Rare Gems with Jenn

In this episode, Hilda joins Jenn to share her experience from being an athlete to becoming a mother, all while trying to maintain an active lifestyle. She talks of how she navigated postpartum recovery doing exercises that included breathwork and pelvic strengthening. Hilda is a Research Program Manager with a Ph. D. in Clinical Medicine, committed to research grants management and advancing medi...

In this episode, Cail joins Jenn to share how she began her journey in the health and fitness world, how Pump&Crunch came about, and share some of the lessons that come from putting yourself and your passion out there. Cail shares how she has found authentic connection with her Pump&Crunch business, shares tips on how to be creative with your food, provides some quick and easy pre-workout snacks,...

In this episode, Dr. Tristan Ezeoke joins Jenn to talk about his holistic physical therapy approach, favorite mobility movement to do NO MATTER what and the importance of intention behind a workout, life, mobility. Dr. Tristan Ezeoke is a Doctor of Physical Therapy who specializes in joint health. He founded Injury2Victory to help people get stronger and more active to age backward without knee an...

In this episode, Imani joins Jenn to share how being an educator led her to becoming a wellness practitioner, how she holds space for women and mothers while continuing her yoga classes, and how discipline in life, her health and body has pushed her to grow in ways she never thought she could ✨ Imani Semien, originally from Opelousas, Lousiana moved to Houston, Texas for better financial opportun...

In this episode, we get to explore one of Houston’s well-known CrossFit coaches and your host’s personal coach, Juan Martinez! Juan has over 8 years of coaching experience in CrossFit, group training, personal training, gymnastics, and Olympic weightlifting. He is currently a coach at Urban Athletics and Lagom Fit, both located in Houston. Juan joins the podcast to discuss what discipline means to...

Mara is a baker, a cook, and a weekend comedian (LOL jk)! But seriously y'all, Mara has such an amazing, hilarious, charismatic personality. Mara joins Jenn to discuss the origin of her self-proclaimed nickname, how her path came to cross Jenn and her family's lives and her story in the LGBTQ+ community. Jenn and Mara connect on relationships stories, struggles, chismes, and much more! Mar...

Alejandra (AKA "The Queen" AKA "Ale") is one of my best friends, a former teacher, and new doggie mum to Charlie boy. Ale joins Jenn to discuss the fears/reservations of podcasting or being recorded in general, reminisce on some fun times, explore the pronunciation of words in Spanish and English and how that impacted life in middle school and even now as grown women. Jenn shar...

Dr. Cindy Dafashy is a wife, a mother of two, a daughter, a sister, an aunt, and lastly, a Family Medicine physician who recently opened a direct primary care clinic in Pasadena,TX called Archway Family Medicine. She is fiercely passionate about two things, and that is her family and patient care. In this episode, Dr. Dafashy joins Jenn to discuss her time and studies at Rice University...

Ulyssis is the host of Inside the Northside Podcast, a Houston podcast where Ulyssis and his guests talk about everything AND nothing at the same time. Ulyssis joins Jenn to discuss the numerous (some weird) ways to pronounce his name, the evolution of each of their podcasting equipment, and how Ulyssis handled podcasting during the peak of COVID-19. Ulyssis shares what inspired him to s...

A dynamic, consummate and passionate businesswoman across the field of social services for more than a decade, Nicole Mays-Jackson is reengineering the systemic structure of how fostering, adoption, therapeutic services and the social services profession operates. Nicole is a wife, a mother, a philanthropist, and the CEO of 1 Care Premier Services and 1 Care Premier Medica...

Patty Williams-Downs is a mother, a mentor, an entrepreneur, and the Executive Director of OneGoal, a college access and success organization for students from low-income communities. Patty joins Jenn to discuss her collegiate athlete journey at Fordham University and how much the game (basketball) has changed with to skillsets and leadership mentality, how achievement can be viewed with higher va...

Bryce, a father, a friend, a super-kid at heart. Bryce currently works in residential solar with Sunrun and also teaches early morning bible study at his church! Bryce joins Jenn to discuss the big-move from Texas, how different food in Cali is than in Texas and some of the food he misses the most. Jenn shares her admiration towards Bryce's social media content, more specifically the consistency i...

