Meme Stokes Callnin had spent two decades inside global human capital consulting building talent strategies, advising on M&A integrations, and leading the Mountain States for Mercer across all things human capital.
Then she went to a Harvard executive program on women in the boardroom. And everything shifted.
She came back with a clear mission. 2024 was going to be her year. Then she hit the wall: her firm didn't allow paid board seats. Within months, the pieces fell into place. She raised her hand for a package, walked out, and entered what she calls her "rewirement."
Today, Meme Stokes Callnin is an independent board director and growth strategist, sitting on the boards of Select Health, Wonderbound, and the American Heart Association's Colorado Go Red for Women campaign, which she chaired in 2024. She has helped raise over $1 million for the AHA, driven by a single realization at a breakfast back in 2018: women's heart attack symptoms are different from men's, and most women don't know it.
In this episode of Inspiring Women, host Laurie McGraw sits down with Meme at the WBL Summit to trace the full arc, from corporate executive to professional board director, and unpack what it actually takes to land a seat in a room that doesn't post its openings.
They discuss:
- The 2018 American Heart Association breakfast that pulled her in for good, and the survivor story that made her realize women's heart attack symptoms differ from men's, and that despite heart disease running in her family, she'd never been told
- Why women are dangerously underserved when it comes to CPR, and her blunt take: "I'd rather live than worry about a broken rib"
- The Harvard executive program that flipped the switch, and why "rewirement" is her word for what most people would call retirement
- Her honest read on the post-DEI slowdown in the boardroom, what's changed, what hasn't, and why advocacy for women still matters
- The "secret club" of board recruiting, why the big executive search firms won't place you on a public board until you've already got one, and what to do about it
- Her 5 Fs framework, Family, Financial, Fitness, Fun, Faith, and how she uses it to filter every meeting, every coffee, every yes
- Why she chose healthcare as her board focus, drawing on sandwich-generation experience and decades of consulting across the ecosystem
- Her core advice for women seeking their first board seat: be bold about what you know, make the direct ask, and raise your hand often
Meme Stokes Callnin is proof that "rewirement" isn't slowing down. It's choosing, with intention, exactly what the next chapter looks like, and then asking for it out loud.
[00:00:00] One of the companies I'm working with, I literally, she was looking for something and I said to her, so I'm not what you're looking for, but I'm what you need and here's why. And what have you learned so far and what is your advice for others who are doing the same? Be bold about what you know. Don't be afraid to lean into, hey, I really know this and think differently because at a board level, it's very different how you bring your expertise. The other thing I would say is, I would double down on what you said about make the ask. If you don't ask, you're certainly not going to get it. And then the other thing I would say is,
[00:00:29] don't be afraid to ask for the meeting, ask for the conversation, ask for the referral. This is Inspiring Women. I'm Laurie McGraw and today I'm speaking with Mimi Callnin. And Mimi, this is your first podcast. I can't even believe it. This is going to be an incredible conversation. We are at the WBL Conference and this is Mimi's first WBL Conference. We're going to talk about
[00:00:55] why she's here. We're also going to talk about the work that she does with the American Heart Association, as well as 50-50 Women on Boards. Mimi, thank you for being on Inspiring Women. I am thrilled to be here and I'm excited to do my first podcast with you, Laurie. I know. Here we go. Here we go. Mimi, why don't we just on first level set, just like let's talk a little bit about the work that you do now, as well as a little bit about your career trajectory, a little bit of your history.
[00:01:20] Yes. I'll start with my history, I think. I spent my life in global human capital consulting, working for Mercer and Aon, large global HR consulting firms, and really spent the last 20 years of my career really leading enterprise growth and serving as executive leading the mountain states across all things human capital, working across all sorts of different industries.
[00:01:45] And about two years ago, I decided I was ready to do my next phase of my career and I entered what I'm calling my rewirement phase. And during that time, I had done some board work and board advisory prior to that, but I knew that that's where I really wanted to invest my time and really spend time focusing on what I love and what kind of feeds me. So that's what I'm doing. When we talk about like human capital, we're talking about talent management, we're talking about like, you know, growth, we're talking about that. What parts of human capital are we talking about?
[00:02:13] So I literally, so within the organizations I work for, I'll just kind of speak the old speak. It's focused on people's retirement and all the things around there. I'm focused on what they would call talent, which is compensation, workforce, architecture, talent, that whole thing, and then health and everything around health benefits, et cetera. And you'll hear as I talk today, I have gravitated towards my health experience and working with my clients in that capacity.
