Motherhood Advantage

What if we stopped asking Mothers to fit their lives around work—and started building our paid work around real life?

In this episode of Motherhood Advantage, Dr. Laura Marie Rivera speaks with Lauren James, Mother of two, entrepreneur, and founder of Little Way Coworking, an Atlanta coworking space with on-site childcare designed around the realities of working parents.

Becoming a single Mother fundamentally changed the way Lauren thought about entrepreneurship. She knew she could not build a company that required more from her than she had to give. Instead, she cr...

Washington State Senator Manka Dhingra joins Dr. Laura Marie Rivera for a conversation about Motherhood, public leadership, and what changes when lived experience has a seat at the policymaking table.

Drawing on her work in the Washington State Senate, Dhingra reflects on the leadership skills Mothers bring into public life—conflict resolution, relationship-building, humility, empathy, and the ability to recognize what families actually need.

The conversation also explores why representation matters. Dhingra shares examples of policies shaped by women’s lived experiences, from breast milk access for premature babies and workplace pumping accommodations to p...

For more than two decades, Dr. Lois Frankel’s landmark bestseller Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office has challenged women to recognize the subtle ways they may have been socialized to diminish their own authority at work. But as our understanding of gender, leadership, caregiving, and workplace inequity evolves, an important question emerges: How much should women have to change—and how much should the workplace change to better recognize the ways women already lead?

In this episode of Motherhood Advantage, Dr. Laura Marie Rivera sits down with psychologist, executive coach, and bestselling author Dr...

What does it take to build a life big enough for Motherhood, artistic ambition, and advocacy?

In this episode of Motherhood Advantage, Dr. Laura Marie Rivera talks with composer, music director, and Maestra founder Georgia Stitt about creating space—for women in theater, for caregiving in professional life, and for the constant recalibration Motherhood requires.

Georgia shares how noticing the absence of women in theater music departments led her to build Maestra, an organization now helping women and gender-expansive musicians become more visible, connected, and hired. She also speaks candidly about the less visib...

What does it take to build a life big enough for Motherhood, artistic ambition, and advocacy?

In this episode of Motherhood Advantage, Dr. Laura Marie Rivera talks with composer, music director, and Maestra founder Georgia Stitt about creating space—for women in theater, for caregiving in professional life, and for the constant recalibration Motherhood requires.

Georgia shares how noticing the absence of women in theater music departments led her to build Maestra, an organization now helping women and gender-expansive musicians become more visible, connected, and hired. She also speaks candidly about the less visib...

Content note: This episode includes discussion of infertility, IVF, miscarriage, and a medically complicated pregnancy. Please listen with care.

In this episode of Motherhood Advantage, Dr. Laura Marie Rivera talks with Denise Lieu Kakimoto, a Southern California educator, longtime teacher, and Mother of triplets, about infertility, perseverance, community, and the deep connection between teaching and Motherhood.

Denise shares the emotional road to becoming a Mother—from fertility treatments and miscarriage to the exciting discovery that she was pregnant with triplets—and the difficult decisions, uncertainty, and extraordinary support that surrounded...

What if quitting isn’t failure—but a creative act?

Nina Simon has reinvented her career more than once, moving from NASA engineer to museum leader to bestselling mystery author. In this episode, she shares what those pivots taught her about ambition, identity, and knowing when it’s time to let something go.

Nina defines Motherhood as fierce care expressed through action—not biology, constant presence, or self-sacrifice. She also offers a provocative distinction between Motherhood and leadership: leadership organizes people around a shared goal, while Motherhood centers the relationship itself.

Together...

What if Motherhood isn't defined by biology, but by the radical practice of nurturing growth, telling the truth, and helping others become more fully themselves?

In this episode of The Motherhood Advantage, Dr. Laura Marie Rivera sits down with Dr. Amber Johnson—educator, artist, writer, and leader at UC Berkeley—to explore how Motherhood, leadership, justice, and healing intersect. This conversation challenges traditional ideas about caregiving and leadership, arguing that both require deep listening and a commitment to creating spaces where people can thrive.

Drawing from their work in higher education, comm...

What happens when the everyday challenges of Motherhood become the catalyst for innovation?

In this episode of Motherhood Advantage, Dr. Laura Marie Rivera sits down with researcher, entrepreneur, and mother Dr. Nia Ruth to explore how the invisible labor of managing a family's health inspired an entirely new way of thinking about caregiving, leadership, and problem-solving.

