Content Warning: This episode discusses Postpartum Depression. We cover topics including mental health struggles and parental burnout. Please listen with care.

Building a career while navigating new motherhood can feel like an impossible balancing act. But for Courtney Nugent, an unexpected layoff at eight months pregnant became the catalyst for something transformative. After years of thriving in leadership roles at top tech companies, Courtney found herself at a crossroads, one that would reshape how she thought about work, family, and what success really means.

Courtney shares her journey of navigating career transitions during pregnancy and postpartum, and how she turned uncertainty into opportunity by building a more flexible, intentional work-life structure. She walks us through the emotional and mental weight of adjusting to motherhood, while staying professionally ambitious. She also opens up about the role self-care played in keeping her grounded and how she ultimately found peace in the unpredictability of it all.

This conversation allowed Courtney to open up about the mentors who shaped her path, the moment she chose to redefine success on her own terms, and why speaking honestly about the real challenges of modern motherhood isn't just personal. It's a call to action for workplaces everywhere.

Jump into the conversation:

(00:00) Meet Courtney Nugent

(01:17) Courtney’s remote work setup explained

(04:42) On deciding when to have kids

(08:01) The challenges of pregnancy commutes

(12:13) Laid off at eight months pregnant

(17:16) Opening up about postpartum depression

(20:24) Planning a career return after birth

(23:59) The reality of prenatal depression

(26:07) Gaps in postpartum care system

(28:31) Challenges of job searching as a new parent

(33:22) Parenting roles shared out loud

(35:37) Navigating digital work boundaries

(38:22) Save of the week segment

Connect with Mallory Lee: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mallorylee/

Connect with Shannon Curran: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannon-sweeny-curran/

Connect with Courtney Nugent: https://www.linkedin.com/in/courtney-steinkrauss/

Check out Blue Onion: https://www.blueonion.ai/

Produced in partnership with Share Your Genius

www.shareyourgenius.com

Building a career and raising a family can be a juggling act, but for Mel Goodman, it became a chance to create something meaningful after experiencing a major career crossroads. After spending years in the tech industry and leading teams, Mel found herself at a pivotal moment when she had to dissolve a team due to the effects of COVID-19.

Mel shares her journey of founding WorkMom, a business dedicated to helping women navigate career transitions while balancing motherhood. She walks us through the emotional challenges of redefining success and ambition, the importance of creating boundaries, and how she helps women make high-stakes decisions from a place of clarity and confidence.

Mel also opens up about the importance of support systems, her experience with modern motherhood, and the strategies she used to build a life that integrates both career fulfillment and family life.

Jump into the conversation:

(00:00) Meet Mel Goodman

(02:49) How Shannon and Mallory connected in business

(05:11) Mel’s system for work-life balance

(07:19) From Salesforce to becoming a founder

(12:24) Navigating career crossroads after having kids

(13:58) Setting boundaries and creating family systems

(18:47) Dealing with confidence dips and mom brain

(23:06) Overcoming imposter syndrome after maternity leave

(26:49) Postpartum pressure, resentment, and career struggles

(27:52) Zooming out after setbacks in motherhood

(28:27) Learning from mistakes and mom perspective

(29:22) Morning chaos and celebrating small wins

(31:04) Addressing burnout and redefining success

(32:32) Managing energy, boundaries, and self-care

(39:46) Burnout impact and vision for working moms

(41:55) Designing life goals before work priorities

(44:27) Weekly saves, sleep tips, and working mom hacks

Connect with Mallory Lee: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mallorylee/

Connect with Shannon Curran: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannon-sweeny-curran/

Connect with Mel Goodman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melgoodman/

Check out WorkMom: https://www.workmom.io/thecollective

Try Riverside Pro free for a month with code fullstackmoms at https://creators.riverside.com/FullStackMoms

Produced in partnership with Share Your Genius

www.shareyourgenius.com

If you’ve ever wondered whether it’s actually possible to build a high-growth tech company while raising a family, this conversation will challenge everything you think you know.

