Madam Athlete

Hi friend! It’s Giselle. I’m jumping on here real quick to remind you that I’m taking a break after over three plus years of weekly episodes to rest, reset, and recalibrate. In case you need a little woman in sports career journey wisdom while I’m away, I’ve pulled this episode from the archives.

This conversation with Dr. Sarah Lesko aired in April 2022 and it is one of the most downloaded episodes of all time. So you’re going to love it. I know I did.

Since the last episode. Dr. Lesko was named Executive Director of the non-profit Bras for Girls, which is an amazing organization, check it out, and she was also named a Director of the USA Track and Field Foundation Board.
Enjoy!

Episode 88:
On today’s episode, I’m talking to Oiselle’s Leader of Corporate Development and Family Medicine Physician, Dr. Sarah Lesko, about honoring your values while changing careers.

Sarah is trained and practiced as a family medicine physician before making the leap to a career outside of medicine. Before leaving medicine, Sarah got back into running after watching the ‘08 Olympic trials. Two years later she met the founder and CEO of Oiselle, a running apparel company, by and for female athletes. Eventually leaving medicine, Sarah’s work with Oiselle expanded and she found a better way for her to serve. Through her work with Oiselle, Sarah is able to utilize her training in medicine and public health to support women and girls in sport at every level of competition.

We talk about:
●The twists and turns of her career in sports, medicine, and public health before she found a job where she could bring it all together. 
●The multiple identities she created throughout her career and the resilience they’ve provided.
●How defining your values and vision for your career can help you find the right fit. 

You can find the show notes and more resources at https://madamathlete.com

Keep an eye out for new content or let us know what you'd like to see next by following us on social:
Instagram: @theMadamAthlete
Facebook: @MadamAthlete
Twitter: @MadamAthlete

Hi friend! It’s Giselle. I’m jumping on here real quick to remind you that I’m taking a break after over three plus years of weekly episodes to rest, reset, and recalibrate. In case you need a little woman in sports career journey wisdom while I’m away, I’ve pulled this episode from the archives.

This conversation with Dr. Stephany Coakley aired in August 2022 and it is one of the most downloaded episodes of all time. So you’re going to love it. I know I did.

Dr. Coakley is still working at Temple University as the Senior Associate Athletic Director for Mental Health, Wellness, and Performance. Since the last time we talked she earned the designation of Fellow with the Association of Applied Sport Psychology and she was the keynote speaker for the Social Justice through Sport and Exercise Psychology Symposium where she gave a talk on “Good Trouble, Necessary Trouble: How Sport and Exercise Psychology Practitioners Can Support Athlete Activism.”
Enjoy!

Episode 108:
On today’s episode, I’m talking to certified mental performance consultant Dr. Stephany Coakley about creating your own space.

Stephany works with student-athletes to develop mental health skills as the Senior Associate Athletic Director for Mental Health, Wellness and Performance at Temple University. She also works with professional athletes in the NFL, NBA, and beyond through her private practice. On the way to where she is today, Stephany developed her craft by creating her own space, like starting her private practice during grad school so she could start getting experience working with athletes. She also worked with warrior-athletes in the military to help them develop resilience. By creating her own space, she was able to gain experience, grow, and learn, and ultimately serve her higher mission to help people realize their best lives through sport.

We talk about:
●How Stephany came to recognize the burnout she was feeling in the early part of her career and the decision to go back to school to get her PhD.
●How hard it is to break into sports and how she started her private practice to create her own space and build experience in her own way.
●Stephany’s personal mental health practices and the tools she encourages others to have at the ready in times of stress. 

You can find the show notes and more resources at https://madamathlete.com

Keep an eye out for new content or let us know what you'd like to see next by following us on social:
Instagram: @theMadamAthlete
Facebook: @MadamAthlete
Twitter: @MadamAthlete

Hi friend! It’s Giselle. I’m jumping on here real quick to remind you that I’m taking a break after over three plus years of weekly episodes to rest, reset, and recalibrate. In case you need a little woman in sports career journey wisdom while I’m away, I’ve pulled this episode from the archives.

