[0.0] For anyone who is even thinking remotely about online present content creation,
[5.0] don't think of it as a task or a goal, just think of it as something that's an outlet to express.
[11.0] Welcome to Women Who Make It.
[13.0] Real conversations with women in the food and beverage industry who are building careers, leading teams, and figuring it all out.
[20.0] After years of building females and food, I've had conversations with some of the most brilliant women in the industry, and they shared the real stuff.
[27.0] the pivots, the boundaries, the burnouts, and the moments
[30.3] of is this even walking before it finally clicked.
[33.2] So I hit record and now you get to hear it too.
[36.4] We're women who make it. So let's dig it.
[43.3] Welcome back to Women Who Make It. I'm Angela Dodd, your host, and today we're talking
[47.8] about something I think more professional should be thinking about.
[51.1] And that's not how to leave corporate America, but how to build something beyond your
[55.1] job title while you're still in it. My guest today is Tamanah Ramesh,
[59.8] A business transformation leader, career coach, and a founder whose career spans leadership
[65.0] roles at Kraft Heins, the Coca-Cola company, and other leading organizations across the
[70.0] food and beverage industry.
[71.7] Over the past decade, Tamana has helped companies develop, commercialize and scale innovation
[76.4] across B2B ingredients, consumer package goods, and food service, along with Omni-Channel
[82.1] businesses.
[83.8] She's delivered more than $50, multi-million dollar innovation projects, and led $5, multi-billion
[91.5] commercial transformation programs.
[94.2] I had to slow down to say that.
[96.2] But what makes Tamanas story especially interesting is that while building this impressive
[100.9] corporate career, she also simultaneously built something else.
[105.2] A voice, a platform, a network, and ultimately a business.
[110.1] In 2023, Tamana founded Spark Academy,
[113.1] a career development platform,
[114.8] helping executive women and international professionals
[117.6] build meaningful careers,
[119.3] strengthen their personal brands,
[121.2] and navigate career growth with confidence.
[124.3] Today, her and I are talking about visibility,
[127.3] personal branding, building outside the day job,
[130.7] and why creating opportunities for yourself
[133.2] doesn't have to come at the expense of your corporate career.
[136.9] Tom and I welcome to Women Who Make It.
[138.9] I am so excited to have you here.
[141.4] You and I have known each other for a long time.
[143.2] So I know we're gonna have a ton of fun.
[145.2] I'm really grateful to be able to bring this conversation
[148.3] forward though.
[149.4] No, thank you for having me, Angela.
[151.1] I'm excited for all that you're doing
[153.5] and to be part of the podcast as well.
[155.7] Thank you so much for having me here.
[157.8] Yeah, well, this is a conversation that I relate so deeply
[162.8] to you know this.
[163.7] And it's especially meaningful for this season of my life.
[167.0] that I'm except for our listeners to spend some time
[170.3] about the next 30 minutes really learning
[172.2] about where you've been and what you've built
[175.2] because in this day and age right now,
[177.9] I think what you're about to share is so relevant
[182.2] and needed by so many women in the industry.
[185.1] So if you're joining us, like hang with us,
[188.5] this is gonna be packed full of a ton of insights.
[191.8] But before we jump into like the specific questions,
[194.6] Like let's ground everybody in your career.
[197.2] Your career journey.
[198.7] Where did you start?
[199.6] Where are you at?
[200.4] Tell our listeners what you're doing today.
[201.9] No, absolutely.
[203.4] Hi everyone, I am Tamana Amish.
[205.4] I've been in the food industry for over a decade now
[208.1] and a little bit more.
[209.5] Started off as a food scientist in R&D
[212.1] and then transitioned to a more commercial business strategy
[215.0] path.
[215.8] Worked in a couple of different companies,
[217.5] including Kraft Heinz.
[218.8] And my current role is for the Coca-Cola company,
[221.6] where I support our food service on premise,
[224.4] commercial side of the strategy and operations.
[227.6] I've had a pretty exciting career path
[230.0] where I've built a dual career right now.
[232.3] So in addition to my day job,
[234.9] I do personalized coaching and I've built a library
[238.4] of self-paced courses and resources
[242.0] for women in the industry,
[243.9] as well as international talent,
[245.8] two identities I carry.
[247.4] And there are different nuances to each of these
[250.7] identities, especially in the sense of my career that I've learned a lot from and I've tried to
[257.3] do my best to leave the little, you know, like guides and roadmaps to how somebody else was
[263.2] following in my footsteps can get to where I got to a little bit easier. So that's been the fun
[270.1] aspect of creating something from scratch and building it outside of my work. I love that so much
[276.2] about you and I can't wait to dig into these different pieces of your career and also these
[281.4] identities that you hold. And I guess before we jump into that, maybe take us back one more step,
[286.7] like tell our listeners where you grew up and how did you actually get involved in the food industry?
