Kind of a Big Deal

Kristin Belden
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Ever brushed off a compliment? Downplayed a win? Made yourself smaller so you wouldn’t sound like “too much”? Yeah, me too. Kind of a Big Deal is my love letter to women building careers and lives they’re proud of. This isn’t your typical Fortune 500 CEO interview. Instead, it’s real, relatable conversations with everyday women - corporate baddies, scrappy entrepreneurs, and everyone in between - who are leading lives we can all aspire to. Through honest stories and hard-earned wisdom, we shine a light on the victories, the lessons, and the messy middle that rarely make the highlight reel. It’s about celebrating the impact women make (even when we’re tempted to shrug it off). Because the truth is: you are kind of a big deal.

  1. 14H AGO

    How Showing Up Fully in Leadership Becomes Its Own Definition of Success

    Some people move through their careers searching for the thread that connects it all. Genevieve Levy found hers - two weeks before we sat down to record. I've known Genevieve for a decade. We met through our kids, - sidelines, carpool, the general beautiful chaos of raising children in a community you love. She's been Coach G to my daughter for years, and watching her show up in that role - fully present, fully herself, all in - is exactly what this conversation is about. It turns out the listserv she built in a community computer lab at 22, the refugee resettlement programs she grew from scratch, the coalition she facilitates today — it was always the same work. The tools just grew up with her. Genevieve has spent over 20 years at the intersection of community, service, and social impact. She's also a former D1 rugby player and someone in the middle of a season where success looks completely different than it used to. And she's really good with that. What strikes me most is that she has never once shown up as anything other than fully herself. In every room, every role, every season. That's not as common as it sounds. We talk about what it takes to build trust across agencies, what Sacramento gets quietly right about welcoming newcomers, how sports shaped her in ways that still show up in her leadership today, and why she's finally stopped putting the word "just" in front of how she describes her work. You'll Learn  ⭐ What it looks like when a 20-year career suddenly makes complete sense   ⭐ Why Sacramento is one of the most remarkable welcoming communities in the country  ⭐ What sports build in you that shows up in leadership decades later  ⭐ How to stop qualifying the season you're in  ⭐ What it means to bring your full self everywhere you go Key Insights Showing Up Fully Is a Choice You Make Every Day Not a personality trait. Not a gift. A decision - to be 100% in every room, every role, every season, even when the season looks nothing like what you planned. Drop the Word "Just" Working part-time? Leading differently than before? Stop qualifying it. The season you're in doesn't need a disclaimer. Because I Can, I Will If you have something to give, give it. Fully. Right now. Because some of these things only exist in this moment. Timestamps  02:00 From veterinarian dreams to international relations to AmeriCorps  05:00 The through line she only saw two weeks ago  07:00 Building the North Area Collaborative and the Sacramento Region Refugee Coalition  12:00 How refugee resettlement work started  15:00 From district director to United Way to where she is now  18:00 Sacramento as a welcoming community - and what's at stake  23:00 Protecting your own peace in emotionally demanding work  26:00 What shaped her as a leader that would never show up on a resume  30:00 What sports gave her: discipline, resilience, and showing up ready  37:00 Redefining success and dropping the word "just"  40:00 Recommitting to this season and letting it settle  43:00 Legacy: bringing your full self, because you can Resources and Links  Connect with Genevieve on LinkedIn  Find host Kristin Belden on LinkedIn or at BeldenStrategies.com  Sign up for Kristin's newsletter Big Deal Energy: BeldenStrategies.com/newsletter If this conversation resonated, share it with someone who needed to hear it - and consider leaving a review. It helps more women find these con

    49 min

  2. APR 30

    When the Work You Love Disappears: Grief, Reinvention, and Learning to Build a Life on Your Terms

