Brooke Shields has been famous her entire life. Now, in her early 60’s, the actress and model is using her passion to take charge and create impact. She is an executive producer on her new ACORN TV series YOU’RE KILLING ME, she was elected president of Actors’ Equity, and she is founder and CEO of her hair care line, COMMENCE.   

It’s a portfolio she’s immensely proud of. In her new series, which she developed, she plays a crime novelist who solves murders in a sleepy town in Maine; As executive producer, she insisted on including more physical comedy, which is her strong suit.   With Actors’ Equity, she admits she doesn’t love some of the politics of union work.  However, she is deeply committed to using her influence to improve conditions for performers.   

And Shields didn’t expect to become the CEO of a hair care line at this point in her life, but she saw a gap in the market. “Everywhere I looked, I was being told by marketing, by advertising, by the beauty industry… ‘Once your ovaries don't work, you've got one foot in the grave. You had a good run. If you're not the hot girl at the bar, you're in Depends. And it pissed me off, because I feel great now,” she shared. 

💬 In this episode, we explore:

• How Brooke Shields is parenting her two grown daughters, Rowan and Grier - and what it's like hanging out with the two of them and their boyfriends 
• How she is still feeling the influence of her 2005 book “Down Came The Rain,” about her post-partum depression, and whether her grown daughters have read the book
• Why she paid a surprise visit to Casa Bonita, the restaurant and entertainment venue owned by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, on behalf of the performers she represents 
• Her favorite - and least favorite -  parts of being a CEO and her plans for COMMENCE moving forward 
• How she handles being recognized nearly everywhere she goes 
• What she loves about writing, including in her most recent book, “Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed To Get Old.”

Resources:

📸  Follow Brooke Shields on Instagram

📸  Follow Brooke Shields on TikTok 

💻  Watch YOU’RE KILLING ME on ACORN TV

💻  Check Out Brooke’s Hair Care Line COMMENCE  

🎧 New episodes of How She Does It drop every Tuesday. Be sure to follow us so you never miss an episode

Ready to stop worrying about outliving your money? Pre-order Jean's new book, The Forever Paycheck, and get the roadmap to a retirement that actually pays you back

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Alexis McGill Johnson was asked in 2019 to become interim CEO of Planned Parenthood, she thought it would be a short assignment.   “ I remember my famous last words to the board when I stepped in were, “‘I'll get you through 2020’,” she recalls.  Almost immediately, she found herself in the unenviable position of steering a healthcare organization through a pandemic.  

She embraced the challenge and eventually raised her hand to stay on full-time. She officially landed the job in 2020 and serves as CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the healthcare arm, and CEO of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, the advocacy organization. Since then, there have been significant challenges, most notably the Dobbs decision by the Supreme Court in 2022, which reversed Roe V. Wade.

In this episode, Alexis McGill Johnson shares what drives her dedication to Planned Parenthood’s mission and its almost daily battle on the front lines of the fight over legalized abortion.  That includes, as this conversation was recorded, the challenge by Louisiana designed to halt sales of Mifepristone, an FDA-approved abortion drug.  She also opens up about what the group’s “2040 plan” entails, and what she sees as the “mission hope” of the organization and the patients it serves.  

💬 In this episode, we explore:

• The piece of leadership advice Alexis McGill Johnson received that unlocked a different approach in her towards her job as CEO. 
• What her background as a political organizer and later, founder of the Perception Institute, has taught her about spearheading this movement. 
• Why Condoleezza Rice was such an influential figure for her, and what she said when they first met
• How and why she chose to embrace her middle name, Alexis, in lieu of her given first name
• Why she feels it’s critically important to be thoughtful about how she speaks about those who disagree with her 
• How her work has impacted the way she and her husband parent their two daughters 

Resources:

📸  Follow Alexis McGill Johnson on Instagram

📸  Follow Aleixs McGill Johnson On LinkedIn

💻  For more information on The Planned Parenthood Action Fund

🎧 New episodes of How She Does It drop every Tuesday. Be sure to follow us so you never miss an episode

Ready to stop worrying about outliving your money? Pre-order Jean's new book, The Forever Paycheck, and get the roadmap to a retirement that actually pays you back.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s something we’re intensely curious about: “How She Does It.”  Not only do we want to hear about our guests’ climb to the top of their professions, but also how they’ve built meaningful personal lives outside of work.   And for many of the women who join Karen Finerman on her podcast, that includes motherhood.   

