Shows
Sports Will Save Us AllThe Woman Who Cares for Racehorses & Conquers Swim Runs | Naomi MellorA dynamic figure in both the podcasting and sports worlds, Naomi Mellor shares her unique journey from caring for racehorses as a large animal veterinarian to competing in the thrilling Swim Run endurance challenge known as Ötillö. As Sasha and Naomi dive into her diverse experiences, Naomi reveals how her passion for animals and sports has shaped her life. She discusses the challenges and rewards of being a veterinarian in the high-stakes environment of horse racing, and the work she’s done toward making the racing world a more inclusive, supportive environment for women. Listeners will be insp...2024-10-2241 min
rEvolutionary WomanNaomi Mellor – Founder of Everybody Media & the International Women’s Podcast AwardsNaomi Mellor is a multi-faceted and multi-talented podcast host and producer, entrepreneur and veterinarian. Since starting her first podcast, Smashing the Ceiling, she has hosted and produced multiple successful shows, with clients including Nestlé and Closer Still Media. She is the founder of Everybody Media (formerly known as The Skylark Collective), first European-based community for … Naomi Mellor – Founder of Everybody Media & the International Women’s Podcast Awards Read More »2024-01-1851 min
Next Step Vet: How to Create a Meaningful Career4. How to Change Careers Without Losing My Identity as a Veterinarian? (with Naomi Mellor)You're a vet considering a change of career.But how can you do this without losing your identity as a veterinarian? How do you handle the change in career, without a change in identity? Overcoming the expectations - and maybe even disappointment - of family and friends. Where will you fit in when you're no longer a clinical vet?-Our guest this week: Naomi Mellor (equine vet turned professional podcaster)Naomi took an unusual turn in her career as a vet...2023-02-2842 min
Smashing The CeilingSeason 6 TrailerWe’ve been away for a little while, but we are back! I’m Naomi Mellor, and I’m delighted to let you know that there’s a new season of Smashing The Ceiling just around the corner, with all sorts of delights awaiting you. In this podcast we chat to women with unusual, interesting and inspiring careers, and we’re kicking off Season 6 with comedian, author, actor, podcaster and deaf activist Samantha Baines, one of the funniest women I have ever met. My chat with Sam ranged from meeting Channing Tatum whilst working in an art gallery at...2023-02-1301 min
Borborygmi: Noises From The Veterinary World39. Jenny Guyat and Libby Kemkaren-Thompson - Part TwoToday we’ve got the second part of my chat with Libby Kemkaren-Thompson and Jenny Guyat, both career coaches with a huge interest in money mindset that really comes across in their conversation. In this episode they’re discussing the ins and outs of money mindset as a vet, how the attitudes of the general public can crush our confidence around money, and how changing your perspective around money can alter your earning potential. VetYou are a veterinary-led community encouraging you to face up to your finances, get the help and advice you need, and start paving the wa...2020-12-2115 min
Borborygmi: Noises From The Veterinary World39. Jenny Guyat and Libby Kemkaren-Thompson - Part TwoToday we’ve got the second part of my chat with Libby Kemkaren-Thompson and Jenny Guyat, both career coaches with a huge interest in money mindset that really comes across in their conversation. In this episode they’re discussing the ins and outs of money mindset as a vet, how the attitudes of the general public can crush our confidence around money, and how changing your perspective around money can alter your earning potential. VetYou are a veterinary-led community encouraging you to face up to your finances, get the help and advice you need, and start paving the wa...2020-12-2115 min
Borborygmi: Noises From The Veterinary World38. Jenny Guyat and Libby Kemkaren-Thompson - Part OneThere was so much wisdom, interesting stuff and general fun in this episode that I couldn't cram it all into one podcast, so you've got not one, but TWO sessions with the fabulous Jenny Guyat and Libby Kemkaren-Thompson coming your way this week as a pre-Christmas treat! Libby and Jen will be familiar to many of you - they've both been supporting and inspiring people within the veterinary profession for many years, and are both brilliant career coaches helping others to unlock their potential. Today they're talking about what "money mindset" is, understanding your own attitudes towards m...2020-12-1715 min
Borborygmi: Noises From The Veterinary World38. Jenny Guyat and Libby Kemkaren-Thompson - Part OneThere was so much wisdom, interesting stuff and general fun in this episode that I couldn't cram it all into one podcast, so you've got not one, but TWO sessions with the fabulous Jenny Guyat and Libby Kemkaren-Thompson coming your way this week as a pre-Christmas treat! Libby and Jen will be familiar to many of you - they've both been supporting and inspiring people within the veterinary profession for many years, and are both brilliant career coaches helping others to unlock their potential. Today they're talking about what "money mindset" is, understanding your own attitudes towards m...2020-12-1715 min
Borborygmi: Noises From The Veterinary World37. Chris and Sarah McIntoshToday I’m joined by Chris and Sarah McIntosh, a married pair of vets from Cornwall. As you’ll hear, the story of their lives for the last 10 years has been shaped by the consequences of Chris’s brain injury as a result of hydrocephalus. I was really moved and amazed during this chat: it strikes me that neither Chris nor Sarah are the kind of people who seek sympathy or dwell in self-pity, instead their good humour and capacity to just get on with life is really what shines through. I want to thank them both for sharing their...2020-12-1416 min
Borborygmi: Noises From The Veterinary World37. Chris and Sarah McIntoshToday I’m joined by Chris and Sarah McIntosh, a married pair of vets from Cornwall. As you’ll hear, the story of their lives for the last 10 years has been shaped by the consequences of Chris’s brain injury as a result of hydrocephalus. I was really moved and amazed during this chat: it strikes me that neither Chris nor Sarah are the kind of people who seek sympathy or dwell in self-pity, instead their good humour and capacity to just get on with life is really what shines through. I want to thank them both for sharing their...2020-12-1416 min
Borborygmi: Noises From The Veterinary World36. Vivan Shridharani and Rory CowlamToday, we’re mostly talking about getting old. Yes, it’ll happen to all of us whether we like it or not, and if you’re like me and have no clue about pensions then hopefully this chat might be somewhat enlightening. Joining me today are Rory Cowlam, a small animal vet in London, with a parallel career as a TV vet , appearing regularly on The Pets Factor and Blue Peter amongst others. He’s also a published author, and I’m pretty sure he’s the first guest on Borborygmi to have a Wikipedia page... Vivan Shr...2020-12-1017 min
Borborygmi: Noises From The Veterinary World36. Vivan Shridharani and Rory CowlamToday, we’re mostly talking about getting old. Yes, it’ll happen to all of us whether we like it or not, and if you’re like me and have no clue about pensions then hopefully this chat might be somewhat enlightening. Joining me today are Rory Cowlam, a small animal vet in London, with a parallel career as a TV vet , appearing regularly on The Pets Factor and Blue Peter amongst others. He’s also a published author, and I’m pretty sure he’s the first guest on Borborygmi to have a Wikipedia page... Vivan Shr...2020-12-1017 min
Borborygmi: Noises From The Veterinary World35. Katie Ford and Naomi MellorOne thing I’ve really noticed since doing these podcasts is how amazing it is that when you start being honest and open about things that you find other people have been through the same things as you. I was quite ashamed for a while that my working life was affected by having varicose veins in one of my legs, and was blown away when I started chatting to Katie Ford - a small animal vet and digital entrepreneur - and found she’d had the same thing - in fact, much more severely than me. We’ve both got fa...2020-12-0716 min
