I am so excited to talk with this week's guest, two-time bestselling author Brianna Madia. Plus, I’m joined by the incredible Shae LaPlace as my guest co-host. We explore so much with Brianna as she shares her journey as an author and content creator, her upcoming van life adventure, and how living simply helps her stay grounded. She also gives us an inside look at writing her third book, which explores the balance between being different and finding joy in simple pleasures. This conversation is all about empowering women, the power of self-assurance, and celebrating our unique identities. We laugh a lot and reflect on what it means to live a life that's genuinely ours.

In this episode, I chat with Kari Morris, co-founder of Martie—an online discount grocery store revolutionizing the food industry. We dive into her journey from a background in food and art to launching Martie, driven by the challenge of moving seasonal and near-expired products during the COVID-19 pandemic. Kari shares how Martie is tackling food waste, increasing accessibility, and helping customers save big. We also explore the power of community, the importance of mission-driven business, and how she keeps her creativity alive. Plus, we discuss work-life balance, how motherhood reshaped her perspective on food, and the subtle ways she weaves art into daily life.

Putting yourself on stage or sharing your voice on a podcast is scary. You have to be vulnerable and put yourself out there. Morgan Lorraine Gallo is doing that—courageously sharing her story, addressing her trauma, and stepping into the role of an eating disorder recovery advocate. She’s on the rise and is generously inviting others to join her journey. In this episode, we discuss her path as a comedian, her experience with an eating disorder, her new podcast, and the supportive community she’s passionate about creating.

With dreams of becoming the next Betsy Johnson and a successful career in design, Mindy Scheier had no idea her fashion future would be in founding and running two organizations and revolutionizing fashion design and talent. She is the founder and CEO of  Runway of Dreams & Gamut Talent Management. In this episode, she shares the catalyst for her pivot, how she’s working with major global brands to create adaptive clothing, and how chasing all in after your big dreams is exactly what your soul and the world is waiting for you to do. 

When Stephanie Kauffman had two important people in her life get diagnosed with cancer in one year, she decided it was time to pivot from working in Hollywood to working in cancer research. In this episode, we discuss how Melanoma is affecting younger and younger people, why new research is important, and how Stephanie is using all of her skills to also bring a media voice to women & minorities. 

Humans are complex & beautiful, and yet we like to pretend that we’re not. Today's guest, Parisa Frost is herself beautifully multi-layered as an Identity Affirming & Trauma Oriented Marital & Family Therapist, Creator of Hiking Healers, Yogi, and is also a voice for the women of Iran. She uses her talents to help clients break down their identities to empower themselves as well as to strengthen relationships, communication and communities. Skills we all need! 

Guys! I am so excited (after years of asking them to be on the podcast) to finally introduce you to two of my favorite humans, dear friends and amazing Power Couple, Josh & Liza Shirazi. They are inspiration to me in so many ways - they’re each successful in their own businesses, they have a great relationship, their kids are awesome, they have the dog, the house, the friends, the family dinners and even an actual white picket fence. They’re also two of the most humble people you’ll ever meet. When we hang out we are able to talk about ALL of the things because they get that life is all the things at once so let’s make as much of it work as possible. They are people who know what it means to live life intentionally and I can’t wait for you to meet them.

Jenn Harper knows that three things are critical for life JOY, Community and Representation. As the founder of Cheekbone Beauty, the Indigenous-owned and founded, digitally-native, Canadian cosmetics company (currently available at @cheekbonebeauty and @sephoracanada), she’s made both a top priority in company values, marketing and simply how life is done. She knows that representation starts with her as an indigenous woman who is also successful and a founder and creating products that others in the indigenous community can see on billboards.  She’s bringing joy through her products and marketing. She’s constantly aware and in honor of all her communities - the Cheekbone Beauty community, her indigenous community, her entrepreneurial community and all the others who are creating the space for her to chase after her dreams.

