Empowered & Out

Happy Pride, Everyone! 🌈

In this powerful episode of Empowered & Out: The Career Coaching Podcast, Coach Jon sits down with Andrew, founder of Person First Consulting, for a deeply honest conversation about identity, career transformation, workplace belonging, and what it means to rebuild after professional rejection.

Andrew shares their journey from music education to higher education, ed tech, career coaching, leadership development, DEI consulting, and entrepreneurship. He opens up about how a painful job loss connected to disclosing his gender identity became part of the path that led him to launch his own consulting business and create work rooted in purpose, flexibility, and impact.

This episode also explores Andrew’s dissertation research on the well-being experiences of transgender employees during onboarding in the tech industry. Together, Coach Jon and Andrew discuss psychological safety, inclusive hiring practices, unconscious bias, gender identity at work, performative Pride, and why organizations must do more than say they are inclusive.

If you have ever felt rejected, unseen, unsafe, or disconnected from your career path, this conversation is a reminder that one workplace experience does not get to define your entire professional story.

CHAPTERS

00:00 — Welcome to Empowered & Out
01:00 — Introducing Andrew and Person First Consulting
03:46 — Andrew joins the conversation
04:00 — Energy check-in
05:38 — Andrew’s career journey from music education to consulting
07:20 — Coming out again at work and navigating job loss
09:00 — Launching Person First Consulting
10:55 — What “person first” means
12:38 — Building a consulting business after job loss
14:19 — Flexibility, caregiving, and life-work balance
18:48 — Andrew’s dissertation on transgender employees and onboarding
21:43 — Inclusive restrooms and workplace belonging
25:44 — Challenges transgender and nonbinary employees may face in new roles
28:06 — How organizations can create psychological safety during onboarding
32:01 — What unconscious bias looks like in everyday life
34:30 — How bias shows up in resumes, hiring, pay, and promotion
37:04 — How leaders can become more aware of their bias
39:18 — How to address bias without shutting someone down
43:08 — Rebuilding purpose after workplace trauma
46:03 — Authenticity, safety, and Pride in the current climate
50:43 — Rapid-fire questions
54:04 — Andrew’s encouragement for discouraged job seekers
58:01 — Coach Jon’s closing reflection and CTA

If this episode spoke to you, share it with someone who needs to hear the reminder that their career story is not over.

And if you are feeling stuck, burned out, disconnected, underconfident, or unsure about your next career move, connect with Coach Jon at Empowered & Out Coaching to learn more about the Empowered Career Transformation Program @ https://linktr.ee/empoweredandout

Through the Purpose to Placement Framework™, Coach Jon helps professionals move from confusion and self-doubt into clarity, confidence, strategy, and aligned action.

Available in both 1:1 and group coaching options.

Your career should not require you to disappear in order to succeed.

In this powerful episode of Empowered & Out, Coach Jon sits down with Deanna Scaldaferri, a licensed massage and bodywork therapist, to talk about healing, resilience, grief, toxic relationships, body-based healing, and what it really means to reconnect with your light after life has tried to dim it.

Deanna shares how her own journey through grief, trauma, narcissistic abuse, and personal healing shaped the work she does today. Together, Coach Jon and Deanna explore why healing is not just mental or emotional, but deeply connected to the body, nervous system, spirit, and the way we learn to listen to ourselves again.

This conversation is for anyone who has walked through heartbreak, grief, emotional chaos, trauma, toxic relationships, or burnout and wondered, “Will I ever feel like myself again?”

The answer woven throughout this episode is yes.

Healing takes time. It takes intention. It takes compassion. And sometimes, it begins with one small question: What is the next right step?