This conversation with Christa Stout aired in March 2022 and it is the most downloaded episode of all time. So you’re going to love it. I know I did.

Since the last episode, Christa is still with the Portland Trail Blazers but has now advanced to the position of Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer. This past year she’s helped launch the organization’s new G League affiliate, the Rip City Remix.
Enjoy!

Episode 87:
On today’s episode, I’m talking to the Portland Trail Blazers’ Senior Vice President of Innovation & Technology Christa Stout.

Christa played 5 sports in high school and 3 in college. She has traveled internationally doing development work and has seen the value of sport for social change. Because of a persistent interest in corporate social responsibility, Christa decided to go to business school. As a generalist trying to find her future career, a professor advised her to list out exactly what she was looking for in a job. By considering the qualities she needed in the workplace instead of the job title, Christa found exactly what she was looking for working in professional sports, working first with the Portland Timbers and now the Portland Trail Blazers. 

We talk about:
●How taking advantage of every opportunity that came her way in international development, gives Christa more skills than she could ever list on a resume. 
●How taking the time to define her values and the qualities she needed in her workplace helped Christa find great jobs after business school.
●The importance of keeping a growth mindset to continue learning the ins and outs of every task as a generalist responsible for leading specialists in their fields. 

You can find the show notes and more resources at https://madamathlete.com

Keep an eye out for new content or let us know what you'd like to see next by following us on social:
Instagram: @theMadamAthlete
Facebook: @MadamAthlete
Twitter: @MadamAthlete

I'm taking an end of the year break and bringing you some of the top downloaded episodes from the archives. This is episode 96 which originally released May 31st, 2022.

On today’s episode, I’m talking to Physiatrist and Founder of Sports Equity Lab Dr. Yetsa Tuakli-Wosornu.

Yetsa is a sports physiatrist and assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and an adjunct associate professor at Yale School of Public Health. She is the founding director of the Sports Equity Lab, which focuses on dismantling inequalities in sport while amplifying sport’s role as an agent for positive change.

We talk about:

• How learning to direct your focus to multiple pursuits can add meaning to your work.
• Applying skills learned through sports, like how to pivot and adapt, to everyday life.
• Yetsa’s advice to cherish and prioritize unstructured time as a way to create a sustainable, meaningful life. 

You can find the show notes and more resources at https://madamathlete.com

Keep an eye out for new content or let us know what you'd like to see next by following us on social:
Instagram: @theMadamAthlete
Facebook: @MadamAthlete
Twitter: @MadamAthlete

I'm taking an end of the year break from producing new episodes but I didn't want to leave you hanging! This episode from the archive is episode 83, which aired March 1st, 2022. Enjoy!

Today I’m talking to sports medicine physiatrist Monica Rho.

Monica is the Chief of Musculoskeletal Medicine at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab and an Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. She also serves as a team physician for the US Women’s National Soccer Team.

We talk about:

• How Monica’s mission has been to take care of and listen to female athletes ever since she was a young athlete athlete who felt like her injuries were dismissed.
• How finding the right training environment at any point in your career includes finding mentors who are invested in your development.
• Monica's unique opportunity to serve as an ambassador for If/Then, an organization looking to provide female role models in STEM to young girls.

You can find the show notes and more resources at https://madamathlete.com

Keep an eye out for new content or let us know what you'd like to see next by following us on social:
Instagram: @theMadamAthlete
Facebook: @MadamAthlete
Twitter: @MadamAthlete

Welcome back to another special episode of the Madam Athlete podcast! On the second Tuesday of the month, I take a deep dive into a career-related topic, and on today’s episode I’m talking all about doing what you want to do instead of what you should do. (Or what you think you should be doing).

Here's a key freaking hint: The opposite of doing what you think you should be doing isn't doing nothing. It's not being lazy. It's not being a failure.

Listen to this episode to find out more and to get living your own unique life and your own unique career.

