Women Advancing

In a world engineered to drag our attention toward negativity and urgency, the ability to consciously direct our focus is a radical and powerful leadership skill. Artist and advocate Emily Gaines Demsky joins us to explain her transformative 3 Good Things Movement, which moves beyond standard gratitude exercises into a tangible, daily commitment to noticing beauty. By learning to anchor our awareness in the simple, quiet joys surrounding us, we can interrupt the cycle of despair, cultivate resilience, and develop a flexible, “hawk-eye” perspective that helps us connect dots, solve problems, and lead with clarity even during difficult times.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Visit katherinebyrne.com

Floral design is the last big-ticket purchase you are making when planning your wedding. Although it may seem beautiful on the outset, it is downright ugly behind the scenes. When Cameron Hardesty was planning her own wedding flowers, she encountered unclear pricing, rigid minimums, sourcing issues, and manual workflows. After going through such a nightmare, she decided to turn it into a business idea. She joins Kate Byrne to discuss how she became the CEO and Founder of Poppy, a company that’s rethinking floral sourcing, pricing, and logistics using technology, transparency, and deep customer empathy. Cameron explains how she found her sweet spot to thrive in the vast wedding market, what it takes to modernize a legacy business, and how to navigate motherhood and a venture-backed company at the same time.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Visit katherinebyrne.com

Are you overlooking the unseen systems that cost us the most? In the U.S., a staggering 12.2 million tons of furniture waste is discarded annually—enough to furnish 8.8 million one-bedroom apartments. This isn’t just a waste problem; it’s a crisis of sustainable design, mindset, and leadership.Today, we welcome Kathryn Soter, Executive Director of the Good Future Design Alliance, who has spent decades at the intersection of media, design, and sustainability. We dive into how to tackle overwhelming problems with “simple baby steps”, why the focus must shift to residential design (which accounts for two-thirds of US building square footage), and how connecting creativity, cost, and impact is the invisible work of modern leadership.Tune in to learn why the future depends on making the unseen impossible to ignore, and how you can embrace progress, not perfection, to build a truly good future.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Visit katherinebyrne.com

In a world rapidly reshaped by Artificial Intelligence, the conversation often centers on the tools. But what if we shifted the focus to the people?Join host Kate Byrne on Women Advancing as she dives deep with global thought leader Snjezana Slabek into the timely intersection of AI, human-centered learning, and organizational effectiveness. Snjezana—an expert in human-centered AI learning, gamification, and design thinking—reveals why traditional learning and leadership models are failing in the AI era, and how we can adapt, unlearn, and relearn alongside technology.Discover:Why the biggest challenge in the AI era is not technology, but creating organizations capable of continuous adaptation.How gamification and human-centered design turn “consequences” into safe “trade-offs,” encouraging the experimentation vital for innovation.Why the “power of the query” is the new essential skill, shifting our focus from getting answers to asking the right questions.How communities like She STEAMS are empowering women to embrace playfulness, collaboration, and bolder leadership in an AI-driven future.Stop focusing on keeping up with AI and start focusing on leading the loop. Read on to explore how we can build a future where work truly works for humans.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Visit katherinebyrne.com

What does leadership look like in a world of climate urgency, rapid tech change, and systemic upheaval? We spoke with Terry Slavin, Editor-in-Chief of Reuters’ sustainable business magazine, The Ethical Corporation, for a deep dive into the 2026 Reuters Trailblazing Women Report. More than a list, it signals where innovation and influence are headed.Key insights from this year’s report:The rise of relational “Trail Finders” connecting finance, business, and civil society.Women-led climate tech teams driving holistic solutions to urban water and heat risks.Breakthrough innovations—like coal-free steelmaking—powered by resilient optimism despite funding gaps and “climate hushing.”Discover the women shaping a sustainable future and the trends every sector and community needs to watch.

Money isn’t just math. It’s memory.In this conversation, I’m joined by Scarlett Stanhope – also known as The Biz Hippie – for a refreshingly honest exploration of money, power, and the stories so many women have quietly inherited about both.Scarlett’s work lives at the intersection of financial planning and intuition, helping women move beyond either/or thinking and into a relationship with money that’s both practical and expansive. Because for many women, money isn’t just about budgets or bank accounts. It’s about safety. Permission. Nervous systems. And the deeply embedded belief that wanting wealth somehow conflicts with being values-driven, ethical, or spiritually grounded.Together, we unpack the most common money misconceptions women carry, how to tell the difference between a mindset block and a systems problem, and what it really takes to feel safe holding more not just earning more. We talk about money wounds, abundance that shows up on a spreadsheet (not just a vision board), and what a more feminine, collaborative, sustainable financial system could actually look like in practice.This is a conversation for anyone who’s ever felt too juju for finance or too practical for the spiritual world and suspected there might be a more integrated way. Thoughtful, grounded, and deeply human, this episode is about rewriting your money story with clarity, confidence, and zero apology.Check out her class too!I’m so glad you’re here for it.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Visit katherinebyrne.com