Democracies and great societies work because citizens participate.  As John F Kennedy said, Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country. Today’s guest, Karen Losi, understands the assignment. She’s pivoted from a successful career in retail to looking to where she can best be of service to her community, first as a foster parent and soon with her masters degree in social work. In this episode we discuss her choice to pivot, the realities of kids and families in need, and why we need more people to share their gifts to elevate and create the caring, connected communities we crave. 

Today’s guest, Christie Garcia, and I share one of my biggest pet peeves about corporate America. We do not train or teach people how to go from being an independent contributor to being a manager or leader. Instead most companies think they’re doing you the employee a favor by giving you a promotion that includes leading people and assume you’ll figure it out. Being a great producer and being a great leader are completely different skill sets.  Christie has taken this frustration and created her company the Mindful Choice Leadership Academy where she is helping managers and leaders of all kinds to step into the mindset, approach and perspective that allow them to be not just great, but transformational leaders. 

Running can be fun and rewarding but we are often stopped from putting on our running shoes because we’re nervous and scared about even that first mile. Luckily, today’s guest, Beverly Asante Puschmann, is here to help us.  In addition to a successful career at IBM, she’s a running coach and the author of Ace The Half: Run Your Best Half Marathon, Get in Shape and Finally Tick "Finish the Race Off" Your Bucket List.  If you’ve never ran, are currently out of running shape, have run a few races or run regularly, you’re sure to get new pro tips about running, habit building, and remembering what we’re all capable of. 

If you guys have been listening for a while, you know that I love books! I also believe anything is possible and available to us if we go get it and in the power of storytelling. Today’s guest, Lindsay Bednar, shares those values. She is the founder of Rodney K Press, an independent publishing house. She’s a writer, an author coach, a wife, mom, sister, & daughter. She is also diligently in pursuit of her best self and how accessing that best self allows her to be more available, more successful, and more of service to help make other people’s dreams come true. 

Today’s guest Sara Seyed is an activist, actor, and prior human rights lawyer. The past few months she has been dedicating herself fulltime to sharing, discussing and talking about the revolution currently happening in Iran. In this episode, we cover the latest news on Iran, how her love for acting and activism have been woven through her life, and why it’s so important for those of us with the ability to speak up for those who cannot speak up for themselves. 

Argaux is a Costa Mesa based business that celebrates wine, friendship, storytelling, community and travel. In this episode, I sit down with the founders, Arden Gilfillan and Margaux Reaume. We discuss the rich history and storytelling that is available through wine, what it means to run a business for 10 years with your best friend, the latest trends to vilify drinking, and why it matters to have a business that is in alignment with your values. 

Today’s guest, Karen Duffy, has had a diverse and impactful assortment of careers. She broke onto the world stage as the MTV VJ “Duff” in the early 1990’s, was on People’s 50 Most Beautiful People list in 1993, she is an actor, a model, a producer, an Oprah and NY Times best selling author, a speaker, a writer, and has also had a full assortment of social service roles including being a hospice chaplain in the Buddhist tradition.

In 1996 she was diagnosed with sarcoidosis - a currently incurable chronic pain illness and while it may have slowed her down in moments, it has not stopped her from working, creating or making a huge impact.

In this episode we dive into the wisdom of stoicism, the power of gratitude, how to be joyful through the pain, and why serving others is the answer to everything. We also discuss her latest projects, the Bill Murray documentary “New Worlds”, the upcoming movie “Greatest Beer Run Ever” starring Zac Efron, and her soon to be released newest book.

I love field trips. I love history, learning and hearing all the stories. Today’s guest, Lady Altovise is the founder of Lady Altovise NYC tours and she brings all of her experience in theater, dance, writing, producing, and music to each of her tours. From soul food to gospel tours to the most interesting parts of Harlem history, her tours, like herself, are unique, high energy and unforgettable. I’m excited for you to hear about her story, her joy and why sharing the good and the bad parts of our history is one of the most important things we can do as humans.

Powerful Ladies are a lot of things - professionals, daughters, sisters, moms, wives, podcasters, business owners, athletes, chefs, head of finances, logistics, etc, etc and we’re usually all those things IN ONE DAY. In today’s episode, I sit down with Jackie Waller co-host of the Beauty, Bags & Bravo Podcast to break down all the roles we have, how we need our circle of support, why honoring each other on a daily basis matters and why Bravo tv might just be our best therapy. 

