There's one guest Emily brings back every single season: her sister, Carolyn Tisch Blodgett. Carolyn's had one heck of a year: she's Governor of Gotham FC (who won the championship again this year!), and she represents the family's ownership stake in the New York Giants. In this episode of She Pivots, Carolyn dives into what it's actually like to build something as it's happening in real time, the bets that could've gone either way, and all the unglamorous stuff nobody posts about. The sisters get into the night Gotham flew to Kansas City as total underdogs, why the new locker room design has an L-shaped entrance, and what's coming this summer as Gotham takes on the Washington Spirit at Citi Field in front of what could be the biggest crowd in NYC women's sports history.

Chapters:

00:00 Welcome to She Pivots

00:29 The Annual Carolyn She Pivots Episode

02:10 Navigating Women's Sports Ownership

04:01 The Importance of Media Deals in Sports

06:52 Women's Sports as an Investment Opportunity

13:01 Building the First Global Women's Sports Brand

18:57 Breaking into Culture

22:32 The Championship Win and Future Challenges

32:05 Investing in Player Experience and Facilities

35:21 Intentional Design for Women's Soccer

39:29 Lessons from the Giants: Fan Engagement

42:56 Making the Hard Decisions

45:27 Low Point to Launch

46:23 Do You Think You'll Pivot Again?

47:44 Closing Thoughts and Credits

You can keep up with Carolyn’s work by following Gotham FC @gothamfc (gothamfc.com) or checking out Next3.

Be sure to subscribe so you never miss a pivot story, leave us a rating (it really helps!), and share this episode with a woman in your life who you think needs a little inspiration.

She Pivots is a podcast created by host Emily Tisch Sussman to highlight influential women voices, share stories of bold career moves, and inspire women with interviews about career reinvention and how personal pivots can redefine professional success.

Join our Substack community! Subscribe here for exclusive content and to connect with other pivoters: shepivots.substack.com

Learn more about the inspiring women in our pivoter community by following us on instagram @ShePivotsThePodcast, and check out our website shepivotspod.com for resources and updates. 

She Pivots is proud to be an iheart podcast.

Support the show: https://www.shepivotsthepodcast.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ana Huang spent years living a double life: international relations scholar, Georgetown grad, geopolitical consultant by day, and secret romance novelist by night. She quietly uploaded chapters to Wattpad under a pen name no one in her life knew, and kept writing even as she built a conventional career that would make her immigrant parents proud. On this episode of She Pivots, Ana shares how COVID cracked her life open, how she taught herself TikTok before BookTok was even a thing, and how she built a community of millions one chapter at a time, all while still clocking in at her day job. She talks about the moment she finally told her family the truth, why she said no to major publishers when Twisted Love blew up, and what it means to bet on yourself. Her Twisted series has now sold over 25 million copies, been translated into 34 languages, and is headed to Netflix—and her new book, King of Gluttony, is out now.

You can keep up with Ana Huang on her website anahuang.com, as well as on Instagram and TikTok @authoranahuang. 

Episode Chapters:

00:00 - Welcome to She Pivots

00:28 - Double Life to Literary Sensation

01:58 - Ana's Childhood and Cultural Identity

05:55 - Early Career and Secret Writing

12:14 - Rediscovering Writing During the Pandemic

13:38 - The Romance Genre and TikTok Success

24:24 - Self-Publishing and Traditional Offers

27:22 - Navigating Fame and Fan Expectations

31:16 - King of Gluttony and Future Plans

33:03 - From Low Point to Launch

34:51 - What Does Success Look Like Now?

36:32 - Do You Think You'll Pivot Again?

37:24 - Reflections on Ana's Writing Evolution

38:11 - Podcast Credits

Be sure to subscribe so you never miss a pivot story, leave us a rating (it really helps!), and share this episode with a woman in your life who you think needs a little inspiration.

She Pivots is a podcast created by host Emily Tisch Sussman to highlight influential women voices, share stories of bold career moves, and inspire women with interviews about career reinvention and how personal pivots can redefine professional success.

Join our Substack community! Subscribe here for exclusive content and to connect with other pivoters: shepivots.substack.com

Learn more about the inspiring women in our pivoter community by following us on instagram @ShePivotsThePodcast, and check out our website shepivotspod.com for resources and updates. 

She Pivots is proud to be an iHeart podcast.