CHAPTERS

00:00 – Welcome to Empowered & Out
00:53 – Meet Deanna Scaldaferri
01:45 – Energy check-in and showing up authentically
05:00 – Deanna’s personal healing journey
09:01 – What lived experience teaches that training cannot
10:40 – What causes people to lose connection with their light
13:37 – Finding stillness in a noisy world
19:20 – Healing beyond the buzzwords
20:01 – The impact of toxic and narcissistic relationships
22:00 – Rewiring the brain and rebuilding emotional health
24:23 – Why healing can take longer than expected
29:05 – The connection between mental health and the body
32:00 – Massage, stress, pain, and nervous system support
37:43 – Reiki, energy healing, and stored emotion
44:23 – Turning pain into power
52:07 – Hope for anyone wondering if they will feel like themselves again
53:51 – Rapid-fire questions
57:06 – One action step to reconnect with your light
59:07 – Final reflections and closing message

If this conversation spoke to you, share it with someone who may need the reminder that healing is possible and their light is still there, even if life has tried to dim it.

To connect with Deanna and learn more about her massage, Reiki, energy healing, or intuitive coaching work, check here:  

www.healinghandsbydeanna.com

https://www.meetup.com/charlotte-narcissistic-abuse-recovery-meetup-group

https://www.facebook.com/share/1BKfYBaUax/?mibextid=wwXIfr

https://www.instagram.com/decamde1?igsh=M2FtZ3FsM2N6dHdh&utm_source=qr

www.linkedin.com/in/deanna-decamillo-scaldaferri-6b242a2a5

And if you are navigating burnout, grief, career uncertainty, confidence loss, or a season of rebuilding, connect with Coach Jon at Empowered & Out Coaching here: https://app.paperbell.com/checkout/packages/94065 

You deserve to feel connected to yourself again.
You deserve support.
And you do not have to rebuild alone.

In this special episode of Empowered & Out: The Career Coaching Podcast, the tables are turned as Coach Jane returns — but this time, she is interviewing Coach Jon.

This conversation gives listeners a more personal look at who Coach Jon is, why he became a coach, and what led him into the work of helping people rebuild confidence, rediscover purpose, and show up more authentically in their careers and lives.

Coach Jon opens up about how his coaching journey began during the pandemic, why purpose and confidence became central to his work, and how personal experience, workplace challenges, resilience, and community shaped the way he supports others today.

Together, Coach Jane and Coach Jon explore the impact of technology and AI on confidence and communication, why networking still matters, how self-doubt shows up at work, what it means to be empowered, and why confidence is something that can be built over time.

If you have ever felt stuck, unseen, unsure, disconnected from your purpose, or like your confidence has taken a hit, this episode is a reminder that you are not broken. You can rebuild. You can grow. And you can learn to trust yourself again.

Chapters:
00:00 Welcome to Empowered & Out
02:13 Coach Jane returns and takes over as host
02:46 Energy check-in and switching roles
05:04 What led Coach Jon into confidence and purpose coaching
06:00 Starting a podcast during the pandemic
07:04 Discovering coaching certifications and finding direction
09:18 Why purpose and confidence became central to the work
11:03 Technology, devices, AI, and confidence
15:26 How AI can be used as a confidence-building tool
16:02 Networking, communication, and finding career opportunities
20:13 What makes Coach Jon’s coaching approach different
22:09 Purpose, alignment, and choosing work that feels authentic
25:24 Masking, self-doubt, and confidence at work
28:54 Where to start when you feel stuck or unseen
31:55 Mindset versus environment in confidence-building
34:45 What resilience has looked like in Coach Jon’s life
40:15 What resilient people understand
42:22 What being empowered means today
45:39 The one message listeners should take away
47:06 Success, happiness, and choosing your joy
49:48 Rapid-fire questions
56:14 Coach Jon reflects on being interviewed
58:07 Final thoughts on career readiness, resilience, and confidence
59:26 Call to action and closing message

If this episode resonated with you and you are ready to rebuild your confidence, rediscover your purpose, or stop feeling stuck in your career, I would love to support you.

Book a free call with me, Coach Jon, through the link here: https://linktr.ee/empoweredandout

And if you enjoyed this conversation, make sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who needs the reminder that confidence is built — it is not reserved for a chosen few.

In this episode of Empowered & Out: The Career Coaching Podcast, Coach Jon sits down with Ken Breniman for a deeply honest, beautifully layered, and delightfully weird conversation about healing, grief, queer identity, mortality, psychedelics, burnout, primates, and what it really means to be human.

