The emPOWER Breakfast
The emPOWER Breakfast
Podcast Description
The emPOWER Breakfast founded by host Athene Parker celebrates leaders in the Media, Advertising and Communication space. The live events and podcast are designed to discover and uncover the personal story behind the job title. A celebration of the incredible achievements of our wonderful speakers, despite the challenges they have overcome on their journey of life. A peek behind the curtain as an opportunity to increase empathy, support and understanding in the workplace, a mirror for subjects less explored in a working environment to create community. Ultimately the emPOWER Breakfast aim is to create a network of support, alongside authentic business connections, that will help our businesses to thrive.While The emPOWER Breakfast live event began as a women’s networking event, designed to emPOWER women in business, an emPOWER Men series launches in 2025. If you would like to attend the events or discuss bringing The emPOWER Breakfast to your industry please contact [email protected] and emPOWER Breakfast founder Athene Parker has worked both in front of and behind the camera, she is a voiceover @Vocalpoint and has worked as a freelance New Business in music and advertising for 25 years. Athene is an Autism advocate, being a parent to a pre-verbal autistic legend, and is founder of theSENmumma a volunteer mentoring network to support Mum’s at the beginning of their families diagnosis pathway.This podcast is sponsored, produced and recorded by sound studio, String and Tins Producer: Esi JonuziEngineer: Livy WicksMD: Rachel HoughBespoke Music Composition - Livy Wicks, String and Tins Track Name - The emPower Breakfast Theme Tune, String and Tins Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast focuses on themes such as personal resilience, diversity in the workplace, mental health challenges, and empowerment through networking. Episode highlights include discussions on navigating professional challenges as a single mother with Selma Nicholls, tackling mental health journeys with Jody Allison, and exploring racism and professional pivots with Nishma Patel Robb, enriching the narrative around less-explored workplace topics.
The emPOWER Breakfast a Live events series and Podcast founded by host Athene Parker celebrates leaders in the Media, Advertising and Communication space. The live events and podcast are designed to discover and uncover the personal story behind the job title. A celebration of the incredible achievements of our wonderful speakers, despite the challenges they have overcome on their journey of life. A peek behind the curtain as an opportunity to increase empathy, support and understanding in the workplace, a mirror for subjects less explored in a working environment to create community. Ultimately the emPOWER Breakfast aim is to create a network of support, alongside authentic business connections, that will help our businesses to thrive.
While The emPOWER Breakfast live event began as a women’s networking event, designed to emPOWER women in business, an emPOWER Men series launches in 2025. If you would like to attend the events or discuss bringing The emPOWER Breakfast to your industry please contact [email protected].
Host and emPOWER Breakfast founder Athene Parker has worked both in front of and behind the camera, she is a voiceover @Vocalpoint and has worked as a freelance New Business in music and advertising for 25 years. Athene is an Autism advocate, being a parent to a pre-verbal autistic legend, and is founder of theSENmumma a volunteer mentoring network to support Mum’s at the beginning of their families diagnosis pathway.
This podcast is sponsored, produced and recorded by sound studio, String and Tins
Producer: Esi Jonuzi
Engineer: Livy Wicks
MD: Rachel Hough
Bespoke Music Composition – Livy Wicks, String and Tins
Track Name – The emPower Breakfast Theme Tune, String and Tins
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this final episode of season 2 of the emPOWER Breakfast Podcast, Founder and Host Athene Parker is joined by award-winning director Karen Cunningham for an insightful conversation about longevity, reinvention, and building a career in the advertising and film industry.
Karen’s career spans decades, with multiple creative chapters from early ambitions as an actor, to working in advertising as a TV producer, moving into production as a talent scout and producer, co-founding her own production company Pink Films, and ultimately from there, stepping into a decades long, award winning directing career. Her journey is a powerful example of what it means to evolve, adapt and sustain a long-term creative career.
Karen is known for her emotionally rich, human-led storytelling and her ability to draw authentic performances with her AMAZING casting, often from non-actors. Her directing career began with the award-winning short film “Wonderful World,” created for a children’s charity, which marked a defining turning point and launched her behind the camera, the project sweeping the board at the award ceremonies establishing Karen as an impactful voice shaping the landscape of brands and the ad industry alike.
With warmth, honesty and humour, Karen reflects on the pivotal moments that shaped her path, including navigating gender bias as a female director, building resilience through uncertainty, and embracing reinvention at every stage of life.
Together, Athene and Karen explore:
- What it takes to build a long-lasting career in the advertising and film industries
- The power of reinvention and career pivots
- The realities of being a female director in a male-dominated industry
- How producing shaped Karen’s creative instinct and leadership
- The importance of authentic storytelling and human connection in film
- Balancing personal challenges alongside professional success
- What it truly means to direct your life with intention
This is a conversation about experience, instinct, and staying power.. and a reminder that longevity in creative careers is not just about talent, but about resilience, self-belief and evolution over time.
The chat is woven around a journey through music and memory. Sit back, relax and enjoy. 🎧✨
🎶 Episode Playlist
Track 1 – Blowin In The Wind – Bob Dylan
Track 2 – Like A Prayer – Madonna
Track 3 – Blinded By Your Grace – Stormzy
Track 4 – Wonderful World – Louis Armstrong
Track 5 – Perfect Day – BBC Version 1997
🎧 Listen to the emPOWER Breakfast – Karen Cunningham Spotify Playlist
Karen Cunningham, female director, advertising industry, film director interview, women in film, creative careers, career longevity, reinvention, storytelling, directing commercials, PRETTYBIRD
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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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