Fenom Podcast

On this episode of the Fenom Podcast I am talking with a good friend of mine, Lisa Shelton, she’d definitely one of those people I can carry on a conversation with for hours on end.  Her journey in life thus far has had many twists and turns at her own doing. She grew up in a very traditional, conservative home where she sought the approval of others and strived to be the best despite her actual interest in it. By her early 20’s she began to strike out on her own path by starting her career as a Physical Therapist that spanned over 20 years in numerous settings from outpatient rehab to dementia care.  But she found her true calling when she began working with the fascial system with the chronic pain population and quickly realized that she was a myofascial release/craniosacral therapist at heart. 

The desire to explore fascial treatment to its fullest potential prompted Lisa to become a licensed massage therapist so that she could open her own practice outside the confines of the PT world.   

 Lisa opened the doors to her private practice in 2011.  Her continued passion to understand the healing process has led Lisa to study astrology and yoga.  She incorporates both into her treatment sessions. 

She has pursued these passions while also being married and raising two boys. She enjoys learning and exploring all areas of healing so that she can continue to marry her allopathic medicine background  to her more newly acquired holistic appreciation of health. A conversation with Lisa is never boring and this episode really spotlights listening to the call of who you are and who you want to create yourself as.

In this episode I wanted to change things up and do a short series of 3 interviews from the frontlines of women entrepreneurs in the Restaurant and Service industry here in Charlottesville, Virginia. Each interview Ive ever had, there always seems to be an overarching theme and that was exactly what unfolded in each of these interviews- family, community, comfort and love which we undoubtably need at this time. Our small businesses are the backbone of our community-we are the first you go to for PTA fundraisers or to sponsor youth sports, we employ so many people in our area and work with numerous other local vendors and businesses. Simply put, the character of a city relies on the strength of our small businesses. These phenomenal women are putting everything they have into making sure their business can pivot and continue to serve Charlottesville through these unprecedented times.  Originally, I was going to have them all in one podcast and I have since decided that I wanted them to have their own spotlight. 

In this episode I am talking with Kelsey Gillan, one of the co-owners of Found.Market which is a whole family affair. Her brother is the Kitchen Manager, her sister is the Office Manager, her mom is the retail/purchasing manager, her dad is the facilities Manager and delivery driver and Kelsey is the Wholesale Manager and in charge of Communication. Found is a kitchen, eatery and marketplace in the Belmont neighborhood of Charlottesville. They have a wholesale production of their Little Things Shortbread which is the BEST cookie you’ve ever had- hands down. They also have homemade foods to eat-in or take to-go. Their marketplace is full of gifts and knickknacks from independent makers around the U.S. Their pivot during this pandemic first had to do with supporting their family’s need and reconfiguring their entire online inventory for pre-order and curbside pick up and their shortbread orders have tripled as people have found out how they are the perfect consumable gift to friends and family near and far.  Times are tough but the Gillan family is more resilient, creative and determined to thrive.

In this episode of the Fenom Podcast, I wanted to change things up and do a short series of 3 interviews from the frontlines of women entrepreneurs in the Restaurant and Service industry here in Charlottesville, Virginia. Each interview I've ever had, there always seems to be an overarching theme and that was exactly what unfolded in each of these interviews- family, community, comfort and love which we undoubtably need at this time. Our small businesses are the backbone of our community-we are the first you go to for PTA fundraisers or to sponsor youth sports, we employ so many people in our area and work with numerous other local vendors and businesses. Simply put, the character of a city relies on the strength of our small businesses. These phenomenal women are putting everything they have into making sure their business can pivot and continue to serve Charlottesville through these unprecedented times.  Originally, I was going to have them all in one podcast and I have since decided that I wanted them to have their own spotlight. 

In this episode I am talking with Ashleigh Abrams co owner of Moe’s Original BBQ on Ivy Rd and Water St. Moe’s has been Cville’s home for Alabama Style BBQ and southern sides for going on 5 years in June. Before this pandemic they had dine in, to go, a food truck and an extensive catering service and have had to pivot to just curbside pickup with boxed lunch catering and family dinner to go packs all at in affordable price. Ashleigh’s insight into making her livelihood work in whatever way possible while also juggling being a preschool teacher and parent to her two young boys during this lockdown shows her strength of character and love for her community and family.

Shaina Allen is a bold, visionary Director focused on telling stories that bridge perspectives and create impact. She is the co-founder of Evergrain Studios. Shaina’s first independent film The Rebound won the Kaiser Permanente Thrive Award and numerous Audience Awards and Jury Awards in it’s festival run, it has been used in multiple research studies, and was distributed on Netflix. Her latest credits include co-director of a new docu-series in production titled Moving Minds, Director of Photography on a docu-series titled "Superminority" currently in post-production, and a short documentary titled "Wolfpack" following an all-veterans wheelchair basketball team. She has spoken on stages across the country, including Yale University, and was named one of Creativ Magazines “15 Women Who Wow”. Shaina grew up at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and graduated cum laude from James Madison University with a degree in Media Arts & Design with a Digital Video & Cinema focus and minors in Film Studies and Anthropology. Her mission is to create art with impact, while building community and enjoying the journey. I have had the good fortune of knowing Shaina for years now and she has shown me that we all have the opportunity to be in pursuit of our dreams, joys and passions.  It won't always be easy but with hustle, grit and a little bit of luck, we can all be the creators of our own story. 

