The Curious Middle

Diane Kahn is a teacher and co-founder of Humans of San Quentin , an organization seeking to break down the walls and stereotypes of prison life and to humanize the lives behind bars.  Diane was teaching inside San Quentin to help prisoners receive their high school diplomas when the idea for Humans of San Quentin was born. In our conversation, Diane shares the story of starting the organization a...

Janelle Kellman, Esq. is the Mayor of Sausalito, CA. In our conversation, we discuss Janelle's path from private practice as an environmental attorney in San Francisco to launching a successful e-commerce company and launching the Center for Sea Rise Solutions in 2021 to support the localization of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. Janelle's passion for teamwork was ignited and nurtured by a...

  Are you curious about the process of writing a speech for the President of the United States? During 2017 - 2019, Sarah Hurwitz was a White House speechwriter starting out as a senior speechwriter for President Barack Obama and then serving as head speechwriter for First Lady Michelle Obama. In our conversation, she shares what it was like to write speeches for the Obamas and the career path tha...

  If you want to learn more about how venture capital investing can change your life and the world, this episode is for you. Trish Costello is the founder and CEO of Portfolia , the leading venture investing platform designed for women.  Prior to Portfolia, Trish was a pioneer in creating programs to educate and prepare people for venture capital investing in the Kaufman Fellows Program. She led t...

From news reporting to Capitol Hill in various roles, then making a very intentional switch to working in San Diego where Holly Smithson ran CleanTECH San Diego and today as CEO of Athena , Holly has thrived in every role. As Holly shares in this podcast, everything that Holly has done and her success in each role comes from her intention, her desire to mobilize people toward a cause, and her inte...

When Christine Marsh was younger she wanted to change the world. If you consider high school teachers who change the lives of their students through their passion, enthusiasm and dedication to their work as people who have changed the world, Christine succeeded. Christine has taught high school English in Arizona for 30 years, and was named  Arizona's Teacher of the Year in 2016. After a repeated...

Alex Otte is Mother's Against Drunk Driving youngest National President. Alex got involved with MADD when she was hit by a boat driven by a drunk driver. Alex's injuries were life-threatening, severe and long lasting. Today, Alex is using her voice, her story and her passion to advocate for an end to drunk driving. While there is good news coming in 2026 about an almost complete reduction in drunk...

Katie Hood knows how to follow her instincts and heart when making major life decisions. Today, Katie is CEO of the One Love Foundation , the nation's leading educator of young people on the topic of healthy and unhealthy relationships.  Katie shares the reasons why she joined One Love and her ambitious goals for reducing abusive relationships. We discuss how One Love was founded by Sharon Love to...

BJ Miller is a  physician, author,  speaker,  practicing hospice and palliative medicine physician. In his current role, BJ sees patients and caregivers through Mettle Health, an online palliative care service. Previously,, BJ was the Executive Director of San Francisco's Zen Hospice Project. Most importantly, BJ is a deep, soulful thinker with extraordinary compassion and a true desire to help ea...

In our conversation Paige shares the inspiration for starting Naborforce and the lightbulb moment that gave her the idea for a business model and the confidence to make her idea a reality. Naborforce is an online platform that connects "nabors" to seniors requesting help for everyday tasks such as  household chores, groceries and  driving. "Nabors" get extra income and a meaningful way to connect...

Dr. Leana Wen, emergency physician, former health commissioner for Baltimore, professor of health policy and management, contributing columnist for  The Washington Post,  CNN medical analyst, and author shares stories from her new memoir, Lifelines: A Doctor's Journey in the Fight for Public Health. Dr. Wen has an incredibly inspiring immigrant story of struggle, sacrifice and tremendous achieveme...

There is no doubt that Christina Dorr Drake was meant to be a co-founder of Willa's Oat Milk . Christina grew up drinking her grandmother's special recipe of oat milk. When Christina and her sister, Elena Dorr Zienda, realized the market was missing an oat milk that was both delicious and nutritious, like the one they had as kids, they saw the opportunity and went for it. Christina and Elena decid...

