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Career Slay

Career Slay
Author: Kelly Poquiz Burke
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© 2025 Career Slay
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Imagine the impact we could have on society if everyone loved what they did. That's what Career Slay is all about: interviewing people who love their jobs and asking them how they got there and what they've learned along the way. We're here to slay the fear in career.
40 Episodes
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What does self-leadership actually mean? In this episode of the Career Slay Podcast, host Kelly Poquiz Burke interviews Elizabeth Lotardo, a consultant, LinkedIn Learning instructor, and author of 'Leading Yourself.' They discuss the importance of self-leadership, especially in uncertain times, and how mindset, behaviors, and relationships shape your career. Elizabeth shares practical mindset hacks, the significance of finding joy and meaning in work, and strategies for navigating challenging...
What does it take to thrive in one of the most high-pressure careers in the world—and then reinvent yourself on the other side of it? In this episode of the Career Slay Podcast, host Kelly Poquiz Burke sits down with Cathyrine “Lilo” Armandie, retired U.S. Air Force officer turned Founder & CEO of GauxMax Strategies, a brand strategy and PR consulting firm. From flying the F-15E Strike Eagle to commanding hundreds of airmen to launching her own business, Lilo’s journey is a masterclass in...
In this episode of the Career Slay podcast, Kelly Poquiz Burke interviews Justin Schneider, the Founder & CEO of Wolf & Shepherd, a hybrid footwear brand redefining comfort in dress shoes. As a former All-American track and field athlete at the University Notre Dame studying industrial design, Justin discovered his passion for footwear early on, eventually designing shoes for Adidas and New Balance. There, he had a breakthrough—why not bring athletic comfort to dress shoes? That idea ...
In this episode of Career Slay, host Kelly Poquiz Burke interviews Milam Miller, a leadership expert, keynote speaker, executive coach, and author of The Charisma Craft about career transitions, fulfillment, and authentic leadership. Episode Highlights Milam's Career Journey: From working in tech startups and Fortune 500 companies to becoming an entrepreneur and career coach.Finding Fulfillment: Milam discusses how fulfillment comes from within rather than external achievements like titles or...
Does your ambition fade when you downshift your career to make room for motherhood? In this episode of the Career Slay Podcast, host Kelly Poquiz Burke interviews Neha Ruch, founder of Mother Untitled and author of the bestselling book, The Power Pause: How to Plan a Career Break After Kids—and Come Back Stronger Than Ever. Neha discusses her journey of redefining success and ambition for women, particularly those navigating motherhood and career pauses. She also shares her personal experienc...
In this episode, Dr. Anthony Randall shares his inspiring journey from a lively childhood being nicknamed “Action Ants” as a kid to a distinguished career as an Army Ranger, chaplain, coach, and bestselling author. He discusses the pivotal moments that shaped his life, including overcoming self-limiting beliefs about his writing and the transformative experiences of combat. Anthony emphasizes the importance of trusting the process of transformation and practicing excellence by aligning passio...
In this episode of the Career Slay Podcast, host Kelly Poquiz Burke interviews Catherine Connolly, an award-winning entrepreneur and best-selling author. They discuss Catherine's journey from a young entrepreneur and cofounder alongside her brothers to leading a successful tech company, the challenges she faced scaling her company, The Meet Group, into a $500 million dollar company, and her insights on redefining success. Catherine emphasizes the importance of connections, purpose, and resili...
In this episode of the Career Slay Podcast, host Kelly Poquiz Burke interviews Dr. Chris Sebastian, a pediatrician who transitioned from a career in graphic design to medicine. Dr. Sebastian shares his unique journey, emphasizing the importance of following one's passion, the value of mentorship, and the impact of serving others. For him, being a counselor at Camp Sweeney, a summer camp for kids with Type 1 Diabetes sparked his transition into medicine. He discusses the challenges and rewards...
In this episode of the Career Slay Podcast, host Kelly Poquiz Burke sits down with Simon Rurka, founder and CEO of The Simon Assessment, for a powerful conversation about boldness, authenticity, and unlocking potential. From a supportive childhood in London to studying at Cambridge to leading a $9 billion business at Intel, Simon shares the pivotal moments that shaped his leadership journey. He opens up about the challenges of corporate culture, how organizations often unintentionally shrink ...
