Stories are incredibly powerful – their ability to teach, inspire, and create understanding is why we are so in love with storytelling. Most stories have a defining moment and so we’ve asked some of the most talented, insightful folks across a broad range of industries and markets to tell us about a defining moment in their story.
Priyanka Gupta
My mother sent me to learn yoga in 1994 from the Sivananda Lineage as a way to handle the stresses of being a teenager. The epiphanic moment didn’t come until I did a 10 day vipassana meditation. This allowed me to take both my personal yoga practice and teaching to a deeper level. Read more>>
Kelley Coleman
My career has made a huge shift, and one that I never expected. I had a successfully (and quite fun) career developing talking animal movies. Yes, that’s really a job. I had transitioned to screenwriting, and was at the most successful part of my career yet when I walked away on a moment’s notice, without ever looking back. No doubt many parents can relate to this. I have two amazing boys, and they were very young at the time. Read more>>
Kaylene Logan
From the age of 5, I was determined to be a physician, a pediatrician to be exact. In college, I first learned of child sex trafficking, and wondered how an Obstetrician/Gynecologist might be better suited to serve that population. I completed my residency training in OB/GYN eleven years ago, and after the first few years of practice, scaled back to make space for motherhood, a gap which also allowed me time to serve a local anti-trafficking organization. The onset of COVID-19 during my third pregnancy pushed me into a variety of directions I hadn’t been expecting. Read more>>
Ronnie Loaiza
Defining Moment – Ronnie Lo Life Coach, aka Ronnie Loaiza When asked if there was a defining moment in my professional journey that significantly impacted my career path, dozens of seemingly countless memories flashed through my mind. But my thoughts always, return to what I now believe, was my first pivotal moment. I was 19 or 20 years old, clueless, and had no career. I was doing a summer semester at UCLA, majoring in the vaguest of fields – Mass Communication. It was what people chose when they weren’t sure what to do. Read more>>
Kaleigh Rogers, Lcsw
In September 2023 I experienced a moment that changed the trajectory of my career and has since impacted countless lives. The backstory starts back in 2014 when I served in community mental health as a trauma therapist. Picture a residential facility of over 80 youth from all over Arizona seeking healing and life change from overdose, suicide, depression, and violence. You can only imagine their lived experiences that brought them there. I loved those kids. They faced trauma, pain, and life change with tremendous courage. How could I ever leave? Read more>>
Kelli Russell
I started out in Psychology and talk therapy (Marriage & Family Therapy) and found that though it’s nice to be heard by an impartial sounding board, and gain insights, it is not that effective in creating changes. A little over a decade ago my best friend had a hiking accident and hurt her back/was airlifted off the mountain. She was in pain for two years and tried everything to heal it, including a gnarly surgery. The pain didn’t go away. Read more>>
Charlene Johnson
I have experienced three defining moments that have profoundly changed the trajectory of my career: Burnout and Renewal (2010): After over 30 years as a nurse and nurse leader, by 2010, I found myself burnt out and on the verge of leaving the profession. However, my organization introduced the theory of Caring Science by Dr. Jean Watson, which reignited my passion for nursing. This led me to become a coach, where I began to reignite the passion of other healthcare workers. The content I developed during this time has since been transformational, particularly in helping the wounded and mentally exhausted nurses post-pandemic. Today, my curriculum is being utilized across the entire Northern region, continuing to make a lasting impact. Read more>>