Leading Through Crisis, Building Influence, and Paving the Way with Dr. Emily Knight

In this powerful episode, I sit down with Dr. Emily Williams Knight, the President and CEO of the Texas Restaurant Association and Foundation, to talk about what it really takes to lead through crisis, build influence in male-dominated industries, and create opportunities for others to rise.

With over 20 years of global leadership experience, Emily played a pivotal role in saving thousands of restaurants during the COVID-19 pandemic. She shares her personal journey from dreaming of a career in hospitality as a third grader to navigating one of the most challenging leadership moments of our time.

Tune in to hear:

• How Emily led through the chaos of the pandemic and fought for the restaurant industry
• Why influence isn’t about fitting in—but about being the expert at the table
• The key mindset shift that helped her step into leadership with confidence
• Why women need to stop striving for "balance" and embrace blending work and life instead
• The biggest lesson she’d tell her younger self about leadership, resilience, and self-care

Emily’s story is one of grit, heart, and impact. If you’re ready to lead with confidence and step into your full potential, this episode is a must-listen!

🎧 Listen now and tag us with your biggest takeaways!

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Transcript

erica_1_01-08-2025_120737: 0:00

Today I'm sitting down with a true powerhouse in leadership and advocacy, and that is Dr. Emily Williams Knight. As the president and CEO of the Texas Restaurant Association and Foundation, Emily is a nationally recognized leader who played a pivotal role in saving thousands of restaurants during the COVID 19 pandemic. With over 20 years of global experience, she is a champion for legislative success. workforce development and creating opportunities for Texans to build thriving careers in the food service industry. Now, Emily's story is a special one. It is one of vision of grit and of impact. And today she is here to share her insights on leading through crisis, building influence, and paving the way for more women to rise in leadership.

0:50

Well, welcome to the glass ceiling and sticky floor podcast. The show that is here to empower you to break free from limiting beliefs, ditch toxic behaviors, and unlock the infinite possibilities waiting for you. This is your time to live your best life unapologetically I'm Erica Rooney, your host and biggest cheerleader on a mission to get more women into positions of power and keep them there where they belong. If you're ready to shatter ceilings, crush self-doubt and build a career in life overflowing. With growth and abundance. You're in the right place. Here's the deal. We talk about the real stuff here. Imposter syndrome, perfectionism, fear, burnout, you name it. It's raw. It's honest. And it's exactly what you need to level up. So grab a seat, pop in a nearby. And let's dive in.

erica_1_01-08-2025_120737: 1:39

Emily, welcome to podcast. I am so thrilled you're here.

squadcaster-1hh2_1_01-08-2025_110737: 1:45

I am so thrilled and really grateful to be here. Thank you so much.

erica_1_01-08-2025_120737: 1:49

Well, let's dive in because I am so intrigued by you and everything you do, but tell me more, like, what do we not know about you?

squadcaster-1hh2_1_01-08-2025_110737: 2:00

Um, so it's funny. I get asked that sometimes. I think recently someone said, you're like an enigma, like you're cool, but you shouldn't be like, and I'm like, I'm not sure if I should be offended by that or not. Um, but I think, you know, I think when you think of me, right, you typically see me in the world I exist in today, which is I'll stand up in front of thousands of people and speak, or I'll, you know, go to the Capitol and fight for policy. I think, but I always try to remind people like that I came from the same place that. Everyone else has. And so for me, I think, you know, I decided to be in the world of hospitality when I was in the third grade. And I'm sure some of the listeners will remember a show called hotel with Connie Selica and James Brolin. And I was at a military family. So everything was the same. Everyone's car was the same. We lived in the same Navy housing. Everything was just the same. We brought the same coats at the flea market. And there was one night a week where I could watch the show and it just imagined this glamorous lifestyle. Um, and so in the third grade, I marched into my parents and it was my mom. And I said, you know, I'm going to work in hotels one day. I'm going to be in the hospitality industry. And thankfully, I don't even think she knew what it was. And she's like, that sounds great, Emily. Um, and then, you know, through my, I try to tell people to like, through my schooling, I wasn't a great student. Like in high school, I, they told me I should, told my parents I should go to beauty school. Like I was an athlete. I didn't even brush my hair. Right. Like. And not that there's anything wrong with that, but it was this idea that like, I was too outgoing and concerned about everyone else and talk too much and all those things that now result in my career. And so I like to remind people that like, it doesn't matter where you are in your life. Like for me. I was someone that, you know, I, this was never on the radar, right. To be a CEO, that was never the dream. And so sort of how you just keep going and it gets you to where you want to be. But, but I'm just like everyone else. I think that's what I want people to know is hard days and good days and challenging days, and my roots are no different than anyone else. It's just some of the decision I made sort of put me in the spot I'm in today.

