How She Does It

For Sesame Workshop CEO Sherrie Westin, there’s one question that rises above the rest.  “Is Sesame going to be here for the next generation of children?” Making sure favorites like Elmo, Big Bird, Abby Cadabby, and Grover continue their work educating kids is a responsibility she takes very seriously.  Over the past year, Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit behind the 56-year-old global phenomenon, faced what Westin called a “perfect storm.” There were federal funding cuts, the end of a distribution deal with Discovery / HBO Max, and the need to downsize the organization.  

Westin has guided Sesame Workshop through this moment with a determination to keep Sesame’s core mission of making kids “smarter, stronger and kinder” front and center. This season of Sesame Street kicked off a new distribution deal with Netflix and PBS, along with a greater focus on its philanthropic efforts. In our conversation, Westin shared her thoughts on Sesame's past and future, how her experience at ABC News and The White House influenced her leadership style, and how becoming a mother through the adoption of her daughter, Lily, profoundly changed her life.  

 💬 In this episode, we explore:

Sherrie Westin’s path to CEO of Sesame Workshop, and what made her finally decide to throw her hat into the ring

The global reach of Sesame Workshop and its work to support young children 

The impact of that famous 2024 tweet from Elmo asking, “How is everybody doing?"

What it’s like being “co-workers” with Oscar, Grover, Bert, Ernie, and more 

Westin’s favorite memories of celebrities who have visited Sesame Street 

Her advice for college graduates 

How she and her husband, David Westin, manage a busy, two-career household 

Resources:

🔗 Visit Sesme Workshop 

📸  Follow Sherrie Westin on LinkedIn

📸  Follow Sesame Workshop On Instagram

📸  Follow Sesame Street On TikTok

🎧 New episodes of How She Does It drop every Tuesday. Be sure to follow us so you never miss an episode
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Kristin Lemkau was thriving in her job as CMO of JPMorgan Chase, a job she thought would be her last, when CEO Jamie Dimon and his leadership team threw a new challenge her way.  They wanted the company to become more competitive in the wealth management space, and offered Lemkau the job as CEO of J.P. Morgan Wealth Management.  Despite some significant hurdles that would come with building the business, Lemkau took on the role in late 2019.  

A few years into this professional challenge, she experienced a tectonic shift in her personal life.  Lemkau’s husband, who had stayed at home with their two children, passed away.  Overnight, she became a single mom.  She found herself trying to figure out all the details of the family’s day-to-day life that he had handled, from multiple school apps, household bills, her kids’ sports schedule, and more. 

After taking some time off, her two teenagers encouraged her to return to work, where she thrived.  Under her leadership. J.P. Morgan Wealth Management has grown from  $500 billion to $1.3 trillion dollars in assets, an accomplishment she confidently takes credit for.    

”What I've done over the past six years was really, really hard.I genuinely believe a lot of people couldn't have done it. We had a lot of headwinds, but we did it,” Lemkau said. 

 💬 In this episode, we explore:

Why Kristin Lemkau said “yes” to the CEO job, despite really “loving” her marketing job and the people she worked with

Lemkau’s approach to re-making and growing the wealth management business 

How her personal loss has impacted the way she manages her team 

Her secret for getting a full-night’s sleep, and why that’s been so critical for her well-being 

Her thoughts on being the oldest of four very high-achieving siblings, and what about their upbringing may have helped them all to succeed

Some of the perks of working at JPMorgan, including being front and center for one of the wildest US Open Women’s Finals ever

Resources:

🔗 Visit J.P. Morgan Wealth Management 

📸  Follow @JPMorgan Wealth Management on Instagram

📸  Follow @JPMorgan Wealth Management on LinkedIn

🎧 New episodes of How She Does It drop every Tuesday. Be sure to follow us so you never miss an episode
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Kecia Steelman was a 20-year-old single mom living in government housing when she faced a realization: if she wanted a better life, it was up to her.  She became determined to find a job where she could learn and grow.  From the men’s department at Target, she buckled down, worked holidays and weekends, and transformed what started as an $8 an hour gig into something much more. She built a career path that would lead her to become one of the most powerful women in the beauty business. 

On this episode of How She Does It, Kecia opens up about her first year as CEO at ULTA Beauty, the country’s largest beauty retailer.   With 30 years of retail experience, including almost five years as ULTA Beauty’s COO, she was able to take on this new challenge and “hit the ground running.”  From expanding the brand into international markets to working closely with brand founders like Beyoncé, Kylie Jenner, Paris Hilton, and more, the company has seen growth across both their e-commerce and retail sales.  

