We often hear about bad bosses, but we think it’s important to talk about the good ones because we hope that by giving folks examples of how to be a good boss we can inspire future bosses to be better, to do better for their employees and all stakeholders.

Caroline Buendia

The best bosses and mentors I have ever had are three of the toughest, kindest and most authentic women in the film industry, together they form Cholawood Productions, Kate Del Castillo, Carmen Cervantes and Jessica Maldonado. I am grateful that they were my first bosses when I first stepped into the TV industry because their values and goals in the industry were the same as mine, they wanted to create shows that embraced and highlighted Latinx representation that avoided stereotypes with strong characters and great stories. They pushed me to not only meet and exceed in the skills the job required, but they always encouraged my personal and professional growth with advice, invaluable knowledgeable of the industry when I was new to it, trusted in my potential and created a space where I aways felt like I could speak up. Read more>>

Erin Argo

A leader in my life completely shifted the way I think about leadership and time management. She challenged a common phrase we all used: “I don’t have capacity.” Her perspective was simple but powerful, and it’s impacted how I spend every hour of my work week. Forty business hours a week is actually a lot of capacity. The real question is: How are we choosing to fill that time? She taught me to stop defaulting to busy-ness and start evaluating tasks based on strategic value, not just urgency. That mindset didn’t just change how I managed my time. Read more>>

Brandon Fox

Without question, the best boss I’ve ever had has to be my first one. Her name is Barbara, and my first job was being a sales associate at RadioShack. I was fresh out of high school, going to school part time, and was eager to begin my career. As someone new to the work force, and being an individual on the spectrum, some days were definitely challenging for me. Instead of being abrasive or dismissive to said challenges, she took the time to learn my quirks, and even found some solutions to problems I’d have in the store. Mind you, her background, like mine, was in computers, so we naturally clicked from the moment she interviewed me. But having a boss to give me the time of day, despite not being the easiest to initially train, was the best career launch I could’ve asked for. Read more>>

Heather Shelton

I used to work for a tv network and was in charge of creating online content, think tik tok before tik tok. I loved short form video and was pretty good at it. I loved capturing people’s personalities and the “in the moment” moments. Everyone in the office loved the content I created except my boss Kyle. Well that’s a pretty strong statement. Let’s just say, he liked it but wasn’t that impressed. He kept pushing me over and over to cut it down and I didn’t know why. He kept telling me to keep the viewer in mind and that they didn’t have context to our office shenanigans. Read more>>

Aubrey Derryberry

The most supportive boss I’ve ever had was at my first job out of college. I worked as a Living History Interpreter at the St. Augustine Lighthouse in Florida.

I got to spend a lot of time alone at the top of the lighthouse, writing in my journal. It was a very healing time for me, as I was just beginning to come into awareness of my traumatic history. Read more>>