    What do you do when the organization you've given everything to - the one you helped build from the inside out - is suddenly gone? Nurit Siegel Smith spent 25 years building a career at the intersection of arts, culture, and social impact. As Executive Director of Music Forward Foundation, she helped 20,000 young people across the country find pathways into the music industry, including building the first federally recognized apprenticeships in music and live entertainment in the United States. Then, in early 2025, the organization was sunset. And Nurit was the one who had to see it through. What followed was a year she'll tell you herself took six months just to breathe through. We talk about what it looks like to grieve meaningful work, how to stop chasing the next goal and start building the context of the life you want, and why being an artist and being an entrepreneur might be the same act - just with different tools. You'll Learn  ⭐ What it looks like to stop goal-chasing and start context-building  ⭐ How to rebuild your sense of purpose when your identity was tied to your work ⭐ Why presence and joy don't actually require financial security  Key Insights Either You Take the Pause, Or It's Taken from You Nurit didn't choose to stop. The work she loved was taken away. But what she found in the stillness changed everything. Stop Chasing the Goal. Instead of asking "what's my next role?", Nurit flipped the question: what does the life I want to be living actually look like?  Purpose and Paycheck Don't Have to Be the Same Thing One of the most freeing realizations of Nurit's transition: she didn't have to find one role that held all of it. She could serve on boards, volunteer, be present for her family - and make money somewhere else. Timestamps  04:00 Planting seeds: on cold outreach and the slow burn of relationships  06:00 The next generation and instant gratification in the workplace  08:00 Navigating liminal space  09:00 Nurit's path: from gymnast and dancer to nonprofit leader  11:00 Discovering the many career pathways in arts and culture  13:00 Music Forward Foundation and building apprenticeships in the music industry  16:00 Sunsetting an organization you love - and surviving it  21:00 Redefining what it means to be a creative person  23:00 Bundu bashing: what creative careers and entrepreneurship have in common  26:00 The year after: six months just to breathe  29:00 Hibernating, licking wounds, and slowly coming back to life  31:00 Redefining success and flipping the goal framework  33:00 When purpose and paycheck don't have to be the same thing  35:00 What financial insecurity taught both women about baseline joy  40:00 Building vs. reacting: staying grounded  42:00 Women founders, corporate boards, and the environment that needs to change  48:00 What's calling to Nurit now  Resources and Links  Connect with Nurit on LinkedIn  Find host Kristin Belden on LinkedIn or at BeldenStrategies.com  Sign up for Kristin's newsletter Big Deal Energy: BeldenStrategies.com/newsletter If this conversation resonated, share it with someone who needed to hear it — and consider leaving a review. It helps more women find these conversations.

    55 min

  3. APR 24

    From Achievement Addict to Authentic: Building a Brand (and a Life) from the Inside Out

    What happens when you spend decades achieving everything you were supposed to want - only to realize it fits like an itchy sweater? In this episode, I sit down with Ariana, co-founder and managing partner of Flight Design Co. and co-founder of Kindredly. What I love most about her story isn't what's on her resume. It's what lives underneath it. She's a poet, a photographer, a former wilderness and whitewater river guide turned youth developer turned brand strategist - a self-described recovering achievement addict who spent a decade blowing up the version of herself she'd been building for everyone else. We talk about creativity as resistance to hustle culture, why the thing you're most afraid to show people is probably your most powerful differentiator, and what biology might have to say about why women in midlife are just getting started. You'll Learn ⭐ What it takes to unlearn achievement addiction and rebuild on your own terms  ⭐ Why your "weirdest thing" is actually your greatest brand differentiator  ⭐ How to honor your creative self when it doesn't fit neatly into your career  ⭐ What the biology of menopause has to do with women's leadership (seriously)  ⭐ How to let creativity be the antidote to hustle culture Key Insights The Itchy Sweater Moment You can build everything you were supposed to want and still feel completely disconnected from it. That discomfort isn't a failure - it's data. Creativity Can't Be Hustled When you're actually in a creative practice, you can't drive it. That's the point. Five minutes of it is enough to pull you back into your body and out of the noise. Biology Is Trying to Tell Us Something Humans are one of the only mammals that go through menopause - and the research on whales and elephants suggests it's because elder females are meant to lead. Ariana makes the case that women in midlife aren't winding down. They're just getting started. Timestamps 02:00 How Kristin and Ariana met and what Ariana radiates  06:00 Was she always an entrepreneur?  08:00 The slightly feral childhood, risk-taking, and her time as a whitewater river guide  11:00 How guiding people through scary things became the through line  13:00 Fear of being truly known  16:00 The achievement addiction 18:00 The 100 Day Project 21:00  Launching a website that brings all of herself together 24:00  Cross-pollinating audiences and why showing your full self builds the best clients  26:00  Why overnight success is always a decade in the making  32:00 How capitalism and hustle culture are the enemy of creativity  36:00 Creative Roundtabling  40:00 What it would take to actually create the conditions for more women founders   45:00 Why having women at the table isn't enough without a culture shift  46:00 The biology of menopause and elder women as evolutionary leaders  Resources and Links Connect with Ariana on LinkedIn or at her website Learn more about Flight Design Co. and Kindredly Find host Kristin Belden on LinkedIn or at BeldenStrategies.com  Sign up for Kristin's newsletter Big Deal Energy: BeldenStrategies.com/newsletter If this conversation resonated, share it with someone who needed to hear it — and consider leaving a review. It helps more women find these conversations.