[291.9] Like what did that look like because not everybody's just like, oh yeah, let me, let me have a
[297.2] career in food. Absolutely. So it's so interesting. So when I completed high school and when I was
[304.4] looking to choose my college degree,
[307.6] specialization. I had lunch with a family member who told me about a new
[313.0] institution back in India, which is where I grew up in,
[316.5] started this course called Food Process Engineering. And my mind was blown.
[321.5] Like I was like, I've always been a foodie since I was a kid.
[325.3] I was just like, if I could just study food and work doing something in the food
[330.9] for industry. Of course, I had very little knowledge about industry side of things, but I started
[336.4] with small steps of just following my heart. And that's the one big decision I appreciate my
[342.8] family supporting me with because there was no clear career path as such when I chose the program I
[349.3] chose in the place I chose to study it. And interestingly, the school I went to, I was in the second batch.
[355.6] So nobody had actually graduated with that education and built a career before that.
[361.2] So it was a startup of a college that set me up with this mindset to go figure things out,
[366.7] put things from scratch. Honestly, we have built curriculums with our professors,
[371.9] like we would literally work with them to see what that looks like. So I think it's just started
[377.0] off there and then my curiosity got me to the US for my graduate education. I've made US my home
[385.1] and I've been in the industry, food industry is my other home.
[388.3] So it's just started off with small steps of listening to what my interests were following my heart.
[393.5] And then I'm just looking back, I'm just amazed by the career path that I've been able to build
[399.3] with those little curiosity and small steps adding up.
[403.0] I think it is very inspirational because it's one thing to build a career being in the US,
[409.0] being born here, right? And being around. But you built this career
[414.6] and then immigrated into the US and built the career here.
[418.4] Outside of your home culture, outside of your home country,
[420.8] I think that's a whole nother journey itself,
[424.4] which I think we're gonna get back to as to how you're helping others do that today
[429.5] because that is no small feat in itself.
[433.5] And not to be minimized because that's at a full-time job,
[437.8] just to figure out how to transition here
[441.2] and build a career in an entirely different country.
[444.9] So one thing about your story,
[447.2] as we were just talking,
[448.6] you weren't just building a career.
[452.3] And if people don't know this,
[454.4] like how I discovered you, right?
[457.3] Does that you were so intentional?
[458.8] I first got introduced to you through a mutual friend
[462.7] at IFT, at which point you were leading various programs
[466.4] or IFT and showing up in a really big way.
[469.6] And I'll mention out of very earlier part of your career, too.
[473.5] Like taking on big initiatives very early on,
[476.8] but you were building a presence.
[478.2] You were showing up online.
[480.6] You were serving within the IFT community for those who don't know
[483.9] what that is, Institute of Food Technologists.
[486.5] And then you started transitioning and creating content
[488.9] and building this business with Spark.
[492.6] At what point did you realize that you
[496.6] wanted to invest in something outside of your day job?
[499.2] And I think this is a really strong pivotal moment
[502.8] that I think all of our listeners need to pause
[505.7] and really think about because I think a lot of people
[508.4] have this feeling inside that should I be doing something
[511.6] more than just investing my time and energy into the day job.
[516.4] And maybe there's a calling inside your heart
[519.0] that's like I could be doing this other thing
[521.1] and serving a creative outlet or making more impact than,
[525.4] what was that point for you?
[527.0] Oh my gosh.
[527.7] I feel like I've always been a very extracurricular,
[531.9] heavy, sort of focused person,
[535.1] whether it's at school or outside.
[537.5] So I think this goes back to when I was in grad school.
[541.0] When I had moved from India,
[542.4] I moved the US with zero network, zero understanding
[546.6] of the extent of the cultural transition
[549.8] that was going to happen to me.
[551.3] And zero desire to actually live here.
[554.3] I wanted to study, go back.
[555.8] That was my small step goal of coming here.
[559.8] But once I came here, I got introduced to IFT.
[562.7] And because I was in a grad school with, in a small town,
[566.2] I went to University of Maine.
[567.4] So the college town was super small.
[570.0] We had like 20 Indians, 20, 30 Indians overall,
[574.0] who shared my cultural background,
[576.5] who I had a lot of like cultural familiarity with.
[579.5] So most of my social life started relying heavily
[583.3] on my professional network.
[585.0] because there was no scope as such for personal connections
[588.3] outside of school.
[589.9] So it started off like that.
[591.8] And then over the years,
[593.4] I started picking things up
[595.3] within the organization more intentionally.
[598.3] For example, there was a time when I was a food scientist
[601.0] and I was heavily into product development.
[602.9] I wanted to be involved in the product development division.
