Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
People operations does not own a company's culture. Amber Master, Director of People Operations at Freestar, argues the people who show up each day create it, and her job is to equip them. She traces a path from running eight campus coffee stores at ASU to leading a global, remote first team, and shares how a Jedi Council, a Bulgarian friendship bracelet mailed worldwide, and a no blame, forward focus keep connection alive. She also makes the case that AI can free people to contribute in more human ways.
Chapters:
00:00 Welcome to Ask Ashley
00:43 Meet Amber Master, Freestar
01:11 From a campus Starbucks to people operations
03:18 Coffee habits and simple choices
04:06 Existing to be a contributor
05:34 Where Amber learns leadership: books and podcasts
06:47 The Jedi Council and authentic culture
08:47 Building connection in a global remote team
12:08 AI: opportunities, fears, and human contribution
15:35 Scaling inclusion and intentional moments
17:12 Psychological safety and a no blame culture
19:20 Staying grounded: walking and quiet space
21:11 The pause button on social media
22:24 Accelerating equality and access
23:26 Advice to her younger self on being unique
You can follow Amber Master here:
LinkedIn - https://linkedin.com/in/ambermaster
Learn more about Freestar:
Website - https://freestar.com
In Ask Ashley, Founder, Thoughtleader and award-winning media personality Ashley Russo sits down with leaders who bring purpose and humanity to business.
Each episode explores how people navigate uncertainty, lead with empathy, and create meaningful change in their organizations and lives. Listeners gain practical insights on resilience, leadership, and financially confident decision-making amid disruption.
This podcast is brought to you by Ask Ashley. If you’re interested in building a confident, purpose-driven wealth plan, reach out to Ashley at ashley.russo@nm.com.
00:00:01:18 - 00:00:30:00
Ashley
Welcome to Ask Ashley, the podcast, where we shine a light on the unsung heroes of the workplace. I'm your host, Ashley Russo, financial AI board member, thought leader and wealth management advisor. Each week we sit down with inspiring leaders, exploring their journeys, motivations, and the real challenges they face, from job insecurity to the evolving role of AI in a world where many feel overlooked.
00:00:30:01 - 00:00:43:09
Ashley
These guests are building hope and connection for their colleagues. Join us as we uncover their stories and discover how they're making a difference, one conversation at a time.
00:00:43:11 - 00:00:53:08
Ashley
Hello everybody! I am here with just an incredible seaman. Amber. Amber, will you please introduce yourself to everybody?
00:00:53:10 - 00:00:58:18
Amber
Absolutely. Hi, my name is Amber Master. I'm the director of people operations at Freestar.
00:00:58:20 - 00:01:11:17
Ashley
Yep, yep. Well, we are going to get into an engaging conversation today and has incredible insight through all of her career journey. I'd like to start with your career path.
00:01:11:17 - 00:01:21:04
Ashley
So what inspired you to pursue people operations, and what were some early turning points that really shaped your direction, your belief set?
00:01:21:05 - 00:01:39:20
Amber
Yeah, definitely. I actually started working just in college, just looking for a job. Right? You pick up that first job and see how it goes. And it was kind of just spending money. While I was in school, I started working at Starbucks on campus, just an on campus job, and it absolutely fell in love with it.
00:01:39:23 - 00:01:58:17
Amber
And beyond the day to day interactions with people, I really fell in love with the idea of business and management and then leading other people. And so I pretty quickly got promoted to be a shift supervisor. And then I ended up running one operation on campus at ASU. And then I ended up with all eight stores on the campus today.
00:01:58:19 - 00:02:22:23
Amber
So we had a few Starbucks licensed stores and then a few different brands that we managed ourselves. And I think throughout that progression, I just really loved being a part of watching people grow and step into leadership roles and just watching team members develop them selves. I went for a short stint at a corporate food service kind of place and then went back to Starbucks.
00:02:22:23 - 00:02:47:23
Amber
I just love the values of the company and the way that it operated. So I worked at company operated for a little while, and then I did an independent coffee shop for a little while. And I think the thing that tied together the whole career was just that passion for building high performing teams. Like, what does it take to build a team that has good synergy that works together, finding great people and continuing to develop them?
