Becoming Your Best Version

Barbara McAfee is a master voice coach, author, keynote speaker and singer-songwriter who helps people communicate with clarity, confidence and authentic presence. Drawing on 12 years in organizational development and more than 30 years of vocal coaching and performance, she brings a rare blend of strategic insight and embodied wisdom to the art of communication. Barbara is the bestselling author...

Elizabeth Clemants is a survivor who helps other sexual abuse survivors survive and heal. She is the Founder and Executive Director of Hidden Water ,  a restorative justice response to child sexual abuse. Her own family has five generations of abuse and she chose to do something to break these cycles for others. Hidden Water uses a Circle model, which is a 12-week system, based on the indigenous p...

Joy Vanichkul is a former supermodel from Thailand, TV host and owner of six premier wellness spas. She began modeling at age 16 and became a household name in Thailand. She had fame and money, but felt unfulfilled. So she began her own search. She experienced both success and struggles working in the beauty, wellness and consciousness industries for more than 30 years. To rediscover her true self...

What is a "good death"? Cheryl Amari, M.A., C.T. has been talking about grief-related topics with people of all ages for almost three decades. She knows what a "good death" is and what all types of grieving entails. Her work as a high school teacher, mortuary college instructor, grief coach and workshop facilitator has helped countless individuals learn how to grieve well and l...

Are you too old to reinvent yourself? The answer is no. Wendi Knox is a professional uplifter, author, and artist. In her past life, she was the only female Senior Vice-President/Creative Director at one of the largest advertising agencies in Los Angeles, creating multimedia ad campaigns for brands like Honda and Acura. Her award-winning commercials have been directed by the Academy Award-winning...

After a devastating health diagnosis, and being told she'd never work again, Sarah Jakle, MSW, MPP picked herself up and changed her life, turning her focus to helping others. She uses her skills and experience to empower young women. Sarah founded DemocraShe to equip high school girls from historically underserved communities with not only civic skills, but also brain-based techniques for ove...

In 2017, Marie lost her son suddenly, less than two years after her mother’s unexpected passing. Even in her darkest hours, she refused to let grief define her. For more than 15 years, Marie Crews has guided and empowered women through growth and transformation. Along her 25-year journey of self-discovery, she realized her journal-writing practice was what anchored her healing the most. This led h...

Do you find yourself repeating things your parents did to you or around you that you vowed never to do? Do you seek more joy in the parenting journey? Listen to this episode. Mary Willcox Smith helps families build strong, emotionally healthy relationships through her keynotes, coaching and courses—one MicroStep at a time. Mary is a speaker, author and creator of the MicroStep Method® — a research...

Combining her rich background and expertise in psychology and leadership development, alongside her authentic blend of energy, humor, and strategic questions, Jordana Cole enables leaders to ignite behavioral change and  spark transformation that not only sticks, it spreads . As an organizational consultant, workshop facilitator and leadership coach, Jordana has designed and led talent strategy an...

With corporations getting ever larger – and even able to influence the outcome of presidential elections – the power of a single individual might seem lost. But it’s alive and well. Sandy Rosenthal is an experienced community mobilizer, most notable for founding the nonprofit Levees.org , with 25,000 supporters nationwide. Her 2020 book, Words Whispered in Water , explores how she — against all od...

Have you considered natural self-healing as an alternative to traditional Western medicine? Sarah Dawkins is a leading authority in natural self-healing, bringing 20 years of clinical expertise as a Registered Nurse to her transformative work. Having personally navigated and healed from decades of health challenges, Sarah uniquely combines her medical background with a profound understanding of mi...

Ever thought of hitting the road in a retrofitted van? Victoria Lee Starr did it in midlife and found her true self. She became a guide for women through the sacred season of midlife reinvention, helping them reclaim self-trust, inner safety and their authentic power. Using transformational breathwork, guided microdosing support, somatic ritual and emotional excavation, her work meets women in the...

Oona Metz is a nationally recognized therapist and author who has spent more than 30 years studying the strange, tender, deeply human ways we navigate relationships, self-abandonment and change. Her new book, Unhitched: The Essential Divorce Guide for Women (Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster), launched in January and has already earned remarkable attention. Gayle King praised it on CBS Mornings,...

