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.

Dr. Michelle Cromwell

I had been in higher Ed for about 18 years and the last 7 as vice president in diversity equity and inclusion. I had moved to Arizona for a new job and after a year it was just feeling as hard as the rocks in the desert. The November of that year I was doing a class with one of my favorite rainforest herbalists on medical astrology and during the class the teacher asked me if I was in the healing arts. My ego answered that I was a vice president at a medical school. But my heart and gut knew the real answer to that question. I had been in the healing arts for over 13 years as a yogi, reiki mater teachers and intuitive healer, but had been doing it hush hush and hidden because I was ashamed to let my colleagues know that the “I” the respected academic and c-suite executive was dabbling in traditional medicine. Read more>>

Meg Margaret Noffsinger

Going through a divorce is scary, uncertain and very uncomfortable, but on the other side is freedom. It is the same for starting a business. Serendipitously, these two events collided in the same year for me.
I was working in a business while also starting a business. Life felt expansive and exciting! However, as my home life began to crack, I held onto work and routine for support. It was this time I got a glimpse into struggles women have been fighting for a long time that I had somehow previously escaped. Read more>>

Troy Alston

In my senior year of college, I was in peak condition, preparing for the Walt Disney World Track and Field Invitational in the 400-meter hurdles. Since my university didn’t have a synthetic track, our coach painted lines on the grass soccer field to create one. Grass doesn’t return energy the way a track does, so running fast on that surface meant I’d be even faster on a proper track. I was flying through a hurdle workout, feeling strong—until, on my second-to-last rep, I felt a POP in my trail leg (the last leg over the hurdle). Read more>>

Valentine Valdovinos

Looking back to the budding inception of my career is where I think I’d find the most heartwarming story. I was a 14 year old kid growing up in East Los Angeles. The community in which I grew up was predominantly Latinx, it had not yet been gentrified so the median/mean household income was not very high. Truth be told, statistically there were seldom great expectations of any of the youth in this community. My odds were stacked against me even further. I was beginning to learn who I really was; and it was at odds with my community, culture, family’s religious background, and social norms/conventions. Read more>>

Nilouphar Zahedi

There was a moment—sacred and wild—that split my life in two. Not in the way tragedies do, but in the way divine interventions arrive: quietly disruptive, tenderly unapologetic, and utterly life-altering.

I had spent years walking a path that made sense on paper—a professional one shaped by science, structure, and service. Read more>>

Callie Hodge

As a retired federal employee, I knew that I wanted to retire before I actually did however, I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life once I did. I’m still young so I didn’t want to just “sit around.” I didn’t know what a doula was until my church had the opportunity to co-sponsor a Community Baby Shower with MOM TOURS. While attending the meetings, we were educated on what a doula is and how important their work/presence is in the birthing space. When we were told that they had just receive a grant to train/certify more Black doulas, I immediately signed up. Part of the certification was to attend three births from prenatal through postpartum. That experience changed everything for me. Read more>>

Jade Vincent

I’ve had several defining moments in my professional career, but one lives rent-free in my head.
Around the time I was transitioning to working at a Taekwondo school and taking on my first clients, I met a pre-teen student. Let’s call him Jim. Jim was a kind-hearted individual with autism. Unfortunately this made him a target for bullies.
I had been working with Jim on a Judo throw to counter a punch. To make sure he had the technique down, I had him practice throwing me at least 25 times per session over the course of two months. Read more>>

Shelly Qualtieri

Yes, there was a defining moment that completely shifted the trajectory of my career.

For years, I worked in the not-for-profit sector, deeply committed to helping others, but I found myself under the leadership of someone who made the environment incredibly challenging. Over time, I became burnt out. I was exhausted, overwhelmed by negativity, and unsure of what to do next. I realized that not only was I no longer fulfilled at work, but the stress was also spilling over into every part of my life. I wasn’t showing up as the mom, wife, or friend I wanted to be, and my own self-care had completely disappeared. Despite giving so much, I didn’t feel appreciated, and the spark that had led me into the mental health field in the first place was fading. Read more>>

Niketa Pechan

A defining moment in my professional career came when I hosted a Juneteenth event called Diaspora Rooted. For years, I worked as a clinical social worker under the mindset that we’re here to help but not necessarily to thrive. I thought I had to accept whatever came my way. But during that event, as I stood in community, bridging the Black diaspora through food, music, and conversation, something clicked. I realized I was in my natural element—listening, asking questions, holding space for people to share their cultural stories. That experience showed me that my work could expand beyond the therapy room. I could use my skills to elevate culture, wellness, and belonging in ways that also sustain me. Read more>>

Jennifer

I had just completed my Reiki 1 training. While practicing on my cousin Annie, I felt the strong presence of her deceased father (my uncle) in the room. I also had a clear vision of Annie’s younger son, who was a teenager at the time, injuring his shoulder during a baseball game. It felt as though her dad was coming through to give a warning about his grandson. I didn’t know what to do with this information, but needed to trust what was happening. So, I told her everything. A week later she called and told me that her son injured his shoulder sliding into second base. Also, she had been thinking of her dad at the exact moment it happened in the game! That was a big validation for me. I knew then that my gift was real. Read more>>

Lizzy Gevers

Last year I turned 30. I had two losses at the PFL tournament and I questionsd myself. Should I just stop, get married and have kids. But I realized that’s not me I wasn’t happy doing that! I had this lil fire inside that told me there is more to achieve. I didn’t want to live with regrets and decided to go for the all-or-nothing. I quit my job and left to Miami Florida. I live upstairs in a small bedroom and train every day to become the best version of me. April 11 I had my first fight in USA and won that fight with an armbar. Read more>>

Lissette Cancel

Yes, without a doubt. The defining moment in my career wasn’t a job offer, a title, or even a breakthrough performance. It was a billboard. There was a time when I was in a dark and painful season of my life. I had lost my business, gone through a divorce, and convinced myself that I was too old to dream again. The voice in my head told me I was behind, unworthy, and that I had missed my moment. I felt stuck trapped in fear, regret, and self-doubt. Then one day, I saw a billboard of an older woman graduating from college. Something about that image struck me deeply. In that instant, I thought, if she can do it, why not me? That was the sign I was looking for, it sparked something inside of me. Read more>>