Explore every episode of the podcast AI-Empowered Mom

What happens when the thing you built to save you time still needs you to catch its mistakes? Danielle Matarasso found out the hard way, over a school lunch order.

Host Sarah Dooley sits down with Danielle Matarasso, founder of Numeriq Advisors and writer of the newsletter AI After Carpool, to talk about the day AI ordered her son a cookie instead of lunch.

It starts as a funny mix-up and turns into a real conversation about where AI can lighten the load for parents and caregivers, and where it still needs a parent's judgment. Danielle and Sarah talk about the pull that led Danielle to leave a stable career in tech to build something of her own, the business she almost bought because AI kept agreeing with her, and how she keeps her kids' personal information out of the algorithm at home, even as she leans on it for family trip planning and age-appropriate activity ideas.

They also get into what Danielle hopes and fears for her 3 kids growing up with AI as a normal part of life, a few ways to catch AI when it is just telling you what you want to hear, the AI tools actually in her weekly rotation, and a low-tech parenting hack that has nothing to do with AI at all.

In This Episode:

• The cookie: what happened and what it taught her
• You can't outsource intuition
• How Danielle got introduced to AI
• AI as a work companion versus a family companion
• Keeping kids' information out of the algorithm
• Hopes and fears for her 3 kids in 10 years
• Leaving a stable tech career to build her own path
• The business she almost bought, and AI's blind spot
• How to avoid AI's yes man tendency
• Chatbot Mode: Danielle's go-to AI tools

• What Danielle hopes parents take away

If you have ever built a system to make family life easier and watched it half work, this episode is for you. Danielle's story is a reminder that AI can carry real weight in a busy household, but the judgment still belongs to the parent holding the calendar. Whether you are weighing a career pivot of your own or just trying to keep school lunches straight, there is something here to take with you.

Connect with Danielle Matarasso:Newsletter, AI After Carpool: https://www.aiaftercarpool.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-matarasso/

Connect with AI-Empowered Mom:Newsletter: https://aiempoweredmom.beehiiv.com/ Instagram: @aiempoweredmomWebsite: AIEmpoweredMom.com

There is a particular kind of exhaustion that comes from doing everything and still feeling like it is never enough. In this episode, host Sarah Dooley sits down with Courtney Cecil, founder of Working Moms Movement and host of The Life Management System podcast, to talk about why so much of the friction in family life traces back to one quiet question: what do you actually value?

Courtney brings an industrial and systems engineering background to the parts of life that feel heaviest. She walks through her Three W's framework, what you value, what you prioritize, and what you spend, and shows how naming those three things can bring your time, money, and energy back into alignment. Along the way she reframes boundaries as something you build to protect what matters, not walls that keep people out, and she shares how she treats AI as a simple delegation tool that takes real decisions off her plate.

If you have ever set a goal and kept breaking it, this conversation offers a kinder explanation and a clearer place to begin. As Courtney puts it, if everything is a priority, nothing is. When something keeps slipping, it usually means you are prioritizing something else, and that is allowed.

Chapters:
00:13 Welcome and why doing everything still feels like not enough
01:07 Courtney's life now: leaving corporate, two boys, an 80-hour passion
01:58 What she misses about corporate and what she is embracing
02:50 The biggest mistake families make and the Three W's framework
04:54 Why it is so hard to see your own priorities
05:15 The calendar audit and where we bleed time and energy
07:00 Bringing AI into calendar management and prioritization
07:18 AI as a delegation tool and the 10-80-10 approach
09:36 Helping families who feel hesitant to delegate to AI
10:29 The one boundary Courtney holds firm around AI and client trust
10:49 Boundaries as a fence you can open and close
12:19 Problem-solving friction and putting systems in place to protect what works
13:34 The reading goal, the Duolingo streak, and why priorities have winners and losers
14:38 Chatbot Mode: club sports, a recent win, and the one takeaway for parents
17:13 Closing thoughts and where to find Courtney

Connect with Courtney Cecil:
Instagram @workingmomsmovementWebsite workingmomsmovement.comPodcast The Life Management System

Connect with AI-Empowered Mom:

Instagram @aiempoweredmomWebsite aiempoweredmom.com
If this conversation resonated, follow the AI-Empowered Mom Podcast and leave a quick rating or review. It really helps other parents and caregivers find us.

Sunday evening used to mean a couple of hours of planning for Melissa Regan: cookbooks spread across the counter, kids' schedules stacked up, a running list of things to figure out before Monday arrived. Now that same setup takes a fraction of the time, and the hours she reclaims go straight back to her family.

Melissa is an executive coach and consultant who works with leaders and sales teams on operations, communication, and business growth. She is also raising three boys at home, managing a household largely on her own during the weeks her husband travels for work. She did not come to AI with a tech background. She came to it as someone who needed to be efficient in the limited hours she works, and who wanted to actually be present when the workday ended.

In this conversation, Melissa and host Sarah Dooley dig into what that shift looked like in real life: the Sunday setup meeting Melissa holds for herself, how AI handles the planning she would rather not do, and how she consciously redirected the time it freed up toward board games, swim meets, and being on the sideline.

One idea from the conversation that may stick with you: Melissa draws on a concept from the book Essentialism, that if something is not a "hell yes," it is a no. But as she points out, parents do not always have the privilege of saying no. Meal planning has to happen. The calendar has to get organized. Her adaptation is simple: if it is not a hell yes, but it still has to get done, give it to AI.

This episode is for anyone who has stared down Sunday evening and felt the weight of everything that has to happen before the week can start.

What we talk about:

•       The Sunday setup meeting and what it used to cost her

•       Using AI for meal planning, packing lists, gift ideas, and calendar coordination

•       The "not a hell yes but it has to be done" principle for deciding what to hand off

•       How she uses AI with her own coaching clients in live sessions

•       Consciously reallocating saved time to presence with her family

•       What an AI-empowered future could look like for parents who feel stretched thin

Timestamps:

•       [00:00] The Sunday scaries and why they hit so hard

•       [00:50] Meet Melissa: three boys, a dog, and a business built around her family schedule

•       [02:37] How AI changed her professional workflow first

•       [04:56] Her consultative coaching philosophy and bringing AI into client sessions

•       [07:07] Prompting approaches and why iteration beats perfection

•       [09:37] Where AI made the biggest difference: home life

•       [10:14] The Sunday setup meeting, before and after

•       [11:40] Essentialism 2.0: if it is not a hell yes, but it has to happen, give it to AI

•       [12:35] More use cases: outfits, packing, gift planning

•       [13:08] Where the saved time actually goes: presence with her family

•       [14:12] What an AI-empowered future could mean for stretched parents

•       [15:56] Chatbot Mode: morning routines, how she resets, advice for her past self

Guest:

Melissa Regan is an executive coach and consultant working with leaders and sales teams on operations, communication, and growth. Find her on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/melissaregan.

Connect with AI-Empowered Mom:

•       Newsletter and Em waitlist: AIEmpoweredMom.com

•       Email: contact@aiempoweredmom.com

•       Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok: @aiempoweredmom

AI might already be helping you with meals, trips, reminders here and there. But what if it could do more? What if AI could hold the whole context of your life, your family's food restrictions, your career goals, your startup pitch, even your partner's job search, so you don't have to carry it all in your head?

