Career Curves

Anyone who has faced job loss will tell you it can be scary, demoralizing, and confusing, raising questions like, “What do I do now?”... “How do I bounce back?”... and even, “Will I bounce back?” Unfortunately, this is what many people are experiencing now as a result of COVID-19.
On this episode, we bring you a story of resilience... and success. Leah Swan has had her job eliminated as her employer shut down. She’s had new jobs that weren’t what she expected. She’s had roles that she loved suddenly change because of changes in company direction.
Each time, she bounced back, not by accident but by design. By learning from her experiences and making strategic moves, she grew her career and moved into senior level positions, including her most recent role as Chief Administrative Officer of The Children’s Place.
Leah’s story is filled with insights, advice and tangible actions that can inspire anyone that needs to – or wants to – make a career move.
Meet the Guest
Leah Swan is the Chief Administrative Officer for The Children’s Place, which is the largest pure-play specialty retailer of children’s apparel and accessories in North America. She joined The Children’s Place in 2016 and has continuously expanded her role in the company, currently leading the Human Resources, Information Technology, Legal, Enterprise Transformation and Enterprise Risk functions.

Leah has worked in the retail industry for over 25 years, holding senior roles at Ross Stores and Gap Inc., and earlier in her career working for Williams Sonoma and The Walt Disney Company.

Leah is originally from Australia where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Canberra. She has resided in the US for the past 20 years and has travelled extensively, managing global teams throughout her career.

What if a voice inside you is telling you to take a different path than the one you're on? Beth Davies has heard this voice many times and she always took action.
On this episode, Beth is taking her turn as the guest and sharing her career journey. She openly shares why she left law for human resources and how she eventually became the host of this podcast. She tells her story hoping to inspire you. As you'll hear, inspiring others is how she defines success.
Meet the Guest
Beth Davies is typically the host of Career Curves but this time, she's the guest.

For over 25 years, Beth Davies has delivered cutting-edge talent management and learning solutions as an employee of Tesla, Microsoft, Apple, and Gap, and as a consultant for clients like LendUp, Livongo, Visa, Oracle, Breakthrough Group, Coaching Right Now, and Tommy Hilfiger. She has acquired expertise in culture-focused onboarding, leadership development, sales and product training, manufacturing training, compliance programs, media-enabled learning, and new learning technologies.

Currently, Beth hosts the Career Curves podcast and teaches at IE University in Madrid. Recognized as an industry expert, she’s also been a featured speaker at conferences in the US, Singapore, Austria, Mexico, Colombia, and the United Arab Emirates.

Beth earned a bachelor’s degree at Indiana University and a law degree from Stanford University. In 2016, IU named her a Luminary as a distinguished Alumna, an honor bestowed on just 12 people before her.

Beth lives in California with her husband, Kevin. On weekends, she often can be found doing jigsaw puzzles while he watches something with balls and athletes on television.

Since she was a young girl, Denise Young Smith has had a love for music and singing. Her career, though, took her into the world of Human Resources including executive roles at Apple. Did this mean she left the arts behind? Certainly not! Music and performing have always been in her life and are taking center stage now as she becomes Chair of the Board at SFJAZZ.
In this episode, Denise shares her journey including how she developed her love for the arts, why it was important to her to attend Grambling State, an historically black college and university (HBCU), how she got into HR, and how she transitioned out of the corporate world. Her story proves there's more than one way to live a creative life.
Meet the Guest
Denise Young Smith recently closed a brilliant two-decade career with Apple and is currently serving as only the second executive-in-residence at the new Cornell Tech (Cornell Ithaca’s graduate school campus in Manhattan). At Cornell Tech, Denise is visiting scholar and a key cultural influencer at this unique institution on the imperative of true diversity, representation, inclusion, and humanity in technology, drawing on her passion to positively impact the next generation of business and tech leaders and entrepreneurs.

