Powerful Ladies® Podcast

Nancy Eaton is a certified KonMari consultant, entrepreneur, and community leader who has built a life and business around what she loves most, helping others create intentional spaces that spark joy. She and her family live with a sense of purpose that radiates through everything they do, from their home and friendships to their impact in the community. Nancy shares how she turned her passion for...

Cottie Petrie-Norris is a California State Assemblywoman representing District 74, which includes much of coastal Orange County. After two decades in business, the 2016 election inspired her to step into politics for the first time, running (and winning) a long-shot race. Since taking office, she has focused on issues like homelessness, mental health, veterans’ services, and environmental protecti...

Tawny Newsome is an actor, musician, and podcaster who has built a career on making her own opportunities and refusing to wait for permission. You’ve seen her as the helicopter pilot on Space Force, heard her as Beckett Mariner on Star Trek: Lower Decks, and listened to her co-host the podcast Yo, Is This Racist?. She’s also a musician with a new album out, and she’s traveled the world hiking, exp...

Melanie Wells is the definition of a visionary entrepreneur. A concert pianist turned therapist, founder, and educator, she’s the creative force behind Lifeologie Institute, the LISPY School, and YogaZama, a groundbreaking psychotherapeutic yoga teacher training program that merges yoga traditions with brain science. Her journey spans music scholarships, seminary school, multiple advanced degrees...

Caroline Hanley is a ray of sunshine, fun, smart, and endlessly curious. As an Account Director at the prestigious advertising firm Mullen Lowe, she’s built a career on creativity, strategic thinking, and following her own path. Outside of work, she’s an avid reader, a semi-retired dancer, and a champion for the arts. Caroline shares how her love of books, the arts, and curiosity have shaped her p...

Dee O’Neill is on a mission to change the way we think about and care for our brains. As the founder of Neurocognitive Fitness, she brings together neuroscience, mental health, and performance coaching to help people optimize how they think, feel, and function. With experience ranging from cutting-edge brain research to private practice and executive coaching, Dee is a leader in the brain health a...

Cheryl Whilby is the Administrative Program Manager at Soul Fire Farm and Market Manager at the Schenectady Farmers Market. She’s part of a movement to end food apartheid and reclaim food sovereignty through Afro-Indigenous farming practices, community education, and land justice. At Soul Fire Farm, Cheryl helps lead programs that create direct access to fresh, healthy food for marginalized commun...

Allison Norton Rolfes is the founder and Chief Creative Officer of ANR Creative Group, a boutique social media agency in Costa Mesa, CA. She’s one of the best in the industry, launching the first celebrity Instagram accounts, including laurenconrad.com, and helping businesses double in size through smart, strategic social media. Allison shares how she transitioned from journalism to digital market...

Upon the passing of the great Ruth Bader Ginsburg I spent a lot of time reflecting on what it means to take Powerful Ladies to the next level - to be supporting women to fill the shoes of amazing and influential such as RBG as well as being the new trailblazers to make the world a better place.  I kept asking “How can we be more like RBG?” so I figured, let’s ask that question on the podcast. Who...

Lanie Edwards turned a passion for storytelling into a YouTube channel with more than 95,000 subscribers, sharing her life with humor, creativity, and authenticity. Inspired by her entrepreneurial family, she later launched Cozier, a custom loungewear brand she grew from her Los Angeles apartment into a thriving business. Lanie shares how she built her YouTube audience, why she left a corporate jo...

Lauren Wilson is the founder and CEO of Dora Maar, a luxury fashion e-commerce platform redefining the consignment and resale market. By pairing high-end pieces with the stories of their original owners (the “muses”) she’s creating a shopping experience that’s as personal as it is luxurious. With a career spanning Jimmy Choo, Armani, Elle, and Vogue, Lauren brings insider knowledge of the fashion...

Elizabeth Haislip, better known as Pebby, is the founder of Pebby Forevee, a self-made apparel brand built from her Ohio basement into a thriving fashion empire. With designs that flatter every body type and make women feel confident from the moment they get dressed, she’s grown her business steadily over the past nine years without outside funding. Elizabeth shares how she started with just $40 i...

