Wickedly Smart Women

After leaving her post as an Assistant Professor at UCLA, Dr. Karen Kan found herself in a deep state of burnout.  She developed Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome while also becoming sensitive to food, loud sounds, electromagnetic radiation, toxins, and negative emotions. She became an "energy sponge" while developing autoimmunity and low thyroid.  Eventually, Dr. Karen reconnected with he...

Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith built a beautiful life. She had the family, the house, the car, everything she ever wanted. But she still felt drained every single day.  She knew she was burnt out. As a medical professional, she turned her attention to her sleep. After perfecting her sleep schedule, she found that although she was sleeping, she wasn't truly resting.  Dr. Saundra is a board-certified inte...

Divorce is an emotional process. A process that requires you to make important decisions that will impact the rest of your life.     And even if you're savvy with money, it's easy to make mistakes that adversely affect your financial security.   So, where can you go for support with financial planning in the divorce process?  Jennifer Merida is a Financial Advisor and Certified Divorce Financial A...

We often seek life's answers outside of ourselves. But the truth is, we'll never find them there. To truly understand our lives, we must look within. We must embrace fear and conflict.  Contrary to popular belief, conflict isn't a bad thing. In fact, it's natural in life.  Eliana Gilad is a healing voice mentor, author, and two-time TEDx presenter. She has trained over 10,000 healing professionals...

When Jacci Perry-Ryan's father fell and broke a hip, she did what most adult children do. She hired a home healthcare agency, trusting that their caregivers had been thoroughly vetted. After all, they were taking care of vulnerable elder people. But nothing could have been further from the truth. In fact, an unscrupulous caregiver manipulated her father out of thousands of dollars.  And this is a...

What if I'm not meant to be an entrepreneur? What if my ideas aren't good enough? What if my business isn't what investors want? Many women find themselves asking these questions as they're growing their businesses. So, how can they become more confident in themselves and unlock what they're truly capable of? Priscilla Schelp never saw herself as an entrepreneur, but somehow, she made it. She is t...

Most of us are not aware of our own negative belief systems, but they greatly affect our everyday lives.  When we are young, we tend to process events, thoughts, and feelings incorrectly. That processing results in negative beliefs that we bring into our adulthood, where we then have to undo everything we thought we knew.  Holistic mindset coach and psychotherapist Carrie Leaf is working to provid...

Male-dominated spaces often force non-promotable tasks onto women, where they're asked to do things that won't further their careers. Because of this, women are often conditioned to push past the point of being comfortable. As high-achieving women, we have to ask ourselves, "What is the price I'm willing to pay to keep seeking external validation?" Teresa Vozza is an Executive Coach and Leadership...

The day Donna Tashjian was let go from her job at a nonprofit was the best worst day of her life. Yes, she felt unwanted and uncertain. But it also gave her the opportunity to unearth her gifts and decide what she really wanted to do with her life. So, how do you turn your baggage into luggage? How do you find the good in a bad situation and leverage the experience to get where you really want to...

Money is a vital tool to be able to live comfortably. Nathalie Noisette learned this early on in her childhood, as she saw her parents constantly struggle with finances. This financial trauma stuck with her into adulthood, causing her debt and many credit mistakes. When she realized she couldn't live paycheck to paycheck any longer, she made an effort to become educated and transform her finances....

What happens when the life you finally achieve after dreaming of it for so long, is completely gone one day? You would feel devastated, defeated, broken. Inez Ribustello had this happen to her on 9/11 when she lost her dream job and had to start from scratch. So, what did she do to rebuild her life into something even more successful than she originally had? Inez Ribustello is a sommelier, restaur...

You don't have to choose between being a likable parent and disciplining your children. It's very possible to achieve both. Unlike many others, Debra Kocis was shown this at a very young age by her father's parenting approach. Though, how can families that haven't been as lucky with their upbringing transform to a more proactive parenting approach? Debra Kocis is a Savvy Parenting Expert certified...

We need to understand the basis for money but also understand that we're in a rapidly shifting landscape. Getting support and help as we evolve as a society is the #1 most important thing we can do. Stephanie Walter wasn't able to see this until she was put around wealthy investors. Even with an entrepreneur dad, Stephanie started out lost in a corporate job for 8 years. So, how did she manage to...

