Grit & Gravitas

When most people think about America’s 250th birthday, they picture fireworks and celebrations. Cassandra Coleman sees something much bigger. As Executive Director of America250PA, she’s spent nearly eight years building a once-in-a-generation effort to help Pennsylvanians learn from our history, embrace the present, and reimagine the future. Along the way, she’s united communities in all 67 count...

Mark Schaefer, author, speaker, and global marketing powerhouse, joins Grit & Gravitas cohosts Anne Carnathan and Anne Deeter Gallaher for a riveting conversation about AI, creativity, your personal brand, and what it will take to stay relevant in a world changing faster than most of us can process. Mark compares AI to electricity: inevitable, powerful, and completely transformational. But thi...

Jessica Ritchie, President of the UPMC Pinnacle Foundation, joins Grit & Gravitas for a conversation about leadership, healthcare philanthropy, and why “be nice” might be one of the most underrated leadership strategies. A self-proclaimed G&G super fan, Jessica has been with the Foundation since 2014, helping lead its work through growth, change, and evolving community needs. In this episo...

Our latest Grit & Gravitas guest, Melissa Miller, founded a business at age 21 that became more than a company. For years, her stationery design company, madetokeep was her creative outlet, her livelihood, and her identity. As madetokeep celebrates its 20th anniversary and Melissa evolves into her next ventures, The FAVOUR Agency and the STAGES Foundation, our co-hosts enjoy a candid conversat...

Theatre Harrisburg’s story is Harrisburg’s story. This Tuesday’s Grit & Gravitas features special guest Lorien Reese Mahay, Executive Director of Theatre Harrisburg, as the organization celebrates 100 years of creativity, resilience, and community.    Founded by a group of women in the basement of the Harrisburg Library, Theatre Harrisburg has spent a century bringing people together through p...

Recently, Team G&G took our show on the road to Shippensburg University for a live, interactive podcast focused on one thing students don’t get enough of: financial clarity. Today, we’re excited to share that conversation! Cohosts Anne Deeter Gallaher and Anne Carnathan are joined by fellow SHIP alum Jessica Whitmyer of Members 1st Federal Credit Union and SHIP Finance Professor Lee Fortenberr...

What happens when a part-time job turns into a 20+ year mission and a leadership role you never planned for? Today on Grit & Gravitas, Anne Deeter Gallaher and Anne Carnathan sit down with Cheryl Cuddy, CEO of Vision Resources of Central Pennsylvania, whose career began in medical assisting and evolved into something far bigger. What started as screening children’s vision while raising her own...

It’s podcast Tuesday, and Anne & Anne are excited to introduce a guest who embodies resilience, grit, and grace: Dr. Ivy Buchan. From saving for college at age seven to working multiple jobs and writing checks to pay her way through school, Ivy has always taken ownership of her career and life journey. She said yes to opportunities before she fully understood them and built a 20+ year career i...

As we celebrate Women’s History Month and the week of International Women’s Day, Grit & Gravitas is marking the moment with a conversation about curiosity, courage, and the power of listening. Anne Deeter Gallaher and Anne Carnathan sit down with Ashley Walkowiak, Executive Director of the Governor’s Advisory Commission on Women, who is leading the most comprehensive look at women’s issues in...

In this episode of Grit & Gravitas, Anne & Anne sit down with Carolina Harvey, founder of Cure the Clutter and host on A&E’s Hoarders, for a conversation that goes far beyond tidy closets. Carolina started her business in 2008 after becoming a mom of two and feeling called to serve her community. A mathematics major by training, she still looks at spaces like solvable problems. From do...

In this episode of Grit & Gravitas, Anne & Anne tackle the question we often avoid: how do we plan for purpose, relevance, and meaning as our roles change? Inspired by a recent Wall Street Journal article, they explore what happens when titles fade, influence shifts, and the world moves on. When your business card disappears, what anchors your value? How do you stay intentional when your n...

Five years ago, we recorded our first episode of Grit & Gravitas with a simple premise: progress starts when you do. That idea feels even more relevant in a culture obsessed with resolutions, trends, and arbitrary dates that supposedly predict when people will fail. “New Year’s resolutions bug me, and Quitter's Day bugs me. I don’t want to wait for anything for today to be the day,” Anne Carna...

In this episode of Grit & Gravitas, Anne & Anne sit down with Leanne Via, Senior Loan Originator with Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation, to talk about the human side of mortgages and why lending decisions shape far more than finances. Leanne shares her unexpected path into the mortgage industry, how helping her own mother led to a 23-year career, and why every loan carries a family...

