Pave Her Way

Mercedes Swan is the Career Love Coach and creates empowering and safe places for high-performing and purpose driven Black women. She is a business and career coach for Black Women across the US, leveraging her expertise as a certified HR Professional (SHRM-CP), executive recruiter, and DEIB champion. It's her passion to see more Black Women find bliss personally and professionally and her mission is to close the pay, promotion and inclusion gap. 

Mercedes holds a Master’s degree in management and a Bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Florida.  Mercedes has 8+ years of experience as an...

Urmi is a self-published author, speaker, blogger, and podcast host who works in the financial services industry in Canada. She holds both the CFA and CAIA designations and is deeply passionate about empowering women through mentorship, education, and public speaking.

Her book, Discovering Your Identity: A Rebirth from Interracial Struggle, reflects her journey as a third-culture kid navigating questions of identity, culture, and belonging. Through her writing and lived experiences, Urmi aims to create spaces for honest conversations around representation and self-discovery. She also hosts the podcast Stories Beyond Borders, which amplifies diverse voices and stories on...

Nina is a proud wife, mother, grandmother, entrepreneur, and community leader whose life is deeply rooted in faith, family, and service. She is the oldest of three daughters, a role that taught her early about leadership, compassion, and perseverance. Nina’s entrepreneurial spirit was shaped by the example of her parents, who broke barriers in their own right. Her mother made history in their hometown as the first Black woman and first woman to own and operate an auto body shop, where she skillfully repaired and restored vehicles with determination and pride. Her father was a DJ, whose deep lo...

Pave Her Way closed the year with our Season One recap, reflecting on conversations with our twelve incredible guests, the lessons we learned, and the growth along the way. We are deeply grateful to our guests and listeners for making the 2025 season so meaningful, and we can’t wait to share the exciting guest lineup we have planned for 2026. Thank you for your continued support and for being part of our journey.

Follow Pave Her Way Podcast on Instagram @paveherwaypodcast. Subscribe to Pave Her Way podcast on your favorite streaming platform on Apple, Spotify and Amazon Music.

 Erin is an executive career coach and a senior sales leader at Amazon, known for helping high-achieving women step into leadership with clarity, confidence, and an authentic sense of self. With more than a decade of experience leading strategic sales and account teams, she has built her career at the intersection of performance, people development, and purposeful growth.

 At Amazon, Erin leads a national strategic account organization responsible for driving adoption and growth across some of the largest commercial customers in the US. She has shaped global account management strategy, built scalable leadership frameworks, and coached managers an...

Sabrena is a powerhouse in the world of career transformation. With over 30 years of experience in recruiting, workforce development, and career coaching, she has helped thousands of professionals pivot with confidence, overcome self-doubt, and secure roles aligned with their purpose. She’s the founder of HelloHired™, an AI-powered career coaching platform designed to meet professionals wherever they are—whether they're burned out, laid off, or simply ready for more.

Sabrena is also the author of "Burn Your Exit Route: How to Leave a Soul-Sucking Job and Build a Career You Love," and she’s on a mission to disru...

Karen Wilkins-Mickey is the VP of Diversity Equity & Inclusion, entering her fifth season with the Seattle Seahawks. Karen is the Seahawks first Vice President of diversity, equity, and inclusion.  Prior to joining the Seattle Seahawks, Karen worked for several Pacific NW companies including Alaska Air Group, Microsoft and Expedia in Senior Global Diversity and Inclusion Strategy roles.
 
Karen earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from California State University, Chico and recently completed the McKinsey Black Executive Leadership Program where she represented a cohort of Black leaders at Alaska Air Group with peers across various industries. Karen Kare...

Nicole is a marketing leader and AI ethics expert with over 25 years of experience driving growth, innovation, and operational excellence at the intersection of marketing, technology, and data analytics. She serves as an adjunct Professor of Marketing and Technology at New York University.

 Nicole has held pivotal leadership roles, including Global Head of Marketing at Meta, SVP of Innovation at Ipsos, and VP of Innovation for Greater China at Nielsen. As a strategic consultant, she has guided organizations across diverse industries through digital transformation and innovation, including in Tech, Automotive, CPG, Healthcare, Retail, and Finance—.

A p...

