Shows
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeDr. Ronnie Taylor: From ex-Mormon felon to Oregon’s first Black male occupational therapist!Dr. Ronnie Taylor was born to extremely young parents who divorced after a few years of marriage. His mom converted to Mormonism and moved the family to Salt Lake City to start a new life. Unfortunately, the missionary who converted and recruited her failed to tell the church Ronnie’s family was Black. They weren’t exactly welcomed with open arms.His mom worked and went to college full time, and eventually she remarried. Growing up in Utah as a Black Mormon was tough. Ronnie moved out when he was 17 and tried to build a life for hims...
2022-09-3030 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeMelissa Jenkins Mangili: Neuropsychologist reinvented as a modelDr. Melissa Jenkins Mangili is a neuropsychologist and medical school faculty member who has reinvented herself as a fashion and fitness model. Her life began with grit and resilience. She and her three siblings were was raised in poverty in rural Maine by a single quadriplegic mother. “The nice thing about being from a small town is that everybody knows each other…and rallied to help us. (My mother) couldn't drive at first. She had to relearn how to drive and get an adapted car. Eventually we were able to build a wheelchair-accessible home…and she was a...
2022-09-0836 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeVernita Bowe: Transforming grief and COVID into a zest for lifeVernita L. Bowe is a survivor. As a smaller-than-average child, she experienced bullying in school. When she grew up she married the wrong man and wasn’t able to get out of that marriage for 24 years, three kids later.Parenting has been about huge loves and losses for Vernita. Her middle son landed in prison, and four years ago her oldest son Byron died in a car accident.“You really don't wanna bury your children. But what I've learned is all of the promises are gone…all of the things that you and he were gonna...
2022-07-2029 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeNicole Lee: Playing taps, coming out, a wild RV trip across country, and job discrimination!Happy Pride! What better month to launch this fun episode and celebrate a wonderful queer story.Growing up in Germany, when Nicole moved to the U.S. as a teen she never felt like she fit in. Then she joined the military during Desert Storm, and she ended up playing Taps for 600 funerals of her colleagues. That nearly broke her. She married a man before coming out as gay, and her dad and sisters rejected her.Around the same time of that rejection, her beloved mom—the only family member who truly embraced Nicole for wh...
2022-06-1452 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeCheryl Parks: From Shyest Girl in the Room to Sales Coach Extraordinaire!This week on the Finding Fertile Ground podcast, I interview Cheryl Parks, sales and mindset coach. Cheryl works with my business coach, Liz J. Simpson, and has provided me invaluable advice and confidence boosts as I reboot my business. Cheryl and I immediately connected, and I was especially lucky to meet her in person in early March, since the Big Money Movement coaching program happens all on Zoom and social media. It was a delight to delve into her background and discover how many ways our lives overlap and connect.I was surprised to discover t...
2022-05-1238 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeMichele Heyward: A hurricane and engineering camp made her an engineerMichele Heyward is a civil engineer who built the U.S. power grid. Now she's a tech startup founder building the future of work at PositiveHire. Michele grew up in rural South Carolina in a three-bedroom house full of kids. She had four siblings. She describes herself as the weird kid, really good at math.Encouraged to pursue science and engineering, she went to engineering camp 30 years ago at 13 years old.“But what really got me sold on engineering was when I was 12, a Category Five hurricane hit South Carolina and my mom's you...
2022-04-2745 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeGresham Harkless, Jr.: From childhood newspaper to founding two companies and becoming a media expertWhen Gresh was a kid, his military dad worked overseas for a year and this English major/entrepreneur started a family newspaper to keep his whole family up to date on what was going on. His first business was born!This week on the Finding Fertile Ground podcast, I interview Gresham Harkless, Jr., founder of CEO Blog Nation and Blue 16 Media, and host of the I AM CEO Podcast + CEO Chat Podcast. Gresh graduated from Howard University and Georgetown and has interviewed more than 1,000 CEOs, entrepreneurs, and business owners, including me!Life hasn’t always be...
2022-04-0739 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeChantal Cox: Creating a life she loves after stress, alopecia, and an abusive marriageThis week on the Finding Fertile Ground podcast, I interview Chantal Cox, a special educator, author, speaker, and Transformation NeuroCoach™. Chantal lives in Wichita, Kansas, now but she grew up all over the world. Her birth dad is Mexican, but her mom remarried when she was three years old. Her adopted dad was in the army, so the family moved every two years. They lived in several states as well as Panama, Luxembourg, and The Netherlands. Chantal was born a shy, timid introvert. Being the new kid every two years was traumatizing but forced her to g...
2022-03-1634 min
Companies That CareTal Zlotnitsky and Tonya Coppin-Fox, Our.Love: A new app empowering people to love more and love betterWatch on YoutubeImagine how much better the world would be with just 1% more love. That’s what the co-founders of Our.Love envision for the world. More and better love, delivered in a FUN way! Who wouldn’t want to take advantage of that opportunity?The Companies that Care podcast highlights business leaders who are making a difference in the world, like Tal Zlotnitsky and Tonya Coppin-Fox, co-founders of Our.Love Company. Our.Love is a love and relationship wellness technology company dedicated to helping couples find, maintain, and nurture their best love. Our.Love...
2022-03-0135 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeDevin Tomiak: Helping kids learn how to be resilient after experiencing a personal tragedyThis week on the Finding Fertile Ground podcast, I interview Devin Tomiak, founder of The Biggies Cards.After losing her youngest brother Grant to suicide 7 years ago, Devin Tomiak became driven to understand resilience--in particular, how to build resilience in kids. As a mom of two young boys, her preoccupation had a unique urgency. She created The Biggies cards, an innovative, research-based take on conversation cards designed to spark fun discussions about BIG social emotional concepts with elementary-aged kids. Devin grew up with two loving parents and two younger brothers. She felt close to...
2022-02-1732 min
Companies That CareKim Sundy of Kellogg Company: Living proof you can get paid to change the worldThe Companies that Care podcast highlights companies and business leaders who are making a difference in the world, like Kim Sundy, senior director of sustainability at the Kellogg Company.Driven by the legacy of its founder, W.K. Kellogg, the Kellogg Company is the world’s leading producer of cereal and snacks. But did you know Kellogg’s vision is a good and just world, where people are not just fed but fulfilled? This cereal and snack company is serious about living out its mission and has set some ambitious goals. These are just a few ex...
2022-02-0849 min
The Create a Life You Love PodcastResilient and Thriving with Marie Gettel-Gilmartin
Welcome to today’s episode of the Create a Life You Love video podcast!
Marie Gettel-Gilmartin is the founder of Fertile Ground Communications LLC, is a writer, podcaster, and marketing communications consultant who loves to help her clients communicate clearly and painlessly.
She dropped some fabulous tips on how you can embrace your resiliency and really THRIVE!
Fertile Ground Communications is a certified women-owned business enterprise, disadvantaged business enterprise, and emerging small business, dedicated to creating a kinder, more sustainable, and just world.
We had so much fun digging into topics such as:
The importance of buildi...
