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© 2026 Conversations with Seven Sisters
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A podcast for the Seven Sisters Alum community to share their stories, experiences, and wisdom. Hosted by Jennifer Pollock McNally, founder of the Seven Sisters Alum Association and a graduate of Smith College, who talks with a different alum each episode covering their careers, lives, and how the Seven Sister experience has impacted them. Stay tuned for fascinating conversations full of stories and advice from the Seven Sisters Alum Association.
34 Episodes
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This week we are joined by Topsy (Martha) Siderowf (Smith College ‘61) to discuss her experience at Smith College in the 1950-60's and how Smith has impacted her long career. Topsy was also lucky enough to have a personal experience with one of Smith College’s most famous alums, Sylvia Plath, who was her English professor her freshman year. Listen along for her stories of Sylvia in class and out and how she navigated her career in the sports industry at a time when not many women were working...
On this episode of Conversations with Seven Sisters we are joined by Katrina McGhee (Smith College ℅ ‘01), a Career Break Coach, to discuss finding the right career for you, her own career break, the challenges of writing a book, and why you should take a career break too. Katrina is a Career Break & Sabbatical Fairy Godmother here to make your dreams come true. She is a certified master coach with an MBA, who help 9-5ers create successful, mind-blowing career breaks and fight throu...
Join us this week on Conversations with Seven Sisters for a discussion with Reshma Saujani, who you may recognize from her work as the founder of Girls Who Code and currently the CEO of Moms First (formerly Marshall Plan for Moms), to learn more about how you can use your powers and advantages to support moms. Reshma shares about how she found her passion of supporting women and moms and has channeled that into her very successful non-profit ventures. She also discusses how now, more than eve...
This week on Conversations with Seven Sisters Shastia Azulay (recent ℅ 2023 Smith graduate) tells us all about how she saw immense food waste problem on campus and found a way to use her resources as a student to combat it. She founded the Food Rescue Network that has successfully donated over $25,000 worth of meals to local shelters in Northampton. She discusses how she does it, how you can get involved in the food waste movement, and much more about her time at Smith and beyond. Inter...
This episode of Conversations with Seven Sisters Amy Walsh (Vassar ℅ ‘87) shares about her career trajectory starting as a philosophy major at Vassar, going to Fordham Law, working in the Southern District of New York as a young lawyer and eventually making her way to partner of an international law firm. This episode is filled with interesting stories of cases ranging from violent homicides, to the Theranos case, to a Voting Rights case. Did you attend a Seven Sisters College? Wa...
On this episode on Conversations with Seven Sisters Winter Miller (Smith College ℅ ‘95) joins us to discuss traveling to Chad with The New York Times’ Nicholas Kristof to do research for her award winning play, In Darfur, being mentored by Gloria Steinem, writing the play “When Monica Met Hillary,” and authoring a children’s book about her cat Gato, Not a Cat. Winter is a founding member of the Obie-winning collective 13Playwrights. She graduated from Smith College with Latin honors and...
On this episode of Conversations with Seven Sisters, we are joined by Karen Armstrong (Mount Holyoke College ℅ ‘87) to discuss her love for Mount Holyoke, how a visit to career services changed her life, the changing amount of compromise in politics, how being a Seven Sister Alum has served her well, and what her favorite Mount Holyoke traditions were. Karen Armstrong is Executive Vice President at the New York Bankers Association (NYBA) which she joined in 1998, after having worked in ...
On the inaugural episode of Conversations with Seven Sisters, Jaqueline Woo (Wellesley College ℅ ‘96) joins us to discuss working at Goldman Sachs as a member of the LGBTQ+ Community, being in the right place at the right time, making big career pivots, how Wellesley Swimming impacted her long-term, and more. Jaqueline is the Chief Financial Officer at Acumen, a global non-profit that uses entrepreneurship to tackle poverty, and prior was a portfolio manager at Goldman Sachs Asset Management....
This week on Conversations with Seven Sisters, Jen speaks with Robin Newman a children's book author and Bryn Mawr Alum. They discuss her time at Bryn Mawr and her career. Robin shares her experiences studying abroad in France, working as a paralegal, and eventually finding her passion for writing through children's literature. They talk about the importance of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators for aspiring writers, her journey to find an agent, and the process of bringi...
