Paula Amato: Reinventing Your Career Through Purposeful Pivots
Episode Summary
In this episode, Paula Amato joins Rhonda for an honest conversation about career reinvention, non-linear paths, and trusting long-term evolution over quick wins. Paula Amato, a seasoned PR and communications professional, shares how she transitioned from the music industry into wellness, storytelling, and ultimately transformational travel. Together, they explore career pivots, identity shifts, and what it really takes to build a meaningful professional life rooted in purpose, curiosity, and personal growth.
Key Takeaways:
Why career pivots often unfold over years—not months—and why patience matters
How transferable skills like storytelling and communication unlock new industries
The power of staying in a beginner’s mindset during career transitions
Why financial planning and timing are critical when leaving corporate roles
How authentic brand building starts with self-trust, not external validation
What transformational travel teaches us about growth, leadership, and perspective
Meet Paula Amato
Paula Amato is a seasoned PR/Comms professional with a background that intersects music/arts, wellbeing, social impact, and transformational travel, and she is the founder of PAI/Life, a creative communications consultancy based in NYC. Throughout her career, she has crafted successful campaigns for iconic artists and musicians, award-winning producers, CEOs, authors, and forward-thinking brands. Her work includes strategic planning and storytelling, event curation and programming, strategic partnerships, and project management. Before starting PAI/Life, Paula was Atlantic Records' national publicity director. She also served as an adjunct professor at New York University's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, where she taught public relations in their undergraduate program.
How She Pivoted
Paula Amato’s career has never followed a straight line—and that’s exactly what made her evolution possible. After launching her career in the music industry at a young age, Paula later moved into independent consulting, where she explored wellness, functional medicine, and personal development. Over time, those interests naturally intersected with her communications expertise, opening the door to transformational travel and purpose-driven work.
“My trajectory has not been linear, but every phase taught me something I needed for the next one.”
Rather than forcing a fast transition, Paula allowed her pivot to unfold gradually. She spent years learning a new industry, building relationships, and redefining her role—proving that sustainable reinvention often requires curiosity, humility, and the willingness to sit in uncertainty.
“My trajectory has not been linear, but every phase taught me something I needed for the next one.” shared Paula Amato on episode 34 of the Rhonda Coleman Wandel podcast.
Rather than forcing a fast transition, Paula allowed her pivot to unfold gradually. She spent years learning a new industry, building relationships, and redefining her role—proving that sustainable reinvention often requires curiosity, humility, and the willingness to sit in uncertainty.
Insights for Ambitious Women
One of Paula’s most powerful lessons is that career transitions don’t require abandoning your past—they require reframing it. She encourages women to recognize their transferable skills and trust that experience gained in one industry often becomes the foundation for success in another.
“Get comfortable being uncomfortable. Don’t let fear or other people’s opinions talk you out of what God told you to do,” encouraged Okera Banks on the RCW podcast
For ambitious women navigating reinvention, Paula emphasizes preparation over pressure. Financial planning, emotional readiness, and patience allow space for aligned opportunities to emerge—often in unexpected ways. Growth, she reminds us, happens when we stop rushing and start trusting ourselves.
Listen Now
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