Drawing on her background in UX research, Nia shares how becoming a Mother sharpened her ability to identify unmet needs, design practical solutions, and navigate the uncertainty that comes with building something new—all while raising a young family.

What if divorce support looked less like crisis management — and more like community, strategy, and care?

In this episode of Motherhood Advantage, Dr. Laura Marie Rivera talks with Olivia Howell, divorce coach and founder of a first-of-its-kind divorce registry platform, about what women really need when they are moving through one of life’s most destabilizing transitions.

Olivia shares how her own experience with divorce, Motherhood, and raising two boys shaped her work supporting women through separation, co-parenting, rebuilding, and starting over. She explains how divorce coaching can serve as a cruc...

In Season Two of Motherhood Advantage, Dr. Laura Marie Rivera continues the conversation at the heart of her research and her book, Beyond the Pipeline: what changes when we recognize Motherhood not as an obstacle to leadership, but as one of the places leadership is formed?

This season brings together an extraordinary group of Mother-leaders, researchers, advocates, authors, executives, educators, and changemakers to explore ambition, caregiving, identity, maternal health, storytelling, justice, support, and the systems that shape women’s lives.

The season opens with researcher Dr. Carolyn Burroughs, whose partnership in the original Mo...

In this episode of Motherhood Advantage, Dr. Laura Marie Rivera sits down with Tiffany Dufu — president of the Tory Burch Foundation, author, speaker, Mother of two, and longtime advocate for women’s leadership — for a deeply thoughtful conversation about Motherhood, purpose, failure, and the power of support.

Tiffany reflects on the profound influence of her Mother, Brenda, and how becoming a Mother herself reshaped her self-awareness, leadership style, and sense of purpose. Together, she and Laura Marie explore the difference between parenting and professional leadership, the importance of asking for help, and why solidarity among Mother...

What happens when we stop viewing Motherhood as a liability and start recognizing it as an asset?

In this episode, Dr. Laura Marie Rivera welcomes Anne Welsh, a fellow Mom of four, clinical psychologist, executive coach, and author of Ambitious Mother. In this eye-opening conversation, she challenges the assumption that parenting and professional ambition compete with one another. Instead, she argues that Motherhood develops many of the very skills organizations value most: emotional intelligence, strategic thinking, adaptability, prioritization, and resilience.

Drawing from her experience raising four children—including navigating neurodiversity, adolescence, and the daily complexity of...

What happens when a judge brings the wisdom of Motherhood to the bench?

In this powerful conversation, Judge Sharonda Amamilo—Mother, military veteran, and the first person of color elected in her county—shares how Motherhood transformed her understanding of justice, leadership, and public service. Drawing from her experiences in the military, the legal profession, and the courtroom, she explains why truly fair decision-making requires understanding the whole person—not just the facts of a case.

Judge Amamilo reflects on the experiences that shaped her path to the bench, from pursuing a legal career...

What if some of the most important leadership work in our society is happening in kitchens, carpools, living rooms, and bedtime routines—and hardly anyone recognizes it as leadership?

In this deeply personal episode of Motherhood Advantage, Dr. Laura Marie Rivera sits down with her sister, Catherine Temkin, a publishing professional and Mother of three, to explore the often-invisible work of Motherhood and the leadership skills it quietly develops over a lifetime.

Together, they unpack the foundational responsibilities of caregiving that most people take for granted: keeping children safe, healthy, loved, supported, and prepared for ad...

What if Motherhood wasn't viewed as an individual responsibility, but as a shared community commitment?

In this episode of Motherhood Advantage, Dr. Laura Marie Rivera sits down with  Rayna Tabanera-Geras to explore how Indigenous perspectives on Motherhood, advocacy, and community challenge many of the assumptions embedded in mainstream parenting culture.

Drawing from her tribal traditions and her experience raising a son with autism, Rayna shares how Motherhood extends far beyond biological relationships. In her community, everyone has a role to play as a caregiver, mentor, advocate, and protector. This collective approach to raising children creates p...

What do Motherhood, leadership, logistics, and fashion have in common?

In this episode of Motherhood Advantage, Dr. Laura Marie Rivera sits down with Ambika Singh, founder and CEO of Armoire, the Seattle-based clothing rental company transforming how women approach their wardrobes. As a Mother of two and a leader of a company managing hundreds of thousands of garments, Ambika offers a fascinating perspective on the invisible systems that make both businesses and families run.

Together, Laura Marie and Ambika explore the surprising parallels between raising children and building organizations—from letting go of co...

