Formidable Podcast

Laura Cassidy is the Interim Services Manager at Recompose — the Seattle-based funeral home pioneering human composting as an alternative to traditional burial and cremation. After two decades working in journalism and content direction, Laura shifted careers during the pandemic to work in grief support and end-of-life care, eventually joining the team helping families navigate one of life’s most...

Dr. Nwando Anyaoku, pediatrician, executive, and health equity leader, shares her experience and perspective on how representation in medicine matters and how she decided to stop letting fate shape her future and instead became the CEO of Me. This episode is part of a special series in partnership with Be Bold Now, an annual event focused on women who are doing extraordinary things in our communit...

Kristen Smith-Dayley, attorney and nonprofit leader, talks with Rowaida Janbaz, youth specialist and emerging changemaker. Her story of resilience and determination in the face of enormous adversity is truly inspiring and her positivity in the face of such challenges is a reminder that everyone deserves a chance, no matter where they come from.  This episode is part of a special series in partners...

Rebekah Bastian is the CMO at mpathic, and an entrepreneur, artist, and writer. Her work sits at the intersection of technology, creativity, and impact. She has a message for us: More women need to be involved in the development and creation of artificial intelligence if we want to see better outcomes for women in the future. This episode is part of a special series in partnership with Be Bold Now...

Lei Wang, leadership strategist and the first Asian woman to complete the Explorer’s Grand Slam, shares what it really takes to pursue something that feels impossible, before you feel ready. This episode is part of a special series in partnership with Be Bold Now, an annual event focused on women who are doing extraordinary things in our community. The event was created by Kate Isler and Nickie Sm...

Jen Barnes, Founder and CEO of Rough & Tumble, is a driving force behind the growing momentum in women’s sports. She owns two sports bars in Seattle that show women’s sports on all their screens. In her speech, Jen shares the story of why she decided to start Rough & Tumble, and why such a simple thing as watching women compete can be transformational. This episode is part of a special ser...

Shelley Tomberg is the Director of Development at Music Aid Northwest, a nonprofit dedicated to ensuring every student in Washington state has access to quality music education. Since its founding, the organization has raised over $1.78 million to provide hundreds of schools with instruments, repairs, sheet music, and other essential classroom needs. In this episode, Shelley shares how a group of...

Coni Rathbone, Of Counsel Attorney at VF Law, is a nationally recognized negotiator and deal-maker specializing in real estate transactions, opportunity zones, securities structuring, and complex business negotiations. In this episode, Coni explains the evolving world of opportunity zone investing and what it means for communities, developers, and everyday investors. She also shares invaluable adv...

Chanel Reynolds founded Get Your Shit Together, a company she launched in 2013 to help people navigate the unglamorous but essential realities of life planning: wills, advance care directives, insurance, money, and all the details we tend to avoid until life forces the issue. Chanel’s work has reached more than a million people through her widely downloaded Get Started Checklist and free planning...

Jackie Schafer is the Founder and CEO of Clearbrief, the leading litigation drafting platform built directly inside Microsoft Word. Jackie was named 2025 Innovator of the Year at the Legalweek Awards, and the American Bar Association honored her as a 2025 Legal Rebel for developing AI tools that help litigators, arbitrators, and judges write with greater accuracy and trust. Jackie currently serves...

Mary Fialko is the Director of Real Estate Development at Skanska. A “recovering architect”, Mary's curiosity about how buildings shape communities ultimately pulled her from design studios into the world of commercial development. Mary shares her perspective on the shifting realities of commercial real estate five years after the pandemic, what companies really mean when they say they want “flexi...

Shana Ayabe and Kisha Imani Cameron co-host The Exit Interview | On Air, a podcast about bold career moves and reinvention. They share how they're creating the kinds of conversations they wished had existed when they were navigating their own career turning points: raw, honest stories from people who chose to leave, pivot, or rebuild on their own terms. Shana spent more than a decade rising th...

