One of a Kind Podcast with Nicy Duran

Lucy Sun immigrated with her family from China to Canada at the age of 12, and grew up thinking she would become a doctor. After spending her college years suffering through molecular biology, she realized she was much more in love with literature and human psychology. For over 10 years, she's worked in management consulting and Fortune 500 companies. She currently heads up all things Talent at Milrose Consulting. Outside of her work, she enjoys being a mother (most of the time) and coaching working moms on finding equilibrium and themselves. She lives with her husband and two kids in Brooklyn, New York. In this conversation, Lucy and Nicy discuss Lucy's layoff from Meta, how life often feels like a video game, and how experiencing insecurity can provide interesting new opportunities.

The Birthday Month Episode. Zynara Ng is a self-growth speaker and TEDx speaker, focusing on the importance of self-development, healing, and growth. Her mission is to help individuals realize their full potential by unlocking the things that hold them back from within. Zynara has also worked as a video producer for over a decade at Google and YouTube where she is passionate about sharing the stories of others. Her work is rooted in helping individuals find their voices and share them with the world. In this conversation, Zynara and Nicy talk about their soulmate connection, what make a great potato salad, the experience of sharing a soul connection with friends and lovers, and they dissect love languages.

Gustavo Morillo was raised in Atlanta, Georgia, and joined the Marines after high school. After the military, Gustavo embarked on a new journey in San Diego, California, where he received a bachelor's degree in marketing. Leveraging his leadership skills and strategic acumen honed in the military, he co-founded Expanded Reach, a digital marketing agency helping companies grow online. Gustavo enjoys working out, playing pickleball, and dancing the night away at music festivals. In this conversation, Gus and Nicy discuss how we are more in control of our reality than we might believe, but it requires dedication to self growth and developing the discipline to follow your dreams. Gustavo also gives a passionate plea to become better listeners for each other because it matters how we make each other feel.

Matt Tuffuor is the Co-Founder of Toasted Life, a dynamic lifestyle network and event production engine founded in 2015. Operating in key markets like San Francisco, Oakland, New York City, Chicago, Atlanta, and Los Angeles, Toasted Life fosters community and provides a platform for social and professional expression. Toasted Life's achievements have earned recognition in Forbes, the San Francisco Chronicle, The Source Magazine, and BlackEnterprise. Before co-founding Toasted Life, Matt began his career in the tech industry. He has spent time at Google, YouTube and is currently the Global Community Marketing Manager at Eventbrite. In this conversation, Matt and Nicy discuss Matt's unexpected first job in tech, how travel can help us grow, how entrepreneurship is a way of life, and the importance of intentionally investing in gratitude and community.

This is the second time Jose Duran has been on the One of a Kind Podcast. He was the first guest and is closing out the inaugural year. Jose is a Los Angeles based journalist and scriptwriter and Nicy's brother. He studied cinema at California State University, Northridge, and went on to teach broadcast journalism at his alma mater. He is an avid gamer and storyteller and is the amazing editor for this podcast. Jose and Nicy kick off the conversation talking about how changing our behavior can help change our feelings. They also discuss the role of shame, the importance of being selfish for your own health, and they reflect on their favorite episodes of the year and the worst ones too. Jajaja. Season 2 coming soon!

Hannah Hunt has been at Google her entire professional career working primarily on the global communications team. She currently works in sustainability communications for Google. Hannah is originally from Belfast in Northern Ireland and she came to the US to work on a secret Google project that would become known as Google Helpouts. She left university in Belfast with a law degree that focused on alternative justice and conflict resolution – a life-long interest and passion of hers following a childhood that spanned the end of the conflict in Northern Ireland. In this conversation Hannah and Nicy discuss what happens when you don’t have a blueprint for your career, the role fear can play in our career choices, and the inevitability of midlife crises.

Jamie Kreeger worked at Google in the Bay Area for 15 years focused on Operations and Program Management on products many of you will know, including AdSense, YouTube, and Play. Driven by her passion for environmental sustainability, Jamie spent her last couple of years at Google on the Sustainability team where she was the Strategy & Operations Lead for Google’s Chief Sustainability Officer. She holds a BS from the University of Minnesota and a MBA from Babson College. In this fourteenth episode of the "One of a Kind Podcast," Jamie and Nicy discuss the doubts that can arise when we make big life changes, that downtime should be a part of our routine, and how tough conversations can lead to meaningful connections.

