Danielle Franz on Balancing Family, Faith, and Leadership

A Forbes 30 Under 30 alum who has delivered a TED Talk, she’s built a career at the intersection of conservative principles and environmental action—bridging values many assume are at odds. Her influence extends beyond ACC : Danielle was a fellow with the Independent Women’s Forum and the Foundation for Economic Education, a member of AEI’s Millennial Leadership Network, and a former advisor to the British Conservation Alliance. She’s been recognized as a MavPac Future 40 and Clean Energy News Network 40 Under 40 honoree, and her commentary appears on international stages, national TV/radio, and in outlets like The Times , National Review , Washington Examiner , and Fox News. We sat down with Danielle to talk about balancing family, faith, and leadership, and when the conversation turned to how modern womanhood gets packaged, she didn't hesitate. Culture loves to sell women a story about who they should be. You’ve probably heard both versions by now. Yet, for Danielle Franz, both are lies. “We’ve been told two opposing lies about women’s lives. The first is the girlboss lie: that you can have it all, all at once, if you just balance perfectly and never drop a ball. But that’s not freedom. It leaves women anxious, fractured, and exhausted, with no room to admit their limits. The second is the tradwife lie: that motherhood and leadership cancel each other out. That you have to choose, that pursuing impact outside the home means neglecting it, and that the only faithful option is total exclusivity. Both scripts tell women they must split themselves in two — either driven or devoted, competent or maternal, but never both.” The alternative, she says, is what she calls “the secret third thing.” “The truth is more honest: family and leadership do compete, and there are tradeoffs. But you don’t have to choose between them. Real fulfillment comes from ordering your life around what matters most and embracing the give-and-take that comes with it. For me, that means living one integrated life — the secret third thing — where family and leadership exist in tension but ultimately strengthen each other.” The Life Women Actually Want Franz believes many women know this instinctively but feel pressured to ignore it. “Deep down, most women long for a life where work, home, faith, and family aren’t fighting for priority but reinforcing each other. Modern culture doesn’t know what to do with this. Many women instinctively know that family is foundational, but culture tells us to defer it, downplay it, or treat it like a side project. It’s not easy to talk about. Most women don’t want to pick a lane. They want a life that makes sense, but there’s a lot of pressure to either fully embrace traditional homemaking or fully embrace the girlboss grind.” Looking backward, she says, can offer perspective, so long as it doesn’t trap us in nostalgia. “Our grandmothers had strength we’d do well to honor. They understood things we’ve forgotten: the value of home, the joy of service. I don’t want to live my grandmother’s life, but I am honored when people compare me to her. We should be careful not to romanticize a life that doesn’t fit today. But we can draw inspiration from the past without being trapped by it.” Traditional Foundations, Modern Opportunities For Franz, holding fast to traditional values doesn’t mean rejecting modern opportunities; it means grounding them. “My work isn’t a rejection of my values; it’s a way of living them out. I don’t see it as a contradiction; the traditional values are the foundation. They’re what keep the modern pace from swallowing me whole. In Proverbs 31, we see a woman who is deeply devoted to her family and to God, but also industrious, wise, and entrepreneurial. She plants vineyards, makes trade, clothes her household, and provides for her community — and all of it is counted as faithfulness.” This vision resonates with women tired of being told that exhaustion is empowerment. “Women are waking up to the reality that so much of modern culture is rigged against them. Hustle culture leaves them burned out, hookup culture leaves them lonely, and ‘self-love’ culture leaves them endlessly chasing affirmation without offering real peace. They’re tired of being anxious, ‘optimized,’ medicated, and told their worth comes only from productivity or independence.” "My work isn’t a rejection of my values; it’s a way of living them out." Instead, she sees a cultural shift in real time. “They’re rebelling. There’s a new cool-girl code emerging, and it doesn’t look anything like the one we grew up with. Women are ditching birth control for fertility awareness — trading oat milk for raw milk and 5 a.m. HIIT for Pilates at noon. They’re eating for their cycles, posting oysters and steak