Jess Szmajda: College dropout-turned-Amazon GM explains how mental health was critical to her success

In this episode of The Show Me You Know Me® Show, host Sam McKenna interviews Jess Szmajda, a GM at Amazon Web Services and former technology leader at Axios, where she became the first female transgender CTO of a notable media organization.

Sam chats with Jess about dropping out of college, her decision to transition, the impact it had on her personally and professionally, and how she networked her way to the top.

Some of our favorite moments from Jess?

  • Her honesty about how confronting her depression changed her life
  • Her experience with gender bias in the workplace after her transition
  • How SMYKM and networking led to her co-founding a company (and every position to date)
  • How authenticity became her superpower and catapulted her from college dropout to engineer to CTO to Amazon GM

We can’t wait for you to listen in! Be sure to follow our show page on your streaming platform of choice, and turn on your notifications so that you never miss an episode!