What happens when your body starts telling you the truth before your career does?

In this deeply honest and grounding conversation, Christine Perfetti sits down with Roberta Dombrowski, a coach, meditation teacher, and former VP of UX Research, to talk about reinvention, intuition, motherhood, and the courage it takes to leave behind a version of success that no longer fits.

Roberta shares her own journey from senior leadership in tech to coaching women through identity shifts, including the painful, nonlinear middle: layoffs, self-doubt, postpartum depression, and the temptation to return to what once felt safe.

Christine and Roberta explore:

• Why so many high-achieving women hit a wake-up call in mid-career
• How listening to your nervous system can change everything
• The myth of “blowing up your career” to reinvent
• Why motherhood and caregiving complicate (but also clarify) career transitions
• How to move away from “shoulds” and toward what’s actually aligned
• What to do when fear, uncertainty, and grief show up along the way

This episode is for women who look capable on the outside but feel misaligned on the inside and are ready to slow down, tune in, and take the next right step. Episode Notes: Listen to Roberta's podcast, In Her Words Roberta's company, Learn Mindfully

Six months ago, UX leader and educator Amanda Stockwell said yes to a cup of coffee, never imagining that one conversation would lead her into founding a nonprofit, joining a social enterprise accelerator, and reshaping her entire career path.

In this inspiring episode, Amanda returns to The Reimagining Lab to share what she’s learned in the messy middle of building The Seed List, a nonprofit designed to create equitable internship pathways for students entering the tech and startup world.

We explore:

• What the messy middle really feels like
• Why her UX research career uniquely prepared her for nonprofit leadership
• The power of a little naïveté when starting something new
• Redefining success when the external markers don’t match the impact
• How community, connection, and authentic networks open unexpected doors
• Why taking the smallest step, showing up, saying yes, often becomes the big turning point

Amanda’s story is a reminder that reinvention doesn’t require certainty. It requires alignment, courage, curiosity, and a willingness to walk through the “yellow door” when life shows you a path you never expected.

Artist and UX strategist Angela Craven joins Christine to explore how creativity can help us navigate grief, reinvention, and the unpredictable seasons of midlife. From painting in New York to leading UX strategy to rediscovering her art after personal loss, Angela shares how she learned to live with harmony instead of chasing balance.

Christine and Angela discuss:

• How art becomes a healing force in times of change
• Why “balance” is a myth and “harmony” is the real goal
• The power of making a talisman to anchor your next chapter
• How embracing the beautiful mess of life opens us to meaning and connection

This conversation is an invitation to slow down, listen to your creative voice, and reimagine your life as an evolving work of art. Resources & Links

• Angela Craven Art: angelacravenart.com
• The Art of Being Workshop: artofbeingexperience.com
• Follow Angela on Instagram: @angelacravenart

After 20 years at Custom Ink, Kristin Florin never imagined she’d be laid off. The company wasn't just a workplace. It was the place where she grew up professionally and had helped define her identity and community.

In this powerful conversation, Kristin shares what it’s really like to lose the only professional home you have ever known and how she found her way back to confidence and purpose.

She opens up about the grief of the layoff, the uncomfortable quiet that followed, and the mindset shifts that helped her reimagine what’s possible and find her new leadership position at BreakingT.

You’ll hear Kristin’s reflections on:

• Why your career isn’t a box you have to stay in
• The difference between loyalty and identity
• How pausing after a loss can open unexpected doors
• And what it means to bet on yourself when everything feels uncertain

Her story is a reminder that sometimes leaving the box isn’t the end of your story. It’s the start of a truer one.

In this episode, Christine Perfetti talks with Kyle Soucy, founder of Usable Interface and host of The UX Consultants Lounge.

Kyle has spent more than 20 years in UX research and is now writing a book on projective techniques, methods like collaging and sentence completion that surface insights traditional interviews often miss. She shares how these techniques open the door to deeper human understanding while also requiring careful attention to ethics and participant safety.

But this conversation goes beyond research methods. Kyle opens up about navigating the downturn in tech, the fear that came with slow times, and how those messy moments became the catalyst for her biggest breakthroughs. From launching her podcast to committing to her long-dreamed-of book, Kyle shows how lean experiments, courage, and small steps forward can create powerful momentum.