Borborygmi: Noises From The Veterinary World35. Katie Ford and Naomi MellorOne thing I’ve really noticed since doing these podcasts is how amazing it is that when you start being honest and open about things that you find other people have been through the same things as you. I was quite ashamed for a while that my working life was affected by having varicose veins in one of my legs, and was blown away when I started chatting to Katie Ford - a small animal vet and digital entrepreneur - and found she’d had the same thing - in fact, much more severely than me. We’ve both got fa...2020-12-0716 min
Borborygmi: Noises From The Veterinary World34. Gudrun Ravetz and Alison LambertToday’s episode is an absolute corker - I know, I know, I have a tendency to say that fairly often but the wisdom and practical advice meted out in this podcast is really worthwhile and I can’t wait for you to hear it. Gudrun Ravetz has - in her words - a portfolio career these days, including holding the position of Head Veterinary Officer at Simply Health. She’s also a past-president of both BVA and SPVS and lives in north Cumbria where she’s likely to be found on her bike or in a wetsuit s...2020-12-0319 min
Borborygmi: Noises From The Veterinary World34. Gudrun Ravetz and Alison LambertToday’s episode is an absolute corker - I know, I know, I have a tendency to say that fairly often but the wisdom and practical advice meted out in this podcast is really worthwhile and I can’t wait for you to hear it. Gudrun Ravetz has - in her words - a portfolio career these days, including holding the position of Head Veterinary Officer at Simply Health. She’s also a past-president of both BVA and SPVS and lives in north Cumbria where she’s likely to be found on her bike or in a wetsuit s...2020-12-0319 min
Borborygmi: Noises From The Veterinary World33. Katrin Jahn and Mike KitchenWe’re kicking off today on the theme of entrepreneurship and cultivating an entrepreneur mindset in the veterinary profession! Taking the leap into running your own business can be daunting, whatever it is you do, and running a business brings its own challenges. Katrin Jahn is the head vet and owner of GVC, the German Veterinary Clinic in Abu Dhabi, which she founded in 2008. Mike Kitchen is GVC’s business advisor, himself an experienced leader and manager of people and client relationships. After starting from scratch, the clinic is now a large, thriving enterprise with multiple diversified inte...2020-11-3017 min
Borborygmi: Noises From The Veterinary World33. Katrin Jahn and Mike KitchenWe’re kicking off today on the theme of entrepreneurship and cultivating an entrepreneur mindset in the veterinary profession! Taking the leap into running your own business can be daunting, whatever it is you do, and running a business brings its own challenges. Katrin Jahn is the head vet and owner of GVC, the German Veterinary Clinic in Abu Dhabi, which she founded in 2008. Mike Kitchen is GVC’s business advisor, himself an experienced leader and manager of people and client relationships. After starting from scratch, the clinic is now a large, thriving enterprise with multiple diversified inte...2020-11-3017 min
Borborygmi: Noises From The Veterinary WorldSeason 2 is coming!We are BACK! Hello hello and welcome to Borborygmi: Noises from the Veterinary World, the show that lets you overhear conversations between veterinary professionals about anything and everything that’s topical in the industry - the triumphs and the tribulations, they’re all in here. I’m Naomi Mellor, vet and podcaster, and we are into Season 2! 2020 has been QUITE the year, which for a lot of us has featured more tribulations than triumphs if we’re honest. So in the spirit of recognising that the pandemic has upended a lot of people’s finances, we thought we’d bring...2020-11-2702 min
Borborygmi: Noises From The Veterinary WorldSeason 2 is coming!We are BACK! Hello hello and welcome to Borborygmi: Noises from the Veterinary World, the show that lets you overhear conversations between veterinary professionals about anything and everything that’s topical in the industry - the triumphs and the tribulations, they’re all in here. I’m Naomi Mellor, vet and podcaster, and we are into Season 2! 2020 has been QUITE the year, which for a lot of us has featured more tribulations than triumphs if we’re honest. So in the spirit of recognising that the pandemic has upended a lot of people’s finances, we thought we’d bring...2020-11-2702 min
Borborygmi: Noises From The Veterinary World28. COVID Special - Jessica Kania and Dawn GarveyWe are so thrilled that today we’ve got our first international guests on Borborygmi! A little milestone for the pod. Naomi’s guests today are Jessia Kania and Dawn Garvey, both veterinarians in small animal practice in Illinois, outside of Chicago. Jessica graduated in 2017 and Dawn in 2009, and they are former colleagues and good friends. In this chat they talk about life in the USA with the shelter in place order, and some of the financial pressures that COVID has brought to their practices. Borborygmi is a collaboration between the London Vet Show, Vet Times, Vets:Stay...2020-08-1714 min
Borborygmi: Noises From The Veterinary World25. COVID Special - Louise Turley and Matt YarnallYou’ll quickly realise from listening to the gentle ribbings doled out in this episode of Borborygmi that today's guests are two people that Naomi knows very well. Louise Turley is a small animal vet and a Director of Mulberry House Vets, an independent practice that she co-founded with two other vets and their practice manager in January 2019. Matt Yarnall joined Boehringer Ingelheim as a cattle veterinary advisor 8 years ago, and now works exclusively in a marketing role. They all went to college together many moons ago, plus the three of them live near each other and are VERY go...2020-08-1714 min
Borborygmi: Noises From The Veterinary World21. COVID Special - Kieran Borgeat and Shaun TaylorOn today's Borborygmi Zoom call, Naomi caught up with Kieran Borgeat, clinical lead in veterinary cardiology at Langford Vets at the University of Bristol, and his great friend Shaun Taylor, a the founder and director of Yatton Vets in Somerset, an independent first-opinion practice. These two have been friends since their uni days at Bristol and here discuss their contrasting experiences of employment during Coronavirus - Kieran is now on furlough, whilst Shaun is running his practice single-handedly with his nurses, and - awkwardly - had to furlough his mum! Borborygmi is a collaboration between the London V...2020-08-1714 min
Borborygmi: Noises From The Veterinary World30. Liz Bode and Scott KilpatrickI absolutely loved these two! This was a delight of a conversation with a lot of laughs and I'm so pleased that we made it happen - I should probably add that Liz was 39 weeks pregnant at the time of recording... Liz Bode is a veterinary cardiology specialist - our second one featured in the COVID specials, who’d have thought it - who works at ChesterGates Veterinary Specialists in Cheshire. Scott Kilpatrick is a specialist in small animal internal medicine and was recently appointed head of medicine at Wear Referrals in the north east. In tandem wi...2020-08-1700 min
Borborygmi: Noises From The Veterinary World29. Jessi Benn and Nat ScroggieThis week we are talking side hustles, and today's conversation on Borborygmi features two friends, Jessi Benn and Nat Scroggie, who discussed a little about what it’s like to take risks in your career as a vet. They’ve both been in practice for a few years, and are now exploring what avenues they’d like to pursue within the veterinary profession and beyond, and are both combining locuming with side hustles and other projects. Nat loves running and is combining blogging with her clinical career, whilst Jessi talks about how career coaching has encouraged her no end! ...2020-08-1700 min