Support the show: https://www.shepivotsthepodcast.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From child actor to Disney star to pop icon dubbed "Lesbian Jesus," Hayley Kiyoko built a career creating the representation she never had as a half-Japanese, queer artist. In this episode of She Pivots, Hayley opens up about becoming a community's symbol practically overnight while still figuring herself out, and how she moved from leading with fear to leading with confidence and self-love. She also shares how she found her fiancée, Becca Tilley, and reflects on the decade-long journey that culminated in her Girls Like Girls film and album—a project that started with high school heartbreak twenty years ago.

Happy Pride Month, Pivoters!

Girls like girls is out NOW. See it in theatres and check out the companion Girls Like Girls album.

Chapters:

00:00 Welcome to She Pivots

00:39 Guest Intro: Hayley Kiyoko

01:55 Hayley's Childhood

08:12 Early Music Career: Joining Stunners

13:26 The Birth of "Girls Like Girls"

18:27 20GayTeen: Music and Queer Identity

20:27 Music Industry Challenges

28:16 Hayley's Personal Identity Journey

34:33 The Journey to Film Direction

37:16 The Power of Representation on Screen

40:00 From Low Point to Launch

41:43 Do You Think You'll Pivot Again?

43:25 Reflections on Hayley's Journey

44:17 Podcast Credits

Be sure to subscribe so you never miss a pivot story, leave us a rating (it really helps!), and share this episode with a woman in your life who you think needs a little inspiration.

She Pivots is a podcast created by host Emily Tisch Sussman to highlight influential women voices, share stories of bold career moves, and inspire women with interviews about career reinvention and how personal pivots can redefine professional success.

Join our Substack community! Subscribe here for exclusive content and to connect with other pivoters: shepivots.substack.com

Learn more about the inspiring women in our pivoter community by following us on instagram @ShePivotsThePodcast, and check out our website shepivotspod.com for resources and updates. 

She Pivots is proud to be an iheart podcast.

Support the show: https://www.shepivotsthepodcast.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. Sian Proctor grew up the daughter of a NASA hidden figure, with the stars in her sights until a pair of glasses at age fourteen seemed to close the door on her dream of becoming a military aviator. She kept reaching anyway, pursuing a career in geoscience and science communication, coming agonizingly close to NASA selection before receiving a rejection that sent her life in a different direction. In this episode, Dr. Sian Proctor talks about the long, winding road from that childhood dream to becoming the first Black woman to pilot a spacecraft; hitting a low point after a painful divorce; and the unexpected creative awakening that ultimately launched her to space. And once she got there, she did what she's always done: made art.

Chapters:

00:00 Welcome to She Pivots

02:10 A NASA Legacy and Childhood Dreams

06:30 From Science to Education: Finding a New Path

08:09 The PhD Journey: Overcoming Obstacles

18:56 NASA's Rejection: A Turning Point

25:14 An Astronaut on Earth

31:13 COVID, Creativity, and Space Postcards

34:54 The Winning Ticket: A Fateful Announcement

40:28 Training and Launch: A Dream Realized

42:29 Creating Art in Zero Gravity

44:59 The Transformative Power of Earthlight

46:52 Pivoting Again: Professor, Astronaut, Artist

47:57 Low Point to Launch

49:51 Closing Thoughts

50:57 Podcast Credits

Keep up with Space Poet on Instagram @drsianproctor and her website ​​https://space2inspire.art/ 

Be sure to subscribe so you never miss a pivot story, leave us a rating (it really helps!), and share this episode with a woman in your life who you think needs a little inspiration.

She Pivots is a podcast created by host Emily Tisch Sussman to highlight influential women voices, share stories of bold career moves, and inspire women with interviews about career reinvention and how personal pivots can redefine professional success.

Join our Substack community! Subscribe here for exclusive content and to connect with other pivoters: shepivots.substack.com

Learn more about the inspiring women in our pivoter community by following us on instagram @ShePivotsThePodcast, and check out our website shepivotspod.com for resources and updates. 

She Pivots is proud to be an iheart podcast.

Support the show: https://www.shepivotsthepodcast.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From the time she was a little girl, Hayley Paige knew exactly what she wanted to do: design wedding dresses. And she did it. By her early thirties she had a million Instagram followers, a recurring spot on Say Yes to the Dress, and gowns selling in hundreds of stores worldwide.

And then she lost all of it. Her name. Her Instagram. Her right to design. Even her right to publicly call herself Hayley Paige.

What followed was years of fighting in court, broke, locked out of everything she had built, just to reclaim what should have been hers from the start. And when she finally did, she turned that experience into something bigger, founding A Girl You Might Know Foundation and She Is Cheval to make sure other women don't have to go through the same thing.

