Amiga, Handle Your Shit

Trigger Warning: This episode includes discussion of sexual harassment and sexual assault, including the guest’s experience of being assaulted at work as a teenager and harassed by a professor. It also covers trauma responses, the Harvey Weinstein case, and a brief mention of sexual violence used as a weapon of war. Please listen with care.

Few things can be as traumatizing as sexual harassment in the workplace, yet plenty of women face it on the daily. Their experiences are often dismissed. And their voices go unheard due to career responsibilities. It’s a scenario and system that Genie Harrison knows all too well and is dedicated to never stopping fighting against.

In this episode of Amiga Handle Your Shit, Jackie sits with Genie Harrison, a women's rights trial lawyer and founder of Genie Harrison Law Firm, for an eye-opening conversation about standing together in the fight against sexual harassment. As a powerhouse lawyer, Genie is no stranger to a tough fight. She’s gone up against some of the biggest lawyers in the industry, worked on several high-profile cases, and has never backed down.

The LA Times said it best: “When you see her in a fight with a bear or worry about the bear." In this conversation, you’ll learn why. She shares the personal experiences that led her to this lane of law and explains how they shaped her as a woman and lawyer. She also touches on two of her big cases and what it meant to get justice for the women other lawyers turned away. The conversation gets emotional when she opens up about her work with Kristen Crowley, the former chief of the LA City Fire Department. She talks to Jackie about the power of voting and the importance of being truly impartial when on the jury.

Women standing up for themselves and for the rights of other women isn't just extraordinary; it’s inspiring, and Genie Harrison is making sure that never goes away.

Episode Takeaways

• Genie’s path into employment law started with her own experiences of harassment, first as a teenage law firm runner and later at Oxford. (02:29)
• Fight, flight, freeze, and the response almost no one talks about: why “fawning” is a survival strategy, not consent. (06:26)
• Genie never planned to run a business. But after three partnerships with men, her husband told her to start her own firm, and she figured it out step by step. (14:43)
• Lawyer after lawyer told a former Weinstein assistant she had no case. Genie heard something different on the phone and got on a plane the next morning. (19:17)
• Inside the retaliation case of former LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley, who keeps showing up for work while she fights in court to keep the record straight. (29:44)

Connect with Genie Harrison

• Instagram
• Website

Let’s Connect!

• Website
• Facebook
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• Jackie Tapia Arbonne website
• Book: The AMIGA Way: Release Cultural Limiting Beliefs to Transform Your Life

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The Boys & Girls Clubs of America is one of the most recognizable organizations. Each location creates fun opportunities for kids and gives parents peace of mind that their children are safe after school and during summer break. But above all, the club is a place for mentorship, where kids can learn lessons that last beyond the school year. It doesn’t come cheap, but as Geovanny Ragsdale knows firsthand, the reward is well worth it.

In this episode of Amiga, Handle Your Shit, Jackie Tapia sits down with Geovanny Ragsdale, certified fundraising executive, president, CEO, and driver of the Boys and Girls Club of the West Valley, to discuss fundraising and mentorship. She’s spent over 25 years leading fundraising initiatives to support higher education and other philanthropic efforts.

Their conversation begins with Geovanny’s incredible journey, from the daughter of immigrant parents to a certified fundraising executive. Growing up in Costa Rica and Los Angeles, she dreamed of seeing the world and, upon graduating, studied abroad in France. Through her travels, she learned about the power of giving back on a larger scale. That seed started her lifelong journey of fundraising.

Geovanny truly has done it all. Today, she shares the biggest moments that shaped her career, from organizing a life-changing fundraiser in India to mentoring a single mom's five kids. It's easy to see why this cause is so special. In her tenure alone, she’s helped the organization grow sustainably, raising over 4 million dollars.

Tune in to episode 298 of Amiga, Handle Your Shit, for an incredible conversation about fundraising on an executive level and how your donation, be it money or time, helps the next generation succeed.

