Plucking Up with Liz Bohannon

Laura Chinn is one of those people who gets it. She got me, she got the point of this show, and in true Plucking Up style she got why it’s so important to share stories of failure, loss, and instability. On the show, I had the opportunity to chat with the author, script writer, and actress about her new memoir, Acne. Laura says the process of writing a memoir and putting it out into the world is c...

Welcome to season 5 of Plucking Up! We’re rolling out the canary yellow carpet for a new lineup of amazing guests starting with Deesha Dyer. Deesha was social secretary for the Obama White House. This unbelievable woman worked her way up from intern all while finishing community college. Now, she’s Founder and CEO of social impact consulting company, Hook and Fasten. On the show, Deesha told me ab...

I’m sharing some exciting news in this episode. My company Sseko Designs has merged with fellow fairtrade fashion brand, Noonday Collection. In this episode, we’re talking about our merger, or our wedding as I enjoy calling it. I’m introducing all of my pluckies to my new business partner, Jessica Honneger. And Jessica is introducing me to her podcast audience. To celebrate our partnership this ep...

Danielle LaPorte dabbled with a number of different career paths before she became an author and entrepreneur. One of her earlier books, The Desire Map: A Guide To Creating Goals With Soul spurred a workshop program with facilitators around the world that Danielle now runs. Her goal setting mantra is that everything you want can be found in loving kindness. She also says a soulful approach to goal...

At the age of 22, Allison Trowbridge promised herself that she would write and publish a book. By the time she was 29 “ Twenty-Two: Letters to a Young Woman Searching for Meaning” had been published. In this episode, we talked about the long and winding path to success and about slowing down, taking a few months off, going for walks and finding out who you are outside of work. We also talked about...

Ahhh, a much-needed conversation on how we can make our lives of purpose more sustainable—for ourselves. Emily Baldoni is the co-founder of AMMA, an apparel company that creates stylish products for moms. She's also a former actor who, upon arriving in Hollywood experienced what can only be described as the hustle to "make it." In this episode, Emily talks about how her drive to succeed led to unh...

This week's guest is a master of facing pluck-ups head-on and turning them into something creative, inspiring, and well, pretty freakin' beautiful. Scott Erickson is a creator, performer, and author of multiple books, his latest being Say Yes , a study of how our darkest moments are actually doorways to a deeper conversation about who we are. In this episode, he shares the painful moment he realiz...

Sarah Bragg is the host of the " Surviving Sarah " podcast and author of A Mother's Guide to Raising Herself . In this episode, Sarah shares her early experiences with judgment, and how those memories planted seeds of both insecurity and resilience, aspects of her life she still navigates today. She talks about finding fortitude in failure and how we can encourage our kids to try new things, even...

You know when you just hit it off with someone? Well, that certainly was my experience with Anna Malaika Tubbs. Anna is the author of the bestselling book, The Three Mothers: How the Mothers of Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation . In this episode, she opens up about being chronically underestimated, as she worked her way up the academic ladder, and how having chi...

Jessica Jackley is, in my opinion, one of the original social entrepreneurs. She's the co-founder of Kiva, a financial services platform nearly synonymous with microlending, and the founder of a super rad new start-up, Alltruists, which delivers kid-friendly volunteer and impact projects directly to your doorstep. In this episode, Jessica shares her painful journey of letting go of her identity as...

Ooooh, do we have a good one for you. Justin Baldoni is an actor, filmmaker, and author of Man Enough: Undefining My Masculinity . Y’all know I love to run my mouth about the negative impact of the patriarchy on women and girls, but it's also important that we talk about and understand how it hurts men. Justin’s new book is both a personal investigation into the current state of masculinity and a...

Who sold us the lie that building a life of purpose and passion is a linear path? Because y’all, building stuff is not for the faint of heart! In this episode, we speak with Cate Luzio, a business leader who spent the last 20 years in banking before launching her own company … right before a global pandemic. Cate is the founder and CEO of Luminary , a community that supports women in building prof...

After a brief hiatus, we're back on the mic with Lisa Sharon Harper. Lisa is an activist, speaker, and author of multiple books, including one of my favorites, The Very Good Gospel . In this episode, Lisa tells us about her first encounter with success—writing an award-winning play in college—and how she handled the regret that came from walking away from what could have been a big, Broadway caree...

