9 to 5ish with theSkimm theSkimm

Today, we’ve got a bonus episode of “9 to 5ish” for you with a guest whose name has been in the news a lot lately. Our guest is Gretchen Whitmer, the governor of Michigan, the co-chair of Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, and author of the New York Times bestseller “True Gretch: What I’ve Learned About Life, Leadership, and Everything in Between.” As a popular governor of a swing state, Governor Whitmer’s name has been floated in convos about who might be on the Democratic ticket since Biden ended his re-election campaign. 

In this episode of 9 to 5ish, Governor Whitmer shares: 


Whether you’ll see a Harris-Whitmer ticket in 2024

What politicians can do to stop political violence

How democrats should think about reaching conservative and independent voters

What most people are surprised to learn about her after reading her book 

When Seema Bansal Chadha was in her early twenties, she was in a very new, long distance relationship with a guy named Sunny. In classic LDR-status, he sent her flowers for Valentine's Day. It was supposed to be a romantic gesture, but the flowers arrived wilted. NBD though. The  flop would lead Seema to move to New York to be with Sunny…and to co-found Venus et Fleur with him too. 

In this episode of 9 to 5ish, Seema shares: 


Why her father’s lighting and plumbing store informed her own entrepreneurship

How she rationalized starting a biz with her boyfriend of less than a year

The moment Venus et Fleur blew up (shout out to the Kardashians)

How the hustle of the early days compares to the hustle now

Why protecting your existing customers sometimes outweighs trying to attract new ones

In 2018, Mandana Dayani watched as the family-separation policy played out at the southern border. It was deeply unsettling. Her family fled as refugees from Iran to the US as an authoritarian regime took over. She asked herself: how could a country that saved my life do this? Mandana quickly learned that civic engagement was the only way things could meaningfully change. Enter: I am a voter., Mandana's org that's on a mission to rebrand voter identity to get young people to the polls. 

 In this episode of 9 to 5ish, Mandana shares: 


The culture shock of being a refugee in the US

How she went from being a lawyer to a brand strategist to the co-founder of a political org

The advice she got from Mom's Demand Action founder, Shannon Watts (spoiler alert: women get sh*t done)

How trust in existing brands and celebrities jumpstarted I am a voter. 

Most nepo babies deny the privileges afforded to them by their parents. Allison Statter isn’t one of them. She’s never been shy about having entertainment industry titans for parents, or about being Kim Kardashian’s lifelong BFF. But after working at her dad’s management company for 17 years, people started whispering about her legitimacy. To prove she could make it on her own, Allison kissed job security goodbye and launched her own entertainment marketing agency, Blended Strategy Group. Talk about a full 180.

In this episode of 9 to 5ish, Allison shares: 


A fact about Kim K that most people don’t know 

How her parent’s working relationship stayed strong despite separating multiple times

How a temporary 2-week stint at her dad’s company turned in 17-year long career 

Why the stakes are so much higher working in a family business 

How she’s learned more launching a company than she has her entire career

Today, we’re going back into the 9 to 5ish archives to bring you one of our favorite episodes with journalist Lisa Ling. Despite reporting the news professionally since she was a teenager, Lisa says she doubts herself constantly in work settings. She shares how she quiets the voice in her head that makes her question her worth at work, plus the value she sees in women of color advocating for each other in the workplace. We'll be back with a fresh episode next week.

In this episode, Lisa shares:


The reporting experiences she had as a teen (alongside Anderson Cooper)

Why her two male agents told her to leave negotiating to them

The one lesson she wishes her young self learned

How having kids reframed her boundaries around how far she’d go for her job

Why it’s key for women of color to learn to advocate for each other in the workplace

Planned Parenthood president and CEO Alexis McGill Johnson is a self-described “movement baby" as her parents fought for racial equality during the civil rights movement. As an adult, she mixed pop culture with civic engagement to turn out young voters of color. Even though she credited her success to the women who raised her, she wasn’t specifically thinking about the role of gender in social justice issues. Then she walked by a billboard in SoHo depicting the dire state of reproductive health care for Black women. It quickly became all she could think about. 
In this episode of 9 to 5ish, Alexis shares: 


Her go-to bagel order as a certified Jersey girl 

The biggest lesson her mom taught her about community organizing

Why a Princeton professor thanked her after she called out his racial prejudice

How she finds time to plan for the future of the org with so much uncertainty 

Her secret to getting people to see her perspective on politicized issues like abortion