Emmy Award Winning Journalist & Best Selling Author, Leeza Gibbons, Shares Her Insights on Today’s Challenges For Caregivers & Maintaining a Positive Outlook.

Q: It’s safe to say that you’re best known for your TV work on Entertainment Tonight, Leeza, and 2015’s Celebrity Apprentice. What thoughts come to mind about that body of work?

LG: I’m a lucky girl. I have had a career that has been challenging, fulfilling, and fun! I studied broadcast journalism and have been on a path of wherever the stories took me ever since. After reporting in TV and radio news, I became an entertainment correspondent and anchor before the advent of social media, which allowed celebrities to break their own story. Until then, it was pretty much right what they used to say about ET, that we provided an “all-access pass” to all things Hollywood.

One of my early professional dreams was to have some of Dick Clark’s abilities to host virtually anything and make audiences feel welcome. I was blessed to have met Dick, worked with him, and become his friend. Now, when I host something like The Rose Parade, I often keep his mentoring in mind. Even though I have a Ph.D. in drama avoidance, I loved being on Celebrity Apprentice! Competing on the show allowed me to use my business skills to win the grand prize and invest it in opening Leeza’s Care Connection in my South Carolina hometown. It was a dream come true to offer our free services for family caregivers in Columbia, where I grew up.

Q: Tell us how your education contributed to your success and how that path is the same or different for new journalists?

LG: I was trained as a broadcast journalist. Barbara Walters was one of my big inspirations. When I began reporting at ET, I was accustomed to a reporting style that was objective; providing only a conduit through which the stories made their way to readers, listeners, and viewers. When I was hosting and producing a single topic talk show, The LEEZA show, the format required that I editorialize and offer an opinion and lead with it too often, it was liberating and allowed for the kind of passionate energy that I admired about Barbara Walters. Many storytellers take a variety of paths to get to where they want to go. I believe how you do one thing is how you do all things, so if excellence is your goal, buoyed by curiosity, then you’ll get there.

Q: Did PBS’s My Generation, which addressed a more mature audience, represent a shift for you; if so, why?

LG: It was a deliberate choice to address topics that were relevant to an audience that found itself at a turning point ...an audience like me. Boomers are reinventing and eager to explore all kinds of transformations. We believe that who you were yesterday is not who you have to be tomorrow, so we’re looking for the inspiration to recreate ourselves.

“My Generation” delivered the stories of celebrities and others who had accepted the challenge to re-boot and re-create their lives and re-write their narratives.

Q What do you see that is different from interviewing styles from the period you were on the air to today?

LG: Today, things are much more transparent than when I first began Viewers’ insatiable appetites to “get inside” and “lift the veil” led to more raw reporting and a genuinely authentic exchange preference.

There is still brokering for interviews and negotiating for access. Still, the expectation is for in- terviewers to uncover more than “just the facts” and interview subjects to drop any facade and get real. Today, the best way to do that is to bypass a reporter and go straight to fans through social media.

From skilful politicians to creative celebrities of all kinds, intimate relationships are built on social platforms, but interviews with reputable outlets or with interviewers who have perceived gravitas can often maintain, boost, or augment them. Look at Donald Trump Twitter was more important to his victory than his political advisors and mainstream media exposure. However, events like the interviews with Lester Holt and George Stepanopolis can still do damage.

Q: You have published books about having a positive attitude and self-care, particularly for caregivers; would you remind our readers what those books are about and what they represent to you?

LG: On our journeys through life, I often need to remember that our strength comes from being vulnerable. Our power comes from how we are connected. My books honour those connections; whether it’s a daughter caring for a sick parent, or a divorced woman who needs a Take 2, we can all find our strength by giving ourselves permission to change and grow.

Q: Tell us about Leeza’s Care Connection.

LG: A couple of years ago, I wrote a book called FIERCE OPTIMISM and nowhere is that more relevant than when applied to our community at Leeza’s Care Connection. We help families cope with Alzheimer’s and other chronic illnesses by offering tips, resources, and coping strategies. We are a community of those who understand the journey, and we’re dedicated to making sure that no one walks alone. Caregivers have to be fierce, optimistic, and radically resilient to move forward. This past year, we all learned how to pivot and redirect, but caregivers are used to those things. They have to be.