erica_1_01-08-2025_120737: 3:56

So interesting, right? I mean, you and I were talking before I hit the record button and I said, we have got to hear this backstory because I don't think any little girl sits down to dream to be the CEO of the restaurant, like food and Bev and all of that, you know, it's like, that's usually not on top of the wishlist, but I love this story that gets us there. And I'm just thinking back, you know, to 2020 and the pandemic and all of the madness of the world and how much that impacted you and your role in all of this. all of the things that immediately happened. And I would love for you to first kind of like explain what that was, because I don't think people think through all of the things that happened with the restaurant industry during that time. So take it away.

squadcaster-1hh2_1_01-08-2025_110737: 4:43

my gosh. I think for so many of us, we sometimes almost have a hard time going back because as the world, not only the U. S., but the world was sort of grieving and wondering and what was happening and trying to discern the news. We were in a let's save lives and save businesses. And to us, that charge is still the greatest I'm gift I was ever given. And so I sort of, you know, I tell how I arrived to the moment. I was a brand new CEO. I had not met the governor and I had not met an elected official when I got the call saying, I think we're going to shut everything down from the governor's chief of staff. So for me, I was up in Washington, D. C. Being kind of onboarded. I was sitting with Senator Cruz in a meeting. Mhm. I was there for about 40 minutes. That's an important number in a second. And then I transitioned to meeting with Congressman Crenshaw. And he said, I'm sorry, it's great to meet you, but I have to leave. The bells were going off in the Capitol. We have our first coronavirus vote. It wasn't even called COVID. I'm like, okay, that's kind of like a New York problem. You know, I'm going back to Texas, fly home, land, get a call from the senators. Cruz's chief of staff in the morning saying, listen, the Senator has quarantined. You were with him for a great deal of time. You might want to quarantine too. And I was like, what? I'm going to get like coronavirus from Senator Cruz? Like, what is this? And so I stayed home for three days out of, you know, respect and not knowing what was happening. And then my family said, Hey, listen, we're going to Cabo on vacation and all you've done is work for six months. And so aren't you going to come? And I fly to Cabo and within two days, the governor's chief of staff calls and says, listen, we're going to shut it down. But if we work together and we're honest with each other, we don't go to the press. We're not negative. And we get through this. We can do this. And I'll never forget those words because that decision that day to partner and not be adversary, I think was a game changer. And for me, It was the moment I needed maybe my whole life, which was to lead through a crisis like I captured all the animals when I was little that needed a home. I looked for the kid that didn't have a friend at lunch, like my natural love of helping and fighting for people who don't have a voice. It was like God just gave me this platform that I didn't ask for. I didn't even know it was coming. And so from that moment, yeah, Which the morning after in Texas, just to give you the scope, we had about 50,000 restaurants employing about 1.2 million Texans, and within 24 hours, less than 30% of them could generate a penny. And I had 800,000 working people on the sidelines without a job. And so you talk about fight or flight, I had two choices. Hide or lead. And I chose to lead in that moment. I wish people could understand it's so much finger pointing today, whatever playbook you had, it didn't matter. Right? I mean, you were literally balancing the economy and lives and that that is such a big job that it was only about three months in that I finally cried and I cried so hard, I couldn't breathe. And it was the enormity of. How do you prioritize businesses over human lives? How do you balance both? How do you live in a world where no matter what you decide, people like you or they don't mask, don't mask vaccine, don't mask. So the hate mail coming at me on a daily basis on my team was extraordinary, but you just, there was something inside me that said, You're going to carry these people through and you're going to work day and night, Emily. This is what you've been called to do. And my goal was to not let anyone fail. And I had the most amazing team that believed the same thing. And so for me, it's the greatest moment of my career. And I always get asked, you would never do that again, would you? And I would do it again. 100 times over.