Festus is the second of four children born to immigrant parents, he is a father, an innovator, an authored entrepreneur, and the founder of Laddering Your Success (LYS). Festus joins Jenn to discuss the creation and inspiration to his educational technology company titled Laddering Your Success (LYS), how Wes, a connector between Jess and Festus, became a key partner early on in this company, and...

Nataisa Holmes AKA Holmessss, is originally from New Jersey by way of Charlotte, North Carolina , and graduated from Winston-Salem State University having majored in Health Care Management Major. Holmes joins Jenn to discuss their curiosity and pursuit in creative spaces like podcasting and youtube-ing, they throw ideas on what these outlets can focus on like cooking, cleaning, pups, and they touc...

Kimberly - a wife, a mom, and an absolute fitness lover. Kimberly AKA Kim works full-time in the oil and gas industry and also teaches spin at CycleCar! Kim joins Jenn to discuss family dynamics, growing up with divorced parents, growing up in the South and how unique yet similar their upbringing was. Kim and Jenn talk about parenting, the pressure of modeling what it means to be a "good pers...

AlejandroAlejandro (he/him/él) is an advocate of educational equity, an avid reader, and more importantly, a proud product of Mexican immigrants. Originally from Houston, Alejandro has spent the last three years working in education as an English as a Second Language teacher. In his capacity as an educator, Alejandro has assumed roles that have allowed him to foster relationshi...

Did you know that 1 in 6 people are active journalers right now? . It's okay, I didn't know either :) In this solo episode, I get to talk about my journaling journey, how I got started, why I journal, and I get to share a dream (maybe goal...) for the future! I also share 7 benefits journaling helps with, and whether I've actually benefitted from some of those. Remember - no intro, no music, no gu...

Boma Cheetham-West is the Founder of BomaCurates LLC, a digital marketing company based in Houston. Throughout her career she’s worked with companies in various industries to develop marketing strategies across digital channels. She specializes in social media strategy, management, and content creation. She received a degree in entrepreneurship from the University of Houston’s Wolff Center for Ent...

Sterling Dodd currently manages Wolf Hill Investments, LLC. Wolf Hill is a CRE private equity firm hyper-focused on the Outdoor Hospitality industry. He received an education from the University of Houston’s Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship, ranked the number two undergraduate entrepreneurship college in the nation by the Princeton Review in 2018. Concurrently, he received a Minor in Military Sci...

Hey y'all! I am trying something new this week and would love to share with whoever is out there. (Guests are still joining, don't worry!) It's been a rough couple of days and instead of having a guest on every episode, like I have been doing, I'd like to do a solo episode. No intro, no music, no guests, just me, simply me, all of me, more than enough me. Not sure if this will become a recurring t...

Laura, stylist and creator of Balloon Luxe Events. A wife, and girl mom, with a background in finance, Laura is a powerhouse. With the support of her family, Laura turned her passion of party planning into more than just a hobby. She is dedicated to making each occasion a memorable one by providing services in balloon garlands and big customized balloon ideas! Enjoy! Find her on social media...

Autriel Galloway is an educator by trade and at heart. She enjoys taking what she has learned teaching students and leading teams to uplift and empower those in her sphere of influence. As a coach, collaborator, and strategist, she has tirelessly supported students, families, teachers, and leaders over the last eight years in the pursuit of equity for all children and communities. She has learned...

Darryl is a contractor, foodie expert (although he may say otherwise), veteran and an all-around awesome person. Darryl joins Jen to discuss first impressions, what it means to be inquisitive vs chismosa(o), growing up being told no AND not accepting it. Darryl and Jenn talk about how different perspectives allows them to accept (or not) a given situation, what it means to live a life that th...

Fernando Santiago is your go to guy when remodeling your house. Whatever idea or concept you want to go with, he’ll walk you through it and make sure it’s done to your liking . He is a commercial and residential investor. He runs a remodeling company and has worked more than 1000 houses. When he is not working he is looking for new business to get into or hanging out with his chickens. Fernando an...

Kiran is the ultimate Girl Next Door! With her relatable and authentic content, she’s like the best friend you’ve always wanted. Her style mixes affordable fashion with pops of luxury pieces, her hair tutorials are full of the best tips and tricks, and her makeup is natural, effortless and achievable. As a proud Pakistani woman, she has a large and diverse female audience and influences women from...