What does it take to build a company from the ground up? In this episode of Career Slay, Kelly Poquiz Burke interviews owner and founder, Mark Lowery, the President & CEO of Lowery Property Advisors. LPA is a commercial appraisal and consulting firm completing a wide range of office, retail, and industrial projects throughout the southwest. We talk…

How do you use creativity for good? On this episode of Career Slay, Kelly Poquiz Burke interviews Pedro Lerma, CEO of LERMA/ Agency. Pedro shares his amazing career journey that started with his humble beginnings to now leading an award-winning ad agency with the mission, “Creativity For Good.” Pedro emphasizes the importance of gratitude as a key …

How do you respond to obstacles in life? Do you let them define you or do you redefine them? In this Career Slay episode, host Kelly Poquiz Burke dives deep into the obstacles she’s faced and how those have shaped her career. Kelly shares how she overcame $80K in student loan debt, learned how to walk again after multiple hip surgeries, and beat br…

How do you manifest your “dream job?” In this podcast episode, I interview Michelle Wong, the CMO of Sprinkles Bakeries & Picnik Restaurants. Michelle shares about her culinary background, how creativity led her to a career in advertising, and how her combined passions have manifested into the role she has today - her dream job. We discuss the chal…

Can storytelling change the world for good? On this episode of Career Slay, I interview Meg Griffiths, co-founder of Universe Creative, a documentary production company, and director "Impossible Town." We discuss Meg's career journey, including her transition from photojournalism to Teach For America to filmmaking and the challenges she faced as a …

Have you ever been curious about a career in social media? In this episode of the Career Slay podcast, I sit down with Varun Jindal, a brand partnerships manager at TikTok, about his career journey in social media. Varun discusses his experience co-founding a South Asian media company, Bollyshake, and the dedication it took to grow an Instagram com…

How do you turn a neighborhood bakery into a beloved brand? In this episode of Career Slay, I interview Maricsa Trejo, the owner of La Casita Bakeshop. Maricsa shares her journey from working in professional kitchens to building a successful James Beard-nominated bakery with lines around the corner. She gives her advice for anyone who is trying to …

Has anyone ever encouraged you to “bring your whole self to work”? In this episode Jeff Roberts, the President of Augustine Agency, discusses the importance of bringing your authentic self to work and how critical building relationships are in his role as an advertising executive. He shares the challenges he faced coming out as openly gay mid-caree…

In this episode of Career Slay, I interview Chrissy McGarry, who shares her journey from being a stay-at-home mom to becoming the COO of a national security software company, Second Front Systems. She talks about the challenges of transitioning into a full-time job after becoming a mom, finding work-life harmony, and dealing with workplace bias as …

Are you interested in learning more about a career in design? In this episode of Career Slay, I sit down with design consultant, Dan Jacobs. Dan is an innovation lead, design director, and lifelong entrepreneur who has worked in various fields such as industrial design, interaction design, service design, and innovation consulting. Dan is currently…

Have you ever heard of a pelvic floor therapist? In this Career Slay episode, I interview board-certified pelvic and abdominal health physical therapist, Kat Nasseri. We talk about what pelvic floor therapy is and how she found her passion for this unique practice. Kat discusses her work advocating for patients of all genders and ages and helping t…

Have you ever made a pivot in your career? Now imagine doing that, not just once, but twice!! In this episode of Career Slay, Dr. Gary Orosy, Adjunct Professor of Marketing at SMU Cox School of Business, takes us through his three career stints in marketing, consulting, and academia. An accomplished global marketer, Gary talks about his time at Pro…

What’s it really like being a woman in tech? My next Career Slay guest is Robin Brown. Robin has over 12 years of experience in tech spanning across organizations like Whirlpool and Google. Robin currently leads a team of engineers and technical consultants within the Professional Services Organization at Google. We talk about how she uses her soci…

I’m sure you’ve heard someone at work say: “Don’t stress. It’s not like we’re curing cancer.” Well my next guest on Career Slay literally is. I interview Paula Schneider, the president and CEO of Susan G. Komen. Paula is responsible for the world's largest breast cancer research portfolio, almost 1 billion in funding to date, and a network of more …

