THE FWORD

What happens when you stop waiting for the “right” travel partner… and just go? In this episode, Amber is joined by Becky and Kristen for an honest, energizing conversation about solo travel.. what it looks like, why it matters, and how it can completely change the way you experience the world (and yourself). From backpacking across Australia to fiber art retreats in Morocco to navigating foreign...

Cancer doesn’t just interrupt your calendar. It interrupts your identity. In this episode, Amber Bardon sits down with returning guest and leader Nicole Gann for an unfiltered conversation about breast cancer. What it takes from you, what it reveals, and what it forces you to finally stop pretending you can “handle alone.” Amber shares her 2025 breast cancer diagnosis, the shock of hearing the wor...

In this episode, Amber Bardon talks with Kim Hoppe , founder and CEO of KSH Consulting and Zen Midwest , to talk honestly about what it’s really like to step off the traditional corporate track. Kim’s gone from public accounting to fractional CEO work to building a business that mixes C-Suite strategy with mindfulness and yoga. Her path is all about clarity, courage, and choosing reinvention on he...

In this episode, we’re talking power, partnership, and purpose with two phenomenal CEOs: Jane Mack of Friends Services Alliance and Karen Lehman of Mennonite Health Services . What happens when two women leaders decide to rewrite the rules of legacy organizations and merge them into something bigger, bolder, and built on shared values? You get a conversation that’s part business strategy, part lea...

Amber gets deep down with comedian, producer, and senior living powerhouse Carolina Gonzaga for a no-filter conversation about being “too much” in a world that asks women to shrink. From fast friendship to bold vulnerability, they dive into how Carolina turned her so-called “flaws” into superpowers at work, on stage, and at home. This episode is a celebration of emotional honesty, feminine audacit...

They call us feisty. Difficult. Too much.  We call it female... and it’s time we owned it. In this no-holds-barred trailer episode, host Amber Bardon pulls back the curtain on why The FWord podcast was born: because one conversation about female leadership wasn’t enough. This is the platform for the disruptors, the rule-breakers, the women who got tired of waiting for a seat and started building t...

Forget the filtered stories. These are raw, real, and unapologetically female leadership journeys. Nicole didn’t follow a blueprint; she carved her own, stumbling into “accidental” roles that lit her up with purpose. Sue flipped the script from CFO to CEO while navigating the lonely, often icy terrain of being one of the few women in leadership. Sondra took the long way around: healthcare admin, l...