[00:02:41] Yep. I have to say, as you know, the work that I do today at Transcarent, I know a lot about healthcare. I know a lot about, you know, provider groups and hospitals and health systems and things of that nature. But, you know, I've come to sincerely appreciate just that the, you know, one of the largest line items in any budget of any company is the health benefits and talent is always number
[00:03:06] one on any P&L. And so understanding the finances of that, understanding the strategy of that, did you advise companies, boards, C-suites? What was the work of the talent management there? Really advising companies, figuring out, you know, a big part of driving an organization's success is tied to the engagement of their employees. It's known that a higher engagement literally can result in 23%
[00:03:33] better profits. So we would work with organizations on, you know, do they have the right workforce? Are they structured the right way? Are they paying them the right way? And what did they have the right culture? How do you shift to culture? How do you just generally just engage the workforce in a way that can kind of, that help would make them want to show up at work every day and give their best selves every day. Right. And drive performance and drive financial outcomes and drive growth and all of
[00:04:01] those things. So at what point did you decide that it's like, okay, enough's not enough. And I want to take a break from all of that hard work in terms of building companies to some of the other work that you're doing. Well, what was the stopping point? Cause we're going to get to rewirement. Yeah. So I actually attended a Harvard business school has a, their executive, they have a program called about women on boards. And I went and took that program. Cause I had, I was involved in 50, 50 back in 2019. And that's the person like, Oh, there's this whole way to stay involved in the
[00:04:31] corporate world and have an impact, but in a very different way. So I got involved, took this program, I came out, I came back. I'm like, this is my year. 2024 is going to be my year to go get on board. And oops, within at Mercer, I wasn't allowed to be on paid boards. So a little bit of a huh moment. And then a couple of other things conspired just to make me say, you know, this is the time I raised my hand to, you know, take a package and walk out. And so it kind of all just fell into place for me very nicely. Um, and I was able to, I was already involved in the American Heart Association Go Red for Women
[00:05:01] campaign. I'm also on a board of a dance company called Wonderbound, which I'm very proud of. Um, and I had been doing some advisory work, but again, I had to be an advisor. I couldn't be on a board. Um, and so it all just kind of fell into place for me at the same time. And, um, I have not looked back at all. Um, it just felt like the right thing and it's just all falling into place and I'm doing everything I love. Okay. So we're going to move to the rewirement phase, but first I want to talk about the American Heart Association because you and I were just spending some time
[00:05:30] together in Denver at, you know, a big gala that you were running as far as I could tell. And everybody in this room knew Mimi and, um, you know, what was being talked about there was innovation. We were recognizing women of impact, um, Sandy Goldstein, who is somebody who is the winner of a woman of impact, um, award and you've been sponsoring and really promoting that work there. Why did you become involved in the American Heart Association?
[00:05:59] So I actually went to a breakfast back in 2018. They used to do these breakfasts and there was somebody, uh, a survivor was telling a story really struck with me. Like I'm sure some of the stories really struck you the other night, got in my car and I was convinced I was having a heart attack because I realized how all the women's symptoms are different. That's the first time I had heard that. And when I was like, wow, the fact that I don't know that and heart disease runs in my family and I don't know that. So I turned around, walked back inside and said, I'd like to get involved. How can I get involved? Um, and I started off back at the time they had like an
[00:06:27] executive team, like, um, like it wasn't a board back then, but I got involved then and I just continued to raise my hand over the years. Um, I was a chair one year. I just keep leaning into it because I feel like, um, it's, it's, it's just, it's such an important mission. And it's so important that, that women understand that there is a difference in how we feel heart symptoms. And you know, one of the things that struck me is so many women don't get CPR because people are afraid to, you know, give them CPR because they might break a rib because we're delicate. I'm sorry,
[00:06:56] I'd rather live than, you know, who cares? Give me a broken rib. Yeah. So Mimi, when, um, when you raise your hand to get involved in something, I think it's a little bit more than showing up and getting, getting involved. Since you've started being involved in the American Heart Association, you have raised over a million dollars, um, by encouraging others to participate. Yes. How did that happen? Um, it's funny people, I was talking to a friend of mine who actually has raised
[00:07:22] her hand to be a woman of impact next year after watching what happened and, you know, talking to Sandy, um, everything I do, I've jumped in with both feet. If I'm passionate about something, I lean in. Um, and I don't go around asking people to give money or anything like that, but I just, I talk about what's important to me and I think I'm a little infectious. And so people start to really listen and then they also want to be part of it or give to something or cause bigger than
[00:07:45] themselves. Um, and I've always operated that way. So, um, people like my, my girlfriend the other night said, you know, you, you never really asked or pushed me to give anything. And my husband, who's never been to this thing, raised his hand and gave more than we had even agreed to. And I even know how that happened. Um, so I, I think it's just my energy and enthusiasm. It tends to drive people to, to want to maybe step up and do a bit more than they might have otherwise.