Have you ever felt like you were destined for greatness? In this episode, host Kelly Poquiz Burke interviews Tara Wilson, CEO and founder of Tara Wilson Agency. Tara shares her inspiring journey from a small town in Arkansas where she fostered an entrepreneurial spirit as a child to becoming a successful founder of an experiential marketing agency. Her career evolved from finance to event planning to experiential marketing, demonstrating how you can reinvent yourself multiple times. Tara talk...
The Career Slay podcast is back and I’m thrilled to interview my friend, Dr. Emmanuel Bello-Ogunu — principal cybersecurity engineer, lifelong superhero fan, and real-life defender of our digital world. Emmanuel opens up about his journey from shy big brother to cybersecurity expert at MITRE, where he helps protect critical infrastructure and national security. We talk imposter syndrome (yes, even PhDs get it), mission-driven work, mentorship, and finding purpose in your career. Whether you'r...
How do you find the courage to break the rules? In this episode of Career Slay, my guest, Ivonne Kinser spent the first half of her career learning the rules so she could spend the second half breaking them. As the CEO and Founder of Vantage Creative Group, she helps challenger brands grow with the mission of solving the hardest marketing challenges by infusing untamed creativity and leveraging the power of technology. Her journey started in Venezuela and followed an unconventional path, from...
What does it take to build a company from the ground up? In this episode of Career Slay, Kelly Poquiz Burke interviews owner and founder, Mark Lowery, the President & CEO of Lowery Property Advisors. LPA is a commercial appraisal and consulting firm completing a wide range of office, retail, and industrial projects throughout the southwest. We talk about his entrepreneurship journey from starting his own business with limited resources, to scaling it to a 60-person organization. We also d...
How do you use creativity for good? On this episode of Career Slay, Kelly Poquiz Burke interviews Pedro Lerma, CEO of LERMA/ Agency. Pedro shares his amazing career journey that started with his humble beginnings to now leading an award-winning ad agency with the mission, “Creativity For Good.” Pedro emphasizes the importance of gratitude as a key theme that weaves throughout his career. He discusses the distinction between management and leadership and advocates for a vision-driven approach ...
How do you respond to obstacles in life? Do you let them define you or do you redefine them? In this Career Slay episode, host Kelly Poquiz Burke dives deep into the obstacles she’s faced and how those have shaped her career. Kelly shares how she overcame $80K in student loan debt, learned how to walk again after multiple hip surgeries, and beat breast cancer while pregnant during a global pandemic. In this vulnerable episode, she gets real about the challenges of working motherhood, why she ...
How do you manifest your “dream job?” In this podcast episode, I interview Michelle Wong, the CMO of Sprinkles Bakeries & Picnik Restaurants. Michelle shares about her culinary background, how creativity led her to a career in advertising, and how her combined passions have manifested into the role she has today - her dream job. We discuss the challenges she faced early on particularly when it came to representation and visibility. Michelle also shares her advice for young women of color ...
Can storytelling change the world for good? On this episode of Career Slay, I interview Meg Griffiths, co-founder of Universe Creative, a documentary production company, and director "Impossible Town." We discuss Meg's career journey, including her transition from photojournalism to Teach For America to filmmaking and the challenges she faced as a woman in a male-dominated field. Meg also shares her insights on parenting while pursuing a demanding career, the importance of relationships and ...
Have you ever been curious about a career in social media? In this episode of the Career Slay podcast, I sit down with Varun Jindal, a brand partnerships manager at TikTok, about his career journey in social media. Varun discusses his experience co-founding a South Asian media company, Bollyshake, and the dedication it took to grow an Instagram community of nearly a million followers without any outside funding. We talk about the secret sauce for building a successful social media career inc...
How do you turn a neighborhood bakery into a beloved brand? In this episode of Career Slay, I interview Maricsa Trejo, the owner of La Casita Bakeshop. Maricsa shares her journey from working in professional kitchens to building a successful James Beard-nominated bakery with lines around the corner. She gives her advice for anyone who is trying to turn their passion into their full-time gig and emphasizes the importance of surrounding yourself with good people, setting boundaries, and not bei...
Has anyone ever encouraged you to “bring your whole self to work”? In this episode Jeff Roberts, the President of Augustine Agency, discusses the importance of bringing your authentic self to work and how critical building relationships are in his role as an advertising executive. He shares the challenges he faced coming out as openly gay mid-career, and how being true to oneself changed the trajectory of his career and deepened his relationships with his clients and peers. Jeff also shares m...