2022-02-0746 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeMahlena-Rae Johnson: Finding her fertile ground as a Black expat creative in CanadaThis week on the Finding Fertile Ground podcast, I interview Mahlena-Rae Johnson. Mahlena was born in Arkansas but grew up on the island of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Mahlena is a speaker, comedian, author, and communication expert for introverts.After graduating from the School of Film and Television at Loyola Marymount University, earning her MBA at the University of Southern California, and working a variety of jobs, she felt her potential was being wasted in Los Angeles. She discovered other Black American women were living their best lives outside of the United States...
2022-02-0343 min
Companies That CareJon Roesser, Weavers Way Co-op: Growing the cooperative community in PhiladelphiaThe Companies that Care podcast highlights companies and business leaders who are making a difference in the world, like Jon Roesser, general manager of Weavers Way Cooperative Association. Founded in the early 1970s, Weavers Way is a consumer-owned food co-op in Philadelphia with three stores, two farms, a non-profit, and community newspaper. They have more than 10,500 member households representing over 25,000 individual member-owners.Weavers Way is a critical link in the Philadelphia food shed, connecting local food growers and producers with values-driven consumers. Working with more than 300 vendors in the Philadelphia area, the co-op emphasizes the n...
2022-01-1936 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeBarbie Liss: Healing through restorative justice and reclaiming her wise woman archetypeThis week on the Finding Fertile Ground podcast, I interviewed Barbie Liss from Toronto, Canada. Barbie is an anti anti-aging coach who guides women as they heal their wounds and shed shame around aging.Barbie found her own fertile ground through a traumatic incident. Her daughter was raped at age 21. Barbie had to work through her own secondary trauma while supporting her daughter. They both entered into a restorative justice process with her daughter’s attacker. According to restorativejustice.org, “Restorative justice views crime as more than breaking the law – it also causes harm to people...
2022-01-0641 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeJulie Allen: Using her battle with eating disorders to inspire others and dismantle diet cultureThis week on the Finding Fertile Ground podcast, it was a joy to interview Julie Allen again. I had the honor of interviewing Julie earlier this year for my Companies That Care podcast.During this interview, Julie shared her 15-year battle with eating disorders. She was in and out of treatment during her entire teenage years and into her early 20s. Her breaking point was a rape at 18 that took her eating disorder to a whole new level of self-hatred and lack of regard for her own life with an attempted suicide. She has been in recovery...
2021-12-2150 min
Companies That CareAaliyah Nitoto, Free Range Flower Winery: Protecting the planet and giving back to her community by making wine with flowersThe Companies that Care podcast highlights companies and business leaders who are making a difference in the world, like Aaliyah Nitoto, the visionary founder of Free Range Flower Winery, an award-winning, winemaker-owned and -operated boutique winery in Oakland, California. Aaliya handcrafts premium wine in small batches from locally sourced, organically grown flowers…not grapes. She has been hailed as an "innovative producer" (Wine Enthusiast) who is "revolutionizing the world of wine" (Kourtney Kardashian's POOSH). Aaliyah updates ancient women's garden winemaking traditions for 21st century tastes. As Phil Long, winemaker/founder of Longevity Wines and president of t...
2021-12-1535 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeMike Ganino: A NICU baby in Mexico during a pandemic = grit and resilienceThis week on the Finding Fertile Ground podcast, I interview Mike Ganino, a storytelling and communication expert, podcaster, and public speaking coach. He’s also husband to Phil and dad to Viviana, who was born at 29 weeks gestation in Mexico during the first stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. I loved hearing Mike’s life story, starting with growing up poor and getting diagnosed with diabetes as a kid. He also shared about coming out as gay in college and finding what he was meant to do in the world. And as a preemie mom myself, I was fasci...
2021-12-0848 min
Companies That CareVeronica Arreola, Educator and Policy Activist: Working to diversify the STEM field and help Latinx students thriveThe Companies that Care podcast highlights companies and business leaders who are making a difference in the world, like Veronica Arreola, a professional feminist, mom, and writer who has been working to diversify the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) field for over 20 years. She has a particular passion for working with Latinx/Latina youth.Veronica is director of Hispanic Serving Institution Initiatives for the University of Illinois-Chicago and most recently was program director for their Hispanic Serving Institution STEM grant, Latin@s Gaining Access to Networks for Advancement in Science. She ensures a supportive campus environment f...
2021-12-0137 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeNura Elmagbari: Muslim-American feminist, supporting refugees and living out her faithThis week on the Finding Fertile Ground podcast, I interview Nura Elmagbari, a Muslim-American mom, wife, scientist, educator, nonprofit leader, activist, and community leader. I met Nura several years ago through my church, Spirit of Grace. Nura was our guest preacher for Mother’s Day, spoke on an interfaith women’s panel, brought her teen daughter to our youth group and talked about Islam, and emceed an immigrant storytelling event. Nura came to the United States as a child when her family escaped from Libya. They had to adjust to the American way of life with no suppo...
2021-11-2348 min
Companies That CareHeather R. Younger, Employee Fanatix: The Employee Whisperer who teaches leaders how to careThe Companies that Care podcast highlights companies and business leaders who are making a difference in the world, like Heather R. Younger, a best-selling author, international speaker, consultant, adjunct organizational leadership professor, and facilitator.Born to a white, Jewish mom and a Black dad, Heather was deliberately excluded from her mom’s family, thanks to racism. She grew up feeling like an outsider, which has made her especially determined to create caring environments wherever she goes.“I didn't even get to go to a large family gathering until I was 36 years old, which, by the way...
2021-11-1637 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangePaula Dunn: Once bullied for her cleft lip, now helping teens become resilientThis week on the Finding Fertile Ground podcast, I interview Paula Dunn, who was born with a bilateral cleft lip and palate. Paula is my first Australian guest, and my first with a cleft lip and palate like me.On her first day of school, Paula was bullied by her classmates and when she told the teacher, she was called a tattletale. The bullying stunted her academic abilities and self-esteem during primary school and filled her with anxiety, stress, and depression. As immigrants to Australia, her parents told her the best way to set herself a...
2021-11-1045 min
Companies That CareRoss Ching, Mama’s and Hapa’s: Destroying the notion that ecofriendly has to be expensiveThe Companies that Care podcast highlights companies and business leaders who are making a difference in the world, like Ross Ching, founder of Mama & Hapa’s Zero Waste Shop in Portland, Oregon.Ross moved to Portland with his family in 2019 after working as a TV commercial director. He was inspired to start a zero waste shop after watching the news and hearing terrible things about climate change.“In the past three or four or five years, there's been more and more reporting about how recycling isn't what we all thought it would be. Recycling back in t...
2021-11-0233 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeLily Shaw: Calling Sandra Bullock! Lily’s in the house!This week on the Finding Fertile Ground podcast, I interview Lily Shaw, a powerhouse actress, an expert writer, and an award-winning motivational speaker who was rescued and inspired by the make-believe world of cinema at the age of 7. When Lily was just starting out, her first Hollywood agent told her, “if you only had the right look, you could be Sandra Bullock.” Despite this subtle racism, Lily had some initial success as an actress of color in Hollywood. But none of her talent and skill and hard work seemed to create lasting success. The #MeToo and #B...