You can find the show notes and more resources at https://madamathlete.com

Keep an eye out for new content or let us know what you'd like to see next by following us on social:
Instagram: @theMadamAthlete
Facebook: @MadamAthlete
Twitter: @MadamAthlete

On today’s episode, I’m talking to Sports Podcaster Cherie Turner about changing directions.

Cherie is the host of the Women’s Running Stories podcast, which features women athletes running all distances. Cherie’s unique story started out as a professional cyclist after college, unsure of what came next in her career. After finding her footing, she embraced her dream of becoming a writer and began a decades-long career in publishing and editing. Cherie then went about changing directions one more time by throwing herself into the podcast and radio community, finding mentors and teachers who helped her grow into the audio storyteller she is today. 

We talk about:

• Recognizing the skills we’ve developed in the past and how they helped us get to where we are today.
• Putting perfectionism aside to embrace being a complete novice in a new field.
• Telling women’s stories, by women and for women, as a way to overcome the established narratives.

You can find the show notes and more resources at https://madamathlete.com

Keep an eye out for new content or let us know what you'd like to see next by following us on social:
Instagram: @theMadamAthlete
Facebook: @MadamAthlete
Twitter: @MadamAthlete

On today’s episode, I’m talking to the CEO of WeCOACH Vanessa Fuchs about finding the opportunity. 

Vanessa is the CEO of WeCOACH, an organization focused on recruiting, advancing, and retaining women coaches in all sports at every level. A former DI basketball player at Florida State University, Vanessa worked with the NCAA, becoming the Associate Director of Academic and Membership Affairs, before returning to her alma mater. She stayed at Florida State for 14 years, becoming the Senior Associate Athletic Director, Senior Women’s Administrator, and doing a stint as the Interim Athletic Director. Vanessa encourages young professionals to focus on finding the opportunity hidden within each role they take on and to keep an open mind in order to maximize their chances for growth.

We talk about:

• Seeking out mentors with diverse backgrounds and experiences.
• Expecting to be challenged when starting a new job and using these opportunities for growth.
• Finding and prioritizing balance when working in a demanding field, like sports.

You can find the show notes and more resources at https://madamathlete.com

Keep an eye out for new content or let us know what you'd like to see next by following us on social:
Instagram: @theMadamAthlete
Facebook: @MadamAthlete
Twitter: @MadamAthlete

On today’s episode, I’m talking to the Senior Manager of Player Development at the Seattle Kraken Katelyn Parker about defining success. 

Katelyn is currently with the Kraken handling everything youth hockey and player development for this young franchise. Her background as a former DI hockey player on a quickly growing team set her up well to work in this environment that looks more like a tech startup some days. While it may seem that Katelyn always knew she wanted to work in sports, it wasn’t until after she experienced working outside of athletics that she realized that the part of her day devoted to hockey was what she really looked forward to. Katelyn shares how defining success is different for everyone and how that definition should be free to change throughout our careers.

We talk about:

• Starting new roles without firm expectations in order to take advantage of all of the opportunities. 
• The athlete mentality of being all-in, and how this is both a strength and a weakness in other parts of life.
• Taking time to appreciate success and how extraordinary some experiences are. 

You can find the show notes and more resources at https://madamathlete.com

Keep an eye out for new content or let us know what you'd like to see next by following us on social:
Instagram: @theMadamAthlete
Facebook: @MadamAthlete
Twitter: @MadamAthlete

On today’s episode, I’m talking to Athletic Trainer Andrea Kovalsky about sticking to your values. 

Andrea is the Head Athletic Trainer for Granite City High School in Granite City, Illinois. She’s currently working towards her Doctorate in Athletic Training while also serving on the Illinois Athletic Trainers Association. In each role she’s taken on, Andrea has given herself a few years to fully learn the job and what it requires. She assesses if it fits her values and her goals, and chooses to move on if it’s not the exact right fit. With each move, Andrea has taken lessons learned along with her, confident she won’t make the same mistakes over again. 

We talk about:

• Learning to be selfish, especially in a role that usually works behind the scenes.
• Finding outlets for our true passions, like mentoring, within our current careers.
• Shuffling priorities through different opportunities and career stages.

