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If they didn’t let me in the front door, I was going to climb up the cellar stairs. -Sandra Goroff

Sandy Goroff has spent 40 years shouting about her clients from the rooftops. In this interview, we turn the tables to talk about her incredible career as a publicist and photographer and the result is a tutorial on how to do it right. Sandy specializes in authors and their books, art, lifestyles, design and architecture, movies and museums. With plenty of chutzpah and little experience, she landed her first job as a publicist telling the story of Boston’s sidewalk artist known as “Sidewalk Sam”. Says Sandy: “The fact that I had no experience in the beginning of my career made me work and try that much harder.” Her next stop was the big time at Houghton Mifflin where she worked with A-listers like President Jimmy Carter and First Lady Rosalyn Carter, world-renowned anthropologist Jane Goodall, Hollywood celebrities and children’s book authors Maurice Sendak and Margret Rey of Curious George fame. Born with an eye and an ear for a great story, Sandy worked with unknowns whose stories were so compelling, she took them on against all odds, selling millions of books along the way. A true believer in the power of relationships, Sandy created connections with every major network show and producer so that her clients got the best exposure. Her favorite connection was formed in 1986 when she worked on a book by Steven Callahan called Adrift: 76 Days Lost At Sea. Today, the book is about to be launched as a documentary, with Sandy credited as Unit Publicist and Associate Producer of the movie. www.76days.net. On a mission to bring the stories of others into the spotlight, in this interview, we learn that Sandra Goroff has a powerful story of her own to tell. www.sandragoroff.com. #storybehindhersuccess #pubicity #PR

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I don’t really believe in obstacles. If there’s a wall, you get on top of it and start dancing -Elin Schran

Meet Elin Schran, Founder of Joy Skate Productions: joyskateproductions.com. She’s passionate about making ice skating accessible to all and spends her days bringing specially designed camps and clinics to rinks that accommodate skaters of every age and every ability, including adaptive/therapeutic skating clinics. For this exceptional woman, ice skating= joy. You see,
Elin is the daughter of Olympic Figure Skating Champion Tenley Albright who was the five-time National Champion, two-time World Champion, Silver Medalist at the 1952 Olympics in Oslo, Norway and the Gold Medalist at the Olympics in Cortina, Italy in 1956. In this interview, we hear Tenley’s inspiring story through her daughter’s loving eyes and learn that Elin was never pressured into figure skating. It’s just a sport she couldn’t resist. She loves the twirling, the precision, the feeling of freedom and act of flying through the air and it is this joy that she hopes to bring to others through Joy Skate Productions. Now a mother herself, Elin shares her experiences on the ice as a member of Dorothy Hamill’s Ice Capades, as the Founder of Boston Ice Theatre and co-founder of Frozen Frog Productions. She believes in manifesting your dreams and goals, which is something her mother taught her when she was growing up: “Put it out into the ether. Let it be, visualize it, and it’s going to happen.” In this episode, we come to know Elin as a woman who has spent her life on the ice, while shining her own light, crafting her own unique skating story. For 23 minutes of joy and inspiration on ice, just hit that download button! #joyskateproductions #storybehindhersuccess #figureskating

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When you have a child with a heart defect, you live with fear every day. And yet, you have to live your life and you have to lean into hope. -Diane Pickles

Diane Pickles admits that a little voice inside her head thought something might be wrong with the unborn child she was carrying. The year was 1994 and she and her husband William had a healthy three year old son at home when an ultrasound revealed that their baby had Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, meaning that he had half a heart. Doctors suggested a late term abortion, but that was not an option for the couple. Instead: they picked option 2: a series of experimental surgeries which up until then, had shown little success. Today, their son Jake is 27, making him one of the oldest patients with this heart defect in the world. Diane has made it her life’s mission to assist and educate heart families and to forward research that maps genomes which cause congenital heart defects. The Program Director of Project Singular at Additional Ventures, she has also worked tirelessly for the American Heart Association, was appointed to the board of the Directors of the American Board of Pediatrics, and was a key player in successfully passing legislation to end smoking in restaurants. In this interview, Diane opens her heart to talk about what it’s like to lovingly raise a child with only half a heart. Born and raised in faith, Diane follows her father’s 10 Guidelines for Life which he wrote on his 70th birthday. Her favorite is #10: Share your gifts, be heard, give back. Says Diane: I have always believed that if I can make this path easier for someone else, I’m gonna do it. For 23 minutes of inspiration, just hit that download button. #heartdefects #specialneedschildren #humangenomes