Toni Toomey is the founder of Hone, a premium postpartum apparel brand launching this September, and a full-time healthtech professional at Virgo. She recently relocated cross-country from North Idaho to San Diego with her toddler daughter, and she uses AI as her second brain across every part of her life.

In this episode, Toni walks through exactly how she does it. She explains her meal planning setup: a Saturday morning agent that pulls from a Notion recipe library, applies her family's real preferences and restrictions, and generates a ready-to-use grocery list. She shares how she built an automated job search system for her husband after a layoff, one that scored daily matches and delivered customized resumes and cover letters straight to his inbox. She talks about the founding of Hone, which started with a board meeting, a pump, and a dress that would not cooperate. And she makes a case for AI literacy as one of the most important things parents can invest in right now, not to optimize their productivity, but to stay close enough to understand the world their children are growing up inside of.

CHAPTERS

01:21   Moving cross-country with a toddler: chaos, grace, and a missing kettle base

03:27   Before and after AI: how the mental load shifted

05:33   Meal planning with AI: context files, Notion recipe library, and a Saturday morning agent

08:47   What is a markdown file and why structured context makes AI smarter

10:47   Automating a spouse's job search: daily scored matches, custom resumes, and cover letters

14:05   How her husband went from zero AI experience to building automations in four months

14:34   Women, AI, and why the gender gap in tech no longer has a gate

17:45   The board meeting pumping moment that started Hone

21:38   Hone: Italian-made, natural fibers, rental program, and certified secondhand

23:26   Chatbot Mode: pumping at work tips, the one task she will never hand to AI, and surfing with a toddler

27:57   What Toni wants every parent to take away

CONNECT WITH TONI

Instagram: @toni.toomey

Website: wearhone.com

Vote for Toni for Super Mom: https://thesupermom.org/2026/toni-toomey

CONNECT WITH AI-EMPOWERED MOM

Website: AIEmpoweredMom.com

Newsletter: aiempoweredmom.beehiiv.com

Instagram: @aiempoweredmom

Contact: contact@aiempoweredmom.com

Have you ever thought about where "mom guilt" actually comes from? JoAnn Crohn, founder of No Guilt Mom, references Dr. Jennifer Reid's "guilt equation" to help decode it: your expectations of what a good mom looks like, minus what you are actually able to do on any given day, and that gap is where your guilt lives. The fix is not to do more. It is to look carefully at where those expectations came from in the first place.

JoAnn is the host of the No Guilt Mom podcast, author of The Best Mom is a Happy Mom, a former fifth grade teacher, a recovered entertainment industry assistant, and a newly minted improv performer. In this conversation, she and Sarah talk about the shift from martyr to model, the two rules of improv that also happen to be life rules, and the surprisingly practical ways JoAnn uses AI to run a one-woman business without burning out.

CHAPTERS

01:05  Welcome, JoAnn Crohn of No Guilt Mom

01:24  Life right now: daughter just graduated high school

02:43  Why teenagers are JoAnn's favorite stage of parenting

03:23  Fifth grade teaching and catching kids at the transition

04:15  Why JoAnn left teaching and built something of her own

05:41  Surviving a high-pressure Hollywood talent agency

06:05  Postpartum depression and the moment that changed everything

08:57  The best mom is a happy mom: where the philosophy came from

09:43  From martyr to model: what martyrdom actually feels like from the inside

11:12  Starting improv to reclaim her own adventure

12:27  The two rules of improv every parent should know

13:42  How "yes, and" changes conversations with kids

14:36  The guilt equation explained with Dr. Jennifer Reid's work

16:11  Dad guilt, mom guilt, and why the bar is set so differently

17:45  How JoAnn uses Claude and ChatGPT in her one-woman business

19:35  Building an Airtable automation with AI and no coding background

21:03  Where to find JoAnn and her free Calm Conversations mini-course

22:29  Chatbot Mode: AI tips, advice for high school seniors, and the myth about mom guilt

CONNECT WITH JOANN CROHN

Instagram: @noguiltmom

Podcast: No Guilt Mom

Book: The Best Mom is a Happy Mom (Amazon and wherever books are sold)

Free mini-course: Calm Conversations (find the link in JoAnn's Instagram bio)

Referenced: The Guilt Equation by Dr. Jennifer Reid

CONNECT WITH AI-EMPOWERED MOM

Newsletter: AIEmpoweredMom.beehiiv.com

Free mini-podcast: aiempoweredmom.beehiiv.com/mini-podcast

Website: AIEmpoweredMom.com

Contact: contact@aiempoweredmom.com

KEYWORDS

mom guilt, no guilt mom, JoAnn Crohn, guilt equation, mental load, AI for parents, improv parenting, parenting teens, martyr to model, happy mom, expectations, Claude AI, ChatGPT, ADHD and parenting, calm conversations, postpartum, parenting podcast

If you've ever stared at your resume and thought "wasn't AI supposed to be able to help me with this?" -- this episode is for you.

Career strategist, career resilience expert, and triple certified master resume writer Emily Kapit of Refresh Your Step joins host Sarah Dooley to talk through the real dos and don'ts of using AI for your career documents. Emily and her team work with clients through The Kapitalize Process, a methodology covering everything from written career assets to interview strategies and negotiation tactics (and she has strong opinions about where AI belongs in that process).

Emily shares her approach to AI as a force multiplier: a way to pull out what's already there, find the gaps you can't see on your own, and build a stronger, more intentional job search.

We also hit a genuine split decision: Emily says keep AI out of salary negotiations. Sarah says she uses it heavily. We leave it to you to decide for yourself.

Whether you're actively job searching, re-entering the workforce after a caregiving break, or just trying to figure out how much to trust AI with something as personal as your career, this episode is grounded, practical, and honest.

Emily's insights have been featured in Forbes, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Medium, HuffPost, and MindBodyGreen. She is also currently working on her first book, Sink or Swim: The Life-Changing Strategies for Career Resilience.

WHAT WE COVER

[00:00]  The temptation is real -- and so are the pitfalls

[01:22]  Emily's world: carpool lines, two kids, and Charlotte the dog

[02:09]  What "triple certified master resume writer" actually means

[04:14]  When ChatGPT hit the career space -- and why Emily was skeptical

[06:22]  AI as a force multiplier: using it to pull out the good stuff

[07:41]  How to use AI on your resume tonight, step by step

[09:07]  AI for interview prep: the questions you haven't thought of yet

[10:38]  How Emily uses AI to build client interview prep plans

[11:30]  The don'ts: accepting AI output without verifying it

[12:34]  The formatting trap: why Canva resumes can fail ATS screening

[14:14]  Keywords: an absolute do (and how to do it right)

[15:25]  Spotting AI-generated language in your own document

[16:19]  Career gaps and caregiving breaks: your skills are real and valuable

[18:16]  Where careers are headed: choose your own adventure

[20:05]  Chatbot Mode: rapid fire with Emily

[23:00]  Emily's recent win: the 5K, the business, and all of it

[23:55]  Final takeaway: force multiplier in every area of life

CONNECT WITH EMILY KAPIT

Website: RefreshYourStep.com

LinkedIn: Emily Kapit

Instagram: @RefreshYourStep

CONNECT WITH AI-EMPOWERED MOM

Website: AIEmpoweredMom.com

Newsletter: aiempoweredmom.beehiiv.com

Mini-Podcast: aiempoweredmom.beehiiv.com/mini-podcast

Instagram: @AIEmpoweredMom

Email: contact@aiempoweredmom.com

KEYWORDS

resume writing tips, AI resume help, career documents, job search strategy, ATS keywords, AI force multiplier, career resilience, career gaps, caregiving career break, salary negotiation, interview preparation, Emily Kapit, ReFresh Your Step, The Kapitalize Process, AI-Empowered Mom, triple certified resume writer, mental load, parents and caregivers

Mother's Day is one of those days that arrives with a lot of assumptions. Before we get into anything else: however today is landing for you, you belong here. This episode is a gift from host Sarah Dooley to all the parents and caregivers out there carrying a mental load.

