“Close your eyes and jump,” Anne Fulenwider from Alloy Women’s Health

Meet Anne Fulenwinder, Co-Founder and Co-CEO at Alloy, where she works to make an impact in women’s health. Anne finds inspiration in women building a better world for other women by disrupting industries—sparking her motivation to change the conversation about women’s post-reproductive health.

Anne began her career at the literary magazine The Paris Review. She spent ten years at Vanity Fair editing writers like Carl Bernstein and Dominick Dunne, and she was named editor-in-chief of Marie Claire in 2012, overseeing all content and brand extensions in the United States. Anne’s experience and leadership has led her to mentor contestants on Project Runway Allstars, serve as a judge for the Pulitzer Prizes, and launch a conference for entrepreneurs called “The Power Trip.” 

During her time at Marie Claire Magazine, Anne worked on a story that focused on the shortcomings of the health industry, what was known about women's bodies, and what the medical industry has examined—uncovering the lack of research and knowledge about women's bodies and inspiring her to make a real change in the world of women’s health. In addition to her inspiring efforts to improve women’s lives,  Anne has interviewed many powerful women like Mindy Kaling, Tracee Ellis Ross, and Gwyneth Paltrow on stages such as the Makers Conference and South by Southwest. 

Anne sat down for a conversation with Deirdre Locksley, Associate Director, Content Marketing, and shared her passion for women’s health, her tips on staying prepared, and her advice for navigating your career. 

If you’re ready to listen to the full interview, hit play below. And when you’re done, check out some highlights from the conversation. 

Close your eyes and jump.

Highlight: “One thing that's really undersold, or under emphasized, as an asset is some naivete and the ability to close your eyes, jump, and have confidence that when you land, you will figure it out.” - Anne Fulenwider

Change your trajectory.

Highlight: After two years as executive editor at Marie Claire, I got an offer to go back to Condé Nast, where I had grown up at Vanity Fair. I was offered the job of Editor in Chief of Brides Magazine, which was a great place to cut my teeth. Then, a year later, I got the offer to go back to Mary Claire as Editor in Chief, and I was really scared and really intimidated. Growing a family in New York City, I needed to think about our expanding costs. My husband is a big football fan, and his advice was, ‘There's only a few head coach jobs in the NFL. These don't come up all the time.’ So, we made the joint family decision to go for it, which was a big decision because there was a lot of travel involved, the kids were young, and I was gone a lot. But it was really a moment of confidence building and also deciding to close my eyes and jump into the unknown. And that really did change the trajectory of my life.” - Anne Fulenwider

Take the leap.

Highlight: “If I had waited to think through all the angles, and make sure I wasn't scared about a single thing before taking this leap, I never would have done it. And, there is a certain advantage to having the age and experience of a different career, being able to say to yourself, You know, I'm pretty sure I can figure it out…’ There are people out there who know stuff. You can find them. You can hire them. And orchestrating the talents of lots of really smart people has been one of the best things about this phase of my career. - Anne Fulenwider

Find what’s important in life.

Highlight: ”When my mom died, I went back to my childhood home for two weeks to make all the arrangements, deal with my Dad, and all of that. And it was just a real moment of thinking, Whoah, what's important in life? Maybe charging to the top of the ladder isn’t everything. I do love it. It was really cool. I'm not saying I wanted to go be a full time homemaker, necessarily, but I was also like, ‘Wow, the little moments in life are really the big moments.’ And I really did not discover that until right then.”  - Anne Fulenwider

Be prepared.

Highlight: “One of the biggest mistakes I ever made was when I had to present to a crowd of advertisers about the revamp we were doing of Brides Magazine. I walked into this room with about 200 people in a giant restaurant, I started the presentation, and I got through my slides in about ten minutes. It was supposed to be a 45-minute thing. And I just hadn't thought that through, I hadn't prepared in the right way. My material was sound, but all of a sudden I'm standing out there thinking, “Oh my God, I’m done, and this is not enough.”  I had to spontaneously come up with more to fill, and I didn't have the experience to know you should just take questions. I had never been in that position. I very quickly learned the importance of preparation. Do Your Preparation—just prep, prep, prep. I've heard it said that women feel that pressure more than men, but I don't care. I feel so much more comfortable and able to really deliver and do successful things when I am prepared for the things I can be prepared for. - Anne Fulenwider

Anne’s rich experience has led her to become a real changemaker for women both personally and professionally. If her words left you ready to hear more actionable advice, visit our Pass The Mic page.