Host Meg McKeen welcomes graduating seniors Raji More and Chloe Shapkauski for a conversation recorded on the campus of her alma mater, Illinois Wesleyan University. Together we explore the impressions many have of our industry - and what individuals joining the industry are really looking for in their relationship to work. We talk about success - and how that definition has already changed for Raji and Chloe, We wrap by turning the mic back around on Meg - such rich and thoughtful questions.

Raji More is a senior at Illinois Wesleyan University, majoring in economics. Originally from Bloomington, Illinois, Raji has been active in various organizations during her time on campus during her time on campus, including roles as the commissioner of the Sustainability Committee and is now the elected class president. Raji will graduate in May and has past work experience inside an insurance company headquartered in Bloomington. Connect with Raji by email at rmore@iwu.edu or on LinkedIn.

Chloe Shapkauski is a business student at Illinois Wesleyan University, Class of 2026. Originally from Tinley Park, Illinois, she has held leadership and service roles in organizations including Habitat for Humanity, Rotaract, and Student Senate. She currently works as a Data Analysis Student Worker at the Hart Career Center, supporting strategic initiatives through data insights. In her free time, Chloe enjoys writing, running, reading, and cooking. She is passionate about continuous learning and seeks opportunities to create meaningful impact through both her professional and community work. Connect with Chloe by email at cshapkauski@gmail.com or on LinkedIn.

• Join Meg for an upcoming experience:
  • Coffee + Conversation in Burlington, Vermont, on April 25th
  • Bound & Determined℠ Restorative Retreat, coming up in Michigan in November 2026
  • Dinner in Denver on June 15th
• Have a question for Meg? You can send that to her here.

To learn more about this podcast, and the work Meg McKeen does to support insurance professionals, visit Adjunct Advisors. To receive To Taking the Risk, the monthly newsletter Meg curates, including updates on her #digitalnomad adventures, subscribe here.

Love the podcast? To show your support, consider leaving a positive review here, sharing this episode with a friend, or making a financial contribution here. Thank you for listening!

Listen in as host Meg McKeen welcomes Brett McKenzie for a conversation about care - the caring we do for others and the caring we often need ourselves. We talk about boundaries and burnout - and how it feels to take off the mask we often wear and let others in – and sometimes down – when advocating for ourselves. Brett is a heartfelt storyteller and shares so much of her own beautiful story with us here.

Brett McKenzie began her career as a political media operative in Washington, D.C., with early chapters of her story written in journalism and the wine industry before she transitioned into insurance in 2009 - all while navigating chronic health challenges and raising a family. Brett has worked across globally recognized insurance carriers and insurtechs, in marketing and PR, sales, underwriting, and distribution strategy. Today, Brett is an independent consultant helping bold insurance brands and leaders clarify their voice, sharpen their strategy, and show up with confidence in our rapidly changing industry.

• Connect with Brett on LinkedIn
• Join Meg for an upcoming experience:
  • Coffee + Conversation in Burlington, Vermont, on April 25th
  • Bound & Determined℠ Restorative Retreat, coming up in Michigan in November 2026
  • Dinner in Denver on June 15th
• Have a question for Meg? You can send that to her here.

To learn more about this podcast, and the work Meg McKeen does to support insurance professionals, visit Adjunct Advisors. To receive To Taking the Risk, the monthly newsletter Meg curates, including updates on her #digitalnomad adventures, subscribe here.

Love the podcast? To show your support, consider leaving a positive review here, sharing this episode with a friend, or making a financial contribution here. Thank you for listening!

Listen in as host Meg McKeen welcomes Emma Corcoran for a conversation about career paths - and how they change as our priorities and our plans change, too. Emma is wrapping up her first year as an independent consultant in the insurance industry and shares more about her new definition of *busy,* how she's measuring success today, and together we unpack the notion of "doing your time" - in a role or organization - and how we can support the next generation of women in insurance who are joining us.