Borborygmi: Noises From The Veterinary World28. COVID Special - Jessica Kania and Dawn GarveyWe are so thrilled that today we’ve got our first international guests on Borborygmi! A little milestone for the pod. Naomi’s guests today are Jessia Kania and Dawn Garvey, both veterinarians in small animal practice in Illinois, outside of Chicago. Jessica graduated in 2017 and Dawn in 2009, and they are former colleagues and good friends. In this chat they talk about life in the USA with the shelter in place order, and some of the financial pressures that COVID has brought to their practices. Borborygmi is a collaboration between the London Vet Show, Vet Times, Vets:Stay...2020-08-1700 min
Borborygmi: Noises From The Veterinary World27. Brian Faulkner and Stephanie Writer-DavisBetween them, Brian Faulkner and Stephanie Writer-Davis have a wealth of experience in clinical practice. Brian has been a vet for almost 25 years and has made a career out of diversifying within the profession, from setting up practice on his own to completing masters degrees in both business and psychology. Steph is a general practitioner with 35 years of experience under her belt, and both are past-presidents of SPVS, which is how they met. But in a world of increasing specialisation and diversification, it is often easy to lose sight of the importance of the basics and both Steph and B...2020-08-1700 min
Borborygmi: Noises From The Veterinary World26. Holly Sutton and Hannah FitzsimmondsAs final year vet students at Bristol and Surrey respectively, both Hannah FItzsimmonds and Holly Sutton know the myriad stresses that vet students face each year and are both dedicated to doing something to tackle it. Hannah is the Welfare Representative for the AVS, and Holly is one third of the start up VetFit- a research driven veterinary service dedicated to reducing the impact of stress through sport, exercise and social support. We join their conversation talking about their own experiences as final year students and get their failsafe tips for managing stress in the process. Borborygmi i...2020-08-1700 min
Borborygmi: Noises From The Veterinary World25. COVID Special - Louise Turley and Matt YarnallYou’ll quickly realise from listening to the gentle ribbings doled out in this episode of Borborygmi that today's guests are two people that Naomi knows very well. Louise Turley is a small animal vet and a Director of Mulberry House Vets, an independent practice that she co-founded with two other vets and their practice manager in January 2019. Matt Yarnall joined Boehringer Ingelheim as a cattle veterinary advisor 8 years ago, and now works exclusively in a marketing role. They all went to college together many moons ago, plus the three of them live near each other and are VERY go...2020-08-1700 min
Borborygmi: Noises From The Veterinary World24. Sean McCormack and Adrian Nelson-PrattThis week is Mental Health Awareness Week in the UK, and this conversation features Adrian Nelson-Pratt, and Sean McCormack talking openly on that subject. You’ll probably quickly realise that the two of them are great friends. having known one another well for some years now since Sean was the student rep for Hills pet foods at Dublin University, and Adrian was the Hills Veterinary Affairs Manager. Sean is now the head vet for tails.com, a bespoke online pet food company, and following many years in veterinary industry, Adrian is now an independent business consultant and personal performance coa...2020-08-1700 min
Borborygmi: Noises From The Veterinary World23. COVID Special - Liv Bass and Zara AbasToday’s guests on Borborygmi are Liv Bass and Zara Abas. Liv and Zara are final year vet students at the University of Nottingham; Zara is from North Wales, and Liv is from the north east, and they are both currently locked down with their families. They are in the process of revising for their finals, which are due to take place very soon. Clearly the Coronavirus pandemic has played havoc with university education in ways we might not have dreamed possible, particularly for vet students when you consider EMS and rotations as well as the usual forms of stud...2020-08-1700 min
Borborygmi: Noises From The Veterinary World22. Aubrey Kumm and Tim KousiThis week on Borborygmi, we drop in on a conversation between Aubrey Kumm and Timokleia Kousi. Aubrey is a vet who got bitten by the technology bug while completing a masters in neuroscience. He has spent the last 3 years developing a veterinary platform and app called Guava Vet, which tackles a big issue facing our profession today - recruitment. Here, he talks to Timokleia, founder of Vet Futurist and one of a growing number of professionals helping vets to make the most of technology by creating content about digital innovation and spreading the word about the benefits of tech. T...2020-08-1700 min
Borborygmi: Noises From The Veterinary World21. COVID Special - Kieran Borgeat and Shaun TaylorOn today's Borborygmi Zoom call, Naomi caught up with Kieran Borgeat, clinical lead in veterinary cardiology at Langford Vets at the University of Bristol, and his great friend Shaun Taylor, a the founder and director of Yatton Vets in Somerset, an independent first-opinion practice. These two have been friends since their uni days at Bristol and here discuss their contrasting experiences of employment during Coronavirus - Kieran is now on furlough, whilst Shaun is running his practice single-handedly with his nurses, and - awkwardly - had to furlough his mum! Borborygmi is a collaboration between the London V...2020-08-1700 min
Borborygmi: Noises From The Veterinary World20. Hannah Fitzsimmonds and Matt DobbsIn this episode of Borborygmi, we’re talking about money. Hannah Fitzsimmonds is a final year vet student at Bristol University and until recently, was the AVS Welfare rep. Matt Dobbs qualified from the University of Edinburgh in 1999 and was a farm vet for many years, progressing to be the managing director of Westpoint Farm Vets. He is also a trustee of the Animal Welfare Foundation and a co-founder of VetYou, which aims to get vets thinking about their finances and financial future. Borborygmi is a collaboration between the London Vet Show, Vet Times, Vets:Stay Go Div...2020-08-1700 min
Borborygmi: Noises From The Veterinary World19. COVID Special - Holly Norman and Jenny Bowen-SmithToday, on the second Corona special of Borborygmi, I’m joined by Holly Norman and Jenny Bowen-Smith. Holly is a joint venture partner with Vets4Pets, and is in charge two practices in Peterborough with her business partner Laura. Jenny is a small animal vet in the first opinion practice at one of the vet schools, so whilst she primarily sees cases, she is also involved in teaching and lecturing. These two met at the RVC, from where they graduated in 2011. They were in the same rotation group at university and according to Jenny, have been great friends, drinking bud...2020-08-1700 min
Borborygmi: Noises From The Veterinary World18. Fiona Andrew and Sophie WalshToday on Borborygmi, Sophie is chatting with Fiona Andrew. Fiona has been a qualified vet nurse for almost 20 years and has spent much of her career looking at what it means to be a nurse in modern veterinary practice. Currently working as a Business Support Manager for the Vet Partners Group, Fiona is also Chair of the BVA advisory board. This conversation covers the relationship between vets, vet nurses and owners in practice and also discusses Fiona’s work as leader of an important new Vet Nurse task force - a joint BVA and BVNA initiative that looks at th...2020-08-1700 min
Borborygmi: Noises From The Veterinary World17. COVID Special - Ami Sawran and Fi BoothbyToday's podcast marks the start of a special set of extra Borborygmi episodes we have recently recorded to capture the changes to life in the veterinary profession since the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic. We'll be featuring vets, nurses and students from across the industry over the next few weeks, with conversations interspersed amongst the original Borborygmi collection recorded at last year's London Vet Show. Our first guests on the 'Covid Special' version of Borborygmi are Ami Sawran, a practice principal at Westpoint Vets, with an interest in small ruminants and camelids, and Fi Boothby, a predominantly d...2020-07-2900 min
