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Content Warning: description of stroke and recovery

About This Episode

At 28, Bessie Sturgis’s life took an unexpected turn when she suddenly found herself navigating a stroke diagnosis. In this episode, she shares the micro steps that carried her forward like getting up, writing things down, taking five-minute resets, breathing through the hard moments, and how faith reframed her purpose. We talk about caring for two young children while healing, setting bold boundaries, protecting her energy, and reclaiming her voice, including earning a commercial driver’s license after being told she could not. If you need a reset, this story reminds you that small, consistent actions can change everything.

About Bessie Sturgis

Bessie Sturgis’s journey is defined by faith, perseverance, and purpose. After a life-threatening health crisis when her youngest son was eight months old, she fought her way back through rehabilitation, medication, and prayer, vowing never to let fear or doubt hold her back. Since then, she has embraced life boldly: returning to school for engineering, raising her sons with resilience, and giving back to her community. She is living proof that grace restores, healing is possible, and even after the hardest seasons, you can rise, rebuild, and thrive.

Additional Resources

Instagram: @Blessed_is_bess

LinkedIn: @BessieSturgis

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Content Warning: mention of childhood abuse, divorce

About This Episode

Steph Wagner, National Director of Women in Wealth at Northern Trust and author of Fly!: A Woman's Guide to Financial Freedom and Building a Life You Love, shares how telling the truth about your money story can become the first step toward confidence and financial freedom. She opens up about rebuilding her life after a blindsiding divorce and offers practical tools women can use right now, from identifying your money personality to using her 45-20-35 framework to align spending with your values. We explore how to turn fear into growth, build transparency with partners, and create simple systems that support long-term wealth. If you are ready to rewrite your money story with honesty, clarity, and agency, this episode offers the mindset and next steps to begin.

About Steph Wagner

Steph Wagner is a nationally recognized thought leader in women’s wealth and financial empowerment. Her passion for this work is deeply personal. Her own journey—from private equity executive to stay-at-home mom, to single mother facing financial uncertainty, to successful businesswoman—fuels her mission to help women take control of their wealth and build lives they love. Today, she serves as National Director of Women & Wealth at Northern Trust, where she leads the firm’s advisory practice for women and its Elevating Women platform—a national program focused on building financial confidence and helping women use their wealth to create meaningful impact in their families, businesses, and communities.

Prior to joining Northern Trust, Steph spent years advising high-net-worth women navigating major life transitions such as divorce and widowhood. She also built a national consulting practice for wealth management firms seeking to better serve female clients and founded WomenWealthyWise, a platform dedicated to advancing financial literacy and empowerment for women. Earlier in her career, she was Vice President at Gemini Investors, a Boston-based private equity firm. A frequent media contributor, Steph’s insights have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Entrepreneur, Barron’s, Bloomberg, MarketWatch, Kiplinger, Yahoo Finance, and more. Steph lives just outside of Austin, Texas, and is the proud mom of three grown sons. When she’s not working or writing, you’ll likely find her cycling, hiking, on her yoga mat, or chasing after her beloved dogs.

Additional Resources

Instagram: @steph_l_wagner

LinkedIn: @StephLWagner

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Content Warning: brain tumor, brain surgery

About This Episode

In this inspiring episode, Dr. Andreea Vanacker, an entrepreneur, international speaker, and multi-time author, shares a science-backed path to cultivating steady joy, even in high-pressure seasons. Through her Trilogy of Joy framework built on love, confidence, and gratitude, Andreea offers three simple dials you can turn when you feel anxious, low, or stuck. She opens up about her own life-changing diagnosis, the purpose that followed, and what her global research across 48 countries reveals about fulfillment and resilience. With practical tools for protecting your energy, caring for your mind and body, and connecting your strengths to meaningful purpose, this conversation offers a clear, encouraging map for transforming small daily choices into powerful life change.