erica_1_01-08-2025_120737: 8:39

Oh my gosh. I am so grateful that you kind of outlined a bit of that because just those numbers really

squadcaster-1hh2_1_01-08-2025_110737: 8:46

Oh,

erica_1_01-08-2025_120737: 8:47

Express the devastation, right? And I was an extra people officer. So I dealt with a lot of that on a smaller scale. And it's so interesting because you are, you're trying to balance the health of businesses, but also people's lives. And you have this whole question of like, what's the ethical thing to do? What's the right thing to do?

squadcaster-1hh2_1_01-08-2025_110737: 9:06

Yes.

erica_1_01-08-2025_120737: 9:07

I mean, my

squadcaster-1hh2_1_01-08-2025_110737: 9:08

And what information? Yeah. And what information are you using? Right? What information are you getting? And sometimes we would get information that the public didn't have. So we're making decisions and it may not

erica_1_01-08-2025_120737: 9:19

make sense to the outside world.

squadcaster-1hh2_1_01-08-2025_110737: 9:22

Correct. And your one issue is part of a much bigger ecosystem, but I'll tell you something that I've carried with me today, which I didn't know who was a Republican and who was a Democrat. I was brand new. And so in a state, I maybe stepped in it a lot of times in the normal operating environment of work, because I would go to someone who necessarily wouldn't want to help or, you know, when you don't know people's political affiliation, you get more done because you just demand excellence and help for your constituents. And so to me, I think the reason that Texas is really known as one of the leaders out of the pandemic, um, we were one of the first to open. We suffered very few losses. Um, the losses we suffered are clearly. Catastrophic, right? If you've lost your business. Um, but considering what the runway looked like to what we got today, it was very different. And I think a big part of that was this unified approach that we took, which is everyone should care about businesses and everyone should care about restaurants. And that was the best gift I had, which I didn't have. I didn't owe anyone anything. They didn't owe me anything. And I was just this woman fighting for these people that had no voice. Like, how do you work in the legislative process? If you're a single restaurant owner in El Paso, Texas, you need a trade association. Um, and so I think that was, I always say it was an honor. It was like an honor to be, to see my whole life and all the gifts I was given come to life in a moment where I could put them to best use.

erica_1_01-08-2025_120737: 10:50

So you talked about you had two choices. You could either lead or you could hide. And obviously you chose to lead.

squadcaster-1hh2_1_01-08-2025_110737: 10:58

Yes.

erica_1_01-08-2025_120737: 10:59

But I can imagine that there had to have been moments where you just wanted to bury your head in the sand. Maybe moments where you felt totally stuck or helpless. You know, talk to me about how you moved through that and what could other women learn from that experience.

squadcaster-1hh2_1_01-08-2025_110737: 11:16

Yeah, that's such a good question. You know, I think, I think you have a choice to make every day when you wake up. And I think that the outside environment teaches us that where we are has been done to us in some way, right? Wherever we sit today, that, and that I don't use the word victim because I don't think women play victim. I think the road that women are on is so complicated and has so many barriers in it that for me, I think I think when I decide, what I've decided is that at the end of the day, the only thing that matters really is how I view myself, right? Like, like learning to be unliked is one of the best gifts you can give yourself. And that happened for me in my 30s. I wish it had happened in my 20s, but realizing that there were people that didn't like me and wouldn't like me, and I needed to be okay with that. I think that's number one, right? Which was, and that translates to my personal life or my professional life. And that is so hard because when people don't like us or don't like our decisions, we personalize it as women. And then what that does is it paralyzes us and then we don't move. So for me, I accepted that no matter what I did, there would be an opposing force and, and I was going to, as I say, um, I had a board member and this is, I think, a great little analogy that said to me, I called him at one moment because we also had the George Floyd incident and really murder happened during this period. So that just layered a complexity for us. And I had a, a, a run in with a board member that I thought was very unfair and I was in one of those poor me moments and I called this board member and he said, when you walk up to the plate and you're ready to swing a home run, if you listen to the people in the cheap seats, That are telling you which way to bat and which way to hit, you're not going to have focus and you're not going to hit a home run, ignore the cheap seats. And so I had this vision in my mind of stepping up to the plate and making a big decision and having people calling at me in the, in the stands and realizing that I needed to cut that noise out. So I think one is, is staying true to who you are and then not being afraid to make a decision or, or take your career in a way that people don't support. They don't matter. Right. So that is one. I think two is, is I feel internally better when I'm in charge. Right. I just,

erica_1_01-08-2025_120737: 13:42

I mean, me too.