[606.2] And I was, I think I was involved actively
[608.6] for over seven years with the product development division
[612.0] and really found different things to do.
[614.3] built things that there was a need for as a talent,
[617.8] as a end user of that program.
[621.3] I saw a need for different mentorship programs,
[624.0] different ways we could do things as an organization.
[626.9] So I just poured myself in for various reasons,
[630.5] but predominantly just to make friends
[632.5] have that community, have like people you grow up with
[635.8] professionally on a personal level,
[638.2] it took me a while to like build a family here in the US,
[641.9] like finding my partner, all that was a journey that took some time, a lot of time and effort,
[648.0] and it was in the making, but the professional one was more organic. So I think just keeping up with
[654.0] that. And to go back to the content creation part, again, not very, I didn't start out to be an
[660.2] influencer or a content creator. I just started posting things that felt right, whether it's
[666.7] personal inspiration, whether it is creative, resources, especially as an immigrant navigating
[673.1] the US foreign industry careers. I had to be like a thousand times, you know, more hardworking,
[679.5] more a smarter in how I navigated the systems, but that it's looking for a job interviewing,
[686.0] finding like how to build a network. I had to just be stronger because there was no blueprint
[691.1] handed over to me or no path as such I could just follow. So I think it made me a lot more
[697.1] stronger in that area and I wanted to share that knowledge. And I'm an older sister. So of course,
[702.7] I'm always thinking about, okay, like how do I make my, you know, younger siblings like better?
[707.7] What did I learn that I can like, you know, share with her, right? So that nature in me and that
[714.3] like attitude in me, like made me think about, okay, like if there are other international talent or
[719.2] women, what can they learn from my journey that's going to make it a little bit easier for them.
[724.9] So that's where that like spark started and I named my coaching business park and gave it an
[731.2] identity and I'm just so happy. I built something outside of work because all of us like
[737.4] you said have that little voice in our heads that that speaks to what our purpose is and sometimes
[744.5] it's so easy to like wash that away or you know put it under the carpet because we have so much to do
[752.4] in all the different I did these be carry it comes with a checklist of things to do every day and we are
[758.9] in this like constant hustle mode between life and work so to build something outside of it
[764.4] is challenging and demanding but it is so fulfilling especially when you see a really success
[771.5] is coming out of it. So for anyone who is even thinking remotely about online present
[776.8] content creation, don't think of it as a task or a goal. Just think of it as something that's
[782.4] an outlet to express. What you know, it could be in your functional area of expertise. It could be
[788.6] anything right. Like we have very limited food industry content out there.
[794.0] So we're met at exactly. And then communicating science or communicating science-based information
[801.1] is so, so like, minuscule in the middle right now. So I think there's a huge, there, I keep most of my
[807.3] communications to career, but I think there's a huge opportunity for all of us to become the
[813.1] voice of this industry and continue to shape how consumers and consumers perceive it.
[818.7] Yeah. And we have to, right? I mean, there's so much noise that, okay, noise might be a little
[825.2] strong. But there are a lot of people's opinions who are shaping this industry without
[831.9] the people who are actually working in it, you know, without their voices being heard and
[839.3] you know, we're the ones that's directly impacting. And so I couldn't agree more in encouraging
[845.3] people that there's this white space to come up with your thought pillars and sharing more
[849.4] online as to what you know. I think it's going to be really important for our industry.
[854.0] who said something earlier though around,
[856.8] listening to that voice inside,
[858.4] because early on in my career at least,
[861.9] it became very evident that no company
[865.4] was going to fulfill 100% of my creative energy
[870.5] or quest for impact.
[875.7] And I think, generationally, as we grew up
[879.1] in what we should expect out of a job, out of a company,
[882.4] is not fully aligned today.
[884.2] And I had to really change the way I was thinking as to,
[889.5] you know, it's not the company's responsibility
[891.5] to find ways to maximize my creativeness
[896.5] in consume 150% of like what I have to give, right?
[900.7] Like they need a job done.
[902.4] And so when I started reframing that for myself
[906.3] as to, you know, I can be a really good employee.
[910.1] And I have a lot to offer there
[911.4] I can make a big impact on this job and for the organization, but it's not their job to ultimately make me happy, right?
[918.0] Or to know what is going to be a calling for me out beyond this and to fulfill all of those desires.
[924.4] And so when I start repositioning that into like, what else can I build? What else can I create?
[929.7] Like it makes me it for me and like that journey with females and food. It made me a better,
[934.9] a better employee, a better, um, you know, just sharper in the industry overall.
[940.4] Absolutely.
[940.9] Because I've created an amazing space for other women
[945.5] to find each other, talk about things
[949.5] that exactly what we are doing here, right?
[954.5] That are real conversations.
[956.0] So I'm just so proud of what you've built.
