Confident

Whether we’re talking about the fear of failure or anything else holding you back, confidence is the key to unleashing your power. Welcome to ConfidentTM with me, Sheri West, and my fearless daughter, Olivia. The world needs confident, inclusive leaders who embrace diversity to rise up. The time is now. Join us.

Abigail Okpebholo is a leading human rights advocate in Nigeria who's passionate about gender equality, inclusion and equity. Through the work she carries out in rural communities, villages, slums, clans and hard to reach regions across Nigeria, she's aggressively bridging the gender gap in Girls education. Her work has been featured in several international websites, podcasts and blogs such as The Better Tomorrow Movement, Human Rights Fellowship Podcast, and Sayitforward.org amongst others. She is a 2019 Young African Change Maker Fellow, Teaching Human Rights Fellow, Young African ChangeMaker Fellow, 2020 Commonwealth100 fellow, British Council Policy Change Fellow and a winner of the Girl Rising storytelling competition

Abigail's story and on the ground work is truly incredible. She aims to advance girls education by providing educational learning materials, sanitary pads and scholarships for educationally disadvantaged girls. She also provides skill training programs for women where they learn various handwork of their choice so that they can start up income generating businesses and become financially independent.

In this truly special episode, Abigail shares what it was like growing up a girl in Nigeria, her inspiration behind founding YoungPearl Organization, and her work with UNICEF (which led to her being invited as a delegate to the prestigious World Youth Forum, Egypt in 2018!!!)

To learn more about the YoungPearl Organization, visit: ypo.org.ng

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Connect with us on social media @goLiveGirl and be sure to subscribe, rate, review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts!

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Read Sheri’s blog post on the story and launch of Confident!

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Whether we’re talking about the fear of failure or anything else holding you back, confidence is the key to unleashing your power. Welcome to ConfidentTM with me, Sheri West, and my fearless daughter, Olivia. The world needs confident, inclusive leaders who embrace diversity to rise up. The time is now. Join us.

October 11th is International Day of the Girl (IDG) and we are excited to kick off our LiveGirl celebration with a very special podcast guest who has made it her mission to change the way people value girls and girls’ education. 

Christina Lowery is the Co-Founder & CEO of Girl Rising, a non-profit dedicated to changing the way the world values girls and their education.. In 2009, she was part of the founding team who created Girl Rising and in 2017 led its transition from a film production company to a non-profit. Her passion for storytelling is founded upon decades of experience in documentary film and television, having contributed to and produced films for CNN, ABC, Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro.

We, at LiveGirl, greatly admire the Girl Rising organization and their work. DID YOU KNOW? Around the world, 132 million girls are out of school. The global pandemic has further amplified inequality - more than 10 million secondary school age girls are at risk of never returning to the classroom in the aftermath of school lockdowns because of harmful gender norms. 

In this amazing episode, Christina shares about how Girl Rising uses the power of storytelling to ignite change, how gender norms contribute to issues in girls education and tells us the keys to building confidence in youth (plus so much more)!

Be sure to JOIN US in celebrating IDG by checking out Girl Rising’s IDG 2020 Summit on October 10th and LiveGirl’s “My Voice, Our Equal Future” International Day of the Girl Celebration on October 11th.

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Connect with us on social media @goLiveGirl and be sure to subscribe, rate, review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts!

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Read Sheri’s blog post on the story and launch of Confident!

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Whether we’re talking about the fear of failure or anything else holding you back, confidence is the key to unleashing your power. Welcome to ConfidentTM with me, Sheri West, and my fearless daughter, Olivia. The world needs confident, inclusive leaders who embrace diversity to rise up. The time is now. Join us.

In this super special episode, we sit down with Laura Brounstein! Laura is an award-winning journalist, strategist, speaker and team-builder who helps companies and individuals develop their content strategy, define their narrative and form smart partnerships. During her media career, she developed and launched magazines for Airbnb and Bumble and was an editor for Seventeen, Self, and Cosmopolitan magazines. PLUS her writing has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Cosmopolitan, Self, Natural Health magazine and more!

