Confident

For this episode, we are turning the table and passing the microphone to Heather Cabot, who will be interviewing us. Heather is a critically acclaimed author, award-winning veteran journalist, and former ABC News anchor. Author of bestselling Geek Girl Rising, she is currently writing her fourth book with Hopi journalist and FRONTLINE filmmaker, Patty Talahongva called Indian School Road.Instagram @IndianSchoolRoadhttps://golivegirl.org/10-year-celebration

Kate is the CEO of Quirk. Quirk delivers Executive Resumes, LinkedIn Profiles, Career Consulting, and Leadership Team Branding services to accelerate the careers of executives and rising professionals. Connect with her: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kpozeznik/ As always, stay true to yourself, stay kind, stay confident and show up as your best self every day! Connect with us on social media @goLiveGirl and be sure to subscribe, rate, review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts!

Lisa Mayer is an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and CEO / Co-Founder of Boss Beauties, a media and entertainment brand that inspires girls to be everything they want to be. Boss Beauties became the first female- founded, venture-backed digital collectible company, with original investors including Serena Ventures. Now, a selection of those digital collectibles will be featured in the company's first book, Boss Beauty: Inspiration to Be Everything You Want – coming out on March 12, 2024.

This week Sheri and Olivia discuss following your passion with Community Reinvestment Officer at M&T Bank, Carolyn Gonzalez. Carolyn Gonzalez has devoted most of her career to community and economic development in Connecticut and especially, her hometown, Bridgeport. Carolyn was ALSO a founding member of Groundwork Bridgeport and the Greater Bridgeport Latino Network in 2003. As always, stay true to yourself, stay kind, stay confident and show up as your best self every day! Connect with us on social media @goLiveGirl and be sure to subscribe, rate, review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts!

Kristen Kelly and Serene Williams have taught history for a combined 38 years. In addition, Kristen Kelly also presents annually at the National Conference for Social Studies, the American Historical Association, and the National Women's Studies Association. Serene is also an independent historian who publishes articles about women's political history. Both currently teach at Sacred Heart Prep in California. [Today- we also have a guest student- Hamsika, a sophomore at Mountain House High School in California.

Sarah Kenny holds an MA in Gender Studies, is an International Coach Federation Professional Certified Coach, and has over 15 years of experience training women leaders. Her new book, “Lead Like a Queen: A Young Woman's Guide to Audacious Living” is required reading for the next generation of young women who are eager to make their mark in the world. Buy her book: https://www.amazon.com/Lead-Like-Queen-Womans-Audacious-ebook/dp/B0CHKJX45L https://sarahkennycoaching.com/lead-like-a-queen/ As always, stay true to yourself, stay kind, stay confident and show up as your best self every day! Connect with us on social media @goLiveGirl and be sure to subscribe, rate, review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts! Read Sheri's blog post on the story and launch of Confident! 

April Carr is Senior Director of PepsiCo Digital Transformation. She is responsible for the strategic vision and execution of new technology solutions across PFNA, including PepsiCo's co-innovation work with Microsoft, Salesforce, Away, and others. April is the first PepsiCo Women of Color ERG National Chair, and a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and the Network of Executive Women. She lives in Atlanta where she serves on various nonprofit Boards.  As always, stay true to yourself, stay kind, stay confident and show up as your best self every day! Connect with us on social media @goLiveGirl and be sure to subscribe, rate, review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts! Read Sheri's blog post on the story and launch of Confident! 

Liz Kislik specializes in developing high performing leaders and workforces. Liz is the author of Workplace Wisdom: How to Resolve Interpersonal Conflicts in the Workplace and has taught at Hofstra University and NYU. She received her BA from Yale University and earned an MBA in Management from NYU. TedX https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2l-AOBz69KU Work Advice column.  Workplace Wisdom: How to Resolve Interpersonal Conflicts in the Workplace, available   You can read more of Liz's insights on LinkedIn, and in her HBR, and Forbes articles. As always, stay true to yourself, stay kind, stay confident and show up as your best self every day! Connect with us on social media @goLiveGirl and be sure to subscribe, rate, review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts! Read Sheri's blog post on the story and launch of Confident! 

Christine Laperriere is the Founder & CEO of Leader In Motion, a leadership development organization focused on developing high-potential female talent and author of “Too Busy To Be Happy”. A former design engineer, Christine's leadership coaching career spans 18 years- with expertise in change management, transformation, and culture change. 

Derby Chukwudi is a Nigerian-American investment strategist, author, model and beauty queen. She was born in Dallas, Texas and raised in Nigeria. The 25-year-old was crowned Miss New Jersey 2023- and is a graduate of Berea College with a bachelor's degree in business administration and economics.