[958.4] And I'm so glad to be on the front seat
[961.3] to seeing it sort of shaping up and growing over the years.
[964.5] So yeah, it's more and more to come all the exciting things.
[969.7] But let's, okay, back on track,
[973.0] because there's still so much that I need to pull out of you
[977.0] to for our listeners here.
[980.5] Let's go back to LinkedIn real quick
[982.6] because I think one of the things people say the most
[985.7] is like, I'm super nervous to put myself out there.
[988.5] Like, what are my peers gonna think, my boss?
[991.7] They're gonna think that this is a distraction.
[994.3] Like, did you have some of those fears initially
[996.6] as you started putting more of yourself out there
[998.6] your advice. Yes. Well, I think I started posting very
[1003.0] actively three years ago. That was right about when I
[1006.7] transitioned out of like craft heines, R&D life, to Coca-Cola
[1011.5] on Comoceus strategy. A part of what me going was also to
[1016.9] keep my connection with the root of who I was as a professional, a STEM
[1021.8] professional. I was a researcher and there's a lot I had to
[1026.3] offered the full-class community.
[1028.3] And I was making a 180-degree pivot,
[1030.5] which made this my coping mechanism
[1033.0] to get through that major transition
[1035.6] in my professional journey,
[1036.8] where I was a newbie in a new,
[1038.6] new different area and function within the industry.
[1042.1] I had that fear.
[1043.4] What I ended up doing was having a conversation
[1046.5] with our legal team.
[1048.4] I literally, like, explicitly told them,
[1050.7] hey, I have this business that I'm building,
[1053.0] and I focus on XYZ aspects of
[1056.0] the talent development and it has no conflicts with my work at Coke and blah, blah,
[1061.5] so I just had that like, transparent conversation.
[1064.9] And I was prepared to turn in my resignation if they said I couldn't post things on
[1069.6] LinkedIn or anything else.
[1071.0] So I was like mentally there was a moment where I was like, okay, I know I want to do it.
[1075.8] If you're going to not let me do it, I'm going to leave this company sort of thing.
[1080.3] Isn't that funny that that's where our minds go though?
[1082.8] I know, it's a pope.
[1085.6] And I think that is the fear is valid, right?
[1088.3] That are going to be perception
[1090.2] that things that you need to manage
[1092.4] because I've been posting during working hours
[1096.4] for three years straight.
[1098.1] But what I do is over the weekend,
[1100.3] I schedule the posts to be published during working hours.
[1104.9] I'm not live posting and I'm constantly thinking,
[1108.0] very occasionally thinking, oh my God,
[1110.0] what if like a colleague of mine looks at it
[1112.2] wonders what I'm doing to me and LinkedIn. But over time, I've just started relying more on my
[1119.7] own model compass rather than trying to think about like the perception challenges. So everything
[1125.8] I do, I've tried to do it during lunch hours or before, after work or predominantly in the weekends.
[1132.1] So it's not, it's the church and state is very separate. Right. But yeah, I'm just so glad that my
[1138.5] employer was super supportive. They were so excited. The legal team set up a call with me and I
[1143.0] was like mentally prepared with my two sentences of, okay, like I'm going to tell you that I,
[1148.6] you know, I might leave the company and all that. But they were so supportive. They were so
[1153.3] excited to know what I'm doing. They're very supportive and encouraging. So I think that made a
[1159.3] whole lot of difference in how I show up at work knowing that I'm supported and my voice can be
[1166.2] be my voice and I don't need to worry about things.
[1168.8] And it's appreciated, right?
[1171.0] It's invaluable.
[1171.8] I mean, I think organizations have to look at their employees
[1176.7] as an extension of their brand and how to amplify
[1180.1] their brand in the market, right?
[1181.4] Because it's not, you are their greatest marketing asset
[1186.2] is their employees.
[1187.2] And so when you feel supported to be able to share
[1190.4] your authentic self and like what you're building
[1192.5] and creating and that you're a whole human,
[1194.2] like that's how engagement is built, right?
[1197.1] That's how loyalty is one.
[1199.0] And it could be quite simple, but that conversation, yeah.
[1202.6] Could have went very differently.
[1204.4] I had a very similar, this was, I don't know,
[1208.8] good five, six years ago.
[1210.6] In the very beginning of FIF, maybe in year,
[1213.6] is actually before like, even before females and food
[1216.9] became a name, I was operating more that career platform
[1220.3] under the everyday real, and very similar.
[1223.5] But that conversation was very differently.
[1226.6] And it's actually kind of funny.
[1228.5] The manager had at the time.
[1230.2] I'm kind of spilling the tea.
[1231.4] But I think it's a wise lesson here for a lot of people
[1235.6] and how that conversation can go.
[1237.7] I was approached about posting during business hours.
[1242.4] And the individual approached me very, very direct,
[1247.8] very aggressively about the topic.
