Parents At Work Lori Mihalich-Levin

Lori Mihalich-Levin and Jason Levin are back after taking a break to take an 8,153-mile car trip across the country! In this episode of Parents at Work, Lori and Jason interview Christian Nunes and Radhika Patil, two inspiring CEO moms.
Christian Nunes, MBA, MS, LCSW, is the National President of the National Organization for Women (NOW). She has been the National President since August 2020. Before that, she was appointed Vice President by the board in May 2019. Christian is the second African American president in the organization’s history, the youngest person of color, and the youngest president of the organization in more than 40 years. Christian leads the organization through an intersectional lens and brings together a diverse affiliation of grassroots activists to work against structural sexism and racism. In addition, Christian is the founder of a behavioral health and consulting practice. Her mental health expertise assists her in understanding the constituents’ experience. It also helps her understand where policy and legislation are disconnected from the real experience of the people. Christian lives with her 2-year-old son, CJ, near Washington, D.C. Christian and CJ love taking short day trips to parks, outdoor festivals, zoos, and farms in the DMV area in their spare time.
Radhika Patil is the co-founder and CEO of Cradlewise and mom to a 7-year old and a 4-year-old. Cradlewise is a baby tech company based in Silicon Valley. Their first product is a smart crib for babies with an integrated contactless baby monitor that automatically starts rocking along with music to soothe the baby back to sleep, just like a parent, at the first signs of wakeup. Since building the crib for her babies, Radhika has been on a sleep fitness mission to help other parents. Radhika’s husband is the other co-founder of Cradlewise. In her spare time, Radhika loves to hike, garden, and read books with her kids.
In today’s conversation, Christian and Radhika give open and candid accounts of their experiences as working parents who also happen to be CEOs of organizations. They talk about the workplace supports they enjoyed after becoming parents and those they would like to have had. They also discuss the career-related skills their parenthood experience helped them develop, recount parenthood-related micro-aggressions they have experienced, share their best advice for navigating life as a working parent, and much, much more! Stay tuned to hear the motivating and encouraging conversation with these two amazing working moms!
Show highlights:
Having her child later in life has made Christian’s journey interesting, fun, and challenging. (4:33)
There is more acceptance now than ever before for taking time off for kids. (7:10)
It is sometimes hard for Radhika to separate her work from her personal life. (10:05)
It can be challenging to find a healthy work-life balance while taking ownership of your life in the process. (14:02)
Sometimes, you need to take some time to do things for yourself. (14:55)
Christian’s infant son went with her when she had to travel for work. (16:24)
Since becoming the president of her organization, Christian has added extra support for working parents. (17:19)
Having daycare on site where she worked would have been a game-changer for Radhika after her baby was born. (23:31)
Having a toddler has helped Christian understand people’s mood changes a lot better. (28:15)
Coping with micro-aggressions and shaping the conversation around working parents. (32:01)
Figuring out your goals as a CEO and as a parent. (36:44)
Having a schedule is vital for working parents. (42:48)
Links and resources:
http://www.carer.com/ (Carer.Com)
http://audible.com/ (Audible)
https://www.amazon.com/Welcome-Your-Childs-Brain-Conception/dp/1608199339 (Welcome to Your Child’s Brain) by Sam Wang and Sandra Aamodt
https://cradlewise.com/ (Cradlewise)
https://now.org/ (National Organization for Women)