Five AI habits. Real use. No tech background required. Just the things Sarah has been doing for a long time that have genuinely made a difference, shared in plain language with the hope that at least one of them makes your life a little lighter too.

In this episode:

• A real Mother's Day acknowledgment before anything else
• Tip 1: Talking instead of typing and why it changes everything
• WISPR Flow stats and the two-sentence rule that stuck
• Tip 2: The morning brain dump for getting the day organized
• A live demo of using Claude to plan a real Friday
• Tip 3: Meal planning to reduce waste, save money, and move faster
• Why starting with a photo of your fridge beats planning from scratch
• The landfill story and why food waste is deeply personal
• Tip 4: Using AI to carry the mental load of family calendar keeping
• Tip 5: Getting out of the chief reminding officer role for good
• How voice reminders shifted the mornings and gave the kids more ownership
• Closing thoughts: not magic, just manageable
• Introducing Em and the waitlist opening on Mother's Day

Tools mentioned: WISPR Flow, Claude, ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Whisk, Instacart, Amazon voice assistant, Em by AI-Empowered Mom

Keywords: AI for moms, reduce mental load, AI meal planning, family calendar AI, voice dictation AI, AI productivity for parents, AI tools for caregivers, WISPR Flow, reduce decision fatigue, mental load management, AI-Empowered Mom, parenting and AI, AI home management, family scheduling AI

Sign up for the Em waitlist and explore tools for your family at AIEmpoweredMom.com.

New episodes every week. If this one helped, a rating or review goes a long way in helping other parents and caregivers find us.

What happens when a Google Cloud layoff becomes the push you needed to finally write your book? Wanjiku Kamau did exactly that, and she did it in 90 days, with AI helping her find her voice every step of the way.

Wanjiku is a tech veteran, fractional COO, AI consultant, and now a published author. Her book, "Out of the Loop, Into the Algorithm: How I Finally Made Friends with AI," came out of one of the hardest years of her life and one of the most clarifying ones, too. In this conversation, Wanjiku and Sarah break down what it actually takes to self-publish, why shame is one of the biggest barriers to AI adoption (especially for women), and how families can use AI to lighten the daily load.

In this episode:

• Why Wanjiku gave herself 90 days to write, edit, record, and launch a book (and what she'd do differently)
• The two self-publishing lessons that changed everything: title testing and cover design
• Audiobooks, indie bookstores, and why showing up in person with your dog is a valid distribution strategy
• How to help someone who feels "late to the party" with AI
• The fifth grade learning level trick you can use today
• AI's environmental footprint: the Times Square Test and small steps that add up
• What a data center actually is, explained by someone who helped build them
• Family AI use cases: homework support, command centers, and calendar chaos

Wanjiku's book: "Out of the Loop, Into the Algorithm: How I Finally Made Friends with AI" — available on Amazon and via IngramSpark

Follow Wanjiku's weekly newsletter: tealvoice.com

Subscribe to the AI-Empowered Mom newsletter: AIEmpoweredMom.beehiiv.comWebsite: AIEmpoweredMom.com

Every summer, the spreadsheets come out. Color-coded, multi-tab, shared-by-text-message calendars that somehow still miss a school closure or a registration deadline. This week on , host Sarah Dooley sits down with Nicole Hamlin, the Austin-based founder of JustLiv, a platform built to take kids' activity scheduling off the list of things parents have to manage manually.

Nicole spent 17 years in IT services before founding JustLiv after hitting a wall planning her daughter Olivia's first summer outside of full-time daycare. She discovered that while plenty of directories existed, nothing actually helped a parent build a personalized, bookable schedule with real-time updates. JustLiv is changing that, using AI to match activities to a family's schedule, budget, location preferences, and kids' interests, all in one place.

In this episode, Sarah and Nicole talk about:

• What the current landscape of kids' activity scheduling actually looks like for most families
• How AI can quietly carry more of the coordination weight
• What it is like to build a company in the same industry you are still living in as a parent
• Summer planning tips for families who feel like they are already behind
• Why the mental load of family logistics deserves a real solution

JustLiv is free to use during beta. Sign up at justliv.org and follow @JustLivATX on Instagram.

Follow AI-Empowered Mom at aiempoweredmom.com

Find the AI-Empowered Mom newsletter at aiempoweredmom.beehiiv.com.

Chapters:

·    Welcome and intro

·      Nicole's family life: two kids, one busy household

·      The moment she realized activity scheduling was broken

·      Leaving a 17-year IT career to build JustLiv

·      How JustLiv named itself (the story involves a seven-year-old)

·  How JustLiv works: smart calendars, real-time booking, school closure alerts

·      Building a company while raising small kids

·      Turning it off when your work is your life (spoiler: it's hard)

·      Summer planning advice: what to do if you feel behind right now

·      Chatbot Mode: rapid fire with Nicole

Closing thoughts and how to get started with JustLiv

People are forming romantic relationships with AI. A licensedtherapist is watching it happen in real sessions, with real clients.

In this episode, Sarah sits down with Catia Hernandez Holm,licensed marriage and family therapist, conscious parenting coach, TEDx speaker, and founder of Bright Light Marriage and Family Therapy in Wimberley, Texas. Catia works with individuals, couples, and families every week, and AIis showing up in the room in ways that are layered, nuanced, and increasingly common.

They talk about what healthy AI use actually looks like, whyhuman relationships are supposed to feel hard, what to tell your kids about AI, and how using AI for the mental ticker might be one of the most meaningful things parents can do for their families right now.

WHAT WE COVER

• Meet Catia: spinning plates in Wimberley, two kids, two dogs, and a life built intentionally
• Why they left Austin for small-town life and what that taught Catia about what her family actually needed
• How Catia structured her work schedule around being present, not just available
• The radio show: how Catia asked a stranger for a hosting slot and got a yes
• TEDx Talk "Choose Joy or Die": the bold title, the frequency theory behind it, and what she wasreally trying to say
• AI in the therapy room: what Catia is actually seeing with individual clients
• Anxiety, OCD, and the black hole of AI reassurance
• How she supports clients navigating AI use: the Planet Ozarka framework
• AI in couples and marriages: is it revealing friction or creating it?
• The relief factor: why AI is filling a real gap in some relationships
• Romantic relationships with AI and what Catia is seeing
• Complicated vs. complex: why humanrelationships are not problems to solve
• Kids and AI: the thinking machine talk, copilot in the kitchen, and what is developmentally appropriate
• What this moment is asking of parents and how creating margin is the answer
• Chatbot mode: phone habits, what she would never trust AI with, and her best relationship anti-advice
• A win worth celebrating and one takeaway for every parent

CONNECT WITH CATIA

Bright Light Marriage and Family Therapy:https://www.catiaholm.com/

Couch Time with Cat Podcast: https://couchtimewithcat.com/

TEDx Talk: Choose Joy or Die:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEWQSAtmtkw

CONNECT WITH AI-EMPOWEREDMOM

Website: AIEmpoweredMom.com

Newsletter: AIEmpoweredMom.beehiiv.com

Email: contact@aiempoweredmom.com

If this episode was helpful, a follow or review takes lessthan 30 seconds and helps other parents find this community.