My mother died of Alzheimer’s disease, the same as her mom, my dear Granny. Our family struggled with the same emotions as every other; we were stressed and depressed, isolated, and sad. When you become a caregiver, you take on an enormous assault on your emotions and your immune system. You often unravel and deplete spiritually, physically, and financially. When that started happening to our family, I created what we wish we had, and that became Leeza’s Care Connection. I promised my mother I would tell the story of our struggle, and I would use it to help others. It is the most rewarding work I have ever done, and I feel blessed to be able to do it.

Q: Does writing energize or exhaust you?

LG: Both!

I think it’s true that we often write what we need to learn. Valuing self-care and finding empowerment is a lifelong pursuit. When I write about the power of kindness or the benefits of optimism I am fortifying my commitment to those values.

I have kept journals, on and off, since the ‘70s! At the tune, I was travelling quite a lot for Entertainment Tonight and interviewing the biggest names in the business. I was also young in my career, and I took notes from others about how to find balance and grace to go along with my ambition.

I have discovered that writing helps us find answers (and better questions) to guide our actions. It shows us patterns and ways that we sabotage or subvert. I recently facilitated a Leeza’s Care Connection virtual course on journaling for caregivers. It was an exercise of self-awareness, self-care and gratitude for our gifts and our burdens. Our everyday experience provided the solace of a support group and the benefits of clarity and stress management that come from writing.

Q: What was an early experience where you learned that language had power?

LG: I was competing in an essay contest in high school. We were given a speech topic and an hour to prepare before delivering our speech in front of judges and attendees. The topic was “What’s Right About America”. I believe I won the competition because of my ability to appreciate and express language, which made my oration memorable. At that time, I also had quite a thick southern accent which was either a distraction or an endearment!

Q: What is your favorite childhood book?

LG: I loved The Secret Garden - it was magical and sad and uplifting all at once. Shel Silverstein’s “The Giving Tree” was a favorite too, but it’s The Velveteen Rabbit that resonates deeply still because of its message about what real love is.

Q: You’ve maintained a hectic, career, can you share with our audience how you manage your work-life balance?

LG: I gave up trying to balance! Whoever cre- ated that concept was evil and cruel! If we seek the ever-elusive middle of the see-saw, we will be bitter and disappointed. Instead of balancing time, I think of investing time. As with any business venture, I look for dividends. For example, if you’re a working woman (there’s a redundancy for you!), you may not always feel that you have the ideal balance. Still, you’re providing for your family, setting an example of the value of work, and growing into the next phase of life when you may feel you have more autonomy. You’re investing in your future, and those dividends will come due.

Awarded The Presidential Early Career Award For Scientist & Engineers. It’s a Pleasure To Introduce, Professor Of Engineering At Purdue University, Haiyan Wang.

Q: Can you share with our audience a little on your life story and how you became interested in Engineering?

HW: I was born and raised in China and moved to the US for a Ph.D. study in the field of materials science and engineering in 2000. I was fascinated by the field of materials research and its ability to fuel new discoveries and technology innovations and thus decided to pursue my career in materials research. Taking an example, all the integrated circuits that enable versatile personal devices and computing power we have today, are based on silicon, an earth abundant material and a semiconductor, as well as our ability to grow it well in thin layers and dope it with other elements to change its conductivity in different parts of the devices. I am currently focusing on new materials design and processing for microelectronics and photonics, and energy applications.

Q: When did you know you wanted your career to include teaching along with research?

HW: I have always dreamed to be a teacher as many of my teachers throughout my study are my role models. The dream become much closer to me when I joined Los Alamos National Lab as a postdoc research fellow. I got to mentor multiple graduates and undergraduates through research. I very much enjoyed the teaching/learning process with them and thus applied to faculty positions after my postdoc work.

Q: Tell us about some of the patents you hold and how they are used.

HW: I currently hold 12 US patents. One of the earlier ones developed in 2005 was on the designs of multilayer stack for the high quality growth of high temperature superconductors coated conductors for superconducting cables and generators. This patent has been licensed by multiple superconductor companies and generated great industry interests in the field. These superconductors coated conductors are very important components for energy efficient generators, motors and electrical transmission lines that transmit electricity or convert energy without energy loss in electrical resistance.

Q: Can you tell us about the research your currently doing? What do you hope it will accomplish?