Ken is a licensed clinical social worker, psychedelic-assisted grief therapist, death doula, professor of thanatology, yoga therapist, and what he lovingly calls a budding primatologist. Together, Jon and Ken explore how queer identity shapes resilience, why grief can become a doorway back to purpose, what death teaches us about living more fully, and how stepping away from modern noise can help us reconnect with ourselves.

This conversation moves from childhood identity and coming out, to ancestral healing, rainforest wisdom, orangutans, psychedelic therapy, and the simple but powerful practice of taking three minutes to pause, breathe, and come back to your body.

If you’ve been feeling burned out, disconnected, overwhelmed, or unsure how to find your way back to yourself, this episode is an invitation to slow down, listen deeply, and remember that healing does not have to be linear to be real.

Chapters

00:00 — Welcome to Empowered & Out
02:09 — Ken’s energy check-in
03:35 — Ken’s beautifully chaotic healing path
04:52 — How queer identity shaped Ken’s healing work
06:08 — Leaving conformity and finding purpose
11:06 — Origin stories, creativity, and honoring your true colors
17:19 — Feeling different, animal identity, and naming the unseen parts of ourselves
20:43 — Queer resilience, queer joy, and remembering our ancestors
23:08 — Coming out, chosen family, and holding space
29:03 — Loving the parts of ourselves we were taught to reject
32:03 — Why queer stories are not one-size-fits-all
33:39 — What LGBTQ+ people need more of right now
35:24 — Silence, technology, and getting away from the noise
39:19 — Why we avoid talking about death
46:14 — How mortality can help us live more fully
49:43 — What grief teaches us about purpose
51:45 — Psychedelics, grief, and healing beyond traditional therapy
53:47 — What people misunderstand about psychedelic healing
58:41 — Ken’s sabbatical and working around orangutans
1:02:34 — Burnout, empathic distress, and learning to slow down
1:04:16 — What the rainforest teaches us about interdependence
1:09:22 — Rapid-fire questions
1:13:22 — Ken’s advice for reconnecting with yourself
1:18:31 — Final reflections and closing CTA

If this episode resonated with you, subscribe to Empowered & Out, leave a review, and share it with someone who may need a reminder that healing, purpose, and confidence are still possible.

And if you’ve been feeling burned out, disconnected, stuck, or like your career no longer feels aligned with who you are, book a free discovery call with Coach Jon here: https://linktr.ee/empoweredandout. 

In this episode of Empowered & Out: The Career Coaching Podcast, Coach Jon welcomes back Jane Klein, a former corporate leader turned internship coach who helps college students land competitive internships and enter the workforce with more confidence, strategy, and direction.

This conversation gets into the real challenges Gen Z students and early-career professionals are facing right now: internship rejection, ghosting, lack of confidence, networking anxiety, unclear career goals, and the pressure to have everything figured out before they even get started.

Jane and Jon discuss why many students are academically prepared but not always career-ready, why knowing your value matters before walking into an interview, and how rejection can become information instead of proof that you are failing. They also explore how parents, educators, and professionals can better support students as they move from school into adulthood.

This episode is especially helpful for college students, young professionals, parents, internship seekers, and anyone who has ever overthought themselves out of taking the next step.

And Jane’s reminder is one we all need: done is better than perfect.

Episode Chapters

00:00 — Welcome to Empowered & Out
02:25 — Reintroducing Jane Klein
02:38 — Energy check-in
04:03 — Power poses, confidence, and preparing yourself before big moments
07:43 — What changed for Jane after moving
13:24 — What college students are struggling with in today’s internship market
16:44 — Why academics alone do not prepare students for career confidence
21:23 — The confidence gap: experience, rejection, employer expectations, and subconscious patterns
25:30 — Helping students understand their value before they have a long resume
27:31 — How to stop personalizing internship and job rejection
30:47 — Mindset shifts for resilience and confidence
35:35 — Participation awards, rejection, and learning how to improve
38:26 — Using root-cause analysis after interviews and applications
40:14 — Why students need clearer career goals before graduation
01:29:10 — Real examples of networking creating unexpected opportunities
01:49:50 — Jane’s whole-food plant-based lifestyle and intentional living
02:04:41 — Rapid fire questions
02:07:10 — Jane’s final actionable tip: done is better than perfect

In this episode of Empowered & Out, Coach Jon sits down with Greg Mazzeo, a leadership psychologist, HR practitioner, consultant, and human-centered performance advocate, for a deep and timely conversation about what it really means to lead people well.