Liat Ben-Zur has served in pivotal roles at some of the world's most influential companies, including Microsoft, Qualcomm, and Philips. She now advises companies and boards on AI product ethics, strategy, and growth. Tune in to hear Liat discuss the importance of having diverse leaders at the table when AI products are being developed. You'll walk away with a better understanding of the fa...

Friba Rezayee is the Founder and Executive Director of Women Leaders of Tomorrow, a Vancouver-based, non-profit organization dedicated to empowering Afghan women and girls. Born and raised in Kabul, Friba made history in 2004 when she became the first Afghan woman to compete in the Olympic Games. She shares her journey from childhood defiance into global activism, and details the threats and obsta...

Leigh Morgan is the Founder of Imaginal Leadership Strategies and a former global executive with experience spanning biopharma, philanthropy, higher education, and community activism. Leigh details how she’s learned to navigate complexity and lead change across vastly different sectors — and why she believes nuance, trust, and culture are always at the heart of making a meaningful impact. Tune in...

Lynne Varner is the CEO of Washington STEM, a nonprofit working to ensure that every student in Washington — regardless of race, gender, income, or geography — has access to a meaningful STEM education and a clear path to economic mobility. Lynne shares the barriers students face when exploring career paths and discovering their skills and passions. She outlines how Washington STEM is a key part o...

Ming-Ming Tung-Edelman is the Founder and Executive Director of the Refugee Artisan Initiative (RAI), a Seattle nonprofit that empowers refugee and immigrant women through skill-building, sustainable manufacturing, and micro-business development. Ming-Ming shares how her family's immigration story inspired her to start RAI, creating a pathway for women of diverse backgrounds to use their skill...

Stephiney Foley is the Founder and CEO of Yuzi Care, the first personalized, AI-powered marketplace for postpartum care. Stephiney shares how her own delayed diagnosis of postpartum depression sparked her journey from careers in big tech and the military into maternal health innovation. The discussion covers how American healthcare is lagging countries in Europe and Asia in postpartum recovery sup...

Shari Graydon is an award-winning author, speaker, and advocate with 30 years of experience. She serves as Catalyst for Informed Opinions, a Canadian organization working to amplify women’s voices in media, politics, and public discourse. Shari unpacks the systemic barriers that continue to sideline women’s perspectives — from social conditioning and time scarcity to online harassment and politica...

Kate Isler is the Co-founder and CEO of WMarketplace, an economic development company with a mission to equip women entrepreneurs with the tools, knowledge, and resources they need to thrive in the digital economy. Kate shares how the idea for WMarketplace grew out of the shift to online shopping during the pandemic, and gives insights on how her personal career journey has driven her mission to h...

Gena Cook is the founder and CEO of Kaliper Health, whose mission is to improve population health through integrated screening, multidisciplinary technology, and a guided patient experience. The company's initial focus is early detection of lung cancer, one of the deadliest forms of cancer. Gena shares details on the AI technology behind Kaliper Health, and stresses the importance of the human tou...

Ashley Huston is a strategic communications executive who has navigated industry and organizational change for leading global brands. In this episode, Ashley gives us an in-depth look at one of the most high-stakes moments of her career: serving as the crisis communications lead for the Wall Street Journal after the paper’s reporter, Evan Gershkovich, was arrested and illegally detained in Russia...

Justina Lai is the head of impact investing strategy for Laird Norton Wetherby, a Seattle-based personal wealth advisory firm. In this episode, Justina discusses her personal journey into impact investing, the challenges faced by the industry, and how investors from all financial situations can effectively create positive social and environmental change with mindful, informed decisions. Listen in...

In this episode, we sit down with Tahmina Watson, an immigration attorney based in Seattle who has become a fierce advocate for immigrant entrepreneurs who want to stay in the U.S. to start and run their businesses. Watson explains the state of immigration in the country, how the issue will affect the upcoming presidential election, and how she finds hope when change feels so very far away.

Biotechnology and health care executive Yin Ho has a unique background: She got an MD from Yale and was an emergency physician, but then decided to switch gears and went and got an MBA from Harvard. While that combination created challenges for her career, it actually set her up well for this moment we find ourselves in: As AI transforms the way we look at patient treatment options and disease res...