[00:08:10] So then you started getting involved in women 50, 50 on boards. And so, so first of all, what is that program? Um, 50, 50 women on boards. It is a not for profit. That's all about raising awareness, um, and trying to increase the percentage of women in the boardroom. They specifically measure the Russell 3000. Um, and what number of boards seats, what percentage are held by women? And it's been going steadily up in 2019. I had a friend who came to me and said, Hey, somebody tapped me to be this
[00:08:36] chair. I don't have time. Can you help? I was like, I don't even know what this is. Sure. Good friend. We love working with her. We'll do it. Um, and so, so what they, they have a, they have a program, like a board readiness program, et cetera. But every year they do this, uh, they call a conversation used to all be all over the world on the same day. I think they realized that was just too much to manage. So now we do it and all over the world. Um, and so we come together, um, and this year in
[00:09:00] Denver, it's going to be on May 14th and it's, it's a half day of, um, when we talk about statistic and what's happening and I'm not going to, you know, well, I guess I can skew. Um, it's obviously it slowed down. We were moving up and then it started to level off. We were doing, we were doing great. I mean, we got 13% in 2012, had moved up to over 20% there. We're getting to 30%. So we're feeling really terrific. A lot of that was done by adding more board seats, not just even,
[00:09:29] evening out in the playing field. My view is it doesn't matter how it happens. It's still, it's still fine that it's happening. And then we started to see a lot of challenges to the laws that have been put in place. Some of them being repealed, um, and, um, a lot of slowing down in terms of that sort of equity in the boardroom. So that's sort of the facts. And so what do we think about those facts? So I will say for me personally, um, we still have a responsibility to advocate for
[00:09:57] women in the boardroom. Um, in fact, uh, we used to call it the Denver conversation on, um, on, well, what was, I can't remember the name, uh, the Denver conversation on women in the boardroom, something like that. But now it's just on leadership. We even changed the name, but I firmly believe, and I know DEI programs have, you know, kind of gone by the wayside. All the organizations are still very much advocating. They're just doing it with different words. Yeah. Um, so I believe that we need to still advocate for women. We need to have a voice.
[00:10:25] We need to support each other. This day is a bunch of women that are coming together to support each other because without each other, we're not going to get there. Now men are important too. Don't get me wrong. We need our allies and they very much are helping us. Um, but, but I think it's, it's, we just can't stop. Yeah. I do think that, um, you know, what we've seen and what I've seen a lot of the, you know, the days of being an ally and people really leaning in the, the movement and energy
[00:10:50] around that has dissipated. And I also agree that doesn't mean it's gone. That doesn't mean that there's no more caring, but it certainly means that, you know, for women in particular who are trying to advance into the boardroom or leadership, um, nobody's coming to save you. So it really does take, um, you know, a lot of, um, self work, um, to make those things happen. Speaking of that,
[00:11:16] so Mimi, you have in this rewiring. So what is this self work that you were doing? What does rewiring mean? Um, I'll say my fun thing first. One thing I had a goal of is, uh, doing agility with my dog and winning a ribbon. And we just did that a couple of weeks ago. So that was my one rewiring. What are you talking about? You know what dog agility is? No, I don't. I have no idea. It's like goat yoga. What is this? No, it's this high energy thing where you run a course with your dog
[00:11:45] and do all sorts of agility things. Um, and it's a lot of fun and it's very rewarding and I can check that box. So that was one personal thing. It is, it is. And I have a fast dog. Um, so, but for me, I wanted to find a way, again, I've chosen my not-for-profit places that I'm passionate about and I'm sticking with them. I'm not going to, you know, add as much as I'd love to do more. Um, but I really have spent some time thinking about where can I serve on a board that I can
[00:12:10] have an impact, um, in a very different way than I could when I was in my corporate role as an executive, right? Yep. As a board member, you have a different voice, you have a different lens, you bring, it's, it's different. Um, and where I have, I've been doing a lot of, you know, thinking and talking and meeting people and networking to figure out exactly where that is. And it's funny, I'm here at the WBL, you mentioned that. Um, and part of it is because I have landed on healthcare. Um, if healthcare, if I can work with organizations and have some impact to save even
