In this special solo episode, host The Gals Podcast host Erin Gregg shares her journey from journalism to senior leadership, reflecting on the experiences, relationships and lessons that have shaped who she is today.

After more than two decades in government and a career built around communication, strategy and solving problems, Erin is asking herself a different question: "Just because I can make something work, does that mean I should?"

She reflects on what it means to live intentionally, trust your instincts, establish boundaries and move beyond simply achieving toward creating a life that genuinely feels like your own.

Join Erin for a conversation about identity, courage, intentionality and learning to choose yourself.

Photo credit: @luminariecreative

The field of quantum technology can sound highly perplexing - until you meet someone like Elise Usunier.

In this conversation, the Chief Commercialization Officer at Zero Point Cryogenics shows how a non-linear career path, a willingness to learn, and a customer-first mindset can open the door to one of the most advanced fields in technology.

Elise shares how she went from marketing and wine sales to an MBA, then into software, and finally into quantum hardware - without a physics background.

What makes her story compelling is not just the pivot, but the way she kept finding transferable skills and using them to step into rooms she was never supposed to enter.

We discuss:

• The mindset that allowed her to change industries without starting over
• Why “I can learn” is a career strategy, not just a slogan
• What resilience looks like when timelines are long, stakes are high, and supply chain issues can derail progress
• Why women do not need a technical degree to build a real career in STEM

Essential listening if you’ve ever wondered how to build a meaningful career in tech without a traditional path, or what it actually takes to thrive once you get there.

Photo credit: @luminariecreative

What happens when a side passion becomes the thing that finally gives your life room to breathe?

Edmonton artist Amy Dixon shares how she walked away from a corporate career, rebuilt her days around painting, and turned creativity into a full-time business - even when people thought she was taking a huge risk.

Amy opens up about what pushed her back to art in the first place, the planning that made her leap possible, and the practical realities no one talks about: shipping paintings across borders, building an e-commerce studio from scratch, and learning how to run the business side of being an artist without losing the joy of making work.

We discuss:

• How Amy recognized that art had become essential to her mental health and sense of self

• What it actually takes to be a self-represented artist selling directly to collectors
• The hidden logistics behind painting while traveling
• How she balances bold creativity with spreadsheets, deadlines, and strategy
• Why listening to your gut can be the hardest - and smartest - move you make

Amy also shares the mindset shift that helped her survive uncertainty: focusing on what she can control, accepting the messy middle, and tuning out other people’s opinions long enough to hear her own.

If you’ve ever felt pulled toward a career pivot, a creative leap, or a life that fits your values better, this conversation will make you feel a little braver.

Photo credit: @luminariecreative

Most people think nonprofit leadership means choosing between impact and business sense. Ashley Brosda proves you can build both, and she reveals what it really takes to lead a mission-driven organization through growth, resilience, and major change.

As Executive Director of Kids Cottage Foundation in Edmonton, Ashley is helping expand a 24/7 shelter and care space for children whose families are in crisis, from housing insecurity and medical emergencies to addiction and mental health challenges.

In this conversation with Erin Gregg, she shares the path that led her from education and disability services to consulting at and back to the nonprofit sector, and why she believes sustainable impact requires creativity, strategy, and long-term thinking.

We also discussed:

• What she learned about resilience from working with people navigating life changes
• Why strong leadership teams need shared vision, honest check-ins, and real boundaries
• How monthly donors, wish-list items, volunteerism, and board service all help sustain nonprofit work

Ashley also challenges the idea that nonprofit work is only for one type of person. She makes the case for skilled professionals with business, governance, and strategy experience to step into the sector and help strengthen it from the inside.

If you’ve ever wondered how to make a meaningful pivot, contribute without burning out, or build a career that actually feels aligned, this episode will leave you with a fresh perspective on service, success, and what it means to do work that matters.

Photo credit: @luminariecreative

What if the biggest career moves came from trusting your curiosity, not following a straight line?

Christiana Manzocco, Senior Director at Alberta Enterprise Corporation, shares how a life-changing loss, a solo trip, and a willingness to keep saying "yes" to what interested her shaped the investor and leader she is today.

From a demanding start in management consulting to helping grow Alberta’s venture capital ecosystem, Christiana opens up about the pivots that looked random from the outside but made perfect sense in hindsight.