In this episode of Parents at Work, Lori Mihalich-Levin and Jason Levin interview Mark Versen and Dale Wright. Mark is the Chief Development Officer (CDO) of the Lutheran Family Services of Nebraska, Inc. In 2020, he set a record for total annual fundraising by hitting $7 Million including the largest gift in Lutheran Family Services history of the 128 years of $3 Million while surpassing 22% growth in total number of donors. Mark is a seasoned professional with experience in private and public higher education institutions and executive leadership in the health and human services non-profit sector. He’s a firm believer that philanthropy changes lives. Mark and his wife Jesse have two children and they reside in Louisville, Nebraska.
Dale is the Associate Dean and Chief Advancement Officer for the Grainger College of Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He’s responsible for the strategy and operations on fundraising and constituent engagement, and he’s the campaigns director for the college’s $550 Million goal in the With Illinois $2.25 Billion comprehensive campaign. As of today, the college is at 109% of its goal. Over the last 20+ years, Dale has held a variety of alumni and fundraising engagement goals in higher education. He’s an active CASE volunteer and also holds membership in organizations such as the African American Development Officers Network and The Association of Fundraising Professionals. He’s also involved in other non-profit work as well including serving on the executive committee of the board of directors for the American Legion, Boys State of Missouri. Dale loves his family and knows he wouldn't be where he is today without the support of his wife and his four daughters.
It’s going to be a really interesting episode as these two dads talk about the most exciting things in fundraising, how they look at things from a completely different angle in order to change advancement, the power of integrating ones family into their work, and the working parenthood challenges they’ve successfully navigated all through their careers. Tune in and get inspired.
Show Highlights
Dramatic ups and downs Mark went through when he unexpectedly fell into his working parent journey (03:36)
The value of having an incredible community of 120+ helpers (07:01)
How Dale and his wife were able to navigate being first time parents and working on their thriving careers (08:48)
Learning to turn off the fundraising mode whenever it’s time to go be a parent (15:41)
Mark’s experience with being a parent who works as a fundraising professional (19:00)
Parental workplace support systems that they have benefitted from all through their careers (25:13)
Moving away from the previous way of doing things in fundraising to focus more on relationship building (29:59)
Finding a way to shut things off in a constantly connected world (33:49)
Why we should be mindful of the habits that we pick up (35:33)
Links and Resources
https://www.amazon.com/Good-Great-Some-Companies-Others/dp/0066620996 (Good to Great By Jim Collins)
https://www.amazon.com/All-Labor-Dignity-King-Legacy/dp/0807086029 (All Labor Has Dignity By Martin Luther King Jr.)
https://www.mindfulreturn.com/freemie/ (What's a Freemie? A genius invention for working parents)
https://readysetlaunch.net/ (Jason's Website)
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonlevincareercoach/ (Jason on Linkedin)
https://www.mindfulreturn.com/ (Lori's Website)
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorimihalichlevin/ (Lori on Linkedin)

In this episode of Parents at Work, Lori Mihalich-Levin and Jason Levin interview two amazing working moms who are leaders in the fundraising profession, Pradnya Haldipur and Kara Barnes.
Pradnya Haldipur is the Vice President of Development at Code.org, where she leads fundraising and philanthropic strategy. She has more than 24 years of development and management experience in a myriad of national and international settings. She went to Code.org with experience from prestigious academic medical institutions such as Children’s National Medical Center in Washington DC, Mount Sinai Health System in New York City, and Boston Children’s Hospital, as well as think tanks, global development organizations, and the arts. Over the course of her career, she has raised more than $145M to support research, capital projects, endowment, operations, and programmatic projects. Pradnya was born in Mumbai, India but grew up in New Jersey. She resides in Silver Spring, MD, with her husband Joe Clemons, their children, Mirza Cate (age 8) and Xavier Anant (age 6) who are avid Code.org users.
Kara Barnes is the Senior Director of Planned Giving at American University in Washington D.C. where she helps donors structure gift arrangements that create a meaningful legacy at the university and positive change in the world. She has over 20 years of experience in non-profit fundraising, with a focus on major gifts and planned giving. She has served in development positions in the arts and public media as well as higher education. Kara is a proud mid-westerner and lives in Washington D.C. with her husband Dave and son Lewis.
Pradnya and Kara share the tensions and benefits of being working moms involved in mission-based roles that they are very passionate about, and how they manage to stay committed to their work and families while maintaining good physical and mental health. You won’t want to miss this truly engaging conversation about boundaries, relationship-building, and passion.. The lessons to learn are unmatched. So stay tuned!
Show Highlights
Being a mom while moving the mission forward at work (03:15)
Kara’s working mom story: Integrating her love and passion for fundraising into her family life (05:11)
How to go about boundary setting between work and family (09:11)
The lack of more extensive maternity leave policies and the harm it causes (12:15)
Anticipated changes in non-profits that will be geared towards better support systems for their employees (17:02)
Changes happening in the fundraising industry that will affect working parents (21:32)
How having children has made these leaders more successful in their careers (25:20)
Forming great work relationships from the authenticity of inviting who you are and your family life into your work related interactions (28:14)
Kara’s way of staying grounded in her work and family life (32:12)
Adopting a mindset of loving both work and home life while using technology to achieve balance (35:37)
Links and Resources
https://pepparent.org/ (Positive Encouragement Parenting)
https://www.mindfulreturn.com/freemie/ (What's a Freemie? A genius invention for working parents)
https://readysetlaunch.net/ (Jason's Website)
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonlevincareercoach/ (Jason on Linkedin)
https://www.mindfulreturn.com/ (Lori's Website)
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorimihalichlevin/ (Lori on Linkedin)