Emma Corcoran is the founder of EC Consulting LLC, through which she helps leadership teams navigate complex challenges and make clearer, more confident decisions together. She blends design thinking with a human‑centered facilitation approach to bring alignment, clarity, and momentum to every room she leads. She's also a proud mom of two daughters, one very loved dog, and an advocate for elevating women in insurance.

• Connect with Emma on LinkedIn
• Join Meg for the Bound & Determined℠ Restorative Retreat, coming up in Michigan in November 2026
• Have a question for Meg? You can send that to her here.

To learn more about this podcast, and the work Meg McKeen does to support insurance professionals, visit Adjunct Advisors. To receive To Taking the Risk, the monthly newsletter Meg curates, including updates on her #digitalnomad adventures, subscribe here.

Love the podcast? To show your support, consider leaving a positive review here, sharing this episode with a friend, or making a financial contribution here. Thank you for listening!

Listen in as host Meg McKeen welcomes Amora Wood to the podcast for a candid conversation about the range of emotions that come up when we choose to share our lives - and selves - with the world through social media. We'll talk about the boundaries we set, the very common reluctance to get started, and how we navigate the joy of the relationships we've built through the socials - and the haters that are out there, too.

Amora Wood is a VP with over 20 years of sales experience and a deep commitment to collaboration over competition. She believes integrity is the foundation of every client relationship and finds true joy in helping others succeed. Passionate about creating meaningful connections and innovative solutions, Amora focuses on building trust and fostering growth in every interaction.

• Connect with Amora on LinkedIn
• Join in the fun on February 25th when you share your #DayInTheLife! Learn more here
• Sit at the {virtual} table with Saya and me on February 26th; register here
• Join Meg for the Bound & Determined℠ Restorative Retreat, coming up in Michigan in November 2026
• Have a question for Meg? You can send that to her here.

To learn more about this podcast, and the work Meg McKeen does to support insurance professionals, visit Adjunct Advisors. To receive To Taking the Risk, the monthly newsletter Meg curates, including updates on her #digitalnomad adventures, subscribe here.

Love the podcast? To show your support, consider leaving a positive review here, sharing this episode with a friend, or making a financial contribution here. Thank you for listening!

Listen in as host Meg McKeen welcomes Debbie Brcka for a candid conversation about her upcoming retirement - after more than 45 years in the insurance industry. In this conversation, we talk about Debbie’s decision to retire – the why now, the how, and the permission she didn’t know she needed. We talk about what’s ahead for Debbie in this new chapter and Debbie shares so much wisdom - spend the time – take the trip – say yes, say no - with us.

Deborah began her career in real estate before pivoting to insurance in 1978, when she and her husband opened a scratch agency after he was injured in the line of duty. Following their divorce, she continued to build her career independently, serving in marketing and sales roles with regional carriers and ultimately rising to SVP at Bankers Insurance. After more than four decades in the industry, she’s now in her dream role with the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance, where she channels her passion into mentoring and developing future leaders.

• Keep up with Debbie on LinkedIn
• Join Meg for the Bound & Determined℠ Restorative Retreat, coming up in Michigan in November 2026
• Makes plans to be in Wichita with Kansas Association of Insurance Agents in February or in Napa with Independent Insurance Agents of California in March
• Have a question for Meg? You can send that to her here.

To learn more about this podcast, and the work Meg McKeen does to support insurance professionals, visit Adjunct Advisors. To receive To Taking the Risk, the monthly newsletter Meg curates, including updates on her #digitalnomad adventures, subscribe here.

Love the podcast? To show your support, consider leaving a positive review here, sharing this episode with a friend, or making a financial contribution here. Thank you for listening!

Host Meg McKeen welcomes Julie Webb for a timely conversation about our values: Where do they come from? How do they change as we change? And what happens when the way we’re showing up at work no longer aligns with the way we’re showing up in our heart? Or in the world? Julie shares more about her experience ending her corporate chapter and building her own consulting firm - including the upside of the risk we don't talk about loudly enough.