She most recently ran content and programming at The Riveter and before that, led a global team overseeing content and campaigns for WeWork.

LiveGirl first met Laura back in 2018 when she was a keynote speaker at our “Being A Girl in Today’s World” round table discussion. During that time, she was with Seventeen Magazine where she brought a broader sense of awareness to girl’s & women’s issues. In this fun episode, Laura speaks about making change from the inside out. But she is also a MASTER story-teller. Listen in as she talks about that expertise and the importance of a young woman being comfortable in telling her own story and gives her best advice for the #nextgen female leaders. 


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Connect with us on social media @goLiveGirl and be sure to subscribe, rate, review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts!

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Read Sheri’s blog post on the story and launch of Confident!

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Whether we’re talking about the fear of failure or anything else holding you back, confidence is the key to unleashing your power. Welcome to ConfidentTM with me, Sheri West, and my fearless daughter, Olivia. The world needs confident, inclusive leaders who embrace diversity to rise up. The time is now. Join us.

We are excited as ever to sit down for a (virtual) conversation with the reigning Miss Michigan, Kiara Thompson! Kiara is from Romulus, Michigan (also the home state of LiveGirl Founder, Sheri West!).

In this episode, Kiara talks to us body positivity, why she describes pageants as esteem-boosting, and how she uses her Miss Michigan platform for advocacy. Kiara is also extremely passionate about mental health - listen in as she bravely shares her personal battle with depression and the importance of breaking the stigma associated with mental health. 

Kiara Thompson is the reigning Miss Michigan in the Pure International Miss pageant system. Kiara is passionate about being a role model to young women. As an entrepreneur, business owner and plus size pageant competitor, Kiara has broken many barriers and aims to teach younger African-American girls in her community by showing them that they can hold powerful positions that showcase leadership, entrepreneurship, beauty, and advocacy.

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Connect with us on social media @goLiveGirl and be sure to subscribe, rate, review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts!

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Read Sheri’s blog post on the story and launch of Confident!

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Whether we’re talking about the fear of failure or anything else holding you back, confidence is the key to unleashing your power. Welcome to ConfidentTM with me, Sheri West, and my fearless daughter, Olivia. Join our conversations with Gen Z leaders and explore how YOU can become more confident.

LiveGirl is honored to have interviewed such a fun, fierce and accomplished guest to the LiveGirl community - CNN anchor, journalist, author, mother of three, and CT resident Alisyn Camerota! Alisyn is a phenomenal woman and role model for girls and women everywhere. In an exclusive Camp LiveGirl interview moderated by Sheri and her 16-year-old daughter, Olivia - followed by a LIVE Q&A from our campers - Alisyn shares everything from her thoughts on the question "Why does 'bad news' sell?" and gives her advice to ensure that people consume a balanced news diet. She also shares who was her absolute FAVORITE person to interview to date, why is it so important to give back, aaaaand how she balances it all (plus so much more!)

Alisyn Camerota is an award-winning journalist and author. She is the co-anchor of CNN’s signature morning show, New Day. In her decades-long TV career, Camerota has covered scores of major news stories, both internationally and domestically. From presidential races to terror attacks, Camerota has been on the frontlines of the reporting. She’s been twice nominated for Emmy Awards and won the prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award for her coverage of Hurricane Maria.

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Connect with us on social media @goLiveGirl and be sure to subscribe, rate, review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts!

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Read Sheri’s blog post on the story and launch of Confident!

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Whether we’re talking about the fear of failure or anything else holding you back, confidence is the key to unleashing your power. Welcome to ConfidentTM with me, Sheri West, and my fearless daughter, Olivia. Join our conversations with Gen Z leaders and explore how YOU can become more confident.

