Dying To Live Podcast

As a self-confessed person who avoids social media, Vanessa Laughlin finds memes as one of the things that are carrying her through this pandemic. Sharing memes with her friends, listening to blues and Spanish music, and doing something creative are the bright spots of her day. Vanessa, the Principal and Founder of Banister Advisors, LLC, works with individuals who faces grief and in need of something just like how memes are for her.

Vanessa’s nearly 20-year professional background spans strategy development, implementation planning, business process improvement, product marketing, technology implementations, organizational design, and change management. Through the founding of Banister Advisors, LLC her passion for client services had met the opportunity to ease the complex emotional and logistical burdens that individuals and families confront in the face of critical circumstances across their lifespan. The concept for Banister Advisors was inspired in large part by the 2016 death of the founder's father-in-law, Jay Banister Laughlin, MSW, after an unexpected health crisis. The memory of Jay’s sacrifice and dedication to serving his family and community as a social worker, mediator, and therapist, serves as the foundation for Banister’s mission.

Vanessa holds an MBA with distinction from the Foster School of Business at the University of Washington and a BA in Economics from Tufts University. Vanessa is a proud member of the 2015 Class of Leadership Tomorrow Seattle and was honored in 2019 by The Puget Sound Business Journal as a 40 Under 40 Finalist. A native of Whidbey Island, WA, she now lives in Seattle with her husband, two young sons, and beloved geriatric chocolate lab.Tags:
COVID, mental health, self-care, memes, end of life, life transition, transition, elder care, life transition support, support, social work, home school, living at work, work life balance

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Perry Cohen realized a lifelong dream of combining his love of the outdoors, his commitment to social justice, his own trans & queer identity, and his professional life when, in 2014, he founded The Venture Out Project. 

Perry has extensive wilderness experience, having led multi-day hiking and mountain biking trips in the southeastern US.  He is an avid backcountry skier, hiker, biker and runner and just a few summers ago rafted the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon.  Perry is a certified WFR and lifeguard.  Perry is an alumnus of Outward Bound where he also worked.  He was the Trip Director at Camp Aranu'tiq and has worked for many years as a coach, teacher, trainer and camp counselor with students ranging from age 7 to 65. Perry is proud to work with High 5 Adventure as consultant around strategic planning and leadership.

Perry is also an Eddie Bauer One Outside Leader, acknowledged for his efforts in making the outdoors a safe and welcoming place and experience for LGBTQ+. As a Leader, Perry is helping to build internal education programs for staff, helping to shape the way the brand comes to life for consumers and sharing the inspiration of the outdoors through his adventures.

In support of Venture Out’s mission to make both outdoor and traditional education settings more affirming of trans and gender diverse folks, Perry also works with colleges, schools, camps, and other organizations to deliver comprehensive and progressive workshops around gender diversity. 

Prior to founding Venture Out, Perry was the Head of Leadership Development and Talent Management at C&S Wholesale Grocers, the largest food grocery distributor in the US.  Perry  holds a B.A. and M.Ed from The University of Pennsylvania and an MS in Sport Management from The University of New Mexico.  He lives in Northampton, MA with his partner, their 9 year-old twins, and two dogs.   

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It all began in 2006 when he packed his camera, headed to the USA, bought an ice cream truck and drove to all fifty states to make a documentary. 

This adventure set him on his way to directing films all over the world capturing beautiful stories, making new friends and eating tacos.
But none of this really defines why he does it, and the why is important to Stefan. You see, he believes that creativity and social impact should not be mutually exclusive and his work consistently reflects this. 

According to Stefan Hunt, he is a certified happy-go-lucky guy where death simply did not mean that much and it was far ahead of him. In his journey where he met people from all walks of life, someone has advised him to write poetry and the first words that he wrote were , "We're all going to die." His new appreciation of death brought a new vision to life.

In 2017 Stefan launched his most ambitious creative endeavor titled We’re All Going To Die. This consisted of a published book, short film and sold out multimedia art festival in Sydney Australia. The project aims to empower an audience to ‘fear less and live more’ through humour, colour and death. It has since toured to New Zealand and USA.

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Visit Stefan's website at StefanHunt.com

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Growing up in an unpleasant environment in the American south, Brandy O'Briant has always wanted to leave her hometown in pursuit of the truth. A certified bookworm or Bibliophile since birth, her passion for the truth has been fueled by the books that she reads day in and day out. Her love for books paved the way for overcoming a lot of challenges in her life including being laid-off her lucrative advertising career which has proven to be a blessing in disguise.

Brandy O'Briant is the founder of Page 1 Books, a personalized books subscription service out of Chicago, IL. Recently honored by Oprah Magazine as one of the Top 25 book subscriptions.

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I'm so excited for you to meet Kimberly FiNix of phoenix-path.com. 

This episode covers the messy process of reinventing yourself through the loss of relationship, namely divorce. We get real and raw about what that can look like and each of our divorce experiences. We talk about the alchemical process of self-reinvention and how beautiful it can be to let it all burn in the fires of change. We also talk about Ayahuasca journeys, how to love yourself through all the stages of your life and how hard it can be for family and friends to witness our destruction and rebuilding. We celebrate those who jump eyes-wide-open into the fire. 

If you've ever experienced the loss of a great love or long-term relationship and thought, "I could have done that better" or come out the other side a stronger, more capable, more open and loving human, this episode is for you.

Kimberly FiNix is an alchemical Divorce Coach and Transformational Guide. She has several programs available at phoenix-path.com, including a free and vibrant Facebook group and transformational 5-day challenge. She also offers a free 60-minute exploratory call to determine the best ways to work together. I highly recommend exploring the Phoenix Path - your life will never be the same!

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My first full-length episode gets REAL personal, REAL fast, as I interview my ex-husband, Chris Elliott. 10 years ago, we killed our marriage. We also re-birthed a successful co-parenting relationship and have grown into a really great friendship in the process. But it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. And now 10 years later, we talk about our conscious uncoupling in-depth, pretty much for the first time. We each learn new things about the other. There are tears, there is laughter. We talk about fear, loneliness, dark nights of the soul and how we each navigated these things in the name of personal evolution. It's juicy and entertaining at the same time. 

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