Transforming Your Relationship with Yourself, with Kalpa Gupta

We sit down with Kalpa Gupta, Founder and CEO of KNEKXT Group, to discuss carrying generational trauma, how she helps sexual abuse survivors find their voice, and how you can support survivors as a coworker, friend, and otherwise. (CN/TW: talk of sexual abuse)

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0:00:15.5 Maricella Herrera: Hi everyone. Before I get to the episode, I want to take a moment to address the United States Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe versus Wade on June 24th, which stripped away the right to have a safe and legal abortion. Restricting access to comprehensive reproductive care, including abortion, threatens the health and independence of all people, which we have already seen with abortion bans and restrictions in countries like Poland and Malta. This decision has dire consequences and could have harsh repercussions for other landmark decisions within the United States. I encourage our audience, American and otherwise, to learn more about what you can do to help at podvoices.help. I encourage you to speak up, take care, and spread the word.

0:01:01.2 Intro: Welcome to the Ellevate Podcast, conversations with Women Changing the Face of Business. And now your host, Maricella Herrera.

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0:01:19.0 MH: Hi everyone. Welcome to the Ellevate Podcast. I'm Maricella Herrera, the CEO of Ellevate Network and your host. And continuing in our get to know Ellevate and the people behind the scenes little run that we've been having in the last few weeks, today and our next episode I am going to be joined by Oi Yin Lo, who is one of our program managers. How are you Oi Yin?

0:01:48.3 Oi Yin Lo: I'm good. Thanks for having me.

0:01:51.9 MH: So Oi Yin, tell our audience a little bit about what you do.

0:01:58.0 OL: Sure. So I am one of the program managers at Ellevate, working primarily with the executive segment. I'm the newest program manager on the team. I joined just this past summer in June. And my work involves identifying who our executives are, making sure that the programming that we're offering is valuable and resonates with our executives. So these are primarily women that are CEO, COOs, high up in their corporate careers or they're self-starters, who have left the corporate life and struck out on their own taking with them all of their experience from being leaders, and now doing their own thing.

0:02:55.6 MH: Yeah. So you were thrown into the fire, so to speak [chuckle], 'cause you came in this summer as we were going through a lot of changes, but you've navigated through it, so thank you for holding on.

[laughter]

0:03:13.5 OL: I appreciate that.

0:03:15.9 MH: And Oi Yin and I can be found every Tuesday at the executive round table at 1:00 PM Eastern, if you ever wanna come and chat. She's the mastermind behind what discussions and speakers and all that good stuff that we come through. What have you learned from our executive group? 'Cause I know you've been talking a lot to these women who are leaders in their fields.

0:03:41.2 OL: Yeah. So one of the surprising things is that our leaders still suffer from imposter syndrome. I thought that once you've gotten to that high level of leadership, you've proven yourself over and over again enough that you start to believe that you've got the expertise, you've got the skills, you've got the talent to be a leader. So that struck me as something that I didn't expect. And I think the thing with female leaders, it seems like even though you are at that level, you still wanna get better. You are still looking to up the ante on your leadership skills. And I think that's a hallmark of a good leader. 'Cause I think we've all worked for that one manager or supervisor that you'll remember forever because they were just terrible. They didn't care about their people or they were micromanagers or whatever the case may be, and created a toxic environment. But I think that level of awareness in women leaders helps with them continuing to be better than their male counterparts I think. I mean, it's a broad statement, but I think having that eye on being better helps.

0:05:09.1 MH: It's interesting, you're saying how confidence I guess, when you think about imposter syndrome, confidence is still something we struggle with. And I think it's because we've been socialized to be perfect. But also because we... When we're in companies, they're just not... No one looks like us [chuckle] in many ways. You can't... The persona of a leader is a little different. And it's hard to feel like you belong and be sure in what you're doing when you know there's so many pitfalls out there that are due to the system, not even due to you.

0:05:53.4 OL: Right. Yes. Yeah. And I think when you are the only or one of the few in the room, there's this pressure to prove you belong there. Even though obviously if you got into the room, got a seat at the table, then you belong there. But it seems like our female execs still have that pressure to continually prove that they can stay almost. Yeah.