About Andreea Vanacker

Dr. Andreea Vanacker is an entrepreneur, international speaker, and 4x author. She is a resilient visionary who turned a life-altering nine-hour brain surgery into a global movement for joy. Her TEDx talk introduced the world to her groundbreaking Trilogy of Joy model. As an accomplished global speaker with business experience in over 50 countries, Andreea intertwines her powerful personal narrative with over a decade of research in neuroscience and positive psychology. Andreea has a Ph.D. in Economics, and her insights have been featured in various publications from Forbes, Fast Company to Business Insider. She is the founder and CEO of One Million Years Of Joy, a media company that comprises a podcast, a global study on joy, an annual Leadership Luminary award and a future documentary of joy.

Additional Resources

Website: andreeavanacker.com

LinkedIn: @AndreeaVanacker

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About This Episode

When archaeologist-turned-CEO Sarah Goffman stepped into leadership, she led by treating her company like a culture, studying norms, listening deeply, and aligning people and technology to identity. She shares the simple systems that can help turn overwhelm into progress, such as whiteboard priorities, a 1%-better mantra, and journaling outside when clarity slips. We also dive into how real culture is built in everyday conversations, how customer listening fuels her company’s 40-year success, and the leadership toolbox Sarah relies on: clear goals, written values, mentors, and a trusted circle. If you’re stepping into something new, this conversation will help you define where you are, where you’re going, and the habits to get you there.

About Sarah Goffman

Sarah Goffman is the CEO of TCE Company, a telecom and IT firm she boldly took the reins of seven years ago following the passing of her father. She has since led the company into its 40th year in business, honoring its legacy while driving innovation and growth. Sarah holds degrees in anthropology with a focus on archaeology from the University of Delaware and the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, a foundation that shaped her global perspective and analytical mindset. She's a proud member of InfraGard, a volunteer partnership with the FBI focused on critical infrastructure protection, and the Bold Leaders Collective, a network of visionary leaders, and a member of the GTIA Trustmark Working Group. Her journey is a testament to resilience, transformation, and leading with purpose in high-stakes industries.

Additional Resources

LinkedIn: @SarahGoffman

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Content Warning: cancer treatment and journey

About This Episode

Boldness doesn't have to be big and loud. It can also look like choosing to keep showing up, even when life feels uncertain. In this episode, keynote speaker and author Goldie Chan shares how she built a recognizable brand while navigating cancer treatment and creating an 800-day streak of original LinkedIn videos rooted in cadence, craft, and credibility. She unpacks her Five Cs of personal branding (Community, Confidence, Competency, Consistency, and Clarity) plus a sixth: Conversation. Through small, steady actions and intentional engagement, Goldie shows how to grow trust, energy, and visibility without burnout. You will leave with practical steps to invest just one hour a week to build your presence, connect with purpose, and remember that even 10 percent on a hard day still counts and grows into your next bold move.

About Goldie Chan

Goldie Chan is a creative, keynote speaker, author, and cancer survivor. She was named the “Oprah of LinkedIn” by Huffington Post and her creative video channel won LinkedIn Top Voice for Social Media. Goldie founded Warm Robots in 2018, an award-winning social media strategy and creative agency based in Los Angeles with global clients. Previously, she wrote an internationally recognized column for Forbes, which received nearly 10M views, and was named Journalist of the Year in 2024. Goldie writes for Archie Comics and has been featured as a fresh voice in The New York Times, CNN, Fast Company, and many other outlets. Goldie is based in sunny Los Angeles.

Additional Resources

Website: goldiechan.com

Instagram: @goldiecylon

LinkedIn: @GoldieChan

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About This Episode

Janine Moreno, CIO Advisor at Zoom, tells us all about what happens when you stop waiting for permission and start owning the room. Janine shares how stepping into visibility transformed her leadership, leading to table talks and roundtables that blend authenticity and expertise. She discusses multi-generational collaboration, leading remote teams with clarity, and overcoming perfectionism to lead without a title. This episode is a wonderful guide for anyone ready to trade hesitation for action and claim the seat they have earned.