Corliss is a senior level Applied Scientist and Technical Product leader who has worked at top Fortune 100 companies in many leadership roles and partnered across different functions to drive overall strategy development and brand growth.

 Currently, she serves as Head of Technical Product and PMO for Amazon Transportation Operations Mgmt Tech. In this role she and her team are responsible for developing the strategy to efficiently move products through the ecosystem, by optimizing all inputs such as labor, automation, equipment and technology. 

Prior to joining Amazon, she spent 20+ years in several Strategy, Tech, Applied Science, In...

Seven years ago, Carmen started her real estate business from scratch. Within her first year, she ranked in the top 1% of her field, brought her engineer husband on full-time, and grew her team to four full-time employees. Her success came from embracing challenges, leveraging smart strategies, and surrounding herself with a goal-driven community. By focusing on community engagement, social media, and the high-contact nature of real estate, she has built a powerful brand and become a top choice for clients—always delivering value, building relationships, and helping everyone win together.

You can connect with Carmen Reese on In...

Suzanna Finnegan Guyton, a Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor with over twenty years of experience. Suzanna deeply values creating a safe, chill place for her clients to find their authentic, congruent self. We all, at times, create barriers/discrepancies which prevent us from going towards the life we want. With the counselor-client rapport being the driving force, Suzanna assists clients discover what and who is most important in their life. It sounds simple, yet trauma, insecurities, defense mechanisms, etc. blur our value system (who and what is most important) which is how barriers manifest— and then enter said client not go...

She is a proud product of immigrant parents from Jamaica and Costa Rica who instilled in her the curiosity and independence to build and tinker with her father working as a machinist and mother working as a carpenter for over 25+ years each. She is currently a Sr Manager of Software Development at Amazon, leading diverse teams of software managers, engineers, and program managers to deliver $1B+ in revenue. Prior to Amazon she was a Sr Software Engineer and Technical Product Manager at IBM where she was awarded 4 U.S. patents working on social applications for the workforce and improving...

Tiffany McCullough CPSD, EMBA is a Global Supplier Inclusion professional with a career spanning over 15 years. She has led successful programs at Marathon Petroleum, NRG Energy, Skanska, Amazon, Amazon Web Services and currently the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Tiffany recently launched Mark It Better, LLC. to assist small businesses and nonprofits with fine-tuning their approach to winning proposals, grants, and access to capital. 

Tiffany has opened doors of opportunity for diverse-owned businesses globally surpassing $1B dollars. Tiffany's commitment to the economic empowerment of underrepresented businesses has earned her recognition as Outstanding Professional, Business Advocate of the Year, E...

Gloria Allorbi is the vibrant force behind Gloria’s Shito, embodying a rich tapestry of cultural influences. Born in Ghana, nurtured in Glasgow, and blossomed in New Jersey, she’s now weaving her magic in Los Angeles. 

A maestro in cosmetic chemistry, Gloria's artistry has graced major brands like L’Oréal USA and Paul Mitchell. Yet, it's her passion for good food that truly defines her. Gloria's Shito is more than a culinary venture; it's a love language that breaks barriers and unites hearts globally. From crafting ingredients to forging connections, Gloria's journey is a tribute to the u...

Barbara is a Fortune 100 strategic, and results driven executive recognized for transforming and leading large-scale revenue teams to achieve double-digit YoY growth across diverse industries and competitive markets. 

 She currently leads 100 sales professionals in Avanade's $1.5B Accenture Microsoft Business Group in the US, providing customers innovative digital, cloud and advisory services, sustainable industry solutions and design-led experiences across the Microsoft ecosystem. Avanade is an Accenture and Microsoft-owned company.

An advocate for professional women, She co-founded the Amazon Business Women’s Advocacy Circle (WAC) in 2020 to promote a more inclusive workplace for women. This resulted in 300% YoY...

In this episode, you will learn more about the co-hosts and what inspired them to start this podcast! 

Crystal Howard and Anna McDonagh met while working together at Amazon. As two women in sales, their collective passion for equity and inclusion brought them together. Today, Crystal is a fulltime DEI professional, while Anna continues to pursue her career in sales.

Crystal and Anna launched "Pave Her Way" to shine a light on women who are trailblazers in their field, especially those who work to lift others as they climb. Our hope is that listening to t...