0:06:26.9 MH: This is crazy. We really need to fix this. Well, if you needed to hear it, for anyone who needed to hear it, you got this.

0:06:37.1 OL: And you're not alone.

0:06:39.6 MH: Accomplishments. And you're not alone. Exactly. We're all going through it, and we all have our crisis of confidence, I think. I certainly have. Speaking of people who have proved themselves and are working to help other leaders internalize their value and own their careers and their lives. Our guest today is Kalpa Gupta. She's great. She's a frequent flyer at our executive roundtables. She helps lead our entrepreneur group. She's really fantastic. Her purpose is to transform people's relationship with self and break down the cycle of intergenerational trauma for humanity to heal.

0:07:28.7 MH: We talk a little bit about her path and her career, but I do want to give a trigger warning here because we do also talk about sexual abuse. So Kalpa works with leaders and executives and business owners who have experienced sexual abuse as a child. She talks about her own experience and how to shift identities that might be stuck in shame or blame or guilt, and really become integrated as a whole. So this episode is not for everyone. If you... It is a sensitive topic that we cover. So I wanna disclose that from the beginning. And if you're staying with us, hope you enjoy my conversation with Kalpa, and if not, well, we'll see you next time at the Ellevate Podcast. But for now, we'll go for my conversation with Kalpa.

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0:08:30.6 MH: Welcome today, I'm super excited to be here with Kalpa Gupta. Kalpa, how are you?

0:08:35.4 Kalpa Gupta: Doing lovely, Maricella. How are you today?

0:08:39.1 MH: I'm doing well. I'm doing well. Kalpa is an amazing advisor and coach, and one of the leaders of our entrepreneur round tables, which is really great. I always love having Ellevate leaders join me for the podcast. It's really good to connect in a little bit of a different format.

0:09:00.1 KG: Yes, yes. Right. We have formed so many amazing, I would say lifelong friendships and as well as the support and validation we all seek in this journey. Right? So it's been personally very fulfilling as well, you know, being with some of the other women and really get to connect with a lot of the community as they're moving.

0:09:21.4 MH: And from everywhere. Right? Because you've been doing these online, so it's so cool to see the community from all the different regions come together. So Kalpa, let's start, we always start kind of level setting on the podcast. Can you give me a little bit about you, tell me a little bit about your personal background and your story and how you got to where you are today?

0:09:45.6 KG: Sure. So I grew up in India, and I moved to the US when I was 26. I married my husband and I followed him here. Professionally I've worked in financial services for close to 15 years. I started my career and did General Electric in India. And then, worked with AmEx or American Express for a number of years. And then early warning, what you know as the Zelle product, like leading, various different roles. Yeah. It was one of my favorite products, Which I still use and advocate. [chuckle]

0:10:18.8 MH: It's a great product.

0:10:20.4 KG: Yes, yes. I had some fun there with the team. Great group of people. So yeah, I led diverse roles as a director in both at AmEx and then also at Zelle in product management as well as product development. And prior to that, early career in fraud risk management, and I started my career in analytics and consulting. So as I reflect back Maricella, it's been... I think I was meant to be an entrepreneur and I was feeling like I was in this box. Right. So, every few years I was intentionally like, changed different roles to get a perspective on the business. And I would say I left my role in like my mid 30s without having a backup plan, one day I worked till 2:00 AM...

0:11:09.7 MH: Yeah.

0:11:11.7 KG: And I felt like my role... The vision that I had of my life and my values were not aligned, and I needed to... Something needed to shift in me. Right? So really through working with a lot of coaches at the time, I realized that A, I really need to dive into the entrepreneurial kind of path. And B, also that I have some early childhood trauma, specifically childhood sexual abuse that I needed to really heal. So that's really who I am. And today I'm at a very different place where I'm really helping sexually abused children and women claim their power, use their voice, and really create a kinder world than we found. Right?

0:11:57.0 MH: Kalpa. So you know, you said you always meant to be an entrepreneur. The drive there, was it not being satisfied with being in a big corporate culture, was it wanting to have an impact in someone else's life more directly? What was it that was bubbling inside of you so that you could... That you know, took that big leap of going out on your own?

