From Corporate Success to Creative Freedom with Suzanne Parisi

What happens when you strip away the titles—lawyer, executive, top performer—and ask a much harder question:

Who am I without all of that?

In this deeply reflective episode, I sit down with my friend Suzanne Parisi, who spent 25 years in enterprise sales and law before making a bold pivot into the world of glass artistry.

And not casually. She took 30+ classes, explored relentlessly, and followed curiosity until something clicked.

This conversation isn’t about retirement. It’s about reinvention with intention.

🔍 What we explore:

• Why the most important question isn’t “What should I do next?” but “Who do I want to be without external definitions?”
• The surprising truth about creativity: It’s not talent—it’s learned, practiced, and earned through imperfect action
• How Suzanne reframed success from outcomes and revenue… to joy in the process and emotional connection through her work
• The mindset shift that unlocks reinvention: 👉 Let go of self-limiting beliefs 👉 Try things badly 👉 Follow what energizes your time
• And one of my favorite takeaways: “If my day isn’t great, it’s on me—because my day can be anything I want it to be.”

Suzanne Parisi is an artist in residency at the Arts of Glen Echo. You can find more of her work here.

Suzanne Parisi Artist Portfolio

Suzanne Parisi — NCAGG National Capital Art Glass Guild

What makes a leader—and a team—truly irreplaceable in the age of AI?

We visit with Amir Capriles, an incredibly well-respected enterprise sales leader and Chief Revenue Officer at Granicus, where he leads global sales and go-to-market strategy for one of the world’s leading govtech platforms. With over 20 years of experience, Amir has built and scaled high-performing teams across the public sector, holding leadership roles at companies including Microsoft, Salesforce, and Pegasystems.

Known for his ability to recognize and elevate talent, Amir combines data-driven execution with a deeply human leadership approach, focusing on judgment, trust, and purpose to drive meaningful impact in government and enterprise organizations.

A few highlights from our conversation that Amir shared that stayed with me:

• Talent is about trajectory, not performance Look for learning velocity, pattern recognition, and how people grow under pressure—not just results.
• Great leaders see potential before others do The job isn’t to give more work—it’s to name, elevate, and develop capability.
• Reading the room is still a superpower Data tells you where to look. Intuition tells you how to respond. AI can’t replace that.
• Burnout comes from disconnection, not effort When people lose the “why,” energy drops. Reset purpose and celebrate progress along the way.
• AI raises the floor—leaders must raise the ceiling Judgment, courage, trust, and coaching are the new differentiators.
• Irreplaceable leaders don’t create dependency They build systems, leaders, and teams that perform without them.

Bottom line: AI will accelerate execution. But human leadership will always define impact.

In this powerful episode of Refirement Life, Christine Zmuda sits down with transformational facilitator Soreya James to explore a concept that might change how you live, lead, and make decisions:

👉 Your body is not just something you have… it’s something you can listen to.

Soreya introduces the idea of “the body as technology”—a highly sophisticated system constantly giving you real-time data about your energy, alignment, and truth. The question is… are you tuned in?

In this conversation, you’ll discover:

• Why your body often knows before your mind does
• How to recognize the difference between intuition (expansion) vs. fear (contraction)
• Simple ways to reset your energy using breath, movement, and awareness
• Why modern life is pulling us out of our bodies—and how to get back in
• The hidden cost of ignoring your internal signals (and how to rebuild trust)

This isn’t theory—it’s a deeply human, practical conversation about how to navigate complexity, make better decisions, and reconnect with your inner GPS.

To Connect with Soreya - please email her directly at soreyajames@gmail.com