In this episode, I interview Dana Marie Applegate, and we discuss her destiny in claims. After participating in mock interviews while looking for her lifelong career path, every single evaluator told her that claims were for her. With her legal background, her ability to think critically, and her lifelong superpower of asking a million questions (a self-proclaimed five-year-old “but why?” kid), she stepped into a field where every claim is a puzzle, sometimes missing pieces, sometimes oddly shaped, always uniquely human. And that complexity is what made her fall in love with the work. Claims, she says, will always be home.

We also dive deep into the leadership lessons Dana has learned along the way, starting with some of the toughest and most transformative feedback she ever received. Dana is the opposite of a “yes woman.” She’s a truth-teller, someone who believes bad news is manageable when paired with solutions and honesty. She also opens up about navigating the hard moments with other women and how she actively restores her faith by reaching out to the women who lift her up. Dana has a grounding belief that you must always return to who you are at your core and carry yourself with integrity, even when others don’t deserve that kindness.