I have heard experts say that most professionals will have three or four different careers, not jobs, in their lifetime. Some estimate that this number will increase with millennials and Gen Zers. While that has not been the case for me—a 37-year family law attorney—yet, I have seen many colleagues and friends make career changes over the years. Some of them, evolutions or pivots. Others making more dramatic changes that I call reinventions. Whether an evolution, pivot, or reinvention, change is natural, healthy, and reinvigorating and often evolves into new paths on a career journey.
The global COVID pandemic has taught us many things. Among the positive lessons is that tomorrow is not guaranteed so we must make the most of every day. There is no time to waste in a career that does not feed your soul! These last two years have also taught us that we will fare better if we remain flexible about how we work, where we work, when we work, and what we do. Uncertainty like we have experienced can be unsettling. But it can also inspire reflection, solidify priorities, and open doors, windows, or even just cracks to new opportunities.
In just a couple of days, I have the pleasure of moderating a panel called “Inventing and Reinventing Yourself” at the Los Angeles Business Journal’s 2022 Women’s Leadership Symposium. I have called upon a group of professional women who are experts on this topic, and just happen to be dear friends as well. They are experts because each of them has embarked on one or more evolutions, pivots, or reinventions in their careers. Collectively, we hope to inspire women thinking about making a change, and even those not yet thinking about it, to give them confidence that it can be done. The panelists will share tips for walking through that opportunity door, climbing through that window, or prying open that crack.
I have so much respect and admiration for the women who will be sitting with me on the panel. To pique your interest, here is just a bit about each of them.
Tanya Acker can be seen on CBS Media Ventures’ Emmy-nominated syndicated court program Hot Bench and on Amazon Freevee’s upcoming program Tribunal, both created by Judge Judy Sheindlin. She is also host of The Tanya Acker Show podcast. Tanya received her J.D. from Yale Law School and practiced law as a civil litigator before launching her career in media.
Julia Stewart has enjoyed a 45-year career, including chair and CEO at Dine Brands Global (NYSE: DIN). Julia worked her way up from a food server in high school to CEO of IHOP. Subsequently, IHOP acquired Applebee’s, creating DIN, the largest sit-down restaurant company in the world. Fortune magazine named her one of the “50 Most Powerful Women in America.” Two and a half years ago she founded Alurx, which provides health-conscious people with a platform for expert, personalized wellness solutions.
Joan B. Kessler, Esq., Ph.D., started her career as a jury consultant and college professor. She attended law school at age 38, with a husband and two kids. Joan practiced law for more than 30 years, turning to mediation and arbitration full time more than 15 years ago. She has mediated and arbitrated hundreds of matters, most recently with JAMS, including individual and class action employment, real property, business/commercial, insurance, healthcare, and entertainment cases.
Jackie Keller is the founding director of NutriFit, LLC, which delivers fresh, personalized meals and nutritional support; TxokoUSA, a high end special events company; and TxokoUSA Cellars, a sister company selling rare wine collections. Jackie pursued culinary training from Le Cordon Bleu in Paris early in her career, then worked as a corporate human relations director before launching her businesses and pursuing national board certification as a Health Coach.
Each of these amazing women will share their unique stories of career evolutions, pivots, and reinventions; how they gained the confidence and skills to make them; and their “learned in the trenches” advice for other women looking to make a change, whether subtle or dramatic. I hope you will join me and my guests for an enlightening panel discussion on June 29, 2022, at 11:30 a.m.
Stacy D. Phillips, a partner with Blank Rome, is one of the country’s most well-known and respected family law practitioners.
