My story started on the floor, burnt out and questioning everything.
I was 8 weeks postpartum, with a genuine seat at the table on the executive team of the nonprofit where I'd just been appointed CEO.
This boardroom appointment had come off the back of my high-growth career with career pivots across top-tier law firms and executive recruitment in New York City.
When I landed the role - the biggest role of my career - I was 7 months’ pregnant and had been put through a highly competitive external recruitment process. I was so proud of myself, daydreaming how I would be a role model to my kids in what it looked like to break glass ceilings,
I should have been on cloud nine. But instead of triumph, I felt like I was drowning.
One Sunday evening, I found myself sitting on the bathroom floor, silently crying so I wouldn't wake the kids. Spreadsheets scattered around me, breast pump attached, desperately preparing for a board meeting the next morning.
The truth hit me like a ton of bricks: this wasn't working. Not because I couldn't handle the responsibility. I was more than capable. But the role just wasn't compatible with my family reality.
When I raised concerns about the unsustainable pace, the Board's message was crystal clear: I could only stay as CEO if I worked full-time. The subtext being: “pretend motherhood isn’t part of your identity.”
They offered me a demotion - a classic "mommy-tracked" role with less responsibility.
I refused. I left.
Because motherhood didn’t shrink my ambition - it sharpened it.
Then came the breakdown - and the breakthrough.
I quickly went full existential crisis: Who was I if not the high-achieving professional I'd always been? Had motherhood somehow diminished my value? Was I throwing away everything I'd worked SO hard for?
But when my coach asked, "What if this isn't about failure? What if this is about evolution?", I realized I had been forcing myself into systems and roles that weren't designed for mothers and therefore could never fulfill me.
I had evolved - big time - and I needed to create my OWN path, just as I'd successfully done multiple times before:
In New York, walking into a top-tier Executive Recruitment firm and pitching them on creating a position for me
Transitioning from top-tier law firm life to an in-house role at an ASX-listed company, making myself indispensable during a secondment and landing a job typically requiring 8+ years of experience when I had only 3
Moving from Corporate Law to Nonprofit Leadership with no formal nonprofit experience
What I discovered was liberating: I wasn't less valuable because I was a mother. I was MORE valuable - with a deeper sense of purpose, diverse expertise, and a unique perspective.
I didn’t want to step back - I wanted to step into alignment.
Mothers default to supporting everyone else. But who supports mothers?
In trying to find a career coach specialized in motherhood, I was met with completely generic advice that completely ignored the unique challenges, constraints, and identity shifts that come with this incredible transformation.
Even worse, most approaches encourage women to minimize their motherhood rather than leverage it as the professional advantage it truly is.
It was in that struggle that my next wave of professional purpose was born, and my calling led me to found the EmpowerHER mission.
Because I refuse to watch one more brilliant woman shrink her professional ambitions simply because she became a mother. Our children deserve to see what thriving looks like.
Plus, empowered mothers change more than just their careers or how happy they feel at home after work. They change the entire system.
After helping countless women successfully navigate career transitions as mothers, I developed the PowerHER Pivot Process™ - a structured methodology specifically designed for mothers seeking career clarity and transition.
This isn't just about changing careers. It's about changing how the world values motherhood and transforming what's possible for every mother who refuses to shrink her ambitions.
That's why EmpowerHER Careers exists: to ensure no mother lies awake at night wondering "what if?" or models career resignation instead of career fulfillment for her children.
EmpowerHER Values
The EmpowerHER community? It’s a vibe.
Values alignment is huge around here. Here are ours, so you can make sure it’s a perfect fit.
We Don't Settle. We Shape.
As mothers, we model values through every choice we make - how we lead, how we love, how we live. Our careers are no exception.
That’s why these values guide everything we teach, model, and build inside EmpowerHER Careers.
Integrated Ambition
We refuse to fragment ourselves or compartmentalize our identities. We bring our whole selves - maternal wisdom, professional expertise, and personal aspirations - to everything we do. We believe ambition and motherhood can beautifully co-exist.
Courageous Clarity
We take decisive action even amidst uncertainty. We value evidence over endless reflection, creating real-world experiments to discover what truly fulfills us. We believe clarity comes from action - not perfection.
Purposeful Impact
We create work that serves a meaningful purpose beyond ourselves. We seek environments where our contributions matter and are valued. We believe work should energize us, not exhaust us.
The things that I will never let a crappy job steal from me.
When I'm not helping ambitious mothers design fulfilling careers, you'll find me spending quality time with my two amazing kids, family and friends, travelling (a lot!), walking while listening to audiobooks and podcasts, binge-watching episodes of Shark Tank and Dragon’s Den and constantly looking for ways to grow personally and professionally.
What if motherhood MAKES, not breaks, your career…
Let’s work together to discover how.