Michelle Schafer spent her career at big organizations, first TD Bank and then the Canadian Cancer Society. She never pictured herself self-employed. Then she was restructured, not once but twice.The second time, she remembered something a friend had told her years earlier: "I never understood why you never got into coaching." At 46, Michelle took that as her sign. She started with zero clients and has since built a six-figure career and leadership coaching practice. She's also the author of the bestselling Cultivating Career Growth: Navigating Transitions with Purpose.

Christa and Michelle talk about:

• Why restructuring can happen in any sector
• How one book pushed her from banking into nonprofit work
• The "stars aligned" path to launching her business
• Why networking was her biggest hurdle, and what it means to look through your network instead of at it
• The must-do's to get clear on before any job search

Connect with Michelle:

• Website: https://mschafercoaching.ca/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelleschafercoaching/
• Free book chapter + order the book: https://mschafercoaching.ca/cultivatingcareergrowth/
• Free Career Focus Framework: https://mschafercoaching.ca/gain-clarity-and-confidence-in-your-job-search/
• Book a free 30-minute discovery call: https://calendly.com/coaching-with-michelle-schafer

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Melina Maresca built her career in corporate law and divorce litigation, then stepped away to raise her three kids. When she came back to full-time work, she came back differently: founding Maresca Mediation around work that fits her values and her life. Christa Lauri talks with Melina about trading adversarial litigation for solutions that work for families: why mediation can be a better option than divorce court, more focused on children, and often far less expensive. It's a conversation about choosing work that matters to you, even when it means rethinking the exact career you trained for.

Key topics

• Melina explains why her early divorce litigation career felt exciting at first, especially in Manhattan with high-profile clients, but became less appealing after returning as a mother.
• Melina describes the biggest frustrations with divorce litigation, including children being used as leverage, constant emergencies, and the lack of control over outcomes.
• She tells the story of a client who settled through mediation before a scheduled meeting, which became the turning point that pushed her toward mediation.
• She breaks down the key difference between advocacy and mediation, noting that mediators must unlearn the instinct to represent one side and instead help both people reach their own agreement.
• She emphasizes that a strong divorce mediator often benefits from litigation experience because knowing what could happen in court helps guide clients realistically.
• Melina explains why mediation is usually better for children, since it can keep them out of court and reduce the emotional fallout of custody disputes.
• She notes that mediation can help former partners rebuild communication, which is especially important when they will remain co-parents long after the divorce is finalized.
• She shares that mediation is typically far less expensive than full litigation, or even resolving a case through attorneys outside of court.
• She reflects on her own pivot advice: take small steps, do not expect perfection, and ask for help from people in the field.

Timestamps

00:00 - Introduction to Melina Maresca and her pivot from divorce litigator to mediator

01:04 - The subway novel that made divorce law feel more meaningful

02:25 - Leaving practice to raise children after roughly five and a half years in litigation

03:26 - Returning to law after 16 years away and realizing litigation no longer fit

06:21 - The client mediation story that changed her direction

08:02 - Why mediation requires unlearning the advocate mindset

10:59 - How litigation affects children and why mediation is different

12:03 - Co-parenting, communication, and why divorce does not end the relationship when kids are involved

15:19 - Keeping children out of court and bringing in parenting experts when needed

16:37 - Why self-crafted solutions can be more workable for families

17:41 - Seeing former spouses begin communicating again outside mediation sessions

19:25 - Why Melina believes mediation is the better fit for most cases

20:13 - Mediation as a lower-cost alternative to litigation

21:30 - Advice for career pivoting: small steps over reinvention

22:44 - Progress over perfection and why asking for help matters

23:52 - Where to find Mareska Mediation and the services Melina offers

24:20 - Melina on building her own social media presence one step at a time

Where to find Melina

• Website: https://marescamediation.com/about

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What if exhaustion, brain fog, and persistent health symptoms were a reason to pause and listen—not just push through? This conversation follows national board-certified health and wellness coach Jen Dorf’s "pivot path" from a high-pressure career and entrepreneurship to coaching, sparked by her own health struggles. Christa and Jen also unpack how limiting beliefs, self-talk, and old patterns can block change—even when someone knows what to do! Jen shares practical insights into health coaching, radical self-compassion, and the RAIN framework for working through difficulties. This episode is for anyone feeling stuck in health or career patterns and looking for a more grounded next step!