Claire Bidwell Smith is a grief counselor and author. Claire's path to her current profession came from losing both her parents to cancer while Claire was still young. At first, Claire was in shock and tried to run from the overwhelming grief and anxiety she was feeling. Eventually, Claire decided to become a therapist and worked in private practice for over a decade. Claire went on to write three...

After going through breast cancer at 42, Dara Kurtz gained the courage and insight to completely change her life and career. Dara started the Crazy Perfect Life blog and self published her first book, Crush Cancer . Today, Dara continues to blog to her 195k followers on Facebook, write and take on a growing number of speaking engagements. Dara's second book, I am My Mother's Daughter, is a love le...

Eve Rodsky's goal is to change how families think about the distribution of household and care work. In other words, Eve's work revolves around reversing thousands of years of cultural norms that expect women to manage almost all the childcare and housework. It started one day when Eve was crazy busy juggling a new born, a toddler, an exhausting to-do list, and a demanding job. On that fateful day...

Today I Noticed is a creative mindfulness practice started by Willow Older and Deborah Huber. On their Instagram feed you'll find their often whimsical, sometimes touching observations—which combine words and sketches—that capture the ordinary, yet magical, moments of daily life. In our conversation, Willow and Deborah share how Today I Noticed started unexpectedly during a day trip to San Francis...

Shelley Zalis is the definition of a trailblazer. As the founder of OTX, a pioneer in the online market research space, and a founder of The Female Quotient , Shelley has consistently led with innovation and courage. In our conversation, Shelley walks us through her career milestones and the "heartbeat moments" that guided the most important decisions in her career. While most people conform to th...

Solving the problem of food waste and creating new products based on upcycled food was the type of project Caroline Cotto was meant to work on. As someone who has intentionally sought out challenging experiences since high school, Caroline is determined to live on the side of impact and adventure.   Today, Caroline is the COO of Renewal Mill , a next generation ingredients company that's reducing...

Annette Ross was meant for love. After overcoming a tragic accident during the birth of her second child that left Anette unable to walk, Annette went on to create a beautiful life with five daughters and the love of her life. In our conversation, we discuss how Annette adjusted to life and how her love for her family has always carried her forward. Annette shares advice on navigating through life...

If you have had issues receiving or giving performance feedback (who hasn't?), this conversation is for you. Therese Huston's role as a Cognitive Scientist at Seattle University involves finding ways to help professionals do their best work. Therese's third book, Let's Talk, focuses on how to deliver feedback and create conversations that lead to growth and stronger relationships. Although you hav...

Kelley Higney, Founder & CEO of Bug Bite Thing, is an unstoppable force also known as a "mom on a mission." When a relocation to South Florida, led to constant mosquito bites for Kelley and her daughter, Kelley started searching for solutions. After many failed attempts to help her daughter with the bites, Kelley discovered a little-known tool that uses suction to help remove insect saliva/venom f...

Erica Liu Williams is the founder of Gr8nola , a "delicious, low sugar superfood granola." A two-time Olympic time-trial swimmer who's married to a former-NFL football player named "Tank" Williams, Erica first created gr8nola as a crunchy snack during their annual food cleanse. Erica shares how she started her business as a "cottage food operator," baking trays and trays of gr8nola in her kitchen...

We often hear that volunteering can lead you to places that will change your life. For Jessica Goudeau , volunteering led to starting a nonprofit that provided supplemental income for Burmese refugee artisans for seven years and then to writing After the Last Border: Two Families and the Story of Refuge in America , which was named a New York Times Editors' Choice book.   Jessica has a PHD n liter...

We've all been through heartache and heartbreak, but Amy Chan has made a career of it. Amy is the founder of Renew Breakup Bootcamp , a   retreat that takes a scientific and spiritual approach to healing the heart. If you or someone you know is reeling from the pain of a breakup, attending one of these workshops can be transformative. During Covid, the bootcamps are going strong with online sessio...

Gianna Stanley made a huge career pivot when she realized her post college dream job for a boutique marketing and consulting agency was not the the path she wanted for the rest of her career. Instead of staying stuck and unhappy, Gianna made a bold move to leave her job, and then another bold move by deciding to go to the Institute of Culinary Education in NYC.  The decision to go to culinary scho...