2021-10-2649 min
Companies That CareMallorie Dunn, Smart Glamour: Creating affordable, inclusive, and size-inclusive clothing for allThe Companies that Care podcast highlights companies and business leaders who are making a difference in the world, like Mallorie Dunn, founder of Smart Glamour in New York City. Mallorie has been interested in clothing her whole life. She attended the Fashion Institute of Technology and the Pratt Institute. She found that corporate fashion was not her cup of tea. Mallorie also began noticing how badly women and femme people feel about themselves in their bodies…and how difficult it can be for people to find clothes that fit them well and are made well.She...
2021-10-1944 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeTracey Osborne: Moving past trauma to help women reclaim their voice and inner powerThis week on the Finding Fertile Ground podcast, I interview Tracey Osborne from Dallas, Georgia. After bouncing around in various locations during her childhood, Tracey got sexually assaulted by her live-in boyfriend the night of her senior prom. It was not her last sexual assault, and soon she found herself in and out of several domestic abuse situations and getting married several times. Tracey shares how she identified her fear of abandonment and broke the cycle of abuse. She also realized she had an addictive personality, so she gave up alcohol.Tracey bounced around in a...
2021-10-1229 min
Companies That CareDr. Erica Gamble, The Wig Doctor: Helping people look and feel their best at a tough time in their livesThe Companies that Care podcast highlights companies and business leaders who are making a difference in the world, like Dr. Erica Gamble, known as the Wig Dr.The Wig Doctor, headquartered in Marietta, GA, specializes in high-quality wigs and hair pieces for people suffering from hair loss because of chemotherapy, alopecia, and other auto-immune disorders. It all started when Erica wore her mom’s wig to her private high school one day. The nuns were not pleased, because they associated wigs with prostitution. “I thought wow, how could this be so wrong when it fee...
2021-10-0646 min
Companies That CareKim Sundy of Kellogg Company: Living proof you can get paid to change the worldThe Companies that Care podcast highlights companies and business leaders who are making a difference in the world, like Kim Sundy, senior director of sustainability at the Kellogg Company.Driven by the legacy of its founder, W.K. Kellogg, Kellogg's is the world’s leading producer of cereal and snacks. You might have grown up with Cheez-It®, Coco Pops®, Corn Flakes®, Eggo®, Frosted Flakes®, Mini-Wheats®, Pop-Tarts®, Pringles®, Rice Krispies®, Special K®, and other foods…or Tony the Tiger or Toucan Sam.But did you know Kellogg’s vision is a good and just world, where peop...
2021-10-0649 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeDaniel Sartin: Choosing sobriety and compassion after trauma, abuse, and abandonmentTrigger warning: This episode contains some racist and adult languageThis week on the Finding Fertile Ground podcast, I interview Daniel Sartin. Daniel is just a bit younger than my oldest son, but he’s survived a lifetime of trauma and difficulty. Born into the foster system, he got adopted and raised by a relative. He was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness even though he is queer, which resulted in deep shame about his sexuality. And then there’s just living while Black.Daniel shared stories about his childhood and upbringing. He also shared vulner...
2021-09-2855 min
Companies That CareTaylor Loewen of Ridwell: Giving new life to household trashCompanies that Care highlights business leaders who are making a difference in the world, like Taylor Loewen, Portland general manager of Ridwell, a sustainability startup that makes wasting less easy for its members. Ridwell picks up stuff from your front door and makes sure it gets sustainably reused or recycled. Taylor’s background is mostly in nonprofit and political campaigns and environmental organizations. She was drawn to Ridwell because it’s a small business trying to have a positive, tangible impact in their local community. Their ties to nonprofits made it an ideal fit for Taylor as a care...
2021-09-2143 min
Companies That CareDavid Brackett of Linguava: Providing health equity through language accessThe Companies that Care podcast highlights companies and business leaders who are making a difference in the world, like David Brackett, founder and CEO of Linguava. Linguava is a full-service language interpretation and translation company that provides health care and medical equity through language access.David shared how he first became interested in languages, when his grandma gave him cassettes to learn Spanish when he was just four years old. After living in Spain for several years, David decided to become an interpreter. He founded Linguava in 2010, and now the company has more than 50 full-time employees, covering...
2021-09-1441 min
Companies That CareLara Smith of Dad’s Garage: Making theater fun, a part of the community, and financially sustainableIf you like what you hear or read, visit my website to find out more about my work.The Companies that Care podcast highlights companies and business leaders who are making a difference in the world, like Lara Smith, former managing director of Dad’s Garage, a theatre company in Atlanta, Georgia. Since we recorded this interview, Lara now works as a consultant for Purpose Possible, and Dad’s Garage’s new managing director is Stacey Sharer. The transition happened just in the last month.During this interview, we spoke about the powerhouse that is Lara a...
2021-09-0142 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeTerri Kozlowski: From sexual abuse and abandonment to raven warrior transcending fearIf you like what you hear or read, visit my Fertile Ground Communications website.This week on the Finding Fertile Ground podcast, I interview Terri Kozlowski. She is a proud Native American warrior of the Athabascan, Tlinglet Tribe and Raven Clan. When she was just 11 years old, her mother sold her for drugs and shut her out on the streets of Albuquerque, New Mexico. After many years of trying to process what had happened to her through therapy, Terri has learned to transcend her fears. She believes that life experiences or abuse may instill fear a...
2021-08-2528 min
Companies That CareAmber Taggard of the Organizer Chicks: Helping people reclaim their 17 minutes per dayThe Companies that Care podcast highlights companies and business leaders who are making a difference in the world, like Amber Taggard, founder and CEO of The Organizer Chicks and host of The Organizer Chicks podcast. The average American wastes 17 minutes each day looking for lost items.When Amber read this statistic, she decided to use her M.S. in clinical mental health to help people reclaim their homes and spaces. Since 2011, Amber and her flock of Organizer Chicks have helped people fight the clutter, find the calm, and take back their 17 minutes each d...
2021-08-1853 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeMini-episode: How my podcast guests are like octopusAs a podcaster for justice, I stand with my sisters from the Women of Color Podcasters Community. We are podcasters united to condemn the tragic murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and many others at the hands of police. If you like what you hear or read or would like to see photos of Leslie, visit my Fertile Ground Communications website.This week on the Finding Fertile Ground podcast, I reflect back on the last 13 months. My little podcast is now one year, one month old after starting on July 6, 2020. I’ve interviewed over 70 amaz...
2021-08-1013 min
Companies That CareErin Shakespeare of the Macquarie Group Foundation: Employee-driven corporate philanthropyThe Companies that Care podcast highlights companies and business leaders who are making a difference in the world, like Acting Global Head of the Macquarie Group Foundation Erin Shakespeare. Erin leads a team that directs Macquarie’s efforts on philanthropic grantmaking and employee volunteering, working closely with the company’s people around the world. Macquarie Group is an Australian-headquartered multinational financial services company. My sister-in-law Shemara has worked there for 34 years and is now the CEO and managing director. The foundation provides support to hundreds of community organizations through financial support, volunteering, and skills sharing. A seri...