So, in honor of Mother’s Day, we’re revisiting some of those conversations, along with our favorite anecdotes, advice, moments of joy, and unexpected challenges of pursuing one’s passion while also raising kids. We know it will almost always be a little messy, but it’s also incredibly worthwhile.  The women we have met on this podcast are at different stages of their journey: from welcoming an infant to watching their daughter get married.   But the throughline is evident: when children see their mom using her talents, making an impact on the world, and finding satisfaction, it is a positive and powerful life lesson they carry into their own adulthood. 

💬 In this episode, we hear from:

• Journalist & Communications Executive Leigh Gallagher on becoming a single mom and how she talks with her young daughter about their family. 
• Kate Gallego, Mayor of Phoenix, Arizona, shares how she decided to go after her dream job and launch a political campaign after having an infant and getting a divorce.
• Actress Renée Elise Goldsberry opens up about the challenges of building her family and the role her faith played.  She also shares what it was like to be part of the smash hit “Hamilton” while also raising the young family she worked so hard to create. 
• Comedian Leanne Morgan on pursuing comedy as a working mom, and why she’s now thankful for some of the disappointments she experienced early in her career.  Plus, what Reese Witherspoon shared with her about being a mom in show business. 
• New York Times Bestselling Author Jennifer Weiner shares how her daughters are different from her and how she managed a work-from-home job while raising her kids. 
• JPMorgan Chase Wealth Management CEO Kristin Lemkau describes how her family adjusted after she suddenly became a single mother, and what her kids had to say about her decision to eventually return to work.
• Deborah Roberts, co-anchor of ABC News 20/20, on what it’s like preparing for her daughter Leila’s wedding, how her children support her, and what they’ve learned from watching their mom pursue her career. 

🎧Listen To Leigh Gallagher on HOW SHE DOES IT Episode 45 

🎧Listen To Kate Gallego on HOW SHE DOES IT Episode 55

🎧Listen To Renée Elise Goldsberry on HOW SHE DOES IT Episode 61

🎧Listen To Leanne Morgan on HOW SHE DOES IT Episode 28

🎧Listen To Jennifer Weiner on HOW SHE DOES IT Episode 56

🎧Listen To Kristin Lemkau on HOW SHE DOES IT Episode 74 

🎧Listen To Deborah Roberts on HOW SHE DOES IT Episode 66

💻Watch episodes on HOW SHE DOES IT on our YouTube Page 

📸 Follow the show on Instagram: @hsdipodcast🎧 New episodes of How She Does It drop every Tuesday. Be sure to follow us so you never miss an episode

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

PEOPLE is one of the most recognizable names in the entertainment news and lifestyle space, and at the helm of the print & digital enterprise is Editor-In-Chief and General Manager Charlotte Triggs. And if you’re familiar with PEOPLE, then you know the two big, annual tentpole issues of the 52-year-old publication are PEOPLE’s Sexiest Man Alive and PEOPLE’s World’s Most Beautiful. 

Charlotte Triggs gives listeners an inside look at putting those issues together, including her most recent effort:  Anne Hathaway’s cover and interview for PEOPLE’s World’s Most Beautiful. Triggs spoke with the “Devil Wears Prada 2” star and shares her takeaways from their conversation. Triggs also opens up about her climb to the top of PEOPLE, where she started as an intern . She's been serving as Editor-In-Chief and General Manager since early 2025.   During her career, the media landscape has changed dramatically, and Triggs has had a front row seat.  Despite diminishing print sales across the industry, she is focused on keeping the brand moving forward.  Among those efforts: finding ways to keep their core audience engaged, including the introduction of The PEOPLE App last year. 

💬 In this episode, we explore:

• What it’s like booking celebrities for these special issues (including what’s happening with this year’s PEOPLE’s Sexiest Man Alive)
• How the staffing at PEOPLE has transformed over the years as the media business has changed
• Why journalism and getting the story right are still paramount 
• The reason the Kennedy Family, and most recently the series “Love Story,” continues to capture the attention of PEOPLE readers 
• How Charlotte Triggs views what brands are - are not - PEOPLE’s competition
• What it is like for her going to awards shows like The Grammys 
• The career strategy she used to continually advance at the brand
• Her leadership style, including her “direct” approach in dealing with her team 
• The celebrity who is her dream cover, which she has yet to land
• Advice for journalists who want to work at PEOPLE 

Resources:

💻  Visit People.com

📲Download the PEOPLE App

📸  Follow Charlotte Triggs on Instagram

📸  Follow Charlotte Triggs On LinkedIn

📸  Follow PEOPLE on Instagram

🎧 New episodes of How She Does It drop every Tuesday. Be sure to follow us so you never miss an episode

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thasunda Brown Duckett has a seemingly endless list of honors to her name: TIME 100, Fortune’s Most Powerful Women, and, most recently, Barron’s 100 Most Influential Women in Finance.  She’s marking five years as President and CEO of TIAA, overseeing $1.6 trillion in assets.   She is also one of just two Black women leading a Fortune 500 company. With women holding just 11% of CEO seats, she is passionate about seeing both numbers grow.