instead of açai bowls, and treating seed oils like the new gluten. The aesthetic isn’t SoulCycle and green juice anymore; it’s linen outfits, butter on the table, and Ballerina Farm sourdough rising in the background.” Even pop culture is catching on. “Even women who don’t identify as conservative are leaning into values that look a lot like it — family, stability, modesty, beauty, tradition. Taylor Swift, in her own way, embodies that. America’s sweetheart ditching the broody artist who made her a forever girlfriend and marrying the star football player? She may not call herself a conservative, but the cultural cues are there.” One Life, Not Two That conviction shapes how she mothers, leads, and lives each day. “There is no ‘work life’ or ‘home life,’ it’s just life. I want my kids to see that their mom was devoted and loving at home, fully present for them, but also sharp and faithful in using her gifts beyond it. Motherhood is the greatest thing I’ll ever do, yet I also want to model that a life well-lived is one of service — to family, to community, and ultimately to God’s calling. I hope they grow up knowing that faithfulness at home and faithfulness in the world aren’t opposites, but two expressions of the same vocation.” Her career didn’t begin with a plan to juggle both. “I didn’t set out to become a CEO – I just wanted to do work that mattered. I have always wanted a family. I’ve always wanted to be a mother. I even had a boyfriend once who broke up with me after I said that I wanted family to be at the center of my life — he thought that meant I wasn’t ambitious enough. A few years later, I was on Forbes 30 Under 30. A few years after that, I gave a TED Talk. Life has a sense of humor like that.” For a time, she admits, she fell for the same hustle mindset she critiques. “But the truth is, I also love working. And for a long time, I ran at a relentless pace. I said yes to everything. Every trip, every opportunity, every project. I stacked achievement on achievement. And here’s the part I think is important to admit: even I fell for girlboss culture. I thought if I just worked harder, accomplished more, hustled nonstop, that would make me secure and set up my life to start a family.” But when her son was born, everything shifted. “At some point, I woke up. I realized all that running was supposed to be ‘for my future kids,’ but the pace itself was unsustainable. Now I do it differently. I’ve started saying no to things I used to say yes to, so I can say yes to my sweet baby and my husband. And it’s the honor of my life to do that.” Redefining Success The transition hasn’t always been easy. “It’s not easy when your worth has been so tied to your career. Shifting gears can feel like losing ground. But the truth is, I didn’t lose anything. I’m a better leader now — more grounded, more discerning, and less reactive. I don’t measure my days by how much I cram in anymore, but by whether the things I give my time to are actually worth it.” “Motherhood has absolutely made me a better leader. I’m more decisive. I don’t waste time nitpicking or obsessing over every word in an email — I make the call, get it done, and move on to what’s next. When you’re caring for a baby, you learn quickly what deserves your energy and what doesn’t, and that clarity has carried over into my work.” "The culture will sell you two extremes: be everything or be nothing. The real path is listening to that still, small voice that says, be faithful where you are." She admits guilt still lingers, and maybe that’s okay. “I haven’t figured out how to evade the guilt yet, and I’m not sure I want to. I think it’s an important voice to stay in touch with – a reminder that every decision has a cost. I’ve learned to reframe it, though. Now I see the guilt as a small price to pay for what I get in return: the sweetest little boy, a devoted husband, and an incredible team.” “There are moments that split you in two — like hearing your baby cry while you’re on Zoom and knowing you can’t step away to help him, even if he’s in good hands. And while someone is talking through a sales deck or rambling on about something, they don’t realize I’m torn — listening, engaged, but also aching to be the one to comfort him. That’s the isolating part — your identity shifts overnight, and most people around you don’t see it.” Still, she’s learned to take life one day at a time. “Each day I’m making choices about what matters most in that moment. It’s less about balance and more about being willing to shift, knowing that the ‘right’ choice looks different every day. Some days that means my baby’s in the boardroom; some days the emails wait.” Support, Routines, and Ordinary Joy Franz credits her husband and community as her anchor. “My support circle begins with my husband. I’ve always