🎁 ENTER THE HOLIDAY GIVEAWAY → andreabarr.com/giveaway

[HOLIDAY BEST OF SERIES]

This final Throwback Thursday of the holiday series brings you one of your most-loved episodes about navigating major life transitions. If you've ever loved a career but struggled to make it work after kids—or dreamed of starting your own thing—Mackenzie Forge's story will resonate deeply.

Mackenzie has an incredible story of competition, loss, drive, and raising a family. She went from varsity athlete to thriving in commercial real estate—a career she genuinely loved waking up for on Monday mornings. But after having her daughter Kennedy in February 2020 (hello, pandemic parenthood), and then twin boys 11 months later, everything shifted.

In this conversation, Mackenzie opens up about the guilt of not giving enough to either work or family, the moment she decided to leave her career, and how she channeled her business skills into creating Forge Magnetic Clothing—beautiful magnetic bibs and clothing for babies and toddlers.

This episode is for anyone who's trying to figure out how to honor both their career drive and their family values—and for anyone who needs to hear that leaving doesn't mean giving up.

In this episode, we cover:

• (04:55) Mackenzie's varsity athlete background and overcoming depression after leaving sports
• (07:49) 2014: A year of big highs and devastating lows—losing her mom, career changes, and meeting her husband
• (09:49) Why she absolutely loved her commercial real estate career
• (14:08) The pivot point: joining CREW and getting pregnant
• (15:42) Having Kennedy in February 2020 and pandemic parenthood
• (17:32) The challenging transition back to work part-time
• (19:45) Why boundaries are complicated in time-sensitive industries
• (21:50) The decision to leave after compensation changes and feeling like she was failing everywhere
• (24:07) Finding out about twins (and thinking it was triplets!)
• (27:29) Starting Forge Magnetic Clothing from a real problem she needed to solve
• (28:29) The frustration of snap bibs and why magnets changed everything
• (30:02) Building nine prototypes over 10 months while raising three kids
• (33:39) Finding fulfillment in entrepreneurship beyond just the money
• (35:20) The universe's hand: Would she have gone back to real estate if not for twins?
• (37:21) What's on the horizon for Forge Magnetics
• (40:07) Advice for ambitious moms trying to balance it all
• (42:27) What Mackenzie is still figuring out in 2024

About Mackenzie Forge:Mackenzie is a mom of 3 vivacious toddlers and the founder of Forge Magnetic Clothing. She was born and raised in North Vancouver and had a successful career in Commercial Real Estate, which she left in 2022, after finishing her second maternity leave, choosing to spend more time with her children and start a business.

Shop Forge Magnetics:

Website | https://forgemagnetic.com/

Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/forgemagnetic/

Special offer for All Figured Out listeners:Use code ALLFIGUREDOUT10 for 10% off your purchase!(Code is limited to one use per customer)

About Andrea Barr, host of All Figured Out:

Andrea is a certified career and life coach for parents. Through her coaching, she supports parents in finding better work-life rhythms so they can continue to grow personally and professionally without sacrificing family time.

Connect with Andrea

Website | ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.andreabarr.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Instagram | ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/allfiguredoutandrea⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠Resume Shop⁠⁠⁠⁠ – Beautiful, customizable resumes to land your dream job

🎁 ENTER THE HOLIDAY GIVEAWAY → andreabarr.com/giveaway

[HOLIDAY BEST OF SERIES]

This Throwback Thursday brings you one of our most impactful episodes on parenting. If you've ever felt overwhelmed trying to raise resilient, well-adjusted children—or if you're working to break cycles from your own childhood—this conversation with Nurse Practitioner Kathleen Sullivan is essential listening.

Raising children can (most of the time) be a mystery and a lot of trial and error. Add to that, trying to figure out how to raise resilient, well-adjusted, happy, and healthy children...and cue overwhelm.

That's why we have Kathleen Sullivan here: she's going to share with us ALL about how we can raise resilient children.