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I look at everyone on my team as a colleague. We’re all women, we’re all tough and we care. -Christine Buckley

If you’ve ever had a really bad headache, the worst kind of headache that keeps you up at night and just won’t quit, keep listening because this episode just might save your life. All too often, severe headaches for women between the ages of 35-60 are all too often explained away as stress or misdiagnosed as migraines when they could be a sign of a brain aneurysm. Meet Christine Buckley, Executive Director of the Brain Aneurysm Foundation: www.bafound.org. Originally a volunteer for the organization, Christine has been running the charity for 16 years with humility, purpose and passion. In this interview, she shares the Brain Aneurysm Foundation’s “Scan to Save” Campaign including the 5 warning signs of a brain aneurysm: severe localized headache, nausea/vomiting, stiff neck, drooping eyelid, sensitivity to light and confusion. For a tutorial on how to recognize and act quickly on these symptoms, along with the inspiring career of an exceptional woman who is devoted to the health and service of others, just hit that download button. #brainaneurysmfoundation #womeninhealthcare #storybehindhersuccess

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Work hard, play hard, enjoy every day and THINK BIG. -Candy Costas

Get ready for a personal and career story that plays out like a roller coaster ride! In the spotlight, Candy Costas, RN. She’s the President & Co-Owner of Privatus, a private, upscale nursing company with 500 employees that spans five states and counting www.privatuscare.com. What we will learn in this story is that running a nursing company was never part of Candy’s plan. The decision was the result of a personal crisis that took her completely by surprise, rearranging her life in ways she never could have imagined. Like so many of the women who have shared their stories on this show, Candy got brave. Instead of wallowing in her grief, she stood on her own two feet and used her talents as a nurse and a skilled salesperson to create her next big chapter. Today, her personal life brings her great joy and so does her career, which is on fire. Check out her website: www.candycostas.com for a taste of Candy’s personal style. Follow Candy on Instagram: @candy_costas_style and find out what makes this outgoing 64 year old sparkle and shine 24/7. For any woman facing the loss of a marriage due to betrayal, this episode is the shot of confidence you need to step into your power and reclaim your life on your terms. #womanpower #nursing #fashion #style

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What makes us different is that we lead with kindness. We lead with relationships first, and the business comes organically and naturally. -Melissa Gilbo & Amy Pocsik

In the spotlight, two moms who were invited by a colleague to meet for coffee. That meeting would change Melissa Gilbo and Amy Pocsik’s lives because as they spoke and compared notes about their business careers, they realized what they lacked: a place at the table, a network of support, a community that would lift them up, and which they in turn could nurture and grow as well. It wasn’t long before they started meeting regularly and in 2018 Co-Founded the Women’s Business League www.womensbusinessleague.com which started out with 5 local chapters and and in just a few years has grown to 45 chapters nationwide. In this interview, the two discuss how they structured the organization based on kindness and connection, managed to inspire their members and grow during the pandemic, and that serving other women sets their hearts on fire. For a dose of keen business smarts and woman-power, hit that download button and please leave us a review.

