Carol knows how to throw a badass party! And her parties raise millions for Indianapolis nonprofit organizations. In this episode, we talked about her career - including working at Motorola executing their sponsorships of Vans Warped Tour, X Games and their motorsports sponsorship of Michael Andretti. In 2018, she directed the Universal Studios UK Movie Premiere “Born Racer” held at Indianapolis State Museum. She directed the Premiere and coordinated the pre-event cocktail reception, red carpet, media, and photo opportunities with Universal Studios. One year later, she planned and managed a press conference and trailer premiere for the “Ford vs. Ferrari” movie, attended by Academy Award-winning actors Matt Damon and Christian Bale, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. She has an amazing career, but her favorite job is being a mother to three strong and resilient girls.

We talked about feeling vulnerable, finding joy, the things that really matter to her, and what has led to her success. Tune in to hear about Carol's friend Ashley Judd and the "crappy" ending for her first pair of designer sunglasses.

Learn more about Rev: https://revindy.org/

This badass woman has been traveling the world on a motorcycle with her husband and their 75-pound German Shepherd, Moxie. Unfortunately, since the time that we interviewed her, tragedy has struck. Her husband was in a terrible accident (he survived) and their beloved dog died following complications resulting from an ordinary knee surgery. As you can imagine, Jess is gutted and heartbroken.

After much consideration, we decided to move forward with posting this episode, as scheduled, because Jess Stone is an incredible woman and we want to celebrate her, while honoring Moxie!

Jess is an adventurer, entrepreneur, philanthropist, wife, dog mom, content creator, and so much more. Originally from Canada, Jess talks with us about growing up, meeting her now husband in Africa where they were both aid workers, learning to ride a motorcycle on the side streets of Liberia, and more. She's traveled across nearly 90 countries, including an eight-month long trip on her motorcycle from North to South America. Her latest adventure includes traveling the world and raising $100,000 for Girl Up - a girl-centered leadership development initiative. She talks with us about the GoRUFFLY Around the World adventure and moving to Guatemala and supporting a women’s microfinance nonprofit.

While our hearts our broken for the loss of Moxie, we're inspired by Jess and her beautiful spirit.

They are streaming live on Instagram on Wednesday, April 19 at 9pm Eastern / 6pm Pacific, where they will share more about Greg’s motorcycle accident with a chicken bus, the injury that proceeded Moxie’s surgery, and the unfortunate complications that resulted in her death.

Fletcher has fully transitioned from female to gender nonconforming and talks about that journey in this episode. Although they are still learning about who they are, therapy and the undying love of their chosen family has helped them find their purpose and grow into the person they are today. It wasn't easy. Fletcher grew up stifled in a very religious family and never felt safe at home to talk and explore their thoughts and feelings. It wasn't until the pandemic gave them time to explore who they were that Fletcher made some life-altering changes.

Today, with two Master's Degrees in hand, Fletcher has found purpose in helping young people choose their path - not the path chosen for them. Fletcher works as the Young Transgender Persons HIV Prevention Program Manager for the Damien Center (the largest Aids Serving Organization in the state of Indiana – a nonprofit that provides services to more than 25% of all individuals living with HIV in the state). They have also found great love with their girlfriend and is living their authentic badass life.

Fletcher took us through a rainbow of emotions in this episode. Find out how Fletcher found the support to grow, love and to be loved. Hear about their greatest challenges through this journey. And join us love on Fletcher who went from never feeling worthy to now being a servant leader and everyone's biggest cheerleader.

These two badass women are bound by wine, a sense of adventure, a strong community, and their interest in helping women get out and enjoy the outdoors! They're event planners who both love the outdoors and being active. They started a new company during COVID when they found a gap in the market for a service they new they could provide. Staying true to themselves and committed to growing Trail & Vine, they are drawn by the excitement of the unknown and the adventures ahead. 

Badasses Lisa Almert and Kirsten Peterson join us to talk about how and why they created Trail and Vine, their challenges and successes, and what the future holds for their new adventure company. They talk about the event side of their business and how they're building a community of like-minded individuals who enjoy a good hike and a great glass of wine. 

Watch for upcoming events and episodes with Trail & Vine at @trailandvine (IG) and @trailvine (FB)! Find out more information on their website: www.trailandvine.com

After learning to manage her disease of alcoholism, Stephanie is living a life where she can show others that there is life after addiction. She hit rock bottom. She was trapped in a loveless marriage that ended in divorce. As her drinking escalated, her health declined. She lost her business and nearly lost her life. Her nights (and days) of drinking took a serious toll on her body, showing up in life-threatening seizures. 

She overcame. Today she's sober, happy and healthy. Her sobriety taught her she didn't need a lot. "You just need to be sober and you need to love yourself." 

Stephanie describes herself as resilient, empathetic and fierce. We describe her as a badass. In this episode, Stephanie talks about the help she received at Dove Recovery House and the challenges of learning to manage her disease of alcoholism. She talks about her road to recovery, what led to her success, and her new career giving back to other women at Dove House. 

Learn more about Dove Recovery House: https://doverecoveryhouse.org/

Read more about Stephanie's story: https://doverecoveryhouse.org/dove-opens-doors-stephanies-story/

She's an established Patient Voice Advocate with 20 years+ biotechnology experience (a woman with a badass career) ... a wife, mom of two adult kids, foster mom to more than 80 children in emergency situations, and an advocate for important causes. Last year she testified before both the House and Senate opposing Senate Bill 2 (in her words: "a half-assed attempt to placate the public after stripping women of bodily autonomy"). The Senate bills aimed to address expected rise in unwanted pregnancies. Allie spends much of her time and energy advocating for children and their families who are in the state’s care. She has submitted proposals for conferences and was selected to present at the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN) Congress in Muscat, Oman. She told us she will never let what she cannot do stop her from doing what she can.