Chapters:

00:00 Welcome to She Pivots

01:29 A Childhood Dream Takes Shape

09:55 Breaking into Wedding Dresses

13:54 Building a Brand on Social Media

17:31 Personal and Professional: Wedding and Divorce

20:57 The Legal Battle Begins

31:57 Rebirth and Reinvention

36:02 Buying Back Her Name

42:02 Rebuilding After the Fall

45:54 Love and Resilience: Hailey's Personal Growth

49:25 Low Point to Launch

52:21 Reflecting on Hayley's Unique Pivot

53:11 Podcast Credits

You can keep up with Hayley Paige on instagram @misshayleypaige, and check out her foundation at https://www.agirlyoumightknowfoundation.org/ 

Be sure to subscribe so you never miss a pivot story, leave us a rating (it really helps!), and share this episode with a woman in your life who you think needs a little inspiration.

She Pivots is a podcast created by host Emily Tisch Sussman to highlight influential women voices, share stories of bold career moves, and inspire women with interviews about career reinvention and how personal pivots can redefine professional success.

Join our Substack community! Subscribe here for exclusive content and to connect with other pivoters: shepivots.substack.com

Learn more about the inspiring women in our pivoter community by following us on instagram @ShePivotsThePodcast, and check out our website shepivotspod.com for resources and updates. 

She Pivots is proud to be an iheart podcast.

Support the show: https://www.shepivotsthepodcast.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Patricia Delgado: From Principal Ballerina to Tony Award Winner

Growing up Cuban-American in Miami, Patricia Delgado found her love of performance early and spent seventeen years with Miami City Ballet, a decade of that as a principal dancer. But when she faced a series of injuries, she was forced to confront a question she wasn't ready to answer: what comes next? In this episode, Patricia opens up about the physical and emotional toll of stepping away from the only identity she had ever known, how she found her way into choreography alongside her husband Justin Peck, and what it meant to reconnect with her Cuban roots through the Broadway hit Buena Vista Social Club, leading her to be the first Latina to win a Tony Award for Best Choreography.

Chapters:

00:00 Welcome to She Pivots

02:54 Patricia's Dance Journey Begins

08:43 First Introduction to Theatre

17:38 Navigating Ballet's Challenges

30:06 Patricia's Final Ballet Bow

38:22 Buena Vista Social Club

41:53 Tony Award Triumph and Its Significance

44:50 The Power of Visibility in Choreography

48:20 Embracing Change and Future Possibilities

50:22 Reflecting on Patricia's Pivot Story

51:22 Podcast Credits

You can keep up with Patricia Delgado on Instagram @pattiedeldancer

Don’t forget to tune into the Tony’s this Sunday, June 7th at 8pm on CBS and Paramount+

Be sure to subscribe so you never miss a pivot story, leave us a rating (it really does help!), and share this episode with a woman in your life who you think needs a little inspiration.

She Pivots is a podcast created by host Emily Tisch Sussman to highlight influential women voices, share stories of bold career moves, and inspire women with interviews about career reinvention and how personal pivots can redefine professional success.

Join our Substack community! Subscribe here for exclusive content and to connect with other pivoters: shepivots.substack.com

Learn more about the inspiring women in our pivoter community by following us on instagram @ShePivotsThePodcast, and check out our website shepivotspod.com for resources and updates. 

She Pivots is proud to be an iheart podcast.

Support the show: https://www.shepivotsthepodcast.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Heela Yang built Sol de Janeiro, one of the most beloved body care brands, from her dining room, but her path there looked nothing like a typical business plan. After twelve years in corporate beauty following stints at Goldman Sachs and a Harvard MBA, she left New York for Brazil for love, only to find herself pregnant, isolated, and unable to do the work that had always defined her. A single afternoon on a beach, surrounded by women of every shape in a very small bikini she'd been talked into, changed everything. In this episode, Heela shares how that moment became the emotional blueprint for Sol de Janeiro, the cult-favorite brand that launched a craze for mists and body care and built a business around embracing your body and skin as it is, no matter what size or shape. 

Chapters:

00:00 Welcome to She Pivots

01:36 From Korea to America: A Cultural Shift

06:37 The Importance of Skincare in Korean Culture

09:16 Early Entrepreneurial Ideas

12:13 Moving to Brazil: A New Beginning

13:33 Pregnancy and Isolation in a Foreign Country

17:41 The Pivotal Beach Moment

23:19 Building a Brand Around Embracing Yourself

27:50 The Power of Being Welcomed, Not Just Accepted

29:10.440 Low Point to Launch

33:24 Reflecting on Heela's Journey

34:18 Podcast Credits

You can check out Sol de Janeiro basically anywhere you get skincare or body care products– and keep up with what they’re up to on Instagram @soldejaneiro

Be sure to subscribe so you never miss a pivot story, leave us a rating (it really helps!), and share this episode with a woman in your life who you think needs a little inspiration.

