Hannah Levy - Modern Fertility | Tech Ladies (Episode #009)
Hannah Levy on Fertility Knowledge & Empowerment, Female-Led Startups, Elevating Underrepresented Groups, Parent Inclusive Workplaces, and Much More (#009)
“I approached motherhood as a ‘oh, now I need to be completely selfless’ mentality, where I was just like, ‘hey, now I’m a mom, I matter less, I need to put my kid above myself in all forms’. And that worked for about a month until I broke down. The guilt around putting yourself first or taking time has been very difficult. And so, I have slowly regained boundaries and space. And trying to figure out what does it mean to prioritize myself, what does it mean to prioritize other people, my friends, work, my partnership above my child in certain times. What are the trade-offs, risks, and rewards?” —Hannah Levy
Hannah Levy (@hnnhlvy) is a content strategist who has spent the last twelve years helping brands build communities and connect with their customers through creative storytelling. She specializes in high-impact content campaigns that maximize engagement with a brand’s audience.
Hannah has worked across several industries, but has always returned to healthcare because she believes that understanding what's going on with our bodies, and getting high-quality affordable care, are basic human rights. Hannah is currently leading content marketing at Modern Fertility, a women's reproductive healthcare company focused on making fertility information more accessible for women everywhere.
Hannah is also dedicated to supporting underrepresented groups, something that she works toward as a community manager for Tech Ladies, a community of one hundred thousand members, and growing, that connects women, trans, and non-binary folks with the best opportunities in tech.
We had a fantastic conversation—Hannah was incredibly open and generous with her thoughts and experiences. Please enjoy!
Listen to Episode #009 on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Google Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Hannah Levy and Moms Who Build host, Margie Chuang, have a candid discussion about fertility research and empowerment, the rewards of working for a female-founded, female-led startup, elevating women and underrepresented groups, and how workplaces can be more inclusive for parents and breastfeeding moms. They also talk openly about navigating early motherhood, feeling a sense of urgency to figure it all out, going through an identity crisis after having kids, and mom guilt.
Show Notes
Hannah’s career journey and her work with Modern Fertility and Tech Ladies. [3:21]
Information asymmetry in healthcare and personal finance. [4:08]
About Modern Fertility. [7:27]
About Tech Ladies. [9:00]
Hannah’s personal mission. [12:04]
Navigating privilege in professional networks. [18:29]
Where the magic happens in communities. [24:15]
Hannah’s approach to allyship. [26:54]
Working for a female-founded, female-led company versus a male founded, male-led company. [31:07]
How companies can empower women and parents to succeed in the workplace. [33:46]
Writing content for startups. [39:00]
Hannah’s thoughts on prioritizing time for herself, her family, her work, her community. [49:38]
Hannah’s experience interviewing at companies while navigating new motherhood. [55:15]
Margie and Hannah talk openly about navigating early motherhood, feeling a sense of urgency to figure it all out, going through an identity crisis after having kids, and mom guilt. [57:55]
Lessons Hannah hopes to pass along to her daughter. [1:03:34]
How Hannah applied the idea of value-based decision making to her personal and professional life. [1:05:26]
Building empathy and meeting people where they are. [1:06:25]
How Hannah learns and retains information. [1:09:49]
Rapid Fire Questions. [1:11:32]
Parting thoughts and encouraging words. [1:15:46]
What was your favorite takeaway or quote from this episode? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below!
Selected Links from the Episode
Connect with Hannah Levy on Twitter
Connect with Modern Fertility:
Connect with Tech Ladies:
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend | Apple Podcasts
I May Destroy You | HBO Max
Veep | HBO Max | Prime Video | Hulu
Listen to Episode #009 on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Google Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
If you have a moment, please consider leaving a rating and review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes. It helps us to get more amazing guests on the show and grow the podcast. Thank you!
Connect with Moms Who Build host, Margie Chuang
Twitter: twitter.com/momswhobuild
Instagram: instagram.com/momswhobuild_
Facebook: facebook.com/momswhobuild
YouTube: bit.ly/youtube-channel-momswhobuild
Subscribe to Moms Who Build on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, RadioPublic, or your favorite podcast player.
Past Interviews
For past interviews with inspirational moms building inspirational things, visit momswhobuild.com.
Quotes from Episode #009
““It felt like I was taking a lot of steps backwards and I think that’s how I feel throughout my career. I think in certain decision points, it often can feel like I’m taking steps backwards or undoing things when actually it’s what’s propelling me forwards and getting me closer to my goal eventually. And just realizing that it’s all this iterative process and being open to taking non-traditional paths to get to where you need to go is definitely a lesson I learned early.””
““The other big component about Modern Fertility that I really love and am obsessed with is this idea of research. Pushing fertility research forward is really part of our mission and at the core of what we’re doing here.””
““Tech Ladies in particular started because there was this gender networking gap and the idea was, ‘how can we connect women at all stages of their career to other women at all stages, so that they can find or give mentorship opportunities?’ ””
““There was a comment thread, over a hundred comments long, on talking about IUI and getting pregnant as a lesbian couple. And just seeing these things happen and being able to help people connect the dots and connect with each other is super powerful.” ”
““I think part of the magic happens in communities is making sure you’re listening to the members and not just building for what you want or what you think, but what is being identified and what is being serviced.””