When she started volunteering her home for emergency short-term foster care in 2017, she and her husband had hoped to just provide temporary shelter for children in central Indiana who needed help. She has answered calls to host a child at 3 AM “because their only other alternative is to sleep on the DCS office floor.” She has loved and cared for a malnourished 1-year-old who only weighed 11 pounds, a spunky preteen (and her doll, Malachi), 3 infants who were surrendered at “safe haven” locations, where no questions are asked, a young boy with cancer, and so many more. In total, Allie and her husband have housed 79 kids for anywhere from one night to several months.

She talks about her advocacy work, being a foster parent, feeling vulnerable, and so much more in this episode.  She also encourages listeners to get involved (a message we thought was important to share here):  "We must create space for people to contribute in unique ways that connect to their strengths. I often say that not every home is set up to host a child, but EVERYONE can do something. Send a foster family a meal, pass along outgrown winter coats and boots. $21/day does not begin to cover the cost of raising a child. I fancy myself an “aggregator of goodwill.” I seek to match needs and resources. We all have connections, and all can contribute to the solution." 

She’s originally from Tennessee, loves country music and cowboy boots, a foodie who loves barbeque and southern cookin’. She's a former Emmy-nominated TV News personality whose career landed her in Florida, where she fell in love with the water and her husband. Meet Emily Crews (those of us in Indianapolis remember her as Emily Kinzer). After dedicating the last decade to featuring impactful news stories about local communities, she's now documenting her travels and telling the stories of the people she meets along the way.

Together with her husband, Cole, they are The Adventure Crews. They're on a mission to capture the world through the lens of their camera and take as many people with them on their journey. They believe life is short and the time is always NOW. And everyone and everything has a story to share. Emily is sharing her story on a blog, YouTube ... and we're excited that she spent time with us on Badassery Life. 

In this episode, Emily talks about her career, her adventures (from shipwrecks to swimming with sharks; the Florida Python Challenge and everything in between), Ocean-to-Table, how this lifestyle'/business is sustainable, and more. 

Emily is living her badassery life. She and her travels are pretty badass! 

Follow Emily: instagram.com/theemilykinzer/

https://theadventurecrews.com/

Click here for their YouTube Channel

This badass woman has overcome so much - so much that we had to double/triple check our facts before we started the interview. She shared with us that she has overcome divorce, a blended family with 5 children, including an oppositional defiant child, a child with autism, a child with a severe congenital heart defect who endured 4 open heart and 13 other surgeries, court battles, having a restraining order violated 19 times, a child who was assaulted by an adult at a children’s museum, a child who was abused, a child who was strangled, and by far her most difficult challenge ever – having a child who drowned. 

Yet, she has overcome all of that (and more) and is thriving as the president of the Alex and Ali Foundation, a local nonprofit that empowers people with disabilities through meaningful employment opportunities. She's also a keynote speaker and advocate for children and adults with disabilities and a faith-based speaker focused on taking the next right step and keeping hope in the midst of hardship and suffering.

You'll have to listen to her story yourself to know why we think she's such a badass! 

Links we talked about in this episode: 

The Alex and Ali Foundation: https://www.thealexandalifoundation.com/

Happy Hounds: https://www.thealexandalifoundation.com/happy-hounds

The Hope Gallery: https://www.thealexandalifoundation.com/the-hope-gallery

Regina is a badass culinary trailblazer. She’s a five-time James Beard Foundation Award Semifinalist and a true pioneer in the farm-to-table movement in the Midwest. She's a world-cuisine connoisseur and a culinary gem in Indianapolis. She's the former owner of R Bistro and R2GO. Indianapolis was heartbroken when she shut down her restaurants, but she's still living in the city and we caught up with her. In this episode, Regina talks with us about her career, the travels that influenced her culinary style and tastes, her challenges and successes, what brings her happiness, and so much more. She also shared advice for young chefs. 

Regina said she's living her badassery life because she's teaching and sharing her knowledge of Culinary Arts with young students at the beginning of their life in food. Not only was it a thrill to talk with her, but afterwards she shared her cherished Sticky Toffee Pudding recipe with us (probably because Kelly couldn't stop talking about it during the interview). 

Sarah is a girl from Indy's eastside who decided 20 years into the restaurant industry that it was time to fully go after her dreams. In the midst of COVID, she took on her photography career full-time and started putting energy into her non-profit Re-Generation Indy. In this episode, she talks about the sexual abuse she endured as a child and how she overcame that and started to heal by opening up to women about her past trauma. Today, she's created a badass sisterhood of like-minded souls who have taken the leap of being weirdly vulnerable in order to promote personal and collective growth. We talk about her past, her current projects, her successes and challenges, what makes her happy, and her greatest gift.  

Sarah describes herself as determined, compassionate and goofy. Others describe her as honest, inspiring and hilarious. We describe her as a badass! Check out her episode. Support her nonprofit (regenerationindy.com). Follow her on social. She's an inspiration and incredibly talented!

instagram.com/everythingbouty

facebook.com/sarah.boutwell.73

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