Together, Jon and Greg explore the tension between performance and humanity at work — especially when identity, safety, language, and leadership all collide. Greg shares how his background in food service leadership, psychology, HR, and consulting shaped the way he thinks about performance, not as a simple metric, but as a human story with systems, barriers, relationships, and lived experiences behind it.

This conversation digs into inclusive language, identity threats, psychological safety, difficult performance conversations, toxic leadership, and what organizations often miss when they focus only on intention while ignoring impact. Greg also shares powerful insight into how workplace language, symbols, representation, and leadership behavior can either pull employees into belonging or push them into self-protection.

If you have ever worked under a leader who made you question yourself, sat through a performance conversation that felt more threatening than supportive, or wondered whether organizations truly understand the human impact of their decisions, this episode is for you.

This is a conversation about leadership that does not require self-abandonment, performance that does not ignore wellbeing, and workplaces where people are allowed to be human.

Podcast Chapters

00:00 — Welcome to Empowered & Out
01:24 — Introducing Greg Mazzeo and today’s conversation
02:52 — Energy check-in: community, rest, and starting the week grounded
04:36 — Greg’s journey into leadership psychology, HR, and human-centered performance
07:03 — Why Greg started Nourishment Consulting
08:11 — What human-centered performance looks like in real workplaces
11:30 — Collaboration, employee voice, and making space for quieter team members
13:15 — What organizations still get wrong about performance
15:30 — Where metrics help and where they start to hurt
18:57 — Inclusive language and identity threat experiences at work
22:47 — How wording, symbols, and representation impact employee safety
26:20 — Why intent is not enough when impact is ignored
30:00 — Performance conversations, coaching, and the danger of dismissiveness
32:42 — How leaders can prepare for difficult conversations with more awareness
34:25 — How employees can protect themselves and advocate for themselves
40:03 — Why organizations protect technically strong but harmful leaders
45:01 — Leadership vs. management, team building, and collaboration
53:26 — DEI shifts, political pressure, and how companies signal their values
58:34 — What happens when representation disappears
01:00:48 — Why DEI impacts everyone
01:06:32 — Rapid fire: Baltimore, New York bagels, pizza, and food identity
01:10:25 — Greg’s actionable advice: listen to what your body is telling you
01:13:57 — Final reflections and closing CTA

If this episode resonated with you, share it with a friend, coworker, or leader who needs to hear this conversation.

And if you are in a season of rebuilding your confidence, recovering from a difficult workplace experience, or trying to figure out what kind of work actually fits who you are now, connect with Coach Jon through the link here: linktr.ee/empoweredandout 

You deserve a career that supports your success without costing you your wellbeing.

In this heartfelt episode of Empowered & Out, Coach Jon sits down with Kara Zajac, freelance writer, chiropractor, entrepreneur, musician, and author of The Significance of Curly Hair: A Loving Memoir of Life and Loss.

Kara’s memoir takes place during the emotionally loaded week of her grandmother’s funeral — a week that cracked open grief, memory, identity, family history, and the truths we sometimes do not understand until much later in life. Together, Jon and Kara explore what grief teaches us, how family stories shape who we become, and why healing often begins when we let ourselves feel instead of forcing ourselves to “move on.”

This conversation also opens up powerful reflections on queer identity, motherhood, chosen family, authenticity, and the realization that there is no single “right” way to build a life. Kara shares how losing her grandmother helped her challenge old beliefs about family, marriage, motherhood, and what it means to live honestly.

