BEAM Stories

How do we know we're  actually making a difference in our world? When it's hard to see the progress we've made toward equity for moms and caregivers, I turn to those who can see both the 50k view and the nitty-gritty details. In this episode, we have Moms Rising cofounder and executive director Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner to share her very keen insight into the power moms are yielding as they make a b...

How do we find the “stories beyond the stories” as author Megan Stielstra so aptly says? How do we overcome the barriers of sharing the deeper truths that are really on our hearts? How do we come to a deep breath about all that is going on in the world today? In today’s solo episode, Amy talks about the stories we’ve heard from And More guests so far and challenges us to find some space to tell ou...

What prompts an experienced Microsoft executive to leave her established tenure to disrupt women's health? For Gennev Founder and CEO Jill Angelo, it all started with an eye-opening conversation about how underserved women's healthcare was during menopause. In this episode, Jill shares about how much progress she's seen in menopause conversations since Gennev started 8 years ago, and how much work...

If half of a women-led small business executive team can feel supported while going on maternity leave at the same time, why is it challenging for other businesses to also make it happen? This was a question posed to Armoire's executive team this year. The best part: the Seattle-based clothing rental service had already instituted a robust paid leave plan for their employees, well in advance of an...

Caregiving isn’t relegated just to moms. We’re helping older parents and loved ones. We’re standing alongside friends going through health battles or relationship snafus. We’re even mentoring those in our professional circles and lifting them up. In this episode, we’ll hear from Suzanne Weller, founder of Weller Collaboration and host of The Courage Effect radio show and podcast. As a coach, consu...

When you discover you’re pregnant, it can feel like the world shifts on its axis. After New York Times opinion writer Jessica Grose had her first child, the experience set her on a new path to examine and excavate questions of what motherhood would entail - both the perception and the reality. In this episode, we discuss her book SCREAMING ON THE INSIDE, the trends she sees in her reporting, as we...

There’s one thing we know for certain. Life changes - it’s not a matter of if , but when and how. Where we find ourselves is how we ride that wave of change. As moms and caregivers, our strength and resilience is also tested in how we hold space for our families to do the same. In this episode, Cara Cynkar shares how she not only grew as her family faced certain challenges, but brings us full circ...

Building a family should come with a few additional titles: advocate, investigator, superhero, and diplomatic negotiator. Sleuth co-founder Sehreen Noor Ali donned those roles as she watched her young daughter miss developmental milestones. After quitting her full-time role, she and her co-founder took on the task of building a seamless way to leverage machine learning and more than 62,000 parents...

Being a mom is about handing yourself a million permission slips each day. Certified mental health coach & Daring Way Facilitator Mandy Jankus knows this full well. In this episode, we learn how Mandy launched into her calling for coaching others while healing from trauma, and how she encourages others to have vulnerable, authentic conversations in their own lives. Content Warning: this episode ad...

Wouldn’t it be nice if everything in life were a straight line, up and to the left? Always moving forward, always finding success. If only that were true. Author and Forbes contributor Amy Shoenthal has dedicated her professional and personal life to exploring the trajectory of our life and trying to understand more about how we overcome those setbacks. As a mom, her work is even more important no...

Within the span of five years, the world as Jessi Hempel knew it shifted on it’s axis. When exploring the prospect of parenthood, the award-winning journalist and podcast host had to wade through her own fears from her past, the echo chamber of what the world shared a parent should be, and decide how she wanted to move forward. In this show, Jessi shares how she approached writing THE FAMILY OUTIN...

We all have stories to tell about the multitudes we contain as mothers and caregivers - it’s up to us to share! In the premiere episode of “And More,” Amy sits down for an intimate conversation about the power our stories hold and how we access the strength to tell them. She also gives a preview of what to expect for this new season of in-depth discussions and hilarious moments.   Show Notes: Abou...

Introducing And More with Amy Kugler!  And More with Amy Kugler is a show that explores the dynamic stories of motherhood and caregiving, and how those stories hold exponential power to be a driving force for change.  We’ll have deep conversations with incredible game-changers (moms, and colleagues, and leaders, and operations gurus, and ... more...) about the state of motherhood that’s both perso...