00:02:47:23 - 00:03:09:19
Amber
And so when I was looking to step out of restaurant retail, front line management, working with units and operations, I was looking to step into something and I just across my whole career, my package was for people and for building high performing teams and managers and leadership, and so being able to step into people operations where I can continue to do that on a day to day basis.
00:03:09:19 - 00:03:18:16
Amber
And in my current role, I work with managers and we talk about leadership and we talk about career growth and development. It's been a fun next step in the career.
00:03:18:18 - 00:03:25:22
Ashley
Yeah. So I asked them for a friend. Was there any coffee addiction that was created along the way?
00:03:26:00 - 00:03:32:01
Amber
You go through this whole process where when you first start, you're like, oh, I guess I kind of like coffee.
00:03:32:01 - 00:03:47:14
Amber
And then you ramp up to this huge, like, I have ten cups a day and I'm wired all the time, and then you sort of settle back into 1 or 2 cups a day. There's only a short stint where you're super wired all the time, and then you find what you like. I find most of the time I'm just really simple now.
00:03:47:14 - 00:03:51:07
Amber
And just black coffee. It's easy staying.
00:03:51:08 - 00:04:06:00
Ashley
The same inter life, right? And everything else. Black coffee, easy to get to. Are there any personal philosophies that have driven your your choices, kept you motivated especially, you know, in challenging times?
00:04:06:04 - 00:04:35:22
Amber
I think one of the biggest mindsets that I think is important, and it's something that really was instilled in me from a young age. I think this is something that my parents really promoted for us, and it's somewhat countercultural, but I think that we really exist to be contributors instead of words. I think that most people find the most fulfilling when they find a role where they feel like they're giving back, they're making an impact.
00:04:35:22 - 00:05:02:08
Amber
That's a felt human need. And I think that in every role that I've been in. I really look for strengths inside of people and their passions. And you, you can find it when you talk to somebody, you watch them light up about the things that they're passionate about. And that's one of my favorite things in the world, is when you're talking to somebody and you see them just absolutely light up about something, trying to find that in the team members, and then give them a way to play that out in their role.
00:05:02:09 - 00:05:34:06
Amber
So maybe they have a specialist role where they're working on that specifically, or they have, you know, they're really great with work on training, finding ways to really allow and equip people to continue to be contributors. Where am I making an impact? Where do I make a difference? Where am I moving the ball forward? And I think that's a fun thing about my role, is getting to see where your unique strengths and talents, and how can we harness those that you feel more rewarded in your career, but also you're able to make the bigger impact in the world?
00:05:34:08 - 00:05:48:11
Ashley
It sounds like you're you're a mentor type figure as well. To folks. I'd be curious, are are there have there been mentors in your world who really helped shape your beliefs?
00:05:48:17 - 00:06:12:13
Amber
Yeah, I think a lot of that, honestly has been just in books and podcasts. And I think the I don't know who said it originally, but I've heard this phrase thrown around leaders read, and it's one of those things that I have a leadership book, usually on my bedside table or, you know, something about velocity leadership management, something like that.
00:06:12:13 - 00:06:33:19
Amber
I also have the I just want to be mindless and have some fun. And here's my Philly read. But I do think it's important that we sponsor to pick up some sort of leadership book every single day. I have a few different newsletters that I subscribe to that I try and continue to think about. How am I shaping leadership, philosophy, management, those kind of things.
00:06:33:21 - 00:06:47:19
Amber
I've had a few really impactful people in my life, and I think I've taken different things from different people, but I also love picking up and taking things from different books or different leadership policies that exist out books, podcasts, those kind of thing.
00:06:47:21 - 00:07:04:05
Ashley
That makes sense, that makes sense. And that that leads me to the Jedi approach Award focus. Give us some context there and what strategies you use to to keep this initiative effective and authentic.
00:07:04:08 - 00:07:28:01
Amber
Yeah. So as our company, we use the acronym Jedi for our diversity and equity group. So it's just as equity diversity and inclusion. But instead of putting it into die or something like that, we like that we have a Jedi Council. It's a little moment that sparks joy. And I love that in the day. Right? As long as we're going to be throwing around all these acronyms, let's do something fun with it.