    56 min

  4. APR 23

    Corporate, Startup, Freelance, Founder: How to Build a Creative Career on Your Own Terms

    What does it look like to stay completely, unapologetically yourself - across every job, every pivot, every industry? In this episode, I sit down with my ride-or-die bestie Vanessa — creative director, UX designer, co-founder, freelancer, fine artist, and one of the most genuinely creative people I've ever known.  We go all the way back to the corners of an art school painting lab, survived a summer in Europe on nectarines and salami, and grew into adults together in San Francisco.  But beyond our history, this conversation is about something I think a lot of women are quietly wrestling with: how do you stay true to who you are when every system around you keeps asking you to be something else?  Vanessa has navigated corporate giants, a thriving event business, freelance life, and startup culture — always leading with integrity, always trusting her gut — even when the world wanted her to fix her face and be a little more "corporate Vanessa." You'll Learn ⭐ How to trust your gut when the world wants a formula  ⭐ What it looks like to pivot across corporate, startup, freelance, and entrepreneurship  ⭐ How to keep your creative practice alive when life demands everything else  ⭐ What staying true to yourself actually costs — and why it's worth it  ⭐ How to redefine legacy when your path doesn't look like anyone else's Key Insights Integrity Isn't a Strategy — It's a Through Line Vanessa has never been able to perform her way through something that doesn't fit. That's been a friction point in corporate environments — and her greatest superpower everywhere else. Intuition Is a Muscle Vanessa doesn't start with references — she starts with excitement. Dread, fear, and excitement are all data points. When something's exciting and a little scary? That's usually the green light. "Flow" Over the Formula At every stage of her career, the signal wasn't a title or a number — it was the feeling in her body that said this rhythm is right. The work is chasing more of that. Timestamps 02:00 – How Kristin and Vanessa met and grew up together  05:00 – Vanessa's creative family roots and her third-grade art teacher debut 09:00 – Why she calls herself a "unicorn designer" — and means it  13:00 – Keeping a creative practice alive when life takes over  17:00 – From event florals to web design: the many lives of Vanessa  24:00 – Early career in graphic design and the pivot toward UX  27:00 – Landing at Walmart.com and realizing corporate wasn't it  33:00 – Running an event company and a tech career at the same time  36:00 – Using dread, excitement, and fear as a decision-making framework  40:00 – Why she looks at fashion week, not other beverage brands, for inspiration  46:00 – The girl boss era, what we were told, and what nobody mentioned  48:00 – What building a legacy means when your path is entirely your own  54:00 – Authenticity as a through line — and why it's been both a blessing and a friction point Resources and Links Connect with Vanessa on LinkedIn  See her work at Vanessavellozzi.com Find host Kristin Belden on LinkedIn or at BeldenStrategies.com Sign up for Kristin's newsletter Big Deal Energy: BeldenStrategies.com/newsletter If this one hit close to home, share it with a friend who needed to hear it — and consider leaving a review. It helps more women find these conversations.