[1250.1] And it was almost, it took everything for me to not laugh.
[1256.8] Because at the time, there wasn't as much knowledge out there
[1261.3] five, six years ago about these scheduling platforms.
[1264.5] And I just had to, I really appreciate the concern.
[1268.6] Like, let's get to the root cause of what the concern is.
[1271.4] If it's what is the concern?
[1274.6] Because there's always the baseline there.
[1276.3] but if it's really just an issue with perception,
[1281.3] let's clear that up because I can let you know
[1284.6] five months from now at what time and day I'll be posting
[1288.5] because it's all scheduled, right?
[1290.0] Like I've done this in my own time
[1292.3] and there's these scheduling platforms
[1294.3] that allow you to do this at any time of the day.
[1298.8] I am also like, nobody has the time to sit on LinkedIn
[1301.8] post FED, like I schedule for a month's rate.
[1305.6] have a virtual assistant now so it's almost like an absentee influencer but my words and my
[1312.8] voice are what I share and that can be done asynchronously. That also like brings me to a very
[1319.2] interesting thought as you were talking about it. I think there is a female centered way of
[1327.8] feeling fulfillment that I think a lot of women don't get at work because we are chasing
[1335.0] revenue profits money. And I think there's a level of fulfillment that women get with chasing
[1341.4] purpose that's rooted in like real people impact. Was that a case for you in how we like,
[1348.2] I love chasing business growth. I love it as a business leader. I love it. But it intellectually
[1354.8] fuels me and fulfills me, but not necessarily, you know, inside me. So there's always that like
[1361.3] missing piece of how do I build like this portfolio career where different elements of it fuel
[1368.1] my other aspects which are very important to me as a human as a woman. I'm curious if that was part
[1374.6] of as you were talking about your dual career journey as like was that a root cause and how did
[1380.3] you like realize it because yeah actually I spent I've just spent a lot of time in the past year
[1386.0] really actually maybe in the last couple months reflecting on this and I think there's a
[1390.8] feminine side to it. I don't disagree with that. But the one thing you and I both have in common
[1396.0] and why I think this is coming into question is we also went from technical careers into
[1404.0] commercial roles. And for me, what I've deciphered is that if anybody's thinking about that transition,
[1411.9] I think one thing that's under appreciated is why you get into food science. And for me, that
[1419.4] that food science and the technical side of it was all about creating something, building
[1426.7] something, launching it. It's very exciting to launch a product onto the market. That
[1432.5] was so rewarding to me. And when I moved into the commercial world of sales, the sales
[1440.0] aspects that were very exciting to me was when I could be very close to a sale that like
[1445.3] where I moved something forward and got that win
[1448.0] and got to see that product on the market.
[1450.2] But a lot of times in today's day and age
[1452.2] and sales in the food and beverage industry
[1454.6] and the ingredient segment,
[1455.9] you very rarely get that visibility as a salesperson.
[1459.1] And it starts feeling a lot like,
[1463.7] you know, supply chain management and supply chain management
[1470.0] and just account execution, account maintenance.
[1475.3] and just answering emails without really,
[1478.6] you can go through all the sales trainings
[1480.7] and tell you all day long, the right sales process.
[1483.8] But the reality in the world,
[1485.2] like if you're doing larger accounts,
[1486.8] they start protecting as much information
[1488.6] as they can about that project that they're working on.
[1490.8] You know that at Coca-Cola.
[1491.8] Like you don't always, as the ingredients employer,
[1494.7] get the full brief or the full creative direction.
[1498.3] You kind of get told, I need this functionality
[1500.8] out of this ingredient for this, you know.
[1503.9] And so you're solving a technical problem,
[1506.5] but you're not necessarily collaborating
[1508.4] on the creative process.
[1509.6] And what I realized in where I lost some of my joy
[1515.3] and what fueled me into this other path is like,
[1518.3] I like to build and I like to launch.
[1520.5] I really don't enjoy execution.
[1522.6] And even within females and food today,
[1525.3] my team members, thank God I have such amazing team members
[1529.6] who are quite a bit more type A than I am,
[1532.2] because they are so strong at the day to day execution.
[1539.9] And I think we can all lean and pivot
[1541.8] and get strong in different areas when we need to.
[1543.8] And I certainly can, but like,
[1545.5] ultimately what's that piece that gives you passion.
[1548.1] And for me, I know it's the visionary.
[1550.7] It's thinking five years out.
[1552.2] And then coming up with that idea
[1554.9] and building, building, building,
[1556.5] like I get into creative energies
[1558.1] where I'm up till two, three in the morning,
[1559.6] just like moving through creative processes.
[1563.3] And that's the one I think I do some of my best work.
[1566.0] And then I love taking something all the way up to launch.