Borborygmi: Noises From The Veterinary World16. Cat Henstridge and Katie RobertsCat Henstridge - better known as Cat the Vet - is a small animal practitioner, writer, blogger and frequent contributor to social media including video and written content. She describes herself as a ‘pretty normal vet really, who just happens to rant about things online every so often’. Katie Roberts is a vet student at Cambridge University, and the current president of the Association of Veterinary Students. They’re talking social media and our relationship to it in the veterinary profession. Borborygmi is a collaboration between the London Vet Show, Vet Times, Vets:Stay Go Diversify and Smashi...2020-07-2900 min
Borborygmi: Noises From The Veterinary World15. Taimur Alavi and Rebecca de StacpooleIn uncertain times, creativity can provide a great deal of solace, and creativity is the theme of today's discussion in the Borborygmi booth. Taimur Alavi and Rebecca de Stacpoole met at vet school in Bristol. Bex works as a small animal vet in West London and is also an artist, spending much of the free time she has painting and and selling her artwork. Taimur left clinical practice to found his company IVALA, a tech company that creates interactive 3D learning content for the veterinary community, that he sold to the Veterinary Information Network and continues to develop. Here, t...2020-07-2900 min
Smashing The CeilingKerrie Hedley - on women in veterinary leadershipToday’s episode is a special collaboration for Smashing The Ceiling, as I’ve produced this conversation in partnership with Veterinary Woman, a platform to help and inspire women to develop the confidence to overcome challenges and follow their passions. They want to encourage women to be at the forefront of clinical practice, specialisation, professional bodies, corporates, education, research, industry, government - to have female leaders in every area of veterinary influence.And so my special guest today is a women who embodies all the qualities that both Veterinary Woman and Smashing The Ceiling love to share with...2020-07-0340 min
Smashing The Ceiling82. Borborygmi - Navaratnam Partheeban and Libby Kemkaren-ThompsonToday is the final episode of Borborygmi for this season and we’re ending with a conversation on diversity and racism in the veterinary profession. This may be uncomfortable listening for some of you. You may roll your eyes and say ‘This is pointless. I’m not a racist. I’m tired of hearing about Black Lives Matter. It isn’t relevant to me”. Imagine how tired people of colour are at this point in time, having to constantly justify themselves and their place in Great Britain. To deny the existence of racism in the veterinary world is to deny the live...2020-06-2200 min
Smashing The Ceiling81. Borborygmi - James Greenwood and Sophie WalshThis is the last of our episodes recorded at last year's London Vet Show (sad!) but before the Show closed its doors and they brought our podcast booth down around our ears, Sophie managed to drag her pal James Greenwood into the podcave for a debrief about diversification. You’ll mostly be hearing the distracted garblings of two excitable friends fresh from picking up free pens in the breaks between lectures, but hopefully - amid the chatter - for those feeling as though they would like to explore other avenues, particularly in media, this may help to reassure you tha...2020-06-1800 min
Smashing The Ceiling80. COVID Special - Liz Bode and Scott KilpatrickI absolutely loved these two! This was a delight of a conversation with a lot of laughs and I'm so pleased that we made it happen - I should probably add that Liz was 39 weeks pregnant at the time of recording... Liz Bode is a veterinary cardiology specialist - our second one featured in the COVID specials, who’d have thought it - who works at ChesterGates Veterinary Specialists in Cheshire. Scott Kilpatrick is a specialist in small animal internal medicine and was recently appointed head of medicine at Wear Referrals in the north east. In tandem wi...2020-06-1500 min
Smashing The Ceiling79. Borborygmi - Jessi Benn and Nat ScroggieThis week we are talking side hustles, and today's conversation on Borborygmi features two friends, Jessi Benn and Nat Scroggie, who discussed a little about what it’s like to take risks in your career as a vet. They’ve both been in practice for a few years, and are now exploring what avenues they’d like to pursue within the veterinary profession and beyond, and are both combining locuming with side hustles and other projects. Nat loves running and is combining blogging with her clinical career, whilst Jessi talks about how career coaching has encouraged her no end! ...2020-06-1100 min
Borborygmi: Noises From The Veterinary World10. Naomi Mellor and Polly CompstonToday’s guests on Borborygmi are Naomi Mellor - that’s me by the way - and Polly Compston. Polly and I went to vet school together and we both now fit into the ‘diversify’ category - Polly has worked in practice, done a masters in epidemiology and public health, a clinical research residency, worked overseas for the equine charity The Brooke, and is now doing a pHd on foot and mouth disease in Kenya. I’ve also worked in equine practice both in the UK and abroad, and currently work for the British Horseracing Authority on the regulatory side of th...2020-04-1713 min
Borborygmi: Noises From The Veterinary World14. Cat Auden and Lawrence BrownToday’s guests on Borborygmi are Cat Auden and Lawrence Brown, two friends who met at Edinburgh University, from where they graduated as veterinary surgeons in 2010. Cat previously worked in small animal practice and is now Head of Collaborations for VetLED, a company that looks at enhancing team performance and improving patient safety in veterinary practices. Lawrence initially worked in mixed practice, but is best now described as an entrepreneur. He has multiple projects on the go, including consultancy for the Department for International Trade on animal sciences and aquaculture. Under the banner of VetLED, Lawrence and Ca...2020-04-1700 min
Borborygmi: Noises From The Veterinary World13. Alice Wilkinson and Eleanor LivingstoneToday we are hearing from Alice Wilkinson and Eleanor Livingstone, two farm vets who work at Friars Moor Veterinary Clinic in Dorset. Friars Moor has recently become a Best Practice Representative as part of the Parliamentary Review and is at the forefront of farm practice in the UK. We hear Alice and Eleanor chat about what it means to be a farm vet today including the challenges and rewards that come with working in their field (no pun intended). Borborygmi is a collaboration between the London Vet Show, Vet Times, Vets:Stay Go Diversify and Smashing The...2020-04-1700 min
Borborygmi: Noises From The Veterinary World12. Emma Robertson and Alexia YiannouliAs a new-ish faculty, the veterinary department at The University of Surrey is a little different to the more traditional older vet schools in the way their final year works, as students travel to partner practices all round the country for their rotations, rather than being in a teaching hospital on the university campus. This novel approach carries both its joys and its challenges, which are discussed here by Emma Robertson, a Veterinary Clinical Teaching Fellow at the University of Surrey with responsibility for final year students, and Alexia Yiannouli herself currently a final year student at the university.2020-04-1700 min
Borborygmi: Noises From The Veterinary World11. Rachael Steen and Matt ForshawToday’s guests on Borborygmi are Rachael Steen and Matt Forshaw. Rachael has been a qualified vet for over 20 years and spent the majority of her career working with small animals at the PDSA in Liverpool, where she met Matt. Matt, also a small animal vet, has been qualified for 10 years and now works as a Business Development Director at Vet Partners. They became firm friends since working together in Liverpool and here, they talk about how big shifts in their personal lives led them to explore other opportunities and diversify. They reflect on the changes that they’ve made...2020-04-1700 min