Content Warning: This episode includes discussion of traumatic birth experiences, NICU hospitalization, maternal mortality, medical trauma, and pregnancy complications.

In this powerful and deeply personal episode of Motherhood Advantage, Dr. Laura Marie Rivera speaks with doula, advocate, and maternal health leader Ana Rodney about the realities of Motherhood, leadership, and Black maternal health in America.

Ana shares her journey from a traumatic premature birth and NICU experience to becoming a nationally recognized advocate working to improve maternal health policy and expand access to doula care. Together, Laura Marie and Ana explore the invisible...

In this deeply reflective and inspiring episode of Motherhood Advantage, Dr. Laura Marie Rivera sits down with storyteller, strategist, and founder Laura Nespoli for a conversation about Motherhood, identity, transformation, and the power of story.

Laura shares the personal journey behind her debut book, Threads of Me and You, exploring how Motherhood and self-discovery led to transformation in her life. Together, Dr Laura Marie and Laura Nespoli discuss caregiving, learning to Mother ourselves,  breaking generational patterns, and what it means to become the protagonist of your own story.

The conversation also explores the intersection of M...

This episode explores the profound transformation of Matrescence — the physical, emotional, psychological, and identity shift that happens when women become Mothers — and why so few people are talking about it. Rebecca Hogan, author of Me to We, shares how Motherhood reshaped her understanding of success, work, leadership, and self-worth, and how becoming a Mother ultimately led her to coaching, writing, and a more intentional life.

Together, we unpack the hidden emotional labor of caregiving, the impossible standards placed on Mothers, and the powerful leadership skills developed through raising children. Rebecca reflects on leaving corporate life, navigating fertility stru...

Most women are told that if they work hard enough, speak confidently enough, and lean in strategically enough, success will follow. But what if the barriers women face—especially Mothers—aren’t personal obstacles to overcome, but systemic penalties deeply embedded in our workplaces and culture?

Stefanie O'Connell, author of The Ambition Penalty, unpacks the hidden costs women continue to pay for ambition. Together, we explore how cultural narratives around Motherhood, caregiving, leadership, and success shape everything from pay equity to promotion opportunities—and why progress for women and Mothers remains frustratingly slow despite decades of advan...

Motherhood is one of the most powerful and underrecognized leadership experiences on the planet—where resilience, intuition, and strategy are practiced daily in real time, often without ever being named. In this opening episode of Season 2, we continue our conversation with Dr. Carolyn Burroughs and go deeper into the emerging Intuitionship research, revealing how the lived experience of Motherhood develops powerful, often overlooked leadership capabilities.

Together, we explore how managing the complexity of home life mirrors leading an organization—demanding resilience, emotional intelligence, strategic thinking, and rapid problem-solving. From reading nonverbal cues with children to thinking three step...

In this deeply personal season finale, Dr Laura Marie Rivera returns to where Motherhood Advantage first began—with the very first interview she ever recorded: a conversation with her own Mother, Carol Crosta.

Carol is a mother of five, retired emergency room nurse, master problem-solver, and the embodiment of capable, compassionate leadership. Long before the research, podcast, and movement took shape, Carol’s willingness to say “yes” gave Laura Marie the courage to begin.

This special Mother’s Day episode reflects on the roots of Motherhood Advantage, exploring how Motherhood cultivates resilience, adaptability, crisis management, and leader...

In this powerful conversation, Dr. Laura Marie Rivera sits down with Eve Rodsky, New York Times bestselling author of Fair Play and Unicorn Space, to explore the hidden systems shaping Motherhood, labor, and leadership.

Together, they unpack:

From the “blueberries” breaking point to global policy change, this episode challenges o...

In this episode, Heather A. Campbell—CEO, author of Good Is Amazing, and primary caregiver—explores a powerful idea: if we don’t have the language to name the work of Motherhood, we can’t fully value it.

Drawing from her experience leading both at home and in the workplace, Heather reframes Motherhood as high-level management—requiring decision-making under pressure, emotional intelligence, and constant adaptation.

The conversation moves from leadership and career transitions to caregiving, community, and the often invisible skills Mothers develop every day. Together, we explore how language shapes what we re...

What do professional kitchens and Motherhood have in common? Everything.

In this episode, chef Andria Armas Harris breaks down the unseen systems that keep both worlds running—from written prep lists in commercial kitchens to the endless mental lists Mothers carry every day. The planning, the timing, the anticipation—none of it is accidental, and none of it is easy.