Nadia Hashimi is a pediatrician turned bestselling author who draws on her Afghan culture to craft internationally bestselling books for adults as well as young readers. Her novels span generations and continents, taking on themes like forced migration, conflict, poverty, misogyny, colonialism, and addiction. With translations in seventeen languages, she's connected with readers around the world. She is also the co-founder of the Afghan-American Foundation and an advocate for women & girls in Afghanistan.

Katie Fischer is a Managing Director at Daversa Partners, a strategic talent partner of choice for founders, venture capital, and private equity-backed companies. Katie has built teams in healthcare, defense tech, fintech, insurtech, crypto, gaming, cybersecurity, climate and clean tech, ecommerce and edtech.

The conversation will help you better understand how girls are using social media, the challenges they face, and the strategies they use to navigate these challenges. Be sure to also check-out our list of helpful resources. SOCIAL MEDIA RESOURCES https://www.npr.org/2023/02/16/1157180971/10-things-to-know-about-how-social-media-affects-teens-brains https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tiktok-bold-glamour-filter-ai-mental-health/ FOR PARENTS - SOCIAL MEDIA SAFETY https://www.commonsensemedia.org/articles/social-media https://ifstudies.org/blog/new-tools-to-help-parents-navigate-teens-social-media-use https://www.internetmatters.org/resources/social-media-advice-hub2/

This International Women's Day we are taking a mental health break with Mental Wellness Practitioner, Humanitarian, Author, Life Coach, Herbalist, Yogini and founder of Serenity For Mothers, Nyeesha D. Williams. About Our Guest: Nyeesha's twenty years of experience in women's health, clinical research, consulting, trauma release, and urban community risk mitigation shines through in her newest book titled, “Forgiveness: Overcome Emotional Trauma, Heal Relationships And Find Inner Peace In Just 8 Simple Steps”. SHOW NOTES: https://www.nyeeshawilliams.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/serenityformothers/about/

Today we discuss the question “How do we fix the ‘broken rung”?” with Professor at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth and the Founder of RISE Career Launch, Dr. Gail Ayala Taylor. Dr. Taylor is a career-readiness expert on a mission to build the pipeline of tomorrow's diverse business leaders by giving talented individuals from underrepresented groups the tools and strategies to launch and accelerate their careers. SHOW NOTES: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gailataylor/ https://www.risecareerlaunch.com/

Today we sit down with Helen Fanucci, an MIT-trained engineer with over 25-years on the front lines at top tech companies including Apple, Sun Microsystems, IBM, and Microsoft. She hosts the Love Your Team podcast and is now the best-selling author of the Love Your Team book released last month.

Child marriage, or marriage before 18, was legal in all 50 U.S. states as of 2017. Thanks to Unchained's relentless advocacy, that is changing. Delaware and New Jersey in 2018 became the first two states to end this human rights abuse, followed by American Samoa in 2018, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Pennsylvania and Minnesota in 2020, Rhode Island and New York in 2021 and Massachusetts in 2022. About Our Guest: Fraidy Reiss is the Founder of Unchained At Last, the only nonprofit in the US dedicated to helping women and girls escape arranged/forced marriages. Through Unchained, Fraidy has helped hundreds of survivors across the U.S. to escape forced marriages, and she now leads a growing national movement to end child marriage in every U.S. state and at the federal level. https://www.unchainedatlast.org/ @unchainedatlast

Iman Hariri-Kia is an Iranian-American, New York-based writer, editor, author, activist, and musician. A 2017 recipient of the Annabelle Bonner Medal and a nationally acclaimed journalist, having been published in Vogue, Teen Vogue, Bustle, HuffPost, and other outlets. Her debut novel, A HUNDRED OTHER GIRLS, was published in July to critical acclaim.

ABOUT OUR GUEST: Shawn VanDerziel is the CEO of the National Association of Colleges and Employers. He leads the association of 14k+ professionals at more than 3,100 employing organizations and educational institutions engaged in the career development and employment of college students and alumni. He regularly presents on trends and issues in the employment market for new college graduates, including career readiness, internships, and recruiting strategies. [I was recently reading an article in the Wall Street Journal “Gender Pay Gap Opens Early”, and my old college friend Shawn VanDerziel's name was all over it…] LEARN MORE: https://www.naceweb.org/ DO YOU WANT TO JOIN THE CONVERSATION? Visit www.golivegirl.org/what-do-you-care-about to submit a question YOU want us to answer on an upcoming episode.  As always, stay true to yourself, stay kind, stay confident and show up as your best self every day! Connect with us on social media @goLiveGirl and be sure to subscribe, rate, review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts!