Borborygmi: Noises From The Veterinary World10. Naomi Mellor and Polly CompstonToday’s guests on Borborygmi are Naomi Mellor - that’s me by the way - and Polly Compston. Polly and I went to vet school together and we both now fit into the ‘diversify’ category - Polly has worked in practice, done a masters in epidemiology and public health, a clinical research residency, worked overseas for the equine charity The Brooke, and is now doing a pHd on foot and mouth disease in Kenya. I’ve also worked in equine practice both in the UK and abroad, and currently work for the British Horseracing Authority on the regulatory side of th...2020-04-1700 min
Borborygmi: Noises From The Veterinary World9. Allisdhair McNaull and Chloe HanniganOur guests on Borborygmi today could not be more topical given the current world circumstances, as today we're talking about mindfulness and yoga, and the benefits these can have in a stressful profession. Allisdhair McNaull is the creator of the widely read Vet Mindfully Blog, dedicated to the practice of mindfulness, and Chloe Hannigan is a yoga instructor and Director of vetyogi.com. As practicing vets, both Allisdhair and Chloe know all about the stresses and strains of daily veterinary life that can accumulate to negatively impact our mental and physical health but also the power that daily mental an...2020-04-1700 min
Borborygmi: Noises From The Veterinary World8. Laura Higham and Anna JudsonLaura Higham graduated from Edinburgh Uni in 2008 and having been in practice in both the UK and New Zealand, now works for FAI, the Farm Animal Initiative, advising on the sustainability of food and livestock supply chains. She has a particular interest in international animal health, the future of food production and environmental issues, which led her to set up Vet Sustain, in the process meeting Anna Judson, the Junior Vice President of SPVS. Anna was a partner and practice owner for many years, and after selling her practice recently is now further pursuing her interests in wildlife, conservation...2020-04-1700 min
Borborygmi: Noises From The Veterinary World7. Pete Wedderburn and Emma MilneYou may be familiar with today’s guests on Borborygmi. Pete Wedderburn and Emma Milne are small animal vets with decades of experience between them but both of them have moved away from full time general practice and into the media sphere. Pete is a regular columnist for The Telegraph who often appears on television and radio, and Emma is a published author and commentator, who you are likely to have seen grace our screens on all 11 series of BBC1’s hugely successful show ‘Vets in Practice’. Both use their platforms regularly to speak out against abuse of anima...2020-04-1700 min
Borborygmi: Noises From The Veterinary World6. Liz Barton and Ben SweeneyIn this episode, we’re talking parenting with Liz Barton and Ben Sweeney. Liz is the creator of the VetsNet resource hub, founder of WellVet and curator of VetMums. Ben is the founder and managing director of Simply Locums, and a new dad. Liz has two girls aged 5 and 7, and Ben and his wife Dani have recently become new parents to their son Matthew. Borborygmi is a collaboration between the London Vet Show, Vet Times, Vets:Stay Go Diversify and Smashing The Ceiling. Thank you to everyone involved for your help and support, it has been much ap...2020-04-1700 min
Borborygmi: Noises From The Veterinary World5. Daniella Dos Santos and Dave HollinsheadToday’s guests on Borborygmi are Daniella dos Santos and Dave Hollinshead. Daniella qualified from the Royal Veterinary College in 2012 and has recently been elected President of the British Veterinary Association. She is leading the charge to build on inclusivity and diversity within the veterinary community and is a huge believer in ensuring that people from all backgrounds are able to enter the profession. Here she speaks with Dave, a small animal vet who qualified from Cambridge Vet School in 2011. Dave is based in Sheffield, and works in emergency and critical care. Both entered into the veterinary profession from ver...2020-04-1700 min
Borborygmi: Noises From The Veterinary World4. Jade Statt and Jo Brand Jade Statt co-founded Streetvet in 2016, a practice dedicated to delivering free veterinary care to the homeless and their pets on the streets. They’ve grown exponentially since then to cover 16 towns and cities around the UK, and Jade is now the CEO. Jo Brand is the team leader for StreetVet in Cambridge, having set the programme up in the city there. They’re discussing the challenges they’ve faced along the way in this line of work, and how they've overcome them. Borborygmi is a collaboration between the London Vet Show, Vet Times, Vets:Stay Go Diversify and Sm...2020-04-1700 min
Borborygmi: Noises From The Veterinary World3. Amy Barstow and Shereene WilliamsWe are listening to a conversation today between Shereene Williams and Amy Barstow. Both Shereene and Amy work for the international animal welfare charity The Brooke, though they came to it from quite different avenues. Shereene qualified as a vet from Nottingham in 2011 and after a period of time in equine and general practice, went travelling and came back to join Brooke four years ago as an Animal Health Veterinary Advisor. Amy qualified in 2013 from the RVC and spent time volunteering before starting an equine internship at the Animal Health Trust and completing a PhD at the RVC. Amy s...2020-04-1700 min
Borborygmi: Noises From The Veterinary World2. Nat Scroggie and Cat AudenToday’s guests on Borborygmi are Nat Scroggie and Cat Auden, and this recording was actually the first time they’d met in person, which is a great testament to the power of social media and the virtual friends you can make. Nat had a miscarriage in 2018 and subsequently set up Vet MINDS (miscarriage, infertility, neonatal death and stillbirth), a closed Facebook group to support others within the profession who have been through similar situations. Cat has previously had a miscarriage but now has 3 children. I’d really like to particularly nod to these two for this conversation - it was...2020-04-1700 min
Borborygmi: Noises From The Veterinary World1. Ebony Escalona and Cal MajorEbony Escalona and Cal Major are two people who need little introduction here. Ebs is the mastermind and architect behind the Vets: Stay Go Diversify group that so many vets, nurses and students have joined these days, and Cal is an activist and stand up paddle boarder who founded her campaign, Paddle Against Plastic to raise awareness of plastic pollution in the seas and rivers of the UK. They’re both veterinary surgeons and here they’re talking about community, and its myriad roles in their work. You can find details of Ebony's work here - https://www.v...2020-04-1700 min
Smashing The CeilingEmma Mosey - from writing novels to donning her welliesToday is our 50th episode! I am also SO pleased that for this milestone I’m joined by a woman that I am honoured to call a friend, someone that I’ve known for a very long time and whose career has taken a number of twists and turns, with huge success along the way. Emma Mosey grew up in Cheshire and considered herself a country girl, although as she herself would tell you, that might be slightly open to debate. After studying English at the University of Edinburgh and a Masters in creative writing at Royal Holloway in Lond...2019-10-2237 min
Smashing The CeilingKelly Pollock - on action, activism and politicsImagine if your Instagram bio read, "First of her name, smasher of the patriarchy, mother of sons, leader of committees, warrior for social justice, dweller by the water, knitter of hats, Master of Religious Studies". WHAT AN INTRO! Today we're talking to Kelly Pollock, she of the amazing bio, and we'll be discussing her work in politics, what made her take action and get involved (spoiler: It was Trump) and plenty about the upcoming American presidential election.Kelly is the Associate Dean of Students at the University of Chicago in the Division o...2019-10-1349 minSmashing The CeilingCareer Skills - NetworkingWe're back on career skills this week, and today we are talking about NETWORKING. Love it or loathe it, building your network is key to building your career. For most of us, the word networking brings to mind excruciating post-work events with people you don’t know standing around in ones and twos looking awkward. But fear not! This episode will have plenty of tips and advice to help you feel more confident in approaching others that can help you, and how to build strong rapport with those you meet. Follow us for...2019-09-2920 min
