“And when I left I was the vice president, which I suppose is another defining moment of itself, particularly for a woman. There were different glass ceilings and it was pretty thick glass. ”

Law school was difficult, not just being female, but also not being white. Being small, petite, having a softer voice. I got a lot of comments like, ‘you're not cut out for this, you're never gonna make it.' There were a lot of gender, ethnic, size, and voice stereotypes that were thrown at me both in law school and my first job.

My manager said to me, 'you're just not going to be able to negotiate with these customers, they're going to chew you up and spit you out. You just don't have a future in negotiating transactions.' I'm a really stubborn person, though, thankfully. So when someone says that to me, I get very entrenched and like, 'I'm going to prove you wrong.’ It's hard being a woman in this field. It's hard being a petite, ethnic woman.

When I became the head of the Americas [at Juniper Networks], it was particularly defining for me because it was not the best time for me to throw my name in the hat for that role, or to even entertain it. I had just come back from maternity leave. I was a bit overwhelmed because I had two babies and a five year old at home. But my husband said to me, ‘there's never a perfect time to take that opportunity and to be brave and go for it. We're in this together. I am supportive of your career, just as you're supportive of mine. Yours shouldn't take a backseat because of traditional roles that society has.’ So that for me was very defining when I finally was like, ‘I'm gonna do this. I'm ready. I know I can.’

And when I left I was the vice president, which I suppose is another defining moment of itself, particularly for a woman. There were different glass ceilings and it was pretty thick glass.

I would probably tell my younger self, 'believe in yourself. Don't listen to the inner voices or the outer voices that are negative.' But that's hard. I don't know that it would change anything. But to be honest, I don't have regrets. All of these pains, trials, and struggles are all part of the journey that makes you who you are today. In the moment, you do your best with what you have, and you hopefully have other voices around you that counter your negative voice. But I don't spend a lot of time looking backwards at what I should have done.