[00:12:39] one life, I feel like I'm doing something good. I'm a sandwich generation. I've got, you know, on both sides of my sandwich, I've got some health issues we're navigating that are very complex. Um, and so for me being part of, you know, I know the whole healthcare ecosystem. I know it inside out at this point. I've worked with every aspect of it. So I can bring a voice and a lens that I think can help either large companies, um, like select health who I'm working with, um, ask questions and help them think about things a little bit differently or the very small startups. I'm doing
[00:13:09] some of that too. And again, just bringing a lens and a voice and a perspective and some experience that I think, I hope are making a difference. Well, we know that when our, you know, we have more equity in boardrooms that companies perform better. There's a direct correlation to those things being true as somebody who is seeking additional board seats with intention. We also know that it's hard. It's not there. It's not
[00:13:34] necessarily sort of like job just postings that are out there for board directors, sort of a secret club. And so, so Mimi, you are an intentional person. You research things and you're making it very clear. This is what you're doing next. So how are you going about it? How are you sort of unlocking the secret society of like, where are all the board seats? Um, well, it is very challenging, Lori. I mean, as you have indicated, um, and I think especially in healthcare, because
[00:14:03] in healthcare, there's not as many, there absolutely are public and, you know, large healthcare companies, but, um, there's a lot of privately held and it's harder to unlock those, um, and PE backed, et cetera. Um, so for me, it is continuing education one, cause I need to make sure I stay sharp on all the issues that are happening in the boardroom, especially in healthcare. There's a lot going on in healthcare as we all know. Um, but it is about continuing to network and build my network.
[00:14:29] Um, it is like attending things like this. It is, um, you know, meeting with, I recently, um, actually the gentleman who referred me to WBL also introduced me to some, the head of the health vertical at Korn Ferry. So it's continuing to do that and continuing to get my name out there and have conversations with people. Um, and, and, and again, being intentional. Um, I've gotten really good at, you know, when people ask me for my time, I think about, I'll share with you my five F's that I
[00:14:56] have to check up against. Um, if I'm going to spend time with somebody, I say, you know, one, does it really, I have five priorities, family, friends, that's one F. Um, the second is financial, like career, how that ties fitness. I'm trying to be healthy. Um, everything I do has to be fun and then everything, you know, however we think of our own faith, but for me, the way I think of faith that has to kind of feed that. So as I think about people that I spend time with or connect with or network with, I think about how do they fit into that? And so I tend to say yes too much. And so
[00:15:24] that's one of the ways I'm helping myself really step back and be, again, continue to be intentional. Does that answer that? Well, one of the intentional things about, you know, seeking board seats is the direct ask. And I think for women in particular, you know, the networking, um, it is so important to uncover where these seats are and it, and being intentional is more than just showing
[00:15:48] up. It's actually saying out loud, I am seeking a board seat. I am seeking this type of seat and this is what I bring to the table. And what is different about that is, you know, if you are, an executive level or a leadership level, a career person, you can go seek other jobs that are out there because they're posted or there are recruiters who are looking to place candidates with board seats.
[00:16:18] It is different. Yes. And you really have to do that. And that can be sometimes uncomfortable. Yeah. Are you finding it uncomfortable to have those conversations? Are you getting better at it? I'm getting much better at it. Yeah. Much better. And it, I want, one thing I just want to throw out there, um, you know, back to the recruiters that for the executive role, the recruiters in the board space there are, but what I've learned is that they won't play the big guys. They won't place you on a board unless you've already got like a big public board and you can check that box.
