AIR BORN 2.6

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Dear Reader,

The first nor’easter of the season, is howling through the night as I write. It’s a clock-wise cyclon-esque storm system that pulls loads of moisture from the Atlantic and churns back inland bringing bringing heavy rains and gusting winds to New England. None of the Puritan charm in this powerful, stalling, indignant pattern. To me the experience conjures up the unsettled feeling of uncertainty mixed with an exhilaration in witnessing the incredible power and force of nature.
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I feel the wailing wind and the rat-tat-tat of a branch hitting the window pane. I wonder what an eagle would do caught in such rapture. Born to fly and yet unable in such conditions. It calls for patience. Back to the newsletter. I think about “AIR BORN” and whatever on earth that means. Born of air and susceptible to external forces but with an inherent will. It is hard to think in a straight line when a storm is brewing and pounding around you. I think about Kimmy Fasani, her charisma and her call to drive hard as a back country rider and a mom. Yes, and a mother. Her inherent will is 'both/and' not 'either/or'. Dream job - Director of Storytelling. Kimmy is challenging the historic stories, assumptions and systems that disallow women to be both mother and professionally a success. When did we as women start to doubt ourselves, to tame our feelings, bodies and ambition? And what systems need to be dismantled for new narratives to take hold?
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Storms and motherhood. It all makes sense to me. Becoming, blusters, instincts and birth. A change coming and it was unstoppable. Uncertainty with great reward.
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Thank you for joining me for this week’s shake out. We are celebrating when women are the storytellers with a dynamite conversation with legendary backcountry snowboarder Kimmy Fasani, an encore nod to pilot and big mountain skier Lexi DuPont, a book corner recommendation list to keep us warm at the fire, and a final thought on where the U.S. stands on paid maternity leave (spoiler alert: not impressive).

This Week

​Episode 055: On Fear, Motherhood, and Mindfulness with Professional Snowboarder Kimmy Fasani - Advocate for Gender Parity in Sports

What if we write a new kind of ‘hero’s journey’ – one that replaces patriarchy and domination with deep feeling and courageous communication? What if motherhood was not a limiting factor in how women succeed professionally? What if we had stories that convinced us that motherhood was a superpower not a handicap? What if gender parity and equity was everyone’s responsibility? What if women were around the table writing contracts for women in sports and STEM? What if the verbiage in those contracts enabled women’s bodies and women’s wisdom to be supported and celebrated rather than cancelled and labeled?
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Kimmy Fasani is on a mission to shift the narrative and has earned the venerable post of Director of Storytelling @andmother_org (*Learn more below) Besides this enviable title, I would have tracked her down for the story behind making history as a pioneer in women’s snowboarding by becoming the first female snowboarder to land a double backflip in the park and the powder in 2011- what even is that? A lot of tricks, and air, and injuries, and a dogged determination to fly.
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This week’s episode is a dive into the inner workings of an adventure women who chose to start a family. Many women see a fork in the road here. What happens when you have two very big but different dreams vying for your focus? Do you choose one? Or do you risk pursuing both and in doing so commit to a bigger conversation about careers and motherhood?
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Kimmy’s truest passion — and a primary focus of this week’s episode — is navigating a balance at the intersection of mountain life and motherhood. Specifically, being a pro athlete while also committing to parenthood. Advocating for gender parity. Changing the verbiage of sponsor contracts for women to shift the narrative about what women are capable of and deserve support for. Earning features in magazines and film. Understanding the influence of being an influencer. Educating other women about their options. And most importantly, celebrating mountain life with her husband and two young boys.
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This conversation is about so many things. It’s about the nature of progression, loss, choices, playing hard and imagining support systems for women that don’t already exist. It’s about what drives her — her philosophies on fear, passion, motherhood — and the incredible power of the conversation to shape culture.
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It’s about her relationship with fear. Facing it head-on. Being present, not past and not future, but present when we are called to face fear. I am grateful for catching Kimmy between all the things she balances in her life for this interview. Fly on!
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Encore Episode

​Episode 09: Peaks & Powder with Lexi duPont - Big Mountain Skier, Pilot, Filmmaker