[1569.2] I love announcing it.
[1571.3] And then there's like a lot of times,
[1572.8] that's when the work starts after launch.
[1575.2] And that's where I burn out.
[1576.4] Like that's where I need people really strong around me
[1579.5] to carry that idea forward
[1581.5] because that's not where I'm strong at.
[1583.2] And I think that's what you and I have in common
[1585.0] and like when you move to that commercial role,
[1587.5] A lot of times it can be like very execution,
[1589.9] portfolio, like you don't always get that creativity.
[1592.8] And I think that's what a lot of this
[1595.0] go searching for.
[1596.3] Yeah, I think there's definitely an element
[1598.3] of leveraging science and technology to both things
[1601.8] and come up with consumer solutions versus having
[1606.0] that behind the scenes of execution.
[1608.5] But yeah, I do agree there's a lot of similarities
[1611.8] in our career paths there.
[1613.0] And how we sort of figure out the way to build a career
[1617.4] the fuels, all different aspects, while of course,
[1620.7] like maintaining a day job and navigating that together.
[1624.9] Yeah.
[1625.7] Well, let's actually go back,
[1627.3] because I took a long tangent about my story,
[1630.2] but let's actually move into what you have built,
[1633.3] because we've only told our listeners a tiny bit
[1635.5] about the coaching piece of it,
[1637.9] helping individuals through that immigration process.
[1642.9] But I would love for you to touch on,
[1645.2] You know, what is spark? What are you doing today? And what has that journey?
[1649.9] Because what you started and where, you know, where you pivot and where you
[1653.7] find your voice in that journey, walk us through that.
[1657.5] Yeah, absolutely. So I started Spark in 2023. So it's been about three years now.
[1663.1] And I've had the privilege of coaching over 200 STEM professionals,
[1668.0] predominantly 80% or more from the food industry. And then the rest from health
[1673.6] and biotech and some of the allied fields. Predominantly, I go between my two identities of being
[1679.9] an international talent and coaching high skilled immigrants on talent visas, which are
[1685.6] self-sponsored visas that these individuals can apply. And they are very competitive, very hard
[1691.5] to get. And a lot of what I do is helping them communicate the impact of their work as a scientist
[1697.1] or engineer, do the USM creation officer in a way that they can understand and interpret.
[1703.6] because of course there's a big gap in how science folks can communicate,
[1709.0] especially about their impact on non-science audience.
[1712.2] That's where I come in and help them almost with like branding,
[1715.9] how they can like talk about their work in a way that resonates etc.
[1721.0] And then the other piece of me,
[1722.9] to and through being a woman,
[1724.4] I've coached several women again,
[1726.7] personal branding, building their online presence,
[1730.0] building their in-person,
[1731.8] executive presence and continuing to coach them on strategic career
[1736.4] pivots and development. So right now I do two things. I offer self-paced courses
[1742.3] based on my very many success stories in this journey of coaching others, whether it's
[1748.5] shops, or navigating LinkedIn, networking, etc. So there are self-paced learning
[1754.0] playbooks which are super simplified just getting to the action of what you need to do to get
[1760.2] do where you want to go. And then the other piece is the personalized coaching, which I've
[1765.6] really like scaled down to like fewer, bigger, better focus. So I coach executive women and
[1773.6] international talent on personal branding, whether it's for talent pieces or for their career growth.
[1779.6] I have a lot of passion for coaching and I've discovered that over the years of doing it. Every
[1785.9] time I think about oh my god having a job and building this is so hard maybe I need to take it
[1791.0] easy maybe I'll put a pause on this and somebody will come to me with like a coaching request I'm
[1795.5] like I can never say no to that because I enjoy helping people thrive and bringing out their talent
[1803.0] and helping them communicate what they do in a way that resonates and helps them helps lift them
[1809.5] So it's been a journey of starting off with just doing one-on-one calls and
[1814.8] consulting, not knowing what I was building, to seeing a clear pattern of the
[1819.5] people who come to me, the problems they come to me with, and things that I'm able
[1824.8] to actually solve. So that's the spot that I'm in right now.
[1829.0] I've got to see, have this front seat for your journey, and I've, I've loved seeing
[1833.3] where you've taken this, but also, like, can we just pause a minute because the
[1837.0] The first time you told me about the work that you were doing, like, how ingenious, number
[1843.1] one, but how isolating that journey must be for somebody to go and try and self-sponsored
[1848.3] their work.
[1849.6] We all know, like, I was a food scientist, communication and branding of your work is not
[1855.1] taught to you.
[1856.1] Like, it is...
[1857.1] It's very difficult.
[1859.4] And I just think you've identified such a big need,
[1864.8] un-sustion impactful way.
[1866.9] No, thank you.
