Everything Counts

In this episode, Kristin talks with Nicole—a literature PhD, high school teacher, and maker—about what happens when the life you worked toward doesn’t turn out the way you expected.

From growing up in a working-class family where work was about survival, to navigating academia, nonprofits, and ultimately finding her way to teaching, Nicole shares a deeply honest look at ambition, burnout, and redefining success on your own terms.

Together, they explore what it means to step off the “expected” path, build a life rooted in stability and creativity, and embrace moments where you’re not...

In this episode, Kristin talks with Lauren (she/her), founder of Hormonally, a nonprofit focused on hormone health education and access. Lauren shares how her work challenges a common assumption: that education alone leads to better health outcomes. In reality, many people still struggle to be heard, often leaving medical spaces feeling dismissed or unsupported.

Together, they explore what it actually means to advocate for yourself especially when the system makes that difficult. From “care-seeking fatigue” to the gap between having information and knowing how to use it, this conversation gets honest about the emotional and...

In this episode, Kristin sits down with Megan (she/her), a senior accounting leader whose career has been shaped as much by intuition as it has by strategy. From her degree in fashion merchandising to navigating Big Four accounting and beyond, Megan shares how she’s built a career that blends structure, creativity, and strong instincts.

They talk about what it really means to feel off track, the evolution from self-doubt to self-trust, and the importance of finding the right people and environments along the way. The takeaway: not all stuck moments are the same an...

In this episode, Kristin sits down with Nichole (she/her), founder of Success on the Spectrum—the first autism treatment franchise in the U.S.—to talk about building a business that truly changes lives. What began as a personal mission to support her daughter grew into a nationwide network serving thousands of families, after Nichole saw firsthand how few spaces existed for children with autism to truly belong.

Together, they explore the intersection of purpose and profit, and what it means to build something meaningful without having it all figured out. Nichole shares how she...

In this episode, Kristin reconnects with Vera (she/her), a public sector professional working in the Dutch national government, to explore a career that took shape slowly and unexpectedly over time. From moving to the U.S. after college and taking on a series of “random” jobs to returning to school and ultimately finding purpose in public service, Vera shares how her path came together in hindsight even when it didn’t make sense in the moment. 

Together, they unpack the realities of government work, the importance of bridging policy and real life, and what it mean...

In this episode, Kristin talks with Susan (she/her) who spent years building a successful career in the legal world before realizing that being good at something is not the same as feeling aligned with it. Together they explore the path from paralegal to massage therapist, what it meant to choose a more embodied and values-driven life, and how self-employment changed her relationship to work, stability, and success.

Together, they talk about right livelihood, the surprising ways stress lives in the body, the intimacy and healing of long-term client relationships, and why changing direction doesn’t...

In this episode, Kristin sits down with Brielle (she, her), one of the first friends she made after moving to New York City and someone whose career has always been marked by a rare sense of intentionality.

Brielle works in corporate social impact, helping large organizations connect their resources to nonprofit partners and community needs. But her path didn’t begin in corporate boardrooms. It started with volunteering as a kid, working at a small women’s rights nonprofit in New York, and asking a lot of questions about how change actually happens.

In t...

In this episode, Kristin talks with Josie (she/her), a project engineer in the construction industry who helps manage the building of massive projects like hospitals and data centers. Josie shares how she found her way into construction after starting in civil engineering and realizing she wanted something more hands-on, practical, and people-centered. She reflects on choosing an unconventional path to college, leaving New Jersey for the University of Wyoming, and the sweet story of her dad moving nearby to support her while still giving her space to grow.

Together, Kristin and Josie talk about...

In this episode, Kristin sits down with Zakiya (she/her), Vice President of Philanthropic Partnerships at the Climate and Clean Energy Equity Fund, to talk about leadership, identity, and the through-lines that shape a career.

A Bermudian immigrant, former therapist, and seasoned fundraiser, Zakiya reflects on what it means to mobilize money at the intersection of climate and racial justice; and why money, at its core, is intimate work. From navigating tokenization in philanthropy to choosing when and how to step back into formal leadership, she shares hard-won wisdom about boundaries, authenticity, and using your...

Season 2 kicks off with Amber (she/her), someone who has never stayed in a life that didn’t fit. From Texas Tech to flight attendant, from a post-9/11 pivot to a master’s degree in London, from being “under-qualified” for marketing roles back home to building a career across sports, student marketing, and ultimately professional tour guiding, Amber’s story is a masterclass in adaptability. Today she leads tours across London, Oxford, and Paris (sometimes in full costume) and has earned multiple prestigious guiding qualifications. In this episode, Kristin and Amber talk about career reinvention, contingency plans, learning a...

In this bonus episode of Everything Counts (but nothing is real), Kristin sits down with her almost 10-year-old niece, Quinn, for an off-script conversation about school, art, animals, ambition, and all the possibilities that exist before work becomes a defining force in our lives.

There’s no tidy narrative arc here, and that’s the point. Through stories about clay figurines, lemonade stand economics, animal rescue videos, sibling dynamics, and future dreams of teaching and saving animals, Quinn offers a reminder of what it’s like to be “pre-work,” when curiosity leads and some identities are still...

In this special bonus episode, Kristin sits down with Nana (Loren’s grandmother) to talk about work, family, and the quiet choices that shape a life. Raised on a farm in rural North Florida, Nana spent decades working part-time as a bookkeeper and in banking, intentionally building a career that left room to be present for her children and grandchildren.

