What does Empowering Women in Industry mean to you? To me, Empowering Women means encouraging women to believe, deep down, that they don't have to change anything about themselves to be leaders.
How did you get started in your field? I got started working in the legal profession by having a passion for policy and regulations and going to law school. I got started as an entrepreneur by being so ridiculously mad at a problem (that there were no courses or quality resources specifically designed to help new mothers navigate the transition back to work after baby) that I felt compelled to solve it.
What do you love most about your job? What are you most proud of? I love being able to wear both legal and entrepreneurial hats - as both a partner at a law firm (on a 50% schedule), where I help hospitals sift through Medicare regulations and as the founder of a company called Mindful Return, that helps parents with the transition to working parenthood. I am most proud that of the 1,000+ new parents who have taken the Mindful Return program over the past 5 years, 85% are still with their same employer, and 93% are still in the workforce. I set out to help stop the leaky women's leadership pipeline that loses so many amazing people at the crossroads of parenthood, and the program I designed is truly working for the 65 employers that offer it as a benefit.
What advice would you give to someone considering this line of work? If you're considering being a lawyer, a love of words, order, reading, and precision comes in handy. If you're considering being an entrepreneur, you need to let go of the risk-aversion that can come with being a lawyer! To get a company off the ground, you have to believe in the long vision and be willing to be patient with the millions of baby steps it takes to get there.
Anything else you would like to add? Another thing I'm proud of is having written a book, called Back to Work After Baby: How to Plan and Navigate a Mindful Return from Maternity Leave (http://amzn.to/2lZJLm3). To anyone contemplating writing a book, I say: map out your writing process on a calendar in small, achievable increments, and then find an accountability partner to help you stick to the process!
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorimihalichlevin/ and https://www.linkedin.com/company/mindful-return/ Twitter: @mindfulreturn Instagram: @mindfulreturn Facebook: mindfulreturn Website: https://www.mindfulreturn.com