A natural pairing with Kimmy, this encore episode highlights Lexi duPont and raises hope for progress in the snow sport industry when it comes to women and the spotlight they deserve in films and media. Lexi lives with the passion of merging skiing, filmmaking, flying in parallel with commitment to leaving a positive impact on the people and places she visits. As a professional big mountain freeskier and pilot, her connection to the outdoors and adventure is so much deeper than just a profession. She uses sport and movies to bring attention to issues in the environment. Her mother, freestyle skier Holley duPont, was one of the first women to land a backflip on skis.
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Lexi had a wildy successful entry into competitive freeskiing on the Freeski World Tour, and the Red Bull Cold Rush about a decade ago, but her charge for skiing big mountains is best appreciated in her appearances in Warren Miller films including Wintervention, chasing shadows, line of descent and Future Retro released this Fall. There are a dozen other ski movies but we spend time talking about the movie she directs and stars in “Shaped by Descent”, an epic account of her annual spring ski trips to Haines Alaska
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The legacy of aviation and flying small airplanes is nothing new to the duPont family and Lexi talks about how her family history in inspires her and her motivation to use it as a way to highlight social and environmental issues.
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We talk about, as women, the collective need for daily support and affirmation of each other’s knowledge and credibility, the opportunities and contraints in being an “only” in the historically male dominant outdoors industry and opening access to more diversity into the adventure sports.
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She is a beautiful person driven by hope, optimism, passion and a strong pull to heights and mountains.
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Enjoy revisiting this conversation with Lexi DuPont for listening for the first time around. (Disclaimer- this was one of my first episodes so thanks for being along for the ride and withholding the judgment – I have learned so much since these early interviews about the process!)

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The World ‘Has Found a Way to Do This’: The U.S. Lags on Paid Leave

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The U.S. is one of six countries with no national paid leave.

Since we are talking about gender parity today, right now, and motherhood — this article is relevant.
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Fly On

What story would Eve have told about picking the apple? Did you know that Johnny Appleseed, was actually spreading booze throughout America? Why is Pandora blamed for opening the box? The stories that get woven into the fabric of our time are usually told by men — “his story.”

What do you think? Share with us on Facebook!

What story would the pregnant woman tell of swimming daily across Walden Pond before being chastised by state police? What story would a female athlete tell about career choices when pregnancy is considered an injury? What story would female pilots tell flying while pregnant and hiding it? Let's talk about it!

These two books create a base for the complex discourse around women, narrative, maternal realities, and a quest to go deep not wide into topics of power, courage, vulnerability and the maternal instinct today.

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1. Cassandra Speaks: When Women Are the Storytellers, the Human Story Changes by Elizabeth Lesser

Elizabeth Lesser delivers a feminist classic in the making that reveals how humanity has outgrown its origin tales, hero myths, and other stories, and empowers women to trust their instincts, find their voice, and tell new guiding stories for all people.
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In Cassandra Speaks, Lesser persuasively argues that if women's voices had been equally heard and respected throughout history, humankind would have followed different hero myths and guiding stories--stories that value caretaking, champion compassion, and elevate communication over vengeance and violence. For too long heroism has been defined through the lens of an outdated, imbalanced, male-dominated value-system.

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2. WOLFPACK: How to Come Together, Unleash Our Power, and Change the Game by Abby Wambach

Abby Wambach became a champion because of her incredible talent as a soccer player. She became an icon because of her remarkable wisdom as a leader. As the co-captain of the 2015 Women’s World Cup Champion Team, she created a culture not just of excellence — but of honor, commitment, resilience, and sisterhood. She helped transform a group of individual women into one of the most successful, powerful, and united wolf packs of all time. She insists that women must let go of old rules of leadership that neither include nor serve them.

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Share your story and tag us: #WhenIFly #Whenwomenfly

What do you want to hear more of? Email me at hello@whenwomenfly.com​

Be bold. Be brave. And FLY!

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See you next time,

Sylvia Winter, Founder & Podcast Host of When Women Fly

*Latest*

055 On Fear, Motherhood and Mindfulness with Professional Snowboarder Kimmy Fasani - Advocate for Gender Parity in Sports link​

054 Secrets to Getting and Staying Strong with Mandy Hoffman - Flight Attendant, Fitness Coach, and Mom link​

053 Sacrificing for Success and Setting Priorities with Olga Custodio - First Female Hispanic US Military Pilot link​

052 Flying On and Off the Court with Michelle Snow - Baller, Orator and Entrepreneur link​

051 Trauma, Resilience and Flying with Amberly Brown - Skydiver, Surfer and Airborne Ballerina link​

050 Why Everyone is Doing Handstands and You Can Too with Nathania Stambouli, Founder of Yogi Flight School link​

049 What Flying Can Teach You About Yourself and a New Season Aloft link​

048 Season I Wrap-Up link​