If you have ever carried grief, questioned the life you are “supposed” to live, or wondered how to honor someone you miss without losing yourself, this episode will meet you with tenderness, humor, and truth.

Chapters

00:00 — Welcome to Empowered & Out
02:22 — Meet Kara Zajac
02:25 — Energy check-in
04:29 — Why Kara’s memoir takes place during the week of her grandmother’s funeral
06:02 — The moment grief began changing her
08:40 — What Kara wishes more people understood about grief
09:37 — Coach Jon reflects on grief and losing his father
11:34 — Seeing family members as whole people
13:17 — Learning new stories after loss
15:03 — Understanding her grandmother beyond the role of “grandmother”
16:09 — Being gay, married, a mother, and fully yourself
17:45 — Letting go of the belief that there is only one way to live
21:41 — What to say to someone who feels forced to choose one version of life
23:36 — Staying authentic when life gets loud
24:54 — Being out in a small rural community
27:44 — How authenticity builds trust
30:53 — A powerful neighborhood moment about queer family and visibility
32:38 — How grief shifted Kara’s view of motherhood
34:30 — What motherhood taught Kara about love
37:11 — Releasing the belief that children “need” one specific family structure
40:21 — Raising children with openness and love
43:17 — How Kara wants her daughter to define family
46:24 — Inclusive churches, Pride, and belonging
49:09 — The dollhouse story
51:14 — The “dollhouse moments” we miss in our own lives
52:45 — Truth, memory, and family stories
55:49 — Giving grace to complicated family histories
57:25 — What Kara hopes readers take away about grief
58:06 — Rapid fire questions
1:00:01 — Kara’s actionable tip for listeners
1:00:37 — Closing reflections and CTA

If this episode stirred something in you — maybe around grief, family, identity, confidence, or the version of your life you are ready to stop hiding — I invite you to book a free discovery call with me.

At Empowered & Out Coaching, I help professionals rebuild confidence, reconnect with purpose, and make career and life choices that support both success and wellbeing.

Book your free call here:  linktr.ee/empoweredandout 

And if this conversation moved you, share it with someone who needs a reminder that grief does not have to be fixed all at once — and that there is more than one way to build a beautiful life.

What does it really mean to belong at work?

In this powerful episode of Empowered & Out, Coach Jon sits down with award-winning author, leadership strategist, and founder of Rhodes Perry Consulting, Rhodes Perry, to unpack leadership, burnout, workplace belonging, and why authenticity is more than just a buzzword—it’s survival.

From working inside the White House and the Department of Justice to helping organizations create cultures of belonging, Rhodes shares how his lived experience as an openly trans man shaped his mission to challenge workplace loneliness and exclusion.

We dive deep into DEI, “DEI hushing,” somatic leadership, burnout recovery, and what companies still get wrong about belonging at work.

This conversation is honest, timely, and deeply needed—especially for LGBTQ+ professionals navigating today’s workplace climate.

If you’ve ever felt like you had to leave parts of yourself behind just to succeed… this episode is for you.

Chapters:

00:00 – Welcome to Empowered & Out
02:30 – Meet Rhodes Perry
03:00 – Energy Check-In: Burnout + Recovery
05:15 – The Workplace Loneliness Epidemic
08:10 – Why Exclusion Is a Leadership Problem
12:00 – Starting Rhodes Perry Consulting
14:30 – Career Lessons from the White House + DOJ
17:00 – Being an Open Trans Man in Corporate Spaces
20:00 – Why Trans Professionals Are a Massive Workplace Asset
26:00 – Why Belonging Matters More Than DEI Buzzwords
31:00 – What True Workplace Safety Looks Like
45:00 – Can Everyone Belong? Setting Boundaries
50:00 – The Future of DEI in 2026 and Beyond
54:00 – Burnout Recovery + Somatic Leadership
57:30 – One Action to Reconnect With Yourself

If this episode resonated with you and you're ready to rebuild confidence, rediscover your purpose, and create a career where you can fully show up as yourself—I’d love to support you.

Book your FREE coaching discovery call with me here: https://linktr.ee/empoweredandout

Let’s help you get back to you.