00:07:28:01 - 00:07:52:18
Amber
Or, you know, if you have a name for a program, find a way to spark a little bit of joy there. What I love about our approach to diversity and inclusion, and what the Jedi Council does, is a lot of people tend to think that people operations sets the tone for culture at a company, or they're in charge of culture at your company, and I disagree.
00:07:52:19 - 00:08:14:23
Amber
I think people operations equips that. I think that we're champions of it. But culture comes down to who's on the team and the people. And I love that our founder does this, but our founder says this all the time. He says, you're the culture. I'm the culture. Collaboratively we create the culture. And so a lot of what the Jedi Council does is create that space for people to show up to work and be offended.
00:08:15:00 - 00:08:31:06
Amber
And I love that. Right. Like we want to hear from them about the holidays. Sure, people have to go out and we could put together a post all about the upcoming holiday and how the country celebrates it, and here's some of their food and tradition. But I like it better when someone from that country. Here's a picture of my food.
00:08:31:06 - 00:08:47:16
Amber
Here's a part of that tradition that matters to me. When you hear people sharing their stories and being able to be authentic at work, I think that's where we can celebrate the uniqueness that people have. And so that's what we really try and do with our Jedi Council, is find those moments where we can let people be authentic.
00:08:47:16 - 00:09:15:19
Amber
And maybe that's creating micro communities. Maybe it's sharing with a broader group about something. We have some team members in Bulgaria, and they have a really cool holiday today, and I don't have all of the details on all of it. But one of the pieces of the tradition is that they share friendship bracelets with each other, and one of the team members came to me and said, I want to send a friendship bracelet to everybody in the company, and we're a global company.
00:09:15:19 - 00:09:36:01
Amber
And that was a bit of a logistical challenge, but we made it happen. We figured it out and got him to me. We got him in the mail. We tried to get there before the holiday and you hear from people still that's hanging by my desk, that's, you know, in my drawer. I have this on a special place because it meant so much to them that that team wanted to involve them in that holiday that they had.
00:09:36:02 - 00:09:54:21
Amber
And here's a piece of my world. I want to share that piece of my world with you. And I think it creates those connections across the cultures and helps us feel just a little bit closer as a global company. But I also love that it does. Champion. Here's your life and your authentic experience, and we're just creating a space for that.
00:09:54:23 - 00:10:18:15
Ashley
That's really neat. That's really neat. And it leads me to this question. Being global and being obviously with the global nature comes remote. Are their challenges in terms of fostering connection, or is it really mitigated by leaning into different cultures and and exploring how to create that connection? How do you navigate that?
00:10:18:16 - 00:10:38:19
Amber
Yeah, I think the challenge is just continuing to remember that you need to be intentional about it, that even if it seems like you have 12 calls on your calendar and you're always talking to somebody, maybe your team member only has this one, and they that you are about one point and just taking the extra time to check in with them and see how things are going.
00:10:38:19 - 00:11:01:00
Amber
And I think this is another thing where again, people operations doesn't set that tone. People operations doesn't do all of that culture creating really frontline managers do and really encouraging and quitting our frontline managers, they create their own little micro cultures within the company. What are your stand ups look like? How do your team members work together on a day to day basis?
00:11:01:06 - 00:11:22:16
Amber
Do they feel comfortable being heard even out of they have fun? Each little team has their own unique ways. Some of them like the virtual escape rooms. Some of them will put out a YouTube video where they can all team together. Right. Each team has their own little mic culture and empowering them to create and reminding them to create those.
00:11:22:17 - 00:11:35:10
Amber
I don't think it's difficult, but I think it requires intentionality, and it does require those reminders and everybody leaning in and say, I create this and I can't be in this, and I leave space for this on my team.
00:11:35:12 - 00:11:52:08
Ashley
It sounds like with that approach, with that intentionality, potentially there's even deeper connection. That's a really interesting viewpoint. And I think I'm going to look up a virtual escape room. That sounds like a really fun Friday night to me.
00:11:52:10 - 00:12:08:09
Amber
There's some fun. Yeah, there's a bunch of great companies that do them, and we have fun little puzzles to share, and a lot of them are like, you can do as small as five people or as large as 400. They're a little bit flexible. So yeah, find a group of friends and have some fun.