Motherhood is leadership under pressure. It’s constant decision-making, emotional regulation, and showing up—again and again—as your child’s biggest cheerleader. Every hour. Every day. And yet, while Mothers pour out support, they’re met with a...

Unlock the parallels between the leadership in Motherhood and the paid workplace—especially when facing life's unexpected challenges. Carmen Daniels Jones, a Mother of two, disability advocate, and former Obama appointee at the Department of Agriculture, shares her powerful journey navigating Motherhood with a wheelchair and leading diverse organizations to serve marginalized communities.

Discover how Carmen’s personal resilience and strategic mindset transformed systemic barriers into opportunities for growth—whether helping farmers break into big retail or advocating for inclusivity in healthcare. You'll learn about the leadership skills that transcend roles, such as adaptability, empathy, and the courag...

Amy Miner-Fletcher—executive leadership coach, Licensed Medical Health Counselor, and Mother of two—joins the conversation to explore the powerful intersection of Motherhood and leadership. Through her AMPLIFY framework, Amy reframes Motherhood not as a competing force to professional growth, but as a dynamic training ground for it.

Together, we unpack the often-overlooked skills developed through Motherhood—empathy, adaptability, resilience, and clarity—and how they translate directly into effective, values-driven leadership. Amy shares how coaching and parenting mirror one another, requiring a balance of accountability and compassion, structure and flexibility, seriousness and joy.

The conversation dives in...

What if the moments that make you question yourself as a Mother are actually the ones building your strength as a leader?

In this episode of Motherhood Advantage, Dr. Laura Marie Rivera sits down with Karen Sigalas to explore how the everyday realities of Motherhood—decision-making, emotional labor, constant adaptation—are quietly shaping confidence, influence, and resilience in the workplace.

Through stories of raising her children and navigating her own career pivots, Karen reflects on a powerful truth: success is rarely linear. Instead, it’s built through presence, authenticity, and learning to trust yourself—especially in uncert...

What does Motherhood teach us about leadership—especially in times of loss and uncertainty?

In this episode of Motherhood Advantage, Dr. Laura Marie Rivera speaks with nonprofit consultant and author Sherry Whitaker Budziak about Motherhood, leadership, and resilience. Sherry shares her experience balancing parenting, running a business, and navigating the loss of her husband, and how those experiences reshaped how she leads.

They explore the leadership skills developed through Motherhood—communication, compassion, flexibility, and decision-making under pressure—and introduce Sherry’s HEART Framework: Humanize, Empower, Ascend, Reimagine, Transform.

This conversation is about grief, growth...

Port Commissioners are elected officials, but often remain behind the scenes. In this episode, Toshiko Hasegawa brings that role—and her own story—fully into view.

As the first woman of Asian descent elected to the Port of Seattle, Toshiko is helping shape the future of regional trade while expanding what leadership looks like in spaces historically dominated by white men. But this conversation moves beyond titles and policy into something deeper: the intersection of public leadership and the private realities of Motherhood.

Toshiko speaks candidly about her experiences with pregnancy loss and the...

Dr. Danielle Dowling shares her journey as a Mother and author of 'Good Girl, Bad Mom,' a memoir manifesto that addresses the challenges of Motherhood. She discusses the Motherhood fantasy, the burden of Motherhood, and the role of Mother. Additionally, she explores the leadership aspects of Motherhood and the collision of forces experienced by Mothers. The conversation delves into the concept of Motherhood as a job, highlighting the importance of acknowledging and valuing the work of Mothers. It also explores the process of releasing the 'Good Girl' conditioning and the impact it has on personal growth and transformation.<...

Dr. Danielle Dowling shares her journey as a Mother and author of 'Good Girl, Bad Mom,' a memoir manifesto that addresses the challenges of Motherhood. She discusses the Motherhood fantasy, the burden of Motherhood, and the role of Mother. Additionally, she explores the leadership aspects of Motherhood and the collision of forces experienced by Mothers. The conversation delves into the concept of Motherhood as a job, highlighting the importance of acknowledging and valuing the work of Mothers. It also explores the process of releasing the 'Good Girl' conditioning and the impact it has on personal growth and transformation.<...

Join Dr. Laura Marie Rivera and Dr. Carolyn Burroughs as they explore the intersection of Motherhood and Leadership, uncovering the unique strengths mothers bring to the workplace and the gaps in traditional leadership theories.

@MotherhoodAdvantage with Dr. Laura Marie Rivera