0:12:29.6 KG: Yeah, so I think, I believe deeply, deeply, it is really a curiosity about the world. Right? And then we as humans. Right? I mean, if you just think about it, how our careers are really marketed, if you will, to young professionals and particularly, since the time I've been in the industry, or even as a child, it's like career ladder. And one of my mentors April beautifully puts it, right? But we are more than that. There's no, like our career paths are very non-linear, right? And we want to be in any role that you go, whether it's in marketing or in product, in risk. You are really what... You're working with people, through people, right?

0:13:12.3 KG: And at some point in our, you know, depending on where you are, I think our corporate environments are very much still working on the principle of efficiency like it was in the manufacturing era, the industrial era prior to that, right? So I think both of those kind of and then combined with the pandemic, right? A lot of things are simply not working, right? So for me I think I learned great. I built a lot of new things, admired the systems and processes and things to scale and enter new market. Understand the risk landscapes, like everywhere, the culture, I've had mostly global roles in my career, but I think the drive was really to make an impact, right? That is really meaningful in people's lives.

0:14:03.2 KG: So I think... And partly if you had asked me like three years ago, I probably wouldn't have been able to articulate. A lot of what I'm doing has come from trial and error, right? So I was deeply disconnected and I wanted to create greater connection with myself and create people to their own selves. So today my purpose is I say, hey, it's transforming your relationship with yourself, right? So because we as entrepreneur, we are really the product as you're trying to grow, right? Earlier on and get your ideas out there. So yeah, that's the... All of these factors have kind of weighed in played a role in... When I say I wanted, always knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur.

0:14:54.2 MH: I love the phrase you used, transforming the relationships with yourself. We are not kind to ourselves many times, and I don't know a lot of people that have a very good relationship with themselves. So the work you're doing is very, very powerful. And you did mention you are a childhood sexual abuse survivor, and you are, which is a lot of what drives in the work that you are doing with people. How come... You know, it seems you had a very successful career with this kind of, in your background, in your past, but it seems like at some point it kind of came to a point where you needed to acknowledge it, embrace it. Am I...

0:15:41.5 KG: Yes.

0:15:43.3 MH: Going in the right direction here? Like, it feels like that's kind of where this came to you.

0:15:48.6 KG: Yes. Yes. So let me just give some context on that. And it's a great question, right? So I was abused since my early childhood, probably, I don't remember, maybe three, four years up until like I was 20 or so, by different people that I knew. And I hadn't shared that story. I was married like for 10 years by the time that I started sharing, is I thought this was a thing of the past because I knew other people who had gone through, other children who had gone through, right? But as an adult or as a professional, these are like taboo topics. I didn't know anybody in our professional spaces or in the business, you know, the way we project our image, how we show up.

0:16:32.8 KG: So I think for me, when I realized that there was something deeply disconnected, and I should add, I was also in a very toxic environment. Like, I found myself, right? So, I think a lot of my brain's wiring, I was anywhere hyper vigilant, right? Which is a very common thing for trauma survivors. And also control, right? We are control, like we hide behind our achievements because our trauma also makes us resilient. It also gives us great, some coping mechanism that served us great earlier on. So for example, you are pleasing people or you're trying to just protect yourself, right? Or you're trying to give other people the grace, but you forget that you need to be kind to yourself.

0:17:25.8 KG: So I realized that at some point I was tolerating things that I would not do to other people, right? So I think that realization was like when that... And that came from the... And there was another overlay on that story. My son was also around three years old and I remember one day looking at him and it was around the same time I believe my abuse had started. So I was like, wow, how can I carry so much shame about that? If something were to happen to my child like today, would that be his fault? Hell no. Then why am I being so unkind to me? And would I, if I don't tell the story, if I don't start to take action, how do I know other kids like... Well, how can other kids, we can change the reality for others? Because realities in US specifically, right? One in four girls and one in six boys are sexually abused before they turn 18 years old. So roughly globally...

0:18:30.2 MH: Sorry.

0:18:30.2 KG: Yeah.

0:18:31.3 MH: Yeah. Can you say that again 'cause it's such a terrible number.

0:18:36.0 KG: One in four girls and one in six boys are sexually abused before they turn 18 years old, these are children we are talking about.

