Stacked Keys Podcast

A children’s book can look simple on the shelf, but the road to getting it published is anything but. I’m joined by Lynsey Martin, a working mom of two and the author of How to Get an Alligator Out of the Bathtub, to talk about what it really takes to bring a story to life while balancing a full-time job, family routines, and the daily swirl of responsibilities that so many of us carry. We get int...

Six months into stepping into the CEO seat, Rachel Johnson gets a breast cancer diagnosis that would shake anyone’s confidence. Instead of hiding it or letting it define her, she chooses a different path: lead with clear communication, stay grounded in purpose, and use every ounce of agency she can find. Our conversation follows that real-time collision between career pressure, personal fear, and...

Fear has a way of pretending it’s protecting us while it quietly shrinks our lives. We sit down with a bold panel of women to ask one question that hits fast and lingers: why do you choose to do the scary thing? What follows is an honest, human conversation about courage, motherhood, reinvention, and the moment you realise growth rarely feels safe. Jessica Haberman shares what it’s like to keep sh...

Someone tells you your child has autism and then shrugs like the story is already written. Theresa Lyons refused to accept that. After her daughter’s diagnosis, she did what a lot of parents wish they had the time, training, or energy to do: she went straight to the research, lived in PubMed, and started translating autism science into real decisions families can actually use. We talk about what t...

You can love writing and still want to quit every week. That tension sits at the center of this Stacked Keys Podcast panel, where we get real about writing and publishing when you’re already juggling a full life. Join a group of women with completely different genres and the same stubborn drive: Tori Stackhouse, a law enforcement officer drafting a fantasy escape as an outlet; Tori Applegate, buil...

Danielle Frank spent six years in entertainment publicity at Miramax — red carpets, film festivals, the New York media world. At 29, she left it, without another job lined up, because the work no longer felt right. That decision led her into the wine and spirits industry, where she's now spent 21 years, the last 12 with Moët Hennessy. The conversation centers on a different turning point, tho...

Your kid is brilliant, your schedule is chaos, and your old creative self feels like a distant memory, so what do you do with that gap? We sit down with Jamie McMahon, a realist artist known for soulful dog portraits, a former teacher and dance coach, and now a full-time stay-at-home mom of three, to get honest about identity, purpose, and making meaningful work in the margins of real life.  We ta...

Why I've Been Missing If you've noticed the quiet, I wanted to explain it myself instead of leaving it unsaid. This past season has been full of the sweetest joy — becoming a Granny, soaking up every giggle and new discovery. I'm still right in the middle of it, and I wouldn't trade a minute. And then, in almost the same breath, life shifted. My husband was diagnosed with cance...

Fifteen kids in the blended-family mix, a cross-country move, a second marriage, and a mission that refuses to stay quiet. I’m talking with author, speaker, and coach Eileen Noyes about what it actually takes to rebuild your life when faith has been used to control, when your home feels heavy, and when you know you cannot stay stuck on the sidelines of your own calling.  Eileen shares her path fro...

A lot of people say they want to write a children’s book. Ashley Wall actually did it and then kept going until it became a business. She joins us to talk about the surprising path from middle school math teacher to stay-at-home mom to children’s book author and co-founder of Mama Bear Books, and what it takes to build a real author brand without losing yourself in the process.  We get practical a...

A kid can go from “safe” to “silent emergency” in seconds and Sarah Quillen has seen enough pools, parties, and parenting blind spots to say it out loud. Sarah is a beloved local swim teacher known as “Miss Sarah”, and she joins me to explain how she teaches real swimming skills fast, why she makes kids go under early, and what her two-week swim boot camp looks like when the goal is confidence plu...

Tea can be a beverage, sure. It can also be a doorway back to yourself. I’m joined by Sunny Dillard, a watercolor teacher, poet, and tea curator whose work blends Persian tea culture, slow living, and creative practice into something that feels both grounded and brave. We talk about how her love of tea began in childhood with a grandmother who used herbal blends as medicine and as a way to offer r...