Kathleen is a Nurse Practitioner who, throughout her career, has worked with children in many different clinical settings. Currently, Kathleen works clinically with youth in mental health and substance abuse, and also serves in a leadership role developing education programs. She is part of a Doctors of BC working group focused on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and childhood trauma prevention.

In this episode, we cover:

• (03:33) Kathleen's career pivot from pediatric nursing to becoming a Nurse Practitioner
• (11:29) The definition of trauma and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)
• (13:35) The groundbreaking ACEs study and its surprising findings on long-term health impacts
• (21:02) How trauma physically changes the brain—and how quality care can reverse those changes
• (37:00) The four S's of secure parenting: Safe, Seen, Soothed, and Secure
• (32:00) Practical ways to build resilience in children through attachment and connection
• (28:29) How to break generational trauma cycles
• (30:10) Resources for parents navigating these challenges

CONTENT ADVISORY: We will be talking about trauma and adverse childhood experiences in a theoretical sense. Topics include child abuse, neglect, mental illness, and substance abuse. Please do what you need to do to take care of your mental health, and skip this episode if this topic isn't speaking to you right now.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Book: Raising a Secure Child by Ken Hoffman
• Book: The Power of Showing Up by Dan Siegel
• EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) therapy
• Doctors of BC Working Group on Adverse Childhood Experiences

About Kathleen Sullivan

Kathleen is a family Nurse Practitioner with a clinical practice in a youth mental health and substance use. She recently joined the leadership team as a lead with the Regional Professional Practice NP team with a focus on supporting quality practice environment and excellence in clinic practice for NPs, specifically in urgent care and primary care. After completing a capstone in Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Kathleen joined the provincial ACEs working group with Doctors of BC. Outside of work, she finds balance exploring trails and mountaintops with her partner and giant dog.

About Andrea Barr, host of All Figured Out:

Andrea is a certified career and life coach for parents. Through her coaching, she supports parents in finding better work-life rhythms so they can continue to grow personally and professionally without sacrificing family time.

Connect with Andrea

Website | ⁠⁠⁠https://www.andreabarr.com/⁠⁠⁠

Instagram | ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/allfiguredoutandrea⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠Resume Shop⁠⁠⁠ – Beautiful, customizable resumes to land your dream job

🎁 ENTER THE HOLIDAY GIVEAWAY → https://www.andreabarr.com/giveaway

[HOLIDAY BEST OF SERIES]

This week's Throwback Thursday features one of your most-loved episodes from early in the podcast. If you're navigating the tension between career ambition and new motherhood—or questioning what success really means after becoming a parent—this conversation will resonate deeply.

Trigger Warning: Topics such as disordered eating, infertility, and infant loss do come up in this episode. Please do what you need to do to take care of your mental health, and skip this episode if those topics just won't jive with you today.

Today, I have Meredith MacKenzie on the show sharing her career story. And if there's one thing I've learned from coaching working parents and chatting with Meredith, it's that it's never just a career story—it's a life story.

Our conversation spans Meredith's drive as a high achiever, her fertility challenges, and the current questions she's asking herself as she finishes her maternity leave, juggles her doctorate degree, and decides what to do about her return to work and considerations for family planning. As you can tell, we cover a lot here.

Meredith is a Counsellor and the Founder of Parallel Wellness. Her team provides mental health therapy services to individuals, couples and families throughout British Columbia. Meredith is also a PhD candidate at the University of British Columbia and first-time mom. Meredith supports women in overcoming years of dieting, poor body image, binge eating and emotional eating, so they can reconnect with their body's true needs and find freedom from food and diet culture.

For Meredith, figuring it all out has been understanding herself more deeply, weighing her career, her health, and her family values, and learning to put herself first.

To connect with Meredith MacKenzie:

Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/parallelwellness/ | https://www.instagram.com/dr.meredithmackenzie/

YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@dr.meredithmackenzie

To learn about her current offerings and group programs, visit her platforms above

About Andrea Barr, host of All Figured Out:

Andrea is a certified career and life coach for parents. Through her coaching, she supports parents in finding better work-life rhythms so they can continue to grow personally and professionally without sacrificing family time.