“ I just think there is an opportunity to add another chapter of what it means to be a CEO,” remarked Thasunda Brown Duckett in her conversation with Karen Finerman.   That means not only being an exceptional leader, but also showing the world more of her complete self.   She is a married mother who says she needs a village to make it all work.  She is also a deeply faithful person who doesn't shy away from sharing the difficult parts of her life.  Whether it’s her childhood, which was “long on love” but often short on money, or the grief she felt when she lost her brother a few years ago, she understands that showing her three-dimensional self, while still being an extraordinary leader, helps others see their own potential.     

💬 In this episode, we explore:

• Thasunda Brown Duckett’s theory of living her life like a “diversified portfolio” (and why she believes the idea of work-life balance is a lie) 
• Why she and her husband Richard made the decision to have him stay at home with the kids 
• The skills and attitudes she possesses that she believes helped her climb the corporate ladder at Fannie Mae, Chase & J.P. Morgan
• How she feels her leadership style has evolved, and why she enjoys “giving power away
• What she learned working for Jamie Dimon at JP Morgan Chase
• How her father, Otis Brown, ultimately inspired her passion for amplifying the message about the importance of saving for retirement 
• Why she enjoys expressing herself through fashion

Resources:

💻  Learn more about TIAA

📸  Follow Thasunda Brown Duckett On LinkedIn

📸  Follow Thasunda Brown Duckett on Instagram

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Creating a company with beloved products from scratch is no easy task, and Nicole Bernard Dawes has pulled it off twice. At 29, she launched Late July Snacks, which are famous for their flavored organic, non-GMO tortilla chips. When the $100+ million company was acquired by Campbell's in 2018, Bernard Dawes decided to do it all again.  This time, she set her eyes on the competitive beverage business. In 20219, she launched Nixie, a line of organically flavored sparkling water and organic zero-sugar sodas. 

Nicole Bernard Dawes had a unique entrée into the world of entrepreneurship, which led to her two gigs as a CEO. Her father was Steve Bernard, co-founder of the Cape Cod Potato Chip Company. She grew up visiting the company’s factory in Hyannis and learning the business from him. After college, she worked for her dad and launched the brand's most popular product, their reduced-fat chips. The mother of two shares how those early business experiences shaped her, why she loves brand building, and her commitment to creating healthy food and drinks that are also tasty.

 💬 In this episode, we explore:

• Why Nicole Bernard Dawes is obsessed with grocery stores, and what she’s looking at that the average customer may miss
• How Nicole Bernard Dawes’ mom, who ran a health food store in the 1970’s, influenced her tastes 
• The reason she believes a store selling out of your product is not a good thing, especially in the food & beverage business 
• Why she considers herself always on the clock, but has a very different set of expectations from her team 
• The reaction she has when she sees her products out in the wild - including spotting her favorite Peloton instructor enjoying one of her beverages 

Resources:

💻  Learn more about Nixie 

📸  Follow Nicole Bernard Dawes On LinkedIn

📸  Follow Nixie  on Instagram

📸  Follow Nixie on TikTok

📸  Follow Nixie on LinkedIn

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you’re on TikTok, Instagram, Substack, or YouTube, you’ve likely come across content creator Vivian Tu.  She’s taken her expertise learned from her time as a trader at J.P. Morgan and a sales exec at Buzzfeed to create the platform “Your Rich BFF,” which now boasts 10 million combined followers. Vivian is the CEO of Your Rich BFF and has a team of approximately 20 people working for her.  Together, they channel her social-media savvy and pithy communication style to teach her followers how to make smart money moves and grow their wealth. 

Her message is a departure from her own upbringing, during which her hardworking, Chinese immigrant parents mostly stressed about the family’s finances, with a focus on “scrimping and saving.”  Vivian’s goal with all of her work, including her podcast “Networth & Chill” and her latest  New York Times bestselling book “Well Endowed: The Secrets to Strategic Spending, Building a Financial Foundation for You and Your Family, and Creating Lasting Generational Wealth,”  is to empower her readers financially across all areas of their lives.  

