Empowered Conversations

Dr. Nicole Hayre is a board-certified dermatologist, MIT alum, and the researcher behind the "love hormone" glow. She specializes in the skin-brain axis and coding emotional biology into skincare. Her journey into science began at MIT, followed by medical school at GW, and research at Merck and the NIH, where she worked on the Human Genome Project. ‎‎She has discovered a direct clinical...

Steve Barton is an executive coach, author, and creator of The Game of Ten® – a powerful awareness-based framework helping leaders operate at their highest level of clarity, confidence, and performance. He has over 47 years of business experience, growing a company from $200,000 to $2 million in annual revenue, and has presented his coaching process to the Harvard Business School Case Study Team....

Tomide Akinola is the co-founder of Reviel, a proactive emotional intelligence platform helping people recognize stress patterns, prevent burnout, and regain control of their wellbeing before they hit a breaking point. After years of relentless pressure pushed him into burnout himself – nothing looked wrong from the outside, but internally, the constant drive and stress had taken a serious toll –...

Caroline Hood is a certified sex therapist, licensed clinical social worker, and author of the forthcoming book Sex Begets Sex: Reclaiming Desire as an Act of Female Empowerment. She holds a BA from Columbia University, an MSW from USC, and an executive certificate from Harvard Kennedy School. She is also a mother of three and has been in a committed partnership for eighteen years. ‎‎She challenge...

Stacey and Justin are professional mindset coaches who help high-capacity women stop fighting themselves and start operating from clarity instead of pressure. Their work goes beyond surface-level mindset shifts – they focus on behavior change, nervous system regulation, and pattern interruption because insight alone doesn't change behavior under stress. ‎‎They are the co-founders of The Fortif...

Steve Gamlin is The Motivational Firewood® Guy and Vision Board Guy who blew up his life at 35 and rebuilt it better than before. He shares his rock bottom moment – hitting golf balls in a thunderstorm – and how that became the turning point. He discusses vision boards, finding purpose, gratitude, positive self-talk, and the importance of knowing WHY you want something. He also shares how he found...

Christopher Castagnoli is the editor and publisher of Our Catholic Prayers, a website devoted to helping people in their spiritual journeys with Jesus and Mary through many different prayers for all occasions. He converted to Catholicism in 1999, baptized by John Cardinal O'Connor at Saint Patrick's Cathedral in New York City, and has served as an instructor for the Cathedral's RCIA pr...

Jacqueline Kelly is a Certified Mental Performance Coach and Strength and Conditioning Coach who helps athletes unlock their full potential. She blends mental coaching, strength training, hypnosis, and sleep science – because she believes that thriving in sports and in life requires a balance of mindset and physical readiness. ‎‎She has worked with athletes from high school competitors to elite pe...

Ryan Reichert served 23 years in the U.S. Army, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel after forty-two months in combat. After military service, he translated his skills into the Fortune 500 world. But behind the accolades, Ryan struggled with alcohol addiction – and found his way through faith, recovery, and a relentless commitment to transformation. ‎‎He is a professional speaker, mindset trainer, exe...

Jihane Laraichi is a coach, therapist, and energy healer who helps people identify and release the invisible blocks holding them back – personally, professionally, or physically. She blends coaching, therapy, and energy work to guide clients through deep transformation. ‎‎She helps listeners understand the root causes of their challenges – whether they stem from birth circumstances, past-life impr...

Shaun Dawson is a husband, father of two, and tech leader who – like many dads – is figuring out what it really means to raise boys in today's world. He is the creator of the Raising Men podcast, which began as his own search for guidance while raising his son in a world that often misdefines masculinity. ‎He sits down with leading voices in parenting, mental health, leadership, and boyhood de...

Russell Anders is a science fiction and cyberpunk author who spent decades finding his voice. He shares his path to publication, including the bloated manuscript he wrote over a decade and the rejection he faced. In this episode of Empowered Conversations, we talk about: ‎- Russell's path to getting published – and what it taught him about persistence ‎- The bloated manuscript he wrote over a...

Julie Hutton has been a success coach for 39 years. She helps people experience a profound, irreversible realization of their own beauty and inner brilliance – the kind that changes how they live forever. She believes that true self-love solves everything. Not egoic arrogance – but true self-love. ‎‎She offers one free scholarship each month for her 3-day private retreats (normally $4,000) to supp...