2021-08-0453 min
The Heart of Marketing You with Erica CastnerEnhance Your Communication with Marie Gettel-GilmartinMarie Gettel-Gilmartin is on a mission to impact more people by helping them enhance their communication. She is the founder and principal of Fertile Ground Communications, is a writer and marketing communications consultant who can turn a piece of lackluster, jargon-filled or technical prose into a clear dynamic narrative. As the host of the Finding Fertile Ground and Companies That Care podcasts, she interviews people from underrepresented populations and helps them bring their stories to life.
2021-07-2926 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeLisa Marie Simmons: Resplendent and creative after abandonment and abuseNote: This episode contains a racist epithet.This week on the Finding Fertile Ground podcast, I interview Lisa Marie Simmons. Lisa grew up in Boulder, Colorado, but now lives in Lake Garda, Italy. I contacted her when I read her post on the Huffington Post, As A Young Black Girl, I Loved My Grandfather. Then I Found Out He’d Been A KKK Member.I have interviewed 75+ people since I started podcasting. I’ve made incredible connections and new friendships. But this one feels different. Lisa feels like a soul sister. Lisa has writt...
2021-07-281h 02
Companies That CareNaama Barnea-Goraly of Girltelligence: Creating an app to support young womenAs a podcaster for justice, I stand with my sisters from the Women of Color Podcasters Community. We are podcasters united to condemn the tragic murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and many others at the hands of police. This is a continuation of the systemic racism pervasive in our country since its inception and we are committed to standing against racism in all its forms. If you like what you hear or read, visit my Fertile Ground Communications page on Patreon and find out how you can support my work.The Companies that C...
2021-07-2041 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeLeslie Batchelder: Childhood trauma and abuse made her resilientAs a podcaster for justice, I stand with my sisters from the Women of Color Podcasters Community. We are podcasters united to condemn the tragic murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and many others at the hands of police. If you like what you hear or read or would like to see photos of Leslie, visit my Fertile Ground Communications website.This week on the Finding Fertile Ground podcast, I interview my friend Leslie Batchelder. We both sing soprano in our local Rock Voices choir. I’ve always loved her spirit and spunk. Le...
2021-07-1446 min
Companies That CareOusman Touray, Phioneers: Pursuing a vision of sustainable building in AfricaThe Companies that Care podcast highlights business leaders who are making a difference in the world. I have a passion for companies that care and give back to their communities, like Phioneers based in London, UK, and The Gambia. My guest, Ousman Touray, is an ecopreneur with a mission to improve the quality of life in developing parts of the globe through sustainable and eco-friendly architecture, engineering, and technology.Ousman was born in London to two parents from The Gambia in West Africa. When Ousman was 10, his parents decided to move back home. From age 10 to 17, Ousman s...
2021-07-0735 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeAmira Stanley: Finding her place and voice as a Black activistRead more about Amira and see photos on this blog post.Amira Stanley is a mindset & intention coach, end-of-life doula, and anti-racism educator and community activist. She grew up Black and gay in mostly small cities or towns, has lived with pain from hip dysplasia and lost a huge amount of weight so she could have hip replacement, supported her beloved husband through his transition, and has dealt with the emotional trauma of racism all her life, only to discover this one year ago through education and studying. She’s always been an LGBTQIA+ activist, but now sh...
2021-06-3056 min
Companies That CareWendy Horng Brawer, Intune Collective: Transforming leaders and company cultureView photos and read more here. The Companies that Care podcast highlights business leaders who are making a difference in the world. This week I interview Wendy Horng Brawer, co-founder and chief of learning and innovation for Intune Collective. Wendy is an executive coach, consultant, experience designer, somatic awareness coach, parent, and rock drummer. Wendy is putting into practice what she teaches. “How do we build a company that walks the talk every day? How can we lead from the inside out, becoming whole human leaders helping whole human companies?”Growing up in an Asian famil...
2021-06-2436 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeLisa Schroeder: Working twice as hard as the guys, now an award-winning chef in PortlandRead more and view photos here.Lisa Schroeder is a mother, grandmother, chef, restaurateur and author devoted to providing better-than-authentic renditions of traditional home-cooked dishes at her popular, award-winning restaurant, Mother's Bistro & Bar. Lisa is an incredibly hard worker, as all executive chefs are, and she had to work twice as hard as a woman in the kitchen, to be taken seriously. Tragically, five years ago her beloved daughter died in a hiking accident. Now she’s a mother without a living child, which is especially bittersweet given that she’s built an outstanding brand around being a mo...
2021-06-1651 min
Companies That CareLisa Schroeder of Mother’s Bistro: Portland’s Jewish Mother of Mother’s!Read more and view photos on my website.Lisa Schroeder is executive chef and owner of Mother’s Bistro & Bar. She is a mother, grandmother, chef, restaurateur and author devoted to providing better-than-authentic renditions of traditional home-cooked dishes at her popular, award-winning restaurant. Mother’s has grown over the years from a charming 90-seat restaurant on Stark Street to a gorgeous 200-seat Portland institution in the Embassy Suites by Hilton Hotel. Chosen Restaurant of the Year by Portland’s Willamette Week; Best Comfort Food, Best Brunch, and Best Lunch Spot by numerous publications; and one of America’s Top Re...
2021-06-1651 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeMelissa Pierce: Sharing lessons from becoming a widow and single parent in her 40sThis week on the Finding Fertile Ground podcast, I interview Melissa Pierce, who I met through Rock Voices Portland, a 140-voice strong rock choir led by my friends Mark and Caley Barstow. Rock Voices’ theme is “healing through song,” which Melissa and I discuss on this podcast. Melissa was faced with a huge crisis in her 40s: she lost her beloved husband unexpectedly and became a single mom in that moment. Now she dedicates her time to supporting other widows, providing the support and guidance she wished she had when she first became a widow.Melissa...
2021-06-0954 min
Companies That CareJulie Allen: Disrupting the fashion industry at Mary Rose Boutique NWRead more and view photos on my website. The Companies that Care podcast highlights business leaders who are making a difference in the world. I have a passion for companies that care and give back to their communities, like Mary Rose Boutique NW. Julie Allen founded Mary Rose Boutique NW and the sister Mary Rose Foundation, a 501C3 nonprofit. Julie has a mission of helping ALL people feel beautiful and confident. With every purchase, Mary Rose donates a portion of the sales to the Mary Rose Foundation to fund eating disorder treatment. As someone who struggled with eat...
2021-06-0247 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeRuth L. Schwartz: Recovering from Losses and Teaching Others How to Be Conscious GirlfriendsRead the full blog post and view photos.This week on the Finding Fertile Ground podcast, I interview Ruth L. Schwartz, a writer, teacher, and consciousness-shifter. Ruth has published eight books and taught at six universities, and now she runs the Conscious Girlfriend Academy, the leading global program supporting lesbians and queer women to date wisely and love well.Ruth was born to parents who were only 18 and 20 when she was born. Her mother had never even held a baby before and they didn’t know they had to burp a baby. They all had to...