Episode Takeaways

• Growing up between Beverly Hills mansions, a grandmother's farm in Costa Rica, and Atwater Village, and how early travel shaped the way Geovanny sees people. (04:59)
• The professor who changed her idea of business: you create value so you can make a difference (07:51)
• The cow bank project in India, built on ideas from microlending (13:17)
• Geovanny speaks on the nine years building programs across Latin America, including opening new ones in Puerto Rico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and El Salvador (20:27)
• Why the Boys & Girls Club’s 40% growth this year means Geovanny has to raise far more money (33:18)
• The graduation-day conversation with a mother of five club kids that brought Geovanny to tears (37:44)
• Geovanny's advice for handling your shit: put the phone down and live in the moment you're in (46:42)

Resources:

Connect with the Boys & Girls Club

• Boys & Girls Club of the West Valley
• Find a Boys & Girls Club near you

Connect with Geovanny Ragsdale:

• LinkedIn
• Instagram

Connect with

• Website
• Facebook
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• Jackie Tapia Arbonne website
• Book: The AMIGA Way: Release Cultural Limiting Beliefs to Transform Your Life

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Have you ever looked at the life you’ve built and realized that the version of you who created it isn’t the same woman you are today?

As we move through different seasons of life, our bodies, families, careers, and priorities change with us. What once felt manageable can suddenly feel overwhelming, and responsibilities we’ve carried for years may no longer belong on our plate. Giving yourself permission to evolve doesn’t erase everything you’ve accomplished. Sometimes, it simply means recognizing that it’s time to make room for what comes next.

Tune in to this new episode of Amiga, Handle Your Shit, as Jackie and Marisela have an honest conversation about navigating midlife, changing identities, and the responsibilities women carry through different seasons of life. They explore what it means to parent children who are becoming adults while preparing to care for aging parents, the importance of planning for the future, and the cultural expectations that can make asking for help or putting down responsibilities feel like weakness. Jackie and Marisela also reflect on listening to your body, recognizing when something in your life needs to change, leaning on the people around you, and allowing yourself to pursue a new chapter without viewing the one before it as a failure.

Key Takeaways:

✨ You are allowed to outgrow old versions of yourself

✨ Not every responsibility is yours to carry

✨ Listen when your body tells you something needs changing

✨ Prepare intentionally for aging parents and your future

✨ A new chapter doesn’t erase your past success

✨ Choose quality relationships that support your growth

Connect with Marisela Arechiga:

• Instagram
• New Generation Home Improvements Website
• New Generation Home Improvements Instagram

Let's Connect!

• Website
• Facebook
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• Jackie Tapia Arbonne website
• Buy The Amiga Way's Book

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Those survival roles don't just fade away when we grow up; they follow us into our marriages, our careers, and the way we treat ourselves. Veronica Ramos Clark has spent over 30 years helping people unlearn them.

In this episode of Amiga Handle Your Shit, Jackie Tapia sits down with Veronica Ramos Clark, a licensed addictions counselor specializing in alcohol and drug abuse counseling. One of eleven children, she knows a thing or two about feeling invisible. She carried that role, which she calls “the lost child,” into adulthood, and it inspired her soon-to-be-released book, A Fresh Start: Breaking the Cycle.

Their chat begins with a deep dive into Veronica’s childhood as she shares how growing up in an alcoholic home influenced her decision to become a counselor. She’s spent decades studying behavior tendencies and now offers counseling and holistic retreats through her company, A Fresh Start. Their organic conversation leads them into serious topics like the anger many women feel forced to suppress or people-pleasing. Both are common for women without boundaries, and that’s where Veronica says real change should happen. She opens up about the unexpected derecho, a rare hurricane-force windstorm, that brought angry emotions as she grew her business. That natural disaster mirrorerd for the same resilience she teaches, and it led her to a clear understanding of what it takes to survive: you pivot, you adapt, and you find a way to keep showing up for the people who need you.

Tune in to episode 296 of Amiga Handle Your Shit for a powerful conversation on healing, honoring your anger, and setting boundaries. You’ll leave with several mindful tips, the most important being Veronica's G.R.O.W.T.H. framework for taking your life back.

