Journeys of Empowerment

In this episode, I connected with Lisa Thompson, founder of Your Career Space and creator of Career Story Nights, a space where professional identities give way to something much more human: the stories that shaped them. What struck me most about Lisa's journey is that it isn't really about careers. It's about what happens when the titles, brands and achievements that once defined us no longer ans...

In this episode, I connected with Nataliya Volosovych, founder of Profile Studio NL, photographer and visual storyteller, whose journey moves through migration, motherhood, identity and the continuous process of rebuilding yourself through change.  Nataliya was born in the Soviet Union and grew up in Ukraine during a time of instability that deeply shaped her resilience and resourcefulness. But un...

In this episode, I connected with Alina Hekelaar, co-founder of workwonder.co, entrepreneur and community builder who is learning how to navigate ambition, motherhood and identity without losing herself in the process.  Alina’s journey begins in post-Soviet Ukraine, growing up during a time of instability where uncertainty was not an exception, but daily reality. At 17, she left everything familia...

In this second 𝗥𝗲𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗙𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲, a deep dive with Kasia Pokrop, founder of 3mbrace Health | Formerly Mamamoon Health and someone who is no longer willing to wait for the world to catch up with women’s health! What struck me most is that this conversation was never really about hormones or healthcare. 𝗜𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. After...

A fascinating deep dive with Aubierge Ball-Gamthety, founder of The Way Is Togetherness, speaker, sales professional and advocate for women reclaiming their voice, visibility and power through every stage of life. Aubierge’s story begins in Chad and Nigeria before civil war forced her family to flee to France as refugees when she was just six years old. From spacious embassy life in Africa to crow...

In this episode I connected with Tanushri Pal Chowdhury, founder of BalanceWorks, leadership coach and subconscious reprogramming facilitator, whose journey moves through ambition, loss, identity and the quiet process of finding herself beyond achievement. Tanu grew up in India surrounded by strong examples of resilience and independence, especially through her mother, who raised three daughters w...

A deep dive convo with Ana Herrero-Wallace, founder of Ada Invest, author, keynote speaker and financial mentor who helps women move from financial anxiety into clarity, ownership and real agency over their lives. Ana’s journey begins at a defining moment at age 12, when her father lost his job during a recession in Spain. What followed was not just financial loss, but emotional instability, silen...

In this conversation, I connected with Blanca Vergara founder of CoCreation Institute, a systems thinker and coach who brings together corporate structure and human depth to explore how we move from isolation into meaningful co-creation. Blanca’s journey begins in a childhood marked by emotional distance, perfectionism and the quiet survival strategy of withdrawing inward. Achieving became her way...

A deep dive convo with Sharon Asscher, a health expert and founder of Voeding maakt je beter who turned years of chronic illness and inner instability into a deeply personal mission to help others reconnect with their body, their balance and their sense of safety. Sharon’s journey is one of resilience shaped in contrast. Growing up in an unpredictable environment while navigating 18 years of chron...

In this episode, I connected with Claudia Kratzheller founder of Body-Linguistics, a body intelligence expert and former professional dancer who now brings her deep embodied wisdom into corporate environments to help people reconnect with what is true for them. Claudia’s journey is one of returning to the body as a place of truth. From early life shaped by loss, to years of introspection, to findi...

#73: From survival to shared belonging! A conversation where the script is flipped... 2,5 hour (🫣) deep dive with me ✨Michiel Sujeet Reith✨this time not as the host, but as the one opening up my own story. Guided by my friend, community builder, role model and mentor Kemo Camara, this episode becomes something rare.  👉🏾Not performance. 👉🏾Not positioning.. 👉🏾But presence!! What unfolds is...

#72 : Learning yourself through change! What a deep dive with Ilze Spigule-Buijtenweg, a community builder and VP of events at PWN Netherlands (Professional Women's Network), coach and someone who has learned to meet herself again and again through life’s many transitions! Ilze’s journey moves across countries, roles and identities. From growing up in Latvia with a strong sense of responsibility,...

Rebellion does not always shout! Sometimes it quietly refuses to accept what everyone else has normalized... #71: Reclaiming the essence of therapy! In this very first episode of the 𝗕𝗶-𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵𝗹𝘆 𝗥𝗲𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗙𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀: Vassia Sarantopoulou, therapist, founder of AntiLoneliness and The Therapy Business Circle and someone who is no longer willing to accept a system that forgets the hu...