About Janine Moreno

Janine Moreno is a CIO Advisor with Zoom Video Communications and a former Executive Director for J.P. Morgan’s Asset & Wealth Management division. She leads Zoom’s CIO, CX, and Women in Leadership Virtual Table Talks, fostering thought leadership and creating spaces for executives to share insights, collaborate, and discuss the latest technology trends, challenges, and innovative solutions. As Chairperson of Zoom’s Cross Industry, she drives initiatives to enhance customer experiences across sectors.

Previously, Janine was Head of Strategy for J.P. Morgan’s Business Technology Optimization group and led AWM’s Technology Training and Communications teams. She has also consulted with Bank of America and served as Sr. Director at Broadridge Financial Solutions, focusing on IS Governance and Compliance. With 19 years at Citigroup, Janine held roles including Head of Front Office Sales Operations & Compliance and Chief of Staff. Her career is defined by visionary leadership and a passion for innovation, shaping the future of virtual and hybrid workspaces.

Additional Resources

LinkedIn: @JanineMoreno

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About This Episode

In this episode, we sit down with Erin Gallagher, CEO and founder of Hype Women and author of Hype Women: Breaking Free from Mean Girls, Patriarchy, and Systems Silencing You, to explore how courage often begins quietly: choosing yourself, trusting your gut, and protecting the space you fought to create. Erin shares her journey from burnout, unpacking how to rebuild identity, reconnect with intuition, and transform anxiety into agency through presence and small, practical steps. We discuss redefining rest as a strategic resource and the power of “community by design,” where a true hype woman celebrates your wins and shows up with action. This conversation invites you to question old paths, create intentional circles, and make one small shift toward a truer, bolder life, and then share it with a friend who hypes you too.

About Erin Gallagher

Erin Gallagher is the CEO and Founder of HYPE WOMEN, an inclusive ecosystem hyping women to remember who the they are; author of Hype Women: Breaking Free from Mean Girls, Patriarchy and Systems Silencing You; host and co-producer of the Hype Women Podcast; and creator of the global Hype Women Movement and “The Fairway” - a dinner series and membership invested in networthing for women.

Additional Resources

Website: hypewomen.com
Facebook: @ErinGoGallagher

Instagram: @erin.gallag.her
LinkedIn: @ErinFGallagher

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About This Episode

In this episode, Natalie Benamou, bestselling author and HerCsuite founder, explores how she transformed a 30-year career in the trade show industry into a purpose-driven portfolio business helping executive women step into board roles, launch ventures, and rediscover their strengths. She unpacks what it takes to design a meaningful next chapter: clarifying values, asking for help, finding community, and simplifying with courage. Natalie also opens up about caregiving, burnout, and resilience, offering wisdom on how to keep choosing what matters. The episode also features her new book, The Power of What’s Next: Bold Moves by Design, a collection of inspiring stories from women who prove that possibility has no age limit. Tune in for an honest, energizing conversation about reinvention, purpose, and what it means to boldly design what’s next.

About Natalie Benamou

Natalie Benamou, MBA is a bestselling author, strategic growth connector, speaker, and Founder of HerCsuite®, the Portfolio Career Company for Executive Women. After generating over $110 million in revenue in the trade show industry, Natalie launched HerCsuite® to help women make their next bold move, whether that’s landing a board seat, launching a business, or building a purpose-driven company.

She’s passionate about empowering women to feel valued and supported as they step into new chapters. Natalie also serves as President of HER HEALTHX, a nonprofit revolutionizing the way women experience healthcare and improve their health outcomes. She is a serial podcast host and her second podcast is a top 25 podcast with over 220 interviews with amazing women leaders.

Additional Resources

LinkedIn: @NatalieBenamou
Follow HerCsuite on LinkedIn

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