Some businesses begin with spreadsheets. This one began with a birthday dream.   In this episode of Grit & Gravitas, we sit down with Lutricia Eberly, founder and owner of Complete Safaris, whose love of adventure and global roots transformed a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Kenya into a purpose-driven business.   Lutricia shares how listening, learning, and surrounding herself with truth-tellers...

Despair, no light ahead, feeling hopeless? In this Christmas episode, Toni Lynn Mark, Resource Development Director for The Salvation Army Harrisburg, shares her journey through a season of enduring to experiencing unexpected hope. “We get a deck of cards, and we have a hand to play. I have nothing but jokers. You only get to play the hand you have, and I have a hand I hate,” she says.   If you’ve...

In a special, 1-hour live edition, today's podcast is an alumni celebration for Anne & Anne as they take Grit & Gravitas on the road to their alma mater, Shippensburg University, and feature special guest and SHIP alum, Lee Adams Kuhn. "Love on Tour" is Lee's just-released fictional tale about the country music industry featuring love, lust, business, and betrayal!  Broadcasting to a packe...

What perception do you hope to leave?” asks Sara Elerman, Regional VP at Members 1st Federal Credit Union, as she joins Anne & Anne to share her leadership journey. From arriving in the U.S. as a 17-year-old immigrant working in retail to becoming a respected regional leader, Sara’s story is defined by grace, accountability, and growth. Guided by mentors and fueled by a willingness to be coach...

Talking is easy. Listening takes intention. In this episode of Grit & Gravitas, Anne & Anne explore how emotional intelligence (EQ) fuels strong leadership and healthy workplaces. They unpack what it means to understand people, navigate conflict, and choose words that connect instead of divide. From reading between the lines to balancing intellect with empathy, this conversation delivers b...

In this episode of Grit & Gravitas, Anne and Anne sit down with Kait Gillis, Owner of Nour Coffee, and Sara Firestone, VP, Community and Public Relations, Members 1st Federal Credit Union, for a conversation that blends business with deep purpose.   Inspired by her daughter, Nour, who has Down syndrome, and driven by the reality that over 70% of people with disabilities are unemployed, Kait bu...

Ellen Kyzer, VP, Client & Community Relations Director, PNC Bank, shares her non-traditional journey from a nonprofit career to banking in today's Grit & Gravitas podcast. "True growth comes from being uncomfortable; from pushing that boundary," says Anne Carnthan, co-host. And it's hard to go there willingly. "Let's not focus on the successes; growth happens in the failures," says Anne De...

We're kicking off Season 5 with one of Anne and Anne's most important podcast topics—women and money! Grit & Gravitas is live in the Members 1st podcast studio welcoming Jacinda Webber and Kim Houck, Wealth Advisors, Members 1st Investment Services and Wealth Management. Women are expected to receive 70% of the estimated $124 trillion in the next 25 years—the largest transfer of wealth in hist...

Cohosts Anne Carnathan and Anne Deeter Gallaher are fangirling big time over our Season 4 finale guest: Mariah Grumet Humbert, founder of Old Soul Etiquette! From the fashion industry to certified etiquette trainer, Mariah is redefining the idea of etiquette for our world today.  We may think of etiquette as table manners and wedding RSVPs, but it’s more than that. “Etiquette is about making peopl...

It’s with great excitement that we share our penultimate podcast of Season 4 featuring special guest Linda Fedrizzi-Williams, Ed. D., President of Central Penn College. Linda talks with Anne & Anne about her communications background in cable news and radio; teaching at a community college where she was invited to write the curriculum for the media program; and the most important college cours...

Did you know? 1 small business opens every 4 minutes in the US! May is National Small Business Month, and in this episode of G&G we’re celebrating the entrepreneurial spirit! Meet our guests: Jacquie Ferentinos, co-owner of the locally owned and operated Bagel Boutique, and Brenna Anderson, VP of Relationship Management for Members 1st Federal Credit Union. In part 3 of our Limited Edition Mem...

Our G&G co-hosts are excited to welcome Megan Simpson, co-founder of Two Sparks Media along with Kelly Parker, who graced the podcast in 2023. A resident of North Carolina, Megan grew up in New Jersey as the youngest of four powerhouse women, and she’s been in the people business ever since. From the fitness industry to the franchise world, Megan’s gift is making connections and creating colla...