Connect with Andrea

Website | ⁠⁠https://www.andreabarr.com/⁠⁠

Instagram | ⁠https://www.instagram.com/allfiguredoutandrea⁠

⁠⁠Resume Shop⁠⁠ – Beautiful, customizable resumes to land your dream job

What happens when you have four kids by age 27, right as the women's movement is taking off? Jennifer Manocherian's story reads like several lifetimes woven into one—and at 86, she's not done. From family therapist to divorce mediator to Broadway producer to novelist, Jennifer has reinvented herself more times than most people change jobs.

This conversation touches on resilience, letting go of guilt, and understanding that life is long enough to try again. If you've ever felt like you're running out of time or that you need to have it all figured out by a certain age, Jennifer's going to change your mind.

In this episode, we cover:

• (12:17) Creating art from mannequins while recovering from a broken back – Why Jennifer can't stop starting new projects.

• (16:01) The cusp of the women's movement – How Jennifer navigated her 30s with four kids, a traditional husband, and a burning desire to work that didn't fit the era's expectations

• (19:14) Getting her undergraduate degree at 34, while having her 5th child – Why alternative education programs gave Jennifer the flexibility she needed to finish what she started

• (23:41) Creating a PR department out of thin air – How Jennifer built a public relations role through sheer creativity and hustle

• (29:21) Walking away from Broadway – The moment Jennifer realized theatre producing was too hard on her family life, and why she had to shift her ambition to save what mattered most

• (38:10) "The worst thing is wanting something and not doing it" – Jennifer's philosophy on risk, failure, and why trying (even if you fail) beats regret every single time

• (52:45) The arbitrary pressure of "figuring it out by 40" – Jennifer's response to the idea that you need to have your life sorted by a certain age: "You take your temperature as you go along and readjust."

KEY TAKEAWAY

Life is long, and wanting something you don't pursue hurts worse than trying and failing. "I think the worst thing that can happen is wanting something and not doing it. I'm not afraid to risk making a mistake or being wrong."

About Jennifer Manocherian

Jennifer Manocherian, 86, has had more careers than most people have decades. She's been a publicist, family therapist, divorce mediator, Broadway producer, filmmaker, novelist, and screenwriting teacher—often reinventing herself just as she was getting good at the last thing.

Her creative work spans film (Family Blues on Amazon Prime, If I Tell You awaiting release), musical theater (Marry Harry, LULU), and novels (Alpha Bette, with a second in progress). She's also a wife, mother of five, grandmother of fifteen, great-grandmother of one, and a self-proclaimed creator of "weird art pieces."

At 86, she's still teaching, writing, and figuring out what's next—because as she'll tell you, life is long.

Connect with Jennifer

Website | https://jennifermanocherian.net

Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/jennifermanocherian

LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-manocherian-2421855/

Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/jmanocherian

About Andrea Barr, host of All Figured Out:

Andrea is a certified career and life coach for parents. Through her coaching, she supports parents in finding better work-life rhythms so they can continue to grow personally and professionally without sacrificing family time.

Connect with Andrea

Website | ⁠https://www.andreabarr.com/⁠

Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/allfiguredoutandrea

⁠Resume Shop⁠ – Beautiful, customizable resumes to land your dream job

What does it take to walk away from 19 years of federal leadership to start completely over? Yaa-Hemaa Obiri-Yeboah shares her remarkable journey from political refugee to Rhodes Scholar to federal executive—and why she ultimately chose to leave it all behind. This conversation goes deep on career pivots, generational workplace dynamics, the messy reality of transitioning back to work after mat leave, and what it really means to "operate from your power." If you've ever felt successful on paper but unfulfilled in your soul, this episode is for you.