2021-05-2645 min
Companies That CareP3 Consulting: Ozzie Gonzalez, from junkyard dreamer to urban ecologistRead more about this episode.This week I speak to Ozzie Gonzalez, a former CH2M colleague. Ozzie founded P3 Consulting, dedicated to helping businesses grow while improving their environmental and social footprint. Ozzie calls himself an urban ecologist and has dedicated his career to designing and building solutions that bridge environmental health with community prosperity. Ozzie was Portland’s first Latino candidate for mayor.Ozzie started P3 Consulting to bring people-, planet-, profit-centric solutions into projects. “I have a foundation in environmental science, and I apply it to a human ecosystem to try to figu...
2021-05-1947 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeChristine Cariño: Consciously Thriving as a Queer, Nonbinary FilipinoMay is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. I hope you’ll join me in signing the AAPI Visibility Pledge to support Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.After launching my second podcast, Companies That Care, I’ve started alternating each week. This week I interview Christine Cariño, a queer nonbinary immigrant from the Philippines. Her grit and resilience story led to her life’s work with underrepresented groups and communities as a transformation coach and consultant. Born and raised in the Philippines, Christine had to navigate a religious, patriarchal society. Christine became aware of her pl...
2021-05-1130 min
Companies That CareOctane Design Studios: Danielle Meadows-Stinnett is #morethangraphicsView more details and photos in this blog post.Danielle Meadows-Stinnett owns Octane Design Studios and is also a podcaster, mentor, wife, mom of four, and lover of cosplay. A grassroots developer & curator from Kentucky, Danielle has helped brand and launch 100 businesses across America. She has always had a love for telling stories. Octane Design Studios is a digital marketing firm, woman led and Black owned. “We'd like to think forward and we like to act forward. Our mission is providing tools, knowledge, and empowerment through the realm of digital marketing and visual communication.”Abo...
2021-05-0431 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeNono Osuji: Broke, Gifted, and Black, Powering through Lupus and RacismThis week I interview Nono Osuji, a first-generation American whose parents immigrated from Nigeria. Nono is a writer, producer, and actor. She is living with lupus, which is hard enough. She’s also living with being “Broke, Gifted, and Black,” the title of her podcast. We had a gritty, deep-down conversation about race in this country. Nono is the youngest in her family, born to her parents after they’d immigrated with their three children to the U.S. She had a huge desire to assimilate, so she adopted an English name, Cynthia, because teachers would botch her name. Fo...
2021-04-2859 min
Companies That CareCH2M Foundation: Corporate philanthropy that makes a difference in the worldRead more details and view photos in this blog post. If you like what you hear or read, visit my Fertile Ground Communications page on Patreon and find out how you can support my work.I interview two of my CSR mentors. Elisa Speranza chaired the CH2M Foundation board, and Ellen Sandberg was executive director. We spoke about how CH2M rebooted its foundation and invested in sustainable development around the world. CH2M was an engineering firm founded in 1946. By 2016 it had become a $6 billion global project management powerhouse, with 20,000 employees and thriving, a...
2021-04-2046 min
Companies That CareOur Table Cooperative: Creating a Resilient and Interdependent Local Food CultureRead more details and see photos on this blog post.I interview Narendra Varma, cofounder of Our Table Cooperative in Sherwood, Oregon, a cooperative model for community food systems. Our Table grows organic products and offers education and supports food security through their nonprofit.Narendra and his wife Machelle started Our Table in 2013 after working in the tech industry and moving to Portland from the Seattle area. Narendra grew up in a very strong household culture of cooking, since his mom was a caterer. He and his wife were interested in creating what they call...
2021-04-2047 min
Companies That CareThe Trace Collective: Reimagining Regenerative FashionThis blog post has more details and photos. If you like what you hear or read, visit my Fertile Ground Communications page on Patreon and find out how you can support my work.Aroa Fernandez Alvarez is cofounder of the Trace Collective from London, UK. Trace is a group of two organizations—a fashion brand and a nonprofit--on a mission to make fashion regenerative. They are reimagining what it means to be sustainable in today's world by producing fully traceable clothes that drive environmental regeneration, helping reverse climate change. Aroa and her partner, Antonia Halko, fou...
2021-04-1852 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeMurielle Fellous: Single Mom Doing It AllView photos and more details here. Murielle Fellous bounced back after a depression while raising three teenagers as a single mom and living with Hepatitis B. Originally born and raised in France, she founded the "Single Moms Doing It All" coaching practice and podcast. Muriel grew up near Paris, raised to be “very proper.” For example, she was trained not to speak too loudly on the subway and to be very polite. When Murielle was 18, she went to college in Israel and experienced freedom for the first time in her life. She met her ex-husband there...
2021-04-1234 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeChuck Bergman and Susan Mann: A Story of Penguins, Hope, and ResilienceVisit Fertile Ground Communications on Patreon and find out how you can support my work.I’ve turned away several white guys on my podcast. When I started this podcast, I wanted to invite people who do not get a platform to share their stories. I’ve interviewed 50+ people, including 38 women, 24 people of color, 12 immigrants, 12 who identify as LBGTQIA+, and only 7 men. Dr. Chuck Bergman is the first white man I have interviewed, along with his wife Susan. When I was a 20-year-old junior at PLU, he inspired me to become a writer and taught me an...
2021-04-0548 min
Shine at Work®38 | Finding What Makes You Come Alive with Marie Gettel-GilmartinIn this week's episode, I speak with Marie about her journey from teaching to writing to the editorial department to corporate communications and social responsibility. The whole time she was creating her path and finding unique opportunities to challenge herself. Then when two layoffs happened in two years, she realized life was telling her that it was time to work for herself and create the kind of business that reflected who she was and the impact she wanted to have. Take a risk, take a leap, especially if you are in a toxic environment, and find a way to thr...
2021-04-0531 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeShannon Whaley: Wild Woman Rising after a Childhood Full of Abuse and TraumaIf you like what you hear today, visit my Fertile Ground Communications page on Patreon and find out how you can support my work. Shannon Whaley overcame sexual abuse and assault, a toxic childhood, and drug and alcohol abuse.Shannon had a troubled childhood full of sexual abuse and trauma. She doesn’t remember how old she was when it all started. It was just life.She had no safe person to tell what was going on, feeling unseen and unheard. Even though she began getting in trouble at a very young age, no...
2021-03-3052 min
Life At Full Blast - Innovative and Aligned Strategies for Online CoachesEmbracing Resiliency with Marie Gettel-Gilmartin'I'm really passionate about organizations that are making the world a better place. Last year, I created my own Corporate Social Responsibility Policy for my business, and part of that is using my platform to help people who are underrepresented get their stories out there.' ~ Marie Gettel-Gilmartin
In this episode, Marie shares her journey of resiliency in life and business as she stepped into her power and finally understood the power of self-mastery. Now, she has two podcasts and is helping the world be a more loving and sustainable place for us all.
2021-03-2920 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeBrigitte Ayoub: Growing up Palestinian-American, surviving loss, and thrivingIf you like what you hear today, visit my Fertile Ground Communications page on Patreon and find out how you can support my work.Brigitte Ayoub is the daughter of Palestinian immigrants. She grew up experiencing the challenges of finding her place as an American with Arab roots. Right after leaving her corporate job to start her own business in April 2018, her dad died…then her mom was diagnosed with leukemia the following year. Brigitte believes that “we have two choices every day, to sit and lament, or face the adversity with courage and choose to lean into...
