How Alethea’s claiming her value as a mother
and creative entrepreneur. {Money Memoir}

written by Bari Tessler January 18, 2019
Alethea

Something magical happens when we dare to get real and speak the truth about money. In this intimate conversation series, Money Memoirs, I chat with people from all walks of life about their money journeys: the good, the tough, the soulful, and the nitty-gritty. We share this beloved series every year to celebrate the opening of The Art of Money, which you can read all about here. Curl up with a cuppa as we pull back the curtain … and get ready to get inspired.

When I first met Alethea, she was emceeing a fabulous women’s leadership conference. But how I actually got to know her? Was a far more spontaneous, serendipitous event.

See, last Spring, Alethea and I were both speakers at the Gaia Women Lead event in Santa Barbara: an “intimate conference for activist women leaders committed to social, political, and professional change.”

After an amazing few days of inspiring speakers and great food by the ocean, I boarded the plane to fly home and — surprise! — there was Alethea! By sheer coincidence, we were on the same flight.

We talked the whole flight home, debriefing the conference and discussing its themes: social activism, dismantling racism and the patriarchy, women’s value, and on and on.

I loved hearing more of Alethea’s life story: she’s a former architect who now is now an inclusive leadership coach, consultant and integrator with a focus on women’s leadership, diversity, equity and inclusion.

As we got to know each other over peanuts and gingerale, I knew I wanted to share her story with you, my community, because she’s danced with the kinds of money questions facing so many of you.

So … cozy up with a cuppa and listen to today’s fresh Money Memoir: my conversation with Alethea Cheng Fitzpatrick.

She shares personal stories and insights about:

  • What it was like to leave her high-paying architecture career to pursue more meaningful work when her kids were little.
  • How motherhood helped her claim her own value — regardless of the paycheck.
  • How the money dynamics in her marriage changed when she stayed home with the kids — and how they worked through this.
  • The gifts and challenges of her lineage as a Chinese-UK-born immigrant and how they’ve impacted her money relationship.
  • The 3 “money mantras” she’s put on mental repeat — LOVE. THESE!

Alethea’s a multi-passionate, multi-talented woman, and it was a delight to get to know her better — and to hear all the reflection she’s given her money relationship!

I hope her stories inspire you to ask your own money questions … and find your own answers. (Because they’re the only ones that count, dear friend.)

Also available on iTunes!

Alethea Cheng Fitzpatrick is an inclusive leadership coach, consultant and integrator with a focus on women’s leadership, anti-racism, diversity, equity and inclusion.

Her mission is to help leaders at every level to integrate inclusion into their companies, organizations, communities and lives in order to make the world a better place for all.

She helps visionary CEOs implement their ideas and run their businesses, and she helps leaders and teams align with their values and what naturally energizes them in order to do their best work without sacrificing themselves or others in the process.

In addition to taking on internal leadership roles with companies, Alethea maintains an independent coaching and consulting practice. She is an Advanced Certified Coach with the Gaia Project for Women’s Leadership where she also served as COO, an MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) Certified Practitioner, and the Co-Founder of Going There: Brave Spaces for Healthy Conversations @ [Race].

Alethea was previously a family and brand photographer and the founder of Photosanity where she helped parents find joy and connection through photographing their kids.

Alethea started out her career as licensed architect and gained almost 20 years of experience managing workplace strategy and corporate headquarters projects for clients such as Time Warner (now WarnerMedia), Nike, Sony, Nokia, MTV Networks, Aileron, and Alexander McQueen.

Born and brought up in the UK, Alethea lives in Brooklyn with her husband and her 9 and 7 year old boys. Find out more about Alethea on her website right here.

*Chocolate not actually included (but highly recommended).

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