In this episode of Parents at Work, Lori Mihalich-Levin and Jason Levin interview Jewelyn Cosgrove, a government affairs professional in Washington D.C. Jewelyn currently serves Melwood, a 501(c)(3) organization serving people with disabilities, as the Vice President of government relations, bringing with her 15 years of experience in public policy, lobbying, and advocacy. Outside of work, Jewelyn is passionate about elevating the needs of mothers and families and serves as the treasurer of Raising Our Future Political Action Committee, a PAC that’s aimed at electing congressional candidates that prioritize the needs of families.
Jewelyn’s work has been focused on promoting and empowering parents to negotiate and advocate for their needs. She lives in Asheville, Virginia with her husband Greg, two children, and their two amazing cats. She is an alumna of the Mindful Return program and continues to serve the program as a coach to new mums. Jewelyn shares how Lori’s program, Mindful Return, helped her with her career and motherhood and highlights the fact that being a working mom, especially with more than one kid, means more work and a bigger family that you'll want to keep happy and strong.
Organizational skills become more important than ever when you mix in growing your career, and Jewelyn has learned to manage “balancing” her time on a weekly basis, instead of getting obsessed about day-to-day work-life balance. You’ll want to join this lively conversation to learn more about life as a parent who works on Capitol Hill, the challenges of working in government affairs and parenting at the same time, navigating challenging conversations with your kids, and most importantly, how to figure out your own effective way of successfully parenting your kids while growing your career.
Show Highlights
Parenting her 5 and 2-year-old children (03:08)
Finding Mindful Return and how she was able to recreate and reimagine herself and her career (03:43)
Thriving at balancing things over a week instead of being too focused on work-life balance on a daily basis (05:13)
What it’s like being a parent in a government relations role (07:46)
Explaining her workdays to her kids in an age-appropriate manner (10:34)
How she applies her skill in managing disagreements on the hill into managing disagreements with her kids (12:26)
The most fulfilling thing about her work with Raising Our Future (15:54)
Having a wonderful boss who supported her in her needs both as a parent and career woman (18:12)
Support that she expects parents to get from their workplaces in this day and age (21:02)
Working in the environment of uncertainty and new ways of doing things brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic (25:09)
Remembering who “The Enemy” is when the going gets tough (29:32)
How Freemies changed her working parenting life (32:32)
Links and Resources

Hunt, Gather, Parent: What Ancient Cultures Can Teach Us About the Lost Art of Raising Happy, Helpful Little Humans by Michaeleen Doucleff
What's a Freemie? A genius invention for working parents
Jason's Website
Jason on Linkedin
Lori's Website
Lori on Linkedin