One great idea can change your life and going viral on TikTok can change your business. Today’s guest and one of my rockstar clients, Abby Michaelsen of Statement Home, has experienced both phenomena and used them to her advantage. In this episode, we talk about the process of starting a product based business, how to scale a business as a one woman show, and the marketing secrets that can help your business. That and so much more! 

When you hear the word fierce, what comes to mind? Powerful? Aggressive? Inspiring? For today’s guest, Tara Wilson, fierce is her word and she’s built her second business Fierce Labs on the foundation that by being fierce you are creating your life your way. You and I know that fierce is a big word, so in this episode we break down what that means, where we’re stopped, and all the different ways you can access what you need for your greatness.  

There are so many women out there who are burned out, have forgotten their dreams, and don’t even remember what brings them joy. I might even be describing you. That’s where today’s guest, (and one of my new best friends) Marie Garvey, has stepped in to change things. As a successful executive coach and communications specialist, she knew how to step into her own power. Her life was working and yet she too knew she was not in alignment or living with intention the way she could be. Taking her own experience, she started her Crazy Busy Women in Balance program to help women break free and step into their dream lives.  In this episode, we talk about how she created the program, why we both hate the silent quitting movement, and her journey to becoming a single mom. Enjoy! 

This episode is a live & unedited recording of A Powerful Conversation Series: The Rise & Empowerment of Women in Iran.  This recording took place on Saturday October 8th, 2022 in response to and support of the protests happening in Iran being led by brave young women asking for freedom for Women, Life and Liberty. 

Our amazing panelists include:  

• Dr. Marjan Koosha Johnson a physician and entrepreneur
• Dr. Marjon Vatanchi, board certified dermatologist 
• Parisa Frost, Marriage, Family & Clicinic Art Therapist & cultural researcher
• Pegah Ghamary, real estate advisor
• Dani Stevens, model, mother & motivator
• Sara Seyed, Human Rights Lawyer, Actor & Activist 

Enjoy this episode and please share it so that the efforts of the women and girls in Iran is being heard by as many people as possible. 

Throughout time, humans have been in search of the secret to life. What is our purpose?  Where should we be focusing our energy?  What truly matters? What if our only goal was to be of service to others and have as much fun as possible?  That’s what today’s guest Jasmine Carey has been exploring as a lifelong writer, dancer and freedom seeker, and at a deeper level through her new memoir & young adult novel series. From growing up in Vermont to dancing to hanging out in New York with Prince, we cover a lot in this episode.

If you knew that you loved talking to people & you loved being social, chances are someone at one point in time told you that you’d be great at sales. That’s exactly what today’s guest Vicki Kotris was told. She built a great career in the sales space, but she also knew she didn’t want to be stuck in someone else’s plan, someone else’s dream. So four years ago, she and her husband decided to test one of her many million dollar ideas and it worked!  In this episode, learn how Vicki has built not one, but three businesses while still working full time, how she’s motivated to live intentionally and how her energy is not just changing Cleveland, but the world.

There are times when you see a woman and you know instantly, she’s a Powerful Lady. The clues are in her confidence, her body language, and often what she’s wearing. For many plus size women, finding the clothes to show up looking as powerful as they’ve felt has been a challenge. That’s what inspired Tracy Christian, a mega successful talent agent, to create her own fashion house, Sante Grace. In this episode, we discuss how everyone deserves to look great, the power of being your own advocate, how anything you want in life is just a game waiting for you to play, and the life you want is waiting for you to come and get it.

When you look back on your life, it’s easy to identify the people who changed its trajectory. In the moment, though, it’s often impossible to recognize it. If you’ve met Olivia Ivey Bannock, chances are she’s already making an impact on your life. She’s one of my favorite people—a true unicorn of a human who is kind, compassionate, fun, beautiful, and always glamorous. In this episode, we talk about how she went from having teachers who didn’t believe in her to taking big chances on herself, leading to the businesses and life she has today. We also give you a sneak peek at the new brand we’re launching together, @shopolivet. Don’t miss this one!

