One of the most talked-about sessions of the AdaMarie Career Navigation Summit is now available inside the AdaMarie Professional Network. Here's why it's worth your time and how to watch.
Somewhere along the way, a lot of us were quietly taught to stay small. Keep your head down. Don't rock the boat. Make your boss look good. Don't poke the bear. The advice sounds harmless — reasonable, even — which is exactly why it's worth questioning.
The Hot Seat panel is an hour spent doing just that. Four experts, live and unscripted, taking real questions from the room with no slides and no prepared answers to hide behind. What emerges isn't a list of tips so much as a shift in posture: permission to take up space, and a clearer sense of what that actually looks like when you're early in your career and still figuring out how loud to be.
The reframe at the center of it: confidence doesn't have to be loud, it has to be grounded. In your preparation, in your data, in a clear sense of your own non-negotiables. "Be the bear," as the panel put it, but remember that a lion doesn't have to roar to be a lion.
If you've ever frozen in an interview, wondered whether building your brand means posting every single day, or walked away from a job search feeling discouraged, this is a conversation that meets you there, honest about how hard the moment is, and practical about what to do anyway.
And because it's four different people with four genuinely different styles, the value is in hearing it for yourself. Better experienced than paraphrased.
Meet the Panel
Camille Smith (Moderator), Chemical engineer and senior upstream process development scientist, content creator, and founder of STEM So(ul)cial, a global third space for aspiring and established Black STEM professionals.
Susan Childs, Business strategist, academic lecturer, and HR executive who guides global organizations through growth, workforce optimization, and workplace dynamics through LCA, delivering executive coaching and people strategy to C-suite leaders across biotech, pharma, government, and tech.
Denise Bronner, Scientist-turned-strategist whose nonlinear path runs from PhD microbiologist to pharma director to founder. Through her consultancy she's secured millions in capital and contracts for clients, and she serves as an entrepreneur-in-residence and board member championing founders.
Dr. Victoria Farris, Transformational leadership coach, facilitator, and culture consultant. Through Farris Consulting, she helps leaders lead "human first,” building high-trust, inclusive teams through workshops and coaching focused on belonging, cultural humility, and well-being.
Kristy McCann Flynn, Strategic HR leader, change manager, and organizational development expert who co-founded SkillCycle and leads Relate, building tools that replace broken performance systems with real human-centered development. A Forbes Coaching Council member and sought-after speaker.
Watch the full panel inside the APN
The complete Hot Seat replay is available now in the AdaMarie Professional Network, alongside every other session from this year's summit.
Inside, you'll find:
The full summit replay library, including the sessions you couldn't catch live
Live workshops and expert conversations year-round
Our spring Career Accelerator
A growing library of career resources
A Slack community full of people navigating their next steps right alongside you