We discuss:

• Why Christiana believes career growth starts with gravitating toward what genuinely interests you
• The framework she uses to make decisions when you will never have perfect information
• How venture capital really works behind the scenes, where trust, people, and incomplete information matter more than polished appearances
• Why Alberta’s tech ecosystem is unusually welcoming and how that has helped more women founders and investors get in the room
• The advice she gives women who feel out of place in high-stakes rooms - and why discomfort does not always mean you're in the wrong place

This conversation is about more than career strategy. It is about rebuilding after loss, learning to trust your own judgment, and defining success as more than titles or promotions. If you're navigating a pivot, questioning your next move, or trying to grow your confidence in rooms that still feel unfamiliar, this episode will leave you feeling both grounded and excited.

Photo credit: @luminariecreative

Building a biotech company usually means chasing certainty. Jalene Anderson-Baron did the opposite - she left a secure career, followed a deeply personal why, and helped turn Future Fields into a commercially scaling company making high-value proteins with genetically engineered fruit flies.

For listeners wrestling with a pivot, a burnout warning light, or the pressure to become someone they are not, this conversation is a reset.

Erin Gregg and Jalene unpack how a social scientist ended up co-founding a future-facing biotech startup, why the leap into entrepreneurship felt more stable than staying put, and what it really takes to keep showing up when the path keeps changing.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why the company’s mission is to improve one billion lives by enabling the products humanity and the planet need most
• How maternity leave, an accelerator program, and the pandemic became the catalyst for a major career pivot
• Why Jalene believes resilience is less about grinding harder and more about staying open, humble, and willing to learn
• The company culture philosophy that rejects “we’re a family” in favor of “we’re a team, not a family - spend time with yours”
• How to lead authentically as an introvert
• Why the “pick three” framework can help protect your family, career, and health from burnout

If you're building a company, a career, a family, or a new version of yourself, this episode is a powerful reminder that you do not have to become louder, harder, or more chaotic to lead well. You simply have to keep going, keep learning, and build in a way you can actually live with.

About the guest:
Jalene Anderson-Baron is the co-founder and COO of Future Fields, a biomanufacturing company creating high-value molecules with genetically engineered fruit flies. She helped grow the company from an idea into a commercial-stage biotech business with ambitious global impact goals.

Photo credit: @luminariecreative

If you've ever wondered whether your skills still matter outside the place you built them, this conversation will hit home.

Sunita Coloma shares how an unexpected restructuring pushed her out of her comfort zone - and into a role that stretched her in all the right ways. She opens up about the feelings of change and rebuilding her confidence in a completely new industry.

We discuss:

• Why a strong network matters most when your plans change fast
• How to tell whether a big career move is fear or intuition
• The mindset shift from “I need to know everything” to “I'll figure it out”
• Why women often hold back from applying until they meet every qualification
• How resilience is really about moving forward even when things feel messy

This episode is a powerful reminder that growth often comes from the moments you did not choose.

If you're facing a career pivot, questioning your next step, or need a push to trust what you've already built, this one is for you.

Perfect for anyone in a season of transition, especially women ready to stop waiting for certainty and start moving anyway.

Speaker credits:
Erin Gregg guides the conversation as host of The Gals Podcast, which highlights real stories behind meaningful pivots.

Sunita Coloma is a leader in insurance who spent 24 years in banking before making a bold move into a new industry, bringing a grounded perspective on resilience, reinvention, and the power of community.

Photo credit: @luminariecreative

Most networking events are built for volume. The Gals is built for chemistry. Chloe and Madeline reveal how one coffee, two mid-career women, and a simple dinner-party experiment turned into a thriving community where real friendship, business, and belonging actually happen.

In this inaugural episode of The Gals Podcast, Chloe and Mads share the origin story behind The Gals, from that first conversation to the moment they realized the idea was bigger than a single dinner. What started as a small, curated experiment for women in tech quickly became a cross-industry network designed around intentional connection, shared life stages, and the kind of conversations that don’t happen at conferences or crowded mixers.

We discuss:

• Why dinner was the perfect format for building trust, not just contacts
• How they curate each table for chemistry, curiosity, and community impact

• Why growth is not the goal, sustainable impact is

If you’ve ever felt disconnected in adulthood, worn out by superficial networking, or hungry for a community that feels both fun and purposeful, this episode makes the case for building smaller, smarter, more human rooms. It’s also a reminder that the right partnership can create something far bigger than either person could build alone. Essential listening for anyone interested in community building, women supporting women, and what it really takes to create a space people keep coming back to.

Join host Erin Gregg as she sits down with founders Madeline Hann and Chloe Xing Schimpf to explore the story behind The Gals.

Photo credit: @luminariecreative