    59 min

  5. APR 16

    From Industry Orphan to Entrepreneur: Building a Career on Your Own Terms

    What do you do when the career you need doesn't exist yet? In this episode, I sit down with Lindsay Green Barber, founder of Impact Architects - a research and strategy firm helping journalism, media, and philanthropy organizations measure what actually matters.  Lindsay's path here was anything but straight: a PhD, two years of fieldwork in Ecuador, a postdoc fellowship, and a skillset that never quite fit the roles that existed. So she built her own. Nearly a decade later, Impact Architects is one of the most respected voices in media impact measurement - and Lindsay is in the middle of a new kind of inflection point. We talk about what it's taken to step into her identity as a founder and leader, why the metrics driving journalism decisions are quietly undermining the industry, and what legacy looks like when you're trying to reimagine an entire sector while also making it to swim class pickup. You'll Learn ⭐ How to build a career when your skillset doesn't fit existing roles  ⭐ What slow, intentional business growth actually looks like in practice  ⭐ What it takes to step into your identity as a leader  ⭐ How to align your personal growth with your business strategy  ⭐ What community-centered journalism looks like and why it matters  Key Insights Entrepreneurship Isn't Always a Calling - Sometimes It's a Solution Lindsay didn't set out to start a company. She set out to do work that mattered and realized the only way to do it was to build something herself. Clear Is Kind Stepping into leadership means giving your team clarity - about direction, accountability, and vision. Avoiding that isn't humility, it's a disservice. The Metrics Are the Message When journalism organizations measure success by page views designed for ad sales, they optimize for the wrong thing entirely. Impact measurement asks a harder, more important question. Timestamps 02:00 Lindsay's non-linear path and why she went straight to grad schoo 04:00 Fieldwork in Ecuador and watching a government silence indigenous voices  06:00Moving back to the US and rejecting the ivory tower  07:00 The postdoc fellowship that landed her at CIR  08:00 Building impact measurement frameworks from scratch  11:00 How the model started resonating across the industry  14:00 Seeing an opportunity to build something outside of org life  15:00 Becoming a founder by accident — the "industry orphan" origin story 20:00 Postpartum, trust, and a turning point for the company  21:00 Building a team that could hold the work without her  22:00 Turning 40 and asking: what comes next?  23:00 When personal growth and business strategy finally come together  26:00 "What would Kristin do?" — on advisors and hype girls  27:00 What surprised her most about this phase of growth  33:00 The broken metrics quietly driving journalism decisions  37:00 Community listening and how to actually understand your audience 42:00 The CPB funding crisis and what's at stake for local media  44:00 How do you get people to care before it's gone?  45:00 What journalism has to do differently to earn trust  48:00 Legacy: professional, personal, and what her kid thinks of her Resources and Links Connect with Lindsay Green Barber on LinkedIn  Find out more about her work at Impact Architects  Find host Kristin Belden on LinkedIn or at BeldenStrategies.com  Sign up for Kristin's new