HW: My research group is currently working on many research directions in the areas of new ceramic and ceramic-based composite materials for more compactable microelectronic devices, new photonic structures, thin film Li-ion batteries, and efficient fuel cells. Another interesting and fundamental direction is to design and processing ductile ceramics through defect engineering. Usually, ceramics will break into pieces easily under high impacts, i.e., poor toughness, despite the fact that they are very hard, much harder than most of the metals. They behave very different from metallic materials, where metals generate various defects to accommodate the external high impacts, and then deform without breaking into pieces. We are designing ceramics with those defects to mimic “metals” and making them “tough” and unbreakable.

Q: In 2008, you received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientist and Engineers. Can you tell us more about this along with the presentation of your award?

HW: That was one of my most memorable moments in my career. I was among the top 60 early career scientists and engineers in the U.S. to receive this award. The awardees were selected and recommended from various federal agencies. I was invited to the White House and met with President Bush. Luckily, I was standing right next to him and had a short discussion with him during the group photo session.

Q: During Covid-19 you developed a hybrid plasmonic thin-film. Can you tell us what led to this design and how it’s being used?

HW: The COVID time was challenging for all the researchers as all the labs had restricted access with only one researcher allowed at any given time. We were able to design and process a range of hybrid plasmonic thin films. These are a group of hybrid materials with two or more materials combined as one material. At least one of the phases possesses plasmonic properties and the other phase(s) presents other functionalities. Typical processing methods involve processing one material first, then etch and integrate the second phase in. Our method is to directly grow two materials simultaneously and self-assembled into nanostructured hybrid materials. This poses great challenges to the growth process as the deposition parameters are vastly different for the different phases and finding a common processing window to effectively grow two or more phases requires deep understanding on the self-assembly process, i.e., materials science of self-assembly.

Q: What’s the greatest fear you’ve had to overcome to get where you are today?

HW: Materials science and engineering as a relatively new and cross-disciplinary area is filled with talented researchers from Chemistry, physics, biology, and nearly all the engineering fields. How to distinguish my research from others and identify critical research topics that are unique and impactful, have been a constant question I am asking throughout my career. Instead of fear, I consider this as the motivation to innovate continuously. Luckily, I am never alone by working with a group of talented graduate students and postdocs in my research group, and many collaborators at Purdue and other institutions, nationally and internationally!

Q: Can you tell our audience one of your most memorable moments your career?

HW: I recall many memorable moments in my career. But the most memorable ones are the Ph.D. graduation ceremonies where I grant the Ph.D. regalia on the shoulder of my Ph.D. students on stage. In the past 16 years, I have graduated 38 Ph.D. students and they are now working as professors in universities, researchers at national labs and senior processing engineers at semiconductor industries, such as Intel, Micron, IBM, Applied Materials. I am so proud of their achievements and witnessing their growth!

Q: What are some of the challenges you feel women face today?

HW: One of the major challenges is simply so few of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) field. For instance, there are eight women faculty out of thirty-five faculty members in my home school of Purdue MSE. In the undergraduate classes I am teaching, typically there are 5-8 female students among the total of 30-40 student. The ratio of 1:4.5 is of concern but it is comparably better than many other engineering fields. There are a lot of work we have to do to slowly make the changes. I am hiring 1-2 female Ph.D. candidates each year to ensure my group diversity and gender balance. Another challenge is that the stereotype on “the boys are better than girls in STEM” continues to influence our young generations. My 13-years-old daughter always doubts about her ability in math and science despite she has excellent scores in all her classes. More work is needed to help girls gain their confidence. Such efforts can initiate from every one of us. For all the women in workplace, career-family balance is another major challenge. Because of the extensive periods of childbirth, breast-feeding, and raising family, many of the working women have to quit or temporarily quit jobs at the very early stage of their careers, which influences their long-term career. There shall be effective work and employment policies to protect women in workplace.

Q: What advice would you give to young women who want to succeed in the workplace?

HW: We women engineers and scientists have strength in multi-tasking, soft inter-personal skills, and very detailed thinking. Utilizing the strengths, you will excel! Everyone is made differently. Use your own expertise and strengths to distinguish yourself, among others. Do not let any stereotype influence your career decisions and never limit your own potential! When you are deciding between family and career, do remember that these two are always coupled together and you can make them well balanced! A supportive family is also very key to such balance.

Q: After high school, where did you feel your career path would take you?

HW: I have always wanted to do something impactful and useful to the society. After high school, I had a vague picture of my career working in an engineering field but was not very sure on what exactly I would work on. After my bachelor and graduate studies, the picture became clear, i.e., a scientist in the areas of materials discovery.