2021-03-2348 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeStefanie Michele: Healing from 20 years of eating disorders and feeling awake!Read more about Stefanie and view photos here.Stefanie Michele suffered with eating disorders including bulimia, binge eating, and orthorexia for 20 years. She was born the oldest of three in an Italian family with strongly defined gender roles. Her father was overweight and always dieting. As he got larger, he tried to control his kids’ weight.She ended up dieting to the point where she became anorexic by age 16. People thought she had just become really lean. She knew she had a problem and asked for help, but no one else seemed to care.
2021-03-1554 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeLeah Carey: A “good girl” who now enjoys and talks about sexNote: this episode contains adult content.Leah Carey tried to be a “good girl” for decades before waking up sexually in her early 40s. She had a rough childhood. Her dad was an alcoholic and emotionally abused Leah and her mom. He spoke to Leah sexually about her body and told her she was fat and ugly. Later he said he was going to lock her in her room until she was 30 and break the kneecaps of any boy who showed interest in her. This combination of verbal abuse and protectiveness led her to feel confused.Wh...
2021-03-081h 11
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeMadeleine Black: Surviving gang rape at age 13, she is unbrokenSupport the Finding Fertile Ground Podcast on Patreon! Warning: This episode contains adult content. Madeleine Black survived a gang rape at age 13. Since I was sexually assaulted at 13 as well, we had a tender conversation about how this experience changed our lives.Madeleine was born to two survivors. Her dad survived the Holocaust and her mum had her neck broken in a childhood surgery and woke up bedridden. Her parents handled their own trauma by just living their lives and carrying on.When Madeline was 13, a “really cool” friend asked her over...
2021-03-0150 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeElena Joy Thurston: Mormon mom of four undergoes conversion therapy before coming out, wholeTrigger warning: This episode contains some mature content. View photos and read more info here.This week I launch my “Healing Herself” series with four women who have survived body issues, sexual assault, shame, and trauma. Elena Joy Thurston is an LGBTQ speaker, trainer, and founder of the Pride and Joy Foundation, dedicated to reducing the rate of suicide and homelessness in the LGBTQ community. A Mormon mom of four who lost her marriage, church, and community when she came out as a lesbian, Elena’s TEDx talk on surviving conversion therapy has been viewed 40,000+ times.“By...
2021-02-231h 05
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeCindy Van Arnam: Moving beyond cocaine addiction and self-destruction to self-masteryCindy Van Arnam has faced a lifetime of mountains…starting when her dad passed away when she was 16 years old. For 23 years, she created a “mountain” in every choice she made about her life. From cocaine addiction and abusive relationships, to travelling to foreign countries without a plan, she was always seeking a way to make life hard for herself. She finally understood she was the mountain that didn’t need to be there. Now she helps entrepreneurs fully discover their own limitless power so they can create sustainable wealth through self-mastery.Cindy had a happy childhood, growing up on a...
2021-02-1639 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeMarianne Monson: Writing diverse historical stories of gritty, resilient womenMy final “Writer on Resilience” is Marianne Monson. I discovered her through Frontier Grit: The Unlikely True Stories of Daring Pioneer Women, on my top books list in 2017. She also wrote Women of the Blue and Gray: Civil War Mothers, Medics, Soldiers, and Spies and Her Quiet Revolution: A Novel of Dr. Martha Hughes Cannon. Marianne’s books contain rich stories of diverse women.Born in Boston, Marianne spent her childhood moving around the country. She relied on books and writing as a way to process her experience and find connection.I asked Marianne to elabor...
2021-02-0855 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeJulie Lythcott-Haims: From Self-Loathing to Self-Love as a Real Black AmericanThis week my third “Writer on Resilience” is Julie Lythcott-Haims, writer, speaker, and former corporate lawyer and Stanford dean. Her first book was How to Raise an Adult, an anti-helicopter parenting manifesto. I read her moving and inspiring second book, Real American: A Memoir, which was my top nonfiction read for 2020. She has a third book coming out in April: Your Turn: How to Be an Adult.What better day to launch this interview with Julie than the first day of Black History Month? Julie was descended from immigrants and an African who was enslaved. She is Blac...
2021-02-011h 00
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeSujata Massey: Delectable feminist mystery and historical fiction set in Japan and IndiaThe second “Writer on Resilience” is one of my favorites, Sujata Massey. Born to an Indian father and a German mother, Sujata's family immigrated to the US when she was five. She found it difficult to make friends, experiencing prejudice and xenophobia. She was glad to put high school behind her when she started at Johns Hopkins. Sujata was lucky to get a job as a features reporter straight out of college. She never would have left her job if she hadn’t fallen in love with her best friend in college and moved to Japan.After...
2021-01-2558 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeCathy Marie Buchanan: Tenacious writer who creates colorful historical novels about resilient women“There was no part of me back in high school that ever thought I could be a writer…When I headed off to university, one of the criteria I used for picking my courses was that there was no essay requirement. And I graduated without writing a single essay.”Cathy Marie Buchanan is the first author in my “Writers on Resilience” series. She has published three historical novels: The Day the Falls Stood Still , The Painted Girls, and Daughter of Black Lake. Cathy grew up in Niagara Falls, Ontario. The Day the Falls Stood Still
2021-01-1849 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeAmiCietta Clarke: Escape from Liberia and an autoimmune disorder couldn’t keep her downPhotos and more detail on my websiteAmiCietta Clarke is a motivational speaker, writer, certified holistic health and empowerment coach, and attorney…plus mom to twins! After overcoming a rare autoimmune disease by changing her diet and lifestyle, AmiCietta founded Clean Body Living, a holistic health coaching practice.AmiCietta and her family escaped the coup and civil war in Liberia when she was 12. Liberia is the only Black state in Africa never subjected to colonial rule. It was established on land acquired for freed U.S. slaves by the American Colonization Society. AmiCietta can trace he...
2021-01-1141 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeCarol Gavhane: Surviving infertility and loss to create a purpose-driven lifeCarol Gavhane survived secondary infertility and pregnancy loss, ending up with two children from seven pregnancies. Pregnancies were not the only loss she experienced. Her sister died when Carol was just 27 years old. Carol’s son Henry arrived early and small and had a NICU stay. As a Korean-American raised by a single mom who spoke limited English, Carol had a hard time fitting in as a girl. Carol and her husband were inspired by their walk with secondary infertility to found Asha Blooms, a handcrafted purposeful jewelry company. Carol's parents met in Korea on an air for...
2021-01-041h 08
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeCourt Wakefield: Not a NICU mother or father, but a parentThis podcast episode contains some explicit language.I had a lively conversation with Court Wakefield (they/them), a digital marketing leader and host of the For Folx Sake: Cultivating Inclusive Communities podcast. After surviving life as a queer in the Bible belt, Court and their wife Hollis underwent three rounds of in vitro fertilization followed by 97 days with their baby in the NICU. Hollis was also hospitalized for 25 days. Court nearly lost them both.Court described themselves as “an obvious queer kid.” When Court was 12 or 13, their mom found some things that made her think Cour...