When you know what you’re supposed to be doing in this world and you commit to making it happen, nothing will stop you.  Elise Thomas, the founder of Cookie Co, is a great example of doing whatever it takes. Her first brick and mortar location was set to open in early 2020, then of course a global pandemic hit. She had to pivot to launching her business from her home kitchen, baking after homeschooling her kids sometimes until 4am to fulfill orders. Her story is one filled with resilience, family, community, service, and a commitment to bringing people joy every day. 

I’m such a huge fan of women who are just out there doing their thing to make the world a better place and secretly (because they never brag about themselves at all) are total undercover badasses. Annie Rouse is one of those women. She’s transforming the Hemp industry in America, educating and correcting people about all the various products hemp produces and its benefits. She’s an entrepreneur, supporting and advising other companies, and is doing all of that with degrees in economics, an MBA, and a Fulbright Scholarship. I’m excited for you to meet this badass. 

As more and more Americans are identifying as having high levels of stress and anxiety, we need to be advocates for ourselves individually and for our teams and employees professionally, to have the tools needed to reduce stress & anxiety, and find more balance in our lives. Massoma Alam Chohan is the author of the Amazon #1 seller, Take Your Lunch Break: Helpful Tips for Relieving Work-Related Stress, as well as a TedX Speaker, Industrial & Organizational Psychologist, wife and mother. In this episode, we dive into how to take care of yourself, how to take care of your team, and how even two minutes a day can change your life and the impact you're making in the world.

As a western society, we have more and more visibility to how whole body health and whole choice health is critical to our individual and community health. Today’s guest, Dr. Swathi Varanasi, is an Integrative Health Pharmacist committed to leveling up how we take care of ourselves and how we think about health care solutions. Additionally she’s an entrepreneur, speaker, author, and a woman who is constantly asking, can we do this better and why not me? In her roles as Chief Scientific Officer at Element Apothec, Medical Communications at Everly Health, and Director of Science at Los Angeles NORML. 

I love the idea of being an ass kicking super hero or international spy.  So when I saw Sydney Olson’s instagram account, I was immediately intrigued. There are all these videos of her doing ridiculously cool flips and jumps and even jumping between buildings.  She’s a Red Bull Championship athlete, a parkour athlete, a stunt woman and so many more amazing cool things. I can’t wait for you to meet her. 

Things in the world are crazy right now, which is why we need laughter more than ever. Personally, I’m craving laughter from female comics who are sharing the ridiculous and insanity of the simple parts of our lives - because let’s be honest, simply being female and how we go through the world between work, dating, family, biology, etc is full of content for a stand up set. That’s why I’m so excited for you to hear my conversation today with Casey Balsham, stand up comic, podcast host & creator, and hilarious human. 

The number of interior design accounts I follow on Instagram may be excessive, but I don’t think I’m alone in wanting a space for both my home and office that make me feel relaxed, happy, and powerful.  What we don’t think about enough when it comes to our interiors is does our space contribute to our health or the health of the planet, and does it align with our values? That’s where Erica Reiner comes in. She’s the founder of Eco Method Interiors, an interior design studio that considers toxicity, sustainability, human rights, and beyond when helping one design their dream space. Finally, a place where beauty, elegance, and comfort meet true health and wellbeing. 

Every woman has a story deeper than you know. Today’s guest, Lida Mangal, is a fashion designer based in Sydney, Australia who is using her talents and business to preserve Afghan historical clothing, merge it with modern fashion, and empower women in her home country with jobs they enjoy and are proud of. Her resiliency and courage that developed in war torn Afghanistan complements her joy for color, self expression, and honoring each person and tradition. Get ready to be inspired and reminded what goodness is all about. 

So many people dream of being a global nomad, traveling and working around the world, and breaking free from the hamster wheel we often find ourselves in. The goal is to live a life of purpose and adventure. Today's guest, Candice Young, has mastered both a nomadic lifestyle and a purpose driven lifestyle. She’s the founder and executive director of Trek Relief, a nonprofit that combines adventure travel with giving back to the local communities. Get ready to be inspired and to level up your life! 