Kimberly Miller is the founder and primary Bible teacher of Woman at the Well Ministries – a ministry rooted in the encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman in John 4. She is a minister, evangelist, Christian author, and certified Biblical Life Coach. Called to ministry from a young age, she is devoted to helping others deepen their relationship with God and apply Biblical truth in everyday...

Vesta Hurlbutt is an empowerment strategist, cardiovascular technologist, Ho'oponopono practitioner, health coach, and single mother. She works with strong women and men who have forgotten their power and want it back. As a single mother and provider, she has tested the tools that cultivate self-love and compassion in the throes of stress and responsibility. ‎ ‎In this episode of Empowered Con...

Isa Lara Marie is a spiritual intuitive, energy medicine practitioner, and author of the #1 bestselling memoir First Light. After healing from profound trauma and learning to return to her body and inner authority, she now helps others do the same. In this episode of Empowered Conversations, we talk about: ‎‎- Isa's journey of healing profound trauma – and the turning point ‎- What it means to...

If you are a mom who has ever found yourself awake at 3am, Googling "why won't my baby sleep" while running on fumes and second-guessing everything – this conversation is for you.‎ ‎Felicia Nassif is a Pediatric Registered Nurse with over 17 years of experience in adult trauma and pediatric care. She is a certified lactation educator, parent coach, and pediatric sleep consultant. Her...

Sean Adelman is an orthopedic surgeon, Air Force veteran, and father whose daughter has Down syndrome. He shares the moment of her diagnosis, what he would tell a new parent, and what was missing from his medical education. In this episode of Empowered Conversations, we talk about: ‎- The moment Sean's daughter was diagnosed – and what went through his mind ‎- What he would tell a parent of a...

Renaye Thornborrow is the founder of Adventures in Wisdom, a company that certifies life coaches to work with children using a story-based curriculum. She shares how motherhood sparked a global movement, why life coaching is so important for children, and how coaching differs from counseling and parenting. In this episode of Empowered Conversations, we talk about: ‎- How motherhood sparked a world...

Dean Graves is a meditation teacher, mental health counselor, and spiritual guide who began his journey at age 50. He shares what led him to meditation, why spiritual information has been distorted throughout history, and what enlightenment is. In this episode of Empowered Conversations, we talk about: ‎‎- What led Dean to meditation – and what changed when he started ‎- Why spiritual information...

Brian Parana is a men's health coach with over 20 years of experience helping busy, high-performing men over 40 regain their health. In this episode of Empowered Conversations, we talk about: ‎- What got Brian into coaching – and what keeps him doing it ‎- The biggest mistake busy men over 40 make when trying to lose fat ‎- Why successful men struggle with health consistency ‎- The first three...

Dr. Donald Williams is an educator and co-author of Born of Nothing, a story about poverty, faith, and generational change. He shares what life was like growing up in a mill village, the contrast between people who broke cycles and those who didn't, and what inspired him to write his book. In this episode of Empowered Conversations, we talk about: ‎‎- What life was like growing up in a mill vi...

Alan Bodnar is a neurophilosopher and author of The Self-Driving You, a framework that explains being human as the conscious driver behind the wheel of a self-driving vehicle. In this episode of Empowered Conversations, we talk about: ‎‎- What inspired Alan to write The Self-Driving You ‎- What the self-driving framework is – in plain English ‎- Why the self-driving car metaphor works so well ‎- W...

Dr. Arnon Krongrad is a surgeon with nearly 60 years of experience who founded Ezz, a global community focused on functional supremacy and freedom from doctors and drugs. In this episode of Empowered Conversations, we talk about: ‎- What a six-year-old learned on a house call that shaped a lifetime ‎- How a text about goat meat turned into a global community ‎- What functional supremacy is – and w...

Oliver Glozik is the founder of Harmonica Ayahuasca Retreat in Colombia, working within the Kamsá Biyá indigenous tradition. He shares his journey from seeking something he couldn't name to building a retreat center and partnering with Imperial College London for research. In this episode of Empowered Conversations, we talk about: ‎‎- How Oliver got into running ayahuasca retreats – and what h...