Lana Bonner is a San Diego based casino gaming veteran and an executive at a data analytics company. In 1998, she came to the United States as a war refugee from old Yugoslavia. Her story is unexpectedly and heartbreakingly timely given current events. Her passion for people and her relentless curiosity about the world helped shape her career journey from a 17 year old casino buffet hostess to an executive. Today her days are filled with less work and more adventures with her husband Jason and a two year old son Miles. In this thirteenth episode of the "One of a Kind Podcast," Lana and Nicy discuss the long lasting impact of war, the deep desire of wanting to belong, and how looking back is both scary and necessary to our own growth.

Linda Camacho is a native New Yorker who loves chocolate, travel, and far too much TV. She also loves books and I am so thankful that I can always get the best book recommendations from her. She is currently a literary agent at Gallt & Zacker Literary, where she represents a roster of writers and illustrators. Before that, she held various positions at Simon & Schuster, Writers House, and Penguin Random House. She got her MFA in writing from the Vermont College of Fine Arts and also helps other writers as a creativity coach. In this twelfth episode of the "One of a Kind Podcast," Linda and Nicy discuss how society often makes assumptions of who we are, the discomfort of being misunderstood, how our identity can change over time, and how our internal age doesn’t seem to change much at all. Linda also educates us on the publishing industry. Our conversation begins with Linda sharing her college admission experience. She talks about how being waitlisted at Harvard and ultimately attending Cornell was probably good for her in the long run given the “arrogance” she had at that age. She also shares that she decided not to attend Northwestern University after being invited to tour the school and experience student life. As part of that trip, she was taken to a college stepping performance and she felt very out of place and quote “the wrong type of Puerto Rican.” As Linda shares, our identity is always evolving.

Christian Franco is a Bay Area native who spent most of his childhood in the quiet town of Burlingame, CA, where he lived with his parents and older brother, Carlos. Upon graduating from Cornell University with a BA in Psychology he moved to New York where he attended law school, worked as a licensed attorney, and eventually embarked on a career as a brand strategist. In 2019, Christian moved back to California to be close to family and currently lives in San Francisco. He borrows his mantra from the storied Jedi Master, Yoda -- “Do, or do not. There is no try." He has an unhealthy addiction to sneakers, and believes in the healing power of Labrador puppies. In this eleventh episode of the "One of a Kind Podcast," Christian and Nicy discuss career pivots, the nostalgic power of movies and music, the importance of family, and that loss is an inevitable part of life.

Stephen Salinas is a first-generation Mexican-American who was born and raised in Los Angeles. He started his career at the education non-profit, City Year. After spending 5 years building City Year in Los Angeles, he attended business school at Yale, where he met his wife Rachel. He has been at YouTube for 9+ years, working in almost every part of the business organization -- Partnerships, Operations, Business Operations, and now runs Strategy for Support. Aside from work, he loves staying active and coaching people looking to unlock their potential. Most importantly, he’s a devoted husband to Rachel, and father to Joaquin and Gisela. In this tenth episode of the "One of a Kind Podcast," Stephen and Nicy discuss the cost of evolving into the person you want to become and reframing what it means to be ambitious. A warning that this episode contains discussion of suicide. If you are based in the US and you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts or mental health matters, please call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline to connect with a trained counselor. For resources outside the US, you can visit https://befrienders.org/.

Zynara Ng is a self-growth speaker and TEDx speaker, focusing on the importance of self-development, healing, and growth. Her mission is to help individuals realize their full potential by unlocking the things that hold them back from within. Zynara has also worked as a video producer for over a decade at Google and YouTube where she is passionate about sharing the stories of others. Her work is rooted in helping individuals find their voices and share them with the world. In this ninth episode of the "One of a Kind Podcast," Zynara uses her empath abilities to trick Nicy into becoming the interviewee. Zynara and Nicy discuss how work can sometimes be performative, the impact of existential crises, and how to approach mistakes. A warning that this episode contains discussion of gun violence.

