Episode Description:
In this episode, Julia is joined by Anna & Ayesha to bring closure to the Women Leading Together series. Across the series, certain sub-themes had surfaced, and Julia sought to explore these with Anna and Ayesha, who have co-chaired the Committee on Global Mental Health and International Relations for nearly a decade. Together, they reflected on the foundations of their collaboration, the role of generational differences in leadership, and how they overcame challenges, including “bumpy times,” to cultivate a resilient and inspiring partnership.
“What came out of the bumpy times, probably because of the bumps, is a much stronger relationship,” reflected Anna.
Listen to this finale to discover how shared values, mutual respect and navigating challenges can forge stronger bonds and redefine how women lead together.
About the Guests
Anna E. Ordóñez
Anna E. Ordóñez, M.D., M.A.S., is the Director of the Office of Clinical Research (OCR) at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) in the United States. With over a decade of experience at NIMH, she has held key roles including Director and Deputy Director of OCR, as well as Medical Officer of the NIMH Intramural Child Psychiatry Branch. Previously, she was the Medical Director of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at San Francisco General Hospital and Assistant Adjunct Professor at UCSF. Anna is trained as an Adult, Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists and holds a Master of Advanced Studies in Clinical Research with an emphasis on Implementation Science. She has dedicated her career to conducting and overseeing mental health clinical research studies, with a particular interest in global mental health and implementation of evidence based mental health interventions in limited resource settings.
Dr Ayesha Mian
Dr Ayesha Mian is the founder and CEO of Synapse, Pakistan Neuroscience Institute. She is the immediate past Chair, Department of Psychiatry (2013-2020), Aga Khan University and the Founding Dean of Students of the Office of Student Experience (2017-2020), AKU.
Dr Mian created the first child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship training program in Pakistan. She has been internationally recognised for her work; key awards include the Jeanna Spurlock Award for Diversity and Culture by AACAP, the Laughlin Fellowship by American College of Psychiatrist (ACP), Presidential Award and Outstanding Mentor by AACAP, Robert Fellowship for Inspirational Mentorship (AAP), Fulbright and Jaworski Awards in Educational Leadership by BCM and a Lifetime Achievement Award by the University of Missouri, Department of Psychiatry.
About the Host
Julia Middleton
Julia Middleton is the host of the Women Emerging podcast and a best-selling author of “If that’s leading, I’m in” as well as two previous books: “Leading beyond Authority” and “Cultural Intelligence”. She is deeply committed to helping people from all backgrounds to find their own approach to leading.
In 2020, Julia launched Women Emerging and in 2022 she lead an expedition of 24 women to find ‘an approach to leading that resonates with women’. She now leads expeditions with women all over the world based on 4Es methodology, discovered in the first expedition.
Prior to that, Julia was founder and, for over thirty years, Chief Executive of Common Purpose, which grew to become one of the biggest leadership development organisations in the world.
Julia is also an Ambassador for the Aurora Prize based in Armenia, on the boards of Alfanar Venture Philanthropy in the Arab World and Equality Now, which operates globally, and on the Advisory Councils of Fundacao Dom Cabral in Brazil and Synapse in Pakistan.
Born in London and brought up in New York, Julia was educated at French Lycées and graduated from the London School of Economics. She is married, with five children and lots of grandchildren.
More from this series
Powered by
Women Emerging © 2025. All rights reserved