 💬 In this episode, we explore:

Kecia’s rollout of ULTA Beauty’s most recent strategy, from the C-Suite to the employees on the sales floor

The approach Kecia takes when it comes to setting expectations for Wall Street 

What her “best day” and “worst day” working in retail look like

The three factors Kecia looks for when making a new hire

What happens when Kecia visits an Ulta Beauty store unannounced 

The profound way Kecia’s mother inspired her 

Resources:

🔗 Visit Ulta.com

📸  Follow Kecia Steelman on Instagram 

📸  Follow Kecia Steelman on LinkedIn

📸  Follow Ulta Beauty on Instagram 

🎧 New episodes of How She Does It drop every Tuesday. Be sure to follow us so you never miss an episode
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We’re all likely to encounter some change in life that’s unwelcome:  a scary health diagnosis, the end of a relationship, the loss of a job, or the end of a dream.  Maya Shankar, PhD, deeply understands the concept of change and offers a roadmap for navigating it.   

She is a cognitive scientist and Senior Director of Behavioral Economics at Google.  But she is perhaps best known for her side gig: being the creator and host of the award-winning podcast A Slight Change of Plans.  Her fascination with how we navigate change started when she was a teen, and a hand injury forced her to give up her dream of becoming a professional violinist. 

In this episode, Maya speaks with Karen about that first pivot as well as some difficult challenges she faced later, and how she has built a successful career teaching others how to learn from the unexpected.  It’s all in her New York Times Bestseller, “The Other Side Of Change: Who We Become When Life Makes Other Plans.”  

 💬 In this episode, we explore:

Maya’s biggest piece of advice for transitioning through change: finding your “why”

Tools that can be helpful during the most difficult periods of change 

How Maya’s mother taught her the importance of the cold call / cold email (or, in her mom’s case, the cold drop-by-Julliard) 

Maya’s view of imposter syndrome and how one can leverage it into becoming better at your job 

Resources:🔗 Visit Dr. Maya Shankar’s website 

📕 For Information on “The Other Side of Change: Who We Become When Life Makes Other Plans.”

📸  Follow Maya Shakar on Instagram 

📸  Follow Maya Shakar on X

🎧 Listen to A Slight Change of Plans 

📸  Follow Riverhead Books on Instagram 

🎧 New episodes of How She Does It drop every Tuesday. Be sure to follow us so you never miss an episode
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“I don’t sweep the floor with my uterus,” asserts Corinne Low, Associate Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy at the Wharton School at The University of Pennsylvania.  It’s a stark statement, but her underlying point is to urge men and women to re-examine gender roles around the work needed to maintain a home and family: cooking, cleaning, making the kids’ doctor’s appointments, and so on.  

Low was on the tenure track when her first marriage fell apart.  She was overwhelmed with her job, a bad commute, a new infant, and housework. She was the higher earner of the couple, and the division of labor at home felt way too lopsided.  So she used her know-how as an economist to study the data on how men and women divide tasks at home and develop strategies for how couples can create a system that’s fair.  

Today, Low is a tenured professor and is remarried to a woman. (She notes that it is not a prescription for everyone, but it works for her.) She writes about her research and her experience in HAVING IT ALL: What Data Tells Us About Women’s Lives and Getting the Most Out of Yours, which is a USA Today National Best Seller and an Amazon Best Nonfiction Book of the Year.

💬 In this episode, we explore:

How to approach a conversation with a partner about re-allocating work around the house 

Why parents today are feeling “the squeeze” - when time pressures and money pressures hit at the same time - more than previous generations.

What concerns Low about the “tradwife” trend

Questions to ask yourself about your career path to determine if it’s compatible with the life you want outside of work 

Why a job with “boundaries” is better for women than a job with “flexibility.” 

🔗 Visit Corinne Low’s website

📕 Find out more about Corinne Low’s book: HAVING IT ALL

📸 Follow Corinne Low on Instagram 

📸 Follow Corinne Low on Substack

📸 Follow Corinne Low on LinkedIn

📸 Follow the show on Instagram: @hsdipodcast🎧 New episodes of How She Does It drop every Tuesday. Be sure to follow us so you never miss an episode
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