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Inspiring Women with Laurie McGraw

Inspiring Women with Laurie McGraw

By: Laurie McGraw
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 Professional. Polished. Accomplished. Thoughtful. Made It. Ready to Make It. “Inspiring Women” is an interview show hosted by Laurie McGraw. 30 years of leadership in both commercial companies and non-profits has taught Laurie one thing: Women need women. Women need Inspiring Women. Hear short-form interviews every week from Inspiring Women who are at the pinnacle of their careers and Inspired Women who are just starting out.2025 Laurie McGraw. All rights reserved. Career Success Economics Leadership Management & Leadership
Episodes
  • Why Do 80% of People Choose to Work Through Cancer? With Gina Jacobson || EP.207

    Why Do 80% of People Choose to Work Through Cancer? With Gina Jacobson || EP.207
    Jul 15 2025
    "You might not have been born for this, but you almost died for it." When Gina Jacobson's husband spoke those words, he captured the profound transformation that turned a stage 4 colon cancer diagnosis into a mission. Given just one to two years to live, Gina didn't just survive—she discovered why work matters so deeply when everything else falls apart. Now, as Program Director for Working with Cancer, she's tackling an uncomfortable truth: there's a massive gap between what well-meaning colleagues want to do and what actually helps. When people don't copy you on emails to "spare" you, when they assume you can't handle meetings, when they reduce you to your diagnosis—the isolation can be as devastating as the disease itself. In this episode of Inspiring Women with Laurie McGraw, Gina also speaks about: Why "Can I work?" is the second question cancer patients ask after "Will I live?" How manager training can build organizational empathy that extends far beyond cancer it means when 80% of Americans choose to work through cancer treatment Why creating confidence before diagnosis changes everything How simple accommodations can preserve identity during treatment What happens when your biggest pitch becomes helping others through their darkest hour Chapters 02:14 - From Potato Cravings to Stage 4 Diagnosis 03:43 - The Gap Between Intentions and Impact 05:20 - What Organizations Really Need to Do 07:39 - The Workforce Cancer Crisis 08:59 - "You Almost Died for This" 10:37 - Creating Confidence Before Crisis Guest & Host Links Connect with Laurie McGraw on LinkedIn Connect with Gina Jacobson on LinkedIn Connect with Inspiring Women Browse Episodes | LinkedIn | Instagram | Apple | Spotify
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    12 mins
  • What Happens When a Cancer Diagnosis at 17 Shapes Your Entire Career? With Rae McMahan || EP.206

    What Happens When a Cancer Diagnosis at 17 Shapes Your Entire Career? With Rae McMahan || EP.206
    Jul 8 2025
    Standing at a hospital desk at 17, facing a Hodgkin's disease diagnosis, Rae McMahan heard words that would reshape her entire life: "We don't have your prior authorization on file." That broken moment in a broken system launched a career dedicated to fixing what fails patients every day. Now, as Senior Vice President of Payer Solutions at Prescriptive, Rae is revolutionizing how 260 million Americans access medications—because no one should discover what their life-saving prescription costs only when they reach the pharmacy counter. But her journey wasn't straightforward. Expected to "get married, have kids and stay home," Rae chose a different path—one that led from nearly becoming a physician to mastering the business of healthcare transformation. In this episode of Inspiring Women with Laurie McGraw, Rae also speaks about: Why pharmacy benefits are the number one utilized benefit and first indicator of health problems How text message prescriptions are disrupting decades of pharmacy confusion What happens when technology costs go down everywhere except healthcare Why connecting lab tests, AI, and genetics could eliminate medication guesswork How to choose your own journey when it doesn't match family expectations What it means to say "no" in a culture that expects women to say "yes" Chapters 04:02 - A Teenager's Cancer Diagnosis Meets a Broken System 06:33 - From Patient to Healthcare Revolutionary 08:22 - The Reverse Technology Paradigm in Healthcare 10:57 - The Magic Wand: Personalized Medicine Without the Guesswork 13:35 - Choosing Your Journey Over Others' Expectations 15:55 - Finding Your Village and Your Voice Guest & Host Links Laurie McGraw on LinkedIn Rae McMahan on LinkedIn Connect with Inspiring Women Browse Episodes | LinkedIn | Instagram | Apple | Spotify
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    17 mins
  • How One Labor Leader Transformed 30,000 Lives Through the Power of Empowerment, with Brenda Munoz || EP.205

    How One Labor Leader Transformed 30,000 Lives Through the Power of Empowerment, with Brenda Munoz || EP.205
    Jul 1 2025
    What happens when you realize you've stopped caring about the very people you're meant to serve? For Brenda Munoz, that moment came when a laborer asked her to leave and find someone else to help him. "You're very nice," he said, "but I can tell you're trying to rush this." That wake-up call transformed not just Brenda's career, but how she thinks about leadership itself. Today, as Associate Benefits Director at the Laborers' Fund of Northern California, she oversees benefits for 30,000 workers who build America's infrastructure—and she's reimagining what it means to serve a workforce that's largely male, Hispanic, and often working far from home. In this episode of Inspiring Women with Laurie McGraw, Brenda also speaks about: Why language barriers and literacy challenges make benefits accessibility a social justice issue How empowering 53 employees (mostly women) creates ripple effects for thousands of families What it means to lead for both the laborers AND the women who serve them Why self-reliance and having a voice are the foundations of workplace empowerment How Hispanic women can transform from "doing the paperwork" to leading the organization What changes when you shift from "What do I want?" to "What will help us become better?" Chapter Markers 02:05 - An Accidental Benefits Career 04:09 - The Counter Call That Changed Everything 05:36 - Choosing Impact Over Comfort 07:21 - Understanding the Laborers: Who Builds America 10:59 - The Stress of Benefits Work 12:31 - Leading for Two Communities 14:19 - From Siloed to United: Creating Vision Together 19:21 - The Power Within: A Message to Hispanic Women Guest & Host Links Connect with Laurie McGraw on LinkedIn Connect with Brenda Munoz on LinkedIn Connect with Inspiring Women Browse Episodes | LinkedIn | Instagram | Apple | Spotify
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    20 mins

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