Julie Webb has two decades of diverse insurance industry experience holding various leadership positions during that time. Most recently, she was the Principal at MPB Insurance, a scratch independent agency she started in March of 2020 (yes that March!). Prior to that, she was the Regional Vice President for a large agency network with responsibility for the Mid-Atlantic territory. She began her insurance career with GEICO in a Leadership Development Program where she ultimately built and led a regional sales and service call center in Buffalo, New York. Julie holds both her CIC and CPCU designations and is a proud graduate of the University of Pittsburgh where she studied business.

A strong advocate for professional women, Julie led the Women’s Leadership Network at MPB and founded a local chapter of the Women’s Business League to provide a space for professional women to network and grow together. In addition to this, she serves as the Board Chair for Big Brothers Big Sisters of South-Central PA and enjoys volunteering with Girl Scouts, Girls on the Run, and Junior Achievement. In these roles, she’s committed to helping younger generations reach their full potential (and sprinkling a little bit of insurance awareness on top, too!).

It's her advocacy work that led her to found JMW Collective, a leadership consulting practice focused first on professional women. Through group and individual coaching, workshops, and speaking engagements, Julie is on a mission to empower organizations and leaders to design thriving businesses that are profitable, inclusive, and resilient for generations to come.

Julie enjoys facilitating mastermind groups through MyNetwork and teaching the CIC Agency Management course through the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance.

When she’s not helping professionals with their leadership style, she enjoys styling women in beautiful cabi clothes.

• Connect with Julie on LinkedIn
• Learn more about JMW Collective and cabi
• Have a question for Meg? You can send that to her here.

To learn more about this podcast, and the work Meg McKeen does to support insurance professionals, visit Adjunct Advisors. To receive To Taking the Risk, the monthly newsletter Meg curates, including updates on her #digitalnomad adventures, subscribe here.

Love the podcast? To show your support, consider leaving a positive review here, sharing this episode with a friend, or making a financial contribution here. Thank you for listening!

Listen as Meg narrates a recent social media post, sharing her thoughts on a new year and the pressure that it can bring.

Read Meg's original post on LinkedIn here.

To learn more about this podcast, and the work Meg McKeen does to support insurance professionals, visit Adjunct Advisors. To receive To Taking the Risk, the monthly newsletter Meg curates, including updates on her #digitalnomad adventures, subscribe here.

Love the podcast? To show your support, consider leaving a positive review here, sharing this episode with a friend, or making a financial contribution here. Thank you for listening!

Host Meg McKeen welcomes Chelsy Bell Carpenter for a frank - and timely - conversation about burnout. Chelsy shares her own burnout story, including the moment everything shifted for her, and the range of emotions and the reality she experienced in the aftermath. Listen as we talk about how illogical it feels to be both grateful the work you’re doing and also itchy - for something that looks different. That feels different. We talk about seasons of high stress – we are IN it right now – and Chelsy shares three small, simple tweaks that can lead to big shifts. No bubble bath required.

In Chelsy's words: My mission is to help high-performing professionals build careers rooted in clarity, purpose, and sustainability. I equip individuals and organizations with real-world strategies (that work, because I have personally tested them!) and science-backed tools to regulate the nervous system, strengthen communication, and create disciplines that support long-term success. In a society conditioned to burnout - I believe drive and well-being can and should coexist. Follow along for tips that I use to stay grounded and living with purpose!

• Connect with Chelsy on LinkedIn
• Visit Chelsy's website
• Learn more and join the waitlist for Chelsy's inaugural workshop, Built to Last
• Stay in the know as future plans for the next Bound & Determined℠ retreats take shape here
• Have a question for Meg? You can send that to her here.

To learn more about this podcast, and the work Meg McKeen does to support insurance professionals, visit Adjunct Advisors. To receive To Taking the Risk, the monthly newsletter Meg curates, including updates on her #digitalnomad adventures, subscribe here.

Love the podcast? To show your support, consider leaving a positive review here, sharing this episode with a friend, or making a financial contribution here. Thank you for listening!