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Keeping Innovation Moving Forward During Change - an Interview with Bernadette Berger, Director of Innovation at Alaska Airlines

creativity innovation learning practice resilience Jul 15, 2025

In this captivating Fearless Female Leadership interview, I sat down with Bernadette Berger, Director of Innovation at Alaska Airlines, to explore what it truly means to drive innovation in a time of massive change. From her early career rejections to becoming a leader shaping the future of air travel, Bernadette's story is a powerful reminder of the courage it takes to keep showing up—and the vision it takes to build what doesn’t exist yet.

Bernadette's path began in industrial design, not aviation, and after 29 job interview rejections, she finally broke through with Teague—Boeing’s premier aircraft design partner. There, she spent over a decade experimenting, learning new skills, and eventually helping design next-gen aircraft interiors and experiences. Her innovation philosophy? Don’t aim to fix everything at once—ask what would need to be true to solve the problem at hand.

Now at Alaska Airlines, Bernadette leads innovation across the organization, helping unify cross-functional tea...

Time for a Summer Reset: Reevaluate and Reenergize

boundaries change habits learning reflect Jul 09, 2024

Summer is the perfect time for a reset. With the slower pace and longer days, it's an ideal opportunity to step back, reflect, and make meaningful changes to enhance your well-being and productivity.

As we step into Q3, here’s how you can set new boundaries, incorporate healthy habits, and explore new learning opportunities for both you and your team to ensure a productive and profitable second half of the year.

1. Pause and Reflect:

While it may not seem productive, pausing to reflect on the past 6 months is the best thing you can do to ensure productivity within your team. Take a moment to assess whether the pace you have been running at is sustainable, and importantly, is it still going in the right direction. Are you and your team able to keep going? Or will someone drop out of the race before the finish line? Is a little course correction needed to make sure everyone can stay in the game?

As a fearless female leader, your voice is needed, especially at this time of the year, s...

Podcast Episode #103: "Building Belonging in a Remote World" - an Interview with Rachel Hutchisson

belonging learning relationships risks Apr 08, 2022

Building Belonging in a Remote World

In case you missed my LIVE interview with the amazing Rachel Hutchisson (Vice President of Global Social Responsibility at Blackbaud), here are a few of the wisdom gems she shared:

Realize where you are in your journey; today doesn't mean that it's the direct route (of your life).
In life, all that matters is the next step. Just take that next step and your journey will unfold.
Sometimes the worries you spend the energy worrying about are the things that maybe you shouldn't be.
What makes the world so wonderful is that we're all different. We have different skills and different views. The lived experience is deeply important.
Worry less but also to take more risks.
Don't ever stop learning. Have confidence that you can figure something out. Go to the people around you to help figure something out if you don't have that specific knowledge. And those two things work together.
Relationships are really important. They are the foundation.
P

Podcast Episode #102: "The Importance of Pay Transparency" - an Interview with Gavriella Schuster

compensation learning pay transparency self-reflection worth Mar 24, 2022

The Importance of Pay Transparency

In case you missed my LIVE interview with the remarkable Gavriella Schuster (DE&I Advocate, Global Business Executive, Board Director, Strategic Advisor, and Former Corporate Vice President at Microsoft), here are a few of the wisdom gems she shared:

In your career growth, the first thing that you do doesn’t have to be the thing that defines you. You are going to change things up multiple times throughout your life. The important thing is that you’re learning and getting experience
Every decision in life doesn’t have to determine the pathway you take in your career or entire life. You will always have the opportunity to adjust and change as you learn more
Always learn new things and be a continuous learner
Always self-reflect. “If I don’t want to do what I’m doing. What is it ‘I do want to do?’ And how am I going to define my own success doing that?”
The importance of pay transparency is knowing your worth in the work that you do, how much y

Keeping Innovation Moving Forward During Change - an Interview with Bernadette Berger, Director of Innovation at Alaska Airlines

Time for a Summer Reset: Reevaluate and Reenergize

Podcast Episode #103: "Building Belonging in a Remote World" - an Interview with Rachel Hutchisson

Building Belonging in a Remote World

Podcast Episode #102: "The Importance of Pay Transparency" - an Interview with Gavriella Schuster

The Importance of Pay Transparency

Before You Leave, Did You Know My New Book The Fearless Female Leader is Now Available?

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