We need to come together, in community. This is the time. -Michelle Palladini
Meet police officer Michelle Palladini. The daughter of a state police officer, she remembers asking her father what he did when he went to work. When he replied: “I help people” she knew what she wanted to do with her life. Now a sergeant with the Norfolk, MA. police department, Michelle is breaking new ground with a community based, heart-centered program called L.E.A.P which stands for leadership, empowerment, awareness and protection. Asked to pilot her program in her town’s middle school, the goal was to create trust and pathways toward success between children and the local police…and it’s working all across the country. A graduate of Stonehill College with a degree in Criminal Justice, Michelle believes in finding the root cause of risky and criminal behavior. This, she says is the only way a police officer can truly “protect & serve”. #communitypolicing
This is what I’m here to do. Being spiritual, giving readings is the easiest thing I’ve ever done. And that’s how I know it’s right. Everything else has been hard. -Kim Gedney
Most psychics will tell you that they always had a 6th sense. They just “knew” things. But that was not always the case for Kim Gedney. The daughter of a drug addict, she had no time to think about anything else but survival and at one point, decided she wanted to end her life. That’s when her phone began to ring and ring and ring. When Kim finally answered the phone, the person on the other end changed her life forever with his message and that is where this story begins. Now a wife and devoted mother of two sons, Kim is a medium, a psychic, a healer and a spiritual and intuitive life coach. Her ability to tap into exactly what her clients need is what sets this exceptional woman apart. We settled into our interview at a little bed & breakfast in Simsbury, CT called the 1820 House for an interview that focused on a three things Kim believes to her core: 1. Your gut is never wrong. 2. Your mind can mess you up every time. 3. Faith is the belief that there is something more. Curious? Hit that download button for some earthly and spiritual wisdom to kick off 2021. #psychic #medium #spirit #believe
I learned to be a great storyteller on TV and when I’m selling a house, I’m telling you the story of that house. Buyers want that emotion, that’s what sells. -Teri Adler
This is a story about reinvention. Meet Teri Adler, Principal of The Teri Adler Group and a Boston area residential real estate superstar. For the past twelve years, she has been a top broker for Pinnacle Residential Properties, including Broker of the Year, but her career path began with a very successful run as a reporter and news anchor on stations from the Cape to New Hampshire, to Hartford and finally, in Boston at WHDH and WBZ. Turns out, Teri has used her well-honed storytelling skills to sell houses and this interview reveals what it took to make the transition from one profession to the other. The mother of three daughters, including a special needs child, Teri speaks candidly about a decision she and her husband made regarding how they were going to raise their firstborn child: “Jeff and I decided we were not going to let Alexandra’s disability define her, our our family.” Her advice about multiple careers and what really matters in life are insightful and well worth your download. Says Teri: “Life is going to take you to places you never imagined and you have to bend and grow with it. There is no blueprint.” #reinvention #storybehindhersuccess #womeninmedia #realestate
Have you ever wondered what it takes to be a critical care nurse on a med-flight mission? Welcome to the story of Erica Horan: wife, mother of three, Air Force veteran and registered nurse for Boston MedFlight. Recorded in a hanger at Mansfield Airport, Erica explains that the mission of the non-profit is to take care of very sick people as quickly as possible. She comes to this work with a deep sense of purpose and fulfillment. Her career path began at 18 when she earned her EMT certification, to a degree in nursing, to becoming a commissioned officer in the United States Air Force as a critical care nurse, to serving on the front lines in Afghanistan, to landing her dream job at Boston MedFlight. Twelve hour shifts are seldom slow for any Boston MedFlight’s 4 critical care teams and in this interview, Erica explains that every day is different and you just never know what you are going to get. A black belt karate champion with enough trophies to fill another hanger, this black belt credits her grandmother with teaching her to rely on the strength of her faith, and her karate instructor for teaching her about positive mindset, self-reliance and humility. “Get out of your comfort zone, says Erica. You only have one life, so go for it.” #BostonMedFlight #nursing
Lord, you don’t have to move my mountains, just give me the strength to climb. -Carmen Fields
