rEvolutionary Woman

Sara Hirsh Bordo is a 15-time award-winning filmmaker and Founder/CEO of Women Rising®, named "One of the Most Innovative, Interesting, and Purpose-Driven Women-Led Startups to Watch” by Inc. Magazine.  She is currently directing short documentary films for Toyota and ESPN Women, and most recently executive producer of ConnectHer International Film Festival, consulting director for the Gates Found...

In this episode of Revolutionary Woman, Lorna Tallowin shares her experience navigating premature birth, neonatal intensive care, and the often-overlooked mental health challenges faced by NICU families. She discusses how her own journey as a NICU parent inspired her to create support for families of preemie babies while raising awareness about PTSD, anxiety, and emotional recovery after a neonata...

Award-winning communication coach, corporate trainer, and financial educator Victoria Ferrer joins Tes of Revolutionary Woman to discuss confidence, public speaking, executive presence, cultural intelligence, financial education, and women in leadership. Victoria shares how personal experiences shaped her passion for helping people communicate with impact, build financial security, and lead with p...

Dawn D. Boyer, Ph. D. completed her Doctor of Philosophy in Education (Occupational & Technical Studies, with a concentration in Training & Development in Human Resources) from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA, in 2013. She has been an entrepreneur and business owner for 25+ years, currently in her consulting firm, D.Boyer Consulting, serving Virginia Beach, … Season 10 Ep 4: D...

She was just 3 years old… pretending to be asleep in the back of a car during a tense border crossing. In this episode of the Revolutionary Woman Podcast, Tes Silverman sits down with Gordana Angelic Davila, co-owner of Redbud Café, to share a story shaped by escape, resilience, and starting over. Born in the former Yugoslavia, Gordana’s family fled political pressure and uncertainty, moving throu...

In this episode of Revolutionary Women, Tes speaks with Deepa Ananthapadmanabhan, CEO and co-founder of the Susterra Foundation, about climate change, mental health, and community impact. They discuss how climate change affects daily life, the importance of local solutions, and why mentorship is key to building stronger, more resilient communities. Deepa Ananthapadmanabhan has been involved in the...

What does it really look like to lead a company, raise a family, and build something meaningful at the same time? In this episode of Revolutionary Women, Tes Silverman sits down with Brandy Thompson, CEO and Founder of BenefitBay, for an honest conversation about leadership, motherhood, and taking a path that doesn’t always look traditional. Brandy shares how she moved from finance and HR into the...

In this episode of Revolutionary Woman, Tes Silverman sits down with Nikki Padilla Rivera, co-founder of She Shapes History NYC, to explore women’s history, storytelling, and the hidden contributions of women in New York City. With a background in travel, tourism, and brand marketing, Nikki shares how her work is helping uncover overlooked female leaders and reshape how we understand history. This...

In this episode of Revolutionary Women, host Tess Silverman speaks with Charlotte Kemmeren, a social work educator and researcher at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences whose work focuses on community building, social justice education, and inclusive learning environments. Charlotte works closely with students to create spaces where diverse voices can be heard, difficult topics can be exp...

In this episode of Revolutionary Women, Tess Silverman speaks with Starre Vartan about the science behind women’s strength, endurance, and long-term health. Drawing from research in exercise science, female physiology, and longevity studies, Starre explains how cultural assumptions have shaped what we believe about women’s bodies — and what the data actually shows. From bone density and strength t...

In this episode of Revolutionary Women, I speak with Kyla Reynolds P’an, Head of Development for Pangea Trust, a UK–Portugal charity building Europe’s first large-scale elephant sanctuary in Portugal’s Alentejo region. Pangea Trust is creating a sanctuary for elephants currently living in captivity across Europe, offering a lifelong home designed for recovery, space, and social connection. We disc...

Teagan Vaughn is a Fundraising Officer at St. Paul’s Youth Forum in Glasgow, Scotland and a 2025 Time to Shine Leader with The Rank Foundation.  Teagan specialises in fundraising strategy, social media management, and welfare consultancy. Her work focuses on alleviating poverty and strengthening community resilience through initiatives that promote wellbeing and healthy living. She &#82...

