Leaning My Way

After interviewing 13 incredible working mothers, host Mikenzie Ginsberg reflects on the biggest lessons from Season 1. She shares four key takeaways from season 1: why perfect planning doesn't work, how meaningful work can anchor you through motherhood's identity shifts, building support systems that fit your family, and choosing authenticity over societal expectations.
Mikenzie weaves together powerful insights from all 13 Season 1 guests: Cecilie (startup founder), Emily (tech leader), Leila (VC founder), Silke (VP at Dow Jones), Jaclyn (therapist), Charlotte (marketing consultant), Candice (lawyer), Livia (political risk consultant), Shaina (filmmaker), Karina (business owner), Genia (social entreprenuer), Camilla (Deliveroo executive), and Shachar (communications).

Connect with Us:
Instagram: @LeaningMyWayPod
LinkedIn: Mikenzie Ginsberg
Substack: Leaning My Way
Season 2 launches this fall with more honest conversations plus expert deep-dives on women's health and motherhood topics. Stay tuned!

Join Leaning My Way Substack: https://substack.com/@leaningmyway

Attend Jaclyn Udell’s Matrescence digital workshop: https://lu.ma/zwhtzj8k

Show Notes:
Livia Paggi is a political risk consultant, business partner, and mother of three who has always lived life by her own rules. In this episode, she shares her remarkable career journey from helping global investors navigate geopolitical crises to turning around a bankrupt company with colleagues after her second daughter was born. When professional triumph collided with devastating personal loss—losing her third baby just one day before the due date—Livia's perspective on success and meaning was changed forever. She candidly discusses what her therapist called "post-traumatic growth," how loss gave her a laser focus on what truly matters, and why she believes the corporate world's messaging to working mothers can be harmful. We explore the financial realities of making it work with 2 career-focused parents, the crucial role of community and ritual that modern mothers lack, and how motherhood and loss gave her the confidence to go after what she wants. Livia's honesty and refusal to accept the status quo will challenge how you think about integrating career, family, and purpose.

Timestamps:
04:35 – Growing up as an only child but always wanting a big family of 3-4 kids 
05:40 – Early career path from development work to political risk consulting for stability and roots 
11:10 – First daughter coinciding with promotion: motherhood as confidence booster, not obstacle 
18:00 – Second daughter and taking over a bankrupt company as business partners 
21:03 – Thriving in chaos and working during maternity leave on "things that move the needle" 
23:37 – Financial honesty: spending entire salary on childcare and needing a supportive partner 
27:23 – Losing third baby one day before due date and the complete life reset 
33:02 – Post-traumatic growth and finding laser focus on what truly matters 
40:18 – Transition to public sector work driven by desire to give back to community 
44:35 – Quick fire round: resilience lessons, community-based childcare, and advice to pre-kids self

Shachar Peled shares her journey from reporter to working mother, and how she's learned to find meaning when life doesn't go according to plan. A former journalist for CNN and other international outlets, Shachar opens up about her three-year fertility struggle, transitioning from the unpredictable world of reporting to Google, and facing two unexpected layoffs in recent years.
She's refreshingly honest about the challenges of motherhood, job searching as an ambitious woman, and how she's learned to embrace uncertainty while rebuilding her career and completing a master's degree at Oxford.

Show Time Stamps:
4:20 – Balancing demands of journalism with prospect of becoming a mother
8:45 – Three years of fertility struggles while building a journalism career 
15:20 – Managing pregnancy and motherhood as a reporter
22:10 – Why she transitioned from journalism to Google 
27:45 – Getting pregnant one week after starting her new job
35:50 – Two rounds of layoffs and the impact on her identity 
45:15 – The reality of being a "soccer mom" when you're not a soccer mom 
52:20 – Finding hope through education and new projects

Camilla Kater has been promoted seven times at Deliveroo—including twice while on maternity leave. In this episode, she shares her 10-year journey from Head of UK Operations at the “start-up” to public company executive while navigating IVF and raising three kids. Camilla opens up about keeping her fertility treatment secret while working at a high-growth startup, the practical challenges of daily medical appointments, and why she actually worked harder during IVF. We discuss her maternity leave transitions, the surprise of getting pregnant naturally with her second child just before returning to work, and the systems she's built to balance executive leadership with motherhood. From managing the identity switch between decisive leader and nurturing mother to creating forcing mechanisms like a 6 PM nursery pickup, Camilla's story proves you don't have to choose between ambition and family—but you do need clear boundaries and some grace along the way.

Timestamps
03:17 – Why Camilla joined Deliveroo as a "year in industry" after her MBA at McKinsey 
07:12 – What kept her at Deliveroo for 10 years: operational challenges and amazing colleagues 
12:49 – Deciding to start a family during Deliveroo's hypergrowth phase 
14:32 – Going through IVF while keeping it secret from everyone at work 
18:23 – Why she worked harder during fertility treatment instead of leaning out 
29:19 – Loving her first maternity leave and the quick transition back to work 
32:14 – Getting promoted twice on maternity leave and taking on new roles 
37:51 – The awkward conversation about her second pregnancy right before returning to work 
43:14 – How she and her entrepreneur husband divide responsibilities at home 
46:43 – Creating forcing mechanisms like the 6 PM nursery pickup to set boundaries 
49:15 – Preparing to return after Deliveroo's likely acquisition by DoorDash 
52:29 – Quick fire round: lessons from kids, workplace policies, and favorite apps

Genia Mineeva has crafted an unconventional career path guided purely by passion and purpose. From growing up in post-Soviet Russia to building a decades-long career at the BBC, then running communications for a major NGO, and finally creating Been — a social enterprise turning waste materials into luxury products — Genia's story is one of following your gut even when the path isn't obvious.
In this episode, we explore how Genia navigated three major career transitions while raising two daughters in London without family support. She opens up about the realities of building a business while juggling demanding jobs, how she and her husband created space for each other's entrepreneurial journeys, and the creative solutions they found to make it all work financially.
We also dive into the evolution from parenting toddlers to teenagers, including the modern challenges of managing tech-savvy 13-year-olds who can outsmart parental controls. What's refreshing about Genia's perspective is how she balances hopeful idealism with honest reflections on the trade-offs she's made and how they've shifted over time.
Key Topics:
Making career pivots as a working mother
Building a social enterprise from curiosity about textile waste
Managing demanding careers without family support in London
Creative solutions for childcare and school holidays
The financial realities of both partners being entrepreneurs
Parenting teenagers in the digital age
Creating work-life balance as a small business owner