The way we work is seemingly broken and does not serve us at all. To ensure that the future of work is way better than today, a couple of things we are so used to right now must be vastly transformed. Kate Byrne chats with Jena McGregor, Managing Editor of Charter, who sheds light on how most businesses are trying to fix the workplace using the wrong tools. She explains what it takes for workplaces to improve people retention, how leaders can lead with authenticity and adaptability, and how to prioritize human sustainability when it comes to work. Find out the roadmap to creating truly dynamic workplaces and help change the future of work for good.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Visit katherinebyrne.com

On today’s Women Advancing, I’m joined by Katie Begando, Founder and CEO of Bluubird—a brand built on the idea that influence isn’t just for people with massive platforms or loud megaphones. It’s something we grow, collectively, through trust, community, and showing up consistently.Katie’s story reflects a real shift in how brands are built today. Not top-down. Not alone. But with a village—customers, creators, partners, and believers—who help shape the brand as it grows. In our conversation, we talk about democratizing influence, listening closely to the people you serve, and what it really looks like to build momentum without losing your center.We also dig into the realities of founding and scaling a consumer brand—the scrappy decisions, the resilience required, and the leadership it takes to keep going when the path isn’t linear.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Visit katebyrne.co

The old models of success—all grit, grind, and self-sacrifice—are crumbling. Enter the cultural catalyst, the new breed of female leader who isn't just building a business; she's architecting a movement. In this paradigm-shifting conversation, we dive deep with Jaclyn Orent, Co-founder and Frequency Architect behind the Cultural Catalysts Network. Discover how to transform your wisdom into legacy, not through depletion, but through ease, grace, and an energetically aligned community. Learn the science behind leading from desire instead of fear, why your consciousness is the ultimate growth hack, and how personal transformation is the first step toward cultural revolution. If you're a female founder or leader ready to step out of the old frameworks and activate your highest impact, tune in. Your next evolution starts here.

What does it take to rise above and silence doubt when the world sets a low bar of expectation for you? Host Kate Byrne welcomes the ultimate ladder-builder, Michelle Gervais, a Partner at Blank Rome LLP, Adjunct Professor, Co-chair of the Sports Industry Group, and President of WISE Tampa Bay. Michelle shares her powerful story of being underestimated from a young age and how she navigates the high-stakes world of matrimonial and commercial litigation with “steel and grace,” proving her worth not with revenge, but with result. They dig into how to stay grounded under pressure, the value of authenticity over “pretzeling” yourself for others, and why having a “big, bad table of everybody” is crucial for growth and building conviction in rooms that “weren’t built for you.”Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Visit katebyrne.co

From the corner office to the pages of a children’s book, learn how to redefine your personal brand and leadership by following your purpose. Host Kate Byrne welcomes Julie Keshmiry, the accomplished author of Princess Shmincess and former Chief of Staff for tech and finance giants like Intel, Visa, and Microsoft. Julie shares her inspiring journey of transitioning from a corporate executive to an author, driven by her passion to help girls and women reimagine their futures and recognize their uniqueness as their greatest superpower. Tune in as she reveals her secrets to operational excellence, leading with influence over authority, and how she navigates a meaningful life by integrating her corporate success, family, and values.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Visit katebyrne.co

Breaking barriers in baseball isn’t for the faint of heart, and Justine Siegal has made a life of doing just that. The co-founder of the new Women’s Pro Baseball League and founder of Baseball For All joins host Kate Byrne to share her journey from being told “girls don’t play baseball” to becoming the first woman to coach for a Major League Baseball team. Justine reflects on resilience, purpose, and the courage it takes to keep showing up when you’re the only one on the field. Justine and Kate dive into what it means to turn “no” into motivation, how confidence grows through preparation, and why inclusion and visibility remain the real game changers. As she readies for the League’s first player draft, Justine reminds us that every swing at the plate is a step toward lasting change.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Visit katebyrne.co

The NFL Wives Association is rewriting the rules for spouses of professional athletes, proving that influence off the field can be just as powerful as on it. Tenisha Patterson Brown, President of the Off The Field NFL Wives Association, corporate counsel, business strategist, and brand builder, reveals how these remarkable women are taking control of their careers, protecting their families legally, and creating lasting legacies for their daughters. They are redefining what it means to be a partner in professional sports, championing leadership, financial independence, and cultural impact. From building powerful networks to driving meaningful change, these “boss ladies” are inspiring a new generation of empowered women and transforming the narrative for athletes’ spouses everywhere.Socials:Instagram: @offthefieldnflwivesFacebook: Off The Field NFL Wives AssociationLinkedIn: Off The Field NFL Wives AssociationTenisha Patterson Brown:Instagram: @tpattbrownLinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/tenishapattersonbrownLove the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Visit katebyrne.co