🎙️ Subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who needs it.

What happens when the job that looks impressive on paper is quietly draining the life out of you?

In this episode of Empowered & Out, Coach Jon sits down with returning guest Dani Brunetto, a career navigation coach based in Brussels, to talk about burnout in a way that goes far beyond “just being tired.” 

Together, they unpack how burnout actually starts, why so many high-performing people miss the signs, how toxic workplace systems fuel it, and what real recovery and prevention can look like. Dani also shares parts of his own burnout story, what it taught him, and how he now helps people find work that fits them instead of forcing themselves into jobs that were never built with their wellbeing in mind.

This is a grounded, honest conversation for anyone who’s been questioning their job, their energy, their boundaries, or whether success is really supposed to feel this exhausting.

Chapters:
00:00 Welcome back + why this conversation matters
02:44 Dani’s energy check-in
03:56 What burnout really is
06:25 Stress vs. burnout
08:04 Why high performers miss the signs
10:24 Prestigious but toxic jobs
14:05 The stories people tell themselves to stay
18:28 Prestige vs. true alignment
21:25 Workplace systems that fuel burnout
25:20 Vague roles, poor boundaries, unrealistic expectations
38:15 Dani’s personal burnout story
47:12 What real burnout recovery looks like
53:08 Preventing burnout before the breaking point
58:18 Researching companies and spotting red flags
01:06:29 Rapid fire: Brussels edition
01:09:44 Dani’s advice for anyone feeling stuck
01:10:28 Final reflections + where to get support

If this episode hit home for you, share it with someone who needs this reminder: burnout is not a badge of honor. Be sure to follow, leave a review, and send this episode to a friend, coworker, or high achiever who may be carrying too much in silence. If you’re ready for support, you can book a free call with me, Coach Jon, and you can also connect with Dani using the links below.

Connect with Dani:
Website: harbourchange.com
LinkedIN: linkedin.com/in/daniele-brunetto

Connect with Coach Jon:
https://linktr.ee/empoweredandout

In this powerful episode of Empowered & Out, Coach Jon sits down with returning guest Joseph Federico for a real, honest conversation about visibility, confidence, queer identity, entrepreneurship, and what it actually takes to build a life and career without shrinking yourself to fit in.

Together, they unpack how fear, shame, burnout, masking, and old survival patterns keep so many LGBTQ+ professionals — especially gay men — stuck, overthinking, and playing small.

They also dig into the realities of social media, the evolution of LinkedIn and Instagram, the loss of authentic connection online, and how AI can either support your creativity or strip away your humanity if you rely on it too heavily. This episode is honest, blunt, thoughtful, and deeply relevant for anyone trying to rebuild confidence, show up more authentically, and stop dimming themselves just to survive.

If you’ve been feeling unseen, stuck, discouraged, or like you’ve been overthinking your next move into exhaustion, this conversation is your reminder that your voice matters, your perspective matters, and the world does not need a smaller version of you.

Chapters:
00:00 Welcome back + season focus on healing and resilience
02:00 Meet returning guest Joseph Federico
02:50 Energy check-in and global connection through LinkedIn
10:15 Visibility, authenticity, and being fully seen
13:00 Why bold content gets attention
17:00 Confidence vs. purpose in career growth
20:00 Fear, entrepreneurship, and why people stay stuck
24:00 LGBTQ+ community, division, and representation
34:30 Why gay men quietly give up on themselves
39:15 Potential, voice, and why new perspectives matter
43:40 Why interested clients don’t always follow through
52:00 Social media, LinkedIn, Instagram, and authenticity
01:05:00 AI, technology, and keeping your humanity
01:28:00 Final advice: stop overthinking and just do it

If this episode spoke to you, share it with someone who needs to hear it. And if you’re in a season where you’re ready to rebuild your confidence, reconnect with your purpose, or stop dimming yourself just to survive at work and in life, book a free discovery call with me through the link in the show notes. 

Connect with Coach Jon here: https://linktr.ee/empoweredandout  

Connect with Joseph here: https://mysticalmarketingmaven.com/