This week on Conversations with Seven Sisters, Jen speaks with Katrina McGhee again to update us on her book release and how her online business has been going! Katrina wrote the book Taking a Career Break for Dummies and she now runs a coaching business helping people take career breaks and thrive during and after! Find Katrina here: https://www.kmcgheecoaching.com/ Get her book here: https://www.kmcgheecoaching.com/book Get the audiobook here: https://www.audible.com/pd/Taking-a-Car...
This week on Conversations with Seven Sisters, Jen speaks with Bryn Mawr Alum Jennifer Brunton about her new book "The #ActuallyAutistic Guide to Building Independence" (and her previous books too!), her career in community colleges, about being neurodivergent and a mom, and her experience with DEI. Through her consulting business she is a nationally recognized Keynote Speaker, coach and consultant. Jennifer has an interesting career path and perspective to share with the Seven Sister c...
Do you have a high schooler who is getting ready to apply for college? You won’t want to miss this episode of Conversations with Seven Sisters! This week, Jen speaks with Brooke Stengel (Bryn Mawr ℅ ‘91), an Independent College Counselor with over 30 years of experience. Brooke believes that the college process isn't about finding the "best" college -- it's about finding the "right" college. Brooke helps students through the process of determining what they are hoping to gain from the...
UPDATE BELOW!!!!Link to Sign the Petition: https://www.change.org/p/oppose-the-immediate-elimination-of-the-mount-holyoke-tennis-program On today’s Conversations with Seven Sisters we have a special edition of the podcast where Jen speaks with members of the Mount Holyoke Tennis Team to discuss their team being cut without prior notice by the administration. UPDATE! On the 21st of May the tennis team and our parents were offered a follow up meeting with our President, Dean of Students ...
Does global warming play a role in your decision to have children or not? This episode dives into how the climate crisis impacts family planning. This week on Conversations with Seven Sisters Jen speaks with Meghan Kallman and Josephine Ferorelli, authors of The Conceivable Future: Planning Families and Taking Action in the Age of Climate Change. They explore the ways in which the climate crisis is affecting our personal decisions about family planning, parenting, and political action. ...
Have you heard of being faceblind? Yes, that is a real diagnosis, called prosopagnosia, that means you can’t tell faces apart. This week on Conversations with Seven Sisters Jen speaks with Sadie Dingfelder (Smith ℅ 2001) about her career journey from writing a Washington Post article to writing a book all about discovering neurodivergence. Sadie shares all about her career from starting at Emily’s List to working for Washington Post as a Staff Writer to being a freelancer and now publis...
Have you ever dreamed about sipping Italian coffee on a terrazza every morning? Why not make that dream a reality! This week on Conversations with Seven Sisters Jen speaks with Fosca D'Acierno, a Bryn Mawr Alum and expert on life in Italy. They speak all about how Fosca has ended up as an American living in Italy for over two decades with a successful career and family. Fosca is an Italian American born and raised in New Jersey whose year abroad in Italy changed her life. She spent 23...
From the halls of Bryn Mawr College to the offices of Goldman Sachs. You can imagine the culture shock as one has every leadership position filled by women and the other is… lacking female presence. This week on Conversations with Seven Sisters, Jen speaks with Bryn Mawr College Alum Jamie Fiore Higgins about her time at a Seven Sisters College and the transition from a women led environment to a male environment. Jamie shares about her time at Goldman Sachs and how it impacted her care...
Have you ever thought about writing a book? Maybe even getting it published? Well this episode is for you! This week on Conversations with Seven Sisters Jen speaks with Jeanne Blasberg (Smith College Alum) all about writing and getting novels published. Jeanne Blasberg is an award-winning and bestselling author and essayist. She has written three novels in a thematic trilogy. Her forthcoming novel, Daughter of a Promise (SWP, April 2, 2024) is a modern retelling of the legend of David and...
“Everyone can have financial ease, calm and confidence” - Ariel Nathanson. Don’t believe it’s possible for you after struggling with finances? Or you want to make it even simpler for yourself? Listen to this episode with financial educator and Wellesley Alum, Ariel Nathanson. This week on Conversation with Seven Sisters Jen speaks with Ariel Nathanson on all things finances and how she has gone from being the financial advice friend to go to, to a financial expert who opened her o...
So many people who lose someone close to them are blindsided by the administrative burden that comes and causes so many issues during a time of immense grief. But there are things you can do to prepare and prevent such a burden and we have an expert on the subject to help you! This week on Conversations with Seven Sisters Jen speaks to Barnard Alum, Abby O’Leary, who has used her life experience to build a business that helps people deal with the paperwork and logistical burden of loss....
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