In this episode

• The thread connecting Jen’s career in hospitality, entrepreneurship, and coaching
• How motherhood, business, and health challenges contributed to overwhelm
• Why Jen began exploring anti-inflammatory foods and mindfulness
• How coaching helped her identify limiting beliefs and build consistency
• What health coaching looks like—and how it supports client agency
• The role of neuroplasticity and small, repeated steps in changing habits
• How radical acceptance and self-compassion can help when you feel stuck
• Jen’s RAIN practice for responding to difficult emotions

00:00 — Jen’s health challenges and the pivot into coaching
01:09 — The thread connecting hotels, restaurants, and service
02:35 — Motherhood, overwhelm, and life before the pivot
04:12 — Searching for answers to persistent symptoms
05:07 — Exploring food as anti-inflammatory support
06:21 — Why new habits still needed support
07:33 — Presence, care, and deeper healing
08:43 — Fear, self-doubt, and imposter syndrome
10:31 — Neuroplasticity and building new patterns
11:28 — What health coaching looks like
12:26 — Clarity, values, and getting off autopilot
13:30 — Radical acceptance and self-compassion
14:39 — The RAIN framework
16:56 — Sitting with discomfort and letting emotions pass
17:28 — Jen’s community work and where to find her

RAIN practice

• Recognize what is happening.
• Allow the feeling to be there without immediately trying to fix it.
• Investigate what you notice in your body.
• Nurture yourself with care and compassion

Website: jendorfwellness.com

Social: @jendorfwellnesscoaching

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Before Nancy Leighton became a career counselor, she spent six years in retail — including a stint as the hat, glove, and muffler buyer at Brooks Brothers. One class, audited on a whim at the Teachers College of Columbia University, changed everything. Nancy shares what it took to walk away from something stable (against her family's wishes), finish a two-year master's over four years while working full-time, and eventually build a practice she now runs with two counselors under her. Thirty years in, she breaks down what actually helps people find the right career fit — and what to do if you're stuck in your own version of the hat and glove department right now!

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What do you do when the career you love is suddenly taken from you? For Adriana Brangi, the answer was: you find a new way to swim.

In 2020, Adriana was diagnosed with primary progressive multiple sclerosis — a diagnosis that ended her career as a preschool teacher and forced her to completely rethink what her life and work would look like going forward.

Rather than letting MS dictate her limits, Adriana found something unexpected: freedom in the water. She became a certified scuba diver and discovered that diving gave her a sense of physical control she couldn’t find on land. As she puts it, “When I go into the water, I have full range of motion… everything works better. I’m me again.”

That experience led her to found Diving Beyond MS, a nonprofit dedicated to spreading MS awareness and helping people with chronic illnesses experience the healing and freedom of diving firsthand.

In this episode, Adriana shares her full career journey — from the life she built as a preschool teacher, through the disruption of her diagnosis, to the moment she found a new sense of purpose underwater. It’s a conversation about resilience, reinvention, and what it means to find a new way forward when the life you planned is no longer available to you.

Topics discussed:

• Adriana’s career as a preschool teacher and how her MS diagnosis upended it

• Adapting to life with primary progressive MS

• Discovering scuba diving and the physical/emotional relief it provided

• Founding Diving Beyond MS and its mission

• Advocacy for chronic illness and disability awareness

• Redefining identity and purpose after a life-altering diagnosis

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What if the path you thought you were supposed to take was only the beginning? Stephanie Clapp shares how she went from a 20-year career in education to embracing her intuitive gifts as a psychic medium and mentor, and how that leap helped her—and the women she works with—trust themselves more deeply. This episode explores spiritual awakening, career reinvention, and the power of messy action, with practical tools for overcoming self-doubt and stepping into a more authentic life!