You can find the show notes and more resources at https://madamathlete.com

Keep an eye out for new content or let us know what you'd like to see next by following us on social:
Instagram: @theMadamAthlete
Facebook: @MadamAthlete
Twitter: @MadamAthlete

On today’s episode, I’m talking to the CEO of Women Leaders in Sports Patti Phillips about reframing. 

Patti is a long-time leader in women’s and girls' sports, from her early days coaching collegiate basketball and volleyball to her current role as the CEO of Women Leaders in Sports. There she helps to break down the barriers women continue to face in the business of sports and change how women are perceived as leaders. Patti is an expert at reframing her mindset and uses this skill to work through events that would have otherwise been challenges. 

We talk about:

• Pursuing a mission, like advancing women’s sports, rather than going after a single job title.
• Celebrating successes while using setbacks for motivation.
• Approaching goals with effort and intention. 

You can find the show notes and more resources at https://madamathlete.com

Keep an eye out for new content or let us know what you'd like to see next by following us on social:
Instagram: @theMadamAthlete
Facebook: @MadamAthlete
Twitter: @MadamAthlete

On today’s episode, I’m talking to health equity researcher Dr. Alicia Whittington about discovering your purpose.

Alicia is the Assistant Director of Engagement and Health Equity Research for the Football Players Health Study at Harvard University. Additionally, she’s the co-investigator of Family Experiences Managing Football Lives, studying the impact of supporting the NFL player on the family unit. Alicia shares how her lived experiences and her family’s history have shaped her career journey and led her to where she is today. Trained in public health research and the sister of two NFL players, Alicia began studying the impact of professional football on players during graduate school and hasn’t looked back. She discovered her purpose and has relied on this knowledge during moments of doubt to remember why she’s doing the work. 

We talk about:

• Making career decisions one step at a time by choosing the best option from the information available at the time.
• Remaining true to yourself and showing up to places with authenticity.
• Finding support from your family and network to sustain you through the highs and lows. 

Grab my free exercise to help you start defining your personal values today.

You can find the show notes and more resources at https://madamathlete.com

Keep an eye out for new content or let us know what you'd like to see next by following us on social:
Instagram: @theMadamAthlete
Facebook: @MadamAthlete
Twitter: @MadamAthlete

On today’s episode, I’m talking to secondary school athletic trainer Sarah Turner about building a community.

In addition to working as a solo athletic trainer at her high school, Sarah is the Director of Athletic Training Services at Wabash General Hospital Sports Medicine in southern Illinois. Her team covers numerous high schools and community colleges and provides big-city care over a large rural area. We talk about how Sarah has helped to elevate the standing of athletic trainers in her health system and negotiate their pay and benefits. Sarah is not just building a professional community of athletic trainers and sports medicine professionals, but she’s reaching local student-athletes where it matters most and helping them form lifelong ties with health care. 

We talk about:

• Gaining the experience you need to move forward in your career by doing, not just watching.
• Finding your tribe and making sure your group is supporting you and your vision.
• Joining professional organizations as a way to both network and fight back against the isolation that comes with some jobs.

You can find the show notes and more resources at https://madamathlete.com

Keep an eye out for new content or let us know what you'd like to see next by following us on social:
Instagram: @theMadamAthlete
Facebook: @MadamAthlete
Twitter: @MadamAthlete

Welcome back to another special episode of the Madam Athlete podcast! On the second Tuesday of the month, I take a deep dive into a career-related topic, and on today’s episode I’m talking all about networking.

So many of our guests talk about how important networking is and it's one of the most common pieces of advice shared.

Listen to today's episode for two simple, concrete pieces of advice, to help you get started in building and maintaining your own professional network.

And if you want more, check out episode 119 all about finding mentors and sponsors and avoiding assholes, and episode 141 all about starting a new job and in particular figuring out that early networking and power structures when you're brand new.

You can find the show notes and more resources at https://madamathlete.com

Keep an eye out for new content or let us know what you'd like to see next by following us on social:
Instagram: @theMadamAthlete
Facebook: @MadamAthlete
Twitter: @MadamAthlete

On today’s episode, I’m talking to Sports Medicine Physician Dr. Marci Goolsby about keeping a growth mindset. 