At LiveGirl, our mission is to build confident leaders and contribute to a world free from racial and gender inequality. We are called to work together to create an antiracist society and build leaders who listen to and understand lives different from their own. In the past, we have interviewed fierce female leaders to learn their leadership lessons. But lately, it has really resonated with us how young people are leading the way. Americans have poured into the streets to protest racial injustice and police violence against black Americans — 52 percent of all adults who have protested are between the ages of 18 and 29. In this episode, we are honored to feature several Gen Z leaders. We are inspired by how these leaders are rising to take action.

Many people are just now awakening to our country’s history of systemic racism and oppression. Many people want to have the conversation and take action, but don’t know how. They worry about leaning in leading to feelings of anger, guilt, discomfort, sadness, and at times disrespect? So we want to thank all of this episode’s featured guests for their courage to participate in this conversation and acknowledge our collective responsibility for the world in which we live.

Listen in as our Gen Z guest touch on topics including:

How their racial identity was experienced as an adolescent - Discussions of race amongst your family - What black students want their non-black friends to know about racism and what actions should be taken as an “ally”. They also discuss their individual calls to action - whether through social media or beyond - and share ways on how to effect positive change. 

Featured Speakers:
Ranease Brown, high school Senior
Abnerline Macenat, high school Senior
Kellie Taylor, Sophomore at Housatonic Community College
Tiara Starks, Junior at University of New Haven
Kathleen Reeves, Sophomore at Georgetown University

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Connect with us on social media @goLiveGirl and be sure to subscribe, rate, review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts!

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Read Sheri’s blog post on the story and launch of Confident!

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Whether we’re talking about the fear of failure or anything else holding you back, confidence is the key to unleashing your power. Welcome to ConfidentTM with Sheri and Olivia West. Join our conversations with fierce female leaders and explore how YOU can become more confident.

We’re SO excited to introduce this episode’s guest who has made history. Stacey Tisdale, a more than 20-year veteran TV broadcast financial journalist, and financial behavior expert, is one of the first women, and the first African-American to report from the New York Stock Exchange as a reporter for Dow Jones’ Emmy Award winning, Wall Street Journal Television. She then went on to become one of the first on-air reporters for CBS MarketWatch and business/personal finance correspondent for CBS News, The Early Show, CBS Evening News, and CBS Radio. She is now the CEO & President of Mind Money Media and was named by Top 100 Magazine as one of 2019’s Top 100 People in Finance.

Listen in to Stacey’s expert story-telling as she shares tips and examples around the psychological connection in how we look at money, spending habits and finance as a whole. We learn the social scripts around race and culture and she illustrates amazing expertise as she uncovers the truths and not-so-truths around our relationship (as women and girls) with money. PLUS she gives us a mind-blowing simple tip to easily start saving money (spoiler alert: put your closest friend on speed dial!) AND shares how we - as women - can break through the confidence gap and start taking ownership in our financial decisions

DID YOU KNOW?! Stacey spent 6 YEARS writing her book “The True Cost of Happiness: The Real Story Behind Managing Your Money” - Available on Amazon! 

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Connect with us on social media @goLiveGirl and be sure to subscribe, rate, review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts!

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Read Sheri’s blog post on the story and launch of Confident!

This episode is sponsored by

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Whether we’re talking about the fear of failure or anything else holding you back, confidence is the key to unleashing your power. Welcome to ConfidentTM with Sheri and Olivia West. Join our conversations with fierce female leaders and explore how YOU can become more confident.

“I believe that a passion and something that comes naturally to you is a universal clue into what your purpose is. There’s a reason why that interest is there - you should absolutely pursue it because I think it’s coming from an authentic place.” - @BrennynLark

With Broadway dark until at least September 6 due to COVID19, we’re honored to feature a Broadway star for some hope and inspiration.

Brennyn Lark is a singer, songwriter and actress. She went from playing Eponine in Les Miserables on Broadway just a few years ago to the starring role in Dreamgirls in London, and most recently she took her talents to the small screen in Amazon’s award-winning The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. She has been described as a star on the rise.