#70 : Honoring truth through rebellion! A fascinating deep dive with Caroline Williams, a systems challenger, founder of WE Make Trouble and someone who refuses to look away from what does not feel right. Caroline’s journey is shaped by a lifetime of not fitting in. Growing up between cultures, constantly moving and learning early that belonging would not come from adapting, but from choosing hers...

#69: Identity evolution through awakening! A convo with Eslyn Olivia Barends, founder of Luminary Leadership and a South African changemaker who helps visionary leaders step into their next evolution with courage and clarity. Eslyn was born during the apartheid era in South Africa and grew up in a family rooted in generosity, service and community. At 25 she experienced what she calls her first aw...

#68: The Home Within! A deep dive convo with Nina Aziz Justin, author of The Home Within and a woman who has walked through cultural shifts, identity fractures and profound motherhood challenges. Only to discover that belonging was never a place, but a practice! Nina grew up between cultures, constantly adapting, constantly reinventing. A cultural chameleon by survival. But when her youngest daugh...

#67 curiosity as personal agency! In this episode, I connected with Minna Taylor, author of The Confident Body and a performance coach who blends philosophy, voice work and embodied practice to help people get out of their own way. Minna grew up on a farm in southwest Virginia, an identical twin in a small visible world shaped by religion, order and expectation. From there she moved straight to Ne...

#66: Reclaiming agency through consciousness! Fascinating deep dive with Eva Luna Poorthuis, founder of Eva Luna Lifestyle and a passionate advocate for women’s health who is not only challenging systems but helping women reconnect with themselves from the inside out. Eva Luna’s journey began with her own symptoms at 18: mood swings, headaches, bloating and a deep sense of not feeling like herself...

#65: Reclaiming the Body’s Wisdom! In this episode, I connected with Emilia Villegas, founder of Flow With Emilia, women’s health coach and hormone advocate. And a woman who turned her own health crisis into a mission for collective change! Born and raised in Mexico and shaped by life across seven countries, Emilia built a successful corporate career in tech before her body forced her to pause. Ba...

#64 Stillness as a turning point! A fascinating convo with Monika Matuszewska, certified professional coach at LaMatu and a sharp, curious mind who has lived many lives inside one life: four master degrees, sixteen years in international corporate environments and a gradual transition into coaching where nuance matters more than performance. Monika grew up in Poland with books and encyclopedias as...

#63: A decent life and ripple effects! Fascinating convo with Anna Fedusiv, CPCC, ACC, founder of Empowerment LAB and a Ukrainian coach and community builder who brings clarity, depth and lived experience into conversations about work, identity and what it means to live well. Anna grew up in post soviet Ukraine in a time of scarcity, hustle and emotional absence, shaped by entrepreneurial parents...

#62: You’ve got the key! A fascinating deep dive with Krystal Wu 吴漾 wu, founder of WayBeyond Coaching and an intercultural strategy partner who supports managers to lead across differences with more clarity and care and who is also building a platform and community where coaches and clients can find each other through real connection. Krystal’s story begins in southeast china in 1995, shaped by...

#61: Diagnosis is the start! In this episode, i connected with Yann Ghisalberti, a former it project and program manager who rebuilt his life after a fifth burnout led to an adult diagnosis of adhd and later autism and who now supports others as a coach and founder of Coach4ADHD in amsterdam, with a special focus on neurodivergence, trauma and belonging. Yann grew up learning how to cope with bein...

#60 Courage in motion! Fascinating deep dive with Senneh Kamara, a young man whose life changed overnight and who chose courage instead of collapse. Born in Sierra Leone and now living in the Netherlands, Senneh lost his hand in a severe car accident at a young age. What followed was shock, grief, isolation and a long road of physical and emotional recovery.  Rather than hiding, he learned to spea...

#59 Owning life now! In this episode, I connected with Gabriela Alvarez Burgardt, a global inclusion leader now Global Senior Director People & Culture at House of Inclusion, whose life was reshaped by moments she never chose, yet chose to meet with intention. Raised in Brazil and long successful in international corporate roles, Gabriela’s life changed radically during pregnancy when she temporar...