 💬 In this episode, we explore:

• How Vivian has learned from her mistakes when it comes to hiring people for her team 
• What Vivian sees is the difference between hustle and grit, and why she thinks only one can be taught 
• Her thoughts about the future of Your Rich BFF and what role she might play in it
• Why owning her business influenced Vivian’s choice to undergo IVF at age 30 and freeze her embryos 
• The lasting impact her female mentor at J.P. Morgan had on her life and career, including the very generous gift she gave Vivian 
• The critical importance of discussing money with your partner, and what led to  Vivian and her now-husband having that conversation very early on in their relationship
• What her mom’s advice to Vivian was when she started making more money than her husband 

Resources:

📕 Learn more about “Well Endowed” by Vivian Tu 

📸  Follow Vivian Tu on Instagram 

📸  Follow Vivian Tu on TikTok

📸  Follow Vivian Tu on YouTube

🎧 Listen to Vivian Tu on Networth and Chill 

🎧 New episodes of How She Does It drop every Tuesday. Be sure to follow us so you never miss an episode

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Veronica Swanson Beard’s life changed when she met her future business partner, Veronica Miele Beard, and her future husband, Jamie Beard, on the same evening. The two Veronicas, who became sisters-in-law, share a love of fashion. They explored a number of possible business ventures together (including, at one point, maternity wear) before landing on their game-changing women’s dickey jacket. 

Since they introduced their signature piece in a market set up in Veronica Swanson Beard's apartment in 2010, the company has exploded.  They now offer a complete “uniform” for women: dresses, pants, shoes, swimwear, jewelry, and more. The two Veronicas are Co-CEOs of their namesake company, which was recently named Private Company of the Year by Women’s Wear Daily.  

For Veronica Swanson Beard, their brand is the culmination of a dream that started as a young girl, and was heavily influenced by the stylish women she saw growing up in Naples, Florida, London, and Northern California.  

 💬 In this episode, we explore: 

• What Veronica Swanson Beard’s mentor taught her that frames philosophy on working in the fashion business 
• How the two Veronicas approach leading their company together
• Where Veronica Swanson Beard gets her design inspiration from 
• The very-subtle, but important, (and not often spoken-about) detail in Veronica Beard jeans that Veronica Swanson Beard absolutely loves 
• How the Co-CEOs managed some of the more challenging times faced by their company 
• Veronica Swanson Beard’s outlook on building a company while also raising three sons 

Resources:

🔗 Visit Veronica Beard

📸  Follow Veronica Beard on Instagram

📸  Follow Veronica Beard on LinkedIn

🎧 New episodes of How She Does It drop every Tuesday. Be sure to follow us so you never miss an episode

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gorgeous landscapes, high-stakes drama, and throw in some horses and cattle for good measure.  That’s just another day at the office when you work on a show in Taylor Sheridan’s universe.  Emmy-nominated Christina Alexandra Voros is one of the most influential female voices in Sheridan’s inner circle, having directed multiple episodes of his hit shows, including “Yellowstone,” “1883,” “Lawman: Bass Reeves,” and now, every episode of “The Madison.”   

“The Madison” stars Michelle Pfeiffer and Kurt Russell and explores themes of family and loss, as well as the healing power of the land. For Christina, working with Michelle Pfeiffer on the series in Montana was a career highlight, saying, “ her focus and resilience and heart through the process of making the show is absolutely remarkable.”  Christina also serves as executive producer for the series, which is streaming now exclusively on Paramount+.  

 💬 In this episode, we explore:

• Christina’s path to becoming a director, which meant veering from her original dream of being an actress
• How this NYU Film school grad and proud Brooklynite fell in love with a cowboy, and now lives on a ranch in Texas 
• Why she took a demotion to camera operator to work on “Yellowstone,” and why at first she thought it was the biggest mistake of her career
• How she approaches shooting technically challenging scenes, including working with animals and choreographed fights
• Her thoughts on the advances women directors have made in the industry, and why she is optimistic for the next generation  
• How she is preparing to direct two more highly anticipated Sheridan projects: “Frisco King,” starring Samuel L. Jackson, and the “Yellowstone” spinoff, “Dutton Ranch.”

