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.

Zoe Schroeder

A defining moment in my professional career actually happened long before I ever became a dietitian. In college, I struggled with my own relationship with food and exercise. I was caught in that exhausting cycle of over‑restriction, over‑exercising, and constantly trying to “fix” my body with extreme diets that only left me feeling worse, physically and mentally. Read More>>

Tim Beagle

Absolutely, there was a defining moment that changed everything about the direction of my career, my values, and ultimately, my life. Before entering the mental health field, I spent a decade working in logistics for an international shipping company. I had worked my way up to managing over 150 indirect reports, with five supervisors reporting directly to me. Read More>>

Kimmy Braget

A defining moment in my career came 21 years into working in retail leadership as a multi-unit manager. On paper, it was a successful career. I had grown teams, received awards, led with intention, and built something I was proud of. But internally, I started feeling a steady pull toward something deeper. It wasn’t dramatic, it was subtle. Read More>>

Darrell Jones

Letting go of what was in order to embrace what is becoming. This had happened at multiple times in life. Divorce, career shift/change, returning to school for higher education. Read More>>

steffani salter

Most people’s entrepreneurial journey begins by walking away from something they hate—a job that drains them, a boss who doesn’t see them, or a system that suffocates their potential. Mine began by walking away from something I loved. The moment that changed the trajectory of my career came disguised as success. Read More>>

Eboni Matthews

I’ve always had a passion for helping others. I’ve had the opportunity to work with so many populations, and I’ve found it to be so rewarding. It wasn’t until I became a mother, and was challenged with balancing my roles as wife, new mom, and professional, that I struggled with understanding who I was becoming. Read More>>

Patrina Dow

A defining moment for us with the HLC Maternal and Family Mental Health Research Center came when my twin sister Dr. Latrina Thomas and I realized that there was a strong need in the community that wasn’t being met through traditional approaches. Hearing directly from families and the community about what they were struggling with, mental health access, childcare, stability, food insecurity… Read More>>

Anne Brendle

Nearly three years ago I woke up in a hospital bed, recovering from my second brain surgery in three weeks, My overwhelming emotion was a deep sense of gratitude – not just for the excellent medical care I received, but for the strength and resilience I had cultivated long before that moment. I knew I would not only recover but that I had the capacity to come back stronger than ever. Read More>>