Marci is the Medical Director of the Women’s Sports Medicine Center at the Hospital for Special Surgery and an Assistant Professor at Weill Cornell Medical College. She’s recently been named the Director of Sports Medicine for the WNBA and is also serving this year as the president for the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine. Throughout her life and career, Marci has excelled at maintaining a growth mindset, always emphasizing the process over the outcomes. This has helped her learn from mistakes and adapt to an ever-changing environment. 

We talk about:

• The crucial role that mentorship plays in both discovering possible career pathways and later accessing crucial opportunities.
• Using leadership opportunities to learn the process behind the scenes.
• Learning when to say yes and when to say no to work that comes our way.

You can find the show notes and more resources at https://madamathlete.com

Keep an eye out for new content or let us know what you'd like to see next by following us on social:
Instagram: @theMadamAthlete
Facebook: @MadamAthlete
Twitter: @MadamAthlete

On today’s episode, I’m talking to the Vice President of Marketing for the Vegas Golden Knights Stephanie Rogers about defining your why.

Stephanie currently works with the reigning Stanley Cup champions, the Vegas Golden Knights, and previously worked with the PGA Tour, first holding roles in Tournament Marketing and ultimately becoming the Director of Corporate Partnerships Strategy and Innovation. Stephanie has made a practice of defining why certain opportunities are more exciting to her than others. When it came time to look for a new job, she started by listing out exactly what she was looking for, rather than focusing on what made her unhappy, and ended up finding her current role where she was a perfect fit. 

We talk about:

• Finding ways to network that feel organic and right for our individual styles.
• Learning how to lead and communicate when you’re the new person on the team. 
• Being honest and vulnerable about what we don’t know. 

Need helping defining your why? Aka what matters to you? Aka your values?
Grab your copy of my free guide to defining your values to get started today!

You can find the show notes and more resources at https://madamathlete.com

Keep an eye out for new content or let us know what you'd like to see next by following us on social:
Instagram: @theMadamAthlete
Facebook: @MadamAthlete
Twitter: @MadamAthlete

On today’s episode, I’m talking to the University of Maryland Director of Sport Psychology Dr. Kristi Hall about transferable skills. 

Kristi is currently the Director of Sport Psychology at Maryland and the owner and founder of Wholesome Minds, her private practice. Before branching out on her own, she worked for eight years in neuropsychology and forensics psychology, administering evaluations and helping diverse populations. Kristi also spent time working with veterans at the VA in DC, as they worked through issues including identity, injury, and teamwork. When the position at Maryland opened up, Kristi took a leap of faith and applied. She successfully made the case for how the sum of her experiences and strengths could help student-athletes thrive and perform and landed a job that had everything she was looking for wrapped up in one role. 

We talk about:

• How to overcome the barriers of switching directions in our careers.
• Reaching out to those who have already found success and asking how they got there.
• Why and how to check in with yourself to avoid burnout.

You can find the show notes and more resources at https://madamathlete.com

Keep an eye out for new content or let us know what you'd like to see next by following us on social:
Instagram: @theMadamAthlete
Facebook: @MadamAthlete
Twitter: @MadamAthlete

On today’s episode, I’m talking to marketing and sponsorship expert Amy C. Potter about managing and mentoring. 

Amy is currently the Director of North American Sponsorships with BMO Financial Group. She teaches us what marketing and sponsorship in business and sports is all about. Amy’s career started on the property side, where she worked at UVA, the University of Maryland, and Northwestern, honing her skills and helping to bring brands to life within the context of college sports. Now at BMO, working on the brand side of marketing, she’s considering proposals from teams in the NBA, NHL, and the NWSL and evaluating how the relationship can benefit both the team and the brand. At work, Amy is committed to managing her team members on an individual basis, allowing each to bring their strengths to the job. She also founded the Chicago chapter of WISE, Women in Sports and Entertainment, as a way of creating a place for women to help one another navigate the historically-male field of business in sports. 

