With Her Two Hands

This week's episode was pre-recorded at @aapexshow in Las Vegas last Wednesday. Due to technical difficulties we were not able to get it live that day, but it’s worth the wait! I had the honor sitting down with an old friend, Kathleen Callahan who is a force to be reckoned with! She is a shop owner and a powerful and inspiring leader within the automotive aftermarket. She is the incoming vice chai...

Guest:  Lindsey Wood - Mechanic and Shop Owner Tonight’s guest took a chance on a new adventure and life direction, and it has paid off! Lindsey Wood had always been interested in cars, but never really had an opportunity to explore working on them. She was in an established career when her brother approached her about going into the automotive business. She took the leap and dove in head first. L...

Guest: Alana Wicker - Robot Technician and Metal Artist While most people in their early 20s are still in school or figuring out what they want to do in life, tonight’s guest already has an established career in the trades and was financially stable enough at 21 to help her dad renovate houses and build a shop of her own! Alana Wicker is proof positive that there is more than 1 path to success in...

Guest:  Meg Richards - ASE Master Automotive Technician Margarette, or Meg, started her automotive career as a teen in high school. 20 years later, her love for the industry hasn’t waned. She is the Lead Technician and General Manager at her shop and is in the process of taking over the business from the current owner as he prepares to retire. In 2022 Meg was the first female recipient of the NAPA...

Guest: Zoe Carmichael - Historic Automotive Restoration student Zoe Carmichael was working an office job before her classic  VW Bug came into her life.  She quickly fell in love with classic cars and learning how to work on them.  So she rewrote her life.  Quit her office job and enrolled in the auto program at Wake Tech in Raleigh, NC to learn the basics.  That ultimately led her driving her bug...

Guest: Serena Grundhauser - Welder, Machinist and small business owner From regular viewer to guest - I’m excited this week to be joined by Serena Grundhauser! When the tragedy of multiple serious head injuries occurred, Serena wasn’t willing to slow down and she turned that tragedy into a major life change. She went from working in mental health, to attending college as an adult for the the first...

Guest:  Judaline Cassidy - Union Plumber and Founder of Tools & Tiaras This week I’m very excited to introduce you to Judaline Cassidy, who hails from the beautiful twin islands of Trinidad and Tobago. She is a warrior in a hard hat, a Founder, a L'Oreal Paris 2023 Women of Worth honoree, and one of CNN’s Champions For Change. As a history-making union plumber in NYC, Judaline has broken count...

Guest:  Jenny Kovacs - Senior Ford Master Auto Tech, ASE Master Technician Jenny Kovacs has been killing it in the automotive industry for 14 years!  She is a graduate of the Ford ASSET program and is now a Ford Senior Master Technician and part owner of Chris and Jenny’s Garage.  She is is also ASE Master certified, and a certified Transmission specialist, mom of 2 AND sits on the board of the AS...

Guest:  Louise Baker - Auto Mechanic and Shop Owner  Louise Baker got her start as a mechanic when she first started driving and got her first car at 16.  It was a piece of junk and she learned to work on it out of necessity.  A love of driving and going fast led her to a build a name for herself as a racer and performance specialist.  She had numerous varied jobs in the industry before starting h...

Guest:  Blue Coble Journeyman Ironworker Back in 2011, Blue Coble was feeling burnt out on her career as a graphic designer. She decided to join the Ironworkers union and begin an apprenticeship. And she never looked back. She graduated from her training as Apprentice of the Year and now holds her Journeyman card as a structural and reinforcing ironworker. Somewhere along the way she became a spok...

Kelly Gannon is a successful General Contractor and Carpenter from New England. In her own words - “Just grew up poor and learned I could make money using my hands!” She has over 20 years of experience and has turned that into a successful business of her own that she started 7 years ago, Kreate Construction. She achieved all of this as a young single mom of 2 boys. And yet she is as humble as the...

Guest:  Emily Waeving - Mechanical Engineer from the UK Emilie grew up in a car and motorcycle loving family, and knew early on that she wanted to work on motorcycles when she grew up.  After high school she landed a job at a Ducati dealership and became the first qualified female Ducati technician in the UK.  She worked at dealerships and independents shops for several years before leaving to pur...

