Heart on My Sleeve: A podcast with Susie Cohen

Danielle Meyer's creativity was evident at an early age, but she never thought she would have her own business doing what she loves. Susie talks to this young entrepreneur about being a creative person, pursuing a career that never really felt like it fit and how she pivoted to build a jewelry brand. Danielle's company, Shop Spicy Dan, has grown because of her grit, determination and passion. Hear...

Susie sits down with Billy Poll, a Seattle native who works in commercial real estate. Billy shares the challenges he faced as an obese child whose parents struggled with their health and how his friends created a support system when he needed it. Billy is a tireless extrovert and athlete who enjoys competition on the pickleball court, tackling the ski slopes, biking and most other sports. He is c...

Meet Sara Eizen, one of Susie's first friends in Seattle. Sara's life is unconventional and full of unexpected life-altering changes. She grew up in the Midwest as the youngest of 4 kids and pursued an education in design. Her life has been full of big moves-- to Seattle, through various careers and choosing motherhood. She shares stories of taking risks to get what she wants and adapting when lif...

Ricky Strauss has an illustrious career in storytelling. He has marketed some of the most famous movies of all time. Listen as he and Susie go deep on his introspective processes, where he finds meaning in life and how he is grateful for the opportunities he has had, all while laughing and teasing each other. Ricky's impressions of Susie will have you laughing out loud as his charming personality...

Meet Laurie Raisys, the owner of Island Books on Mercer Island, WA. Learn about Laurie's childhood growing up all over the world, the various careers she's had and why she bought the local bookstore. Hear about the challenges she faces as a local retail book seller in a town where Amazon is everywhere and why she feels she is a steward of the store on behalf of the community. Susie and Laurie rela...

Susie is back in the studio. Jill and Susie talk about where they have been since last season wrapped and what is in store for the future. Their excitement is evident as they reunite and catch up on how they've changed, grown and what they hope for the coming year.

A note of gratitude from Susie and Jill.

For our Season 1 finale, Susie completes her family interviews with her style-influencer daughter Sophie, aka Soco.  Susie and Sophie share stories of growing up with Susie as a mom, how fashion has always been a big part of Sophie's life and what it means to her now.  She recounts how she grew into her style as she matured and built her confidence.  Sophie gives a behind the scenes look at what t...

(It took some convincing but...) Susie interviews Jill Friedman, the producer of Heart on My Sleeve podcast. Hear about Jill growing up as a middle child in her suburban Chicago home, how her childhood summers with her family at the lake became a legacy she shared with her own children, and how music is so much a part of her world from the time she was a kid. Learn why Jill became a civil rights a...

Susie sits down with entrepreneur and former Microsoft Executive VP Terry Myerson to learn about his childhood background, his amazing career and his current company Truveta. After losing his father at 15, graduating high school at 16 and graduating Duke University in 3 years, Terry finds his love for computers while working his first job. His interest in building websites led him begin his own co...

Annette Dresser is person who strives to always achieve at a high level. Raised in a big Irish family on Mercer Island, Annette's talents and determination enabled her to achieve athletic success as a division 1 tennis player in college and success in her career climbing the corporate ladder at Nordstrom to become an Executive VP. Annette left work to focus on her two sons, one who faced challenge...

In this episode, podcast producer Jill Friedman interviews Susie where she tells stories of growing up in Plainview, NY, how her childhood friendships with her "home girls" are unbreakable bonds and how moving to Seattle was a huge challenge for her. She shares what brings her joy, how she gives love to others and how spending time with her family and her friends is the most important thing to her...

Reuven Carlyle's success in life was not a forgone conclusion. Reuven shares with Susie stories of his childhood poverty, growing up with a single mother who lived a true hippie lifestyle in the 1960s, searching for mentors to provide him guidance and stability, and the opportunities he sought out that changed his life. He grappled with the duality of his reality and knowing that life could be ver...

Claudia Longo is 25 years old and has already lived an extraordinary life. At the age of 18, Claudia was heading to the University of Washington to play soccer after being recruited as a high school sophomore, when she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Listen as Claudia shares how she went on to play for UW at the highest level, how the community around her helped her to manage her illness an...

Tiffany Wendel has been a well-known stylist for over 18 years and has been in fashion for over 35 years. She talks to Susie about her childhood as an identical twin, growing up with divorced parents on different coasts, how all of her family members are creative and how she got into fashion. Tiffany gets real about her changing body size, shares insider styling tips including how to pack for trav...

Meet Rhonda Banchero, athlete, wife, mom of 3 and fashion lover. Susie and Rhonda dive deep into what it was like being a 12-year-old girl who was 6'1'' tall, becoming a pioneer in women's basketball, and how she learned how to manage her deficit mindset to become someone who tries to stop to smell the roses. She shares details about her family life, being in a biracial marriage and about raising...

Peter Chung is an American success story. Born in South Korea and immigrated with his family when he was 2 to the United States, Peter grew up in Washington with a unique blended family. He tells Susie about the lessons his Norwegian grandfather taught him and about the work ethic his father instilled in him. He shares his career journey as a salesman and how he landed in the car industry, ultimat...

Meet Jill Handaly, a dear friend of Susie's. Jill is a speech pathologist who works with children with autism and apraxia of speech. Originally from Houston, Jill talks about the challenges of moving to Seattle, raising her kids far from family and implementing the lessons imparted to her by her grandparents and parents that she carries with her every day. She uses creative outlets to get her thro...

Harold Kelsie and Susie met when Harold delivered packages to Susie's showroom as her UPS driver. He teased her about her New York accent and they were instant friends. In this episode, Susie chats with Harold about how he became a UPS driver, what a day in his life looks like, how his faith and family keep him going every day and how organization is the key to his success. He shares special and f...

Laura Van Horne is an accomplished mixed media artist and Seattle gallery owner who joins us to talk about how she pivoted from her speech therapy career to becoming a full-time artist. She chats with Susie about childhood art projects, how creating art helped her through challenges as an adult, the bold pitch she made to the Seattle Art Museum, how she started her own gallery and what a day in th...

Nick Crossan, co-owner of EBC Training Centers, and former coach to Susie's son Drew, joins us in the studio to talk about his passion for the game of basketball, the lessons he learned as a player, the toughness his mom instilled in him and the injury that stopped him in his tracks and ended his basketball career. As a coach and owner of a basketball club, he shares the challenges of running a fa...

Susie's son Drew visited Seattle and joined us in the studio to share his thoughts on living in NYC, changing jobs, taking chances and musing about growing up with Susie as his mom. They share tender moments and tell some epically funny stories.

Susie says, "Hello Robin!" to Robin Wehl Martin, owner and founder of a great Seattle cookie shop called Hello Robin. Robin shares how saying "yes" to things let her to start a small business, what it takes to keep it going and the special moments that happen there. Robin recounts how she learned to bake with her grandma Margot, how a simple and unexpected text from a friend led to her open the co...

We welcome Nancy Gordon to Heart on My Sleeve. Nancy is a go getter, a self-described "leaper", who makes things happen and creates real change to improve the lives of many. Nancy's story addresses raising a child with autism and her work with creating spaces for neurodiverse young people in the Seattle area. She shares honest truths about her challenges and helpful insights for those facing the s...

Susie chats with Elisa Yip, a fashion designer, entrepreneur and founder of the sustainable knitwear company Sskein. Elisa talks about growing up in Chinatown in Manhattan, embarking on a career in the fashion industry and taking risks in her career and in her life. Elisa shares how she found a sense of personal freedom when she experienced Burning Man and what she's learned in therapy sessions. S...