ABOUT OUR GUESTS: ABOUT WOMEN IN POLITICS: Founded by Rebecca Joseph, Women in Politics grew exponentially after a viral TikTok took the mission world wide. Women In politics strives to ensure that politics is a tangible career path. Rebecca Joseph is a 16-year-old high school senior located in California. She founded Women In Politics in May of 2020 during her first year of high school. Rebecca found her passion for politics through her high school Speech and Debate team and is now dedicated to serving her community.  Katherine Bronov is is a 19-year-old sophomore at American University in Washington D.C where she studies political science and international relations. She serves as the Co-Executive Director of Women In Politics (WIP), a non-partisan organization dedicated to making politics a tangible career path for young women.  LEARN MORE: https://womeninpolitics.co https://www.instagram.com/womeninpolitics_/

About Our Guest: Carolyn Driscoll is the Founder & CEO at UncommonGood, a cloud-based software solution for Nonprofits, Community Organizations, and Small Businesses. Carolyn launched the company after a 20-year career in both small businesses and scaling startups. In her free time, she travels, sails, gardens, and hikes with her dogs. Learn more about UncommonGood: https://www.douncommongood.com/

Shaz Kahng is a visionary leader and inventive thinker who is passionate about consumer-focused businesses. Shaz brings a wealth of experience running companies and businesses such as Gymboree, Lucy Activewear, Nike, and working with brands like Staples, Carters, Sephora, Tiffany, Levi Strauss, Macy's, Quaker Oats, Kraft, and P&G. She currently serves on the public corporate board for GoPro & is an advisor to PE and VC backed businesses and is on the Investor Advisory Council of AVG Funds, a venture capital firm. Shaz is also the writer of two novels in her Ceiling Smashers series. Shaz graduated from Cornell and Wharton and is the mother of twin girls. Learn more about her: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shazkahng/

About Our Guest: Patricia Russo is a nationally recognized leader focused on improving the quality of life for women in the United States. For over thirty-five years she has held numerous leadership positions in public, private, and non-profit organizations centered on women's rights. She has also held leadership positions on federal, state, and local political campaigns. Currently, Patti serves as Executive Director of The Campaign School at Yale University, a non-partisan training program dedicated to increasing the number of women in elected office. Patti also speaks extensively on women's leadership at both the national and international levels. Learn more: https://tcsyale.org/

About Our Guest: Diana Kapp is a journalist and author with an MBA from Stanford who has written about education and entrepreneurism for most of the major media outlets (NYT, WashPo, WSJ, ELLE, Marie Claire -you name it). She has also published two novels: Girls Who Run the World and her most recent Girls Who Green The World, published just in time for Earth Day. Diana lives in San Francisco. Learn more: https://dianakapp.com/ https://www.instagram.com/dianakapp/ https://dianakapp.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/2015_more_a-second-act-in-afghanistan.pdf

Nov. 30, 2021: Four students were killed, seven injured, and hundreds terrorized at Oxford High School in suburban Detroit, Michigan when a 15-year-old gunman entered with a weapon he found at home. This week, we sat down with Karen D. McDonald, Oakland County Prosecutor, and discuss how she sparked a national conversation on gun accountability when she pressed unprecedented charges that she “felt in her gut was right”. Known as a "creative, unsparing prosecutor, crusading for justice,” McDonald provides a masterclass in leading with compassion. McDonald charged Crumbley's parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, after evidence emerged that they had supplied the boy his weapon while ignoring a litany of warning signs about his dangerous state of mind.

Join us this week as we return for Season 4 and discuss paying it forward with Illana Raia! About Our Guest: Recently named one the first 250 entrepreneurs on the Forbes Next 1000 List, Illana Raia is the founder and CEO of Être - a mentorship platform for girls. Believing that mentors matter early, Illana brings girls directly into companies they choose (Spotify, Google, YouTube, NYSE…) to meet female leaders face to face. Illana is a member of the International Space Station National Lab Education Subcommittee, serves on the National Girls' Collaborative Champions Board, and has authored 60+ articles for HuffPost, Ms. Magazine and Thrive Global. Her award-winning book Être: Girls, Who Do You Want To Be? was released on Day of the Girl 2019, featuring wisdom from 40 luminary women like Arianna Huffington, Debra Messing and Reshma Saujani alongside quotes from 50 girls. Prior to launching Être in 2016, Illana was a corporate attorney at Skadden Arps in NYC and a guest lecturer at Columbia University. She graduated from Smith College and the University of Chicago Law School, and remains unapologetically nerdy. Pre-Order The Epic Mentor Guide: www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Epic-Mentor-Guide/Illana-Raia/9781637630495 Learn more about Etre Girls: www.etregirls.com

Join us this week as we return for Season 4 and discuss leading change with Uma Amuluru.