00:12:08:11 - 00:12:25:05
Ashley
I'm in, I'm in. So as technology and AI's obviously rapidly evolving, what are some of the biggest opportunities? And on the other side of the coin, what are some challenges you see for people operations in your industry?
00:12:25:06 - 00:12:50:06
Amber
Yeah, I'm excited about the opportunities AI has to offer. I think you see the world accelerating faster and faster towards having better infrastructure and having better education. I don't think there's so many applications for continuing to get a little bit more equality in the world, get a better standard of living for everybody. I think there are some really incredible things AI is doing around medicine.
00:12:50:06 - 00:13:16:11
Amber
I think it's pushing forward and advancing science, mathematics, technology, all of those things get me really excited, because I do think that there's a lot of things that we can do to really help a lot of people around the world. I think at the same time, going back to my original thought, a lot of people are trying to find their footing with AI.
00:13:16:13 - 00:13:33:00
Amber
If it replaces me, then what do I do? Or they're a little bit scared of how it's going to shape their life, because they do want to continue to be contributors. They do want to continue to have a space in the world where they're making a difference and making an impact, and they love hearing stories of AI.
00:13:33:01 - 00:14:11:17
Amber
Took this up my plate. I left early being out with my parents, or I left early and I got to go to this barbecue and you start seeing moments where people are seeing that AI is replacing all this stuff that has been distracting them from those really beautiful, really great connection points that matter. And I hope that we don't get so distracted by social media or continuing to be consumers, or due to scroll, that we should get those moments of human connection and getting back to the things that we love and we're passionate about, and we can become creators of art or creators of music, and finding ways where people can still contribute and create.
00:14:11:18 - 00:14:31:14
Amber
I think there's that little bit of concern of AI takes up all where I'm creating right now at work. Where does that leave me? And I think a lot of people need to connect back to. Oh, well, I get your chance to connect more with my community. I get to chance to be more authentically human, but I can still contribute in these ways.
00:14:31:14 - 00:14:53:02
Amber
And maybe they're still contributing at work. Maybe they're still contributing in partnership with their AI agents and in partnerships with the world. I think, honestly, it'll create a lot more jobs than it takes just because it's accelerating the momentum for a lot of things. But I think that, again, that felt me to contribute, that felt need to make a difference and make an impact.
00:14:53:02 - 00:15:09:16
Amber
There will be places where people want to keep doing that, and they'll be a little bit concerned if they feel like AI is taking that from them. And so finding ways that they can spend themselves back in. Here are places where I can contribute, and here are places where I stay connected to a mission bigger than myself.
00:15:09:18 - 00:15:35:07
Ashley
You know, we love that perspective of in partnership creates more connection. It's ironic, isn't it? The fear is that more technology creates disconnection. But in reality, what you're saying there is, which is a really neat viewpoint, is if we partner with it, our connection with each other and life can deepen. That's a that's a really neat, deep way.
00:15:35:07 - 00:15:52:22
Ashley
I love that with that in terms of being, you know, a global remote first company, how do you ensure that, again, that inclusion, that connection, that community continues to scale as you do?
00:15:53:00 - 00:16:13:11
Amber
Yeah, again, I think it comes down to every person engaging with that and being a part of it. I think it comes down to the little romance of reminding yourself not to just jump straight into the work, but to recognize the value and remind me where you're located. Me about your kids or family. What do you have coming up this weekend?
00:16:13:12 - 00:16:36:20
Amber
Even those little mini moments of connection and how much they matter, and then intentionally layering the larger moments of connection? We've had this conversation quite a bit lately. It doesn't make sense to just jump on a call, you know, at a certain point when you sent a number of emails or sent a number of slacks swap, it just jumped on a college lab about it.
00:16:36:21 - 00:16:53:22
Amber
Right? And we love leveraging technology. We use the various different softwares. You can jump on a huddle, you can jump in a call. You can have just this quick section point. But I love that we're kind of giving hurricane that to some of it. You can do asynchronously. You should definitely look to look for the most efficient system.