Resources:🔗 Watch The Madison on Paramount+ 

📸  Follow Christina Alexandra Voros on Instagram 

🎧 New episodes of How She Does It drop every Tuesday. Be sure to follow us so you never miss an episode

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our mission at HOW SHE DOES IT WITH KAREN FINERMAN is to have meaningful conversations where high-achieving women across business, media, science, the arts, and more can share their insight and wisdom. So to celebrate Women’s History Month, we put together a collection of highlights from some of our history-making guests, spotlighting their incredible experiences and what they’ve learned along the way. 

And while many of us may never walk in space or dance on stage at the American Ballet Theatre, we know each of these women’s experiences will serve as both inspiration and a reminder of the greatness that is possible when talent, determination, authenticity, and hard work come together. 

💬 In this episode, we hear from:

• Comedian Zarna Garg, who left her father’s home in India to avoid an arranged marriage, explains how she came to the U.S. and what motivates her to keep moving forward. 
• Rabbi Angela Buchdahl is the first Asian American to be ordained as a cantor or rabbi in North America and the first female rabbi to lead New York City’s influential Central Synagogue.  She shares what she learned from one of the most challenging days of her career.
• NASA Astronaut Sunita Williams, who has spent more than 600 days in space across three missions to the International Space Station on what it’s like to be in space during a spacewalk.  
• Diana Nyad, who at age 64 became the first person to successfully swim 110 miles from Cuba to Florida without the aid of a shark cage, discusses how important her mental game was to completing the endurance feat. 
• Misty Copeland, the first black principal dancer for the American Ballet Theatre, on forging her own path in the ballet world and honoring those dancers of color who came before her.  
• Ariel Investment Co-CEO Mellody Hobson, the first black woman to chair the board of a Fortune 500 company (Starbucks), discusses what her mother taught her about finances and how she is passing it down to her own daughter. 

🎧Listen To Zarna & Zoya Garg on HOW SHE DOES IT Episode 60

🎧Listen To Rabbi Angela Buchdahl on HOW SHE DOES IT Episode 63

🎧Listen To Sunita Williams on HOW SHE DOES IT Episode 68

🎧Listen To Diana Nyad on HOW SHE DOES IT Episode 7 

🎧Listen To Misty Copeland  on HOW SHE DOES IT Episode 17

🎧Listen To Mellody Hobson  on HOW SHE DOES IT Episode 29 

💻Watch episodes on HOW SHE DOES IT on our YouTube Page 
📸 Follow the show on Instagram: @hsdipodcast🎧

New episodes of How She Does It drop every Tuesday. Be sure to follow us so you never miss an episode.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Throughout her career, Eva Pilgrim, the new anchor of “Inside Edition,” has always strived to deliver excellent journalism. It’s a mindset she traces back to her childhood, raised by her American father and, what she calls, her “Korean Tiger Mom.” Eva recalls her mother not tolerating anything below perfect grades (to the point that she once hid a paper with a grade of 98 in the trash). As an adult, she combined her determination to treat her interview subjects with care with her gift for getting people to open up, and her career in journalism took off. She rose in the ranks from an affiliate reporter to a senior correspondent at ABC News. That success led to her being named co-anchor of “Good Morning America Weekend” and later, “GMA3.” 

But some of that success came with a cost. The demanding work, which included rushing off at a moment’s notice to cover a story for weeks at a time, along with the expectations she placed on herself, was occasionally overwhelming. At one point, after covering a string of emotionally difficult stories, including several hurricanes, she hit a low point.  But Eva found ways, both during her time at ABC News and more so now at “Inside Edition”, the longest-running nationally syndicated new show, to hit the reset button. Her goal now: find fulfilling work that doesn’t drain her, pursue projects that interest her across linear and emerging media, and build a life outside of her job that allows her to spend time with her husband Ed and 4-year-old daughter Ella.   

 💬 In this episode, we explore:

• The incredible story behind Eva Pilgrim’s decision to pivot from medical school to a career in journalism 
• The role Eva’s mom played when it came to Eva dating her future husband
• Eva’s dealbreaker when it comes to who she chooses to work on stories with 
• Why she was nervous to make the leap from network news to “Inside Edition”
• Eva’s favorite part of the “Inside Edition” broadcast 

Resources:

📸  Follow Eva Pilgrim on Instagram

📸  Follow Inside Edition on Instagram

📸  Follow Inside Edition on TikTok

📸  Follow Inside Edition on Facebook

🎧 New episodes of How She Does It drop every Tuesday. Be sure to follow us so you never miss an episode

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices