Ep. 3 Interview– Brooke Skinner Ricketts

Transcript from the show:

Amanda:
Welcome to today’s episode of “Female Fractionals.” I’m your host, Amanda Nizzere, and I’m so excited to introduce today’s guest, Brooke Skinner Ricketts. Brooke is the CEO of Beyond Barriers, a career acceleration platform with a mission to give every professional the tools they need to reach their full potential.

At Beyond Barriers, Brooke helps companies retain and accelerate future leaders, moving beyond skills training into deep development strategies and frameworks that help professionals grow with clarity and confidence. With a track record of driving business growth and implementing forward-thinking strategies, Brooke has helped dozens of Fortune 200 brands succeed.

Her career spans impressive leadership roles: before joining Beyond Barriers in 2022, Brooke served as Chief Experience Officer at Cars.com, where she led marketing and product functions, helped lead the spinoff IPO, and achieved 25 consecutive months of double-digit growth. She was also VP of Brand and Design at FinTech unicorn Avant and led brand strategy at Twitter, delivering revenue-driving ideas for major clients. Earlier in her career, she held roles at Digitas and started out in Louisville, Kentucky.

Beyond Barriers isn’t her only focus—Brooke serves on the boards of OneCare Media, The Mather Group, the University of Phoenix, and Chicago Cubs Charities. She’s also a marathon runner and lives in Wilmette, Illinois with her wife, Laura, and their three kids.

Let’s jump into the conversation. Brooke, welcome to “Female Fractionals!”

Brooke:
Hi, Amanda! I’m so happy to be here—thank you for the invitation.

Amanda:
Thank you for being here. You have such an impressive background, and I know our listeners are going to learn so much from you. I’d love to start with your journey. What brought you here today? How did you make the leap from a well-established corporate brand to something new and less proven?

Brooke:
Sure. I had an amazing mentor, Ellen Ker, who used to say, “Leap, and the net will find you.” That’s really stuck with me. And in my case, she was often the one holding the net!

My career wasn’t one I expected. I never imagined myself in corporate America, let alone the C-suite. I thought I’d be a documentary filmmaker. After college, I did film work, waitressed, and then went in for a writing job. A recruiter told me I’d be bored and suggested something else—account planning. I had no idea what that was, but he was right: I loved it.

That role led me into agency work, where I got to understand consumers and drive creative development. I grew quickly into global leadership roles—agency side, then Twitter post-IPO, then FinTech at Avant, and eventually as Chief Experience Officer at Cars.com. I spent seven years there, leading marketing and product through a turnaround, IPO, investor engagement, and a full platform rebuild. It was intense, but I learned a lot.

During COVID, my wife and I had these weekly “strategy nights” over sushi with the baby monitor nearby. Like many people, we were rethinking everything—what kind of work we wanted to do, what impact we wanted to have. We knew we wanted to focus on equity and purposeful work. I had this intuitive sense that it was time for me to build something. I’d been optimizing other organizations for so long, and I was ready to start something of my own.

We happened to reconnect with friends who were working on the idea for Beyond Barriers. We joined forces and made the leap. And I’ll say this: COVID gave us permission to take risks—it broke the pattern of business-as-usual and opened the door to real change.

Amanda:
That’s such an inspiring story—and so relatable. So many people had those "what now?" moments during COVID, but actually acting on them is something else. And to co-found a women-led company that empowers others? Incredible. Can you share a bit more about what Beyond Barriers does, and who you’re helping?

Brooke:
Absolutely. Beyond Barriers helps professionals accelerate their careers. Sometimes that means getting unstuck. Sometimes it’s about navigating change or building confidence.

Our core insight is this: ambitious people rarely stall because of a lack of skill or drive—it’s usually a gap in what we call “navigational skills.” Things like: How do I advocate for myself? How do I get clear on what I want? How do I leverage my network, or navigate a complex environment?

When I was leading a large team, I needed everyone operating at a high level—but I had no capacity to coach 200+ people individually. I needed a scalable way to help people take the wheel of their careers—and that’s what we built.

Our signature program is the Career Fitness Platform. It’s a 12-week cohort-based experience backed by an app for asynchronous learning. It focuses on five key areas: Clarity, Courage, Commitment, Conviction, and Community. We even developed a metric with Columbia University—and the scores were low across the board, from CEOs to new grads. That told us we were onto something real.

The transformation we see is powerful. People go from “Should I speak up in this meeting?” to “Here’s what I want to say.” They find clarity, take bold steps, and ultimately lead with more confidence. And because it happens over time, not in a one-off workshop, the change sticks.

Amanda:
That’s so powerful. I know one of the topics that comes up often in your work is self-care and boundary-setting—especially for women. It’s a challenge for so many of us. We love a good to-do list but often leave ourselves off it. You’ve got a lot going on—entrepreneurship, family, board roles. What’s your advice for setting boundaries and avoiding burnout?