KEYWORDS

AI and relationships, AI companionship, chatbot relationships,AI in therapy, conscious parenting, AI for kids, kids and technology, mentalload parents, AI emotional support, AI anxiety OCD, therapist AI perspective,Catia Hernandez Holm, Bright Light therapy, Couch Time with Cat, AI-EmpoweredMom, Sarah Dooley, parenting in the AI age, AI and marriage, family therapypodcast

If you have ever applied for a job and heard nothing back,there is a good chance AI screened you out before any human saw your name.

In this episode, Sarah sits down with Kate Crane, founder ofDirection Over Perfection and a former people leader at DoorDash, Flock Safety, and OpenTable. Kate has spent 10 years in tech hiring and managing teams, andnow coaches job seekers at every stage of their careers. She breaks down exactly what has changed in the hiring process, what you can do to work with it, and why human connection still wins in the end.

Whether you are in a search yourself, re-entering after timeaway, supporting a partner, or helping a young person find their next step, this one is for you.

WHAT WE COVER

• Meet Kate: preschool drop-off lifein Austin and what led her to start Direction Over Perfection
• Career gaps and nonlinear paths:what actually matters to employers right now
• How AI has changed recruiting fromthe inside out
• What an ATS (applicant trackingsystem) is and how it screens your resume before any human reads it
• Where AI stops and humans takeover in the hiring process
• How to build a master resume andtailor it with AI without losing your voice
• The prompting tip that keeps AIfrom stripping the detail out of your bullets
• Using AI to practice forinterviews without having to watch yourself on video
• Why applying is table stakes and networking is the real game
• What an informational interview actually is and how to ask for one without feeling like a burden
• Video interview tips for a world where hiring happens on screen
• Re-entering the workforce after time away and what your caregiving years actually gave you
• The shame that quietly follows job seekers and how to separate your emotions from your search
• Chatbot mode: Kate's favorite AI tools, resume red flags, and the best question to ask in any interview
• A recent win worth celebrating anda human-powered pep talk

CONNECT WITH KATE

DirectionOverPerfection.com

First 30-minute consultation is always free.

CONNECT WITH AI-EMPOWEREDMOM

Website: AIEmpoweredMom.com

Newsletter: AIEmpoweredMom.beehiiv.com

Email: contact@aiempoweredmom.com

If this episode was helpful, a follow or review takes lessthan 30 seconds and helps other parents find this community.

KEYWORDS

AI job search, AI hiring process, applicant tracking system,ATS resume tips, resume writing with AI, career coach for parents, job search for parents, informational interviews, re-entering workforce after caregiving, career gaps, nonlinear career path, job search shame, interview prep with AI,Direction Over Perfection, Kate Crane, AI-Empowered Mom, Sarah Dooley, AI tools for job seekers, career coaching podcast

It is National AI Literacy Day. And this morning, before host Sarah Dooley had even sat down with her coffee, her daughters were already practicing it at the breakfast table.

In this solo episode, Sarah shares the five things she wants every parent and caregiver to know about AI in 2026. No guests. No interview Just a real, honest conversation about where families actually stand right now.

Whether you feel behind, overwhelmed, or like AI keeps arriving before you had a chance to prepare, this episode is for you.

The 5 things every parent should know about AI in 2026:

1. AI is already in your home and it arrived without an invitation.
2. AI can reduce your mental load when you use it with intention and care.
3. You are your child's best AI literacy teacher, and it happens in the small moments.
4. Verification and critical thinking are skills worth building early.
5. The risks are real, and you do not have to be an expert to show up for your kids.

Sarah also shares a National AI Literacy Day challenge: pick one thing that is draining you today, hand it to AI, and see what happens.

Subscribe to the AI-Empowered Mom newsletter at AIEmpoweredMom.com. If this episode resonated, please follow or subscribe wherever you listen. It helps other parents find us.

What if the real problem isn't that you don't have time for yourself, but that you've never been given permission to want it?

This week, host Sarah Dooley sits down with Christine Landis, creator of Peacock Parent and Proxy, for one of the most honest conversations the podcast has had about self-care, mental load, and what your time is actually worth. Christine is a founder, a parent, a partner, and a self-described recovering workaholic who sold her fintech company, stopped, got quiet for the first time in years, and built something entirely new from that experience.

What came out of it is a framework, and a tool, for parents and caregivers who are ready to stop doing it all alone.

In this episode, you will hear:

Why "I could do it myself" is the exact sentence keeping so many of us stuckWhat a weekly 50-minute planning appointment with your partner can actually unlockHow to identify your low joy tasks and start letting them go without guiltWhat opportunity cost really means when applied to your home life, not just your careerWhat burnout, resentment, and the "is this it?" feeling really have in commonWhy we delegate at work without guilt and so often resist it at homeWhy a recent Harvard Business Review study found women are slower to adopt AI, and what Christine thinks is the real reasonWhat Proxy is, how it works, and why it might be the thinking partner you didn't know you neededHow to start small: even texting "I feel overwhelmed and don't know where to begin" is enough

Christine also talks about adult coloring as her current anxiety management practice, the Steamboat ski trip where she and her husband looked at each other through their goggles and just knew, and her daughter's upcoming birthday surprise: a pink castle mural painted on her bedroom wall.

This is a warm, grounded episode for anyone who has ever canceled something for themselves to make room for everything else.

TRY PROXY FREE FOR 3 MONTHS (a $450 value)Christine is offering the AI-Empowered Mom community three months of Proxy at no charge using the code SARAH. Here is how to get started:

1. Visit https://proxy.peacockparent.com/purchase and select the 3-month plan and enter code SARAH
2. Complete a quick 5-minute profile
3. Save Proxy as a contact in your phone, like a new friend

Then text Proxy anytime. Get personalized next steps so you can move on with your day. Note: credit card info is collected during setup, but you will not be charged with the code. You will receive notice 14 days before any renewal and can cancel anytime with no penalty.

Find Proxy at https://proxy.peacockparent.com/purchase

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What happens when three adult sisters and their dad pack up their AI tools and head to Ireland to trace their roots? Spoiler: some of it is magical, some of it is genuinely terrifying, and all of it is honest.

In this episode, host Sarah Dooley sits down with her sister, Dr. Caitlin Sutton, for one of the most personal and laugh-out-loud conversations the podcast has had. Caitlin is an obstetric, pediatric, and maternal fetal anesthesiologist who shows up for some of the most intense moments in families' lives. She is also a self-described non-planner who does not enjoy travel logistics and cannot drive on the left side of the road. Which made her the perfect travel companion for a trip where AI was doing a lot of the heavy lifting.

Together, Sarah and Caitlin walk through the real AI wins and real AI fails from their family trip to Ireland, including itineraries that led them to storytelling caretakers and unexpected courthouse tours, a one-lane cliff road on the Wild Atlantic Way that was fully enveloped in fog, and the moment Sarah quietly put on her shoes in the backseat just in case things went off the rails. They also talk about how AI helped Caitlin figure out how to contribute to a trip she did not plan, the poem she wrote at their first pub, the playlist that kept everyone going on long driving days, and the car dealership visit where a quick AI check cut her bill by more than half.