squadcaster-1hh2_1_01-08-2025_110737: 13:44

yeah, I mean, and I like, I don't even think it's like a type a thing. It's just, I, I, I sort of every day do a little bit of self talk. Like, like Emily, you can do that. Right. Like Emily, you've got this, like, it is a little of how you talk to yourself is how you. Behave, right? And, and so surrounding yourself with people that also encourage you when you say, I want to take this promotion or for Emily, I want to lead this. We're going to do this. Well, I do. Or should you really, I mean, you could just be at home. Like, you don't really need to do that, right? Like you have to get the ears out of your life and surround yourself with tiggers. And I think for me, I had a, a great team and I had an incredible family and young daughters. That were like, mom, go, because I sat in the office. You're looking at me and right now for a year and I didn't leave. Right. And so I had that environment that wanted me to win. I think for a lot of women, we sometimes surround ourselves with people that want us to be where we are today because it's comfortable for them. And we relate. And yet you need to have people around you. They're like, you can do more. You have more capability. I know you can do it. Um, that surrounding voice can be so powerful in your life. Um, and so finding those people that are true to making you out and helping you be who you were made to be. I think that's been a huge piece of of what helps me lead.

erica_1_01-08-2025_120737: 15:02

I'm a huge believer in community and I, I really believe in surrounding yourself with people who are better than you, right? Like people who know more than you, who are smarter than you, who have done it. And there's that old saying that, you know, if you're the smartest person in the room, you're in the wrong room. But it's so true because people who are stuck on a smaller mindset of what is possible, You know what? What is actually what the world is capable of what you are capable of? Like, yeah, you're gonna stay playing small. But if you are around people who believe in that whole concept of infinite possibilities and truly things we have never seen before, you know, I love to think of really great innovators like Steve Jobs. There used to be a day where we never imagined an iPod, like the old school iPod, not your phone that plays music, but the iPod in your pocket. That was once never a thing, right? Boomboxes were a

squadcaster-1hh2_1_01-08-2025_110737: 15:57

Right. Yeah.

erica_1_01-08-2025_120737: 15:58

you have to surround yourself with these people who just believe in possibility.

squadcaster-1hh2_1_01-08-2025_110737: 16:03

Well, and I think I just funny. I was, I have a morning routine where I watch Squawk Box. It's like this thing of mine. And, um, and ironically brought this up because they were looking at Tesla shares and Tesla shares were falling because people weren't buying as more cars. And then they did an interview and Elon said, well, I'm not thinking about cars. I'm doing mobile taxis. And it just, I say that because we're all thinking, Ooh, they're in trouble. They're not going to sell as many cars. And he's already, whether you like him or not, he's they're talking about mobile tax. Like we're like, Oh, what do you think of mobile? Right. And that just, I get those reminders of like, Emily, don't think small. Right. Like what everyone's thinking about, think about if you can think one step ahead, but you said something I think is so important, which is. Grit and growth mindset. And I think that I do a ton of talks with women about grit and growth mindset, because it is a huge piece of my life and that growth mindset of perceiving that if I set a goal, I'm going to just work until I achieve it and not let anything or anyone stop me. Um, I talk about grit all the time because it's the one thing that can be taught or learned. It's not in your DNA. You weren't born with it. So I feel like it's the one piece for women that If they have that right group around them and their mindset is right, there's nothing we can't do. It's not that easy, but there's nothing we can't do. Nothing.

erica_1_01-08-2025_120737: 17:23

I agree with that. And, and actually it's a perfect lead into kind of like where my brain has been ping ponging because you also have twin daughters, correct?

squadcaster-1hh2_1_01-08-2025_110737: 17:32

Yes. Yeah. Who turned 19

erica_1_01-08-2025_120737: 17:35

twin daughters, you have this very crazy busy career that obviously could demand all of you at the drop of a hat, right? Like that's the position we're in. How did you find, and I'm gonna use this word, you can tell me if you like it or not, but like, how do you balance it all? How do you integrate it all? Right? There's so many words for that nowadays.