Listen as Brennyn talks about the lifestyle of a Broadway performer and what actors are doing now that Broadway is “dark”. She also shares what her first Broadway show was, who inspired her to pursue her dreams, and the importance of moving through fear and doubt and practicing self-care. AND *SPOILER ALERT* she sings a song from one of her favorite shows! 

Learn more about Brennyn by visiting her website at www.brennynlark.com

Special shout out to @lavenderandpinegifting for sponsoring this episode.

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Connect with us on social media @goLiveGirl and be sure to subscribe, rate, review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts!

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Read Sheri’s blog post on the story and launch of Confident!

This episode is sponsored by

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Whether we’re talking about the fear of failure or anything else holding you back, confidence is the key to unleashing your power. Welcome to ConfidentTM with Sheri and Olivia West. Join our conversations with fierce female leaders and explore how YOU can become more confident.

“The idea of ‘think like a mother’ fundamentally is about looking at a problem and understanding what needs to happen to prioritize the needs of the people who are made the most vulnerable by that threat. If we can find more ways to do that in our relationships with each other… we will all be in much better shape.” - Yifat Susskind

For our MOTHER’S DAY episode, we were thrilled to interview Yifat Susskind for Episode 15 of our Confident Podcast. Yifat is a lifelong human rights activist and the Executive Director of MADRE, a global humanitarian organization dedicated to women's rights. Yifat combines human rights advocacy with international feminism to meet urgent global needs and create lasting solutions to humanity's most pressing problems. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, Harvard International Review and others. She has been a featured commentator on CNN, NPR, and BBC Radio and is an internationally respected authority on feminism and human rights. 

Yifat’s viral TEDTalk, “In Uncertain Times, Think Like A Mother” was delivered before the COVID-19 global pandemic, but her message resonates even stronger today. In this episode, Yifat shares how the “think like a mother” lens is available to everyone, gives an important message to the next generation and tells about the mission behind the extremely CRUCIAL work MADRE is doing with grassroots women organizations in some of the hardest hit places in the world as part of the fight for feminist futures and gender justice.

We, at LiveGirl, wish all mothers and mother-like figures a very happy Mother’s Day! 

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Connect with us on social media @goLiveGirl and be sure to subscribe, rate, review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts!

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Read Sheri’s blog post on the story and launch of Confident!

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Whether we’re talking about the fear of failure or anything else holding you back, confidence is the key to unleashing your power. Welcome to ConfidentTM with Sheri and Olivia West. Join our conversations with fierce female leaders and explore how YOU can become more confident.

“We have a right to build our dreams as much as men do. Representation is key. But it will take time to change that. It starts with women saying ‘yes'. I have a rule to always say ‘yes', even if I feel uncomfortable. Say 'yes' first, then think ‘how’”. @JannekeNiessen

In this episode, we are honored to interview Janneke Niessen, co-founder of CapitalT, a seed fund that focuses on software tech startups. Janneke is an investor and serial entrepreneur, she has started and sold 2 international tech companies, and has won numerous awards, including Harper’s Bazaar Women of the Year 2019! Janneke is also co-Founder of Inspiringfifty, aiming to amplify female tech role models, and has launched The New Girl Code series, highlighting the wonders of working in tech.

You’re about to listen to our conversation with Harpers Bazaar Woman of the Year Janneke Niessen -- interviewed by not only Founder Sheri West, and her 16-year old daughter, Olivia, but also a panel of 10 brilliant college and high schoolers! Tune in as Janneke shares what it means to be a serial entrepreneur, gives advice to girls in STEM who may doubt their abilities, how the current COVID-19 global pandemic has affected her investing lens (spoiler alert: it hasn’t!) and soooo much more!

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Connect with us on social media @goLiveGirl and be sure to subscribe, rate, review on our streaming platforms below!

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Read Sheri’s blog post on the story and launch of Confident!

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