Sharifah Hardie is a powerhouse. An entrepreneur, consultant, community activist, and the host of three talk shows. She’s dedicated to making real change in business, community, and beyond. From building her first website in 1994 to launching the Round Table Talk Show, Ask Sharifah Video Cast, and Face to Face Talk Show, she’s spent her career creating platforms for important conversations and pra...

This is the live, unedited recording from the first half of our roundtable, A Powerful Conversation About America: Racism Episode 3.  It’s been a month since Episode 1, so we’re asking our panelists “Has Anything Changed”.  This conversation took place on October 2nd, 2020 featuring Sharifah Hardie, Mikelle Drew, Chandra Gore, Kristen Fenrick and Lauren Wilson. We encourage and invite you to share...

Chisa Pennix-Brown is the founder of the business education and business consulting group Lady Bizness, The Black Biz Group and the Executive Director of Real Glow Getters.  On this episode, Kara and Chisa discuss the common business mistakes people are making and how to stop and fix them, how she started her business, and why it matters for your success to show up and show out. The Powerful Ladie...

Jen Berson is the founder and president of Jeneration PR, an award-winning Los Angeles-based agency specializing in baby, kids, beauty, cosmetics, health, and wellness brands. After leaving a career in law, she built one of the top PR agencies in the world over 15 years. Now she’s helping others do the same through Profitable PR Pros, her coaching and online education platform for PR professionals...

Keren Moynihan is the co-founder of Boss Insights, a financial tech service company that provides back office systems that bridge the gap between banks and small businesses.  Essentially making it easier to bank and get loans as a small business.  Yes, please! In this episode we discuss why finances and banking can be so frustrating for a small business, how it can be improved and why it’s actuall...

Chandra Gore is a lifelong serial entrepreneur with businesses across industries, from consulting and media production to radio and comedy festivals. She’s also an activist dedicated to creating change at the local level, whether it’s registering voters or speaking up at school board meetings. Her mission is to merge business success with community impact. Chandra shares her journey from starting...

Elana Carroll, known on stage as Party Nails, is a musician, producer, and music educator making her mark in the indie pop scene. From her roots in upstate New York to performing on stages across the country, she’s built a career that blends artistry, entrepreneurship, and connection with fans. Elana shares how she went from playing viola in fourth grade to producing music in college, the leap fro...

Ronda Brunson, known as Ms. B Credit Queen, is a licensed financial educator, certified credit counselor, and multi-entrepreneur on a mission to help people take control of their financial future. She sits on the national board of the National Association of Credit Counselors, runs her own financial firm, and still finds time to manage multiple businesses, including a travel company. Ronda shares...

Casey Wilson and Danielle Schneider are the co-hosts of Bitch Sesh: A Real Housewives Breakdown and two of the most versatile creatives in comedy. They’ve starred in hit shows like Black Monday, Marry Me, and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and written for everything from Bride Wars to Saturday Night Live. As actors, writers, producers, directors, and comedians, they’ve built careers fueled by...

Sierra Katow is a stand-up comic, TV writer, producer, and host of the podcast Stay Podsitive. She started performing comedy at 16, went on to study computer science at Harvard, and returned to Los Angeles to build a career that blends sharp humor with thoughtful commentary. Sierra shares what it’s like to navigate the comedy world as a female Asian comic, the hustle of producing and performing ac...

Amy Rosoff Davis is a true rainmaker. An actor, celebrity fitness trainer, nutrition and wellness coach, lifestyle blogger, and multipreneur who’s mastered the art of creating the life she wants. From starting with one client to touring the world as Selena Gomez’s trainer, Amy has built a career rooted in passion, adaptability, and saying yes to new opportunities. She shares how she balances entre...

One month after our first “A Powerful Conversation About America: Racism,” Kara brings the panel back together to ask the urgent question: Has anything changed? This raw, unedited roundtable features Sharifah Hardie, Mikelle Drew, Chandra Gore, Kristen Fenrick, and Lauren Wilson as they share candid updates, lived experiences, and reflections on racism in America. From personal stories to systemic...

Mikelle Drew-Pellum is a fashion designer, educator, entrepreneur, and adjunct professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. With a career that’s taken her from freelance designer to working with brands like Hanes, Champion, and C9, she’s now shaping the next generation of designers while running her own fashion education business. Mikelle shares her journey into the fashion indust...