squadcaster-1hh2_1_01-08-2025_110737: 17:58

God, such a good question. Cause my daughter's just left for college. So I can tell women that you go through this very reflective period in the first six months. I have found of, did I do enough? Was I around enough? Did I miss too many things? Um, I don't know if it's God way of protecting you from the feels that in, for me, mine both left and exited at the same time. And so you go from being this mom of the night twins to being an empty house. And so, If I'm honest, I have overscheduled myself because that helps you not feel, um, and really processed how I went about being a working mom. And I would say a couple things I said, I would use the word blend. Um, I tried to balance being a mom and at the time of president of a college and really tried to do what I was taught. By the world, which was to keep those two things separate, right? That didn't work for me. Um, it didn't work for a number of reasons, but what I found is when I was trying to balance, there were days I was a great leader and days I was a great mom, but it wasn't that they were happening on the same day. And so I had a lot of guilt. And so what I decided to do was to use the word blend. And I blend the both together. And what does that mean? It looks like my daughters would come in on zoom meetings and ask me for something. And I would say, excuse me one second. And I would address them. My teams I have led, watched my girls grow up and my girls know the people that I work with on a first name basis. And so I decided not to try to hide, but to more have very open dialogue with them. Um, I traveled a ton when they were young, I was in a global job. And so I set a rule that I would be gone no more than one week. So one week was, and I don't even know why I did it, but I can tell you there are moments we have on social media today where I am racing back from Sydney, Australia through Los Angeles to Chicago. And I'm watching the plane on flight aware, and I'm going to have 46 minutes until I hit my deadline. Right. So I, so I say that because It made me feel in control. So for working moms, if you can set sort of, I'm not going to miss the big things and I'm going to accept that I'm going to miss the small things that took the guilt away, I won't miss a birthday. I won't miss the first day of school. I won't miss the Christmas holiday. But I may miss when they do their speech at school on, you know, Johnny Appleseed, but Oh, wow. Guess what? I'm in Shanghai and this is a real example and she's doing her Johnny Appleseed presentation and I'm on FaceTime. Right? So I think for a lot of working moms, first, you have to believe that you can have it all. You just have to decide what all means to you. And I think the world has taught us that all means that you're perfectly quaffed as a female executive and you are, you know, A mom that has kids in perfect clothing and you don't miss a beat. Guess what? That's not reality. And so show up normal to take the pressure off of all the women behind you. Show up as someone sometimes that is not put together, who did not sleep. Talk about it. Cry openly in front of your teams when you're, Trying to breastfeed and you're stuck on a flight on the runway for four hours and what that's like, I remember that, but, but be real, be real, like that, that is just be real to the women behind you and so they can see that when they maybe have kids and transition back to work. That is, it is not pretty. It is not pretty being a female who is working with children as a primary caregiver. And as you go up that ladder, the expectations to exit the home are harder and you just have to be real with your kids and your work. Um, and my kids see that, you know, I had got stuck yesterday on a call. My daughter, it was her 19th birthday. Her twin sister's gone first time apart, and we were supposed to go shopping. And I was on a call that ended up an hour and a half long, and she was really upset. And I did say at first, do you like the Disney world I've created for you? And then I'm like, that's really nasty. Don't do that. I'm like, and I was like, okay, do you understand what happened? This is what mom was doing. She goes, I know, but can we have a little more time tomorrow? I was like, perfect. So I think, just, I think, I think you just have to decide what all means and it's not perfection or balance. To me, it's blend and it's being real with both, both sides of the coin, the people you work with and your kids and your husband,

erica_1_01-08-2025_120737: 22:08

Oh my gosh. Well, first of all, I love all of that. So I have a six and a half year old, you know, I have to include that

squadcaster-1hh2_1_01-08-2025_110737: 22:17

of course,

erica_1_01-08-2025_120737: 22:18

and a half year old, there'll be, you know, seven and 10. So I'm in it

squadcaster-1hh2_1_01-08-2025_110737: 22:22

you're in it.

erica_1_01-08-2025_120737: 22:23

very, Very much kind of living that same lifestyle as you. And before I left corporate, I was traveling to India all the time. And I was gone for

squadcaster-1hh2_1_01-08-2025_110737: 22:29

Oh my gosh.