My love language is collaborating. There’s nothing more fun than working with amazing people to make something you’re proud of.  Today’s guest, Katya Martin, shares that passion of creating and collaborating. She’s a filmmaker, actor most recently on Promised Land on ABC & Hulu, a producer and all around a creative who’s committed to telling authentic stories and giving more women a place to tell their own. She’s definitely someone I’m keeping in my circle. 

As an entrepreneur, you have the ability to direct your time, resources, and energy into things you care about. Initially, it’s usually a hybrid of doing something you love and making money. Once you find success at that level, it quickly evolves into the question: How can I use this business and these skills to make a difference in the world? Roanne Adams, the founder and creative director of RoAndCo, is using as much of her time as possible to support two major passions—improving the wellbeing of female entrepreneurs and advancing regenerative business and agriculture. In this episode, we discuss how she built a creative agency now celebrating 18 years, why sustainability requires leadership, and what it means to be a modern entrepreneur who cares.

There’s so much pressure to quickly scale and grow a business, but that’s not why myself or many other business owners, including today’s guest, made the leap to be an entrepreneurs.  Running your own business is an opportunity to align all of your commitments and your passions such that you’re generating an income to support yourself and make the impact you really want.  Today’s guest, Vana Chupp of Vana Chupp Studios, is a great example of how choosing the speed of your business to align with your priorities is not only a smart choice, but also still leads to an amazingly successful business.  The most recent example being that her products are now available at Pottery Barn Kids.

Today’s guest is someone I am SOOO proud of! Casey Hohman is an entrepreneur and founder of Scottsdale Bachelorette focusing on decor, itineraries, and additional services for bachelorette parties. He’s a business coaching client of mine who has made huge leaps and bounds, including quitting his day job to run the business full time, build out a great team, and continuing to make tricky choices each day to keep crushing it as a leader, a business owner, and celebrating all that Scottsdale has to offer. I’m excited for you to meet him and hear his story.

Hi guys. Today you will hear a special edition of the Powerful Ladies Podcast. This is the live, unedited recording from our roundtable, A Powerful Conversation About America: Racism 2 Years Later. Has anything changed? This episode took place on June 10th, 2022 and was planned and promised two years ago when we had our first edition of A Powerful Conversation About America following the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. Two years have gone by in a flash and it was time to check in and ask, “has racism in America changed?”  Has legistaure, laws or statistics changed since then?  How is racism or progress showing up, evolving or hiding in plain sight? Our panelists include the amazing Ronda Brunson, Chandra Gore and Lauren Wilson - powerful & successful women who have been a part of our previous episodes on Racism in America.  We encourage and invite you to share this episode with everyone who needs to hear it.  This conversation matters for our democracy and our future. 

It’s shocking how many children are in Foster Care in the United States. Even more shocking are the statistics of how many children in foster care graduate from high school, end up in jail, or worse. That’s why I am so thankful that organizations working to save children from those statistics such as CASA exist.  Today’s guests are Regan Phillips, CEO of CASA Orange County, and Nancy Eaton, a local CASA Advocate and Fundraiser.  Get ready to learn what’s really happening in foster care, how we can save these children, and how incredible the women who are doing the work truly are. 

I’m saying this now and I’ll say it again - you can change the world with your business. And if ‘change your world’ sounds too big and dramatic, then you can change your community with your business. Today’s guest, Amy Peterson, is proof that can happen. She is the founder of Rebel Nell, a jewelry company that provides employment and creative opportunities for women with barriers to employment - think living in a shelter, coming out of jail, working hard to get their life back on track.  Amy never expected to have a career in jewelry, as an entrepreneur or as a social entrepreneur. Get excited to listen to her story and be inspired. 

Today’s guest, Rose Archie, is badass.  She’s a skateboarder, a multi-project & event founder, a non-profit founder and she’s using skateboarding to bring visibility, access, pride, and mental health resources to Indigenous communities.  She is wise, she is rad, and most importantly she is using her power for good. Enjoy this episode! 