What we focus on grows, especially when it comes to money. And Dr. Crystal Dawn learned this the hard way. Despite being a respected Professor of Finance and Economics who understood the inner workings of money, focusing on debt drove her to the brink of bankruptcy. So, what did she do to shift her focus, expand her consciousness and achieve financial freedom in just seven months? Dr. Crystal is t...

T.H. Irwin and Jessica Klingbaum found out that their husbands were cheating within a week of each other. And they had each other to talk to and share information with throughout the divorce process. But most women don't have that kind of support. That's what inspired T.H. and Jessica to found exEXPERTS , a media platform for all things divorce. T.H. has a background in business strategy and marke...

Dr. Laleh Talebian lost her father to stomach cancer when she was 15 years old. But after earning a PhD in biology, Dr. Laleh realized that 75% of cancers are entirely preventable. So, what can we do to make our wellbeing a priority and prevent disease? How do we build healthy eating and active living into our daily lives? Dr. Laleh is a research scientist who specializes in cancer prevention and...

Women are raised to be accommodating and put others first, which leads to self-destructive behaviors like people pleasing, perfectionism and the desire to control. Behaviors that leave us unfulfilled and feeling like sh*t. So, how do we learn to recognize these behaviors and make a different choice in the moment? Andrea Owen is the life coach, global speaker and self-proclaimed hellraiser behind t...

In the West, a cancer diagnosis typically means major surgery and grueling chemotherapy treatment. But in traditional Chinese medicine or TCM, cancer is considered an imbalance. And healing starts with determining the cause of that imbalance and learning to respect your body and take care of yourself. Jill Ayn Schneider is the Holistic Intuitive Life Coach behind Revolutionary Healer, a practice t...

Gen X women tend to be risk-averse and fiercely independent. Rather than owning our worth, we're Lone Wolves working in the background. So, how can Gen Xers learn to ask for help and negotiate what we need? What can we do to figure out what differentiates us and articulate that in the marketplace? Business and Career Strategist Jackie Ghedine is the Cofounder of Modern Gen X Woman , a coaching pra...

As women, we're conditioned to take care of everyone else before we even think about taking care of ourselves. But what if prioritizing yourself isn't something to be ashamed of? What if learning the art of divine selfishness is the only way to make the contribution to the world you were born to make? Brigitte van Tuijl is a master coach for women entrepreneurs on a mission to help us get clear on...

Even wicked-smart women sometimes fall into the trap of workaholism. And for many of us, overworking becomes an escape. We use work as an excuse to ignore the fact that we're not happy.  So, how does a workaholic learn to create boundaries and make intentional decisions around what we want life to look like?  Karin Freeland is a certified Life and Reinvention Coach on a mission to help women trans...

According to Barbara Cook, retail is about making people feel good. And as Chief Executive Officer of a sexual wellness brand, she believes that pleasure plays an important role in our overall health and wellbeing. Barbara is the CEO of Lovers Stores , the female-founded, omnichannel sexual wellness brand with 41 stores in five states. Prior to joining Lovers in 2019, she spent more than 20 years...

Do you have self-limiting beliefs around sales that are holding your business back? How do you transform the way you think about selling and start to feel good about the process? Julia Kline is a sought-after keynote speaker and sales coach who helps people heal their trauma, get into right relationship with money and step fully into their authentic personal power. Julia is also the well-known pod...

Adopting a yoga practice has physical benefits. It affords us a new kind of awareness around what our bodies are capable of. But the benefits of yoga extend beyond the physical practice, helping us ease anxiety and connect with our body, mind and heart. Denise Perry is the Owner and Studio Director at Chesapeake Yoga Nook , a yoga studio near Virginia Beach that brings the community together throu...

Are there images of the stunning places you'd like to visit on your vision board? What if you had the time, money and confidence to make your travel dreams a reality? Heather Markel is the Professional World Traveler behind Heather Begins , a coaching practice that helps frustrated professionals tackle the money, mindset and planning aspects of leaving their jobs to travel. In 2018, Heather left h...