Dana Siegal -063

April 2, 2019 ~ Dan Thibeault

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Meet a woman who has taken her skills and talents in the healthcare field and married them to her lifetime love of the arts and the fight against cancer. Dana Siegal is a wife, a mother, an RN, the Director of Patient Safety for CRICO Strategies and the Artistic Director for a non-profit called Voices of Hope. Founded in 2009, Voices of Hope is made up of 200 cast members who have all been impacted by cancer. Together, they sing, and dance, and entertain, all to benefit cancer research. But, as Dana will tell you, Voices of Hope is more than a theatre group, it is a cancer community and her role is to bring out the very best in every person who wants to share their talent. In this inspiring interview, Dana reveals a life story that has included a life-altering MS diagnosis in her 20’s and the decision to stay positive and resilient in the face of loss. A source of strength and hope to so many people, Dana Siegal believes that we can find reason and purpose in everything that happens to us. @danaewensiegal @voicesofhopeboston #storybehindhersuccess #16LifeLessons #mydoveproductions

Sen. Cynthia Stone Creem -062

March 26, 2019March 27, 2019 ~ Dan Thibeault ~ 4 Comments

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Senate Majority leader Cynthia Stone Creem has spent over 30 years in public service. The daughter of two attorneys, she grew up in Brookline, Massachusetts deciding early on that she wanted to follow in her parent’s footsteps. The road to the seat she now occupies has been long and in this very candid interview, Cindy Creem recalls knocking on doors to raise money for her first campaign and being asked the question: “are you tough enough?” Well, the answer is YES. The Story Behind Her Success producer Dan Thibeault and I interviewed the state senator in her office, just steps from the Senate chambers in the iconic gold-domed Massachusetts statehouse. And as we went through security and down the marble hallways, past murals of the American Revolution and sculptures of some of the state’s earliest leaders, I couldn’t help but wonder what this nation’s all-male founders would think of a female majority leader. She is strong, she is passionate, and she is on a mission to make a difference for the next generation of women. @senatorcindycreem #storybehindhersuccess #16LifeLessons #mydoveproductions

Denise Hajjar -061

March 18, 2019 ~ Dan Thibeault

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Welcome to the success story of Denise Hajjar, one of Boston’s most loved and respected fashion designers. The grandchild of a designer from Syria and a pattern maker from Lebanon, Denise started making clothes for her Barbie Dolls when she was a little girl. By the time she was ready to go to fashion design school, she had an entire wardrobe created for herself and for her mother. Known for her generosity toward non-profits, Denise has made giving back a cornerstone of her business with a focus on raising lifesaving funds for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. In this very candid interview, she shares her lifelong love of ballet and ballroom dancing, along with stories of the good times and the bad, like her decision early in her career to buy fabric instead of paying her electric bill! “I’m driven, I’m stubborn and I’m tenacious,” says Denise. “I will always do what it takes to make things happen.” @denisehajjarboston #storybehindhersuccess #16LifeLessons #mydoveproductions

Heather Anne Cook -060

March 11, 2019 ~ Dan Thibeault ~ 2 Comments

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Raised in the backwoods of Montana, completely off the grid, Heather Anne Cook learned the necessary skills to keep herself alive. In this interview, she shares the details of her adventurous life, including the many times she took 3 matches into the woods to see how long she could survive. Now a wife and the mother of twins, Heather is a pastor, a survivalist, a long distance runner, a bee-keeper, a chicken lady, a horsewoman, a gardener, a children’s book author, an illustrator, an international traveler, and the force behind Three Match Creations. Her next adventure is to run the Pacific Northwest Trail which spans 1200 miles through the wilderness, high desert, and coastline. #storybehindhersuccess #16LifeLessons #mydoveproductions

Nancy Gaudet-Aittaniemi -059

March 5, 2019March 5, 2019 ~ thestorybehindhersuccess ~ 1 Comment

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Have you ever heard the expression: “love will find a way?” Meet Nancy Gaudet-Aittaniemi. A very successful senior vice president for a commercial real estate company, Nancy’s success story is not just about climbing the ladder to take on a leadership role in a male-dominated industry. It is about the power of a mother’s love for her child. You see, Nancy’s only child was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at only 9, and his chronic condition led her down a path that has been both terrifying and inspiring. Faced with the decision to stay stuck in her grief and hover over him or to let her son experience life to the fullest, Nancy chose to show Ryan that he could do anything he put his mind to. Now a sophomore in college, Ryan is a seasoned bike enthusiast who has ridden in juvenile diabetes fundraising challenges in the United States and Europe. As the leader of a monthly support group for Type 1 Moms, Nancy has taken other parents by the hand and has been a passionate volunteer and supporter of the JDRF, the leading global organization funding type 1 diabetes. She is currently training to ride in her 4th bike race: the Amelia Island Ride To Cure Diabetes and her coach? You guessed it, Nancy’s son Ryan. #JDRFRide #storybehindhersuccess #16LifeLessons #mydoveproductions