erica_1_01-08-2025_120737: 22:30

at a time. It was impossible to do it any way else,

squadcaster-1hh2_1_01-08-2025_110737: 22:34

Yes.

erica_1_01-08-2025_120737: 22:35

but what I will say, and I'm going to make this public admission just for everybody else. And then you can tell me if you think it, but I'm going first here, all of those things that I missed, right? Like just the other day, I missed the third grade Christmas concert, right?

squadcaster-1hh2_1_01-08-2025_110737: 22:50

Oh, oh yes.

erica_1_01-08-2025_120737: 22:51

All of these things that I have missed. I didn't feel that guilty about missing them. You know, like I actually kind of, I was like, I don't give a shit about this Christmas concert. Like it's terrible. I've been to these before, you know, of course my daughter is sad. I'm not going to be there. Of course she's, you know, Oh, it's not, I get it. And you know, so I. You know, I give her a little hug, but like, sometimes it feels really good to travel and not be in that mom mode all the time. And I share that, because I want other women to know it's okay, but like, how do you feel about it?

squadcaster-1hh2_1_01-08-2025_110737: 23:25

I, I, I probably felt a little more guilty, but I can tell you, I totally agree because, because there are so many demands on us. There are times where I get even to like, a economy hotel. Right? Even if it's an economy hotel and I get in there and I close the door and I take a warm shower and I lay in bed and put TV on. I, if you don't do that, you won't survive. Like, but yeah, and I don't feel guilty about that. There are times where I was like, Oh my God, I get to fly for 17 hours to Shanghai. But no one's talking to

erica_1_01-08-2025_120737: 24:02

No one's gonna bug me.

squadcaster-1hh2_1_01-08-2025_110737: 24:04

No one's bugging me. Ma, ma, ma, ma, ma. Right? Like, yes. And I think, and I think in some ways, that's why I love being a working mom is that you have that. ability to go into both worlds in and out. And I think it's kind of a gift, but I'm with you. And here's this. So I would say this, I don't, this has happened to you. I think women can be mean to each other when you have working women. And I'll give you the best example. When I came back from a trip, I got to go to something at school. I don't remember what it was. It was like ninth grade or something. And this mom walked over and she goes, Oh my God, it's so good to see you. I'm so glad you could come to something for the twins.

erica_1_01-08-2025_120737: 24:39

Like, you're finally here.

squadcaster-1hh2_1_01-08-2025_110737: 24:40

But I just first reaction. Yeah. I was like, put your wine glass down and like, let's have a conversation, but it was I just, at first I was like, are you kidding? And then I realized that when the women were standing around asking me about my trips and where I was going and there's an envious on both sides of whatever life you've chosen to live. Can't we just be nice to each other and not guilt each other? Like, just please, like that's just nasty, you know? I mean, I still go back to that. Just sometimes not fitting in, like they'd have their little circle. You have to give that up. It is. I mean, you just have to, you can't, you can't, you just have to let that go. And I say that as self talk because you can tell I'm still holding on to it.

erica_1_01-08-2025_120737: 25:20

And I mean, I remember very vividly, like when I had my kids, it was very much like the mommy wars of like, if you were a stay at home mom, you were a good mom

squadcaster-1hh2_1_01-08-2025_110737: 25:29

Right.

erica_1_01-08-2025_120737: 25:29

because you were home with your kids. But if you were a worker, you know, and you're out there doing your thing, and then it's like, well, who are you? And we're making fun of the people who are staying home. And it was this whole like.

squadcaster-1hh2_1_01-08-2025_110737: 25:39

Yeah. We got to stop

erica_1_01-08-2025_120737: 25:39

have to be one or the other. There is no right or wrong answer. It's whatever works for you. But yeah, like let's be okay with a difference of opinion on that.

squadcaster-1hh2_1_01-08-2025_110737: 25:48

Right. And let's just help each other. Either way, being a mom is hard. So can we just be nicer to each other? Right. Like, I think that would be my global solve.

erica_1_01-08-2025_120737: 25:58

whole world needs to be nicer, but I do, I do have another question. I'm really dying to ask you, Emily, because you obviously with your role, you have to build strong relationships with policymakers, with leaders, all of these, these people in very high influential places. What is your best advice for women who are looking to build more influence, to make a larger impact in industries where maybe they are not as represented?

