“As I’ve advanced through my career, I’ve found myself in situations where I wasn’t 100% comfortable or knowledgeable and there were some major red flags. I didn’t listen to my gut and ended up kicking myself for not heeding that intuition weeks or months later. I would tell anyone at any point in their career to have the confidence to trust your gut instincts, especially women.”
I had the incredible opportunity to photograph T-Mobile VP of Strategy & Operations Melissa Wiley during our Washington D.C. Road Show. I asked her to share a little bit of her journey:
“For the first 20+ years of my career, I was in the media/journalism/entertainment space. After college, I worked for US News and World Report back when they had a physical magazine. Somehow I found myself in my early-mid 20s helping shift the publication from analog to digital, learning to publish a magazine weekly, and making operational changes on the fly.”
“Until a few years ago, the rest of my career really spanned the whole spectrum of media, journalism, entertainment, and technology. It really evolved into bringing the best digital-first experiences from front to back.”
“Then my career took a sharp turn and I switched industries completely – from media to government consulting. I wanted to learn and diversify my skill set. It was really interesting to find those skills that transferred industries and I had to get really comfortable with saying ‘I don’t know’ or asking questions.”
“Now, I’m in telecom. While I switched this industry 2 years ago, I tell people I’ve been on this career journey for the last 5 years. There were several times my intuition raised some red flags going into these roles, but I didn’t know the world of these new jobs and felt insecure to speak up.”
“The last headshot I had was taken during my time at National Geographic. Now I look at them and I feel like I look a lot different. I used to straighten my hair a lot back then and I no longer felt these images reflected who I was. I saw a friend’s headshots by Alissa and had to jump on the chance when she came to D.C. on the Road Show. What a difference an amazing headshot makes! I had such a great time with Alissa and I love my photos.”
Thanks, Melissa, for sharing your story with us.
About Alissa
Alissa Randall is a portrait photographer based in New Jersey and New York City, known for creating images that feel both elevated and deeply personal. While professional headshots remain a cornerstone of her work, her photography has grown to include personal branding, women’s empowerment, family connection sessions, and expressive portraits of dogs and the people who love them.
Her approach blends editorial artistry with empathy and guidance, helping people feel comfortable enough to be fully seen in front of the camera. Whether photographing an executive, an entrepreneur, a family, or a beloved dog, Alissa creates photographs that reflect more than appearance. They reflect presence, personality, connection, and story.
Alissa photographs in NJ, NYC, and on location beyond the tri-state area. Explore more of her work on the homepage and discover stories behind the images on the blog.