A jiu jitsu hobby can change your fitness, your confidence, and your friend group, but buying a pro grappling franchise is a different level of commitment. We’re sitting down with Lauren Barone, the force behind the Philadelphia Phenoms and the first female franchise owner in the Pro Grappling Federation (PGF), to talk about what it really looks like to build a team inside a fast-growing submissio...

You can do everything “right” and still feel miserable at work, and that gap is trying to tell you something. Christine Tilton joins us to talk about what happens when a successful corporate path stops fitting, and why the bravest career move can be admitting you need something deeper than a title. Christine’s story runs through journalism, decades in HR and talent acquisition, and a pivot into ca...

What if the skincare that finally calmed your child’s eczema became the spark for a purpose-led business? That’s Sarah Brittelle's story—an honest, ground-up journey from a kitchen shea butter blend to a community-backed organic skincare line that keeps integrity front and center. We talk about the real work behind “clean beauty”: sourcing ingredients you can stand behind, pricing with empath...

Grit doesn’t always shout; sometimes it packs snacks, lays out a quilt by the mats, and shows up anyway. We sit down with jiu-jitsu competitor and young mom Jayden Alexander to trace a line from a leaky-roof gym in small-town Mississippi to a high-standard room at 10th Planet Atlanta—and the mindset that made that leap possible. Jayden’s story is raw and practical: training 24 hours a week, servin...

What if the business you built stops matching the person you’re becoming? That haunting friction sits at the heart of our conversation with Breeanna Kay, who walked away from an accounting career, scaled a six-figure wedding photography brand, and then chose a bolder path: weaving spirituality into business as the creator of Rebel CEO. We trace the early climb—long drives, relentless learning, and...

Start with a hunch, bet on yourself, and learn fast enough to outrun fear. That’s the energy Crystal Washington brings as she walks us through her journey from high-performing corporate marketer to entrepreneur, technologist, and futurist whose client list spans mom-and-pop shops to Microsoft and Google. She doesn’t sell hype; she teaches people how to think clearly about technology, remove jargon...

What does it take to leave a two-decade career in social services and step into a university classroom with your compassion intact? We sit down with Monica King, a former case manager turned instructor in human development and family studies, to explore how real-world practice can transform how we teach, learn, and serve. Monica shares how she builds courses that prioritize student autonomy and ex...

What if the hardest topics in life became the ones that made you feel most alive? We sit with researcher, professor, and mom Jenn Sorotovich as she traces an uncommon arc—from teaching adult development and death and bereavement to coordinating an ALS clinic—and explains how grief, grit, and real-world practice reshaped her idea of success. The stories are intimate and vivid: a hospice patient sav...

A love story rerouted a career—and built two purpose-driven businesses along the way. Meet Rebecca Nichols, the horticulture grad who fell for antiques, church pews, and the wedding world, then teamed up with her husband Jeffrey to grow both Tea Olive Designs and a community swim school that’s changing lives. From that first trailer of rented pews to crafting floral designs across Alabama, Rebecca...

Start with a simple promise: make the software not suck. That’s Elizabeth Anderson’s north star as CEO and co-founder of Lunar Lab, where she pairs human-centered design with ethical strategy to build products that people actually use. We dig into how she and her co-founder left toxic tech during the pandemic, learned sales with a stack of library books, and created a B Corp that treats impact as...

What if richness isn’t a bigger house but a fuller table? We sit with pediatric nurse, homeschool mom, and Salted Oak founder Vanessa Mulligan to explore how faith, family, and craft weave into a life centered on connection. Vanessa opens up about choosing a homeschool hybrid that gives her girls community while preserving slow mornings at home, and why moving from bedside nursing to an inpatient...

Grief doesn’t end; it changes shape. That truth sits at the heart of this conversation with Tara Accardo, a grief and soul purpose coach who lost both parents within six months and later a beloved pet. She shares how her world collapsed, how it slowly softened, and why the goal isn’t to “get over it” but to carry it better. We talk about the secondary losses no one warns you about, the pressure to...

What if the most important career tool isn’t a credential, but the courage to ask better questions? That’s the thread that runs through this conversation with Cecy Brooks—associate professor, former retail leader, and relentless student of how families make financial choices and how emerging adults grow into confident adults. We chart Cecy’s unconventional path from engineering to family science,...