Career Change Champions Tonya Montella

In this episode, Jen Sherwood describes her journey from Pediatric Audiologist to Life Coach. She explains how she quickly experienced burnout in her role as a clinician, and was left feeling confused about how to apply her specialized degree into a new career. She made a pivot within the clinical space and was able to find more balance, however was still left feeling like it still wasn't quite the path for her. Considering she held that career for over 20 years, and the way that motherhood was beginning to shape her outlook on life, and it became very clear that it was time for change. Jen shares the steps she took to determine her next career move, which is what ultimately led her to the joy and fulfillment that she experiences each day as a Life Coach.
Funny enough, the steps she took to identify her ideal career matches how I've navigated my own career changes, and the process that I teach my career coaching clients!
Enjoy Jen's story, and connect with her at jennifersherwood.com.
 
For info on my Career Transition Kickatarter program, go to https://bit.ly/kickstartergroup

A Podcast Mashup! In this episode I sit with Kim Douglas, host of the Bold Like Her podcast, to understand her journey going from radio to real estate. Kim shares how she got into the radio industry (not an easy task), and how she climbed the ranks from an assistant wearing many hats to a morning show host! After discovering her love for real estate, her move from Philadelphia to Massachusetts presented some challenges but, being the bold woman that she is, she was able to grow her success despite that. 
I then shared with her more about me - how and why I got into providing career coaching services to women, why I'm passionate about it, and what I'm currently seeing in the job market. This episode was so much fun to record, and I just know you'll love it.  

For info on my Career Transition Kickatarter program, go to https://bit.ly/kickstartergroup

In this episode, Tonya talks to Shakera Jones of BlackGirlsDineToo - a lifestyle brand, blog, and social media space - who serves as a guide to the wonderful world of high-end food and wine. Shakera shares her love for both the food and wine industry, as well as the Healthcare IT space which is her full-time career. As a Black woman, she describes the importance of representation in the tech space, and how impactful it is for her to have a seat at the table to drive inclusive strategies in the industry. She explains how she organically fell into her career after leaving the Financial and Higher Ed industries. Overcoming impostor syndrome is also a topic that she and Tonya dive into, including how Shakera overcame it fairly recently. This discussion takes a number of twists and turns, so this is definitely one that you won't want to miss! 
Shakera is the perfect demonstration of pursuing your passion and doing everything that brings you joy both personally and professionally. As you'll hear in her story, this doesn't always mean that you have to drop your full-time career to pursue what you love; you can do both with incredible success and achieve fulfillment in many different aspects of your life simultaneously. Enjoy Shakera's inspiring journey, and encouraging advice.
Follow Shakera at on Twitter @BlackGirlsDine2 on Instagram @BlackGirlsDineToo or via her website at blackgirlsdinetoo.com

For info on my Career Transition Kickatarter program, go to https://bit.ly/kickstartergroup

In this episode, Tonya speaks with Lia Biscardi, Visual Storyteller and Product Photographer, about her journey into her current profession after spending 7 years teaching science to High School and Middle School students. Lia explains how she experienced burnout and attempted various methods to alleviate it including switching schools, therapy, and self-reflection. Though she was experiencing this for some time, she shares how the pandemic really was a blessing in disguise for her as it relates to her career because it's what ultimately led her to create her own space; blending her love of teaching and photography through her own business, Chrome Photo Co. 
Lia shares a ton helpful tips, including:

What to expect when becoming a teacher
3 keys to achieving a positive environment as a teacher
The 3 aspects in the cycle of marketing
The 3 step process she used to uncover that career change was right for her

Connect with Lia on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/Kodachromephotoco/
On Instagram @chromephotoco
Or directly through her website: https://chromephotoco.com/

For info on my Career Transition Kickatarter program, go to https://bit.ly/kickstartergroup

In this episode, Tonya meets with Virtual Assistant, Kathleen Ribeiro, to discuss her journey into this field. Kathleen explains how she spent 8 years managing her father's business, starting at a young age. She describes how common this is among those that are born in the US to immigrant parents due to language barriers and the importance of dedication to family in the Latino culture. Kathleen explains the difficult decisions she was faced with after her father sold the business, and how the unhealthy environment that developed under the new management led her to seek fulfillment and take charge of her career. You might be surprised to hear how she discovered the world of a VA; I know I was! It's a reminder that sometimes the smallest messages from the universe come into our lives the moment we need them, we just have to be open to receiving them and taking action.
Enjoy Kathleen's story, and follow her on Instagram @_kmservice or check out her Virtual Assistant offerings at kmservice.co

For info on my Career Transition Kickatarter program, go to https://bit.ly/kickstartergroup

In this episode, Tonya sits with Parent Coach and Hypnotherapist, Stefanie Fernandes to dive deep into how and why she decided to leave nursing and enter what she soon realized was her true passion. She explains how, despite her success in the nursing field, she always felt that she was missing autonomy and true connections with people. Stefanie describes her current work, combining parent coaching with hypnotherapy to break the cycle of generational trauma which often results in dysfunctional parenting. As fellow parents, Tonya and Stefanie also discuss the challenges of motherhood and the importance of looking inward to identify what we need to address in ourselves to be better parents for our kids. 

Connect with Stefanie on Instagram @hypno_stefanie

For info on my Career Transition Kickatarter program, go to https://bit.ly/kickstartergroup