Join us this week as we return for Season 4 and discuss ending period poverty with CT State Representative Kate Farrar and some inspiring Gen Z activists! Our discomfort in discussing periods prevents us from having the critical and necessary conversation about period poverty. In the United States, 1 in 4 menstruators is unable to afford an adequate supply of period products required for their health due to the burden of expense. The cost of these products makes them inaccessible for many individuals who are low income, forcing them to substitute tampons or pads for unsafe and unhygienic alternatives. Featuring Kate Farrar: CT State Representative Kate Farrar was elected in November 2020 to represent the 20th District in West Hartford, CT. Kate has over 20 years' experience as a non-profit advocate and active community volunteer, championing working families and women and girls. She has also worked to pass laws ensuring equity in healthcare, education, and the workplace. Kate has a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Connecticut and a master's in public administration from Syracuse University. Also - Gen Z activists: Asija Qyteza (UConn) and Joy Ren (Wilton HS)

Angela Scott is the Executive Director of Boston-based MEDIAGIRLS, a nonprofit whose mission is to teach girls and young women to become critical media consumers. She has been involved with MediaGirls for over four years, teaching girls to navigate social media, and seeing up close the deleterious effects on their self-esteem. We reached out after the recent WSJ expose, “Facebook Knows Instagram Is Toxic for Teen Girls, Company Documents Show”. Its own in-depth research shows a significant teen mental-health issue, including contributing to anxiety, depression, and body image issues for 1 in 3 teen girls. Listen to this episode to learn what parents and girls can do to curate a positive social media experience, including using social media for social good. For More info: https://mediagirls.org Resources: https://www.thesocialdilemma.com/ https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-knows-instagram-is-toxic-for-teen-girls-company-documents-show-11631620739 DID YOU KNOW?! Angela is an accomplished marathon runner, with four marathons under her belt. DO YOU WANT TO JOIN THE CONVERSATION? Visit www.golivegirl.org/podcast to submit a question YOU want us to answer on an upcoming episode. As always, stay true to yourself, stay kind, stay confident and show up as your best self every day! Connect with us on social media @goLiveGirl and be sure to subscribe, rate, review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts! Read Sheri's blog post on the story and launch of Confident!

Angela Scott is the Executive Director of Boston-based MEDIAGIRLS, a nonprofit whose mission is to teach girls and young women to become critical media consumers. She has been involved with MediaGirls for over four years, teaching girls to navigate social media, and seeing up close the deleterious effects on their self-esteem. We reached out after the recent WSJ expose, “Facebook Knows Instagram Is Toxic for Teen Girls, Company Documents Show”. Its own in-depth research shows a significant teen mental-health issue, including contributing to anxiety, depression, and body image issues for 1 in 3 teen girls. Listen to this episode to learn what parents and girls can do to curate a positive social media experience, including using social media for social good. For More info: https://mediagirls.org Resources: https://www.thesocialdilemma.com/ https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-knows-instagram-is-toxic-for-teen-girls-company-documents-show-11631620739 DID YOU KNOW?! Angela is an accomplished marathon runner, with four marathons under her belt. DO YOU WANT TO JOIN THE CONVERSATION? Visit www.golivegirl.org/podcast to submit a question YOU want us to answer on an upcoming episode. As always, stay true to yourself, stay kind, stay confident and show up as your best self every day! Connect with us on social media @goLiveGirl and be sure to subscribe, rate, review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts! Read Sheri's blog post on the story and launch of Confident!

This beauty pageant winner is using her platform as a way to spread awareness about alopecia and to change today's beauty standards for the better. She also was the recipient of the Miss Connecticut USA Community Service Award for her efforts in starting The AloPeace Project nonprofit dedicated to humanizing and empowering the conversation around alopecia. In this episode, Sheri and Olivia West sat down with a TRUE QUEEN. In a graceful display of vulnerability, Renee shares accounts of a heart-breaking journey of strength through traumatic experiences, which led her to a brighter place in life - a place dedicated to supporting others. Renee talks about how the stress of her earlier experiences triggered her genetic alopecia - an autoimmune disorder that causes your hair to come out. She also shares why she decided to enter the beauty pageant world, how her presence has impacted beauty standards and the inspiration and mission behind her nonprofit.