Episode Takeaways:

• The origin story of her book A Fresh Start: Breaking the Cycle and the conversation with Jack Canfield that pushed her to finally write it (3:50)
• How COVID derailed her original writing timeline and what brought her back (5:19)
• Veronica explains the family roles children adopt in dysfunctional homes — the high 
• Why these childhood roles resurface in adult relationships, and how they show up as codependency and people-pleasing (12:15)
• How most of her clients arrive at Fresh Start counseling — not by choice, but by court order, ultimatum, or crisis (13:55)
• Why women are taught to suppress anger, and how learning to feel it is part of healing (18:56)
• Veronica describes surviving the derecho that hit northwest Indiana and how she kept her business running through two weeks without power (24:29)
• Veronica breaks down her G.R.O.W.T.H. framework — Grounding, Release, Own your story, Watch your words, Taking time for compassion, and Honoring your boundaries (31:07)

Resources:

Connect with Veronica Ramos Clark

• Website

Let's Connect!

• Website
• Facebook
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• Jackie Tapia Arbonne website
• Book: The AMIGA Way: Release Cultural Limiting Beliefs to Transform Your Life

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What does it mean to celebrate your heritage while also challenging your community to keep growing?

Hispanic Heritage Month is an opportunity to honor the traditions, values, sacrifices, and accomplishments that have shaped generations of Latinos. But celebrating how far we've come can also mean looking honestly at where there's still room to grow. From family and cultural pride to entrepreneurship, innovation, opportunity, and finding the courage to think differently, this conversation is about embracing everything that makes the Latino community powerful while imagining what comes next.

Tune in to this new episode of Amiga, Handle Your Shit, as Jackie and Marissa celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with an honest conversation about Latino culture, success, and the future of the community. They reflect on the traditions and values they are proud to carry forward, the growth of Latino entrepreneurship, and the challenges entrepreneurs still face when it comes to funding, resources, and creating scalable businesses. They also explore the importance of encouraging the next generation to think bigger, bringing more Latino voices into mainstream spaces, moving beyond narratives centered only on struggle, and creating room for different perspectives within the community. It's a conversation about honoring where we come from while continuing to build, innovate, speak up, and redefine what's possible.

Key Takeaways:

✨ Celebrate the richness and diversity of Hispanic heritage

✨ Latino entrepreneurship is growing and creating lasting impact

✨ Access to capital remains a major challenge

✨ The next generation needs space to innovate

✨ Our stories can acknowledge struggle without staying there

✨ Diversity of thought makes our community stronger

Connect with Marisela Arechiga:

• Instagram
• New Generation Home Improvements Website
• New Generation Home Improvements Instagram

Let's Connect!

• Website
• Facebook
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• Jackie Tapia Arbonne website
• Buy The Amiga Way's Book

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Money, moolah, dinero, or whatever you call it, is essential to our livelihoods. It enables success, gives advantages, and creates growth opportunities. But none of that happens without financial literacy, which many communities lack access to. Yanely Espinal is on a powerful mission to change that. 

In this episode of Amiga Handle Your Shit, Jackie Tapia sits down with Yanely Espinal, financial educator, author, and speaker, for a dynamic conversation about money management and the importance of honing financial literacy at an early age. Yanely explains how growing up with almost no knowledge about money led to $20,000 of credit card debt and a career in financial education. Today she’s not just the author of the money-wise book, Mind Your Money; she’s also advocating for systemic change for students through her work with NextGen Personal Finance.

As a Dominicana raised in a predominantly Black and Latino neighborhood, she grew up with a cash-only mindset. Those early ideas about handling, not managing, money that are common with many immigrant and immigrant-adjacent communities filter into adulthood. Throughout the conversation, Yanely explains how enforcing financial education at an early age sets young adults up for success. She doubles down on the benefits it brings to minority communities whose understanding of money and the financial systems in our country is already behind. 

The most powerful moments are when Yanely talks about NextGen Personal Finance. She shares the work the organization has done with lawmakers to advocate for semester-long financial education courses and proudly highlights that 30 states now require them for graduation. Her efforts remind us of what happens when communities stand up for change and create new narratives for success. 

Tune in to episode 294 of Amiga Handle Your Shit for a lively discussion about money management, financial literacy in underpoverished communities, and tips on how to organize your life for greater wealth.