Mary Fusillo is a registered nurse and founder of Family Solutions International, with decades of experience in infertility care, egg donation, surrogacy, and third-party reproduction. Her work focuses on ethical fertility practices, patient advocacy, and helping families navigate complex reproductive decisions with clarity and care. Mary M. Fusillo, RN, BSN, MS is the founder and CEO of Family So...

Marilyn Cornelius is a behavior change specialist, coach, facilitator, speaker, author, and teacher. She is the founder of Alchemus Prime, a multinational leadership and wellness company. She integrates behavioral sciences, design thinking, biomimicry and meditation to support empowerment, change management, trauma healing, leadership development, and climate change resilience for diverse leaders....

Grace Robinson is a Java Champion and Product Manager at IBM, having been at IBM since graduating from University with a Degree in Biology. Grace enjoys bringing a varied perspective to her projects and using her knowledge of biological systems to simplify complex software patterns. Previously, as a developer advocate for 8 years, Grace built POC’s, demos, sample applications and tutorials. Now, a...

Jacqueline Ackerman is Director of the Women’s Philanthropy Institute (WPI) at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. WPI believes that gender matters in philanthropy, and that solving the world’s complex problems requires perspective, leadership and generosity from women and men. Jacqueline’s work centers on moving the institute’s research into action, delivering insights to...

Michelle Petties is a TEDx speaker, Food Story coach, and author of the award-winning memoir Leaving Large: The Stories of a Food Addict. She reveals how emotional wounds, cultural expectations, and personal history—not hunger—often shape how we manage food. After battling emotional overeating for decades and gaining and losing over 700 pounds, Michelle discovered that the key to lasting weight lo...

Aspen Noonan is a young mom, entrepreneur and the CEO of Elevate Holistics - a rapidly growing telemedicine company making medical marijuana more accessible across the U.S. Starting from the ground up,  Aspen began by taking patient calls and handling support, eventually growing the business into a multi-state operation and stepping into the role of CEO.  With a background in health sciences and a...

Christina Irene is a disability and diversity speaker who works with corporations, not-for-profit organizations, government entities, and educational institutions all over the world. Her clients include Target, Redfin, Maersk, U.S. Department of State, U.S. Navy, National Credit Union Administration, FINRA, MITRE, the Brookings Institution, Johns Hopkins University, Technology University of Eindho...

Elizabeth Becker is an award-winning American author and journalist best known for her work in Cambodia and Vietnam. Her singular coverage of Cambodia under Pol Pot is the basis of the French feature film “Rendezvous Avec Pol Pot” (Meeting With Pol Pot in English) that opened in Cannes and has received multiple awards. She began reporting in Cambodia during the Vietnam War. Since then she has cove...

Karen describes herself as a ‘history hound.’ History has fascinated her since she was a child, and she has always been obsessed with uncovering the truth hidden between the pages of history books. Behind every date and every significant event in history, there is a catalog of untold stories, and she’s always been passionate about digging them up and understanding the people behind the events. The...

Janet Collard is a dance performing artist, choreographer and movement director originally from the San Francisco Bay Area. As a professional contemporary dancer, Janet has performed for many companies and choreographers including AXIS Dance Company, Nancy Karp and Dancers, Gerald Casel Dance and Katie Faulkner’s little seismic dance company. As a choreographer, she has worked with Korsa Musical T...

Simona Rinfreschi is a children's picture book and fantasy author whose heart-led stories weave gentle magic with emotional truth. With a background as a librarian, early childhood educator, and ESL teacher, she draws on a rich tapestry of life experiences to create stories that help children and adults feel seen, safe, and unconditionally loved. Born in Italy and raised in Cape Town, South Africa...

Lola Akinmade Åkerström is an award-winning visual storyteller, international bestselling author, and travel entrepreneur. She has dispatched from over 80+ countries and her work has been featured in National Geographic, New York Times, The Sunday Times, The Guardian, BBC, CNN, Travel Channel, Travel + Leisure, Lonely Planet, Forbes, and many more. She has collaborated with commercial brands such...

Dr. Rebecca Whittington is the Online safety editor for Reach Plc, the UK’s largest commercial news publisher. She was appointed to the role, which was the first of its kind established in the UK, to protect journalists from online harassment and harm. Rebecca also writes about online threats, campaigns for the online safety of women in journalism, and sits on the advisory committee for Women in J...