Joan Kuhl is an author, speaker, and unabashed champion of girls leadership and advancing women in the workplace. She speaks internationally and consults with Fortune 100 companies and top 20 Business Schools as well as serves as a Board Member for the Frances Hesselbein Leadership Institute and Girls Inc.. Her expertise has been featured in the NY Times, Harvard Business Review, CNBC Success Magazine and she is a regular contributor to ForbesWomen. Joan is the author of 3 books, including “Dig Your Heels In: Navigate Corporate BS And Build The Company You Deserve”. She earned her MBA from Rutgers University where she studied global business strategies in China and is the mother of two daughters. After spending 14 years in the pharma industry, Joan transitioned to mentoring and coaching and launched her company, Why Millennials Matter. In this inspiring episode, she shares her journey. Through her work, Joan empowers women at all points of their journey from early childhood through college and business school and at every level in the workplace. Listen in as she shares at which stage she finds that women meet the greatest obstacles and how she help them overcome these obstacles. We also discuss the common self-limiting behaviors that hold women back, including Imposter Syndrome, Stifled Authenticity, Perfectionism, & Overthinking and how her book “Digging In Your Heels” helps with these and so much more! DID YOU KNOW?! Joan's first job was at McDonalds at just 14 years old. In this episode, you'll hear the two major life lessons she learned while on the job that proved transferrable to her life-long career. DO YOU WANT TO JOIN THE CONVERSATION? Visit www.golivegirl.org/podcast to submit a question YOU want us to answer on an upcoming episode. As always, stay true to yourself, stay kind, stay confident and show up as your best self every day!

Colleen Ammerman is the director of the Gender Initiative at Harvard Business School. She works with faculty leadership to support a research community and a platform for disseminating insights for advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion in organizations. She is also co-author of the book: Glass Half-Broken: Shattering the Barriers That Still Hold Women Back at Work (a book for EVERYONE, not just women and gives actionable advice to be a change agent). In this episode, Colleen sits down with Sheri and Olivia to discuss everything from her work at the HBS Gender Initiative and how they are advancing gender equality, what's it going to take to see real change, what leadership skills young women need to develop to lean in and close the female leadership gap, and - of course - all things related to her new book. SUPPLEMENT READING How to Close the Gender Gap - Harvard Business Review: https://hbr.org/2021/05/how-to-close-the-gender-gap Pandemic's Toll Shows Most 'Workplaces Still Don't Work for Women' - Newsweek: https://www.newsweek.com/2021/06/11/pandemics-uneven-toll-shows-most-workplaces-still-dont-work-women-1594721.html DO YOU WANT TO JOIN THE CONVERSATION? Visit www.golivegirl.org/podcast to submit a question YOU want us to answer on an upcoming episode. As always, stay true to yourself, stay kind, stay confident and show up as your best self every day!

Dr. Charlene Alexander is the Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer at Oregon State University. Previously, she served as the associate provost for diversity and professor of counseling psychology at Ball State University for 20 years. Dr. Alexander's research interests are in the areas of multicultural counseling, school counseling, and international psychology. She is the co-editor of the Handbook of Multicultural Education, currently in its 4th edition. In this episode, interviewed by Sheri and Olivia West, Dr. Alexander shared about her experience growing up in the Caribbean and going to school in England before coming to the US, and how it's shaped the way she sees the world she's engaged in. She also acknowledges that diversity, equity, and inclusion is a lifelong journey and shares how can we be continuous learners in this area, along with what advice she wishes her teen self had heard, and so much more! DO YOU WANT TO JOIN THE CONVERSATION? Visit www.golivegirl.org/podcast to submit a question YOU want us to answer on an upcoming episode. As always, stay true to yourself, stay kind, stay confident and show up as your best self every day!

Mita Mallick is a corporate change-maker with a track record of transforming businesses and cultures. She is the head of inclusion, equity and impact at Carta. Mita is a columnist for SWAAY, and her writing has been published in the Harvard Business Review, The New York Post and Business Insider. In this raw episode, Mita shares with us about her background, experiences of hate and bullying and how she has risen to became such an informed, confident leader. She also gives her perspective on why she believes there is so much hate in our world today, what individuals do to counter hate and so much more. We are excited to have you join us for our brand new season of Confident. DO YOU WANT TO JOIN THE CONVERSATION? Visit www.golivegirl.org/podcast to submit a question YOU want us to answer on an upcoming episode. As always, stay true to yourself, stay kind, stay confident and show up as your best self every day!