She may have grown up in a segregated community outside Tulsa, Oklahoma, but Carmen Fields was surrounded by love and encouragement. The daughter of a teacher and a very well-known big band leader, she knew she wanted to write. That love of writing led to a 40 year career as a print and broadcast journalist, a media relations pro and a college professor. In this interview, Carmen and I settled in for a look back at a career that continues to inspire to this day. It was her mother who encouraged Carmen to come to Boston from Oklahoma saying: “You’ve never been East before, why don’t you go ahead to Boston, and just remember, you can always come home if it doesn’t work out.” Well, it did work out and Carmen has both passion and perseverance to thank for her success. As a black female reporter on the City Desk at the Boston Globe, there were neighborhoods she was afraid to go into during the Boston busing crisis. Yet, as Carmen says: “those old men in the newsroom with their cigars and off color jokes took me under their wing” and she continued to grow as a print journalist. Her career story includes her experience as a TV anchor, her stint as a press secretary to the Suffolk County District Attorney, her public relations roles at the United Way and National Grid her love of teaching at Boston University and her long running public affairs program on WHDH called Higher Ground. When it comes to the responsibilities of a journalist, Carmen Fields is clear: “I still look at journalism as the first draft of history. And I still look at journalist’s role as a responsibility to give the facts and some of the context and background and yes, even get both sides of the story.” For a look at a career worth emulating, hit that download button. #womeninmedia #storybehindhersuccess #journalism
I’ve been through an alphabet of tragedies and trials and I’m still here. – Naomi Judd
Recorded on Naomi Judd’s 500 acre farm in Leiper’s Fork, Tennessee, this interview takes you through Naomi’s life, including the birth of daughter Wynonna on her high school graduation night, a job as a receptionist for The Fifth Dimension in Los Angeles, and a mountaintop home in Kentucky where there was no heat, no phone and no TV. While she studied to be a nurse, the family lived on welfare and Naomi traded her prized buck knife to buy Wynonna her first guitar. After receiving her nursing degree, Naomi moved the family to Nashville where she was the head nurse in an ICU. When she learned that the father of one of her patients was in the record business, Naomi got up the courage to hand him a homemade cassette tape of she and Wynonna singing. Brent Mayer was blown away by what he heard an arranged for an audition at RCA records. The Judds were signed to a record deal that would catapult them into country music history as the most commercially successful duo of the 1980’s with 25 singles, 14 number 1 songs, 8 CMA’s, 5 Grammy Awards, and 20 million + records sold. From Naomi’s songwriting technique to her determination to beat Hepatitis C, this interview is an essay in perseverance. For a deep dive into the soul of a country music icon, hit that download button and please, leave a review!
In those first few days of his life, I realized that I wasn’t going to change anything about Jonathan, but I was going to change the world for him. -Jo Ann Simons
She remembers everything getting really quiet in the delivery room just moments after her son Jonathan was born. It was May, 1979 and Jo Ann Simons was 26 years old. Her pregnancy had been textbook…no surprises, until this moment. About 4 hours later, she and her husband heard the words: “your baby has Down syndrome.” At that time, services for families with disabled children were either minimal, or non-existent so Jo Ann Simons decided to change all that. Armed with a Masters in Social Work, she did not see a world that she wanted for her son, so she set out to build one for him and for others with developmental disabilities. If you ask her, she’ll tell you: “I didn’t choose this career, it chose me”. Now the President & CEO of Northeast Arc, Jo Ann is considered both a trailblazer and a champion to the 15,000 people in 190 communities her organization serves. Northeast Arc is leading the way in innovative ideas designed to help people with developmental disabilities become part of the communities where they live including the creation of a coffee shop called “Breaking Grounds” which serves as a training ground for people with disabilities who are interested in working in the food service industry. A few years ago, Jo Ann launched “Arc Tank” with a 1 million dollar donation and in 2020, she spearheaded her largest project to date: negotiating a lease for 26,000 square feet of highly visible space in the heart of the Liberty Tree Mall which will become the new home of The Linking Lives Center and Northeast Arc. A member of the Massachusetts Governor’s Commission on People with Developmental & Intellectual Disabilities and the Autism Commission, Jo Ann lives by the credo: “I want to leave this world a little better than I found it.” Download this inspiring story for a gigantic dose of grit, gratitude and wisdom. #storybehindhersuccess #northeastarc #disabilities
Dating is like real estate; the longer you’re on the market, the more people are going to wonder what’s wrong with you! -Holly Parker
