037: Moms in Government Relations + Public Affairs, Part II
Parents At Work
In this episode of Parents at Work, Lori Mihalich-Levin and Jason Levin interview Jewelyn Cosgrove, a government affairs professional in Washington D.C. Jewelyn currently serves Melwood, a 501(c)(3) organization serving people with disabilities, as the Vice President of government relations, bringing with her 15 years of experience in public policy, lobbying, and advocacy. Outside of work, Jewelyn is passionate about elevating the needs of mothers and families and serves as the treasurer of Raising Our Future Political Action Committee, a PAC that’s aimed at electing congressional candidates...
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036: Dads in Government Relations + Public Affairs
Parents At Work
In this episode of Parents at Work, Lori Mihalich-Levin and Jason Levin interview two working dads who work in government relations: Clif Porter and Jeff McNichols. Clif is the Senior Vice President of government relations at the American Healthcare Association (AHCA) and the National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL), which represents more than 14,000 for-and not-for-profit nursing homes, assisted living residences, and facilities for the care of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. He has been married for 31 years and has three children (Chanel, 28,...
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035: Moms in Government Relations + Public Affairs, Part I
Parents At Work
In this episode of Parents at Work, Lori Mihalich-Levin and Jason Levin interview Nedra Pickler. Nedra is a partner at the global public affairs firm, Finsbury Glover Hering, where she advises clients on communications strategy, including crisis communications, reputation management, thought leadership, and brand awareness. She brings deep perspective from inside the media after 17 years at The Associated Press and as a commentator on television and radio. Nedra covered the George W. Bush and Barack Obama presidencies, and the 2004 and 2008 presidential campaigns. Nedra is a single...
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34: Welcome Our New Parents at Work Co-Host!
Parents At Work
In this episode of Parents at Work, Lori welcomes to the podcast her husband and new co-host, Jason Levin, MBA. Jason is the founder of Ready Set Launch, LLC where he helps organizations, professional associations, executives and lawyers with career transition and business development needs through outplacement, individual coaching, training and webinars. Jason comes on as a guest to share his own experience with parenting (during a pandemic!) while also holding down a job and working for himself in his own business. Jason shares some empowering and actionable tips on everything from how...
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33: An Interview with Podcast Founder Tom Spiggle
Parents At Work
Being a working parent can be a long and intimidating journey, but we are fortunate to live in a time when there is an array of resources to support you on your path. Today’s guest is none other than Tom Spiggle, founder of the Parents at Work Podcast and Spiggle Law, an employment law firm. Co-host Lori Mihalich-Levin interviews Tom about his inspiration for starting the podcast, as well as his own personal journey as a working parent. Join Lori and Tom in this conversation for tips on how to navigate your working parent journey and to say farewell to Tom in his co-host role. Show...
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32: Engineer Dads
Parents At Work
In today’s episode, Tom Spiggle and Lori Mihalich-Levin interview two engineer dads about their experience as working parents. We are joined by Matt Jensen, Business Owner and Senior Project Manager at Kimley-Horn, who has been an engineer manager and structural design specialist for over 20 years. We were also joined by Paul Andrukonis, Director of Personalization for Citi’s US Consumer Digital organization. Both dads share what it’s like to be a parent in the engineering field, as well as the cultural shifts that have been happening in the workplace. They discuss the importance...
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31: Engineer Moms
Parents At Work
What is it like to be a mom in a field where only 15% of practitioners are women? In this episode of the Parents at Work Podcast, we interview Dhruva Lahon and Victoria Hills, who share what it’s like to be working mom engineers. They talk about the experience of being managed, of managing others, and of parenting during COVID. They also share how they found supports in this male-dominated field, along with how they leaned on family and friends and adopted flexible hours. Join Tom Spiggle and Lori Mihalich-Levin in this knowledge-filled and inspiring...
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30: Mental Health Dads
Parents At Work
Being a working parent looks different for every career, every family, and every parent. In today’s episode, Robin Smith, licensed marriage and family therapist shares his experience as a working dad in the mental health field. He shares wise insights, including the self-inflected pressure that can occur as a parent from having heightened awareness as a mental health professional, the shifts happening due to COVID-19, what it looks like to have grace and compassion for yourself and your children, and the many elements of being self-employed. Join Tom Spiggle and Lori Mihalich-Levin in this...
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29: Mental Health Moms
Parents At Work
This month, we’re focusing on moms and dads in the mental health field. And today we‘re delighted to be joined by two working moms who are mental health professionals, Dr. Elizabeth Allen and Dr. Aimee Danielson, to talk about navigating life as a working parent. Dr. Elizabeth Allen is an assistant professor of psychology and clinical psychiatry, and she’s also an assistant attending psychologist. She specializes in treating adolescents and young adults with anxiety disorders and OCD. Liz lives in New York, and she’s the mom of two girls, ages one and three. Dr. Aimee Danielson...
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28: Shifting From Work to Work From Home
Parents At Work
COVID-19 has seemingly shifted everything about our work force and our family dynamics. As many of us are working from home and have children who are also now occupying that space, it can be a process to find a routine that works for everyone. Today Tom Spiggle and co-host Lori Mihalich-Levin share what has worked for them in their shift to working from home and actionable tips for parents to find some small amount of sanity in their work and parenting.. Join Tom and Lori to learn more about how you can integrate a schedule and use connections to make your at-home experience as...
info_outlineIn this episode of Parents at Work, Lori Mihalich-Levin and Jason Levin interview Nedra Pickler. Nedra is a partner at the global public affairs firm, Finsbury Glover Hering, where she advises clients on communications strategy, including crisis communications, reputation management, thought leadership, and brand awareness. She brings deep perspective from inside the media after 17 years at The Associated Press and as a commentator on television and radio. Nedra covered the George W. Bush and Barack Obama presidencies, and the 2004 and 2008 presidential campaigns.
Nedra is a single mother to two amazing young boys and has successfully managed to thrive in her career despite the numerous challenges and bumps in the road that come with juggling the two. From constantly travelling on the campaign trail as a journalist covering presidential politics to dealing with different working parent challenges in the different roles she’s held throughout her career, Nedra has always found ways to make sure that she strikes some kind of balance between work and parenting her boys.
In this conversation, she talks about the advantages of working in public relations as a working parent and expresses her concerns about the issue of paid leave in America. At the end of this episode, you’ll have learned so much about how you can make it work as a working parent in a way that suits you and your kids, so don’t miss out.
Show Highlights
- The working parent challenge of being on the campaign trail as a journalist covering presidential politics (03:01)
- How her mum “The Granny Nanny” enabled her to thrive in her career (04:16)
- Transitioning from journalism into government relations and some of the positive surprises that came with it (05:21)
- Why working in public affairs and government relations may just be the best job for you as a working parent (10:10)
- Types of workplace supports that were helpful for her as a parent (11:56)
- The value of having the one day a week work at home day and the need for paid leave in America (15:17)
- Why you should get the Gizmo Watch for your kids (18:53)
- Making sure you spend quality time with your kids, not being too hard on yourself and lowering your expectations (20:40)
Links and Resources