She Has Devoted Her Writing Efforts to Fiction & Literary Nonfiction. Meet Author & Photographer,

Andrea Simon

Q: After high school, where did you feel your career path would take you?

AS: When I graduated from high school, I did not have a career path. I only knew that I would go to college. After I completed two years, the guidance counselor contacted me to discuss selecting a major. He asked me what I enjoyed. I answered, “writing and art.” He said, “As a woman, you have two options: teaching or social work.” So, I majored in sociology, which had nothing to do with social work, but was the recommended course of study.

Q: When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

AS: Even as a young child, I made up stories with distinct plots and roles that my friends and I enacted. As I grew, I composed poems and designed greeting cards for my friends and relatives. I also dabbled in short stories and essays. I was always creative and tried to include a visual aspect to my writing. But I never considered writing as a career. It was part of me as a means of expression.

Q: Can you share with our audience about the books you have written? Which is your favorite?

AS: I have written several books, three of which were published and won awards. They include: Bashert: A Granddaughter’s Holocaust Quest, a memoir/history about my trip to my family’s ancestral village in Eastern Europe and the fate of our murdered relatives in the Holocaust; Esfir Is Alive, a historical novel, based on a true story of the only recorded survivor of a massacre of 50,000 Jews; and Floating in the Neversink, a novel-in-stories about a young girl’s coming-of-age in the Catskill Mountains and Brooklyn in the 1950s to 1960s.

It is impossible to choose a favorite. Each book is like my child, reflecting a distinct and significant theme at a particular time. I still feel very “maternal,” and wish them a long and fruitful life, with unrelenting affection and love.

Q: What is your work schedule like when you’re writing?

AS: It all depends on what I am writing. If it involves a lot of research, I may read reference material and take notes. If it is fiction, I normally have a rough outline of my overall theme, plot, and structure. I might write a scene or edit. Whatever the form of writing, I usually begin my day after finishing my breakfast and reading the newspaper. I take my coffee into my study and open the computer file from the previous day. I go over the notes or composed work and then plunge in.

Q: What is the most difficult part of writing a book?

AS: There are so many difficult aspects to writing a book. Of course, the hardest is coming up with a concept or overall arch, an idea or set of circumstances that can sustain a larger work, something that has heft and literary merit. Then comes the perseverance to stick with the project and work at it even when discouraged. This involves a certain amount of self-confidence and resilience, which are often very difficult to sustain.

Q: What important advice would you give a first-time author?

AS: It’s such a cliché to say that to be a writer, one must write. It’s like saying a worker must work, or a doctor must doctor. There is a difference between a writer and an author in that a person can write advertising copy, instructions on a cereal box, a play, a letter to the editor, or just about anything. Normally, this would require a specific assignment and hopefully some monetary reward. But once a writer tackles a long piece, whether it’s a short story, a novel, or a nonfiction subject, he or she becomes an “author,” a professional. If this undertaking is self-motivating, it often means a great deal of rejection and financial sacrifice. I would ask the first-time “writer” if he or she is certain that the ambition is essential, if he or she can put up with sacrifice and debt. I wouldn’t discourage the desire but stress the awareness of potential pitfalls ahead—and emphasize the benefit of maintaining a day job!

Q: What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

AS: I am a very creative person and enjoy photography and art. I used to have a darkroom and was a serious black-and-white practitioner. Lately, I have been taking art courses and am now into abstract painting. No surprise that as a writer/author, I love to read. Before COVID, I enjoyed traveling and visiting friends and family.

Q: Which woman inspires you and why?

AS: This is a tough question to answer as there are so many women I respect. In general, women who have accomplished something significant in the arts or science are on my admirable list. I am awed by women who succeed in heavily masculine professions. On a personal level, I have always been inspired by my grandmothers, both immigrants from Eastern Europe who escaped religious persecution and restarted their lives under difficult conditions.

Q: What would be the title of your autobiography?

AS: I have been working on a book of personal essays for at least thirty years. It contains humorous and serious observations of lived events, including everything from verbal tics to not having a gifted child to shopping for a wig during chemotherapy. I entitled this book, Nobody Sprays Me in Bloomingdale’s, after one of my essays. Though tongue in cheek, the title encapsulates something about me. If I am lucky, it will be my next published book.