Seeds of Sunshine - A mother-daughter podcast

Episode 34 Join your hosts Carmen and Sophia Micsa and meet Vinnie Potestivo , an Emmy® Award-winning Media Advisor, who helps clients leverage their media exposure, find fame, and make an impact. Vinnie is the Editor-in-chief of I Have A Podcast® and is responsible for discovering and amplifying the voice of independent podcasters worldwide.  As a network executive at MTV Networks (98-07), Vinnie...

Episode 33 Join your hosts Carmen and Sophia Micsa and meet Victoria Rader  Victoria Rader, Ph. D. Possibility Coach™, transformational speaker and founder of YU2SHINE, empowers coaches, entrepreneurs, and people that seek personal development to grow in all areas of their life through the proven formula of success so that they have more PEACE, PURPOSE, and PROSPERITY.  She is a four times bestsel...

Episode 32 Join your hosts Carmen and Sophia Micsa to learn more about Black history month, running, diversity, and inclusion.    Robert Cathey is currently Vice President of Global Analytics Solutions and Chief Data Officer at VSP Vision. He holds an MBA from Sacramento State University and a B.S. in Business Management from the University of Phoenix. Robert was inspired to run by his wife, Nadin...

Episode 31 Join your hosts Carmen and Sophia Micsa and meet Ashton Martin, a rising rapping star, who does not swear in his music and believes his mission is to inspire others through quality music.   With lyricism, deft arrangements, and pristine songwriting abilities—Ashton Martin puts a brand-new shine on Hip-Hop. Hailed as "one of Florida's most versatile artists on the rise,” Ashton...

Episode 30 Join our hosts Carmen and Sophia Micsa to learn about a true love story, as told by our fabulous guest Renee Schyjer, who was Frederick Moore's second wife. He was first married to the actress Demi Moore. Renee fell in love and married the rocker Frederick Moore , who was an incredible songwriter, lyricist, and musician and recently published his memoir “It’s Not a Rumour, a Rock’N...

Episode 29 Join your hosts Carmen and Sophia Micsa to find out how Karen Kunz, a nurse and runner, who ran over 90 marathons took charge of her heart health to avoid open heart surgery, even though she passed the stress test. February is heart health month and our guest has a powerful message, especially for women athletes and non-athletes. Karen Kunz is 67 years old from the Chicago area and one...

Episode 28: Join your hosts Carmen and Sophia Micsa to learn how author Lynne Bowman walked her way out of diabetes with healthy eating and even eating brownies for breakfast - check out her recipe in her beautiful book Brownies for Breakfast, a Cookbook for Diabetics and the People Who Love them. Lynne has been featured at women's expos throughout the country, teaming with actress Deidre Hal...

Episode 27: Join your hosts Carmen and Sophia Micsa to learn how to raise your matrix and find sunshine with Dr. Victor Manzo , who is also the author of Decoding the Matrix, Powerful Tips for Unleashing your Potential Accelerating your Spiritual Awakening . Dr. Manzo is a Business Mindset Coach, Certified Pediatric Chiropractor, Author, Podcaster, and Speaker.  He is the author of 3 books, the mo...

Episode 26 join your hosts Carmen and Sophia Micsa to learn Vin (short for Vincent) Infante's advice on mastering your mindset. Vin Infante has over a decade of experience in mental health and worked with thousands of people. Vin is a former New York City firefighter and is currently a psychotherapist and master mindset coach. He addresses the deeper psychological aspects of the subconscious...

Episode 25: Join your hosts Carmen and Sophia Micsa to find out how to get rid of grey drinking with Carrie Schell, author of The Grey Drinking Reset:  a 30-Day Journey to Wellness. Three decades ago Carrie Schell began her career as a midwife.  Over the years, her role in the health and wellness space has evolved with graduate school, becoming a yoga instructor, and as a Director of Health and We...

Episode 24 Join our hosts Carmen and Sophia Micsa to find out how to start from scratch with author Osnat Benari , who encourages everyone to follow their passion and make things happen by having a plan. She details all that in her wonderful and inspiring book Starting From Scratch: Managing Change Like Your Career Depends On It.   Osnat Benari is a product and leadership coach for companies and p...

Episode 23: Join your hosts Carmen and Sophia Micsa for the last episode of the year, which has Japanese and Romanian New Year's traditions, as well as the quote and the joke at the beginning of the episode. My runner friend and book club member Christine Ward and I discuss the books we read in 2022. We each had two favorite ones that we discuss more in-depth.  1. Between Two Kingdoms – by Su...

