Today we’d like to introduce you to Rebecca Gleason.
Thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, how did you get started?
My career has been a series of happy accidents. I’ve found my way by diving into things that pique my interest, developing my strengths, and leaning into moments of change, recognizing opportunities instead of problems. When I became a mom in May of 2020, I had a successful career, but the world came to a standstill with the onset of Covid. I experienced one of life’s most significant changes (motherhood) during a time when nothing else remained constant. It was incredibly isolating. I went from being on a plane every other week for work and traveling to visit friends and family at the drop of a hat to pandemic life as a new mom. I recognize that I come from a place of privilege: a successful career, stable finances, a supportive partner, generous parental leave, advanced education, and access to the top healthcare resources, and yet, having two babies in two years during a pandemic brought me to my knees, physically, mentally, emotionally. When I returned to work after parental leave for my second child, there were months with multiple rounds of layoffs at my corporate job. My employment at this company of almost a decade was at risk. Not only had I started to discover who I was after becoming a mom, but I also realized that so much of my previous identity was wrapped up in my career and who I was at work. I had been stripped to my essential core and had to figure out who I wanted to be going forward. Like so many other moments of change, I leaned into it and decided to approach it intentionally. I put effort into rediscovering my sense of style, shaping my lifestyle, defining my approach to parenting, and finding all the excellent benefits of building a life in Charleston. If I was going through this, there had to be other parents going through the same thing. I started @charlestontots to share my journey and connect with others, to help where I could, and to make others feel less alone. It’s a wild ride raising two little women, and so many amazing things make life easier, fill it with joy, and learn to share along the way.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has been a challenging road! Like many other parents of my generation, I’m trying to break negative generational cycles, which involve a lot of self-discovery, research, testing and learning, and emotional energy. My husband and I both juggle full-time, highly demanding careers. We’ve moved 5 times in two years (finally settling in Charleston for the long haul) and have had to handle all of the life logistics accompanying that. When I looked for a creative outlet, I had to find something that was “double-dipped,” so to speak, where I was already directing my energies because there was no spare bandwidth to tap into. I also need help finding the time and energy to dedicate to my page consistently. It’s hard to understand what will resonate and how to create value consistently.
I appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Aside from my work on Charlestontots, I work in the tech industry on data privacy and AI, which is a relatively demanding (but also inspiring) space at the moment. One of the things I have had to learn is how to take very complex topics and act as a translation layer – distilling them into the most compelling pieces of information and sharing them in a way that resonates with my audience. Sometimes, we get so caught up in our work on something that we need to share every detail of how we got there. Think of your math worksheets as a kid in school: your teacher would ask you to “show your work” so they could see how you got to the end answer. We aren’t in math class anymore. People need more time, and their attention is diverted. So, I’ve learned to think about what’s most important to them – their goals. What are they trying to accomplish? And then apply that lens to the information I share with them. How do I serve them best? It’s not about me. I think about the content I share on Charlestontots in the same way.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
We will all have our worlds completely transformed by artificial intelligence. The impact of the advances in this technology will be bigger than when everyone started using telephones or the advent of the internet or smartphones. It will impact how we connect with each other, work and live, and all areas of life – healthcare, education, science, etc. The creator space will also change dramatically. Creativity will truly be democratized, making authenticity more essential in our work.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/charlestontots
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/charlestontots
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebeccacgleason/