Meet New York City real estate powerhouse Holly Parker. One of Manhattan’s most successful and experienced brokers, Holly is with Douglas Elliman, NYC’s premiere luxury residential brokerage. With nearly 8 billion in sales, this exceptional woman is a force to be reckoned with. Holly has been selling high-end properties for 20 years and along the way she has figured out that real estate is a lot like life, and life is a lot like real estate. In fact, there are a ton of similarities between an impulse buy of a house unseen and jumping into a marriage too quickly! After 7 years of marriage, Holly found herself “falling out of contract” and dreaded being a newly divorced woman who was “back on the market”. This experience inspired her to write her first book, aptly named: back on the market: A Realtor’s Guide to Love and Life. In this interview, Holly shares the pain of her divorce, the triumph of her second marriage, and the secrets to being a real estate superstar. Her story about welcoming twin sons into her life via surrogate is priceless, and her advice about how to overcome obstacles and what success means to her will inspire you. After all these years of selling real estate, Holly Parker has come to a simple realization: love is what makes a home. Get to know more about Holly and join me for an honest and entertaining 24 minutes by hitting that download button. #realtor #storybehindhersuccess #thehollyparkerteam
Do you ever wonder if you’re too old to pursue your dreams? Today’s guest believes that age is just a number. Born and raised outside of Boston, Jodi had a real knack for acting as a child. She recalls joining hundreds of young girls and boys auditioning for a role in a traveling production of the Broadway smash “The King & I” starring Yul Brynner. Jodi was over the moon when she was offered a role and devastated when her parents told her that school must come first. Years went by and she nurtured her love of acting by playing the piano and appearing in community theatre. Jodi married and had three sons. As a young mom, she decided that having a business of her own would not only be exciting, but financially rewarding so she founded Nobscot Supply Company in 1998 and became certified as a Women Business Enterprise and a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise. Now a well known and respected supplier of disposable safety and cleaning items, Nobscot Supply Company www.nobscotonline.com has taken on greater responsibility during the Covid-19 pandemic. But it was her decision to finally scratch that acting itch that brings new meaning to this interview. Jodi’s “ah-ha” moment came when she started filling in as a fitness instructor at Longfellow Health Club in Natick, MA. and the performer deep inside was on full display. Jodi started taking courses at Boston Casting www.bostoncasting.com and began building up her acting portfolio. Today, she has dozens of commercials and film credits to her name. And if you happen to see a woman in your social feed playing the piano as part of the Piano in a Flash worldwide promotion, that’s Jodi Hemmer! She’s loving every minute of this new and exciting chapter in her life and has plenty of advice for anyone who wants to take a similar leap of faith. For an “I can do it” attitude adjustment, just hit that download button! #storybehindhersuccess #16LifeLessons #covid19 #reinvention
I knew nothing about children’s books, or children’s characters, or the entertainment industry, or anything. But I knew this was meant to be. -Sheila Duncan
It all started one day in 2006 when Sheila was spending time with her twelve year old niece, Kendra who had experienced a series of losses. First, her father passed away, then her grandmother “Nonnie” died of cancer, and finally, the family dog, Irish died as well. Through her tears, Kendra looked up at the TV and saw a telethon about children with cancer. She drew a picture of a small grey puppy and said: “His name’s “Trouble” and he’s gonna help kids having trouble in their lives”. Sheila remembers believing very deeply that something “divinely inspired” happened that day. The story line and the concept for the popular “Trouble The Dog” children’s book series was hatched and Sheila became the force that carried her niece’s compassion forward to the world. And it hasn’t been easy! In this interview, Sheila talks about what it takes to breathe life into an idea. With experience in the restaurant and the travel industries, she tapped into her inner-entrepreneur, figuring out how to break into the children’s book market with the first two books in the Trouble The Dog series, and then, how to manufacture a huggable plush toy by the same name, made in the USA. www.troublethedog.net. Throughout this interview, Sheila talks about the value of persistence, even when no one believes in your idea: “I listened to my intuition and to what the kids were saying to me. It was like there was a big foot in my back, propelling me forward. I just kept on going.” Trouble The Dog has given comfort to children in foster care who receive him as part of their therapy. He has traveled to Haiti after the earthquake, and to Newtown, Connecticut where he comforted children directly affected by the shootings at Sandy Hook. And it’s not just children who feel his love. Trouble has even helped wounded soldiers at Walter Reed cope with their injuries. With the upcoming release of a third book in the Trouble The Dog series, Sheila and Kendra’s mission to bring Trouble’s message to the world keeps on going. Says Sheila: “There’s something enchanting about this pup called Trouble. He comforts kids. Our next step is to bring Trouble to life on your TV screen as a meaningful cartoon series!” #hope #troublethedog