In this episode of Parents at Work, Lori Mihalich-Levin and Jason Levin interview two working dads who work in government relations: Clif Porter and Jeff McNichols.
Clif is the Senior Vice President of government relations at the American Healthcare Association (AHCA) and the National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL), which represents more than 14,000 for-and not-for-profit nursing homes, assisted living residences, and facilities for the care of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
He has been married for 31 years and has three children (Chanel, 28, Christian, 25, and Clifton, 22). He has served in various leadership positions within his local church and has been actively involved in several professional and community organizations.
Jeff is the Director of the Alliance for Congress at the Partnership for Public Service, a new program committed to strengthening the institution of congress to better serve the American public. His career in government affairs began in 2004 when he left the Navy to work as a congressional staffer. Subsequent opportunities took him to the Department of Defence and the Boston Consulting Group. Jeff has been married for eight years and has two children (ages 5 and 3)
The four of us dug into the life cycle of a government relations career, what it’s like to work as a congressional staffer, the adjustments to make when one has to constantly travel for work to ensure that they still stay engaged as a parent, creating a work environment where parents feel that their family life is considered, thriving at raising kids while building a successful career, and so much more. Cliff and Jeff’s candor on their experience as working parents in the government relations space was not just incredibly insightful but inspirational. Stay tuned for more.
Show Highlights
Clif’s “Quarterback and running back” working parent story (02:56)
Being an older dad: John’s joyous experience as a working parent (05:27)
How working in government service has been beneficial in achieving work-life balance (07:42)
Why working as a congressional staffer is a “Young person’s game” (09:00)
The parental friction and challenges that Jeff had to overcome when his government affairs career started picking up (11:45)
Adjustments to make when you have to travel for work and need to stay engaged in your parental role (13:17)
Having an honest conversation with your boss towards helping you achieve work-life balance that will support your parenting efforts (16:35)
Leading employees who are parents and being sensitive to their needs (18:07)
Workplace supports that Jeff found helpful as he became a working parent (20:07)
Transitioning into the non-profit sector from government relations, at a time when the federal government is so far behind in providing support structures for working parents (22:00)
Current changes in government relations that are affecting working parents (26:52)
The broad impact of the merger of working life and real life (29:25)
Best piece of advice from Jeff for navigating life as a working parent (31:20)
Valuing coordination between parents and how powerful it really is (34:17)
Flying the Kite: Achieving big things by celebrating small victories (36:14)
Links and Resources
Win the Day By Dr. Mark Batterson
Jason's Website
Jason on Linkedin
Lori's Website
Lori on Linkedin

In this episode of Parents at Work, Lori Mihalich-Levin and Jason Levin interview Nedra Pickler. Nedra is a partner at the global public affairs firm, Finsbury Glover Hering, where she advises clients on communications strategy, including crisis communications, reputation management, thought leadership, and brand awareness. She brings deep perspective from inside the media after 17 years at The Associated Press and as a commentator on television and radio. Nedra covered the George W. Bush and Barack Obama presidencies, and the 2004 and 2008 presidential campaigns.
Nedra is a single mother to two amazing young boys and has successfully managed to thrive in her career despite the numerous challenges and bumps in the road that come with juggling the two. From constantly travelling on the campaign trail as a journalist covering presidential politics to dealing with different working parent challenges in the different roles she’s held throughout her career, Nedra has always found ways to make sure that she strikes some kind of balance between work and parenting her boys.
In this conversation, she talks about the advantages of working in public relations as a working parent and expresses her concerns about the issue of paid leave in America. At the end of this episode, you’ll have learned so much about how you can make it work as a working parent in a way that suits you and your kids, so don’t miss out.
Show Highlights
The working parent challenge of being on the campaign trail as a journalist covering presidential politics (03:01)
How her mum “The Granny Nanny” enabled her to thrive in her career (04:16)
Transitioning from journalism into government relations and some of the positive surprises that came with it (05:21)
Why working in public affairs and government relations may just be the best job for you as a working parent (10:10)
Types of workplace supports that were helpful for her as a parent (11:56)
The value of having the one day a week work at home day and the need for paid leave in America (15:17)
Why you should get the Gizmo Watch for your kids (18:53)
Making sure you spend quality time with your kids, not being too hard on yourself and lowering your expectations (20:40)
Links and Resources
Why the White House Isn’t a Place for Mothers to Work, But Should Be
Jason's Website
Jason on Linkedin
Lori's Website
Lori on Linkedin