0:18:50.6 MH: These are kids, wow.

0:18:51.7 KG: These are our kids. Maybe a younger cousin, maybe a grandchild. And who knows? And this is not new, right? So this is generational. So what that also means by, if you just take, extend those numbers, is globally, roughly a quarter of the world's population has been sexually abused as a child. And I've heard, seen some numbers from New Zealand, one of the reports, it says one in three people are childhood sexual abuse survivors. So by any stretch of imagination, like you're talking about billion, at least a billion people or more in the world who are suffering.

0:19:36.8 MH: Oh my god.

0:19:37.8 KG: And suffering, life doesn't have to be suffering, but they are suffering. And I have the privilege right here today with all of that successful career, having a very loving, supporting husband, a family, child who's striving. Not many people have that, right? A lot of things were great in my life, but it may not be the same for everybody, so that's the reason I show up and I share. So tomorrow, nobody carries this trauma up until they're, most of their life.

0:20:11.6 MH: And so you hadn't really talked about it, how did it feel to take a step back and put it out there and kind of own your story?

0:20:22.0 KG: Yeah, and it's been a process, Maricella. So I was just reflecting today, if you think back to... I have spoken at Ellevate and other forums like Volume Career, multiple different panels, and as entrepreneurs, like last year. And then today I was reflecting, I have been on four different, I think by now, podcasts, talking about including today, right? About this publicly and I shared earlier on LinkedIn, but it doesn't come overnight, right? I've had to go through the process where the story that I shared when I said, okay, I need to have grace for myself, same grace for myself as I give to other people, right? That's become my philosophy. So that's number one and then I realized I needed some systems, right? And systems in terms of healing myself in therapy because I wanted to heal myself and know why I am sharing with somebody, because I had this story.

0:21:25.5 KG: It's a thing of the past. But then I, once I started digging in, I saw a lot of research on how adverse childhood experiences affect your brain development and your health outcomes in future, so as an adult and as you age. So I think I had to go through therapy many months [laughter] now and then start to shift, like in terms of some practices, my morning rituals, my daily meditation and exercise and all of that, and take tiny steps. I also work with a lot of coaches and particularly with my high performance coach, who I have now, I then went through going through some neurolinguistic programming and NLP and timeline therapy and such, and really shifting my subconscious, kind of those unconscious, like the beliefs that I had and started sharing, right?

0:22:23.0 KG: It's funny so and then I started putting videos out there, I started talking and so I say that to encourage others, right? So telling the story, you can be critical sometimes that, oh, it's not perfect, it's not articulate or there's this missing, but the people that need to hear, all they need to hear is not that imperfection. Your message is key, because you don't know when you go out there and share, like whose life you are saving. So for me, it's those incremental things that I've done that I have invested in me is what has enabled me to be out here and share the story, right? So we can help other people transform their stories.

0:23:14.6 MH: And so important to share the stories, like you said, it doesn't need to be kind of you keeping something in and dealing with shame or something that is not your fault, that it's not for you to take on. It's very powerful that you're putting your message out there. That I really, really, really mean it. It's probably not easy and it's like you said it, it makes a difference for people who just need to listen to your message or feel identified. One of the things I'm hearing from you though, is too, that you had, you lean on other people and that it's so important to have that support system around you. And I wanna hear more about how the people around you have supported you or what impact they've made in your life as you have gotten through this trauma, but also as you're building your successful company and you've had your successful career and sort of in your life in general.

0:24:22.9 KG: Yes. So, thank you for diving into that, it's super important, to lean on other people no matter what your situation is. The stats I shared similarly, for no matter what struggle you're going through, to our listeners, I would say always lean on. So for me, Ellevate Network actually has been one of the key places where I... I remember when I had quit the job I met one of the Phoenix Chapter leaders, Karen, and then she introduced me to...

0:24:56.8 MH: I love Karen.

0:24:57.8 KG: Yeah, she's amazing, isn't she?

0:25:00.7 MH: Yeah, she's great.

0:25:00.9 KG: She, yeah, she introduced me to Ellevate and tapped into me as a chapter leader and then I met so many amazing women over the years, and in fact even before leaving, we just hung out. Like they become personal friends, right? And supporters, some people that we do business with and who are also recommending other people into their network. I would say, so number one, lean into... So for me, Ellevate was being a key Network, my therapist, it's become a lifelong practice, my meditation community. I joined a group who have worldwide presence, Brahma Kumaris.