Smashing The CeilingLilach Saperstein - cardiology? radiology? No, audiology!The sound of a child's laughter, the waves crashing on the shore, the birds in the trees in the morning - there are so many sounds in our every day lives that we take completely for granted. We go to the dentist to have our teeth checked, and to the optician to have our eyes looked at, but when was the last time you thought about your ears? I'd hazard a guess you've never even thought about your hearing, as it's just...there. But what would it be like if you suddenly lost your hearing?Dr. Lilach S...2019-09-2238 min
Smashing The CeilingGloria Mitchell - from homelessness to a Stanford MBAGloria Mitchell is an audacious woman. From bluntly telling the owner of a night school that she was homeless and needed help, to going on her first business trip in a limousine whilst living in her own car, Gloria’s story is one of twists and turns on her route to success. Adopted as a little girl by an abusive and manipulative woman, Gloria eventually escaped, and after surviving homelessness twice, completed an MBA from Stanford, one of the most prestigious programmes in the world. Now, as a performance and crisis coach for entrepreneurs and public figures, she...2019-09-1540 min
Smashing The CeilingJosephine Anselin - on making your career an adventureJosephine Anselin has a true spirit of adventure. After a childhood spent in multiple countries, her adult life has taken her from her home in Luxembourg to the oil rigs of the North Sea, the wilds of New Zealand and the islands of Indonesia.I chatted to her about her career as an engineer in oil and gas, quitting to follow her passion for adventure, completing an MBA in Spain from her home in Jakarta, and how she has now launched her new strategy consulting business, the Outventure Hub, to help others in the adventure world to...2019-09-0852 min
Smashing The CeilingStarting a new chapter with some self-reflectionWe are BACK for Season 2!Welcome to a new series of Smashing The Ceiling, where today we are looking forwards by looking back, and kicking off the season with an episode on self-reflection. It's easy to scoff at the idea of sitting down and pondering your life, your mistakes and your epic successes, but increasing evidence shows that those that reflect on their performance at work are more likely to go further. Do you want success and happiness in your working life? Of course you do. So have a listen and let m...2019-09-0121 min
Smashing The CeilingSeason 2 - a sneaky little trailer...The eagle-eared amongst you may have noticed that the podcast has been on a little summer holiday...but put it in your diaries, we will be back on Sunday 1st September! #podcast #shepodcasts #summerholiday #weareback #backinthegame2019-08-1601 min
Smashing The CeilingJen Kneale - on saving lives at sea and kayaking with sharksJen Kneale has an affinity with the sea that stems from a lifetime spent on the ocean. It’s no exaggeration to say that a love of the sea runs in her veins: like her father and grandfather before her she is now a coxswain - or captain - of the lifeboat on the Isle of Man. Jen was the first female coxswain in the island - the original home of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution - and only the 4th nationwide. Jen is also a successful businesswoman, having set up her own sailing school at the age...2019-06-0440 minSmashing The CeilingMadeleine Black - a survivor's story of a hopeful futureMy guest today is Madeleine Black, a true survivor, whose story offers hope to those who have also suffered at the hands of others. We are not, she says, defined by what knocks us down - we are instead defined by how we get back up.After being gang-raped at the age of 13, and raped on three further occasions before her 18th birthday, she has gone on to become a successful psychotherapist, writer, speaker, wife and mother. Her powerful memoir, Unbroken, tells of her recovery from adversity, her desire to choose forgiveness and actively seek redemption. Her...2019-05-2635 min
Smashing The CeilingAsh Fox - on being a part of 1,500 marriage proposalsAsh Fox is someone with a rare joie de vivre and enthusiasm for life, whose joy is infectious and whose presence makes you feel good. She is also a grafter, and today tells me the story of how she became New York's first and most successful proposal planner and photographer. Ash herself admits she is not a 'wedding gal', but the thrill of fulfilling people's dreams for their proposal has meant she has now witnessed over 1500 couples saying 'Yes'...and there hasn't been a 'no' yet!But Ash has built her business through sheer hard work, and...2019-05-2046 min
Smashing The CeilingCareer Skills - ListeningToday we’re kicking on with the third episode of our series on career skills for the workplace, which are being slotted around our fabulous guests in 2019. I thought it would be useful to look at a few different areas that might help you at work this year, and explore a little about why they’re important and how you can develop these skills. We’ve looked at negotiation and conflict resolution so far and those episodes are still available if you want to go back and download them, but today we are talking about LISTENING.2019-05-1220 min
Smashing The CeilingJane Green - on how looking up at the stars brought her new opportunitiesJane Green is someone with many a story to tell, from being head-hunted to the Foreign Office aged 18, to spending years on the high seas in the merchant Navy, to becoming one of the UK’s most successful and prominent female astronomers. Jane is a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, who worked previously with the late great Sir Patrick Moore, and was invited be the inaugural speaker for the Sir Patrick Moore memorial lecture. She has written a bestselling book, appeared on BBC Two’s Stargazing Live, and recently co-hosted a phenomenally successful theatre show entitled Tour of the...2019-05-0552 min
Smashing The CeilingGoli Kalkhoran - on leaving the law for life as an entrepreneurMy guest this week, Goli Kalkhoran, was one of those people with what looked like the 'perfect' career path: excellent grades at school and university, a smooth path to law school, a great first job in a corporate law firm and a steady progression to be a public prosecutor. But what happens when your dream job isn't your dream job? And how easy is it to quit a 'successful' professional career to chase your dream of doing something more fulfilling?Goli talked to Naomi about the pressure of student debt in the US, her career, the difficult...2019-04-2841 min
Smashing The CeilingFreda Yuan - on how coffee changed her lifeFreda Yuan lives for coffee: the aroma, the taste, the experience and the benefits it brings in life. Her job title is 'Head of Coffee' at Origin Coffee Roasters, day-to-day she oversees procurement of coffee - including green coffee - from a variety of countries, and holds responsibility for product development and quality control. This involves tasting a LOT of coffee, and as a result, Freda is also an award-winning coffee taster. In 2017 she placed 3rd in the World Cup Taster Championship, and women the British title in 2018. Wondering how you win a coffee tasting competition? Listen in the...2019-04-2147 min
Smashing The CeilingJerri Williams - on life in the FBIFor most of us, our experience of FBI agents comes only through box sets and movies, and we have no idea what life is really like on the inside of one of the world's most famous government agencies.One person who does is Jerri Williams, who served for 26 years as a special agent in the in the FBI. During most of her Bureau career Jerri worked on major economic fraud investigations, but also worked robbery and drugs cases during her career. At the time she joined the FBI, there were few women at the organisation, and even fe...2019-04-1456 min
