Photo: Heather Sten
On Monday, March 4, the Cut hosted its first-ever How I Get It Done Day, a day of honest, open conversations about how women make their lives happen. Attended by more than 150 guests at the 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge, the event offered workshops and panels centered on success and personal growth. Speakers included Natasha Lyonne on ambition, Greta Lee on writing about identities, and Robin Roberts on her recent interview with Selma Blair. Aidy Bryant, Padma Lakshmi, and Hope Solo shared how they de-stress in three minutes or less. Other discussions addressed how to manage change, survive a work project with your best friend, raise money to start your first business.
Photographer Heather Sten hosted a photo booth at the event all day, staging stylish portraits with everyone there. Enjoy a gallery of her portraits below, featuring quotes from each panel.
Greta Lee What’s one battle you have fought for and won in this year? “Having a show, at all, about Asian people.”
Photo: Heather Sten
Natasha Lyonne “The female experience for me has always been: am I enough, and am I too much?”
Photo: Heather Sten
Aidy Bryant “There is a joy in saying I’m one of the senior cast members [at SNL] now and I worked my f*cking ass off. ‘You used to perform for sunburnt drunk men on a cruise ship eating chicken tenders who did not want to see you perform. If you made it through that you can make it through anything.’”
Photo: Heather Sten
Lisa Lucas “My instinct as a 20 something year-old was ‘kick down the door and storm through it.’”
Photo: Heather Sten
Topeka K. Sam “You don’t get to treat people inhumane because they’re in prison.”
Photo: Heather Sten
Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi “I’m so comfortable in my skin, and I know the person who I am, and I know I’m a great mom, a great person, and a great friend. When strangers find the need to attack you and put you down, I find it comical.”
Photo: Heather Sten
Dr. Kate Marvel “The choice is between imposter syndrome and boredom. I choose imposter syndrome.”
Photo: Heather Sten
Sade Lythcott “Throw perfection out the window.”
Photo: Heather Sten
Jessamyn Yoga Teacher and Author
Photo: Heather Sten
A.M. Homes “[Change] is super important, because I think it gets dangerous when you become so routinized that you actually can’t do something another way.”
Photo: Heather Sten
Sasheer Zamata “You start doubting all your talents, and you have to be your biggest cheerleader and remind yourself, I’m here for a reason, I was fine before and I’ll be fine after, just go do your thing.”
Photo: Heather Sten
Maya Erskine “I think that I know I need another person to write with. I write my scripts knowing Anna is going to read them and that’s what motivates me,”
Photo: Heather Sten
Anna Konkle On the topic of “Work Wives”: “We always put our friendship first. We would lose our work to be friends.”
Photo: Heather Sten
Erica Cerulo Author of Work Wife and Co-founder, Of a Kind
Photo: Heather Sten
Claire Mazur Author of Work Wife and Co-founder, Of a Kind
Photo: Heather Sten
Andrea Jenkins “I never set the goal of: I want to be a ‘blank.’ It was always: I want to help. And that’s what I did.”
Photo: Heather Sten
Jenn Tardif On starting a business: “Don’t look at the starting point. Look at the end. 5 years from now what does your day to day look like? That’ll depict the size of the business.”
Photo: Heather Sten
Padma Lakshmi “Don’t spend more than 15 minutes on your makeup. Only you will know if your eyelashes aren’t as curled as they should be. Unless you’re on TV or getting married … don’t do it. That’s time you’ll never get back.”
Photo: Heather Sten
Nadia Aboulhosn On one’s social media presence: “It’s just about being who you genuinely are. When you do that through social, it feels like less pressure.”
Photo: Heather Sten
Sierra Tishgart On asking for startup money: “You have to see it as giving someone a great opportunity, because you have to have the confidence in yourself that you’re going to make it that.”
Photo: Heather Sten
Ming Peiffer On imposter syndrome: “You can have the feeling, but if it’s going to stop you from going into the interview, that’s when you have to get out of your head.”
Photo: Heather Sten
Susan Miller “What I’m trying to do in my work is give excitement and hope.”
Photo: Heather Sten
Hope Solo “I had to reinvent myself after sports. Sports isn’t my life … it’s been hard to walk away from the game but not as hard as some people because I got to end when I was still one of the best players in the world so that felt good.”
Photo: Heather Sten