Lauren Birmingham -058

February 25, 2019 ~ Dan Thibeault

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Meet a woman with a fantastic second chapter. For decades Lauren Birmingham has been well known as a top-notch PR pro in the Boston area and beyond. But one day, on a whim, she had an idea. Lauren convinced a friend to fly to Italy with her, just for the weekend. What started as a one-time adventure turned into a love affair with the Amalfi Coast, a unique new business venture called Cooking Vacations Italy, a collaboration with American novelist Elizabeth Berg, a cookbook called It’s A Dream Place- Recipes & Stories of Food, Love and the Amalfi Coast, and a chance meeting with an Italian race car driver named Rino. You’ll have to listen to the podcast to find out what happened next! #storybehindhersuccess #16LifeLessons #mydoveproductions @laurenBirminghamPiscitelli

Women in Film -057

February 19, 2019February 21, 2019 ~ Dan Thibeault

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Welcome to Palm Springs, California…home of movie stars, snow-capped mountains, palm trees, and the Palm Springs International Film Festival. In this episode, we’re focused on women in film including Ruth Caudeli, a young director from Valencia, Spain whose movie Eva & Candela is breaking down barriers about gender, and who we choose to love. A surprise visit from co-star Silvia Varón sheds some light on Ruth’s innate ability to listen to her cast and to bring out the best in each actor’s performance. Cristina Gallego of the movie Birds of Passage shares how it has felt to step into the role of co-director for a film that features strong women and was selected as the Colombian entry for Best Foreign Language film at the upcoming Academy Awards. Cristina’s crime saga has received a score of 91% on Rotten Tomatoes and has been compared to The Godfather and Scarface by movie critics. Finally, with recording equipment in hand, we settle into the offices of Liliana Rodriguez, Director of Programming at the Palm Springs International Film Festival to find out how she turned an early love of horror films into a career that sustains and inspires her every single day. #palmsprings @PSFilmFest #storybehindhersuccess #16LifeLessons #mydoveproductions

Myriam Cyr & Patricia Jamison -056

February 12, 2019 ~ Dan Thibeault

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When we tell our stories, we pass along life lessons and wisdom. The two women you are about to meet believe that the arts provide a unique opportunity to tell stories that matter. Meet Myriam Cyr and Patricia Jamison, two of the four founders of Punctuate4Productions, Inc. on Boston’s North Shore. With a mission to educate, entertain and promote the arts and culture in every form for all ages, not just in Massachusetts, but beyond, Myriam and Patricia are really enjoying this new chapter in their lives. An accomplished actress who has performed alongside A-listers like Al Pacino, Myriam is also a poet laureate and best selling author who has been developing 20 new plays over the last five years. Now a devoted mother whose family comes first, she has made the bold step from actress to director and is loving every single minute of it. Patricia has always loved live performance but is no stranger to acting for TV and film. She put her passion for acting on the back burner to raise her 5 children, and in 2011, returned to her craft with an even greater determination to explore being a producer. In this very personal interview, Myriam and Patricia share their career highlights, their devotion to their children, how they get around obstacles, and their definition of “star power”. @PatriciaPetersonJamison @MyriamCyr @Larcomtheatre @punctuate4 @Punct4P #storybehindhersuccess #16LifeLessons #mydoveproductions

Linda Driscoll -055

February 5, 2019February 6, 2019 ~ Dan Thibeault

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Meet a woman who has made it her life’s work to give. Linda Driscoll has spent her career in leadership roles for organizations like the American Red Cross, Women’s Sports Foundation, the Massachusetts Amateur Sports Foundation, and the Special Olympics. She has also served as Past President of the Board of Directors for the New England Women’s Fund and on the NCAA Boston organizing committee for the Women’s Final Four. And if you see a pattern here, you are correct. Playing sports shaped Linda’s life and she wants to make sure that every girl gets the chance to play sports, too…even if her family can’t afford it. She is the Founder, President & CEO of Dream BIG! a non-profit that provides equipment, athletic footwear, uniforms, program fees, training expenses, and leadership training to girls and young women in low-income situations who want to play sports. Since 2010, Dream BIG! has directly impacted 35,000 girls. Linda’s idea for a non-profit, originally written on a napkin during a conversation in a restaurant is now an example to the world. @LindaDriscoll @Dreambigld #storybehindhersuccess #16LifeLessons #mydoveproductions

Julie Freeman -054

January 28, 2019January 28, 2019 ~ Dan Thibeault

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Meet a woman who believes that during the toughest times in our lives, there is learning, there is growth and there is always hope. I have known Julie Freeman for nearly 20 years and although I heard bits and pieces of her story, I never really knew the extent of it until we sat down for this interview in Palm Springs, California: 3000 miles away from where we first met in Wellesley, Massachusetts. A gifted singer at St. John’s Church, Julie sang like an angel, yet something told me that she had the weight of the world on her shoulders. And she did. Her book Sunflowers, Sapphires & Seraphim: A Story of Healing & Transformation chronicles a life that has been both devastating and triumphant. From an abusive first marriage to the tragic loss of her second husband to a brain injury to single motherhood, a cancer diagnosis and a nervous breakdown for one of her daughters, Julie Freeman is a survivor in the truest sense of the word. Her transformative work as a registered dietician with a focus on eating clean and organic, combined with an understanding of the mind/body connection has fueled another exciting new chapter in her life. Julie is blazing a new trail by blending her nutrition knowledge with the idea of reducing toxin exposure so that we can lower cancer rates and live healthier lives. For this exceptional woman, the road less traveled has led her to exactly where she knows she belongs. juliefreeman.net @feelgreatlookgreatnutrition #storybehindhersuccess #16LifeLessons #mydoveproductions