Daniella Ballou-Aares is the Founder and CEO of the Leadership Now Project, a national membership organization of business and thought-leaders committed to fixing American democracy. Daniella began her career at Bain & Company, working across the firm’s offices in the US, South Africa and the UK.

Nicole Loher is a climate communicator, communications researcher, and adjunct professor at NYU + FIT. Her work sits at the intersection of insights, strategy and emerging technology to help tell stories that advance complex goals, and has received multiple awards, is recognized in press and is featured in the Smithsonian.

Navigating through career pivots can feel exciting and - let’s face it - a little treacherous, especially when you’re making a drastic change in organizational culture, size, or environment. We spoke with three leaders – Laura Brounstein, Nicole Loher, and Benish Shah – who are well-seasoned in navigating transitions from start-up leadership to corporate, and vice versa; they shared their knowledge of common pitfalls along with their best advice for avoiding these stumbling blocks.

Shanta Thake is the Ehrenkranz Chief Artistic Officer at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, where she spearheads all artistic and programming activities. Since her start in the Fall of 2021, Shanta has been key to Lincoln Center's ongoing efforts to ensure the arts are central to the civic life of the city—welcoming new audiences, championing genres historically underrepresented on campus, and ushering in accessible ticket models to break down cost barriers.

Election season is just around the corner and the political scene in the United States is shifting. In 2018, a record number of millennials signed up to run for office and political action committees like Justice Democrats and Brand New Congress supercharged a movement to encourage new (and often young), “everyday” candidates for public office. Notable success stories of these organizations’ support include AOC, Jamaal Bowman, and Cori Bush.

Julie roots for humans. She works to help humans thrive. She has degrees from Stanford, Harvard Law, and California College of the Arts, but she's not done learning. She plans to learn and grow until she draws her last breath. She lives in Palo Alto, California with her beloved life partner of 34 years, their itinerant twentysomethings, and her mother.

Megan W. Gerhardt, Ph.D. is a Professor of Management and Leadership at the Farmer School of Business at Miami University, where she also serves as Director of Leadership Development for the Farmer School and the Robert D. Johnson Co-Director of the Isaac & Oxley Center for Business Leadership.

Marci Alboher is Vice President of Narrative Change at CoGenerate, which brings older and younger people together to solve problems, bridge divides and co-create a better future. She is author of The Encore Career Handbook: How to Make a Living and a Difference in the Second Half of Life and One Person/Multiple Careers: The Original Guide to the Slash Career.

In lieu of Ambien (or melatonin, weed gummies, meditation or counting sheep backwards) I, like everyone else in our over-connected world, have come to rely on the comforting company of podcasts during long sleepless nights. A line up of reassuring voices that speak steadily and smartly about topics I’m interested in: current events, best practices, business, and books. I avoid wellness like the plague. So yes to Kara Swisher, but no to Goop. One in my regular rotation has a defined target audience of women over 40. It’s the actualized version of the podcast that everyone thinks they can start with their best friend, …where we just talk, like we’re at our kitchen table hanging out.

Ita’s mission is to engage, educate, and elevate the next generation of successful women business leaders and investors. As the Founder & CEO of Tigress Ventures, an advisory and consulting firm she started in 2014, Ita tapped her considerable network to bring together visionary entrepreneurs with seasoned pro’s to help women scale their businesses and hone their leadership skills.

If your first instinct when you see the word “creativity” is to scroll… Stop! Creativity isn’t reserved for artists or creators; it’s critical to problem-solving in the workplace, a driving force behind innovation, and revolutionary in exploring potential career growth.

This week's MasterClass with Kristin Patrick explored how to be a CEO with the heart of a CMO, and how to make the leap from CMO to CEO. From talking about ZAlphas to exploring phygital spaces, she offers a candid view of her life in the C-suite. Kristin is a forward-thinking executive, who has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Claire’s since March 2021. Building on the fashion brand’s more than 50 years of leadership as a global creator and influencer of youth culture, Kristin plays a vital role in taking the brand into the future.

In an interview with fashion designer Alexa Adams, we learned that Sara Little Turnball was her inspiration. But, no one I spoke with had ever heard of Turnball. After a really deep dive in a rabbit hole of Sarah Little Turnball articles, I can unequivocally say she's a 'must-know' icon.

Alexa Adams is the co-founder of barrière and was co-founder of fashion brand Ohne Titel. She has worked for Helmut Lang, Nike, and Karl Lagerfeld amongst others.

Anna is the CEO and Founder of Perx Technologies, a category-creating Lifestyle Marketing SaaS startup based out of Singapore. With over 20 years of global experience in enterprise software, Anna has held senior leadership positions across startups and global companies.