squadcaster-1hh2_1_01-08-2025_110737: 26:26

Yeah. I walked into this role and they'd never had a female CEO in 84 years. And so there was no doubt, um, that there were people that weren't happy that the young girl from new England is what I was called by some, um, was taking over this role in Texas. And so, and I'd never experienced that, right. I'd worked around the world, never experienced that in my life. And so I chose to ignore it as just, they were either uneducated or they didn't know enough about me yet where they could form an opinion based on fact, right. So I had to, Put that aside and just work against that. I would say a couple of things don't, I guess what I would at the end of the day, respect is what the relationship is made of. Yes. You're going to be in environments where. You know, I remember being in a, in a place where I was the only female member of a team. And after a dinner, they all poured into a gentleman's club. And clearly I wasn't going in and I wasn't upset about it until my mom said, well, you are disadvantaged because you're not in that room to having conversations about the business. Right. So there's those moments that for me, I've chose to accept. I'm not the call the way 100 HR hotline, right? I just forged my own path. I think that for women, Don't ever underestimate what smarts and respect will get you in relationships. And so trade on who you are and don't try to be smart. to fit in. Right. And what I mean by that is when I go to the capital, for example, I've built incredible relationships on both sides of the aisle. And it's because I'm honest with the policymakers and their staff. If I have to follow up, I follow up as expected. Right. And if I give someone my word, I keep it. And at the end of the day, those basics of life that you're taught as a child do still have currency when you get to a level. where the playing field sometimes is very unfair. You still have to stay true to. I'm going to build these relationships and as much as I may get burned because in politics you get burned a lot. I'm truly going to believe that people have the right intentions and it's hard. Kelsey, who's my right hand. Um, we have a lot of these discussions as two females, right? Which is, oh my gosh, how do we, how do we get this done? We're not in the Club. And we truly believe that if we're the experts at the table, that we come prepared, that we respect them and they earn that respect of us. At the end of the day, they will come to us. And we've shown that success in the capital. So I think too many women try to fit in and they try to play that game. And I think instead, you also have to be able to you. Not make the other side or let's say in men in this case, feel less than or unworthy, right? Like that's not what we're here for. We're here to have the best minds at the table, make a decision. And so you want to make sure that whoever you're around, they're comfortable with you too. Right? Like I watch sports. This sounds crazy, right? Watch sports. I can't even tell you, I played college basketball. How many times sports has driven a great combination with, with men, right? Like just, Hey, what's going on with UT? UT is playing on Saturday against Ohio state or Friday. What do you think? Oh, okay. Find a common ground, right? Find a com don't be polarizing. Find a common ground. Um, I think it's made a huge difference for me.

erica_1_01-08-2025_120737: 29:38

That is some sound advice. I love that. Well, Emily, this is my last question is what I ask everybody on the podcast, but if you could, I know, Oh no. If you could go back in time, right. To the Emily, who's maybe just stepping into the CEO role during all of the uncertainty of the world. What piece of advice would you give her today? Knowing everything, you know, now

squadcaster-1hh2_1_01-08-2025_110737: 30:03

Wow.

erica_1_01-08-2025_120737: 30:04

you now have the gift of hindsight.

squadcaster-1hh2_1_01-08-2025_110737: 30:06

Oh my gosh. Um, oh, that's such a good question because it's kind of emotional too. Um, what would I have done different? I probably, God, this is so hard. Erica, this is, um,

erica_1_01-08-2025_120737: 30:24

a good one.

squadcaster-1hh2_1_01-08-2025_110737: 30:25

I think, gosh, um, I probably would not have for my own. And I say this for my own emotional state, maybe right from my own wellbeing, I maybe would have dialed it back 10%. And I say that because I, I guess for a lot of us, I have to care deeply about the work I'm doing. Right. I say to people, no disrespect for Sharpie, but if you asked me to go be a Sharpie salesperson, I wouldn't be very good. Right. But if you ask me to go protect the food truck that a young, you know, immigrant has started and is getting some flack from the health department, I will kill people literally, right. To get out of the way.

erica_1_01-08-2025_120737: 31:12

you're out there. Yeah.

