Making It to the Room Is Only Half the Story with Shayla Smith
What does it really take to lead an organization when your job touches almost everything? In this episode of Talk Digital To Me, Nikki Ramirez sits down with Shayla Smith, a seasoned operations leader and Chief Operating Officer at a leading entertainment law firm, to talk about the work happening behind the scenes of high-performing organizations.
Shayla shares what people often misunderstand about the COO role, why strong operations directly influence client experience, and how relationships, grit, self-advocacy, and adaptability have shaped her career. From managing seven different leadership personalities to navigating new roles without immediately trying to change everything, Shayla offers a grounded perspective on what it means to lead effectively, build trust, and make an impact.
What If LinkedIn Felt Like You? Building a Personal Brand That Opens Doors with Alexander Smith
LinkedIn is often treated like a digital resume or another place to search for jobs. But what happens when you start treating it as something you actively invest in, not just something you update when you’re ready for your next opportunity?
In this episode of Talk Digital To Me, Nicole Ramirez sits down with Alexander Smith, a tech professional, author, and career advice creator who has built an audience of almost 70,000 followers on LinkedIn. Alexander shares how he started posting simply to answer people’s questions about his career, only to see that presence grow into a personal brand that helped him connect with recruiters, land opportunities, secure brand deals, and get featured in media. Their conversation explores LinkedIn personal branding, creating content consistently, strategic networking, job searching, and building relationships in a job market increasingly influenced by AI.
The New Rules of the Creator Economy with Gigi Robinson: Building a Business Beyond Brand Deals
What separates creators who build lasting businesses from those who simply build an audience?
According to Gigi Robinson, it’s treating the creator economy like the industry it has become.
In this episode of Talk Digital To Me, Nicole Ramirez welcomes Gigi Robinson: creatorpreneur, keynote speaker, bestselling author, and founder of Hosts of Influence, for a conversation about the future of creator-led businesses. Together, they explore why brand deals alone aren’t enough, how AI is changing the way creators work, what Gen Z is getting right (and wrong) about entrepreneurship, and why professional development is the missing piece in the creator economy.
Gigi also shares how navigating chronic illness inspired her to build a career on her own terms, proving that some of the biggest challenges can become the foundation for your greatest opportunities.
Why the Devil Emails at Midnight with Mita Mallick
What makes a bad boss, and more importantly, can they change?
In this episode of Talk Digital To Me, Nicole Ramirez sits down with bestselling author, workplace culture expert, and LinkedIn Top Voice Mita Mallick to explore the leadership lessons behind her latest book, The Devil Emails at Midnight: What Good Leaders Can Learn from Bad Bosses.
From growing up feeling excluded to leading in Fortune 500 companies, Mita shares how her personal experiences shaped her mission to build more inclusive workplaces.
Together, Nicole and Mita unpack what leaders often get wrong, why authentic storytelling is one of the most powerful tools for building trust, how LinkedIn became the foundation for Mita’s bestselling books, and why human connection still matters more than ever in an AI-driven world. Whether you’re leading a team, building your personal brand, or navigating a difficult workplace, this episode offers practical insights you’ll be thinking about long after it ends.
Building Something That’s Yours with Tameka Bazile
We’ve all heard the advice: keep your head down, work hard, and don’t rock the boat. But what happens when the biggest career opportunities come from doing the exact opposite?
In this episode, Nicole Ramirez welcomes corporate creator and award-winning social strategist Tameka Bazile for an honest conversation about personal branding, the creator economy, and building a career on your own terms. Together, they unpack what it takes to grow an audience while working full-time, why visibility has become a career advantage, and how thoughtful content can open doors that a résumé alone never could. If you’ve ever wondered whether it’s possible to build your brand without compromising your career, this episode is for you.
Designing Marketing for an AI World with Chris Koehler
Artificial intelligence is changing marketing faster than most organizations can adapt. What once took months can now happen in days, or even hours. But while many companies are experimenting with AI tools, only a handful are truly redesigning how marketing gets done.
In this episode of Talk Digital To Me, Nicole Ramirez sits down with Chris Koehler, Chief Marketing Officer at Twilio, to discuss what it really means to become an AI-first organization. Drawing from 25 years of experience across marketing, sales, and product leadership at companies including Twilio, Box, and Adobe, Chris shares how marketing teams are evolving, why change management is harder than technology adoption, and what marketers need to do today to remain relevant in an AI-driven future.
Building a Global Mindset Early with Hailey Felt
What does it really mean to build a global mindset in marketing? In this episode of Talk Digital To Me, Nicole Ramirez sits down with marketing professional and international student Hailey Felt to talk about living and working across cultures, building a career abroad, and how global experiences shape stronger marketers.
From growing up in Minnesota to studying and working in the French Alps, Hailey shares how learning French at a young age opened the door to international opportunities, bilingual marketing, and a deeper understanding of branding, consumer behavior, and personal branding on platforms like LinkedIn.
Why Expertise Has Nothing To Do With Your Title with Sarah Whittle
What if the skills you’ve built across your entire career were never really tied to a job title, but to the way you think? In this episode, Nikki Ramirez sits down with Sarah Whittle, a creative strategist and “bridge builder” whose career has spanned traditional television, creator-led brands, and major companies like Crocs and Duolingo.
Sarah has helped generate billions of views, led high-performing social teams, and built viral campaigns across platforms that constantly evolve. Now, she’s stepping into her next chapter with her own venture, Unicorn Social, where she’s applying everything she’s learned about content, distribution, and the creator economy.
Together, they unpack what actually drives virality, why journalism skills still matter in modern marketing, and why “social media” is really just engagement media in disguise.
Redefining Success After Corporate with Brett Trainor
What happens when the career you’ve spent decades building no longer feels like it fits your life anymore? That’s exactly what Nicole sits down to unpack with Brett Trainor in this episode of Talk Digital To Me. They get into the reality of corporate today, from layoffs becoming the norm to the uncomfortable truth that what we’ve always called “safe” might not actually be safe anymore. It’s an honest, relatable conversation about identity, reinvention, and what it really looks like to step outside the path you thought you’d stay on.
Brett shares his own journey after 25+ years in corporate sales and marketing, and how he went from following the traditional playbook to building something entirely different. Today, he runs the Escapee Collective and hosts The Corporate Escapee Podcast, helping professionals figure out how to monetize their experience and create more flexible, independent careers. His perspective adds a real, grounded layer to the conversation, especially if you’ve ever found yourself wondering, “Is this really it for me?”
Careers Evolve, So Do We as Women and Midlife Moms with Jenny Atlman
Careers rarely follow a straight line, and in this episode of Talk Digital To Me, that truth comes to life in the most honest and refreshing way. Nicole Ramirez sits down with brand strategist and parenting expert Jenny Altman to unpack what it really looks like to evolve alongside your career, from the golden era of fashion magazines to the fast-paced world of digital media, and ultimately into building meaningful communities around motherhood.
Jenny shares how her career wasn’t a series of perfectly planned moves, but rather a collection of pivots shaped by curiosity, necessity, and real-life experiences. From sneaking across the floor at Lucky Magazine to explore digital, to launching Milk Drunk for Bobbie, and now stepping into the “midlife mom” conversation, this episode is a masterclass in staying adaptable, authentic, and deeply connected to the audience you serve.