Prior to Smith, Bacal was an editor, elementary school teacher and educational writer and consultant. Her book Mistakes I Made at Work: 25 Influential Women Reflect On What They Got Out of Getting It Wrong (Penguin Random House, 2014), includes interviews with high-achieving women from a variety of fields. Her latest book, The Rejection That Changed My Life: 25+ Powerful Women on Being Let Down, Turning It Around, and Burning It Up at Work (Plume, April 2021), provides an exciting new way to think about career challenges, changes and triumphs. Bacal has a bachelor’s degree from Carleton College, an MFA from Hunter College, and an Ed.D. from the University of Pennsylvania.