Q&A: Stephanie Battaglino, Author of REFLECTIONS FROM BOTH SIDES OF THE GLASS CEILING #Q&A #Interview @stephaniefyh @pumpupyourbook

As the founder and owner of Follow Your Heart, LLC  (www.StephanieBattaglino.com) Stephanie is an internationally  recognized speaker, workshop presenter, trainer, author and  workplace diversity & inclusion consultant. She currently sits on the  Board of PFLAG National and is the Chair of their Business Advisory  Council.

Here’s what critics are saying about Stephanie Battaglino:

“From all of us – for your brilliant words and thoughts . . . And heart.”
-Diane Sawyer, ABC News

“You were just outstanding . . . with your presentation and guidance during our learning and discussion. Thank you for providing such important and current information. We appreciate you and what you do.”
May Snowden, Senior Fellow & Program Director, Human Capital Practice, The Conference Board

“Thank you Stephanie for joining us today during FMC Corporation Pride Month celebration. Your personal story was educational, informative and inspiring.”
-Subarna Malakar, Director and Global Diversity & Inclusion Officer, FMC Corporation

“I have had the pleasure of working with Stephanie on an enrichment event at our company and got to know her further at the following Out & Equal Workplace Summit. I’ve found her honesty and heartfelt way she tells her story to be very meaningful to me. She played a large role in introducing me t – and our entire company – to transgender issues and what I believe is the next frontier in creating diverse and accepting workplaces. I now proudly count myself among the allies for the transgender community.”
-Heather Gill, Diversity & Inclusion Lead, Land O’Lakes

 “I would like to extend a most sincere thank you for your inspiration, and for joining our company’s’ diversity efforts in support of the LGBTQ community. I have received several messages from executives who were present and had great feedback to share!
-Juan Camilo Romero, Manager, Diversity & Inclusion Strategies, Macy’s, Inc.

“It is with great pride that Deena and I announce the formal launch of the Trans Toolkit project that you so generously collaborated on with us this past Spring. We truly would not have been able to do this project without each and every one of your thoughtful contributions. We thank you for your time, your passion and your contribution to this project.”
-Beck Bailey, Director of Employee Engagement, Workplace Equality Program, Human Rights Campaign (HRC)

“The feedback from the Commissioner and the entire Executive staff has been overwhelmingly positive! Everyone here is excited about the possibilities of doing more to develop the Agency’s Transgender Rights and Inclusion competence. There is no doubt that the Executives would love to have Stephanie back to train the entire 5,400 person workforce if it were possible and practical. I would not be surprised if they started a petition for Stephanie to present full-time, but I digress.”
-James L. Hallman, Chief Diversity & EEO Officer, New York City Department of transportation

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

Website: https://stephaniebattaglino.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/StephanieFYH

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/followyourheartllc

Thanks for this interview,  Stephanie.  Congratulations on your new book! Would you say it’s been a rocky road for you in regards to getting your book written and published or pretty much smooth sailing?  Can you tell us about your journey?

 

First of all, thank you very much – and thank you for having me.

 

I would have to say that it turned out o be less painful that I thought.  At the very beginning, some five years ago, I so writing the book as such a herculean task.  I was very concerned that I didn’t have enough to say to fill a book.  But with perseverance, and being under lockdown because of Covid,  I chipped away at it – writing every day.  And before I knew it, I had written over 10,000 words!  I guess I had a lot to say after all!

 

If you were to pen your own autobiography, what might the title be?

 

Well, this IS my autobiography . . .  at least up to now.

 

When not writing, what do you like to do for relaxation and/or fun?

 

My wife and I are big walkers.  We walk 3-4 miles most days of the week.  And we love cruising, although that’s been on hold for the past year due to the pandemic.

 

What makes your book stand out from the rest?

 

It’s not just your garden variety memoir.  It’s really much more than that.  I made a conscious decision to share not only my stories and my history, but also what I learned about what I encountered and how I dealt with it along the way.  There is most definitely an instructive element to the book which sets it apart from other memoirs that I hope will be beneficial to all readers.

 

If your book was put in the holiday section of the store, what holiday would that be and why?

 

New Year’s Day.  It’s all about new beginnings and chartering a new course for your life.

 

Would you consider turning your book into a series or has that already been done?

 

Sure!  If somebody wants to talk to me about move or television rights, I’m game!

 

When you were young, did you ever see writing as a career or full-time profession?

 

Not at all!  I wasn’t a big reader as a kid, so the thought of being a writer as a profession never really entered my mind until much later in life.

 

Did any of your books get rejected by publishers?

 

No, but then again this is my first book!

 

What is your view on co-authoring books; have you done any?

 

I haven’t – yet.  But that said, if working with someone can amplify a story I am trying to tell or a perspective that needs to be put out into the world, then I say “why not?”

 

What’s next for you?

 

That’s a great question.  I have a couple of ideas for other books that need to percolate a bit, I think.  But, first and foremost, I’d like to first see how things go with this book, given that it is my first one!

 

 

Title: REFLECTIONS FROM BOTH SIDES OF THE GLASS CEILING: FINDING MY TRUE SELF IN CORPORATE AMERICA
Author: Stephanie Battaglino
Publisher: L’Oste Vineyard Press
Pages: 286
Genre: Memoir

BOOK BLURB

For Stephanie Battaglino, her lifelong journey of self-discovery closely paralleled her daily grind of  trudging up the corporate ladder. Amidst the successes and failures of working as a male in the corporate world, Stephanie finally realized that the only path to career fulfillment was to embrace her true self once and for all. That it resulted in her becoming the first officer in the history of New York Life to come out on the job as transgender is not surprising. What was surprising was her abrupt introduction to that generations-old nemesis of working women everywhere, the Glass Ceiling. What she quickly realized was that her embrace of her authentic self came with a price: the loss of male privilege.

Reflections from Both Sides of the Glass Ceiling: Finding My Authentic Self in Corporate America is part memoir, part cautionary tale of what it is like to experience a career on both sides of the gender divide. Stephanie’s unique and very personal experience provides a powerful trailblazing story of inspiration, self-discovery, and triumph – for ALL women.

 

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Amazon → https://amzn.to/3125RuA

L’Oste Vineyard Press → https://bit.ly/3c5svsA