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Every day is a chance to make the world a more beautiful place. -Tanya Holton

The Arnold Arboretum is a treasure to Boston. Established in 1872 it encompasses 281 acres of land owned by Harvard University in an area of Boston called Jamaica Plain. The Arnold Arboretum is filled with 15,500 individual plants and is a benchmark for similar institutions all across North America. In this interview, we meet Tanya Holton, Director of Institutional Advancement. It is her mission to keep this urban paradise top of min, so that donors will fund it and the public can continue to enjoy the Arboretum in all its glory, free of charge. Tanya is also a champion for women in horticulture and has spent most of her career in the non-profit space. She’s also the treasurer of the National MALS Foundation (we’ll find out why she is connected to this disease that affects women more than men in this interview) and in her spare time, does research on women and education in the 19th century. Sound interesting? Hit that download button. #arnoldarboretum #womeninhorticulture #storybehindhersuccess

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Our children are borrowed. They are not ours. It is our duty, our role, our most important thing to empower them and raise them right. -Katie Wood

The woman you are about to meet was a guest on The Story Behind Her Success in the summer of 2019. When we recorded her story, she was expecting her 4th child and that episode continues to be one of our most downloaded shows. The community of women who admire Katie Wood and consider her a wise coach and role model is quite stunning. A former school teacher, Katie has devoted her career to helping women reach their full potential through her vibrant social media presence, robust website: www.katielwood.com and inspiring public speaking platform. When Covid-19 caused families to go into lockdown in March of 2020, Katie joined millions of parents struggling to home school their children. The proud wife of a local firefighter and paramedic, Katie also endured the extra worry for her husband’s safety while he was on the front lines, providing treatment to patients on their way to emergency rooms. When Kate’s daughter saw her meditating one morning, she said “can you teach me how to have great mornings, too?” and in that moment, Kate’s next big project was hatched. She created A Simple Seed of Growth, Gratitude & Giggles. www.simpleseedjournal.com. Filled with 100 life lessons, the book is a 5 minute morning journal for kids. Recorded in Katie’s kitchen as her two year old son, Andrew played outside with his Dad, this breakthrough book might be exactly what you child needs to find peace, confidence and a new understanding that adversity can be a great teacher. Says Katie: “The goal of this journal is to bring families together, to connect them through beautiful conversations.” #podcast #thestorybehindhersuccess #asimpleseedjournal #gratitude

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I have created for other women what I know I needed, which is a platform to be seen and to be heard and to be celebrated for being just who you are. -Kristie Dean

We all know what it means to receive healing from medicine, but how do you mend a broken heart? How do you heal your soul? Enter Kristie Dean. The mother of three young girls and a gifted photographer, it wasn’t that long ago when she was sitting in a parking lot in tears, feeling like she had lost her way. Now the Founder & Director of The Soul Project in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, she is thriving in a community she created that inspires her and so many women, every single day. What started as a safe place where women could come together to tell their stories of struggle, triumph and hope has now expanded to include adolescent workshops and partnerships with survivor led organizations, all working in symphony to heal and empower women once caught up in prostitution and sex trafficking. The Soul Project also extends its heart and hands to widows, widowers and children who have lost a parent. Says Kristie: “Souls hang on to pain. We’re giving women a safe platform so that they can release that shame and pain and move on into their most empowered selves.”

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Bad things can happen. Good things can happen. But how do you conduct yourself and I don’t mean putting on a facade. How do you take care of you? -Tara West

Childhood trauma can linger for a lifetime. It can kill your self-confidence, leaving you to wonder if you are worth it. Or, it can ignite a fire, deep down inside and propel you to break free. Welcome to the life of Tara West www.tarawestfashion.com. Today, she is one of the nation’s most successful stylists and fashion bloggers, but it wasn’t so long ago that she was cleaning up broken, bloodly glass off the floor, calling 911, and trying to rescue her alcoholic mother from her self-destructive behavior. In truth, things got so bad that Tara ran for her life one night and never looked back. Buoyed by the love of her grandmother, her uncle and her 3rd grade teacher, she knew that she was an innocent child and that both her mother and her father had failed miserably as parents. In this interview, Tara speaks openly about a childhood that could have scared her forever. She chronicles how she broke free from her mother, how she made her way in life despite the odds, how she loves being the mother of three, and is enjoying her career as an in-demand stylist, fashionista and podcaster. Says Tara: “Don’t wait for opportunity. Create opportunity. “ #fashion #stylist #fashionblogger