In this episode, Sheri and Olivia West sit down with the amazing powerhouse, Shellye Archambeau. Shellye is the former CEO of MetricStream, which landed her as one of Silicon Valley's first Black Female CEOs, and built the company from a struggling start-up to a global leader. She was named the second most influential African American in IT by Business Insider and has guest lectured at Stanford's Graduate School of Business and The Wharton School of Business. Shellye now serves on the Boards of Verizon, Nordstrom, Roper Technologies and Okta and she is the author of Unapologetically Ambitious. I LOVED this book as it captures so much of what we strive to teach young women! Tune in to hear Shellye discuss her book and guide us through how to take risks, break barriers, and create success on your own terms. To hear more in the audience Q&A, watch the full replay on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j78NqDcyKpc

In this episode, Sheri and Olivia West sit down with the fearless young CEO - Alexis Curtis! Alexa is the 23-year-old Founder & CEO of “Life Unfiltered with Alexa”, a lifestyle website and podcast for teens & parents discussing topics such as social media and mental health. You may be familiar with her from her Radio Disney show called “Fearless Everyday with Alexa Curtis”.   Listen to Alexa, Sheri and Olivia as they talk all things relating to owning your fearlessness. DID YOU KNOW? Alexa started a fashion blog at 12 years old?! She later transformed her blog into full lifestyle platform, “Life Unfiltered”, including “The New Unfiltered” podcast, a weekly call-in show! In this interview, Alexa talks about her entrepreneurial spirit that guided her along the way, pandemic-related mental health trends, and gives advice for young women wanting to start up their own business plus sooo much more! You can check Alexa out on IG at @alexa_curtis

In this exclusive interview, Sheri and Olivia West sit down with the inspiring and esteemed, Amy Siskind who shares advice to young women on how they can stand up and be heard! Amy Siskind is a national spokesperson, writer and expert on helping women and girls advance and succeed. A former Wall Street executive, she's President and Co-founder of The New Agenda, a national organization working on issues including economic independence and advancement, gender representation and bias, and campus sexual assault. She is perhaps best known as the author of The Weekly List, which has been turned into both a book and a podcast, and was recognized as one of the POLITICO 50. She also serves on Cornell University's highly prestigious President's Council of Cornell Women and Cornell University Council, and was recently honored by the Westchester County Legislators for her LGBTQ advocacy. In this special episode, Sheri and Olivia sit down with Amy and talk about everything from the environment for women in Wall Street, her bravery in transitioning into politics, the structural biases against women that prompted you to launch the New Agenda and her role as an activist of American Democracy!

In this episode, Sheri and Olivia sit down with Julie Lythcott-Haims and talk about EVERYTHING as it relates to the importance of black authors building more inclusive spaces, how she experienced bravery in changing her career, courage in dealing with the media, advice to young women on standing firm and sooo much more! Julie Lythcott-Haims is the New York Times bestselling author of the anti-helicopter parenting manifesto How to Raise an Adult. Her TED Talk on the subject has more than 5 million views, and she is a regular contributor with CBS This Morning on parenting. Her second book is the award-winning memoir Real American, which illustrates her experience as a Black and biracial person in white spaces. Julie is a former corporate lawyer and Stanford dean, and she holds a BA from Stanford, a JD from Harvard, and an MFA in Writing from California College of the Arts. She serves on the board of Common Sense Media, and on the advisory board of LeanIn.Org. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her family. This week’s “fiercely love yourself” challenge --is to Act as if. Always act in a way that is consistent with where you want to go. You can check out Julie’s latest book available now for pre-order “Your Turn: How to Be an Adult”. Follow her at @jlythcotthaims.

Illana Raia is the Founder & CEO of Etregirls.com and Author of "Être: Girls, Who Do You Want To Be?" Illana contributes to HuffPost, Ellevate, Ms. Magazine and Thrive Global and was named a Mogul Influencer in 2017. She has appeared in the HuffPost "Talk To Me" video series, participated in the 2018 Balance Project Interviews and the 2019 #WomenWhoRock campaign. In this interview, Sheri and Olivia speak to Illana about it all! She starts off by sharing her journey from lawyer to founding Être Girls. A key tenant of Être is to provide girls access to role models, so naturally, Illana talks about the importance of diverse role models, the election of the first woman and woman of color to Vice President, as well as the double standard with women being perceived as too ambitious. Illana is also a MASTER networker - to end the conversation, Illana shares a few of her much-needed Networking in a Pandemic 101 tips! To learn more about Être, visit: etregirls.com or follow @etregirls on Instagram.

Abigail Okpebholo is a leading human rights advocate in Nigeria who's passionate about gender equality, inclusion and equity. Through the work she carries out in rural communities, villages, slums, clans and hard to reach regions across Nigeria, she's aggressively bridging the gender gap in Girls education. Her work has been featured in several international websites, podcasts and blogs such as The Better Tomorrow Movement, Human Rights Fellowship Podcast, Sayitforward.org amongst others. She is a 2019 Young African Change Maker Fellow, Teaching Human Rights Fellow, Young African ChangeMaker Fellow, 2020 Commonwealth100 fellow, British Council Policy Change Fellow and a winner of the Girl Rising storytelling competition Abigail's story and work is truly incredible. She aims to advance girls education by providing educational learning materials, sanitary pads and scholarships for educationally disadvantaged girls. She also provides skill training programs for women where they learn various handwork of their choice so that they can start up income generating businesses and become financially independent. In this truly special episode, Abigail shares what it was like growing up a girl in Nigeria, her inspiration behind founding YoungPearl Organization, and her work with UNICEF (which led to her being invited as a delegate to the prestigious World Youth Forum, Egypt in 2018!!!)