Join us as we talk with Alina Vandenberghe, Co-founder and CEO of Chili Piper, about what it really looks like to lead at the highest level while raising four kids. From navigating the constant tension between ambition and presence to redefining what success actually means, Alina shares how motherhood didn’t slow her down, it reshaped how she leads, thinks, and builds for the long term.

We also get into the real, unfiltered side of this journey: the mental load, the guilt, the tradeoffs, and the unexpected advantages. From building a remote-first company culture that supports parents to raising independent thinkers at home, Alina breaks down how she’s intentionally designing both her company and her life around what actually matters.

Jump into the conversation:

(00:00) Intro

(00:53) Quick look into Alina’s family and daily life

(02:59) Becoming visible online and building a public presence

(12:35) Bringing kids into work and business environments

(22:20) How motherhood shaped her CEO mindset

(25:24) Running a company and parenting as co-CEOs

(28:29) Navigating mom guilt and self-judgment

(32:47) Raising kids to think independently

(36:57) Rethinking parental leave and workplace flexibility

Connect with Mallory Lee: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mallorylee/

Connect with Shannon Curran: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannon-sweeny-curran/

Connect with Alina Vandenberghe: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alinav/

Check out Chili Piper: https://www.chilipiper.com/

Produced in partnership with Share Your Genius

www.shareyourgenius.com

Growing a family and building a business at the same time can feel overwhelming, but for Sydney Mulligan, it was an opportunity to do both - after she was laid off while on maternity leave. Yes, you read that right.

Sydney shares her journey of founding EMMIE Collective, a marketing and revenue operations agency. She walks us through the challenges she faced as a new mom starting a business, how she balanced career and motherhood, and how she leveraged her layoff to advance her entrepreneurial goals.

She also shares the unique perspective of growing a business while caring for young children, the importance of support networks, and her approach to building a flexible, family-friendly work environment.

Jump into the conversation:

(00:00) Meet Sydney Mulligan

(05:01) Building an agency-ish as a "third child"

(07:22) Why 12 weeks of paid leave isn't enough

(07:57) Navigating return-to-work inequity

(13:49) Job hunting for 6-month parental benefits

(18:04) Getting laid off while on maternity leave

(21:37) Networking strategies during a leave of absence

(23:14) Choosing entrepreneurship over a W2 role

(26:23) Scaling EMMIE Collective’s freelance model

(27:44) The risks of planning your own maternity leave

(34:25) How to backfill roles during parental leave

(37:04) Solving for a systemic lack of parent support

(42:27) Save of the week

Connect with Mallory Lee: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mallorylee/

Connect with Shannon Curran: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannon-sweeny-curran/

Connect with Sydney Mulligan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sydneymulligan/

Check out EMMIE Collective: https://www.instagram.com/emmiecollective

Produced in partnership with Share Your Genius

www.shareyourgenius.com

If you’ve ever wondered whether building a flexible career is really possible without losing yourself or missing the moments that matter most at home, this episode will feel familiar.

Join us as we talk with Rachel Johnson about going fractional, redefining identity beyond job titles, and choosing a career path that gives her more control over her time, her work, and her family life. From hard lessons in high-pressure roles to the wake-up call of realizing work had become too central to her identity, Rachel shares how she found a different way forward and why that shift changed everything.

We also get into the practical side of what this looks like day to day: setting firm calendar boundaries, protecting time for school pickups and cheer practice, creating contracts that support real life, and being present for the micro moments with kids that can so easily slip by.

Jump into the conversation:

(00:00) Meet fractional marketer Rachel Johnson

(01:20) Rachel’s first fractional summer experiment

(04:19) Daughter’s surgery became the breaking point

(05:18) Putting motherhood above job titles

(06:51) Fractional work brought freedom and control

(11:52) Why micro moments with kids matter

(21:19) Setting client expectations

(25:38) How Rachel blocks her calendar

(27:55) Fractional work drama on LinkedIn

(29:25) Gatekeeping around the operator label

(38:52) VC pressure and startup hiring reality

Connect with Mallory Lee: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mallorylee/

Connect with Shannon Curran: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannon-sweeny-curran/

Connect with Rachel Johnson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-m-johnson/

Produced in partnership with Share Your Genius

www.shareyourgenius.com

Building a big career while navigating motherhood is already a lot to organize, but once you throw travel into the mix, it can feel nearly impossible.