Brooke:
It’s a practice, not a destination. Like yoga or golf—you never master it. Life changes, priorities shift, and you have to adjust.

What works for me is getting clear on my goals. I ask myself: What are the three most important things I need to accomplish today, this week, this month, and this year? And then I try to run everything through that filter. If something doesn’t align, and it’s not urgent, I try not to do it.

Accountability partners also help. I have friends who check in on me: “Did you get outside today? Did you unplug for a bit?” Earlier in my career, I had an amazing executive assistant who literally put “Go home and brush your teeth” on my calendar after red-eye flights. Sometimes we need that level of care.

And lately, I’ve been reminding myself to focus on what I can control. There’s so much uncertainty right now, and narrowing my focus to what’s within reach has helped a lot.

Amanda:
I love that idea—especially the today/this week/this year framework. I’m going to start using that myself. Okay, looking back at your first year building Beyond Barriers, what’s one thing you’re really proud of—and one thing you’d do differently?

Brooke:
What I loved most was the creativity. After years in big orgs, it was so energizing to imagine something new—what we’d offer, how we’d offer it. But at some point, that creative phase ends, and you shift into scaling and proving the business model. That transition can be jarring.

If I could go back, I’d remind myself: just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. As women, we’re conditioned to take on non-promotable work, to be helpful above all else. But time is our most precious asset—and in a startup, it’s also your greatest risk. We had to be ruthless with ourselves about where we spent it.

Amanda:
Such an important lesson. I talk to a lot of women who are building fractional businesses and are also interested in joining boards. What advice do you have for getting that first board seat?

Brooke:
A mentor of mine gave me amazing advice: Tell everyone you know. Say it out loud. Even if someone can’t help directly, they may know someone who can.

Take recruiter calls. Not necessarily because you want the job, but because you can ask, “Do you know anyone looking for a board member?”

Start with nonprofit boards—ideally ones with corporate board members you can learn from. And be strategic. Don’t just join for the experience—join because you care and because the people on the board are people you want to work with and learn from.

Also, board work isn’t always glamorous. I’ve navigated bankruptcies, CEO transitions, and tough legal issues. When things go wrong, it’s all hands on deck. So make sure you’re saying yes to the right opportunity.

Amanda:
And mentorship—you’ve mentioned how important that’s been in your career. How do you think about mentorship now, as a founder?

Brooke:
Mentorship is still incredibly important to me. But I also believe women are often over-mentored and under-sponsored. We’re surrounded by amazing people we’d do anything for, but we rarely ask for help.

So I always encourage people to be specific in their asks. Instead of “Can you mentor me?” try: “Could we do three 20-minute calls over the next two months, where you help me understand X and introduce me to Y?” Make it easy for someone to say yes—or no.

And when you’re on the receiving end of that ask, be honest. If you don’t have the capacity, say so. That’s okay. And if someone says no to you, don’t take it personally.

Amanda:
So many good takeaways in that. Alright, let’s wrap with some rapid-fire questions. One word or one sentence per answer—ready?

Brooke:
Let’s do it.

Amanda: Most unusual place you’ve taken a client call?
Brooke: The parents’ room at work.

Amanda: First job that taught you something valuable?
Brooke: Summer camp counselor.

Amanda: Best investment you’ve made in yourself?
Brooke: Weekly tennis—I play with my accountability partners.

Amanda: Three apps you can’t live without?
Brooke: The New York Times, Google Suite, and Podcasts.

Amanda: Favorite way to celebrate a win?
Brooke: A virtual high five… and a long walk to soak it in.

Amanda: Sauna or cold plunge?
Brooke: Sauna.

Amanda: Go-to comfort food?
Brooke: York Peppermint Patties.

Amanda: Most adventurous thing you’ve ever eaten?
Brooke: Guinea pig, in Ecuador. Once was enough.

Amanda:
Brooke, this has been amazing. Thank you so much for sharing your story and insights. Where can people learn more about Beyond Barriers?

Brooke:
Our website is gobeyondbarriers.com, and I’m also active on LinkedIn. I’d love to connect.

Amanda:
Perfect. I’ll include those links in the show notes and on our website. Thank you again for joining me—and for everything you’re doing to empower future leaders.

Brooke:
Thanks, Amanda. I’m so glad you’re doing this podcast. I can’t wait to see where it goes.

Amanda:
As always, don’t forget to like, comment, share, and follow. Help us spread the word about “Female Fractionals.” Thanks for listening.

Resources & Links:

💼 Beyond Barriers - https://www.gobeyondbarriers.com

🔗 Connect with Brooke - https://www.linkedin.com/in/brookericketts/

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