Whether you’re a UX professional, a consultant, or someone reimagining your next chapter, this episode will inspire you to move past fear, try something new, and discover what’s possible when you take action. What you’ll learn:

• How projective techniques uncover the unspoken: from collaging to sentence-completion, Kyle shares practical methods to surface insights that traditional interviews miss.

• Why messy times can be catalysts: hear how a downturn became the spark for Kyle’s breakthroughs: launching a podcast, committing to a book, and reframing fear as fuel.

• The power of lean experiments and small steps: discover how testing ideas quickly, embracing imperfection, and choosing courage over fear can create lasting momentum.

Resources:

Kyle Soucy’s company: Usable Interface

The UX Consultants Lounge featuring stories and lessons from independent UX consultants

Article: Tad Hirsch, Practicing Without a License: Design Research as Psychotherapy: important perspective on ethics and participant safety in research

If you have ever wondered what HBS alumni learn about reinvention after graduation, Kristen Fitzpatrick has the inside view.

In this conversation, I sit down with Kristen, Senior Managing Director of Alumni Relations and Career & Professional Development at Harvard Business School, who has spent over two decades guiding students and alumni through pivotal career moments. Kristen brings brilliant wisdom on reinvention, resilience, and building lives that truly reflect our values.

In our conversation, we explore the reality of inflection points, those moments when we’re called to pause, reassess, and sometimes radically shift course. Kristen shares her own personal journey, the lessons she’s drawn from working with thousands of HBS alumni, and her perspective on how to embrace bravery, banish perfectionism, and see yourself through the eyes of someone who believes in you unconditionally.

If you are navigating uncertainty, questioning your next step, or simply craving inspiration from one of the sharpest minds in career development, this episode is for you.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Kristen’s winding journey from chemical engineer to career development leader at HBS
• Why so many career pivots happen through “happy accidents” rather than careful planning
• The surprising truth about Harvard alumni: even “the best of the best” wrestle with uncertainty, layoffs, and reinvention
• Why portfolio careers may be the future for mid-to-senior professionals in their 50s and 60s
• The four elements of career decision-making developed by HBS psychologist Dr. Tim Butler
• Kristen’s biggest advice: see yourself through the eyes of someone who already believes you can do anything

Resources Mentioned

• The Portfolio Life by Christina Wallace

• Dr. Tim Butler’s Four Elements of Career & Life Decision-Making

• Jeremy Schifeling’s “The LinkedIn Guys” Masterclass

• Lovable AI for presentations

What does it take to reinvent your career again and again without losing yourself in the process? In this conversation, Stanford University lecturer, bestselling author, and product leader Christina Wodtke opens up about her nonlinear path from art school to Silicon Valley startups, to teaching at Stanford.

We talk about:

• The challenges (and joys) of being a woman in tech past 50 and how to reclaim power, voice, and agency when faced with ageism and sexism
• How lean experiments are a powerful tool for navigating career and life pivots
• The realities of shifting identities from artist, designer, PM, founder, author, and teacher
• The role of risk tolerance in opening doors and what “worst-case scenario” thinking really means
• Christina’s criteria for ranking the top AI companies from least evil to most evil
• Teaching the next generation of product managers in the age of generative AI and what’s at stake if we skip synthesis and product sense

Christina’s story is one of reinvention, resilience, and refusing to be defined by a single label. Episode Notes:

• Find Christina on LinkedIn
• Christina's article, I Love Generative AI And Hate The Companies Building It
• Christina's article, What You Want Isn't Always What You Want

In this episode, Christine sits down with Nicole Yankelovich, a technologist, startup founder, photographer, and teacher whose career has been shaped by a series of “happy accidents.”

Nicole shares her journey from cofounding a research institute at Brown, to leading research at Sun Microsystems, to creating her own startup, and ultimately finding a new calling in photography and instruction. Along the way, she reflects on the lessons of raising your hand, seizing opportunities, and the role mentors play in shaping our paths.

Nicole’s story will inspire you to take action, trust your instincts, and find joy in the unexpected twists and turns.