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We spoke with Hannah Cousins, the Associate Producer for She Pivots to learn more about the host, Emily Tisch Sussman, the podcast team, and the evolution of the series concept.
In the Davey Award-winning series, Emily sits down with a diverse group of women to explore how their personal experiences led to their pivot and eventually their success. In partnership with Marie Claire, the podcast challenges the typical definitions of success and explores the role our personal stories play in our professional journeys. It celebrates those who have made bold moves with a view towards inspiring others to pursue their own non-linear paths. Listen to their most recent episode: “Robin Arzón: Resilience Through Running.”
Could you tell us a little more about the award-winning host of the show?
She Pivots is hosted by Emily Tisch Sussman – women’s empowerment and family policy advocate, contributing editor to Marie Claire, and mother of three. Emily started She Pivots as a way to find inspiration in other women after struggling to leave behind her old career as a leading political strategist and redefine what success meant to her. The foundation of the podcast gets to the heart of why pivoting is personal and is a driving force in the way Emily approaches conversations with She Pivots guests.
Before starting She Pivots, Emily had an extensive career working in politics in Washington, D.C. In under two decades, Emily had over 250 television appearances on cable news shows as a political correspondent, worked on numerous campaigns (including former President Barack Obama’s in 2008) and helped drive policy change.
How did the concept of the series evolve over time?
She Pivots was born out of Emily’s need for inspiration after going through her own personal pivot. In 2018, she was at the height of her political career – working as an executive at one of the largest think tanks in Washington, D.C., taking on huge fights like repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (the military’s ban on gay service members) and going head-to-head with the NRA. After having three kids in four years during the chaos of the Trump Presidency, she decided to pivot and leave behind her decade-long career in politics. It was a crushing blow of defeat. Without her career as an anchor and political professional, she slowly began to lose her grip on her personal identity. In 2022, Emily started She Pivots to highlight the pivot stories she needed when she took the jump. Pivoting is about choosing yourself, even when it’s scary.
She Pivots is a highly-edited program, designed to tell the life stories of our guests centered around a personal pivot point. In order to do this, we supplement our guest interviews with narrative and archival audio that contextualize key points in each guest’s journey. As the show has evolved, we’ve added “Candid Convo” episodes that feature more casual conversations between Emily and friends of the show. These episodes allow our audience to form a better, deeper relationship with our host, all while learning a thing or two about our favorite topic: pivoting.
Emily started She Pivots to highlight the pivot stories she needed when she took the jump. Pivoting is about choosing yourself, even when it’s scary.
How big is the podcast team?
She Pivots is proud to be an independent podcast created by a small team! Including Emily, a team of six people create the show.
Which aspects of the team’s work are you all most proud of?
The ability to create a podcast season that highlights a diverse group of women pivoters who have different stories, backgrounds, careers and interests. We are also proud of Emily’s ability, as a host, to connect with each guest and highlight the moment in their life when they chose themself – and pivoted.
What has been your biggest takeaway from this podcast?
Two things: preparation and research is key, and it’s hard to encapsulate someone’s entire life story in 30-40 minutes.
What does winning a Davey Award mean to the team?
It’s validation that this topic resonates with people! When we started this show, it was born out of Emily’s own experience, but we knew there were others who were likely experiencing the same fear and doubt that comes with self prioritization and discovery. We are so honored to be able to share our peers’ pivoting stories!
Credits
Phineas Ellis – Sound Engineer
Emily Etta Volovsek – Executive Producer
Hannah Cousins – Associate Producer
Christine Dickason – Research
Madeline Sinovic – Admin Manager