Cheria sits down with her aunt, Mary Brown, President and CEO of the Sickle Cell Disease Foundation, for a conversation about legacy, advocacy, and what it truly means to serve a community over time.

For Mary, the journey began decades earlier at just six years old when the death of a neighborhood child with a blood disorder left a lasting impression.

Years later, a simple encyclopedia search led Mary to what was meant to be a short-term role at a sickle cell camp. That “temporary” position evolved into a 40+ year commitment to building programming, advocating for families, and expanding access to equitable care across California.

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Grow There With Cheria is back!

Cheria is joined by Juliana Arthuso, Senior Art Director at Ollie, for a thoughtful conversation about the intersection of work, health, and identity. Juliana shares about a time when a concussion forced her to slow down which had disrupted her relationship with productivity and challenging long-held beliefs about performance, self-worth, and success.

Some topics Cheria and Juliana cover in this episode:

• How unexpected life events reshape how we work

• Why empathy and flexibility matter in workplace culture

• The tension between doing more and being present

• What supportive leadership looks like during hard seasons

• How growth can come from listening to your limits, not pushing past them

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Sometimes in order to grow you need to pay attention to what actually sustains you over time.

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Jeff Gelfuso, SVP & Chief Design Officer at Qualtrics, opens up and gives us a candid look at how sudden personal loss shifted his perspective on life and leadership. From stepping into new family responsibilities to rethinking the things that really matter at work, Jeff shares the lessons that helped him grow during one of the most challenging seasons of his life.

Some topics Cheria and Jeff explore:

• How life changes shape leadership behavior

• The importance of presence and trust in team culture

• Why curiosity remains essential in a rapidly changing tech landscape

• How empathy leads to better decisions and better outcomes

If you’re leading teams or leading yourself through a transition, this conversation will help you reflect, recalibrate, and keep growing.