Episode Takeaways:

• How Yanely’s life as a Domincana born and raised in Brooklyn shaped her initial ideas about money (2:32)
• Why financial education became a gap in Yanely’s Ivy League education and how it led to massive credit card debt (10:15)
• The side hustle that got Yanely out of debt and why she doesn’t recommend that route to everyone struggling with debt (16:14)
• The advice she highly recommends for anyone struggling with money management (17:43)
• Yanely’s path to becoming a financial educator and working with NextGen Personal Finance (21:57)
• The advancements the organization has made with teachers and lawmakers (22:55)
• Yanely explains how real change is made at the state level and talks about the work she and NextGen Personal Finance are doing behind the scenes (25:28)
• Why Yanely calls financial education “the great equalizer,” not the magic wand that solves income inequality (28:56)
• Her favorite tip for understanding money and how it ties into your self-worth (32:52)

Resources:

• Mind Your Money Book
• Next Gen Personal Finance

Connect with Yanely Espinal

• Instagram
• Website
• LinkedIn 

Let’s Connect!

• Website
• Facebook
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• Jackie Tapia Arbonne website
• Book: The AMIGA Way: Release Cultural Limiting Beliefs to Transform Your Life

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Some experiences shape you early, whether you’re ready for them or not. For Monica Guardian, a defining childhood moment became the quiet force behind a lifetime of service. With over two decades of experience in public service, nonprofit leadership, and healthcare, she has developed programs that empower youth, strengthen families, and protect seniors—all rooted in a deep conviction that community care saves lives.

This episode shows what happens when resilience is paired with action. Monica didn’t just pursue a career—she built a purpose. Her story reveals how empathy, persistence, and vision can turn personal trials into a legacy of leadership and impact.

In this episode of Amiga, Handle Your Shit, Monica Guardian opens up about growing up in East Los Angeles, co-founding a youth nonprofit as a teenager, and rising through the ranks of city government to manage multimillion-dollar community programs. She shares her international work on cyber safety, her leadership in healthcare, and the lessons she’s learned about resilience, mentorship, and multiplying leaders.

Monica opens up about starting a youth-led nonprofit as a teenager, running multimillion-dollar programs for the City of Los Angeles, and now shaping senior care as an executive in the healthcare sector. Her story is one of courage, service, and leadership rooted in empathy.

Tune in to episode 246 of Amiga Handle Your Shit if you’ve ever questioned whether you have the strength to keep going. This episode will remind you: not only can you rise, you can transform hardship into impact for generations to come.

Episode Takeaways:

• Monica’s East LA upbringing and the family foundation that shaped her values (02:57)
• How the murder of her brother fueled her lifelong commitment to community service (05:16)
• Founding the East Los Angeles Youth Leadership Council as a teenager (08:12)
• What she learned about persistence while securing $63,000 in funding as a teen activist (09:37)
• Lessons in empathy, leadership, and public service from her time in city government (13:55)
• Her international work on cyber safety in Uruguay (24:06)
• Why building other leaders—not just leading—is the true test of leadership (31:10)
• How she blends family, career, and service while raising five children in a blended household (37:12)
• Monica’s perspective on funding challenges in the nonprofit and health sectors (42:34)
• Her two powerful tips for every Amiga to “handle her shit”: show up for yourself daily and use the to-do list as your compass (45:47)

Connect with Monica Guardian:

• LinkedIn

Let’s Connect!

• Website
• Facebook
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• Jackie Tapia Arbonne's website
• Book: The AMIGA Way: Release Cultural Limiting Beliefs to Transform Your Life

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Technology moves fast, and in the blink of an eye you can get left behind. One minute you're on top of the knowledge heap, running your business like a pro. Then in an instant, everything changes, and you're playing catch-up just to stay afloat. That’s the exact scenario Jackie Tapia wants to help the Latin community avoid. 

In this episode of Amiga Handle Your Shit, Jackie continues the conversation about AI and how proper use of programs like Claude can be a strong asset for your company. She shares her experiences, including how she uses the program for daily planning, podcasting, and managing her employees. She even breaks down the money, sharing the benefits of the different plans.  The takeaway? “Don’t be a late adopter.” Business as we know it is changing, and Jackie isn’t gatekeeping the secrets to her success. 