Growing up is hard. It’s especially hard as a tween and teen and even harder when you don’t have anyone to talk to, get advice from, or simply lack a community. Today’s guest, Naama Barnea-Goraly, is the founder of Girltelligence, a free app for girls where they can ask their questions, connect with each other, and give each other advice. It’s an app based sisterhood where girls support each other.  In this episode, we discuss why having a sisterhood matters even more today, how to avoid bullying and make apps safer for young girls, and how to even create your own app in the first place. Enjoy!

As we’ve become a global society, an unfortunate bi-product has been the decline of a tight knit connected local community. Today’s guest, Lindsay DeLong, is connecting, celebrating and sharing Laguna Beach with the world through her online publication Laguna Beach Living and now she’s on a mission with her new company, City Living Network, to teach others how to create their own business showcasing their city. Learn what makes Lindsay one of the happiest entrepreneurs, why local journalism is actually on the rise, and how you too can create your dream life right where you already are.

Today you are in for a treat because today’s guest is my amazing business coach, Angie Wisdom. She’ll spill a few beans about me, we talk about her coaching journey, we get into things we wish everyone knew about themselves and their capabilities, and more. I hope you enjoy this peek into who is a key contributor to my business and my life.  May she inspire you, too! 

As we look deeper into where modern society and our modern habits don’t serve us or align with what we’re committed to, a huge massive void is how we view, approach, appreciate, prepare, support and all the things regarding motherhood. Today’s guest, Molly Mitchell Hardt, has stepped in to repair the journey of motherhood, how it’s approached, and most importantly to support women in their motherhood experience. Whether you’re a mother or not, this episode will highlight how much of our life, society, policies, and simple way of being needs to be looked at again because motherhood touches everything. Molly knows being a mother herself and a therapist, she has daily exposure to the impact of the mother character on all of us. I look forward to hearing your ah-ha moments from this episode. Enjoy!

I'm confident that there should be an entire category of human design dedicated to producers. We often hear the term in the context of events or Hollywood, but we rarely talk about what it truly means as a job or calling. That’s unfortunate because being a producer often means making everything happen. Producers are essential to bringing ideas to life. Carling French is one such producer, known for glowing recommendations and rave referrals. Carling and I talk about what it takes to make big ideas a reality, how cool jobs can also be enjoyable, and the power of referrals.

Today’s episode is a special edition live recording of A Powerful Conversation About America: Conscious Entrepreneurship.  In celebration we invited three women who are setting the example for building sustainable, environmentally focused, conscious businesses to discuss the why, the how, and share their sage advice. My guests today are Kelly Murphy of Refiller LA, Jillian Clark of Roboro, and Annie Rouse of Think Hempy Thoughts.  Enjoy this episode and remember, everyday can be earth day.

One of my favorite things about being a podcast host is that I get to have conversations with some of the most interesting humans on the planet. Today’s guest Lauren, known across social media as ReLauren, is one of those inspiring, energizing, and give-you-faith-back in humanity humans.  I am so impressed with how she is taking on being the change she wants to see and creating a new intersection of all aspects of environmentalism and content creation. I’m excited for you to hear our conversation about how being the change can be easier than you think, why it matters we all work together, where we need to unlearn and relearn, and even some pro-tips about mastering TikTok. 

I’ve shared before on this podcast that if someone inspires you, just reach out to them. You never know who will say yes to hanging out with you. A client recommended that I read the book Good Morning, Beautiful Business. Within the first chapter, I knew I had found a new woman to add to my podcast guest wishlist & to my heros list.  Judy Wicks has a long list of accomplishments: she’s a mom, an entrepreneur, a restaurateur, a multi-non profit founder, an author, a speaker, an activist, a community builder, a connector, a world traveler, it goes on. She created the first of many things in the restaurant and local food & community movement and it’s amazing to me that everyone doesn’t know her.  Reading her book re-inspired me to take on doing it all and be a louder voice in changing the world.  When I grow up I want to be Judy Wicks and I think you will, too.