Five Reasons to Get Out There Today

Five Reasons to Get Out There Today

It’s been a while since I’ve postedl. I know, not great for business consistency, but amazing for my soul.

My family kicked off the summer with a wedding in Norway. We spent most of our time in the Arctic Circle, on the island of Tromso, then onto Sommaroy for nuptials on a white sandy beach. With a year-round population of about 400 people, it is a magical place: Breathtaking mountain views, pristine air, aquamarine ocean, and the fjords, the fjords! And during the summer, it’s the land of the midnight sun. (more…)

Creativity, Opera and Bodice Ripping: A Conversation with Singer Maren Montalbano

Marian Montalbano, opera singer, business coach and writer whose voice appears on not one, not two, but three Grammy Award-winning albums. When her one-woman show got sidelined during Covid-19, Maren created a podcast based on the show called the Bodice Ripper Project. The podcast of the same name is an exploration of sexuality, feminism and the journey to self-empowerment. through the lens of romance novels. Maren has sung at Carnegie Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall in LA, multiple theaters in Europe and even performed on stage with the Rolling Stones. Here’s an excerpt of our conversation, previously recorded on my Embark podcast. (more…)

Revising A Dream When Adversity Hits: A Conversation with DIYMFA’s Gabriela Pereira

Gabriella Pereira is the founder of DIYMFA, an online writing community and a virtual alternative to the traditional MFA creative writing program. When she was 24, Gabriela received the life-changing diagnosis of bipolar disorder. Last week on my podcast Embark, she shared her story in the hope this conversation sparks more conversations about the stigma we attach to mental illness, and how we can change the language around it. The following is an excerpt of that conversation. (more…)

Making the Workplace More Human


Stela Lupushor is on a mission to humanize the workplace. She consults with the Conference Board’s Fortune 500 corporations members on rethinking workplace strategies. She leads Reframed.Work Incorporated, and consults on how to create inclusive workplaces, the use of technology, human centered design, people analytics and future thinking. In 2018 Stella founded Amazing Community, a nonprofit that expands the work horizon for women 45-plus. She has transformed the workplace at the intersection of technology analytics and human resources at Fidelity Investments, TIAA, IBM Price Waterhouse and PwC Consulting and their clients.  Here’s an edited version of the audio interview you can hear in its entirety and subscribe at embarkthepodcast.com

LS: Stella tell us about your work with reframe.

SL: I [had worked] in management consulting with organizations to help them transform their IT infrastructure, think of a different way to improve processes or service delivery models or come up with new strategies. (more…)

In Defense of #Procrastibaking

When I was in college, I approached projects as any self-respecting student would: I waited until the last possible moment to start my research, then craft a lengthy essay on the lesser-known works of Chaucer, or argue the merits of Kant’s moral theories.

It did not go well.

At the crack of midnight, I was bent over texts that could double as door stops, studiously writing away. By two a.m., curled snail-like on the sofa, energy depleted, eyes bloodshot, brain lacking in conscious thought I lay still until creative inspiration kicked in.

My next move? (more…)