What happens when immigrant parents want stability, but you want to create? Tim Salazar, a first generation Filipino American, joins Life Between Titles to talk about growing up between Northern California, Eastern Washington, and Seattle, chasing film and writing dreams in Los Angeles, and doing whatever it took to stay afloat. We get into his pivot into UX through library school at Pratt, what early UX looked like in the era of massive waterfall specs, and the lessons we both took from Amazon, including what you gain, what you lose, and what happens when you never talk to users. Tim also shares what layoffs have taught him, how fatherhood reshapes your relationship to grit and privilege, and why the future of design may belong to people who can build, tell stories, and make decisions with taste.

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In this episode of Life Between Titles, I sit down with my friend Vance, a Philadelphia based healthcare leader with 15 years of experience, plus a PhD in corporate leadership.

We talk about why Philly shapes leaders differently, how environment influences who you become, and what it looks like to be intentional about the people you surround yourself with. Vance also breaks down the difference between your job and your work, why self assessment is the starting point for real growth, and how repetition, routines, and small habit changes create lasting leadership development.

We also get into leadership under pressure through the lens of Jalen Hurts, plus Vance’s take on vision, service, and what he wants listeners to sit with after the conversation.

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#LeadershipDevelopment

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#PersonalDevelopment

What happens when the path you were taught to follow no longer fits the life you are living?

In this episode, Savan sits down with Andrew Merchant for a deeply honest conversation about identity, depression, fatherhood, and choosing family over prestige. Andrew shares what it was like growing up in rural Alabama, building a marriage that started young, navigating undiagnosed depression, and stepping into the role of a stay at home dad in a household shaped by neurodivergence and intentional care.

Together, they explore how productivity becomes tangled with self worth, how redefining strength requires letting go of external validation, and how parenting has a way of holding up a mirror to the parts of ourselves we have avoided. This conversation is about the quiet decisions no one applauds, the courage to change direction, and what it really means to build a good life from the inside out.

If you are between titles, questioning success, or trying to align your life with your values, this episode will meet you where you are.

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Starting 2026 unemployed and wondering what you are doing wrong?

Hundreds of applications. Resume rewrites. LinkedIn Premium. Interview coaching. And still nothing moves?

This is not about working harder.

It is about understanding why the job market changed and how to change your strategy with it.

If this sounds like you, you are not broken.

The system changed.

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This is the last guest episode of the year, and I wanted to close out with a conversation that tells the truth about career transition, the parts that rarely make it into the highlight reel. Jen Tran takes us back to her first General Assembly UX class where she looked left, looked right, and realized most people in the room would not make the switch. Out of about 20 classmates, she saw only three successfully transition.

Jen shares what it felt like to bet on herself in her mid thirties, with doubt, limited support, and the pressure of who you think you are supposed to be at that age. We talk about rejection, endurance over talent, and the messy middle after a boot camp ends, when confidence drops and the real work begins. We also get into her path from HR and learning and development to UX, how anthropology shaped her empathy as a designer, and why something as simple as a workplace potluck can be a real signal of belonging and community.

If you are in the middle of a change, this episode is for you, not because it is polished, because it is honest.

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In this Life Between Titles conversation, Tré Wright breaks down what makes feedback sustainable, inviting it, receiving it without defensiveness, and building the muscle through small, consistent habits. We also talk about routines that reduce job search burnout, why community matters when the world feels heavy, and how coaching helps people find clarity, accountability, and a more authentic identity at work and at home.

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In this episode of Life Between Titles, Savan talks with Jason Briefel about the unseen world of federal leadership, policy, and workforce reform. Jason shares a decade of experience representing senior executives across government, describing how agencies struggle to invest in their own leaders, why civil service systems remain outdated, and how culture often outweighs structure. He also opens up about the emotional toll of long job searches, the pressure of living with his parents as a married adult, and how his confidence has changed in this current search. The conversation moves between policy, parenting, personal resilience, and the role of authenticity in leadership. Jason’s reflections offer a clear look at the human side of government, the dynamics that shape public institutions, and the values that guide his work.

Links

💡 Support Life Between Titles

https://www.patreon.com/cw/LifeBetweenTitles

▶️ YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/@LifeBetweenTitles

🎧 Spotify

https://open.spotify.com/show/1olZo0VDvHh9w0F2D2vEir

🍎 Apple Podcasts

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/life-between-titles/id1844748787

▶️TikTok
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In this Thanksgiving reflection, I look back on the first two months of Life Between Titles and the guests who shaped it. I share the lessons they taught me about leadership, reinvention, identity, creativity, fatherhood, and the courage it takes to walk into uncertainty. Each guest left me with something meaningful, from empathy to purpose to rediscovery. This episode is my way of saying thank you to everyone who trusted me with their story and to every listener searching for direction. Gratitude has given shape to the hard moments and helped me see how transformation, even when messy, can open new paths forward.

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#Gratitude

#PersonalGrowth

#ThanksgivingReflection

#Transformation