0:25:48.1 KG: They offer free meditations and I do... Throughout the pandemic, it was such a relief joining their weekly meditations, and then my coaches. So I've had executive coaches for business, I've had business coaches, I've joined accelerators. So I think a lot of these places have really, really helped me. And people, back to the point of how they supported, people are generous. I think we have so much judgment about us, or we project our fears onto others that we don't even go and ask for support. But you know, the last time somebody asked you for help Maricella, I'm sure you would be like, "Oh, I would gladly do it," so it's so important to do that.

0:26:41.1 MH: What could we do if we know someone who has gone through childhood sexual abuse or some other trauma? Is there anything you'd recommend of how we should be there to support them?

0:26:57.0 KG: Yes, absolutely. First of all, I say this for everybody who's... If someone, an adult or anyone shares with you just say thank you for your vulnerability and thank you for trusting me and know that they are more than their trauma. And then second, unless they share details with you or they want you to take any specific action, it's not our place to interfere to say, you wanna go and have a conversation with this person who you might know. So let them, they are perfectly capable of managing their own trauma, so unless they ask for a specific support or ask you for help anyway, please just say thank you and be there on... And you can ask them, how can I support you? Sometimes all they need is that kind non-judgment-like listening for a lot of release.

0:27:55.4 MH: Thank you for that.

0:27:55.7 KG: And then if you are talking to children. So for children, I think it gets very tricky. It's as parents, as responsible adults in the community, just watch out for children who are withdrawn, who are perhaps acting up sometimes because who knows who's abusing them. So sometimes when you're asking them, they may not tell you, so if you see something and if you have that comfort with them, you can ask them to write it down. And this advice I recently received from really a fellow survivor and I'll share more of her story in my newsletter.

0:28:36.4 KG: But really that, asking them to write it down in a piece of paper, and then if they tell you, you ask for permission to record their story because sometimes children get intimidated later, and then they wouldn't want to say. So I think these are the things that we can do. And then lastly, as Ellevate, as a network, I think we are great at creating that safe space and forum. Because I did two surveys and it's important to share that Maricella, [chuckle] is I spoke at another women's conference a few months ago this summer, and then at Ellevate. So I've done survey with roughly over 200 attendees women, and 60% of the attendees said that either they or someone they know were abused as a child.

0:29:26.6 MH: Oh, wow.

0:29:27.9 KG: 60%. So if I were an entrepreneur, I would jump at this opportunity to say, what can we do? Where we are actually talking about these fundamental problems that people have. And I'm not saying everybody needs to come out and be vulnerable. But just be aware, like more trauma-informed approaches in our workplaces, the way we create, or the way we are giving people flexibility or the way we are showing up to support people around us.

0:30:02.9 MH: And for businesses, if you're saying 60% of the people in that, in those audiences, it's women who are in business, who are professionals, people who are living their lives, and companies need to give space. I would say, I've been on a tear lately of thinking how companies need to really, really treat people as humans and I think that's a part of it, letting people have what they... The flexibility they need, the support that they need, the space that they need.

0:30:45.9 KG: Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely. And everybody, the other part is also being knowing our boundaries of sometimes somebody is not ready or they may project certain things based on the content or such, but that is their own denial or their own work, self-work that somebody needs to do and then also being kind when we are going into these forums. So yeah, I'm glad you resonate on that point.

0:31:14.6 MH: Yeah, and I know you work with companies and with leaders to build some of these, kind of like you said, transforming the relationship with themselves, which I believe also has an impact in helping them transform the relationship with others. You can't be there for others if you're not there, okay yourself. So can you tell me a little bit about your work?

0:31:48.7 KG: Sure. So I do two things, particularly on that, where I'm... So, one is I run my monthly forums and I had one earlier today, and it was amazing just talking about it. Some of the content and questions that I get from people. And then I'm gonna run those every month. And it's a low price point, anyone who wants to kind of join. It's really women who are in business or entrepreneurs or anyone who survived, who's a survivor of childhood sexual abuse and seeking to really take that first step to find a supportive forum where we can take one like hot questions each month and we deep dive into that. And then the second thing, which is really where bulk of my energy is which is based on really my life experiences, the masterminds which I run twice a year.