Join us as we talk with Sandy Robinson about her path from sales into sales operations leadership, the mentors who helped shape that transition, and the decisions she made about career and motherhood. From being the only woman in early sales roles to stepping into RevOps leadership after having her son, Sandy shares how her career evolved and what it took to keep moving forward while raising a family.

We also get into the day-to-day logistics of working parent life, from coordinating travel and family schedules to raising a gifted child who started college at 13. Sandy shares how she balances support and independence, stays present as a parent, and makes time for herself through coaching, fitness, and time away with friends.

Jump into the conversation:

(00:00) Meet Sandy Robinson

(02:14) Identity shifts after motherhood

(07:00) Choosing career first, motherhood later

(09:53) Tradeoffs when traveling for work as parents

(11:22) Why solo parenting sometimes feels simpler

(17:03) Parenting a 14-year-old college junior

(26:27) Saves of the week: coaches, nannies, and AirPods

(37:30) Advice for working moms

Connect with Mallory Lee: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mallorylee/

Connect with Shannon Curran: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannon-sweeny-curran/

Connect with Sandy Robinson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandyrobinson/

Produced in partnership with Share Your Genius

www.shareyourgenius.com

If you’ve ever felt like you needed a childcare plan before you were “allowed” to tell anyone you’re pregnant, this episode will feel familiar.

Join us as we talk about childcare: the waitlists, the deposits, the sticker shock, and the identity shift that can hit when your work life and family life collide.

We share what we’ve actually done across different seasons: daycare, sitters and part-time help, an au pair experience that changed everything, consulting with a baby, navigating shutdowns, and figuring out after-school coverage once the “daycare era” ends. We’re not here to tell you there’s one right answer. We’re here to remind you that you can change your mind, build your village over time, and make a plan that fits your life.

Jump into the conversation:

(00:00) Why childcare decisions feel so heavy

(00:21) The reality of parental leave in the US

(01:03) Daycare waitlists, deposits, and finding the right fit

(06:25) Weighing the budget & identity shift

(10:16) Nannies, au pairs, and the true cost of daycare

(16:38) After-school coverage when school ends at 2:45

(17:26) Starting a consulting business with a baby

(19:03) Making maternity leave work when self-employed

(22:26) Childcare options & building your village

(28:54) What saved our lives this week

Connect with Mallory Lee: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mallorylee/

Connect with Shannon Curran: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannon-sweeny-curran/

Produced in partnership with Share Your Genius

www.shareyourgenius.com

If excelling at work and motherhood at the same time feels harder than it should, know you’re not alone.

This is Full Stack Moms, a show for working moms navigating high-performing careers, motherhood, and life - just like we are. In this episode, we share our own stories of balancing full-time roles, staying home, consulting, fractional work, and everything in between.

This conversation sets the tone for the show by making one thing clear. We are not experts. But we are here to help you feel less alone, normalize how hard this phase can be, and create space for honest conversations about work, parenting, and life in the middle.

Jump into the conversation:

(00:00) Welcome to Full Stack Moms
(00:29) Navigating Career Transitions

(01:11) The Stay-at-Home Struggle

(04:12) Tech Industry Demands vs. Family Life

(07:21) Flexibility in Tech
(08:46) Fractional Work

(10:37) Breaking the "Perfect Mom" Myth
(14:34) Managing Expectations
(16:57) What to Expect from the Podcast

Connect with Mallory Lee: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mallorylee/

Connect with Shannon Curran: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannon-sweeny-curran/

Produced in partnership with Share Your Genius

www.shareyourgenius.com