October 11th is International Day of the Girl (IDG) and we are excited to kick off our LiveGirl celebration with a very special podcast guest who has made it her mission to change the way people value girls and girls’ education. Christina Lowery is the Co-Founder & CEO of Girl Rising, a non-profit dedicated to changing the way the world values girls and their education.. In 2009, she was part of the founding team who created Girl Rising and in 2017 led its transition from a film production company to a non-profit. Her passion for storytelling is founded upon decades of experience in documentary film and television, having contributed to and produced films for CNN, ABC, Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro. We, at LiveGirl, greatly admire the Girl Rising organization and their work. DID YOU KNOW? Around the world, 132 million girls are out of school. The global pandemic has further amplified inequality - more than 10 million secondary school age girls are at risk of never returning to the classroom in the aftermath of school lockdowns because of harmful gender norms. In this amazing episode, Christina shares about how Girl Rising uses the power of storytelling to ignite change, how gender norms contribute to issues in girls education and tells us the keys to building confidence in youth (plus so much more)! Be sure to JOIN US in celebrating IDG by checking out Girl Rising’s IDG 2020 Summit on October 10th aon October 10th and LiveGirl’s “My Voice, Our Equal Future” International Day of the Girl Celebration on October 11th.

In this super special episode, we sit down with Laura Brounstein! Laura is an award-winning journalist, strategist, speaker and team-builder who helps companies and individuals develop their content strategy, define their narrative and form smart partnerships. During her media career, she developed and launched magazines for Airbnb and Bumble and was an editor for Seventeen, Self, and Cosmopolitan magazines. PLUS her writing has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Cosmopolitan, Self, Natural Health magazine and more! She most recently ran content and programming at The Riveter and before that, led a global team overseeing content and campaigns for WeWork. LiveGirl first met Laura back in 2018 when she was a keynote speaker at our “Being A Girl in Today’s World” round table discussion. During that time, she was with Seventeen Magazine where she brought a broader sense of awareness to girl’s & women’s issues. In this fun episode, Laura speaks about making change from the inside out. But she is also a MASTER story-teller. Listen in as she talks about that expertise and the importance of a young woman being comfortable in telling her own story and gives her best advice for the #nextgen female leaders. 


We are excited as ever to sit down for a (virtual) conversation with Kiara Thompson. Kiara is from Romulus, Michigan (also the home state of LiveGirl Founder, Sheri West!). 
In this episode, Kiara talks body positivity, why she describes pageants as esteem-boosting, and how she uses her Miss Michigan platform for advocacy. Kiara is also extremely passionate about mental health - listen in as she bravely shares her personal battle with depression and the importance of breaking the stigma associated with mental health. Kiara Thompson is the reigning Miss Michigan in the Pure International Miss pageant system. Kiara is passionate about being a role model to young women. As an entrepreneur, business owner and plus size pageant competitor, Kiara has broken many barriers and aims to teach younger African-American girls in her community by showing them that they can hold powerful positions that showcase leadership, entrepreneurship, beauty, and advocacy.

LiveGirl is honored to have interviewed such a fun, fierce and accomplished guest to the LiveGirl community - CNN anchor, journalist, author, mother of three, and CT resident Alisyn Camerota! Alisyn is a phenomenal woman and role model for girls and women everywhere. In an exclusive Camp LiveGirl interview moderated by Sheri and her 16-year-old daughter, Olivia - followed by a LIVE Q&A from our campers - Alisyn shares everything from her thoughts on the question "Why does 'bad news' sell?" and gives her advice to ensure that people consume a balanced news diet. She also shares who was her absolute FAVORITE person to interview to date, why is it so important to give back, aaaaand how she balances it all (plus so much more!) Alisyn Camerota is an award-winning journalist and author. She is the co-anchor of CNN’s signature morning show, New Day. In her decades-long TV career, Camerota has covered scores of major news stories, both internationally and domestically. From presidential races to terror attacks, Camerota has been on the frontlines of the reporting. She’s been twice nominated for Emmy Awards and won the prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award for her coverage of Hurricane Maria.