0:32:40.0 KG: And that... I'm really thrilled to announce the one in October, where there are some certain qualifiers. If people are interested, they can reach out to me. So my focus is going to be on really women entrepreneurs or business leaders who are successful in their area, but they feel like they're constantly doubting themselves. They have low self-worth, or they're hiding behind achievement and they're feeling disconnected. And the life as they know, honestly, is not working for them. So, if they are looking for that supportive community through group facilitation, it's a 90-day mastermind. I would love to take that pioneer group and next year hopefully by now, we'll be holding hands with hundreds of people and warriors who are actually joining me in that journey.

0:33:38.5 MH: I love it, and the more people that go through this work to really reconnect with themselves, I think the more impact that can have on the people around them and in the world. Kalpa, what would you tell your younger self? What's one advice you would give yourself back when you were starting out maybe?

0:34:00.0 KG: Yes, [chuckle] it's gonna be the theme for this, which is like, have grace for yourself the way you have grace for your friends and others you care about.

0:34:13.0 MH: Yeah, it's hard.

0:34:15.3 KG: It's hard. It's simple when you frame it as, and it dawned on me one day which is, if I'm not surviving... So I worry about all these people in my life or what if I'm not working, I'm not earning, or my son, he's there, he's young, and what if I'm not saving this? And what if I'm not there for my husband, my parents for whom I'm the primary caregiver? From a monetary standpoint, from far away. And then it dawned on me, okay, but what if I am like this? I can't show up fully, I can't be my 100% on most days, then this whole foundation is weak. So, I think when you start to think about that in the long term, I would say for younger adults, just anything that you desire in your life, really think about those and make that investment in you. And it really starts with you.

0:35:09.5 MH: I love that, it does start with us, it starts with each and every one of us. Kalpa is there anything else I haven't asked you that you want us to cover before we go into the lightning round?

0:35:19.9 KG: I think you've covered everything, I would just reiterate that for everybody that no matter where you are, you always have something that you can contribute to other people, like whether it's your time, energy, or money. And find those things based on your privilege and power and do that one thing and show up consistently and life will be really fulfilling in the long run.

0:35:48.5 MH: I love that you mentioned how use your privilege and power 'cause we all have power, sometimes we underestimate how much power we have.

0:35:58.6 KG: Yep.

0:35:58.8 MH: We can all make a difference. Thank you so much Kalpa for being here today. Megan would kill me if I don't do the lightning round. I'm gonna ask you a question and you can give me back an answer in a sentence or less. Okay, Monday morning staple?

0:36:25.7 KG: Music.

0:36:26.3 MH: Music?

0:36:28.6 KG: Yes.

0:36:29.2 MH: Nice, top self-care practice?

0:36:32.0 KG: Meditation and breathing.

0:36:36.2 MH: Forgetting to breathe is one of the things I...

0:36:37.7 KG: Yeah, I cheated a little, it's breathing.

[laughter]

0:36:39.9 MH: I tend to hold my breath a lot. Dream dinner guest?

0:36:48.2 KG: Oh, this one is hard but, my grandfather who's no more, I would love to ask origin stories.

0:36:55.0 MH: Ah, that's so nice. Early bird or night owl?

0:37:01.0 KG: Early bird for sure.

0:37:04.7 MH: And finally, what's one question or thought you'd want to leave with our listeners?

0:37:11.9 KG: I would simply say, and this is really primary also for your listeners and any trauma survivors, have grace for yourself and just imagine the judgment and shame and anything that you carry for yourself, like is that serving you in the long term? So really the question here is ask your past beliefs and judgments, are they serving you? And if not, maybe this is time to adapt some new coping mechanism and systems in your life so you can manifest and get to that magical life that you always desire.

0:37:53.2 MH: I love it. I love it. And so where can our listeners find you and you said you mentioned your newsletter and all that good stuff, LinkedIn?