admired him, but when we became parents, I saw an extraordinary showing of the qualities I already knew he had. My birth was complicated, and in those first hours when everything felt uncertain, he was calm when I couldn’t be, attentive to every detail, and fully present in a way that left me in awe — proud, tender, unshakably strong, and trusting in God. Around us, our families, our church, our neighbors, and our coworkers all stepped in with love, prayer, and support, and I don’t take any of it for granted. But for me, the anchor has always been him.” Practical boundaries help, too. “I’m better about shutting down after hours, and I don’t take business on Sundays — that’s for God and making soup. I’ve also started limiting travel, and I ask myself if I really need to be the one in the room — or if it’s a chance to let my team step in and grow. And I pause often to marvel at the baby.” Her typical day balances quiet work, family rituals, and small indulgences. “I’m usually up early to get some deep work done while the house is quiet. By 7, the baby is up and smiley, so we pause for a coffee break before the day really starts. From there it’s calls, planning, and writing. Evenings are family time — I try not to take calls after hours anymore, unless it’s urgent. Yay for growth. I love to cook, so I usually make dinner, and my husband and I debrief the day. Afterward, we’ll often sit on the back porch or go for a walk before putting the baby down. Once the house is quiet again, I’ll circle back to a few emails or prep for tomorrow.” On her nightstand and in her fridge? Real life, unfiltered. “Currently: Pro-Child Politics, a rogue pacifier, a claw clip, and a water bottle I keep forgetting to refill. Butter, cream for my coffee, and good cheese — a dairy theme, apparently.” Her guilty pleasure? Baby heirlooms. “Right now, anything custom for the baby — embroidered, engraved, embossed. I pretend they’re investments and heirlooms-in-the-making, but really I just can’t help myself.” And if she had one free day with no obligations? “When I hear this question, my mind wanders to the CS Lewis quote: ‘The first action to be taken is to pull ourselves together. If we are going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, let that bomb, when it comes, find us doing sensible and human things -- praying, working, teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing the children, playing tennis, chatting to our friends over a pint and a game of darts -- not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about bombs.’ What would I want to be doing if the world was ending? That’s what I’d want to do on my free day: my husband and son on our back porch, watching the sun set and laughing at the baby’s new tricks. My husband is probably playing old country, definitely preparing dinner on the grill. Peaceful and ordinary.” Role Models, Aesthetics, and Small Delights Franz draws strength from women ahead of her. “Personally, I think first of my grandmothers. Two very different women, yet both built lives marked by love, devotion, and strength. Professionally, I’ve been lucky to have women who lead also pour into me — Heather Reams, Heidi Ganahl, Sarah Hunt. They’ve all been generous with their time and wisdom, and I’ve learned a lot just by watching their example. And I admire the cultural work of women like Alex Clark, Brett Cooper, Isabel Brown, and Caroline Downey. They’re women who know how to meet the culture where it is and still point it somewhere higher.” Her Pinterest vibe? Refined Americana. “My boards lean into a kind of refined Americana — my algorithm can’t decide if it wants to be a Marlboro ad or back-country Sunday school. Oysters, martinis, cowboy boots, American flags, card games, porch swings, church steeples — oh my!” Her coffee order, for good measure. “At home, I keep it simple with drip coffee and vanilla cream. Out and about, I’ve been ordering iced chai or a London fog.” Looking Ahead For the next generation of women, Franz hopes to model freedom from cultural scripts. “I want women to know it’s okay to disobey culture. The culture will sell you two extremes: be everything or be nothing. The real path is listening to that still, small voice that says, be faithful where you are. If something feels hollow, it probably is. If your gut says you’re missing your baby, close the laptop. If something feels good and true, chase it. And if your instincts are screaming at you, listen — that inner tug is often God’s way of saying, this matters more than the world admits.” For Danielle Franz, that’s the “secret third thing.” Not girlboss. Not tradwife. But an integrated life where faith, family, and leadership all belong. Follow Danielle on Instagram and Twitter to keep up with her latest work, writing, and cultural commentary.