    53 min

  6. APR 9

    Burnout, Starting Over, and Learning to Trust Yourself Again

    What happens when the life you built… stops feeling like your own? In this episode, I sit down with Shayne Corriea, who spent over a decade building a successful financial advisory business—only to reach a breaking point where her health, energy, and sense of self were completely depleted. What followed wasn’t a simple pivot. It involved burnout, a full identity reset, and the difficult decision to walk away from something that was “working,” but no longer aligned. We talk about what it actually means to “do the work” (not the buzzword version), how unresolved patterns shape our decisions, and why so many women ignore the signs of burnout until they’re forced to stop. This conversation also explores mindfulness, meditation, and sound healing as tools for managing stress and rewiring old patterns—and what it looks like to rebuild self-trust when you’re no longer sure what comes next. You’ll Learn  ⭐ The real signs of burnout—and what happens when you ignore them  ⭐ What it takes to walk away from a successful career  ⭐ What “doing the work” actually looks like in practice  ⭐ How mindfulness and meditation support nervous system regulation  ⭐ Why self-trust breaks down—and how to rebuild it  ⭐ Letting go of external validation and redefining success  ⭐ How to navigate identity shifts and major life transitions Key Insights Burnout Doesn’t Happen Overnight It builds slowly—until your body or life forces you to pay attention. Success Doesn’t Always Equal Alignment You can build something impressive and still feel disconnected from it. Self-Trust Is Built (and Rebuilt) Especially after major transitions, learning to trust yourself again is a process. Doing the Work Means Going Back Patterns often start earlier than we think—and require real reflection to shift. Slowing Down Is a Skill For many women, it’s not natural—it’s something that has to be practiced. Timestamps  [00:00:00] – Recording in person and how this conversation started  [00:02:00] – Building a business and sensing something was off  [00:05:30] – Burnout, health challenges, and the breaking point  [00:08:30] – The fear of walking away from something successful  [00:11:00] – What “doing the work” actually means  [00:14:30] – Patterns, past experiences, and self-reflection  [00:17:00] – Rediscovering identity and joy  [00:20:00] – Meditation, sound healing, and stress  [00:24:00] – The science behind nervous system regulation  [00:27:00] – Why slowing down feels so difficult  [00:30:00] – People-pleasing and external validation  [00:33:30] – Loss, rebuilding, and perspective shifts  [00:36:00] – Practicing mindfulness in everyday life  [00:40:00] – Rebuilding self-trust  [00:43:00] – Community, storytelling, and connection  [00:46:00] – Redefining success  [00:49:00] – Legacy and breaking generational patterns Resources and Links Connect with Shayne Find out more about her work at Mindful Abundance Strategies Find host Kristin Belden on LinkedIn or at BeldenStrategies.com Sign up for Kristin’s newsletter Big Deal Energy: BeldenStrategies.com/newsletter If this conversation resonated, share it with someone who might need it—and consider leaving a review. It helps more women find these conversations.

    55 min

  7. APR 2

    Storytelling Isn’t Extra - It’s How Impact Happens

    What if storytelling isn’t just how you communicate your work - but how you create impact and shape the legacy you leave behind? Join me as I sit down with Tamiko Heim, a leader working at the intersection of community, government, systems, and real human impact. Tamiko’s perspective on storytelling goes far beyond messaging. For her, it’s how people make sense of the work, how communities connect to it, and how ideas actually take root and last. It’s not a layer on top - it’s embedded in how impact is built and sustained over time. In this conversation, we explore storytelling as a leadership practice, the role it plays in shaping systems and communities, and what it means to build something that actually lasts. You’ll Learn ⭐ How to navigate complex systems where there are no clear answers ⭐ The importance of relationships in driving meaningful change ⭐ How to communicate work in a way that actually connects ⭐ What it takes to lead in community-centered environments ⭐ Why clarity often comes through action, not before it ⭐ How to stay grounded while making high-stakes decisions Key Insights Leadership Requires Holding Complexity There aren’t always clean answers. Strong leaders are able to navigate nuance and move forward anyway. Relationships Are the Work Impact is rarely individual - it’s built through trust, collaboration, and connection. Storytelling Drives Understanding If people can’t understand or connect to the work, it’s difficult for it to gain traction or scale. Systems Shape How We Lead The environments we operate in influence decisions, behavior, and outcomes more than we often realize. Clarity Comes Through Movement Waiting for perfect certainty can stall progress - clarity is often built in motion. Timestamps  [00:00:00] – Introduction and how Kristin and Tamiko connected  [00:03:00] – Tamiko’s path into leadership and community work  [00:07:00] – Where storytelling shows up in real-world impact  [00:12:00] – Communicating complex work in a way that lands  [00:18:00] – The relationship between storytelling and trust  [00:24:00] – Narrative, systems, and shaping perception  [00:31:00] – Why connection matters more than just information  [00:38:00] – Leadership, responsibility, and holding nuance  [00:45:00] – Building work that lasts beyond you  [00:52:00] – What legacy means in this work Resources and Links Connect with Tamiko Heim on LinkedIn Find host Kristin Belden on LinkedIn or at BeldenStrategies.com Sign up for Kristin’s newsletter for more stories, insights, and tools for women leaders: BeldenStrategies.com/newsletter Find Airel Vanece's (Tamiko's daughter) book Searching for Mr. Johnson's Song here If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review. It helps more women find these conversations - and means a lot as the show grows.

