The founder and host of ‘She Pivots’ on how her mid-career pivot inspired the project.
It was the middle of the Trump presidency and I was Vice President of Campaigns at the Center for American Progress, the largest Democratic think tank in Washington DC, and I just learned I was pregnant with my second child, just nine months after having my first.
I never saw myself as someone who would have kids, and I definitely did not see myself as someone whose kids would change their career. Like so many women, I had read all of the girlboss articles and books and I held this idea that we could really do it all. But I began to realize how unsustainable my job had become. With the endless news cycle and constant crises that came out of the Trump presidency, I couldn’t be the employee or boss I wanted to be. So, in 2018, I stepped away.
Leaving behind a career that I had worked so hard to achieve was not easy. I felt like I had lost my momentum and failed. I love my kids more than anything, and now I realize my priorities shifted when I became a parent. I had to learn to redefine my idea of success. Your Political Playlist , and it finally started to feel like I found a new way to achieve similar career goals, to find success. Then COVID hit just months after having my third child and things, once again, fell into chaos. It was a delicate dance of saving my new business, caring for my kids, and trying everyday to save who I was from this vacuum. Now, two years later, I’m able to find balance by finding inspiration and solidarity with many women who’ve gone through something similar.
Once I started to talk about my decision to leave behind my traditional career, I began to meet women all around me who have pivoted, and each and every one of them changed their trajectory because of a personal decision. We view pivots as a strategic career move or something that might have a financial advantage.