Ampersand Women

Katharine Smyth on owning her identity as a writer, writing about family, and overcoming loss.

Psychologist Emma Seppälä is an authority on the science of happiness. Here are some life-changing lessons she’s learned in her work at Stanford and Yale.

Alex Capano is a nurse practitioner with a doctorate in medical cannabis science. Here, she talks about breaking new ground in healthcare, pushing through career blues, and finding an outlet for her entrepreneurial spirit.

Why the former banker walked away from her 17-year career to create Luminary, a new space for women to work, connect, and invest in themselves.

The author of “No One Tells You This” and co-founder of TheLi.st talks about friendship, age, shame, and why more women should share stories about all of the above.

The Texas-based nephrologist and West Point grad lived over six decades as a man. Then she had an awakening that left her with no choice but to transition — and educate others about her process.

How Jenny Kaplan and Shira Atkins turned a close friendship into a thriving business partnership.

Ruth Zukerman, Co-founder of SoulCycle and Flywheel, on How Therapy Made Her a Better Leader

Dr. Alexandra Sacks shines a light on the taboo topics of motherhood: issues with body image, sex, guilt, and shame. Here, she talks about discovering what women weren’t talking about — and bringing it out in the open.

You’re distracted and stressed all the time? Alexis Pokorny built her career on helping people to deal with it.

Melanie Elturk became a human rights lawyer at 23. Now she’s the CEO of Haute Hijab, a leading brand of hijabs for Muslim women.

Kimberly Churches, the CEO of the American Association of University Women (committed to empowering women since 1881!), believes in the power of short to-do lists and daily three-word mantras.

The managing director of Cleo Capital on building her network and how she got her start in the VC world.

The professor of Japanese literature and culture talks anime, fashion, and what it was like to be the only woman in her department.

Madeline Di Nonno, the CEO of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, always knew she wanted to be an executive — but getting there was another story.

How the CEO of the Roosevelt Institute found her calling in the “real world.”

Plastic surgery resident Carrie Stern decided to take a year “off” — and started a company instead. Now she juggles both. (Just don’t ask her for Botox.)

The bestselling author of 24 (soon to be 25) novels isn’t afraid to make readers uncomfortable: “It’s because I’m doing my job to challenge them.”

The CEO and “Leapfrog” author talks burnout, “retiring” from tech, and the importance of daily vacations.

How to change laws, befriend people you admire, and gracefully exit your failed startup, courtesy of entrepreneur Jacqueline Boltik.

The banker-slash-hacker on rising through two notorious boys’ clubs—finance and tech—and co-founding her new blockchain startup, Clovyr.