2020-12-2947 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeMadison Ways: Rebuilding her life after losing her fatherMadison Ways is a junior in high school, trying to figure out her life after the death of her father. “My friends didn't understand my grief and weren't very nice at a time when I needed them most,” said Madison. “As a result, I lost many of them.”Madison is my youngest guest yet. As a child, she was very close to her mom and dad and she loved to dance (tap and hip hop). She described her dad, “He was one of the kindest people I ever met, who would laugh at his own jokes or throw hims...
2020-12-2123 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeLauren DeVera: Rebooting and taking risks to help people banish burnout and live a life on purposeLauren DeVera is a positive psychology practitioner, yoga + mindfulness teacher, movement artist, podcaster, and life coach. Daughter to Filipino immigrants, Lauren grew up with six older half-siblings and never felt like she fit in. Now she realizes that feeling manifested in a positive way because she is passionate about creating space for other people to feel like they belong.When her parents divorced when she was in fifth grade, she went from living in a suburban home to a low-income apartment with her mom. Starting ballet at an early age, she has thrived in the d...
2020-12-1549 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeMx. Harris Eddie Hill: Celebrating the joy of trans and gender identityMx. Harris Eddie Hill (they/them) is host of the Transection Podcast. A seasoned LGBTQ+ advocate, Harris is an incredible resource for learning how to support transgender and nonbinary loved ones. If someone comes out to you as trans or nonbinary, you’ll want to be prepared so you don’t risk damaging your relationship or contribute to their mental health challenges. Before Harris knew they were transgender, something felt wrong. They would ask themselves, “am I a boy?” They never knew they could be queer.We talked about what it’s like to be trans...
2020-12-1057 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeJasnam Daya Singh: Wearing a turban and composing music for justiceThis week I interviewed Jasnam Daya Singh, born in Brazil and a Latin Grammy-nominated concert and jazz pianist and brilliant composer. He is Sikh, after growing up Catholic. Jasnam is one of the kindest, most gentle people I know. Earlier this year, Jasnam led a 12-piece band in playing his composition, Ekta: The Unity Project. The piece embodies Jasnam’s musical interests but also expresses personal truths drawn from his journey as an immigrant and his conversion to Sikhism. You can listen to the composition on YouTube or on Spotify, or purchase it on BandCamp.Jasn...
2020-12-0639 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeJoy Fowler: Surviving the loss of a child and becoming “just” JoyLast week, Ash Prasad and I discussed the need for safe workspaces. This week I covered similar themes with Joy Fowler, diversity & inclusion program manager at the Port of Portland. I met Joy 20+ years ago after we both gave birth to 24-weeker preemies. We volunteered together on Legacy Emanuel’s NICU Family Advisory Board. After Amir passed away in 2012, Joy and her husband Allen founded A MIRacle Foundation, Inc. to help special needs children. A native New Yorker, Joy moved to Portland and got married after college. She had her son James after that. When she got div...
2020-11-301h 02
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeAsh Prasad: The Inclusive ScreenwriterAsh Prasad is a South Asian Indian immigrant, author of How to Write Inclusively: An Analysis & How To Guide. Ash's life and world view changed during college when she took a class called “Ethics of Diversity,” which addressed the philosophical harms of injustice. It made her realize she wasn’t as privileged as she thought she was and it made her view the world in a different way. Building her career as a senior consultant, her heart has always been in anti-racism work. When she felt stifled, she started researching Oregon's history and learned South Asian Indi...
2020-11-2358 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeServing and Advocating for Those Without a Voice: Annette StixrudIn my last episode, Katrina Nilsson-Gorman shared her experience in southern India, and this week’s story from Annette Stixrud is partly based in Tamil Nadu as well. Annette spent much of her life working overseas as an educator and public health nurse. I call her Saint Annette.Annette's father was a Lutheran pastor who earned a meager salary and had six children. She went to Pacific Lutheran University, where she met her husband Neal. After they got married, she began her career as a teacher in Bellevue, WA. “They gave me children with health risks, and I dec...
2020-11-1754 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeFinding Healing in the Forest: Katrina Nilsson-GormanTrigger warning: sexual assault, trauma, mental health, and suicideBorn in Vail, CO, Katrina spent her first five years living on the side of a mountain. Raised by her mom and grandma, she comes from a family of strong women. From 2013 to 2017, Katrina experienced a perfect storm of events that nearly ended her life. After college, she saved as much money as she could to fund six months of travel. She began in Ubud, Bali, where she had an intimate experience with a healer there. Bali captured her heart, just as it did mine. She...
2020-11-0953 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeSurviving PTSD with Love, Warmth, and Resilience: Stephanie CorenTrigger warning: This episode contains discussion of childhood sexual abuse and trauma.Stephanie Coren is one of the most resilient people I know. She recalls some wonderful things about her childhood, but her parents were raging alcoholics and physically abused her. Then she was sexually abused at age four by a priest and nuns. Stephanie had no safe adults in her life. She suppressed much of her trauma until she came out as a lesbian and her parents kicked her out.Then she started using drugs and alcohol to cope. After her girlfriend s...
2020-10-261h 01
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeKris Gowen: Grief, Music, and SexThis episode contains explicit conversation. Dr. Kris Gowen is a sexuality educator and researcher. Kris is cofounder of Beyond the Talk, the sex ed you wish you had. They provide presentations, workshops, and interactive games all aimed at increasing access to sexuality information. After her best friend Molly died, Kris decided to travel around to all 50 states, a 17,774-mile road trip, and sing karaoke in each state! She even wrote a book about it: One Nation Under Song: My Karaoke Journey through Grief, Joy, and America.In addition to soaking into the empty...
2020-10-1853 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeChanging Lives through Education in Chiapas: Miguel Ochoa Castellanos and April Brenden-LockeI interviewed April Brenden-Locke and Miguel Ochoa Castellanos about a wonderful children’s home in Chiapas, Mexico, called Hogar Infantil. April is the president of the American board of Hogar, and Miguel grew up there and runs a language school...he’s a great success story. They share how Hogar Infantil changed both of their lives, “cambiando vidas a través de la educación,” or “changing lives through education.”Miguel spoke to us from a small town in Chiapas, Mexico, the southernmost Mexican state. Miguel’s father passed away when he was six years old, and he didn’t have a...
2020-10-1343 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeMy Story: Resilience Is My Life's MottoToday I share my own life’s grit and resilience story, for it is my birthday. Resilience is my life’s motto, and that’s the reason for this podcast subtitle. Read more here.It’s also one of my superpowers and one day, when the pandemic finally ends, it will be my next tattoo.It started when I was born. My mom had German measles when she was pregnant, and I was born with a cleft lip, cleft palate, and club foot. My childhood was full of doctor visits and surgeries. I was the v...
2020-10-061h 04
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeFarheen Raza: Unapologetic Modern Muslim WomanThis week I interviewed Farheen Raza, host of Authentic + Unfiltered with Farheen. Farheen is a Muslim-American community activist, radio personality, and mom of three from Texas. She is a fearless communicator, loud on social media, and active on multiple fronts. Farheen grew up in the Boston area. She clearly remembers 9/11, when all three of the planes taken over by terrorists flew out of Logan Airport. Farheen described that feeling as “surreal." In Farheen's first year at a small Catholic college, the dean assigned a police officer to protect her when the anti-Muslim frenzy began. We talked about the...