00:16:53:22 - 00:17:12:19
Amber
But don't forget that sometimes a lot of things just get solved easier. You just get face to face with somebody and talk about it. So I think it's about creating those intentional moments where you do have larger connection points, while also remembering the little intentional mini moments throughout the day as well.
00:17:12:21 - 00:17:37:00
Ashley
Does that create more of a sense of psychological safety? You know, obviously being in a fast paced environment, being remote, being global, how do you help create that psychological safety and that that sense of curiosity? Is it really encouraging the engagement? I'm curious how you think about that.
00:17:37:00 - 00:18:05:13
Amber
Yeah, I think a lot of that is really role models from our leadership level. They do a really great job with transparency, with authenticity, and I think that helps other people feel comfortable being authentic and transparent. I think everybody from the executive level to the VP level does an incredible job. Hey, I messed that up. Or hey, we made a choice at the time, but now we need to make a different choice.
00:18:05:15 - 00:18:28:05
Amber
There's a really big culture of no blame. Like we can talk about maybe some of the systems that contributed to a problem, but our main focus should be how do we move forward from this? What did we learn from this? What are our next steps? Stop of this and I love that. Forward. Focus on any time that there is a challenge or there is something that we run up against.
00:18:28:05 - 00:18:54:23
Amber
I think that helps create an environment of psychological safety, because you feel a little bit more comfortable risking or daring or making mistakes if you made an informed decision, tried something and you were brave with it, and the team afterwards isn't able to say, okay, how do we adjust with this? How do we learn from this? How do we get better moving forward instead of spending the time and focus, just blaming you or saying what you did wrong?
00:18:54:23 - 00:18:59:04
Amber
And I think that environment is well modeled across the company and I love it.
00:18:59:08 - 00:19:20:23
Ashley
That's beautiful. And I love that forward thinking. How important, how world, how different would our world be if more people were forward thinking? What practices or routine help you stay grounded, especially when you're, you know, pouring into others at such a high level? How do with your self-care? How do you see ground?
00:19:21:00 - 00:19:44:05
Amber
Yeah. Honestly, I love walking. I'm a huge advocate for get outside, get into nature. Although in Arizona sometimes acquired, it needs to happen at night when the sun has gone down. But I think everyone would feel so much better if you carve out a couple of minutes around lunchtime and just walk around the block and take some deep breaths and get that chair and connect with nature.
00:19:44:05 - 00:20:06:01
Amber
And I always feel so much better when I do that. And then also remembering to stop. I think a lot of people fill their downtime with, I want to be looking at myself whenever I want to be working on something, or I want to be engaging. It's so much better when you just have some space. Maybe when you go for the walk, just leave the phone at home and just breathe and think.
00:20:06:03 - 00:20:24:02
Amber
You hear a lot of people talk about they get their best ideas in the shower, and I think it's because it's the place that we're least distracted. We're not. Our attention isn't getting caught by a device or a screen or another person. It's just a little bit of quiet and a little bit of space in your brain to find that space to process what happened.
00:20:24:03 - 00:20:50:20
Amber
Think through things. Think through some of the challenges that you're looking at moving forward. Even AI, instead of talking with it about your challenges or what you're thinking about, maybe sometimes better off just kind of taking a grab a coffee outside, look off in the distance and think through it. And I think that little bit of space is so important, and finding ways to intentionally remember to create it beyond just I'm in the shower, so I'm forced to not have anything distracting me.
00:20:50:23 - 00:20:55:00
Amber
Finding moments where you do have this quiet so nothing distracting.
00:20:55:02 - 00:21:11:21
Ashley
Oh, I'm going to I'm going to take that one back personally. That is a good that is a good call out if you can hit a magical pause button on one trend. In today's world, what would you choose and why?
00:21:12:02 - 00:21:40:21
Amber
Yeah. Honestly, I think I would probably pick social media. I know it's the villain for a lot of people, but I think it's burned that can it comes back down to, are you just sitting there consuming you? Kind of are you sitting there kind of taking things in yourself, just looking at something or consuming? Sometimes that's great. I learn a lot of things, mean my algorithms on the different feeds that are treating me things, and I'm like, I didn't know about that.
