the 10th President and Vice-Chancellor of SFU and has recently been reappointed as President for another five-year term. What a treat it is to be able to have a conversation with Joy Johnson, an extraordinary scholar and academic leader. Episode Resources
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| Nerve And Fear Go Together With Anne-Marie Slaughter | 01 May 2025 | 00:52:47 | |
In this episode Martha and Indira speak candidly with Anne-Marie Slaughter, a woman who has demonstrated “nerve” throughout her entire life. Currently CEO of the think and action tank New America, Anne-Marie is a global leader, scholar, and public intellectual. She was the J. Sinclair Armstrong Professor of International, Foreign and Comparative Law at Harvard Law School. From 2002 to 2009, she was Bert G. Kerstetter '66 University Professor of Politics and International Affairs and Dean of the School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. In 2009 Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appointed her as the first woman Director of Policy Planning in the U.S. State Department. She has authored or edited nine books covering a wide range of topics including global network design and leadership, gender equality and American renewal. She revived a national debate over gender equality in the 21st century in an article in The Atlantic titled “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All”. She has truly been a trailblazer! Episode Resources
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| Mary Sue Coleman: Listen More Than You Speak | 20 Nov 2025 | 00:48:14 | |
In this episode Martha and Indira have a conversation with Mary Sue Coleman, an internationally recognized biochemist who received a Bachelor of Science in chemistry from Grinnell College and a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of North Carolina. She was on the biochemistry faculty at the University of Kentucky for nineteen years, then served as the 18th President of the University of Iowa from 1995 to 2002. In 2002 she was appointed 13th President of the University of Michigan—the first and only woman, to date, to serve in that capacity. In January, 2022 she returned to U of M as the interim President replacing Mark Schlissel and remaining in that role until Santa Ono took office on October, 2022. Time magazine ranked her as one of the ten best American University Presidents in 2009, citing her success in fundraising and her emphasis on research. She is an elected Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and along with many other honours and appointments has served as President of the Association of American Universities. It would seem as if Mary Sue Coleman has done it all, making this Contact She's Got Nerve
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