This episode is for anyone who has ever felt both grateful for and skeptical of AI at the same time. It is a reminder that AI does not have to be perfect to be useful, and that keeping a human in the loop, and a sense of humor, makes all the difference.

Topics covered in this episode:

• Using AI for family travel planning, including itineraries, driving routes, and packing lists
• AI travel planning wins and fails, and what they have in common
• How to prompt AI better when planning a trip, especially with kids or specific travel preferences
• What happens when AI underestimates the culture of a destination
• Using AI to lower the barrier to entry for people who do not enjoy planning
• How Caitlin used AI to find her role on a trip she did not organize
• Image generation with DALL-E and why Caitlin needed a very specific nesting doll
• Why AI plus human curation is a more powerful travel team than either one alone
• OpenEvidence as an AI tool in medical practice
• Using AI at the car dealership to review a service estimate in real time
• The mental load of trip planning and how AI can reduce it for caregivers
• What Ireland's storytelling culture taught this family about slowing down and staying present
• Spring and summer travel planning with AI for families
• Aphantasia, anesthesiology, and why friendly introverts make excellent colleagues

New to AI and not sure where to begin? The AI-Empowered Mom free mini-podcast is a low-pressure place to start. Six short episodes designed for parents and caregivers who want to get started with AI without the overwhelm. Find it at aiempoweredmom.beehiiv.com/mini-podcast

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You can also reach Sarah directly at contact@aiempoweredmom.com and find everything at AIEmpoweredMom.com.

If this episode made you smile or sparked a question, a follow and a review help other parents find us. It means more than you know.

So you have Copilot at work. But you are just not sure what to actually do with it...

In this episode, Sarah sits down with Roger Campbell II, founder of Gemstack and the AI Business Foundry and one of the country's leading Microsoft Copilot adoption experts. Roger has a background that spans software engineering, coding bootcamps, and enterprise education. He spent years teaching others how to code and now helps teams and organizations actually use the AI tools they are already paying for.

The conversation starts with pickleball and ends with a parenting insight neither of them expected. In between, Roger breaks down what Copilot actually is, where to start without the overwhelm, what to watch out for, and why he believes knowledge is still the most powerful thing you can pass on to the next generation.

WHAT YOU WILL HEAR IN THIS EPISODE:

[00:02] Opening: The Copilot-curious parent

[01:02] Meet Roger: 10 nieces and nephews, pickleball, and life in Austin

[02:47] How Roger became a Microsoft Copilot adoption expert

[03:53] A non-traditional path into tech: Lyft, coding bootcamps, and teaching high schoolers to code

[05:35] What Roger tells parents who worry about whether tech careers will exist for their kids

[08:09] What Microsoft Copilot actually is and how it differs from ChatGPT

[10:16] Where to start if you have Copilot at work: the email case

[12:05] A surprisingly powerful use case: finding documents you could never locate

[14:38] Can Copilot make sense for personal or family use?

[19:08] What to watch out for: three tips for safe, responsible Copilot use

[21:36] Advice for leaders rolling out Copilot: start with a problem, not a tool

[24:09] Clippy is back: what Roger thinks about Microsoft's new AI character Mico

[27:37] Why this work matters to Roger personally

[29:04] Chatbot Mode: Word vs PowerPoint, one thing he would never hand to AI, and the myth about training data he wants to bust

[36:36] A parenting aha neither of them saw coming: why enterprise AI might be the safest place for curious kids to start

FIND ROGER:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/MrRogerCampbell

Website: AIBusinessFoundry.com

FIND SARAH AND AI-EMPOWERED MOM:

Website and newsletter: AIEmpoweredMom.com

Free mini podcast: Share your email at AIEmpoweredMom.com to get access to three short episodes on new ways to use AI.

Something big is happening right now in the world of AI, in the words of entrepreneur Matt Shumer. And if you've had that low-level hum of "I should probably be paying more attention to this," you're not alone.

In this episode, host Sarah Dooley is joined by Greg and Danielle Neufeld, co-hosts of The Most Important Thing podcast and partners in life, parenting, and business. They're venture capital investors, parents of three young children, and two of the most thoughtful people I know when it comes to building intentional family culture. We had one of those conversations that felt like it just kept going somewhere richer around every corner.

We talk about:

• Why Greg compares reading about this moment in AI to the moment Tim Ferriss caught before COVID, and what that framing means for families
• The concept of "cognitive patience" and how the Neufelds are building it in their kids
• Their family mission, vision, and values, including a cheer their four-year-old started
• How Danielle thinks about AI as a tool that actually supports her intuition as a mom
• The Neufeld family tech stack (including a Tesla full self driving (FSD) deep dive)
• And a beautiful closing thought from poet Kahlil Gibran that I think will stick with you

This one is for any parent who wants to stay grounded while still staying ahead.

Find Greg and Danielle at tmitpod.com or wherever you get your podcasts.

Subscribe to the AI-Empowered Mom newsletter at aiempoweredmom.com for more practical, calm guidance on navigating technology as a parent.

When was the last time someone asked what your favorite ice cream is and you actually knew the answer? In this episode, host Sarah Dooley sits down with Dr. Julie Fernandes, an occupational therapist, coach, and mom of three, to talk about what it really means to restore yourself after years of pouring into everyone else.

Julie brings her OT lens to family life in the most grounding way. We talk about why your home environment shapes your mental state more than you realize, how boundaries are actually an expression of love rather than control, and why setting clear expectations for your kids may be the most supportive thing you can do for your family right now.

We also get into tech boundaries at home, how Julie uses AI as a practical tool (not a magic fix), and why she believes parents have far more influence than they give themselves credit for.

If you have been feeling stretched thin, disconnected from yourself, or unsure where your authority ends and your anxiety begins, this conversation is for you.

Topics covered in this episode:

• The flamingo analogy that explains why moms lose their glow (and how to get it back)
• OT-informed strategies for managing clutter, routines, and mental load
• Why boundaries are love, and how to set them without the guilt
• Navigating screen time and AI with kids in a thoughtful, age-appropriate way
• How AI supports Julie's family life in small, practical ways
• Finding yourself again in the middle of the motherhood season

Guest: Dr. Julie Fernandes | @juliefernandesco on Instagram

Host: Sarah Dooley | @aiempoweredmom on Instagram

What if the relationship that helps you navigate parenting isn’t with another person, but with AI? In this Galentine’s Day special episode, Sarah Dooley sits down with Alexandra Samuel,AI and workplace speaker, Wall Street Journal and Harvard Business Review contributor, and host of the Me + Viv podcast, to explore what it really means to build a relationship with AI.

Alexandra shares her journey through what she calls “extra large parenting” as the mother of an autistic son, and how AI went from being a productivity tool to becoming Viv, her AI coach and companion. From creating personalized homeschool schedules in minutes to modeling lifelong learning for her kids, Alexandra reveals how AI can hold your hand while you hold theirs.

This conversation challenges the idea that AI is just another tool. Instead, discover how building an intentional relationship with AI can reduce your mental load, support your parenting journey, and deepen your human connections.

Topics discussed:

• What “extra large parenting” means and why work became Alexandra’s respite
• How AI transformed hours of homeschool planning into minutes
• The evolution of Viv from custom GPT to full AI companion
• Why parents need to co-learn AI alongside their kids
• Using AI to model lifelong adaptation and curiosity
• How AI can deepen connection rather than replace it

If you’re curious about AI but unsure where to start, or if you’re looking for ways to lighten your mental load without adding more to your plate, this episode offers a fresh perspective on what’s possible.