0:38:03.7 KG: Yeah, so they can find me on LinkedIn and my full name is Kalpashree Gupta, we can leave that in the show notes as well as my company website is Knekxt, so that's, K-N-E-K-X-T.com. We've gone live and you'll find a lot of free resources on the website as well. So those are two ways they can find me and then I'm always available to Ellevate great conversations if any of the members are in Ellevate.

0:38:36.8 MH: Love it. Thank you so much Kalpa. This was so good.

0:38:39.9 KG: Thank you so much Maricella.

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0:38:43.4 MH: I really enjoyed my conversation with Kalpa, she is such a genuine human being.

0:38:54.1 OL: Yeah, she actually recently was a speaker for one of the executive roundtables, so you can tell that she has really done the work and she speaks from a place of healing and just wants to share that with the community.

0:39:10.4 MH: Yeah, she's really, really great. So speaking of round tables, if you want to come hang out, meet other amazing women in the community, meet us for one of our round tables this week. So our Rising Leaders meet Thursdays at noon and they'll be talking about performing under pressure. Our entrepreneur round table, which they meet on Thursdays at 4:00 PM, they have a little bit of a change in pace this week, but they're talking about a topic that matters to all of us. And the way I see it, it is just as important for equal rights and for the workplace as equal pay because of the effect it has on women. So entrepreneurs will be talking business as unusual, abortion acts as regression and its impact. And our Women Seeking Confidence Roundtable, they meet once a month and they'll be talking about communicating with confidence.

0:40:13.3 MH: So very in line with what we started our conversation at the beginning of this podcast. Our executives are not meeting this week. We are actually going to be at a team retreat on Tuesday, making some magic for Ellevate and what's to come. But we'll see you next week. Tuesdays at 1:00 PM. Oi Yin, every week we talk about women who've made history. This is my favorite segment in our podcast recordings because we... Look, sometimes it's shocking and I can get a little bit upset about the fact that glass ceilings are just being crushed right now. But it's also a great way to celebrate wins. And at Ellevate we are very much on the positive outlook side and celebrating is important. And Megan also shares these on TikTok and on Instagram, so follow them there too. Do you wanna start?

0:41:18.1 OL: Sure. So this week, Erika Hilton and Duda Salabert became the first trans women elected to Brazil's national Parliament.

0:41:28.4 MH: That's amazing. R'Bonney Gabriel became the first Filipino American to win Miss USA.

0:41:38.2 OL: Ellen Jordan became the first woman university Regent of Illinois Institute of Technology.

0:41:45.2 MH: Woniya Thibeault became the first woman to win the history channels competition show alone, frozen.

0:41:55.1 OL: Julie Brown became GSK's first woman Chief Financial Officer.

0:42:00.1 MH: Aaliyah Alicia Thompson became the first person with autism to open a beauty bar. Really? So this is what I mean when I get shocked. [laughter] Well, congratulations to Aaliyah 'cause that's really great. We're gonna continue celebrating firsts every week. So you see something, want us to shout it out, if you want us to shout you out, if you're making history, just let us know. Reach out to podcast@elevatenetwork.com or through any of our social media outlets and we'll make sure to celebrate with you. Thank you Oi Yin for joining me today.

0:42:44.5 OL: Yes, of course.

0:42:46.2 MH: We'll be back next week and we will be sharing with you my conversation with Paula Ratliff. She is the president of Women Impact Tech and has devoted her career to helping companies craft strong DEI statements and really take action and results, particularly in the tech space. She is really, she's really quite something and we talk about a little bit of everything, not just what's happening in the tech industry, the landscape for women within tech, but also about some of the things like abortion access and the impact it will have for women. So be sure to tune in next week and we'll see you then.

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0:43:36.4 Outro: Thanks so much for listening to Ellevate. If you like what you hear, help a girl out, subscribe to the Ellevate Podcast on iTunes. Give us five stars and share your review. Also, don't forget to follow us on Twitter at EllevateNtwk, that's Ellevate Network and become a member. You can learn all about membership and all the great things that Ellevate Network is doing at our website, www.ellevatenetwork.com. That's E-L-L-E-V-A-T-E network.com. And special thanks to our producer Katharine Heller. She rocks. And to our voiceover artist Rachel Griesinger. Thanks so much and join us next week.