squadcaster-1hh2_1_01-08-2025_110737: 31:14

I am on it. And I'm like, I'm going to help you. So, so that also comes with a cost. And so I think from my health to my own wellbeing, to my mental fitness coming out of that period of 20 hours a day of deep losses, right? I mean, people are calling and crying because they're losing their, you can't, these are small business owners, right? These are people that took all their money and put it into a business. And by an act of God, right, are losing everything. And I even started to cry thinking about it. But I owned so much of that, that I think that I was incredibly fragile coming out. And so if I could do it again, I would say to myself, you have to take the loss to help motivate you, Emily, but you can't own it because I think it took me a toll. You know, whether it be sad coming out of the pandemic, um, I owned too much of the pain of others. And I think if I had protected me, my heart a little bit. Not changing how I felt, but I just, I cared so much. And I had a team that cared so much that we felt like when these businesses would close or when a restaurant member would lose their life to COVID, right? Like it was brutal and you don't have time to process it. You're just going right. And so I think it all came to an end about a year and a half later when it was like, I didn't want to get out of bed. I was sad. Like. I hadn't processed any of it as it was going. So it's sort of, you know, how do you lead with incredible heart, but not take the personal absorption, right. Of impacting your life, maybe how physicians do. I didn't have any of that skill and I just carried all of it until it was too much.

erica_1_01-08-2025_120737: 32:56

Yeah. My mom was a cancer nurse for a very long time. And she, you know, the role that she played at one point in time, she was a bone marrow transplant coordinator. So she was very involved with the families and it became too much for her to be able. She couldn't, as she said, leave her baggage at the door, you know, and that was the work baggage. And, and it's one of the things that is probably one of the best things about you. is how much you care and how deeply you care, but it can also be that Achilles heel because if you can't take that step back and put yourself first sometimes. You know, it can be like you said, you kind of got hit post all of that. When you finally took a breath, when you had a minute to slow down, all of the feelings and the grief and the emotion hit you

squadcaster-1hh2_1_01-08-2025_110737: 33:40

Absolutely. And there was no place to And I think that's a maybe couples with this, when I lost my dad recently. And, um, it's the same, the expectation is you just get back on the horse and keep going. And so I talk about it a lot, that grief part of like, let your, if you're, if you're leading anyone. Let them see you be sad. Let them see you grieve. Like show that it's okay to have emotion. Um, we're held to a different standard. I say that we are as women, we're held to a different standard of, of expectation of how we need to be put together. Um, and I think we need to do a better job of allowing people to see that we have. feelings, but also that we hurt. Um, but you're right. The self care piece is not my strength. Um, and COVID exasperated that. And so I think for all women keeping that self care, put your oxygen mask on before you put it on your, yeah, I tried it that mantra all the time now, but we'll see how it goes.

erica_1_01-08-2025_120737: 34:37

were, listen, here's what I do know. We are all a work in progress. Sometimes you will nail it, Ellie, and sometimes you will fail it. And that's all I know.

squadcaster-1hh2_1_01-08-2025_110737: 34:48

Yes. Amen.

erica_1_01-08-2025_120737: 34:49

so much for, for being real, for being open and vulnerable and talking about all of this. It is so incredibly interesting, but also so inspiring. So Emily, thank you so much for being here and spending time with me today.

squadcaster-1hh2_1_01-08-2025_110737: 35:00

Thank you so much.

35:02

Well, how, oh my gosh. Oh, what an incredible conversation with Dr. Emily Williams night, her story is such a powerful reminder, that true leadership isn't about having all the answers. It's more about the courage to step up, to make the tough calls, right. And to fight for what matters. Even when the path ahead is uncertain. Emily's resilience, her grit and her unwavering commitment to making an impact. Y'all it is beyond inspiring. And I love what she shared about blending, you know, not balancing, but blending all of the different parts of life. Because let's be honest, right? For ambitious women, moms and leaders like us, there is no perfect formula. There's only what works for you. So if today's conversation resonated and I hope it did do me this favor, share this episode with a friend or someone who needs to hear it. Screenshot it tag me tag Emily, let us know what stood out most to you. And if you're loving these conversations, don't forget to subscribe, leave a review and keep showing up for yourself in big, bold ways. Y'all already noticed, but it's time to start smashing those ceilings that we put over ourselves. See you next time.