Episode 22 Join your hosts Carmen and Sophia Micsa to learn how Amy Kelly, B St and movie actress, can memorize thousands of lines. Also, learn about Kelly's three tips on helping students and adults memorize things faster and even make it more fun. Amy Kelly is a member of the B Street Theatre Core Acting Company. Recent Mainstage credits include Lovers & Executioners, Dance Nation, The...

Episode 21 Join your hosts Carmen and Sophia Micsa to learn how SRA elite master runner Jacob Nur found his passion in life and how you can do the same. Jacob Nur is also the fastest master elite American runner in the 5K distance in the 65 to 69 age group. He broke the national record by 31 seconds, running his 5K in 17 minutes, which is a 5:28 per mile/pace. Jacob Nur is a 67-year-old Eritrean A...

Join your hosts Carmen and Sophia Micsa to learn about discovering more meaning and purpose in your life.    Adrian Starks is a motivational speaker, Host of Your Purposeful Life podcast , voice narrator, writer, mental health advocate, and entrepreneur. He believes that we as humans are on this planet for three things: To learn, to grow, and fully express ourselves. In the midst of that cycle of...

Episode 19 Join our hosts Carmen and Sophia Micsa to learn how Brooke Siem went from winning the 'Chopped' competition to writing May Cause Side Effects , a powerful and beautiful memoir about anti-depressant withdrawal. Also, find out how Brooke's mom Dee Barbash played a crucial role in her daughter's healing journey. Brooke Siem was among the first generation of teens to be...

Episode 18 Join your hosts Carmen and Sophia Micsa to find out how to break running records and run with joy with Mira Loma cross country coach Paul Ioanidis. Paul Ioanidis resides in Sacramento, California. From a young age, growing up in a military family, attending two different elementary schools, two different middle schools, and three high schools, Paul learned the importance and meaning of...

Episode 17 Join your hosts Carmen and Sophia Micsa to find out how playing the piano can improve your math skills. "With a slower approach to things, we tend to learn things faster." Kevin Martinez  Kevin Martinez is a Sacramento-based pianist and music collaborator, who graduated from the Bachelor of Music program in Piano Performance at Sacramento State University, where he studied wit...

Episode 16   Join our hosts Carmen and Sophia Micsa to find out what Tiffany K. Martin thinks of diversity and representation and how you can appreciate them more. Tiffany K. Martin is the CEO and Owner of TKMartin Consulting LLC and tkmFIT Health & Fitness. As a thought leader, Ms. Martin serves as an Executive Change Strategist and Performance Coach, specializing in operational change manage...

Episode 15 Join your hosts Carmen and Sophia Micsa to find out how to make the most of your exercise routine and maybe even delve more into their meditative and spiritual benefits in addition to the well-known physical ones. Carmen Micsa is a creative nonfiction writer and poet who has earned both her BA and MA degrees in English from Sacramento State University. She is also the Broker/CEO of her...

Episode 14 Join your hosts Carmen and Sophia Micsa to find out how Stefanie Ettmann lives in many countries across Europe as a responsible digital nomad. Stefanie Ettmann was born and raised in Vienna, Austria. At the age of 22, she fell in love with the Portuguese language , Portugal as a country, and a Portuguese man - in that order of importance – after which she moved to Porto, where she compl...

Episode 13 Join your hosts Carmen and Sophia Micsa to find out how to live your life with more joy and gratitude with Louise Pistole, the author of Discover Your Joy . Louise is a JOY fanatic! She brings her Southern charm and joyful inspiration as she encourages others to discover their own joy no matter where they are on their journey. As Louise navigated her own difficult valleys, she emerged w...

Episode 12 Join your hosts Carmen and Sophia Micsa to find out more about family legacy during our conversation with children's book author Susan D. Powers . Susan D. Powers is the author of “Special Shoes for My Little Feet” and a Certified Great Read Award-Winning Author with Reading With Your Kids!  After writing her picture book, Susan was inspired to create a logo for her website called,...

Episode 11 Join your hosts Carmen and Sophia Micsa on a virtual afternoon tea with flash fiction writer and editor Keely O'Shaughnessy and learn about why being concise and specific with your writing will help you with your school essays, or any other writing you do. Also, discover some fun UK tea traditions that Americans view differently than the British.  Keely O'Shaughnessy lives and...

Episode 10 Join your hosts Carmen and Sophia Micsa to learn about cyberspace safety from Emmy award-winning journalist, tech-life expert, and host of USA Today Jennifer Jolly . Jennifer is the nationally syndicated tech-life columnist and host of “Tech Now,” for USA Today and all of its newspaper and broadcast affiliates. Her stories and commentary reach an estimated two billion readers, viewers,...