To learn more about Stephanie: https://www.instagram.com/thestephanieclapp/

Key topics:

• Stephanie’s journey from educator in Westchester County to psychic medium and intuitive mentor
• How the pandemic accelerated her willingness to share her gifts publicly
• Understanding the differences between psychic and mediumship, and the importance of certification in the UK versus the US
• The role of Clairsentience—including hearing and gut feelings—in intuitive readings
• Practical tools like EFT tapping, meditation, and somatic practices to build confidence and trust in intuition
• Overcoming societal skepticism and stereotypes about being spiritual or intuitive
• Lessons on messy action and failing forward in career transitions
• Upcoming book that combines memoir and self-help to activate and heal your intuition

Timestamps:

00:00 - Introduction and Stephanie Clapp's career background

00:33 - Stephanie's early career in education and the career pivot

01:42 - The influence of family and innate gifts on her journey

03:16 - Skepticism and societal perceptions of psychic work

04:07 - Growing up in a spiritual environment and her family’s influence

05:02 - The impact of the pandemic in embracing her intuitive mentoring

06:07 - Personal story of losing a neighbor to COVID and using mediumship gifts

07:03 - How clair senses work and Stephanie’s intuitive methods

08:04 - Remote versus in-person readings and client experience

09:10 - Difference between psychic and mediumship work, including UK practices

10:08 - Communicating with passed loved ones and spiritual guides

11:08 - Feeling energy remotely and the integrity of intuitive practice

12:03 - How Stephanie helps women lead themselves and trust their intuition

13:15 - Overcoming societal programming and deprogramming fears

14:02 - Using somatic practices, EFT tapping, and mindset work for self-trust

15:02 - The importance of messy action and embracing failure

16:25 - Debunking stereotypes around spiritual practitioners

17:20 - How to connect with Stephanie and her social media presence

18:11 - Announcing her upcoming book on healing, intuition, and purpose

20:01 - Closing thoughts on living authentically and embracing your true self

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Cleaning houses. Overnight hospital shifts. After cosmetology school, a salon owner. And at 36 years old, a leap into pastry school that changed everything. Vera Gjelaj’s path to owning Arome Caffè & Patisserie in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY wasn’t a straight line — it was a series of reinventions, each one built on the one before it.

In this episode of Bucket List Careers, Vera shares how she went from arriving in America at 19 with two young children, to Executive Pastry Chef and partner at one of NYC’s most iconic restaurants, to opening her own bakery at 51. She talks candidly about the obstacles along the way, and offers advice for anyone considering a late-in-life career change: don’t put a limit on your dreams, and it’s never too late to build the life you want.

Key Takeaways:

• Career pivots don’t follow a straight line — and that’s okay

• Believing in yourself matters more than having it all figured out

• It’s never too late to start over or chase a new dream

• Hard work and perseverance compound over time

About Vera:

Vera Gjelaj is the owner and founder of Arome Caffè & Patisserie in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. An Albanian immigrant, Vera came to the United States at 19 with two young children. She later attended the French Culinary Institute and became Executive Pastry Chef and partner at One if by Land, Two if by Sea. Today, she brings that experience to Arome Caffè & Patisserie, serving French-inspired pastries and desserts to her community. Vera is proud to be a business owner, wife, mother, and grandmother.

Connect with Vera:

aromecaffepatisserie.com

IG: @aromepatisserie

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Discover how Dane Johnson transitioned from a Hollywood actor to a leading health coach specializing in autoimmune disease reversal. His story exemplifies resilience, purpose, and innovative health solutions. In this episode:

• Dane shares his unexpected career pivot after being diagnosed with ulcerative colitis
• The emotional and physical toll of nearly dying from Crohn's disease and how it became a catalyst for change
• The concept of building a "Shield" for holistic health and autoimmune recovery
• Insights into Dane’s groundbreaking program delivering over 750 success stories of IBD reversal
• Practical strategies: customized supplements, lab work, and biohacking techniques
• Vision for a health-focused restaurant chain aligned with natural, anti-inflammatory foods
• Advice on creating a purpose-driven career and building trust with clients

Resources & Links:

• Dane Johnson's Crohn's Colitis Lifestyle
• Shield Program Details

Connect with Dane Johnson:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• Instagram

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