Even better? She explains that every amiga, whether you’re a podcaster, realtor, or small business owner, can benefit from it. 

Tune in to episode 292 of Amiga Handle Your Shit for a witty and candid conversation about evolving with Claude and staying ahead of the curve.

• Why AI has been a game-changer for Jackie and the nitty-gritty details that kept her learning more. (01:36)
• The simple prompts she used to boost her business brain and productivity. (4:24)
• The major lessons she didn’t expect to learn, but was grateful for when diving deeper into the programs. (6:28)
• How to determine which AI plan best fits your personal and company needs. (9:58)
• Jackie’s official pitch, explaining why every amiga can benefit from AI and how to equip yourself with the tools. (16:50)

Let’s Connect!

• Website
• Facebook
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• Jackie Tapia Arbonne website
• Book: The AMIGA Way: Release Cultural Limiting Beliefs to Transform Your Life

Sign Up For The Course: Automate to Accelerate Fall 2026 

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Picture this: you're standing in Monaco in 90-degree heat, sweat dripping, suitcase in hand, and the taxis your AI-built itinerary promised would be waiting simply aren't there. That's the moment Jackie Tapia realized even the smartest tools can plan a trip, but they can't read a room, feel the heat, or know how many humans are actually around to help you.

In this episode of Amiga Handle Your Shit, Jackie takes us into her France trip recap, this time from the south: Monaco, Cannes, and Saint-Tropez, where the joy and the chaos both showed up in equal measure. She gets real about using Claude to build her itinerary and everything it got right, alongside the very human gaps it couldn't fill: no taxis waiting, no sunbed reservations, no one to walk her tired kid to the right platform.

This one is for every amiga building a business, a brand, or a life with AI in her toolkit. Jackie's lesson is simple but important: let technology organize, draft, and structure, but never hand it the parts of life that only a human being can hold.

Tune in to episode 291 of Amiga Handle Your Shit for a candid, funny, and honest reminder that when in doubt, humans come first, and technology comes second.

• Why Jackie's AI-built itinerary promised taxis in Monaco that never actually showed up, and the sweaty, frustrating lesson that came with it (01:13)
• The real difference between what AI can plan versus what only a human being can execute in the moment (03:00)
• Why sun bed reservations in Saint-Tropez were impossible to lock down through AI, and what Jackie did instead (06:30)
• How having an actual human handle reservations in Cannes made that leg of the trip the smoothest of them all (11:00)
• Jackie's grounding reminder for every amiga leaning on AI in her business: humans first, technology second (13:00)

Let’s Connect!

• Website
• Facebook
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• Jackie Tapia Arbonne website
• Book: The AMIGA Way: Release Cultural Limiting Beliefs to Transform Your Life

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Have you ever returned to a place years later only to realize that the biggest transformation wasn't the destination, it was you?

Travel has a way of revealing more than beautiful landscapes and unforgettable moments. Sometimes it holds up a mirror, reminding us of how much we've grown, the choices that shaped us, and the unexpected ways God weaves every season of our lives together. In this heartfelt episode, Jackie reflects on a trip to Paris that became much more than a vacation. It became a lesson in perspective, purpose, and trusting the divine unfolding of life's journey.

Tune in to this new episode of Amiga, Handle Your Shit, as Jackie shares the personal and spiritual lessons she brought home from her recent trip to Paris and the South of France. Looking back on her first visit as a backpacking law student over two decades ago, she reflects on how both she and the city have changed over time. From observing cultural shifts and embracing new perspectives to experiencing a powerful moment of synchronicity through a language she chose to study years ago, Jackie explores how seemingly small decisions can shape our future in ways we never expect. This episode is a reminder to trust God's timing, embrace change with an open heart, and believe that the seeds you plant today may bloom years from now.

Key Takeaways:

✨ Growth changes how you experience familiar places

✨ Small decisions can shape your future

✨ Trust the divine unfolding of your journey

✨ Stay open to unexpected lessons

✨ Every season prepares you for the next

✨ The seeds you plant today will bloom in time

Let's Connect!

• Website
• Facebook
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• Jackie Tapia Arbonne website
• Buy The Amiga Way's Book

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.