[00:16:45] Otherwise they view it as taking a risk with you. So that's right there is a huge hurdle. Right. Um, so yes, I've gotten much more comfortable, um, with that. And I've gotten comfortable in saying, in fact, one of the companies I'm working with, I literally, she was looking for something and I said to her, so I'm not what you're looking for, but I'm what you need. And here's why. Yeah. Um, and so I'm advising her. She doesn't have, you know, she's not doing the big boards yet, but even I'm getting very comfortable this morning on the plane. I sat beside a very nice gentleman. He was a CEO and he, we were talking about his board. He was going to a board meeting and
[00:17:14] I won't even go into it, but I did say to him, you know, here's, here's my information. And if you're looking for somebody to join your board who really understands talent strategy, because that's one of the things they're working with, I, you know, I would love to speak with you. So I'm not shy about it. Um, cause you being quiet, not asking you, if you don't ask, you don't get something. That's right. And because there are so many fewer of those seats, the being very intentional and being out there often, uh, is also a really important part of
[00:17:43] the strategy. By the way, we were on the same plane this morning. I was not sitting next to a CEO. I had too many children. We're here in Orlando and everyone was on their way to Disney. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Surrounded differently than you. Um, for sure. What are other parts of your strategy for the seeking board seats that you're working on? Um, I would say podcast kind of getting out there, finding opportunities to speak. Um, I've, um, doing like I'm, I'm facilitating the panel at
[00:18:08] 50, 50, very excited about doing that. Um, the other thing is I'm, and I'm playing with this and I'll be, I'm very transparent. So the LinkedIn, a lot of the postings, I was thinking about spending more time there with my voice around my expertise, but I realized it doesn't sound like I'm a very real person. It doesn't sound sincere to me. So I'm trying to navigate how do I let people know where my expertise is, where my passion is, keep it real to who I am. Um, so that's something I'm
[00:18:34] doing. Um, and you know, attending conferences like this, um, and, and finding the good ones. Some are more, you know, worth your time and investment than others so far. This one I'm very excited about. Um, so that's some of the things I'm doing too. Some people try to balance like, you know, should I take that nonprofit board seat versus, you know, going for, going for, uh, private companies and the like, do you, how do you think about those different strategies? So I've already got my nonprofit. And so since I've got that, I'm not as tempting as some of them are
[00:19:03] where I want to help. I'm just, I'm sticking to what I, I'm already committed my passion to. Um, and so that's not something I even look at. Um, for me, cause they take a lot of time. Oh, they take a ton of time. Yes. Yes. Um, and for me, private versus public versus PE backed, that is relevance, the wrong word, but, um, for me, it's so much about what the organization does, who the CEO is, if I like the person who's on the board. And the other thing to me is I'm
[00:19:31] interested in companies that are in a growth stage because I am a growth DNA growth catalyst person. And so that's excites me. So I want to be with an organization that's growing at whatever stage that is. Yep. Well, for somebody who is in the early stages of rewirement, um, I think you certainly have the energy for it. As we close out this inspiring women conversation, Mimi, just as you are in this, this is such an important time for so many women who are looking for, um, those types
[00:19:59] of board seats. And I know that you're at the beginning of, you know, this really intentional process and what have you learned so far and what is your advice for others who are doing the same? Um, I've learned so much Lori. So let me think about how I can tighten that up. Um, so it's, it's interesting writing over here with Lori, the other Lori, um, she was asking me some of this. One of the things I would say that I have learned is when you were on the operational side. So for,
[00:20:24] here's an example, um, MNA, I had clients that did MNA deals all the time. I brought in the detail, the people that did the work and rolled up their sleeves. As I started to look at boards and thinking about my talents, I didn't put MNA on there cause I wasn't the deep SME, right? Um, I went to a conference and there was MNA people up there on a panel and I was like, Whoa, I know more than these board members do. Wait a minute. I, I am an MNA expert when it comes to a board level, I understand the
[00:20:49] strategy, et cetera. So one bit of advice is be, you know, be bold about what you know. Um, you know, don't be afraid to, to lean into, Hey, I really know this. Um, and think differently, um, about how you bring it. Cause at a board level, it's very different how you bring your expertise. Right. Um, the other thing I would say is, so I would double down on what you said about make the ask. If you don't ask, you're certainly not going to get it. Um, and then the other thing I would say is, um,
[00:21:20] don't be afraid, um, to ask for the meeting, ask for the conversation, ask for the referral, ask, um, for, for whatever it is you're, you're seeking for. And I said this in my, in my career too, my advice to young people starting their career, mid career, whatever. I'm going to add you this now is raise your hand and raise it often because that's how you kind of get wherever that next journey is going to be. That's how you get there. And if Mimi Kellnan is coming to see you, then you are going to be raising your hands is what I've
[00:21:50] learned in terms of learning some things about Mimi. This has been a great inspiring women conversation. I've enjoyed it so much. Mimi. Thank you so much. Thank you, Lori. It's been fun.