Smashing The CeilingBonus - The 5 D's of Achieving Your 'Thing'This week's episode is about taking on adventures in life, whether personal or professional, & how to achieve your goals. It doesn't really matter what your 'Thing' is, but if there's a goal you want to achieve or a challenge you want to complete in 2019, then this is the podcast for you. Naomi discusses the 5 D's of achieving your 'Thing' following her recent completion of a big personal challenge, incorporating advice from others who've achieved their goals and hints & tips to help you on your journey. Follow us for more: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theskylarkcollective...2019-04-0917 minSmashing The CeilingSarah Swan - on healing the disordered mindImagine trying to live your life with the person you dislike the most standing at your shoulder the whole time. Imagine the cruellest things they ever said to you, the way it made you feel, and how the stress associated with that impacted your happiness, your productivity and your life. What if you could never shake that voice off, or escape from the clutches of their control? Sarah Swan is a senior clinical psychologist that specialises in helping people suffering from psychosis and related mental health disorders. Her patients are often terrified, misunderstood and ostracised by those...2019-03-311h 02
Smashing The CeilingCareer Skills - Conflict ResolutionToday we’re into the second episode of our new series on career skills to help you in the workplace. These podcasts are here to help you progress your career, and will be periodically slotted in between our fantastic guests over the next few months. This series was inspired by discussions with a friend about pay, hence the first episode was on negotiation. Today's podcast follows a conversation with another friend who has had a tricky time at work with a colleague of late: this month we are discussing CONFLICT RESOLUTION. Conflict is inevitable in ev...2019-03-1823 min
Smashing The CeilingKate Healy - on the psychology and practicality of moneyKate Healy has, she says, always been interested in money: how people use it, why some people squander it, why others are obsessed with it and how some use a little to produce a lot. Money still carries a stigma, a taboo around it that she would love to help break down, and to encourage more women to take responsibility for their finances, to understand money and what they can do with it, and to promote a career in finance as being a worthwhile and interesting one. Kate's day job is as the Managing Director, Generation Next, f...2019-03-1040 min
Smashing The CeilingJaclyn Whittal - storm chaser, meteorologist and musicianJaclyn Whittal is the kind of woman we love on this podcast: she is brave, fearless and she says 'Yes' to almost every opportunity that comes her way in life. This approach has led her down a winding career path involving Shania Twain and a role as Sandy in the German version of Grease, to her current work in television, where she can be found daily on the Weather Network in North America as a meteorologist, and on Amazon Prime as part of the team presenting Storm Hunters, a show telling the stories of storm chasers in North America.2019-03-031h 02
Smashing The CeilingGabby Edlin - on the fight against period povertyThe word ‘powerhouse’ is much overused these days, but it certainly applies to Gabby Edlin in the context of periods. She is a tour de force in the fight against period poverty as founder and CEO of Bloody Good Period, an enterprise that provides menstrual products for asylum seekers in the UK, and campaigns to change the conversation around women’s health and menstruation. Gabby’s career trajectory to date is an interesting and inspiring one, and if we’re talking about forcing opening a door where only a chink of light shows, then she is the boss. Brou...2019-02-2450 min
Smashing The CeilingShereen Kassam - the corporate/comedy combinationShereen Kassam defines herself as a corporate America addict, stand-up comedy lover, speaker of all things fun, podcasting enthusiast, improv teacher and shoe junkie. What a list! Shereen's dad wanted her to be a doctor, but she couldn't cope with the blood so instead, after her degree at Brown University, she became a strategy consultant, and now works in-house for Disney in Florida, where she grew up. Shereen was a shy child, but tried stand-up for the first time after reluctantly escorting her drunk housemate to a comedy club. It's fair to say she's progressed quickly, winning...2019-02-0932 min
Hellbound with Halos"Doctor to the Thoroughbreds with Guest Naomi Mellor"Kevin & Sully head across the "pond" and invited special guest Naomi Mellor (from London) a veterinarian to race horses and fellow podcaster, to this episode. They also had Sully's wife, Amy, join them because she not only works at Saratoga Horse Track, she's been around race horsing since she was a child. Naomi tells her story from starting out, wanting to be a veterinarian since she was a young child, and some of the challenges she faced along the way. She visited the Fiji Islands in the Pacific for a while to gain experience and then headed back...2019-02-0559 min
Smashing The CeilingKathryn Nicolai - yoga, sleep and bedtime storiesThis week’s guest, Kathryn Nicolai, has a voice that soothes the soul, and since her podcast, Nothing Much Happens, launched in April 2018, she has gently encouraged more than two million people to snuggle into their duvet and fall asleep. When we were little, if you were lucky, I bet someone read to you to see you off to sleep, but remarkably, at some point we forget the pleasure that used to bring us, meaning that bedtime stories for adults are just not a ‘thing’, or they weren’t until now. There clearly is a need though, as Kathry...2019-02-0336 min
Smashing The CeilingAnna Lundberg - on quitting "success" to pursue your passionsHere at Smashing the Ceiling we love to showcase the careers of women who have taken the road less travelled, and there's so much to discuss on that front with today's guest, Anna Lundberg, a woman who has always forged her own path. She freely admits that she has always been one to keep her options open, choosing the International Baccalaureat instead of 'A' levels, Philosphy, Politics and Economics at uni, and a Masters in Political Science, International Law and International Economics. Her quest to work for the UN didn't quite pan out, and she started her...2019-01-2743 min
Smashing The CeilingCareer Skills - NegotiationToday we’re starting a new series on career skills to help you in the workplace which will be periodically slotted in amongst our fantastic guests over the next few months. This series was inspired when a friend revealed to me not so long ago that she had just negotiated a sizeable pay rise after discovering that as the only female in her team, she was being paid significantly less than her male counterparts. As ever, we discussed the HOW of it all (clearly my real life reflects my podcast life) - how she prepared, how the me...2019-01-2022 min
Smashing The CeilingBec Fisher - 40 new jobs at the age of 40The chances are that aged 15 or 16 you went to do one week of school work experience, and have never given it a second thought since (although my brother ended up with an excellent full-time job from his one week, lucky sod). The chances are also that at least some of you will have day dreamed about careers you'd wished you'd had, or jobs you wished you'd had an opportunity to try out. But what if you had the option to try 40 different jobs in 40 weeks? This was the opportunity that Bec Fisher curated for herself last year...2019-01-1336 min