Subscribe to the AI-Empowered Mom newsletter for practical AI guidance that centers parents, not technology.

"I ended up in the hospital."

Ekaterina Konovalova was spending $2,000 a month on tutors and therapists, driving her daughter to appointments five days a week, trying to be the perfect wife who cooks fresh meals and keeps a spotless house. She was managing her career, her family, and her household until she collapsed. A severe migraine. Dehydration. The hospital.

That's when she and her husband made a decision: pack up, leave Austin, move to Pittsburgh for a free dyslexia school that's one of the best in the nation. By third grade, her daughter was reading at sixth grade level.

This conversation explores what it means to push yourself past exhaustion before asking for help, the physical and emotional toll of advocating for your child, and how Ekaterina channeled her experience into Trust Me Mom, a podcast where she interviews experts to help other parents.

If you've ever felt like you're drowning trying to do it all, this episode offers both clarity and permission to make hard choices.

Connect with Ekaterina at Trust Me Mom podcast and on LinkedIn.

Reddhi Patel is a cultural architect in her bi-cultural family. She's not just planning celebrations or explaining traditions. She's translating between two worlds, bridging cultures, and carrying what she calls "the beauty and burden" of this invisible work.

In this conversation, Reddhi shares the ice hockey metaphor that explains her mental load: while her partner scores the goals, she's "actively assisting from every place in the ice hockey rink" to keep household operations running. She talks about COVID, when she was nine months pregnant, her team was laid off, and her mother-in-law passed away. That's when AI became her family operations coordinator.

This episode explores what it means to be the bridge between cultures, how Halloween and Diwali celebrations blend in her Vermont home, and how AI helped coordinate meals, logistics, and communication when her mental bandwidth ran out.

If you've ever felt the weight of being the bridge in your own family, this conversation offers clarity.

Connect with Reddhi at www.usealinaapp.com and take advantage of her special offer to access her free resources for families here.

Stepfamilies navigate a level of emotional, cognitive, and logistical complexity that most parenting advice was never designed to address. In this episode of the AI-Empowered Mom podcast, Sarah Dooley is joined by Cameron Normand, CEO of Stepfamily Solutions and host of The Stepmom Diaries podcast, for an honest, research-based conversation about what stepfamilies really need to thrive.

Cameron shares her personal journey as a stepmom, why stepmothers often carry a heavier mental and emotional load, and how unclear roles, high conflict dynamics, and unrealistic expectations can lead to burnout and isolation. Together, they unpack concepts like “stuck insider, stuck outsider,” why connection must come before correction, and why it can take five to seven years for a stepfamily to truly gel.

They also explore where AI can thoughtfully support stepfamilies, from ideating traditions and managing household logistics to improving communication tone, while naming clear boundaries where human connection and professional support still matter most.

This episode is a compassionate, practical guide for stepmoms, stepparents, partners, and anyone who wants to better understand the realities of blended family life.

Camp season has a way of pushing parents to the edge.Endless tabs, forgotten logins, waitlists that fill in minutes, and group chats that never sleep. In this episode of the AI-Empowered Mom podcast, host Sarah Dooley sits down with Molly Morse, co-founder of Recess, to talk about why planning camps and activities has become so chaotic and how it can finally get easier.

Molly shares how becoming a mom and a marketplace founder opened her eyes to how fragmented and outdated the camps and activities ecosystem really is. She explains why parents feel like everything is sold out while camps still have empty seats, and how Recess is creating a centralized marketplace to bring clarity to the chaos. The conversation also dives into how AI matchmaking helps surface the right options for each family, how group booking and scheduling tools could change everything, and why parents should trust their intuition when choosing programs for their kids.

This episode is a must-listen for parents staring down camp season and wondering how it got this hard and how it might finally get easier.

In this episode of the AI-Empowered Mom podcast, host Sarah Dooley is joined by sociologist and author Allison Daminger to unpack the invisible mental work that keeps families running and why it still falls so heavily on women.

Drawing from her book What’s on Her Mind? The Mental Workload of Family Life, Allison explains how traditional measures of household labor miss the constant anticipating, researching, organizing, and monitoring that happens inside parents’ heads. She shares insights from interviewing nearly 200 parents, including why time is the wrong metric for mental load, how the “superhuman and bumbler” dynamic shows up in many homes, and what her research revealed about different gender couples compared to queer couples.

The conversation also explores divorce and mental load, calendar partners, weaponized incompetence, and how AI could either reduce or unintentionally increase cognitive labor if it is not designed thoughtfully. Allison offers a grounded, compassionate reminder that if the mental load feels heavy, it is not a personal failure. It is a structural one.

A must listen for parents, caregivers, and anyone trying to understand why family life feels so mentally exhausting and what might actually help.

When AI can design almost anything, where does human creativity still matter?

In this episode of the AI‑Empowered Mom Podcast, host Sarah Dooley sits down with Deanna L. Leonard, fractional CMO, AI strategy leader, and one of LinkedIn’s Top 100 AI Creative Educators.

Deanna shares her journey from lifelong artist and corporate marketing executive to teaching AI confidence to midlife women and advising global brands on ethical, creative AI adoption. Together, they explore where humans outperform machines, how emotional intelligence shapes better AI outcomes, and why AI should act as a tool and not the storyteller.

This conversation covers AI fatigue, creative burnout, “AI slop,” ethical design, prompt mastery, and what 2026 may bring with AI agents and workflow transformation. Deanna also offers practical guidance for parents and caregivers navigating AI at home, including guardrails around creativity, screen use, and protecting children’s likenesses.

A grounded, human-first conversation about creativity, leadership, and designing a future where technology supports connection instead of replacing it.

Smartphones, group chats, gaming, YouTube, social media, and screen safety are now part of everyday parenting. In this episode of the AI-Empowered Mom podcast, digital parenting expert Sarah Gallagher-Trombley joins host Sarah Dooley to help parents navigate digital life with confidence and clarity.

Sarah shares her path from tech executive to founder of Digital Mom Media, where she supports families in building healthy screen habits, setting boundaries, and raising responsible digital citizens. They cover smartphone readiness, group chat etiquette, social media risks, online safety, and why children are being introduced to technology at younger ages. The conversation also explores the Wait Until Eighth movement, practical guidance for tech gifts and devices, and how AI is reshaping digital parenting and online safety.

A practical, reassuring episode for parents and caregivers raising digital citizens in 2025 and beyond. For more information about Sarah and Digital Mom Media go to digitalmom.me. All AI Empowered Mom listeners and fans can get 25% off Digital Mom on-demand courses with code AIMOM.

In this episode of AI-Empowered Mom, host Sarah Dooley sits down with executive image consultant, speaker, and author Morgan Wider for a transformational conversation about confidence, presence, and the untold power of personal style. Together they explore how women can show up with clarity and authority in every season of motherhood and career, and why the clothes we choose play a deeper role in our identity than most of us realize.

Morgan breaks down the concept of being “authentically appropriate,” a fresh approach to professional presence that encourages women to honor who they are instead of shrinking to fit outdated norms. She explains how image bias shapes first impressions, why what we wear influences our mood and decision making, and how small style shifts can strengthen self-trust and everyday confidence.

