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For nine years, I worked in technology at a company whose  culture resembled a boys’ club. I was a cog in a big machine, where my ideas never made an impact on decisions that affected me and the outcomes I was working on. I learned the concept of “servant leadership,” which emphasizes empowering team members….

In a world that often stifles the unconventional, I’ve always embraced my role as a misfit and risk-taker. Defying norms has never been about validation for me. Instead, it’s a rebellion against the constraints that seek to define my flyness. We navigate a patriarchal landscape riddled with familiar biases and “isms,” and the arts, despite…

Can you imagine life without the ability to drive? In January 2011, I arrived in Seattle as a new immigrant, carrying uncertainty and hope. That same year I became a mother, far from my family in Mexico. I had no support system, was struggling in a low income household, and facing domestic violence. My first…

When I think about my journey in professional soccer, I see more than just games played, records set, or seasons completed. I see the obstacles, the fight for equality and sustainability, and the responsibility to leave the sport and the world better than I found it. Growing up in Upland, California, I fell in love…

My life has been a continuous story of overcoming the odds. As I grow older, my focus has shifted to the impact I will leave on this world — how I can make it better for my children and their children. As an immigrant growing up in New York City in the early ‘90s, I…

“You can have it all, just at the same time.” That’s what a mentor once told me, and for years, I believed it. But life has a way of teaching lessons, and I’ve come to realize that, with the right support system, one really can have it all — at the same time. For me,…

As a young girl, I spent several summers camping throughout the Western U.S. with my parents, both geologists, while my father did his fieldwork. It was then that I discovered science runs through my veins. Following that discovery, I took part-time jobs during my college and medical school years that serendipitously sparked my interest in…

I grew up in Cleveland, where “grit” is a way of life. It’s the steel-forged resilience of a city that has seen its share of hardship. It’s a place where economic and political power is complicated by poverty, demanding that residents have incredible fortitude to survive. My life and work today are the result of…

It wasn’t until I was in my early 30s that I realized I am the quintessential bias interrupter. I grew up being described as “rebellious” and “stubborn.” As an adult, I began renaming myself as “outspoken” and “assertive.” Indignance was in my blood as a hot-headed (excuse me, passionate) Korean American daughter of immigrants. I…