[1867.8] I think that it's a huge disconnect
[1870.8] between when I went through the journey,
[1873.4] I had to write a ton about myself.
[1875.8] It was a 300-page document about everything I did
[1879.3] and the impact I've created.
[1881.3] And I had to write a ton of it and share it with my attorney
[1885.0] who didn't necessarily comprehend the impact of the work.
[1888.0] and they created their own version of what they thought
[1891.3] the impact was.
[1892.3] And I went back and forth trying to get to that right
[1895.7] communication spot.
[1897.3] And then over the years, I've read so many of these
[1900.2] petitions and honestly, it's such a disheartening moment
[1904.7] when candidates who are highly skilled
[1907.2] have accomplished a ton in our industry,
[1910.2] go to attorneys who don't necessarily understand
[1913.1] full-time or what they do and the impact they create.
[1916.6] right about it, like a chat JPT would react about them.
[1921.0] And then get denied because the communication was the gap.
[1924.9] So I think it's one of those like nuanced niche
[1928.6] of where I come in and help them communicate better.
[1932.3] A lot of what I do looks like 200 comments
[1934.9] on like the 300 page document,
[1937.1] or sometimes a thousand comments saying,
[1939.2] hey, you say it this way or can you position it this way?
[1942.5] But over time doing it over and over.
[1944.5] Now I can read a full petition
[1946.0] like less than an hour and tell them exactly all the things they need to fix and it's been amazing.
[1952.1] Isolating, challenging, emotionally draining because with every client I relive my journey over and
[1957.5] over. How can I manage and you know honestly this I am integrated in one of the most difficult
[1964.5] categories as an outstanding researcher in food science. Ever since I got my green card through
[1970.6] that category is when my impostor syndrome started because I feel like I was challenging
[1977.0] whether I was questioning whether I was extraordinary over and over when I was putting that 300
[1981.9] page document together. There's a whole lot of like mental health impact that has on immigrants
[1987.8] because you're trying to prove something that you are actually doing to someone who doesn't know
[1994.0] what your field can impact and how it impacts them. So it's almost like you're fighting
[2000.5] this battle of proving yourself in a very, very challenging way.
[2006.2] And current circumstances, the rejection rates are all time high.
[2010.7] We have great talent in the industry who move from many different places in the world,
[2016.5] who don't get the support from their employer. So if I want to put a plug in here,
[2021.1] if you're listening, if you have the power or influence to support global talent in your
[2027.3] companies. As simple as just having a conversation with them to understand how you can support,
[2033.9] that will be huge. Because one of the biggest gaps is we need to get letters,
[2039.1] international talent need to get letters from people they have not worked with,
[2044.0] who are from the fields, who are experts in the field, who can speak to the importance of the work.
[2049.9] And it's such a weird spot that puts international talent in a position where they have to reach
[2054.8] to strangers and ask them for a distation letter for immigration purposes.
[2060.0] Because US immigration officers need that independent opinion, make that decision.
[2067.2] So just throwing it out in the universe.
[2070.5] I had no idea that level of complexity to that process.
[2076.0] I love that bug and call the action because I learned something new right there too.
[2082.2] These are all small ways we can support individuals that are around us and contributing
[2086.0] every day that you don't know what somebody else is going through unless you have.
[2091.8] I love that.
[2093.3] Well, time is flying here.
[2096.8] Man, there's so much more.
[2099.8] There's so much more I want to ask you.
[2103.2] Just a couple closing questions, because I do think it's important when we think about
[2108.9] Digital today, AI today, visibility.
[2113.1] I feel like digital visibility has changed so much in 12 months.
[2117.0] Like what have you learned, and what are you telling people today about personal brand
[2121.4] and the age of AI when all of us kind of just want to remove ourselves from digitization
[2127.1] and be a bit more analog?
[2128.6] No, absolutely.
[2129.6] I think this is a big dilemma that I'm sort of right now reflecting a lot on.
[2135.1] Being a digital, invisible person makes you
[2139.7] drained because you're isolated
[2141.3] and you're speaking in the screens
[2143.0] and you're not necessarily spending quality time
[2146.3] with people as much.
[2148.7] At least for in my own experience,
[2150.3] like content creation, writing, speaking on things like this,
[2154.4] I would love to have a coffee in person with you
[2158.6] so much more than all the different times
[2160.8] we have talked over screens, but it's a double-edged sword,
[2164.1] And I also have the privilege of building our relationship digitally over the years and sharing
[2170.4] my voice digitally over the years.
[2172.3] So I think first most important thing is finding how much time and space in your life you
[2177.5] want to dedicate to your digital visibility.
[2180.7] That is the way of the future.
[2182.8] And you will see awkwardly there are a lot of like industry leaders who are pushed by their
[2187.8] company to become visible at like a C-suite level.