We talk about:

• Hiring people who aren’t just bright and talented but are a good fit for team culture.
• Keeping an open dialogue among women in your field about salaries and negotiations. 
• Celebrating our wins by keeping a record and using them to write the stories we tell ourselves.

You can find the show notes and more resources at https://madamathlete.com

Keep an eye out for new content or let us know what you'd like to see next by following us on social:
Instagram: @theMadamAthlete
Facebook: @MadamAthlete
Twitter: @MadamAthlete

FRIENDS! AI came up with that title and it is hard not what I would have chosen for myself 🤣

*Alternative title (human generated): Taking the Time to Learn New Skills or Giselle F*s around with AI

AI generated episode description with [my comments] thrown in all over the place because, again, WTF AI?:

Ever wondered how AI is revolutionizing the podcasting landscape and professional sports? You're about to find out. [I mean, you're not. I talk about how we need to take time to learn new skills in our careers to make sure we're still developing and not staying stagnant. I talk abut how hard it is to overcome the inertia of doing things the same way you've always been doing things.] Join us as we share our personal experiences of how AI is impacting our podcasting business, from generating captions to crafting engaging content. If you've ever felt resistance in breaking away from established systems and processes, we’ll walk you through the importance of harnessing a growth mindset to embrace novel ideas. We even delve into the creation of a dot phrase, revealing how a little upfront effort can save you time in the long run. [Rest of this is true, and oh, Epic, what fun!]

Our conversations move from the world of podcasting to the arena of professional sports, as we reflect on how being open to new methodologies can be a game-changer. Remember that strength and conditioning coach who introduced blood flow restriction training 11 years ago? [Haha, yeah, do you remember that guy?? Probably not if you didn't work with me, but I do talk about how we integrate new knowledge and skills and the work settings that might make that easier or harder.] We discuss how such unconventional strategies can revolutionize athletes' performance. [Eh, not so much.] We also debate on the philosophical implications of AI and its potential to be the next big thing in knowledge enhancement and skill acquisition. [I mean I specifically said I didn't want to get the philosophical debate, but yes, I did talk about AI as potentially being the next evolution in knowledge enhancement.]

And that's not all! We also explore how AI can support women in sports and athletics, its usage in social media, and the challenges and excitement of using AI for generating podcast content. Ever thought of using a chatbot to come up with an engaging podcast episode title, intro music, or show notes? We did just that! [And I might be regretting it!] Listen in as we embark on our intriguing journey, allowing AI to create our podcast title [again, see regrets], show notes, and social media posts. Our discussions seek to inspire you to break away from inertia, embrace change, and upgrade your skills to soar in this AI-dominated era.

You can find the show notes and more resources at https://madamathlete.com

Keep an eye out for new content or let us know what you'd like to see next by following us on social:
Instagram: @theMadamAthlete
Facebook: @MadamAthlete
Twitter: @MadamAthlete

On today’s episode, I’m talking to Assistant Professor and Sport Scientist Catherine Saenz about career transitions.

Catherine is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Human Sciences at The Ohio State University. Her research focuses on how exercise and nutrition impact energy metabolism at the molecular level and translating this into personalized performance prescriptions. With one year to go in her PhD program she followed her advisor from UConn to Ohio State which meant she had to retake classes and extend her training. And then again in her first job out, she was one year away from going up for tenure when an opportunity to go back to Ohio State came up and she again took the risk and made the transition. Before pursuing an academic career, Catherine thought she would do clinical work and completed an internship in Dietetics at Iowa State University and a postdoctoral fellowship with the Cleveland Guardians.

We talk about:

• How to navigate career transitions
• The trap of excusing not getting started by over-preparing and being stuck in a learning mode or student-mentality
• Building your confidence and your voice to share the work that you love

You can find the show notes and more resources at https://madamathlete.com

Keep an eye out for new content or let us know what you'd like to see next by following us on social:
Instagram: @theMadamAthlete
Facebook: @MadamAthlete
Twitter: @MadamAthlete