Smashing The CeilingJamie Coleman - on saving lives and fixing bullet holesJamie Jones Coleman is a trauma surgeon. As she puts it, most of what she does is "fixing holes in people", but that massively down-plays the complexity, skill and adrenaline of her job. The bleep goes, the team swings into action, and all hands are on deck to save a life. It sounds thrilling, but Jamie juggles this with being a wife to a former NFL player turned lawyer, a mother to two little boys, an international public speaker, and a writer. She has a successful blog with a readership of over 2 million, and has contributed to the HuffPost...2019-01-0655 min
Smashing The CeilingBonus - Under-The-Radar Women of Influence in 2018Time flies doesn't it?! We've nearly reached the end of 2018, and the usual lists of people that have influenced the year are being published in every newspaper and magazine, along with predictions of the movers and shakers for 2019. We'll be returning with a guest next week, but in the meantime I thought I'd share a few thoughts on women that have influenced the spheres of business, politics, culture and sport this year that you may or may not have heard of, but who are definitely shaping our society one way or another. They are.... Sacha R...2018-12-3016 min
Smashing The CeilingDonna Fraser - our first Olympic athlete!Those of you who listen regularly will know that I am really passionate about sport and that the theme of running (yes, I am one of those annoying people that loves to run) featured in earlier interviews with Nicola Miller, who founded the charity a Mile in her Shoes, and Alexandra Heminsley, whose memoir Running Like A Girl told the story of her first forays into marathon running as a non-sporty woman. So much of what I think it is important to encourage is women taking any sort of exercise that they enjoy, increasing participation in varied f...2018-12-1645 min
Smashing The CeilingNinorah Fernandes-Brookshire - a varied and eventful lifeThere’s so much to talk about with this week’s guest, Ninorah Fernandes-Brookshire and I’m delighted to have her on the show. Nino is the co-founder of NRI Women, a platform supporting non-resident Indian women across the world. It has now grown to be a community of over 3,000 women living in a multitude of countries. You’ll hear Nino talking in this episode about how Indians traditionally "do not like to air their dirty laundry in public" as she puts it, but moving internationally away from strong family and community connections is HARD, and the organisation aims to suppo...2018-12-0928 min
Smashing The CeilingLaura Bartlett - defying the odds and daring to succeedLaura Bartlett is a one-woman entrepreneurial whirlwind. In a world that said print journalism is dead, Laura stuck two fingers up to the status quo and founded House Of Coco, a luxury travel and fashion magazine for the "nomadic adventure seeker", of which she is also editor-in-chief. It is, quite simply, beautiful, and there's a reason it's now stocked in Harrods and Selfridges. When you see the stunning photos of places she travels, Laura's life looks pretty great from the outside, but her career has by no means always been plain sailing. By her mid-twenties Laura had...2018-12-0335 min
Smashing The CeilingLisa Cox - on writing, surviving, modelling and campaigningLisa Cox is, quite honestly, an amazing human being. As a young woman she played national level volleyball, flew through two degrees in media and communications and was rapidly forging a hugely successful career as a copywriter in the advertising industry in Australia, travelling extensively and enjoying the high-life in her early twenties. That is until, in 2005, Lisa suffered a brain haemorrhage in Melbourne Airport which changed her life irrevocably. After a year in hospital, during which she lost her left leg, 9 of her finger tips and the toes of her right foot, Lisa spent months in r...2018-11-1845 min
Smashing The CeilingBonus - The voice behind the microphoneHi team. We’re taking a little departure from the normal format of the show today, as a friend recently pointed out to me that I’d never really introduced myself as part of this show and that it might be a good idea to record a brief episode about my own career experiences and motivations as part of the podcast series. Normal service will be resumed next week, don’t worry! I posted on Instagram a couple of weeks ago that I am still adjusting to putting myself out there as part of the process of building this podcas...2018-11-1120 min
Smashing The CeilingHayley Leibson - leading the ladies in Silicon ValleyIn the very first episode of this podcast I spoke about my motivations behind starting this project, one of which was providing insight into employment worlds that you, as a listener, may never have considered before, or know very little about. One of those areas for me is tech: it interests me, but the world of Silicon Valley seems a distant impenetrable world of people with a much higher intellect than me talking about things I don’t understand. I am absolutely certain this is probably a massive misconception, so I was really delighted to talk to today’s gues...2018-11-0428 min
Smashing The CeilingJessa Zimmerman - on sex, shame and sexual gamesBy the time I was in my early twenties, Carrie Bradshaw and the women in Sex and the City seemed to have revolutionised the way sex was discussed amongst groups of girl friends - my peer group certainly had a lot of very open discussions, and suffice to say that there was a time when I had a pretty in depth knowledge about the sex lives of my closest friends. I was reflecting on this since speaking to today’s guest however, and realised that those conversations are rare now that we're ten years older, and mostly married or in...2018-10-2830 min
Smashing The CeilingSarah Williams - from the deserts of Morocco to inspiring women back homeMy guest today, Sarah Williams, started her career in the reasonably conventional manner of a successful woman: high class university education, graduate training programme and a career in the City, with the work-hard, play-hard London high life of a twenty-something hitting their goals and forging a lucrative successful career in finance. But after a few years, Sarah realised she was burning out, frustrated and overwhelmed by a lack of support in a male-dominated environment, over-worked on projects she wasn’t invested in, and struggling to maintain enthusiasm in a job she no longer enjoyed. So she quit, did...2018-10-2143 min
Smashing The CeilingCal Major - from Land's End to John O'Groats on a paddleboardIf you've ever tried stand up paddle boarding, you'll know it requires co-ordination, patience and a whole lot of ab strength. Now imagine paddling 1000 miles whilst balancing large volumes of plastic waste that you’ve painstakingly collected from the water on your board... Enter Cal Major, environmentalist, stand-up paddle boarder, campaigner, adventurer and vet, who did just that a set a new World Record whilst paddling solo from Land's End to John O'Groats earlier this year - what a journey! In 2016, whilst working as a vet, she was unable to stand the amount of plastic washing up on h...2018-10-1438 min
Smashing The CeilingNicola Miller - running a mile in others's shoesThose of us who love running just put on our running shoes and go. But what if you didn't have access to a sports bra and trainers, or didn't have the confidence to start? Nicola Miller is the founder and chairman of A Mile In Her Shoes, an award-winning charity that she set up in 2012 to share the physical and mental benefits of running with homeless and vulnerable women in London. In 2016, she was recognised as one of the Prime Minister's 'Points of Light', an accolade that acknowledge those making an outstanding difference in their community. As...2018-08-1225 min
Smashing The CeilingJamie Chadwick - the fastest female talent in motorsportJamie Chadwick is a prodigious talent in the field of motorsport. Aged 14 she was racing an Aston Martin with the best of the boys, and is currently competing at Formula 3 level, with the aim of entering Formula 1 in the not-too-distant future. Dedicated, determined and hard-working, Jamie has progressed rapidly through the ranks in motorsport and is certainly one to watch for the future! In the first episode of Smashing The Ceiling, Jamie talks to Naomi about her life and career so far. 2018-07-1620 min