Guest:  Autumn Reine - Welder and Fabricator In this week’s episode we meet the incredibly talented welder and fabricator Autumn Reine! Autumn has been a professional welder/fabricator for over 10 years. She has had some incredible opportunities from leading teams building water tanks for mines, to working sky high as an Ironworker, to building designs for Rolls Royce of England, and the U.S. Gove...

Guest:  Michelle Hands - Construction Engineer and Podcast Host This week I’m honored to be joined by Michelle Hands, a construction engineer from the UK who is passionate about inspiring more women to forge their own path. She is the creator of the brand and podcast She Who Dares Wins , and if you’re not familiar with it you will definitely want to go check it out. Michelle originally dreamed of...

Guest:  Heather Holler - Motorsports Mechanic This week I’ll be on location with our guest and we get to see her shop! Heather Holler has traveled all over the world creating the motorsports technician career of her dream, and she’s just getting started! Heather graduated from Universal technical Institute and started out working as a dealership technician for 6 years, but found motorsports callin...

Guest: Tausha Hamon - Ford Master Technician  Tausha Hamon always felt called to working on cars. But when she was younger, the only way she saw that possible was to go into the paint and body side of the industry. But that left her unfulfilled and envious watching the guys down the hall being trained on engines and in mechanical work. She just didn’t see a path forward for that. She gave up on th...

We hear often about how shop class has been disappearing from high schools across the country, but we don’t often hear about often incredible CTE high school programs that serve multiple high schools and are popping up around the country. Tonight’s guest, Kaity Trubl, is a recent grad of one of these programs. @westmec serves the north west valley in Phoenix and offers career and trades training p...

Mary-Anne Bowcott did not initially set out on a path to join the construction industry. But as she started to figure out what she wanted to do after school, she started exploring unconventional options and found herself drawn to the trades. While she initially struggled to find employment, she persevered and eventually found someone willing to give her a chance as a roofing laborer. 19 years late...

Guest:  Rachel James - Business Owner, Financial Advisor and former trades woman Special Episode! We're talking about money! In this episode, Bogi sits down with Rachel James - a former automotive technician who has shifted gears and dedicated her life to helping blue collar folks make the most of their money and changing the way we think and talk about money. She is a speaker, a coach, and the fo...

Guest: Krystal Stone - Vintage Repair and Restoration Shop Owner/Operator This week's guest grew up tinkering in the garage with her father on vintage snowmobiles in Maine, but despite a lifelong love of all things mechanical she didn’t want her hobby to become her full time job. So she became a Hairstylist instead. However the universe had other plans for her, and the hobby kept pulling at her to...

Guest:  Kelly Ireland - Master Plumber and Business Owner This week Bogi sits down with Kelly Ireland, aka Tiny Plumber Girl . Kelly is a 4th generation plumber, mom of 2 who started out doing large scale commercial plumbing with Philadelphia Union local 690 back in 2012. She earned her master license and opened her residential plumbing business in 2020. With the help of Covid, an amazing mentor a...

Special Episode! Guests:  Faye Hadley and Angelina Alcantar on Imposter Syndrome. This week on With Her Two Hands we’re talking about a topic that I hear from women in the trades over and over again - dealing with Imposter Syndrome. I’ve invited 2 successful and talented women, Faye Hadley and Angelina Alcantar, to join me and share their experiences and perspectives. This is one you don’t want to...

Guest: Ebonie Graham - Diesel Technician The percentages of hands on trades people that are women is below 4% across the trades. But a decade ago, that number was even lower. Tonight's guest has been paving the way for 10 years as a Diesel Technician, engine rebuilder, and field Service Power Generation Technician. Ebonie graduated with Honors from Universal Technical Institute's automotive tech p...

Guest: Ana - Motorcycle Mechanic Hailing from Sau Paulo, Brazil Ana fell in love with motorcycles while working as a bartender at a restaurant where the owner also built custom bikes.  She decided to quit bartending and pursue motorcycles as a career.  But her path was not easy and she was constantly discouraged from pursuing her dream.  Shop after shop tried to convince her to stay in the office,...

Guest:  Esmii Moore - Automotive Technician, Mobile Mechanic Business owner and mom! Trigger warning:  During this episode our guest talks candidly about her postpartum depression.  If you or someone you know is experiencing postpartum depression please scroll to the end of this description for resources.   Esmii Moore is an automotive technician, owns her own mobile mechanic business and a mom of...