For our season finale, we are sharing an incredible story of redemption, adventure, deep purpose, and impact. Scott Harrison is the CEO of the nonprofit organization, charity:water. In this episode, Scott will take us on a journey, from being a New York City club promoter and all it entails — the booze and the drugs — to leading an incredible organization that aims to end the global water crisis....

Like many entrepreneurs who really suffered economically because of the pandemic, Molly Stillman’s business tanked in the last 20 months. Molly is the founder and creator of Still Being Molly, an ethical fashion and lifestyle blog, and the host of the “Business with Purpose” podcast, which she started in 2016. Having walked a hilly and mountainous road for many years, Molly talks to me about how s...

We’ve had quite a few anti-racism activists and educators. I always find myself thinking about racism and the different ways that I’m a part of the problem and hopefully the solution. I couldn’t be more thrilled to have Faitth Brooks on the podcast today. I met Faitth through “Be the Bridge” a community that helps bring people together to discuss and work towards racial reconciliation. Faitth is a...

Love of community is what I have in common with our next guest, Pamela Slim. Pamela is the author of “Escape From Cubicle Nation” and the upcoming book “The Widest Net.” She partnered with author Susan Cain to launch the Quiet Revolution and the Quiet Leadership Institute. In this episode, we cover how Pamela’s upbringing seeded the idea of why having a community around you is so critical. We...

How do you take responsibility for things that go wrong — without hating yourself? On the podcast, celebrities and leaders at the top of their game share some pretty intimate and truly authentic experiences that give us a beautiful glimpse into who they really are. The highlights, the lowlights, and the glorious mess in between.  Today’s guest, Katia Beauchamp, CEO and Co-Founder of Birchbox,...

Money. That's what we're covering today - a surprisingly emotional, gendered topic that creates challenging dynamics in relationships. And our guest is no other than Sallie Krawcheck, Chair of the Ellevate Network, a 135K-strong global professional women’s network. She is also the CEO and co-founder of Ellevest, an investment platform that’s on a mission to get more money in the hands of women. In...

If you’re not familiar with Arianna Huffington’s highlight reel, here’s a rundown: She is the founder and CEO of Thrive Global and the founder of The Huffington Post. Arianna is the author of 15 books and has been named to Time Magazine’s list of the World’s 100 Most Influential People and Forbes Most Powerful Women List. Thrive Global, her company, is a leading behavior change tech company that a...

This episode covers the other side of imposter syndrome. What lessons can you learn when you underestimate your capacity to fail? Our next guest, Executive Chairman of Real Good Foods Bryan Freeman, has a lot to say about what it’s like to have early success and the bitter pill you swallow when you find out that you're not invincible. If you’ve been listening to our recent episodes, then you’ve he...

Sarah LaFleur is the Founder & CEO of M.M.LaFleur, a women’s workwear brand that she launched in 2013. The company grew to be a multimillion dollar brand and darling of the direct to consumer fashion world. In this episode, Sarah and I talk about the big existential questions many of us found ourselves asking early in our adult lives (and hopefully throughout our vocations.) Sarah also sh...

Have you ever been surrounded by dozens of people, colleagues, family, or friends, and still feel like you’re at your loneliest? In this episode, I talk to New York Times best-selling author, podcaster, founder of That Sounds Fun network, and my good friend, Annie F. Downs. Annie is that incredibly engaging, spontaneous human who’s just bursting with positive energy, but who can also provide this...

In my honest but also biased opinion, this is a hands-down winning conversation with Eve Rodsky, a Harvard-grad lawyer, activist, and author of the New York Times bestselling book and Reese Witherspoon’s book club pick, "Fair Play." On the show, we talked about how Eve took on a lot of responsibility as a kid and assumed the role of 'partner' to her mother. We get deep into the breakdown of her ma...

Before founding Girls Who Code, a nonprofit that has served 450,000 girls and has reached 500 million people in the U.S., Reshma Saujani went through a seemingly endless stream of rejection and failure. In our conversation, Reshma talks about growing up in the midwest as the daughter of refugee parents from Uganda, her valiant 3 time attempt to get into Yale, and how having multiple miscarriages m...