She Pivots is a podcast created by host Emily Tisch Sussman to highlight influential women voices, share stories of bold career moves, and inspire women with interviews about career reinvention and how personal pivots can redefine professional success.

Join our Substack community! Subscribe here for exclusive content and to connect with other pivoters: shepivots.substack.com

Learn more about the inspiring women in our pivoter community by following us on instagram @ShePivotsThePodcast, and check out our website shepivotspod.com for resources and updates. 

She Pivots is proud to be an iheart podcast.

Support the show: https://www.shepivotsthepodcast.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Victoria Lai has lived several careers in one lifetime: presidential appointee at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, entrepreneur, and now business advisor and nonprofit COO. But her biggest pivot came when she nurtured her passion for making ice cream on nights and weekends while working a serious government job. In this extra sweet episode, Victoria walks us through how a $25 Craigslist ice cream maker and a promise to herself led to Ice Cream Jubilee, the award-winning DC-area business celebrated by Food & Wine, the Washington Post, and Thrillist, and what it felt like to eventually sell the business she'd spent nearly a decade building. She also opens up about her family's Chinese immigrant history and how it shaped both her flavors and her sense of purpose, and why she considers her latest pivot back to mission-driven work the most fitting chapter yet.

Chapters:

00:00    Welcome to She Pivots

00:28    Guest Introduction: Victoria Lai

01:58    Childhood Memories and Family Influences

06:57    The Path to Law School and Government Work

10:58    Finding Inspiration in New York City

13:02    The Birth of Ice Cream Jubilee

26:36    Taking the Leap: From Government to Ice Cream

32:46    "Ice cream-preneurship"

36:07    Achieving Success and Letting Go

39:02    A New Chapter: Coaching and Personal Growth

44:18    Closing Thoughts and Gratitude

44:40    Podcast Credits

You can keep up with Ice Cream Jubilee at their website, www.icecreamjubilee.com

Be sure to subscribe so you never miss a pivot story, leave us a rating (it really helps!), and share this episode with a woman in your life who you think needs a little inspiration.

She Pivots is a podcast created by host Emily Tisch Sussman to highlight influential women voices, share stories of bold career moves, and inspire women with interviews about career reinvention and how personal pivots can redefine professional success.

Join our Substack community! Subscribe here for exclusive content and to connect with other pivoters: shepivots.substack.com

Learn more about the inspiring women in our pivoter community by following us on instagram @ShePivotsThePodcast, and check out our website shepivotspod.com for resources and updates. 

She Pivots is proud to be an iheart podcast.

Support the show: https://www.shepivotsthepodcast.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In June 2002, fourteen-year-old Elizabeth Smart was taken from her bedroom at knifepoint and held captive for nine months, enduring abuse that would have broken most people beyond repair. Against extraordinary odds, she survived, and then she decided to step fully into the public eye; not in spite of what happened to her, but because of it. She has testified before Congress, helped author a Department of Justice handbook for kidnapping survivors, and founded the Elizabeth Smart Foundation to dismantle the shame culture that compounds survivors' trauma. In this powerful episode, Elizabeth walks us through the night that changed everything, how she held onto hope during nine months of captivity, what justice looked and felt like after nearly eight years of waiting, and why she believes that being seen is one of the most radical things a survivor can do.

Chapters:

00:00 Content Warning

00:10 Welcome to She Pivots

01:32 Elizabeth Smart's Early Life

07:10 The Night Elizabeth was Abducted

12:08 Captivity and Torture

17:57 Elizabeth’s Will To Survive

20:16 A Sign of Hope

22:41 Why Elizabeth Didn't Run

26:17 The Rescue

28:45 The Return Home and Aftermath

35:32 Navigating the Justice System

41:01 Advocating for Change & Raising Her Children

45:22 The Elizabeth Smart Foundation

46:17 Low Point to Launch

49:26 Unasked Questions and Final Thoughts

50:58 Closing Remarks and Resources

51:39 Podcast Credits

Learn more about Elizabeth’s work at elizabethsmartfoundation.org

If anything in today's episode brought something up for you and you need help, please reach out to someone you trust or visit rainn.org 

Be sure to subscribe so you never miss a pivot story, leave us a rating (it really helps!), and share this episode with a woman in your life who you think needs a little inspiration.