In this episode, we cover:

• (04:01) Surviving a political coup as an infant – How Yaa-Hemaa's family fled Ghana when her father refused to participate in a military coup, eventually landing in Canada as political refugees

• (18:19) The "public servant by day, singer-songwriter by night" era – How Yaa-Hemaa juggled federal leadership with performing at jazz bars and releasing an EP, all while appearing on CBC radio in the morning and rushing to work for executive meetings

• (23:26) Getting promoted while on maternity leave – Yaa-Hemaa passed executive-level exams and interviews when her son was under 3 months old, proving that motherhood doesn't pause ambition (even when you're sleep-deprived)

• (27:13) Why the pandemic was actually good for her family – With her parents moving in to create a supportive pod, Yaa-Hemaa had the village most working parents dream of during those early years

• (47:17) The return-to-office debate – Why mandating in-office days without intentional connection is missing the entire point (and frustrating everyone in the process)

KEY TAKEAWAY

Success on paper doesn't equal fulfillment in your soul—and it's okay to walk away from what looks good to find what feels right. "I wanna be able to operate from my power."

Connect with Yaa-Hemaa Obiri-Yeboah

Website | https://theyvariable.com/

LinkedIn | Yaa-Hemaa Obiri-Yeboah

Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/itstheyvariable/

TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@itstheyvariable

Online Course Career School by The Y Variable: Your First 30 Days…and Beyond

Connect with Andrea

Website | ⁠https://www.andreabarr.com/⁠

Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/allfiguredoutandrea

⁠Resume Shop⁠ – Beautiful, customizable resumes to land your dream job

Ep. 107: How to navigate work-life transitions with grace

Join the 2025 Success Luncheon in Vancouver on Nov. 25, 2025

This one’s for the parents at a crossroads. Whether you’re re-entering the workforce, navigating separation, or simply wondering what’s next, this conversation is a reminder that your current challenge is only a snapshot in time.

In this episode, Amanda Sayfy, Executive Director of Dress for Success Vancouver, shares what it’s really like to build a mission-led career while navigating parenthood, ADHD, and major life transitions.

We talk about what resilience actually looks like, why gender equity isn’t just women’s work, and how to find purpose—even when you feel like you’ve lost yourself.

In this episode, we cover:

• The emotional toll and unexpected gifts of career breaks

• How co-parenting helped Amanda redefine balance

• The power of role modelling and social capital

• What true dignity means in career transition

Related episodes:

Ep. 101 : What to do when life looks great on paper but still feels off with Christine Coughlin – Spotify, Apple or YouTube

Ep. 103 : How to stop spiralling and take action when you’re overwhelmed with Joanna Brewster – Spotify, Apple or YouTube

About Amanda Sayfy

Amanda Sayfy is a passionate advocate for women’s empowerment. As Executive Director of Dress for Success Vancouver, she leads with equity at the heart of her work, supporting over 2,000 women annually. A seasoned non-profit leader with 20 years of experience, Amanda brings strategic insight and diverse fundraising expertise to advance equitable employment access across Metro Vancouver.

https://dfsvancouver.ca/

About Andrea Barr, host of All Figured Out

Andrea Barr is a certified coach, speaker, and host of All Figured Out. She helps ambitious parents create clarity, calm, and confidence in their careers and lives—so they can thrive without sacrificing family time.

⁠ALL FIGURED OUT EVENTS: Online & IRL⁠⁠

Let's connect! ⁠Instagram⁠ • YouTube • Website • LinkedIn

Ep. 106: Figuring out how to shake things up for the last quarter and into 2026

ALL FIGURED OUT EVENTS: Online & IRL

This week, I'm on a solo dive into what it really takes to reinvent yourself—without burning out or blowing up your whole life.

Recorded in early October, this cozy, Q4 check-in is part reflection, part strategy session, and full of practical wisdom for parents who want to feel more aligned heading into the new year.

🎧 FULL SHOW NOTES & TAKEAWAYS

In this episode, we cover:

• How to identify the one area of your life that needs your focus most

• The power of the 20% rule

• How to quiet your mind in a noisy world

• How to invest in the right people (at the right time)

About Andrea Barr

Andrea Barr is a certified career and life coach for ambitious parents and the host of All Figured Out. She helps parents design careers and lives that feel fulfilling—without the burnout. @allfiguredoutandrea