00:21:40:22 - 00:22:07:10
Amber
That about history. I learned this different culture. I think it's a great educational source sometimes, but I think a lot of it is just you're a little bit floating, wasting time, just consuming, consuming where instead of put it down and got into something that you love doing, like painting or working with somebody in your community with something like that, just how much more rich and full life feels instead of considerably or contributing.
00:22:07:10 - 00:22:24:00
Amber
And so I wish that all of our downtime was with just sitting and scrolling. She was filled with those beautiful things, like sitting around a table with people and having a great conversation, or going out and doing something like a hike with a group of people, or just connecting to the community.
00:22:24:02 - 00:22:38:11
Ashley
I love that call out, and it's so important right now. On the flip side, if there is a social or societal shift that you could fast forward because you believed in its positive impact, what would that be?
00:22:38:12 - 00:23:14:14
Amber
I am so intrigued by the idea that AI could kind of make currency irrelevant, right? Like, how do you earn and what is a living wage and how do people contribute? I'm so intrigued by this idea, and I'd love to see us accelerate to a place where there is a little bit more equality, and it is a little bit more about everyone has that same standard of living, that same level of equality, that same access to education, or to be able to pursue their passions.
00:23:14:15 - 00:23:26:12
Amber
I'd love to see that. I'd love to see some of that accelerated where everybody is giving you opportunities and is given that baseline sort of level of equality.
00:23:26:14 - 00:23:44:13
Ashley
Used for good. I love that call out. So here's my final question and my favorite question. Knowing all that, you know now, all of your life experiences, everything that you've seen been through. If you could say something to your younger self, what would you say?
00:23:44:14 - 00:24:03:15
Amber
Yeah, I think one of the things that I'm passionate about today, and it's something that I've learned and it would have helped younger me a lot, is how everyone is unique. I think there's a whole bunch of different personality tests through our profiles, and people love to take them and lean in on them. And what number is your Enneagram?
00:24:03:17 - 00:24:34:18
Amber
What letter do you have? It is can all of it, I think, is just finding out about yourself and what your unique gifts are and what your unique talents are, and where you make a difference in an impact. But everybody is. And finding a way to celebrate how I was uniquely different, or what my unique strengths were, because they may not have looked like what was celebrated in my classes growing up, or in what my expectations were in my youth, or those kind of things.
00:24:34:18 - 00:25:03:18
Amber
Understanding like, you don't have to be this exact model of person, or you don't have to look exactly like this or think like this, or have a career path like that. You have your own unique journey. You have your own unique strengths and gifts, and finding a way to leverage things that you're passionate about and leverage things that you're good at, I think is going to bring you the most fulfillment in life, but recognizing that it doesn't have to be along one certain path, or one certain personality or one certain mode.
00:25:03:22 - 00:25:30:11
Amber
We use a specific personality profile in our work, and we love to say there's no such thing as a bad pattern. Like everybody has different unique strengths. And honestly, the team was all exactly the same. It would be an awful team. You want to look for people that compliment. We like to call it culture, and instead of culture fit when we're looking at hiring because we want to see people that round out the team, that bring different perspectives, that bring different unique strengths.
00:25:30:11 - 00:25:44:16
Amber
And I love celebrating that with people like, this is what makes you unique or special or is your superpower almost. It work. And I think it would have been good. Yeah. Looking back to say that's not the same for everybody and that's.
00:25:44:18 - 00:26:11:01
Ashley
Your authentic self is what comes to mind. And if we can learn that sooner, how much more joyous might be experience be. That's, that's that's another beautiful call out. Amber, you are just again an incredible human who has such a beautiful, kind perspective and outlook on the world, grounded in data and action and making sure you're actually compelling the movement forward.
00:26:11:01 - 00:26:21:20
Ashley
But what has always struck me about you is just the kindness that everything is wrapped in. So I am just so happy to know you, my friend. Thank you for the time.
00:26:21:22 - 00:26:38:13
Amber
Thank you. It's been wonderful to get to know you as well, and about the ways that you love. Passionate about giving back to others and helping them to live their best lives. So I love when you're on my calendar like, oh yeah, I get sucked Ashley today, but great to get to know you better.
00:26:38:15 - 00:26:39:21
Ashley
Cheers to us.