She Pivots is a podcast created by host Emily Tisch Sussman to highlight influential women voices, share stories of bold career moves, and inspire women with interviews about career reinvention and how personal pivots can redefine professional success.

Join our Substack community! Subscribe here for exclusive content and to connect with other pivoters: shepivots.substack.com

Learn more about the inspiring women in our pivoter community by following us on instagram @ShePivotsThePodcast, and check out our website shepivotspod.com for resources and updates. 

She Pivots is proud to be an iheart podcast.

Support the show: https://www.shepivotsthepodcast.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today's guest is someone pretty special to Emily Tisch Sussman—it's her mom, Laurie Tisch. Laurie grew up as the only girl in a big, loud family full of brothers and cousins, navigating public scrutiny while quietly figuring out who she really was. She navigated the complexities to become a woman carved out an identity that was entirely, unmistakably her own. 

On this special Mother's Day episode, Laurie sits down with Emily to talk about founding her own philanthropic foundation, becoming a force in New York's arts and education world, and ownership of the New York Giants.

Chapters:

00:00 Welcome to She Pivots

00:30 Laurie Tisch Guest Introduction

01:46 Childhood and Early Life

05:14 Finding Her Own Path

09:20 Laurie Returns to New York City

13:18 Laurie's Entrance to Philanthropy and Culture

17:02 The Impact of The Children's Museum

22:17 Definitions of Success

24:32 The Illumination Fund: A New Chapter

28:54 Sports and Family Legacy

34:44 Low Point to Launch Point

35:27 My Mom's Favorite She Pivots Episodes!

37:00 Closing Thoughts and Happy Mother's Day!

37:26 Podcast Credits

Check out the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund at thelmtif.org

Be sure to subscribe so you never miss a pivot story, leave us a rating (it really helps!), and share this episode with a woman in your life who you think needs a little inspiration.

She Pivots is a podcast created by host Emily Tisch Sussman to highlight influential women voices, share stories of bold career moves, and inspire women with interviews about career reinvention and how personal pivots can redefine professional success.

Join our Substack community! Subscribe here for exclusive content and to connect with other pivoters: shepivots.substack.com

Support the show: https://www.shepivotsthepodcast.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Elmo, Big Bird, and Cookie Monster probably helped raise you, and the woman now leading Sesame Street traces her path there back to one transformative act: adopting her daughter Lily from China. Before joining Sesame Workshop, Sherrie Westin had already built a remarkable career at ABC News and as one of the highest-ranking women in George H.W. Bush's White House. On this episode, Sherrie shares how adopting Lily in 1995 sparked a profound pivot, and how that personal transformation shaped her 26-year journey at the helm of one of the most beloved nonprofits in the world. She opens up about leading the creation of Julia, Sesame Street's first autistic Muppet, securing a landmark $100 million grant to bring early education to refugee children across the globe, and navigating the financial uncertainty that ultimately led to a groundbreaking new deal with Netflix.

Chapters:

00:00.00 Welcome to She Pivots

00:25 Guest Introduction: Sherrie Westin

01:58 Childhood and Early Life

03:28 Communications and the White House

09:44 The Transformative Power of Motherhood

12:53 From ABC News to Sesame Street

17:56 Representation and Global Impact

23:48 The Experiment of Sesame Street

25:20 The Power of The Arts on Children

27:55 Making a Difference To Communities in Need

31:44 Financial Challenges and Becoming CEO

36:00 What I Learned From Mom

36:53 From Low Point to Launch Point

37:20 Do You Think You'll Pivot Again?

38:09 Children and AI

39:20 Closing Thoughts and Credits

Learn more about Sesame workshop’s mission at Sesameworkshop.org

Check out Sherrie’s new book: What I Learned From Mom: 27 Celebrated Individuals on How Mother's Wisdom Shaped Their Lives. 

Be sure to subscribe so you never miss a pivot story, leave us a rating (it really helps!), and share this episode with a woman in your life who you think needs a little inspiration.

She Pivots is a podcast created by host Emily Tisch Sussman to highlight influential women voices, share stories of bold career moves, and inspire women with interviews about career reinvention and how personal pivots can redefine professional success.

Join our Substack community! Subscribe here for exclusive content and to connect with other pivoters: shepivots.substack.com

Learn more about the inspiring women in our pivoter community by following us on instagram @ShePivotsThePodcast, and check out our website shepivotspod.com for resources and updates. 

She Pivots is proud to be an iheart podcast.

Support the show: https://www.shepivotsthepodcast.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.