"Aging is the ultimate triumph of living," says ageism & longevity specialist, Helen Hirsh Spence. Helen is a later-in-life Canadian entrepreneur, speaker and age-equity advocate. She also is a leader navigating the demographic shift; TEDx and global speaker, author; age provocateur & mindset shifter; older & multigenerational workforce expert; and founder of Top Sixty Over S...

Johanna Danaher is a mindset, life and leadership coach who helps high-achieving pre-retirees and mid-life professionals navigate one of the most overlooked transitions of all: who you become after you leave a long-held career. After more than 25 years in high-level corporate leadership, guiding global talent, culture and leadership strategy at Pfizer, Johanna understands how deeply identity can b...

Gail Rubin, CT, The Doyenne of Death®, is a pioneering death educator based in New Mexico. A doyenne is a woman considered senior in a group who knows a lot about a particular subject. Gail is a Certified Thanatologist (a death and grief educator) and speaker who uses humor and films to get end-of-life conversations started.  She’s the author of the award-winning books  A Good Goodbye: Funeral Pla...

Ilene Berns-Zare, PsyD, PCC, is a life and leadership coach, psychologist, educator, and author who helps people navigate their lives with resilience, meaning, mindfulness, and well-being. Ilene is the author of the new book: You’re Not Too Old, & It’s Not Too Late: Weekly Practices of Meaning, Mindfulness & New Possibilities at Midlife and Beyond (MSI Press, released January 2026). Design...

Emily Lampkin is a highly sought-after speaker, author and advisor, known for empowering women leaders in corporate, non-profit, education, and political sectors to hone their skills and maximize opportunities. With a pragmatic style and actionable advice, she has trained thousands of women globally through her dynamic, one-of-a-kind “Women Leaders Series” workshop. The Women Leaders Series is the...

Gail Harris is a certified ghostwriter who drafts deeply healing, compelling, life-affirming memoirs for women authors who don’t want to write their book on their own. An  IPNE  Book Award Finalist for the memoir Finding Zoe , Gail resonates with authors who, in addition to any professional goals they may have, see writing their memoir as a way to heal—they want to heal and share what they’ve lear...

Bukky Onifade is a Midlife Reinvention Coach, International Speaker, Author and Founder of Coached by Bukky, where she helps professional women aged 45+ turn major life transitions into purposeful, profitable second acts. Her work centers on a powerful reframe: Midlife is not a crisis; it’s a creative threshold. On this episode, we talk about identity shifts, burnout, grief, divorce and the quiet...

Elana Auerbach is a lover, author, mother, mentor, activist and priestess. She spent her childhood and young adulthood on what she calls “the conveyor belt of life,” being the good girl and doing what others expected of her. This looked like graduating Phi Beta Kappa from UCLA, working on Wall Street for a Japanese investment bank, and marrying someone with whom she felt no chemistry. It all fell...

Julie Nise is a Relationship Trainer and Communication Strategist known for her direct, results-oriented approach. With more than two decades of combined corporate, entrepreneurial and clinical experience, Julie brings a rare balance of empathy and practicality to her coaching. She has successfully guided more than 8,000 individuals and couples through challenges in communication, trust and leader...

Ally Shaw is a fierce survivor who has reinvented herself multiple times after devastating loss. Ally is a proud cancer survivor who became an opera singer. She also is an award-winning entrepreneur who became an author. Ally and her husband Kevin recently retired as business owners of a multi-state Domino's franchise, after achieving eight Gold Franny awards (top 2% of franchisees worldwide)....

With several decades of experience in outdoor education, therapy, teaching, mentoring and rites of passage guiding, Katie Asmus, MA, BMP, LPC, incorporates present-moment awareness, relationship to the natural world, body-mind connection and ceremonial practices to support people in more deeply and compassionately connecting to themselves, others and the earth. She believes strongly in the power o...

Lisa Skinner has dedicated her career to teaching people the skills to effectively manage brain disease. She is a behavioral expert in the field of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. In her 20-year career as a community counselor and regional director of senior care facilities, she has helped thousands of families find the best care options for their loved ones. She spreads her important m...