Denise held a variety of executive roles at Apple, including building the talent machine for the company’s retail store initiative, taking the chain to over 400 stores globally before being promoted to the Chief HR role, reporting to Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook. She served also as Apple’s first ever vice president of inclusion and diversity, leading the company’s efforts to see its full ecosystem become as inclusive as possible.

Denise has been named a “Most Powerful Woman” by Ebony Magazine and Black Enterprise, has been named one of “100 Most Influential in Silicon Valley” by Business Insider, and has been featured in Fortune’s “Most Powerful Women” issue.

Truly living at the intersection of technology, humanity and art, Denise has just been named Chair of the Board of SFJAZZ, the premiere arts organization featuring Jazz and Black American music, artists, and educational programming. Additionally, Denise is a classically trained soprano who has graced local and international recital halls, including Carnegie’s Weill Hall, Palace of Fine Arts, and SFJazz. She recently released a debut album under her own Blue Organza Productions & Studios, and continues to tell the stories that need to be told, through music.
Links

To learn more about SFJAZZ or to hear Denise’s album, check out these links:

• SFJAZZ
• Stream Denise Young Soprano on Apple Music
• Stream Denise Young Soprano on TIDAL

Suppose you step away from work for awhile for personal reasons. Does this have to set you back? The answer is NO! It actually can propel you forward.
On this episode, Hydra Mendoza shares how she used time away from work to develop skills, cultivate a new passion, and find her voice. All of these, especially her ability to speak truth to power, led to big opportunities she never dreamed of for herself.
Meet the Guest
Hydra Mendoza has served Mayors Gavin Newsom and Edwin Lee in San Francisco, and Mayor Bill de Blasio in New York City as their Senior Education Advisor, Deputy Chief of Staff for Education and Equity, and Deputy Chancellor for the Division of Community Empowerment, Partnerships and Communications, respectively.

Hydra was the first and only Filipina ever elected to office in San Francisco. In 2006, 2010, and 2014, Hydra successfully won a citywide bid and re-elections for a seat on the San Francisco Unified School District Board of Education where she was elected by her peers, twice, as the President and Vice President.

Hydra has been honored by many local, state, and national organizations including Pin@y Educational Partnerships, College Track, Mission Economic Development Agency, San Francisco State University, California Association for Bilingual Education, Filipina Woman’s Network – 100 Most Influential Filipinas, and Donor Network West.

Hydra is the current Chief of Strategic Relationships for the Chairman and co-CEO of Salesforce.

Hydra has two adult children and lives with her husband in the Bayview community in San Francisco.

What does work-life balance mean to you? Could you achieve it if your career was threatened by something completely beyond your control? Our interview with Dr. Markus Watson explores how he has found balance throughout his life, even during especially challenging times like going to dental school while working full-time, and when receiving a life-changing diagnosis.
Markus candidly shares how he uncovered his interest in dentistry, what he discovered about himself through various jobs, and how he took on a health challenge that threatened everything he was and everything he built. His interview is loaded with wisdom and advice that’s helpful to anyone with ups and downs in their careers — so basically all of us!
Meet the Guest
Dr. Markus Watson, DDS, is a 1995 graduate of New York University’s School of Dentistry in Manhattan. He served a residency in general practice at the Interfaith Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY. In 1997, he began his practice in general dentistry on Manhattan’s upper east side. He worked part time in Brooklyn, NY for a nonprofit at the Brooklyn Plaza Family Health Center. In 2003, Dr. Watson relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area and started as an associate with Union Street Dental Care. In 2004, he founded South Beach Dental, a group practice in San Francisco’s mission bay area.

He has a great passion for giving to organizations which drive changes in our need to create a better, healthier and more livable environment. In 2014, Dr. Watson created an eco-friendly toothpaste called GoGreen, with a percentage of profits going to the San Francisco AIDS Foundation.

Links
To learn more about Markus’ dental practice or to try his toothpaste, check out these links:

• South Beach Dental
• Dr. Watson’s GoGreen Toothpaste