2020-09-2853 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeMarie Cecile Anderson and Katy Frame, Reformed Whores: Feminist Musical ComicsIf you’re a feminist like me, you’re reeling from the news of liberal icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg passing away on Friday. This episode with Marie Cecile Anderson and Katy Frame, Reformed Whores, will be a balm to your soul.If Dolly Parton & Flight of the Conchords got drunk and had a baby, you'd get the hilariously irreverent musical comedy duo Reformed Whores! They’re on a mission to empower, normalize the female experience, and bust a few guts in the process! Not only do they have beautiful harmonies and a country twang, but they also are hi...
2020-09-2158 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeSankar Raman, Collector of Immigrant StoriesSankar Raman immigrated to the U.S. from India to attend graduate school. After a successful career in high tech, he now applies his technical knowledge, managerial skills, and pragmatic mind to founding and leading The Immigrant Story, a nonprofit organization that fosters empathy and builds a more inclusive community by sharing immigrant stories. You can reach Sankar at sankar@theimmigrantstory.org.I’ve been volunteering this year with The Immigrant Story, working on a storytelling event featuring people from Mexico and Guatemala who entered the United States undocumented, and we just launched that event on Saturday. Yo...
2020-09-1556 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeRaina Casey, Death Doula and SurvivorRaina Casey is my final of four "Badass Black Women.” Raina is a true survivor and has a calling to help people at the end of their lives through her witness and presence. You can reach her on Facebook here. This episode discussed the use of cannabis, which is legal in Oregon and some other states.Raina has an extensive grit story, but we were barely able to scratch the surface because I wanted to learn about her experience as a death doula. These are some of the obstacles she has faced:Child of alcoholic whose fa...
2020-09-0954 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeJackie Capers-Brown, Rising Up and Leveling Up!Jackie Capers-Brown is the third of "Four Badass Black Women.” Jackie has endured unimaginable grief yet she has found a way to take that grief and transform it into something great. You can reach her at her website. I met Jackie when she interviewed me for her “Level Up Your Life” podcast. When she asked me about my theme song, I answered, “Rise Up” by Andra Day. Jackie told me it was her theme song too.If anyone has risen up “in spite of the ache” to “move mountains,” it’s Jackie. Learning of Jackie’s incredible story of...
2020-09-0157 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeA Jewel from Coal, Jewels PedersenJewels was born in Harlem Hospital as an only child to a single mom. Her mom was diagnosed with breast cancer when Jewels was ten, so they moved to Georgia to be closer to family. Her mom wasn’t working while she was undergoing chemo, so they were couch surfers without their own home...not the first time in her life that Jewels would find herself houseless. From that experience, Jewels developed a resilience that has lasted her well.I asked her if she had problems adjusting to Georgia, and she said the biggest difficulty was adapting be...
2020-08-2451 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeBadass Lotus Flower Libra FordeBadass Lotus Flower Libra Forde is my first installment of my "Four Badass Black Women" series. You can reach her here: https://www.facebook.com/librabetall or https://www.instagram.com/be.tall/. Libra's mom named her Libra because her pregnancy brought balance to her life. At 6 feet, five inches, Libra continues that balance in her own life.Born in Harlem, NYC, Libra is single mom to three daughters. After living in Hawaii for many years, she decided to move to Oregon to finish her daughters’ education. Now in her sixth year here, Libra said she...
2020-08-1849 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeKen Harge, Here for Something GreatIn my final "Three Men of Color, Reinventing Fatherhood" series, I interviewed Ken Harge, who grew up with a father who was a bully. He says writing saved his life. Ken (or KLH to his friends) was born and raised in Waterbury, Connecticut, “a big city with a knucklehead mindset,” as he puts it. Although his childhood lacked love and nurturing, he has transformed himself into becoming a highly creative, grounded, and self-aware person who believes his difficult childhood had a reason. Ken knows he is here for something great.With a book, one-person play, blog...
2020-08-1143 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeLeader and Connector Charles Jackson II“I grew up in a way where I was determined that I would not allow myself to be judged by my skin color,” said Charles Jackson II about seeing George Floyd’s murder. “I wanted to present myself as a positive contributor to society, and I went out of my way to do that. And a lot of stuff that was going on in the Black community and even around me, I tried to black out. :When I saw George Floyd and the manner in which he was killed, that was the first time in a long time that...
2020-08-0456 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeRuben Garcia, Becoming the Father He Never HadRuben was born in Texas into a dysfunctional family with ten children. When he was nine, his family moved to a migrant labor camp in Oregon, where he had to work hard picking produce. As a young brown person, he felt great shame. He dropped out of school at 16. But he turned his shame into persistence, fathering four and eventually earning a master’s degree. Here is a glimpse of his story:“The year was 1967. I was six years old...I woke up a few times a week in the middle of the night...
2020-07-3043 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeRabbi Debra Kolodny: Spiritual BadassRabbi Debra (D’vorah) Kolodny (they/them) is a social justice veteran, bringing a spiritual perspective and activist passion to racial and economic, women’s, environmental, peace, and LGBTQIA causes.Rabbi Debra serves as the spiritual leader of Portland’s UnShul, and as executive director of Portland United Against Hate.After the murder of George Floyd, they started going into the streets. Rabbi Debra said they felt very safe with the other protesters, speaking out for Black Lives Matter and against police brutality. (We spoke before the presence of federal agents and the escalation against the pr...
2020-07-2454 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeDaivati Bharadvaj, Dancing for Both CountriesToday's episode of the Finding Fertile Ground Podcast: Stories of Grit, Resilience, and Connection features Dr. Daivati Bharadvaj, who overcame bullying in her teen years to reclaim her power and her Indian heritage. Daivati’s parents arrived in the United States with $24 and four-year-old Daivati. Daivati missed her family in India but has fond memories of her childhood, helping her dad in the garden and her mom in the kitchen. Even though her parents both were professionals and highly educated, they had to start at the bottom when they moved to the United States. Her dad was a m...
2020-07-2041 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeDennett Edwards, Paying It ForwardDennett dropped out of high school and completed her GED by the age of 16. A New Yorker at heart, she lacked access to many opportunities as a child, and her parents divorced when she was young. Thanks to a few people who believed in her potential, she now has nearly three master’s degrees. She is driven by her passion to help people...affecting other people’s lives for the better. Just a few months after starting her online network, Corona Daze Professional Development (CDPD), her group now has over 600 members. She facilitates weekly training and networking to he...
2020-07-1447 min
Finding Fertile Ground: Communicate for ChangeFierce Fighter: Skye LeyboldMeet Skye Leybold, who tells our latest story of grit, resilience, and connection on the Finding Fertile Ground podcast.Skye was diagnosed with Stage 4 metastatic cancer a few years ago, and her doctors gave up on her. She was determined to live for her children, and with the help of her husband and a new medical team, her tumors are gone. She knows they will come back eventually, but she's prepared for the next fight. I loved this conversation with Skye and found myself appreciating the little things in life that we all take for...
2020-07-0846 min