Have you heard the saying: “If you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life?” My next guest on Career Slay, Dr. Shad Hattaway, LOVES what he does, but it’s his passion for dentistry that fuels his extraordinary work ethic. In this episode, we talk about how Dr. Hattaway grew up the 9th of ten children and how early financial hardships…

Have you ever thought about the #legacy you want to leave behind? In this episode of Career Slay, I interview Erin Sarofsky, the President, Owner, and Executive Creative Director of Sarofsky Corp. As a female founder and director, Erin is breaking barriers in her industry and designing her own legacy. We talk about how she built her company one ste…

Have you ever asked yourself “When in my adult life was I the happiest?” That’s the question my next guest on Career Slay asked, and his answer led him to a meaningful career that he loves. In our latest episode, I sit down with Dave Jackson, a journalist turned public relations expert, and now, the Director of Admissions for the Master of Accounti…

Do you find yourself running away from change? My next Career Slay guest chases it. In this episode, I interview Jorge Almeida, a seasoned marketer who has worked on iconic brands like Bud Light, Michelob Ultra, and Avocados From Mexico. Jorge talks about how change was the central theme of his childhood and how dealing with change shaped his caree…

On this episode of Career Slay, I’m sitting down with Michael Ytem, Senior Vice President at Younger Partners. Michael has over eight years of commercial real estate experience in the North Texas land market and was twice named a D CEO Power Broker. We talk about how Michael’s entire family is in real estate, how he’s found “ikigai”, and the value …

In this episode of Career Slay, I interview my sister and fashionista, Kimberly Poquiz. Kim has worked in fashion for the past 10 years as a product developer for companies such as Halston, Guess, Uniqlo, Theory, Helmut Lang, and most recently, CUTS Clothing. We talk about how our grandma inspired her passion for fashion when she was only in 2nd gr…

How do you build a career you love when school just isn’t your thing? In this next episode of Career Slay, I’m catching up with massage therapist, Sean Lopez. We talk about his struggle to stay motivated at school and how he was told that you can’t make money off your passions. Sean proved the doubters wrong and is now the owner of Glory Manual Mov…

Do you love the path you’re on even if you just fell into that career? In this episode of Career Slay, I’m catching up with banking and finance guru, Nat Amaratana. With over 15 years of experience at prominent companies like J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs, and Amazon, Nat tells us how he fell into a finance career after immigrating from Thailand, but …

Does using creativity to impact social change sound inspiring? My next Career Slay guest, Lane Lowe, turns inspiration into action every single day. As a cofounder of Matterlab, Lane combines her marketing expertise and passion for educational equity to help leaders clarify their identities and communicate their impact. In this episode, we talk abo…

How many of us know a passionate educator who quit teaching as a result of the pandemic? My next Career Slay guest, Camille Awayan, always knew that education was her vocation. Camille talks about how her immigrant experience highlighted the value of education and the role it played in shaping her career choices. As an English middle school teacher…

Do you know anyone who already had it figured out at the age of 17? In this episode, I’m chatting with serial entrepreneur, Kristian Bottini. Kristian is the CEO and founder of the digital marketing agency, 270B. We talk about Kristian’s early beginnings as a young entrepreneur selling candy at his high school, how he dropped out of college to purs…

In this episode, I’m talking with HR-guru, Michelle Milberger. She’s the VP of People Operations for Kizen in Austin, TX and has over 10 years of experience in the human resources space. We discuss how she fell into HR, her international career journey, and how she’s putting people first in people ops. Enjoying the show? Please consider subscribing…

For our first episode, I'm talking to Kinza Azmat. She's a multi-hyphenate: an entrepreneur, CEO, ex-consultant, former engineer, and my best friend. We discuss the genesis of Career Slay, her journey as a Pakistani-American woman in male-dominated industries, and her decision to eventually buy her own business and become her own boss. Enjoying the…

After getting diagnosed with breast cancer at 30, while pregnant with my first born, during a global pandemic, I never wanted to treat life like it was a dress rehearsal ever again. And because I got this second chance, I hope to help as many people as I can live their lives authentically and find a career that brings them joy. I'm Kelly Poquiz Bur…