    48 min

  8. MAR 26

    What It Really Means to Lead People Well

    What if the most important part of leadership isn’t what you say or do - but how you see people? Join me as I sit down with Jackie Kendricks, Director of Education at Roberts Family Development Center, who has spent years working alongside children, families, and young adults in community. Jackie’s path into this work began in education, but it deepened as she stepped into nonprofit and community-based work - where she saw firsthand how complex people’s lives really are, and how often we reduce others to a single moment or behavior. In this conversation, we explore what it actually means to lead people well: holding space without judgment, understanding the difference between expectation and entitlement, and recognizing that most people are simply trying to survive with dignity. You’ll Learn ⭐ Why leadership starts with how you see and understand people ⭐ The difference between expectation and entitlement in younger generations ⭐ How technology is shaping attention, identity, and behavior ⭐ Why community and connection are essential to resilience ⭐ How to navigate emotionally demanding work without losing yourself ⭐ Why “your 3am phone call” matters more than anything Key Insights Most People Are Trying to Survive with Dignity When you understand that people are navigating more than you can see, it changes how you lead, respond, and show up. Leadership Is About How You Leave People Impact isn’t just about outcomes - it’s about whether people walk away believing more in themselves. Expectation vs Entitlement Is Often Misunderstood What looks like entitlement may actually be a generation shaped by immediacy and constant access. You Can’t Lead Without Seeing the Whole Person Reducing people to a single behavior or moment limits both their growth and your ability to lead effectively. Timestamps  [00:00:00] – Introduction: Meeting Jackie and her work in community  [00:01:05] – Jackie’s role at Roberts Family Development Center  [00:04:45] – Supporting children, families, and underserved communities  [00:08:00] – Working with young adults and generational differences  [00:10:45] – Technology, attention, and immediate gratification  [00:13:00] – Expectation vs entitlement  [00:15:30] – Teaching real-world skills in a digital generation  [00:18:00] – Parenting and navigating technology with kids  [00:20:30] – AI, learning, and critical thinking  [00:23:00] – Jackie’s path into nonprofit and community work  [00:26:30] – Understanding people beyond the surface  [00:30:00] – Surviving with dignity and isolation  [00:32:45] – The importance of community and “your 3am phone call”  [00:36:30] – Burnout and emotional load in this work  [00:40:30] – Self-care and learning to be alone  [00:43:30] – Balancing ambition, family, and boundaries  [00:46:00] – Leadership, confidence, and how you show up  [00:49:30] – Legacy and leaving people well Resources and Links Connect with Kristin Belden on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinbelden/ Learn more about Belden Strategies: https://beldenstrategies.com Sign up for the Big Deal Energy newsletter: https://beldenstrategies.com/newsletter Connect with Jackie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacquelyn-kendricks-89b35a47/ Check out more about Roberts Family Development Center: https://robertsfdc.org/ 👉 If this conversation resonated, make sure to subscribe, share it with someone who needs to hear it, and let me know what stood out to you.

    55 min
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About

Ever brushed off a compliment? Downplayed a win? Made yourself smaller so you wouldn’t sound like “too much”? Yeah, me too. Kind of a Big Deal is my love letter to women building careers and lives they’re proud of. This isn’t your typical Fortune 500 CEO interview. Instead, it’s real, relatable conversations with everyday women - corporate baddies, scrappy entrepreneurs, and everyone in between - who are leading lives we can all aspire to. Through honest stories and hard-earned wisdom, we shine a light on the victories, the lessons, and the messy middle that rarely make the highlight reel. It’s about celebrating the impact women make (even when we’re tempted to shrug it off). Because the truth is: you are kind of a big deal.

Information

  • Creator
    Kristin Belden
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    31
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Kind of a Big Deal
  • Show Website
    Kind of a Big Deal

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