At LiveGirl, our mission is to build confident leaders and contribute to a world free from racial and gender inequality. We are called to work together to create an antiracist society and build leaders who listen to and understand lives different from their own. In the past, we have interviewed fierce female leaders to learn their leadership lessons. But lately, it has really resonated with us how young people are leading the way. Americans have poured into the streets to protest racial injustice and police violence against black Americans — 52 percent of all adults who have protested are between the ages of 18 and 29. In this episode, we are honored to feature several Gen Z leaders. We are inspired by how these leaders are rising to take action. Many people are just now awakening to our country’s history of systemic racism and oppression. Many people want to have the conversation and take action, but don’t know how. They worry about leaning in leading to feelings of anger, guilt, discomfort, sadness, and at times disrespect. So we want to thank all of this episode’s featured guests for their courage to participate in this conversation and acknowledge our collective responsibility for the world in which we live. Listen in as our Gen Z guest touch on topics including: How their racial identity was experienced as an adolescent - Discussions of race amongst your family - What black students want their non-black friends to know about racism and what actions should be taken as an “ally”. They also discuss their individual calls to action - whether through social media or beyond - and share ways on how to effect positive change.

We’re SO excited to introduce this episode’s guest who has made history. Stacey Tisdale, a more than 20-year veteran TV broadcast financial journalist, and financial behavior expert, is one of the first women, and the first African-American to report from the New York Stock Exchange as a reporter for Dow Jones’ Emmy Award winning, Wall Street Journal Television. She then went on to become one of the first on-air reporters for CBS MarketWatch and business/personal finance correspondent for CBS News, The Early Show, CBS Evening News, and CBS Radio. She is now the CEO & President of Mind Money Media and was named by Top 100 Magazine as one of 2019’s Top 100 People in Finance. Listen in to Stacey’s expert story-telling as she shares tips and examples around the psychological connection in how we look at money, spending habits and finance as a whole. We learn the social scripts around race and culture and she illustrates amazing expertise as she uncovers the truths and not-so-truths around our relationship (as women and girls) with money. PLUS she gives us a mind-blowing simple tip to easily start saving money (spoiler alert: put your closest friend on speed dial!) AND shares how we - as women - can break through the

In this episode, we sit down with Brennyn Lark, Broadway performer, singer, songwriter and actress. She went from playing Eponine in Les Miserables on Broadway just a few years ago to the starring role in Dreamgirls in London, and most recently she took her talents to the small screen in Amazon’s award-winning The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. She has been described as a star on the rise.

In this episode, TEDTalk speaker, Yifat Susskind, shares how the “think like a mother” lens is available to everyone, gives an important message to the next generation and tells about the mission behind the extremely CRUCIAL work the MADRE is doing with grassroots women organizations in some of the hardest hit places in the world as part of the fight for feminist futures and gender justice.

“I just hope that girls do feel that they have a place and that they can speak up and can go after their dreams. That’s not always easy, but we have a right to be there and actual build our dreams as much as men do. Representation is key. But it will take time to change that. It starts with women saying 'yes'. I have a rule to always say yes, even if I feel uncomfortable. Say 'yes' first, then think ‘how’." @shewillspeak In this episode, we are honored to interview Janneke Niessen, co-founder of CapitalT, a seed fund that focuses on software tech startups. Janneke is an investor and serial entrepreneur, she has started and sold 2 international tech companies, and has won numerous awards, including Harper’s Bazaar Women of the Year 2019! Janneke is also co-Founder of Inspiringfifty, aiming to amplify female tech role models, and has launched The New Girl Code series, highlighting the wonders of working in tech. You’re about to listen to our conversation with Harpers Bazaar Woman of the Year Janneke Niessen -- interviewed by not only Founder Sheri West, and her 16-year old daughter, Olivia, but also a panel of 10 brilliant college and high schoolers! Tune in as Janneke shares what it means to be a serial entrepreneur, gives advice to girls in STEM who may doubt their abilities, how the current COVID-19 global pandemic has affected her investing lens (spoiler alert: it hasn’t!) and soooo much more!

“A lot of people today really want that authenticity and truth in what’s happening in people’s experiences, because at the end of the day…. We recognize how powerful connections really are.” - @shewillspeak It is Sexual Assault Awareness Month and we are thrilled to announce that is Poetic Activist Cheyenne Tyler Jacobs is today’s special guest on the Confident Podcast! Cheyenne is the founder and curator of the @SheWillSpeakSeries - a platform to empower Women through education, awareness, and arts to cultivate healing and change.  She has also published two books, including her latest “The Tragic Type of Beautiful” and works for the End Rape on Campus (EROC) speakers bureau. In this episode, you will hear from Cheyenne as she shares her earliest influences, why she began writing, her role and mission of EROC AND (of course) shares some verses of her soul-touching poetry. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU Cheyenne for proving a space where people can speak their truth. Kudos and congratulations!!