[2192.8] they don't have the practice or finesse because they
[2197.2] necessarily didn't necessarily do it all their careers.
[2200.6] But I think especially with millennials,
[2203.2] we are in that mid position of where we have the exposure.
[2207.8] We could do it.
[2209.6] But maybe we are shy or maybe we think we can build our careers
[2214.1] without necessarily having that confidence.
[2216.8] But the Gen Z are so much more digitally forward.
[2220.3] So I think there's a nice opportunity here
[2223.6] for especially millennial leaders and talent
[2226.8] to change the way we show up
[2231.6] or add one additional thing of having,
[2235.2] if you showed up 100% in person,
[2237.2] maybe do 80% in person, 20% digital.
[2240.6] But have like a forum whether it's a blog,
[2243.6] whether it's a website, whether it's LinkedIn,
[2246.5] whether it's a podcast,
[2248.3] podcast is an amazing way to do it.
[2250.6] I feel like it's the most naturally positioned way
[2254.6] to like build your presence online
[2256.6] because you're having a conversation.
[2257.9] You're not doing it in a good way.
[2260.1] So I think I'm listening to you.
[2261.8] They don't even have to watch.
[2262.8] Exactly.
[2263.6] People can listen.
[2264.5] People can watch.
[2265.6] You know, if they want to watch, they can watch.
[2267.8] They want to listen.
[2268.5] They can listen.
[2269.6] If they want to just see the content,
[2271.7] eventually AI is going to be able to tell them
[2274.0] the top highlights.
[2275.6] So there are so many different ways
[2277.5] consuming information. So put good things out there. So others can consume good things as my
[2283.1] leg we are thinking about it because there's so much of content that's just not authentic
[2288.1] or real or valuable. So yeah, I kind of agree more. And also like there's not necessarily going
[2295.6] to be the instant gratification. Like I feel like you have to put something out there and be okay
[2300.1] with it might be a few days before somebody sees it or it might be a week or a month. But like it
[2305.0] continue to live on and be found. Yes. And that's kind of the meaning of it. Because I do think
[2310.2] to get yourself over the nerves of doing something and then not having kind of the traction or the
[2316.3] comments or the feedback can discourage people from like continuously doing it. Yeah. I think that's
[2322.4] the biggest secret and this whole thing, consistency, you boast. Yeah. Every week, maybe once a week,
[2329.6] but just consistently and that or and then slowly increase to twice will be consistently.
[2335.5] The more consistent it's like a I think that's the biggest challenge is you're
[2340.2] working to show up for the algorithm as well as for the audience for the audience. It's easier to
[2345.7] show up for the audience than the algorithm but I think both are important to build that facility over time.
[2352.2] Yeah I kind of agree more gosh yeah which one which one to satisfy it that is the that is a double
[2357.9] I'm so so grateful.
[2361.9] Like we have covered so much before we close out because I feel like people could carry on this conversation for ages with you.
[2370.9] Tell our listeners where they can connect with you where they can learn more about your work both in the industry but also with spark.
[2378.9] If they are looking for additional support.
[2380.9] Absolutely.
[2381.9] LinkedIn is the best place to find me.
[2384.9] DM me, reach out and then I have a new website in the works which has all my
[2392.0] services, self-paced resources. It's going to launch in the next couple weeks
[2396.6] and I will always have my LinkedIn reflect the leanest website or where to go.
[2402.2] So highly encourage you to connect with me on LinkedIn and follow me for all
[2407.2] things career in the food industry. Awesome well thank you so so much for sharing
[2413.4] your journey with us today. If you've enjoyed this episode, the best and easiest thing
[2418.6] that you can do to support us is to like, comment, share, to get this message out to
[2424.1] even more people. Really, it's that simplest act of not just closing out but taking that
[2428.8] one extra second to let us know your thoughts or sending it on to a friend. It really does
[2433.8] go a long ways in supporting this podcast, but also all the women in our industry and making
[2438.6] sure that their message gets hurt.
[2441.1] So we would really appreciate a follow and like and share.
[2445.6] Be sure to connect with us across all the platforms, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube,
[2452.8] and you can always learn more on the website at femalesymfood.community about our work.
[2457.2] Because at the end of the day, we're not just making food.
[2460.0] We're making moves.
[2461.0] We're women who make it.
[2462.4] We'll see you next time.
[2465.2] Thank you for listening to Women Who Make It.
[2467.3] If today's episode inspired you, please follow the podcast so you never miss one of these
[2471.7] powerful conversations.
[2473.8] And we would also love your help in growing this community by sharing the show with friends
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[2482.8] For even more connection and inspiration, follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn at femalesandfood.community
[2489.7] or join our global community of women by visiting the website, femalesandfood.community.
[2495.3] We're not just making food, we're making moves, we're women who make it.