Andrew Peterson accidentally got into broadcasting, which turned into a decade of working on some of Australia’s biggest shows and pioneering digital content creation, distribution, and commercialization during the 2000s. He then spent 5 years at Universal Music working with artists to build their fan base and tell their stories in new ways. Today, Andrew is the Head of YouTube in Canada, where he oversees the content, creator and viewer ecosystems for the country. In this eighth episode of the "One of a Kind Podcast," Andrew shares a few of his life lessons that include the benefits of saying “yes” to new experiences, the importance of community, and the power of being a nerd.

Rachel is currently an Administrative Business Partner for YouTube Marketing, which in other companies is known as an Executive Assistant. She is based in Los Angeles, California, where she spends her days baby talking to all dogs, trying to become a crow girl and picking fights with squirrels. In this episode, Rachel and Nicy discuss how to break out of what Rachel calls, “black and white thinking” where we label ourselves and others as good or bad people. Rachel shares a deeply personal experience of asking for help when all seemed lost and learning that we all matter in this world, even when our thoughts are deceiving us in the darkness. A warning that this episode contains a detailed conversation about suicide. If you are based in the US and you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts or mental health matters, please call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline to connect with a trained counselor. For resources outside the US, you can visit https://befrienders.org/.

Hamsa Mahendranathan is a second generation Sri Lankan Tamil who grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and in Seoul, South Korea. She attended Columbia Law School and has spent the last 8 years at a mid-sized law firm predominantly representing whistleblowers. She currently lives in Jersey City, New Jersey, with her two dogs and her spouse Alex, who is a public school teacher and she’s super proud of him. In this sixth episode of the "One of a Kind Podcast," Hamsa and Nicy discuss their shared immigrant family experiences, the realization that adulthood is a scam, Hamsa's reasons for not having children, and how to break free from the fat phobia in our society.

Trent Raymond is a personal trainer based in San Diego, California. He says that learning to create a relationship with his clients while pushing them to become the best version of themselves is what keeps him motivated and happy to come to work everyday. Prior to this, Trent spent four years in the US Marine Corp. In this fifth episode of the "One of a Kind Podcast," Trent and Nicy discuss Trent's experiences in the military, the value of letting go, and very importantly, how to be brave through the fear.

Ashley Gaertner is a registered nurse at University of California San Diego's Burn Intensive Care Unit. She spent the formative years of her career on night shift at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital Emergency Room and Trauma Center, including working as an ER nurse during Covid's peak. In this fourth episode of the "One of a Kind Podcast," Ashley and Nicy discuss the value of vulnerability, the importance of opening up to your people, and how to become more aware of our inner thoughts so we can learn to be kinder to ourselves.

Crystal Stonebreaker started her career at PWC as an auditor, but soon realized that she prefers working with people rather than numbers. She ran her own boutique recruiting firm and then went on to Google, Amazon, and Meta. Crystal’s most recent role was Director, Leadership Recruiting at Meta, where she led a team responsible for hiring Engineering Managers across North America and Canada. Earlier this year, she was part of the Meta layoffs that resulted in 80% of all recruiters losing their roles. In this third episode of the "One of a Kind Podcast," Crystal and Nicy explore the importance of investing in our health, our friendships, and our boundaries even in high stress environments.

Brian has been working in tech and software sales since 2010, with experiences in startup acquisitions and opening up international offices. He graduated from Harvard Business School in 2018 and has since taken on roles in sales and sales leadership at early stage startups. And like so many people in the tech industry, he recently experienced being laid off. In this second episode of the "One of a Kind Podcast," Brian and Nicy discuss the career choices that got them here, the elitism the pervades these choices, and the insecurities that prevent many of us from pivoting to new adventures.

Jose is a Los Angeles based journalist and scriptwriter and Nicy's younger brother. He studied cinema at California State University, Northridge. He recently started teaching broadcast journalism at his alma mater and you can find him roaming the halls in his signature Chucks. He hosts and produces a Vegan podcast called "⁠Beyond the Kale⁠" and is an avid gamer and storyteller. In this inaugural episode of the "One of a Kind Podcast," Nicy shares her experience of being laid off from Google after almost nine years at the company. Jose discusses his career journey, including going back to college after a 7 year break, working full time jobs all throughout school, and managing feelings of not being "good enough."