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Strong, Confident, and Enough: Saundra Pelletier on Women's Health Advocacy and Career Empowerment

In this electrifying episode of Thriving in Intersectionality, host Lola Adeyemo welcomes Saundra Pelletier, a powerhouse in women's health innovation and a fierce advocate for women's empowerment. As CEO, President, and Interim Chair of Evofem Biosciences, Saundra shares her journey from a one-room apartment on welfare in Maine to revolutionizing women's reproductive health – all while navigating a cancer diagnosis, single motherhood, and corporate leadership.

What You'll Learn in This Episode:

  • How to advocate for yourself professionally without diminishing your value
  • Why women should never start from a position of weakness when seeking feedback
  • The transformative power of focusing on your strengths rather than obsessing over weaknesses
  • How personal challenges can redirect your purpose and amplify your advocacy
  • The importance of deciding "whose opinion matters" in your career advancement
  • Why the "adherence quotient" (focus + confidence + passion) is essential for success

About Our Guest

Saundra Pelletier is the Interim Chair, CEO, President, and Executive Director of Evofem Biosciences, a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to addressing unmet needs in women's sexual and reproductive health. Under her leadership, Evofem launched Phexxi in 2020, the first and only hormone-free, on-demand prescription birth control in the United States. In 2024, the company expanded its portfolio with SOLOSEC, an FDA-approved treatment for common vaginal infections.

With over 25 years of executive leadership experience, Saundra has driven multiple billion-dollar product launches, expanded commercial capabilities globally, and consistently advocated for women's health. She was previously the founding CEO of Woman Care Global, where she secured $68 million in funding to deliver healthcare products to women in over 100 developing countries.

Saundra's accolades include the Health and Human Services Award from the California State Assembly, San Diego Magazine's Woman of the Year, the Lifetime Legacy Award from the National Women of Influence, and inclusion in Inc. Magazine's Female Founders 100 List.

Key Insights for Professional Women:

"Start at the Top of the Ladder"

Saundra offers a revolutionary approach to seeking professional feedback: "Never admit weakness, because you will be pounced on and taken advantage of." Instead, start from a position of strength by acknowledging what you do well, then ask how you could "over-deliver." This framing protects you while still allowing for growth.

"Always start with 'here's what I know I do well, and here's what I know I'm contributing,' but I'd love to be able to over-deliver. Never give them a chance to turn the knife, because you've already said, 'Oh, I'm amazing. What could I do to be super-fragilistic?'"

The Adherence Quotient for Career Success

Saundra shares a powerful formula that has guided her for 25 years: focus Ă— confidence Ă— passion = success. She emphasizes that all three elements must be present:

"Focus means you have to know exactly what you want. You have to repeat it to yourself. You have to write it down. Confidence is, if you don't have the skills to get it right now, you get those skills. And passion is you have to love it in a way that when everybody tells you no and all the haters and negative naysayers, you just have Teflon."

Understanding the Difference Between Humility and Inferiority

Channeling wisdom from her mother, Saundra highlights the critical distinction between being humble and feeling inferior: "Understand the difference between humility and inferiority. One will nurture your self-esteem and the other will destroy it."

Creating Your Own Table When You Can't Find One

Drawing from her experience as a woman leader in male-dominated industries, Saundra emphasizes the importance of creating your own opportunities rather than waiting for them:

"I couldn't find the ladder. They say, climb the corporate ladder. I could never find the ladder period. I didn't even know where to access the ladder... If you can't find the table, if you can't find the ladder, then create your own."

How Cancer Transformed Her Advocacy

Following her cancer diagnosis and treatment, Saundra's passion for women's health innovation intensified exponentially. She explains how this personal challenge redirected her purpose:

"It changed me in a way that I will never be the same again... After my diagnosis, oh my goodness, I became so loud and proud, you would have thought my mouth was a megaphone... I'm a different mom, I'm a different woman, I'm a different leader of this company because of cancer."

Phexxi: Revolutionizing Women's Reproductive Health

Saundra passionately discusses Evofem's groundbreaking product, Phexxi, the first innovation in non-hormonal birth control since 1960. This FDA-approved, on-demand contraceptive works by maintaining a woman's natural vaginal pH, making it inhospitable to sperm without systemic hormones or side effects. The product is particularly valuable for women who cannot or prefer not to use hormonal contraceptives, including cancer survivors, breastfeeding mothers, and those on medications that interact with hormonal birth control.

"Women don't have sex every day... Women deserve to have a product that they use only when they need it, whenever, when they don't just like men have had condoms."

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