Morgan also shares her own story of hiding under oversized layers, what finally pushed her to reclaim her presence, and how she now helps women express worthiness through intentional wardrobe choices. The conversation ranges from executive presence and motherhood to school uniforms, identity, and the surprising ways AI can streamline mental load tasks so women have more energy to show up as themselves.

This episode is filled with practical wisdom, self compassion, and real talk about what it means to be seen, to feel powerful, and to reconnect with your authentic self. A must listen for anyone navigating career, caregiving, leadership, or personal reinvention.

In this episode of AI-Empowered Mom, host Sarah Dooley sits down with TEDx speaker, award-winning actress, and executive coach Naeemah Elias to explore what it means to thrive as an outsider and how AI can support neurodiverse families, overwhelmed parents, and anyone navigating systems that were not built for them.

Naeemah shares her journey as a neurodivergent mom raising neurodivergent kids, her powerful approach to building independence and resilience in children, and the practical systems she used as a single mom to create clarity and calm at home. She also offers real examples of how AI became her behind the scenes partner, from reorganizing a major TEDx talk to helping her send her son to college in Japan with a detailed step by step plan.

This conversation is filled with wisdom about parenting, presence, confidence, and the small habits that help families thrive. It is a powerful reminder that AI cannot replace human connection, but it can give parents much needed capacity, clarity, and breathing room.

Listen to learn how AI can help you build structure, spark courage, and reclaim peace at home. For more great information on parenting and Thriving as an Outsider, check out Naeemah's TED talk here and subscribe to her her YouTube channel here.

Kids today are growing up in the age of AI, often learning from it long before adults realize it. In this episode of the AI-Empowered Mom Podcast, host Sarah Dooley talks with Jeff Riley, former Massachusetts Commissioner of Education and co-founder of Day of AI, a nationwide effort built with MIT to bring free AI literacy to students, educators, and families.

Jeff explains why AI literacy has become essential, how parents can start building healthy conversations about AI at home, and what schools need to do to keep kids safe. He also shares stories from the classroom, concerns about AI companions, and a hopeful vision for how AI could help personalize learning for every child.

If your brain already has 42 Thanksgiving tabs open, this episode is for you. Host Sarah Dooley walks through ten practical, real life ways AI can lighten the load during Thanksgiving planning, hosting, travel and family gatherings.

She shares simple prompts that help with menus, grocery lists, kids’ activities, printable placemats, delegation scripts, tricky-table conversations, self-care, playlists and capturing gratitude.

AI cannot cook the turkey or fix family dynamics, but it can make the week feel lighter. This conversation helps parents and caregivers head into the holiday with clarity and confidence.  

A cross-country move is hundreds of decisions packed into a single cardboard box. In this episode of the AI-Empowered Mom Podcast, host Sarah Dooley sits down with leadership coach and mom of three Christina Zini to explore how generative AI became her unexpected partner in a major family relocation.

Christina shares how she used Claude to create a relocation project plan, evaluate possible cities, prep and list her home, choose neighborhoods and schools in Chicago, and even design a mudroom in her new house. She also opens up about the emotional side of moving and how AI helped her self-regulate in difficult moments without ever replacing her real support system.

This conversation is full of practical ideas for using AI to plan, organize, and manage big life transitions in ways that lighten the mental and emotional load for parents.

Microsoft's AI tools aren't just for the office. They can make life at home a little easier too!

In this episode of the AI-Empowered Mom Podcast, host Sarah Dooley talks with Ashli Smart-Carrigan, Generative AI champion, Microsoft Copilot adoption leader, and founder of Smart Hoopla, where she helps small businesses, nonprofits, and moms simplify change, branding, and marketing through AI.

Ashli shares how she uses Microsoft Copilot as both a productivity partner at work and a “quiet co-parent” at home. From automating daily tasks to managing family schedules and even surviving toddler biting season, she offers practical ideas for how moms can integrate AI into real life without adding to the mental load.

They also discuss:

• How to stay current with rapid AI change

• New Microsoft updates like Copilot Studio and Copilot for Health

• Tips for reducing AI fatigue

• Why AI should lighten your load, not add to it

The invisible work of running a family has always been real, but now there is a solution to make it visible and shared.

In this episode of the AI-Empowered Mom Podcast, host Sarah Dooley talks with Susie Harrison, co-founder and CEO of Hearth Display, the first digital display created to simplify family coordination.

Hearth is pioneering a new product category designed to help families externalize the mental load by turning schedules, routines, and reminders into something everyone can see and contribute to.

Susie shares the story behind building Hearth, how visibility drives shared responsibility at home, and why technology built for families can reduce burnout and restore balance.

It’s spooky season, but not just because of Halloween.

In this special solo episode, host Sarah Dooley of AI-Empowered Mom walks through four “scary stories” about AI that are keeping parents up at night, from privacy concerns and job fears to deepfakes and the planet’s energy use.

Sarah unpacks the truth behind each fear, shares practical steps parents can take to stay safe and informed, and reminds listeners why opting out isn’t the answer, because scary stories only have power if we stop them halfway. Tune in for an episode that helps parents feel informed, empowered, and ready to lead their families confidently into the AI age.

Who gets to shape AI, and who does it serve?

In this episode of the AI-Empowered Mom Podcast, host Sarah Dooley is joined by Meme Styles, data activist, mom of four, and founder of MEASURE, a nonprofit using data as a tool for justice. Meme is also an MIT Solver, Social Science Research Council Justice Fellow, and Chair of the HBCU AI Convention.

Together, Sarah and Meme discuss what it means to “interrogate AI,” how communities can hold technology accountable, and why representation and equity must be built into every system from the start. Meme shares the frameworks her team is using to examine bias, measure impact, and ensure that AI benefits, not harms, the people it touches.

We don’t need AI to replace parents—we need AI to support them. In this episode of the AI-Empowered Mom Podcast, host Sarah Dooley is joined by Julie Kelleher, EdTech executive, entrepreneur, and creator of @likeamother.ai, for a conversation about keeping the parent in the loop when it comes to AI and families.

Julie shares how her journey from classroom teacher to education technology leader shaped her perspective on parenting in the age of AI. Together, they explore what it means to raise AI-literate kids, how to manage digital boundaries, and why parents must stay actively engaged in guiding their families through an evolving tech landscape.

From real-life examples of digital parenting to her reflections on “vaporware,” AI literacy, and middle-school humor, this episode reminds us that we don’t have to be experts to keep our families safe and informed. We just need to stay in the loop.

Burnout is everywhere, but it doesn’t have to define us. In this episode of the AI-Empowered Mom Podcast, host Sarah Dooley is joined by Charlotte C. Lewis, founder of SenterMe, to explore the intersection of emotional intelligence, self-care, and AI.

Charlotte shares her journey from burnout to building an app that helps parents and professionals check in with themselves and reclaim balance. Together, they unpack why burnout is often systemic, not personal, and how small moments of emotional awareness can create lasting change. From navigating motherhood to redefining productivity, this conversation is both grounding and empowering.

If you’ve ever felt stretched too thin or wondered how to bring more presence into your daily life, this episode is for you.

Computer vision is everywhere: on your phone, at the grocery store, even when you travel. But what does that mean for moms and families?

In this episode of AI-Empowered Mom, host Sarah Dooley sits down with Jodi Blomberg, VP of AI and Data Science at Cox Automotive, mom of three, avid cyclist, and expert in artificial intelligence and computer vision. Together, they explore what computer vision really is, how it shows up in daily life, and what parents need to know about both the opportunities and risks.