What unfolds is a tender oral history about money watched carefully, work done well but never centered, and a long marriage built on partnership, planning, and love. It’s a reflection on what we remember at t...

People matter most.

In the Season 1 finale of Everything Counts (But Nothing Is Real), Kristin sits down with one of her closest friends, Celia (they/them), to reflect on careers, values, and the human relationships that shape our work lives. A feminist philanthropic advocate working at the intersection of gender, racial, and economic justice, Celia shares what it really means to “move money ethically” and why relationships, patience, and trust are central to lasting systems change.

They talk about a winding career path, several big moves, stumbling into fundraising, and learning how...

Say it, then do it.

In this episode, Kristin sits down with Sara (she/her), a longtime friend and education leader whose career has been shaped by ambition, follow-through, and a deep belief in joy as a leadership practice. From nearly two decades in education nonprofits to earning multiple master’s degrees, getting married, and landing a new role as Dean of Student Life (all at once) Sara shares what it really looks like to set a goal and see it through.

They talk about ambition without burnout, the importance of go...

A grain of salt and a pair of soft pants.

In this episode, Kristin and Loren break the fourth wall on career conversations and swap the usual interview format for a casual, candid advice session.

From figuring out what you actually want (versus what you’ve been conditioned to want), to recognizing the difference between burnout and boredom, they talk through the questions so many of us are quietly asking at work and in life. Along the way, they unpack urgency culture, eldest-child energy, pointless meetings, LinkedIn performance art, an...

Adaptation is a skill.

In this episode, Kristin sits down with her sister Kenzie (she/her) for a conversation about nonlinear careers, survival skills, and what it really means to “read the room.”

Kenzie’s path, from reality TV casting to corporate recruiting to a bold pivot toward law school, is a masterclass in adaptation. Together, they unpack how early chaos shapes professional instincts, how work inevitably collides with life, and why being “off track” is often exactly where growth happens.

This episode is about transferable skills born from resilience...

Do all the things, with purpose.

In this episode, Kristin sit down with longtime friend and multi-hyphenate creative Heidi (she/her)--marketer, DJ, podcaster, higher-ed storyteller, civic-tech comms pro, and now small-business founder--to explore the many twists and pivots of her career. From clerk-of-court cubicles to national civic tech work to launching her own consultancy, Heidi shares what she’s learned about work boundaries, risk-taking, pay cuts, unionization, and staying grounded through it all. It’s a conversation about reinvention, and creative renewal.

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Life changes. So do we.

Dolores returns for part 2 to share what life looks like after the classroom. She talks about how retirement became “the best job she’s ever had,” from early-morning VIPKid lessons with students in China to unexpected cultural exchange, care packages, and real connection across oceans.

We also walk through the hardest years of her life—losing my dad and later my sister—and how she coped by staying busy, learning to live between “the cloud and the sun,” and finding support in unlikely places. That journey eventually led...

Work changes. So do we.

In Part 1 of this two-episode arc, Kristin sits down with her mom, Dolores (she/her), to explore a life built in classrooms and the way work evolves as people do. Dolores shares how she felt called to teach at an early age, and how her career unfolded through shifting curriculums, school politics, and dramatically different parent dynamics. She reflects on the joy of whole-language learning, the inequities between systemically underfunded and affluent schools, and her unexpected pivot into becoming a technology teacher; eventually creating a student-run news broadcast...

It's not that serious.

In this episode, Kristin talks with Mary Ann (she/her), a former ska-punk zine kid turned corporate law firm website manager, about what it really means to not dream of labor. They trace her path from AOL fan sites and popcorn shifts at the mall, through nonprofit burnout and film/TV detours, to a corporate web career that pays the bills without owning her identity. Mary Ann shares how books like Work Won’t Love You Back helped her de-center work, stop taking every email so personally, and build a...

Nothing is real, but you are!

In this special episode, the mic flips as host Kristin becomes the guest. She traces her path from bookstore counters to boardroom tables, unpacking what it means to lead yourself before you lead others. With humor and honesty, she explores perfectionism, patriarchal workplaces, and the lifelong lesson that leadership starts within and that every version of you counts.

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Ease is a power move.

Executive coach and organizational psychologist Talia (she/her) joins to talk about what happens when “working hard” becomes who you are, and what it takes to rewrite that story. We trace her path from AmeriCorps to L&D and consulting to launching Stepping Stones Coaching, the moment she realized job satisfaction can’t sit in someone else’s hands, and the practice of designing for ease without abandoning ambition. We also unpack the overachiever script so many women inherit, why “boundaries” rarely stick without self-kindness, and how to try o...

Leadership doesn't have to be loud.

In this episode of Everything Counts (but nothing is real), host Kristin interviews Sam (she/her), an operations leader with a rich background in nonprofit work. From aspiring musician to business student to AmeriCorps alum, Sam’s journey is a masterclass in resilience, curiosity, and quiet leadership.

We talk about the impact of service, what it means to lead from behind the scenes, and why leadership doesn’t have to be loud. The conversation dives into the invisible power of operations in f...

Job security is a myth.

In this inaugural episode of Everything Counts (but nothing is real), host Kristin interviews her partner Loren (they/them), an artist turned web developer turned business owner whose story embodies the everything counts spirit. Loren started in sculpture, taught themselves design and web, and said yes to the kinds of opportunities that don’t look like a plan, until they do. After nearly two decades in nonprofits, tech, and e-commerce, a layoff at 40 became the turning point.

We talk about the intersection of creativity an...

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