The second half of season 2 is all about the view from the bottom: what does it feel like to fail, and more importantly, how do you come back from it? We’re creating a safe space for women tech leaders to talk about the worst day of their career — a project gone wrong, a lay-off that came out of nowhere, a startup that shutdown — and how they got through it. Because we never learned anything from the days it all went right. 

To kick off this series, Better Allies® series Author and former Adobe VP of Engineering, Karen Catlin joins Brenda to talk about a rocky transition she made from the corporate world to self-employment. Karen had a reality check when she left her cushy VP job at Adobe to start her own coaching company for women in tech. After making only $17,000 her first year (a far cry from her goal of $10K per month), she was embarrassed, and ready to call it quits. But with some encouragement from her husband and mentors, she saw it through, and has since become an accomplished author, speaker and coach on creating inclusive workspaces. 

You’ll learn how to see things through even when you feel like you failed, the power of a good ‘mentor walk,’ and how naivete can sometimes be a blessing in disguise when taking a big risk.

For more, check out Karen and her work...

On LinkedIn - /kecatlinOn Bluesky - @betterallies.bsky.socialOn Instagram - @BetterAlliesOn Threads - @BetterAlliesOn YouTube - Better AlliesOn the Web - www.karencatlin.com & www.betterallies.com

And subscriber to the 5 Ally Actions Newsletter!

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At our heart, AnitaB.org is a connector: we connect women in tech to the organizations, opportunities, and tools they need to advance, thrive, and transform the future of technology. We convene transformative events, lead essential discussions, produce groundbreaking research and white papers, and support the tech ecosystem to shape the future for women in tech. 

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Connect with AnitaB.orgInstagram - @anitab_orgFacebook - /anitab.0rgLinkedIn - /anitab-orgOn the web - anitab.org 

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Our guests contribute to this podcast in their personal capacity. The views expressed in this interview are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology or its employees (“AnitaB.org”). AnitaB.org is not responsible for and does not verify the accuracy of the information provided in the podcast series. The primary purpose of this podcast is to educate and inform. This podcast series does not constitute legal or other professional advice or services.

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B The Way Forward Is…

Hosted and Executive Produced by Brenda Darden Wilkerson.

Produced by Avi Glijansky

Associate Produced by Kelli Kyle

Sound design and editing by Ryan Hammond 

Mixing and mastering by Julian Kwasneski 

Additional Producing help from Faith Krogulecki

Operations Coordination for AnitaB.org by Quinton Sprull.

Creative Director for AnitaB.org is Deandra Coleman

Executive Produced by Dominique Ferrari, Stacey Book, and Avi Glijansky for Frequency Machine 

Podcast Marketing from Lauren Passell with Tink Media in partnership with Coley Bouschet at AnitaB.org

Photo of Brenda Darden Wilkerson by Mandisa Media Productions

For more ways to be the way forward, visit AnitaB.org