Jodi shares how she uses AI at home to simplify family logistics, how bias shows up in computer vision systems, and why moms and caregivers need to be part of shaping the future of these tools. From surveillance concerns to photo-book wins, this conversation is both practical and thought-provoking.

You can’t see it, but you feel it. The invisible load of caregiving drains moms and caregivers every day. Ellie Windle, founder of Persist and mom of two, joins to name it, measure it, and change it.

In this episode, Ellie shares her personal journey of burnout, the emotional and logistical labor that caregivers shoulder, and how a birthday party breakdown led to founding Persist. She explains the concept of “anticipatory load,” how AI can help unpack emotional labor, and why we need to design tools that work for the real complexity of family life.

Sarah and Ellie also discuss the dangers of AI simply raising the bar instead of reducing the load, how same-sex couples offer lessons for equitable caregiving, and why shared language and visibility can transform relationships.

If you’ve ever thought, “Why am I so tired even when I’m getting help?”—this conversation is for you.

In this episode of the AI-Empowered Mom Podcast, host Sarah Dooley is joined by Kate Telge, founder of Maiven Collective, a community helping women confidently explore and adopt AI on their own terms. Kate shares her own winding path into tech, the realities of working at Meta during the rise of AI, and the gender adoption gap that inspired her to create Maiven Collective.

Together, they unpack why so many women feel behind in AI, the cultural and psychological barriers that get in the way, and how community can help overcome them. Kate also explains the origin of the term “AI slop,” how she’s using AI for skincare and holiday cards, and why she believes no one is behind. Rather, we’re all learning together in real time.

Whether you’re already experimenting with AI or still wondering where to begin, this episode offers real talk, relatable stories, and tangible encouragement to start where you are.

What happens when we combine emotional intelligence with artificial intelligence? In this episode, Sarah Dooley sits down with Dr. Katie Pritchett, PhD, executive coach, keynote speaker, change agility expert, and mom, to explore how we can navigate change more gracefully by strengthening both our EQ and AI muscles.

They unpack what “change agility” really means, why moms may be uniquely positioned to lead through tech transformation, and how to find presence and peace amidst constant change. From modeling resilience for our kids to using AI to create more space in our lives, this conversation is full of real talk and practical insight. Plus, Katie shares a new favorite podcast for moms of neurodivergent kids and a song that helps her raise her vibration when the day gets tough.

Money is power, and women have been fighting for both for centuries. In this episode, journalist and author Josie Cox joins AI-Empowered Mom to talk about the intersection of gender, equity, and emerging technology. We unpack her new book Women, Money, Power, diving into the motherhood penalty, why women have been slower to adopt AI, and how artificial intelligence could either close or widen the gender pay gap depending on what we do next.

Josie shares how becoming a mother pushed her to go freelance, how she personally uses AI for research and editing, and why she believes it’s more dangerous for women to sit out the AI revolution than to jump in. We also challenge the myth that women lack ambition, explore how fathers need to be part of the conversation, and reflect on the power of rewriting old systems with new tools.

Back to school can be a whirlwind, but it doesn’t have to wipe us out. In this episode, Theresa Phillippe, founder of Mombirds and mom of three, joins host Sarah Dooley to talk about how we can make the back-to-school season smoother, simpler, and a little more sane. Theresa shares what it's like managing three kids at very different stage (from high school to elementary) and how she stays calm amidst the chaos.

We talk about mental, physical, and emotional loads, practical tips like her family’s “launch pad,” and how support from other moms makes all the difference. You’ll also get a behind-the-scenes look at how her company Mombirds is helping working families with house helpers, executive assistants, and even in-home chefs. Whether you're a parent facing drop-off dread or juggling sports schedules and school emails, this is the episode for you.

What if AI agents could manage your family calendar, plan your next trip, help with homework, and keep your kids safe online? In this episode of AI-Empowered Mom, host Sarah Dooley sits down with Microsoft’s Rajamma Krishnamurthy, a leader in agentic AI and NYU adjunct professor, to explore how these “intelligent interns” could transform family life. Rajamma breaks down what autonomous and semi-autonomous AI agents are and shares real examples of how they could reduce the mental load at home.

The conversation also covers practical ways to keep your family’s data private and secure, the role of bias in AI, and why AI governance at home is never a one-time conversation. Rajamma even shares one of the most unexpected AI use cases she has seen, involving cows, and reflects on the opportunities and risks of bringing this technology into family life.

If balance feels impossible, maybe it’s time to aim for something smarter. In this episode, host Sarah Dooley sits down with coach and parent Carla Greenan, PCC, CPC, to explore Smart Harmony, an approach to reducing the mental load of parenthood through intentional choices, small mindset shifts, and practical support tools like AI. They talk coaching, coaching with AI, managing changing parenting seasons, and how to know what really matters.

She’s made AI do amazing things—and hilariously weird things too. In this episode of the AI-Empowered Mom podcast, host Sarah Dooley is joined by neighbor and powerhouse product director Rachel Kohn. Together, they laugh through some of the most unforgettable AI fails (like the appendix slide incident 😳) and explore the wins that come from experimenting boldly with tech. From vibe meal planning to parenting Q&As powered by ChatGPT, Rachel shares how AI helps her navigate motherhood, life, and launching solo projects. Plus, don’t miss the launch of our new AI Fail of the Month Contest—submit your funniest or most bizarre AI moment and maybe you’ll be featured next!

How do you juggle three kids under three, two growing businesses, and a standout personal brand, with your faith + family front and center?

In this episode, host Sarah Dooley sits down with Chelsea Rizzo, also known as @the.ai.mama and founder of Abundant Academy, to talk about how she uses AI to write books, launch businesses, and build systems that keep her present with her family. Chelsea shares her favorite automation hacks, how her faith grounds her work, and what she wants every mom to know about starting small and dreaming big.

After tragedy, many parents are left asking, "What do I say to my child?" and "How do I process this myself?" In this special episode, host Sarah Dooley sits down with Dr. Kirti Saxena, Chief of Psychiatry at Texas Children’s Hospital and Professor at Baylor College of Medicine, to talk about how to support children and families during times of grief and trauma.

They discuss how to talk to kids at different developmental stages, the importance of modeling calm as a parent, how to recognize signs your child may need more support, and how parents can care for their own mental health, too.

In this episode, host Sarah Dooley is joined by Dalia Gogineni, one of the original AI-Empowered Supermoms, to share 10 real-life ways she uses AI to manage life as a mom and professional. From home decor decisions to travel planning to driving Copilot adoption at work, Dalia breaks down how AI helps her do more with less stress, mess, and effort. 

In this episode, host Sarah Dooley talks with Paige Connell, content creator, educator, advocate and Fair Play facilitator, about the invisible work of motherhood. They unpack the mental load: what it is, why it matters, and how tools like AI and frameworks like Fair Play can help lighten it. If you’ve ever felt like the project manager of your household, this one’s for you.

In this episode, host Sarah Dooley talks with Lois Janos, founder of Working Smarter with AI and mom of two, about how discovering AI transformed her life as a working parent and sparked her mission to bring more women into the conversation. From planning toddler activities to running a sold-out AI workshop for women in her hometown, Lois shares why moms have a vital role in shaping the future of AI and how we can all start where we are—with curiosity and confidence.