In this episode of the Fenom Podcast I am talking with Lizzie Clark the owner of Hot Yoga Charlottesville.  We are talking on the state of our community in the midst of this pandemic and how we came together as two of Charlottesville’s leaders in yoga to be one of the first in our area to shut our studios down and take them online while trying to juggle our young children during a lockdown. Lizzie is the youngest of three and split her time growing up in Northern Virginia and then moved right outside of Chicago. She attended and played soccer at Sewanee and majored in Geology. She chose her major so she could spend her days outside hiking and being in the beautiful nature that surrounded the campus. She used her major to become a legislative aide to a senator on Capital Hill doing Environmental and Energy Policy as well as Agriculture. After going through September 11th and the anthrax scare that followed, a couple of months later, Lizzie realized this environment was toxic to her wellbeing. Her cousin was moving to Charlottesville and Lizzie decided she needed a change of scenery and made the move with her.

Lizzie has been a practitioner of yoga since high school and her interest deepened while working in DC to help her maintain her sanity. She began practicing Bikram method in the basement of a Mexican restaurant of all places, and she was hooked. When she moved to Charlottesville she noticed the lack of yoga studios and decided to open Bikram Yoga Charlottesville, she went to LA for a 9 week Bikram Yoga intensive and came back to open her studio in 2004 which became overwhelmingly successful.  This is what is so inspirational and something I strive to incorporate in my own leadership from Lizzie is that she has owned a yoga studio for over 16 years and has seen recessions, marriages, childbirths, rebranding, renaming, moving locations, being right at the center of the Charlottesville riots and now having to shut her studio down indefinitely but she remains a pillar of strength, perseverance and a bright light that helps to navigate the darkness and uncertainty of these times. Lizzie rallies her teachers and her students to go with the flow and make the most of what is right here for you and that is what draws us all to her and makes her a phenomenal woman and leader.

In this episode of the Fenom Podcast, Eliza discussed how this pandemic is affecting her business and family. She talks about the hard pivot she and her husband made for FlyDog Yoga in fully developing their live stream and on demand classes to keep the studio going during this time but to provide a space for their community to stay in connection with our community to have familiarity and accountability to keep moving and breathing.  Eliza talks about 5 things that she has focused on to stay productive through this time- Emergency funds, Planning for the worst, Pivoting, Community, and Gratitude.

In this episode of the Fenom Podcast, Eliza gives us a basic Here and Now meditation to help ground us, give us clarity and space to make room and see the possibilities and opportunities that allow us to create a new way of being. 

In this episode of the Fenom Podcast I am talking to Lisa Goldstein, Lisa is a Board-certified Nurse Practitioner who has worked in a variety of in-patient and out-patient settings for the past 25 years. She has a Bachelors of Science from Syracuse University and a Masters of Science from the University of Southern California and will be pursuing her post-masters certificate in holistic nursing. She has spent her career working in women’s health, critical care and education with her primary focus on wellness and whole body healing. Lisa’s own journey through breast cancer and the mitigating effects of treatment, has allowed her a perspective of care, compassion and commitment that she delivers to all of her patients. During her own treatment, she utilized holistic and integrative care gaining her perspective of what it feels like to be a patient seeking treatment beyond traditional health care practices. I am so excited to speak with Lisa today as she is such an remarkable example of thrivivor of breast cancer- she didn’t just survive it, she didn’t let it define her, she allowed herself to thrive and to really examine what makes her come alive and to serve others with this experience. As luck would have it being a patient also gave her a new career at the MClinic, an integrative health center where patients and practitioners are engaged as a collaborative team to uncover the root cause of a patient’s disease to achieve lasting health outcomes. Lisa creates a respectful environment for collaboration between the patient and other health care providers in order to develop a comprehensive treatment plan, realizing a level of health patients never thought possible.

On this episode of the Fenom Podcast I am talking with Coach Chris Steiner-Wilcoxson, the head coach of FIU softball, a mother of 3 and a force to be reckoned with. I grew up in the next town over from Chris and witnessed first hand her tenacity and passion she had in any sport she played.  I had the privilege to play with her on some travel ball teams as well as Auburn University’s softball team. Out of college Chris began her coaching legacy as a head softball coach with high school softball teams and quickly progressed into college, first at Reinhardt University and then Auburn University at Montgomery where she won a National Championship and various National Coaches awards. Chris went on to test her coaching ability by  building up the softball program at Alabama State University where she led them to 2 conference championships and set every single record as a head coach. She was the first in school history to amass over 400 college wins and over 500 career wins. Recently she has made the step to coach Division 1 softball at FIU in Miami Florida to further prove her prowess as a head coach. She splits her time in Florida and Alabama as she and her family work out logistics in supporting her dreams while she dedicates her free time to being a mom to her children. I have watched Chris at a distance and have been truly amazed at her passion for the game of softball and her dedication as a mother.  She inspires me to continue to pursue life and live it full on.

In Episode 7 of the Fenom Podcast, Eliza discusses being in Flow.  We can all relate to being stuck in various tasks, concepts or phases of life.  Corporations, entrepreneurs, athletes, writers, artists, mamas, grandmamas and even YOU benefit from being in a flow state of mind and corporations and athletes spend big money in trying to enhance this state of mind.  Flow was first coined as a lifestyle noun in 1990 by a Hungarian Psychologist who found 4 phases of Flow and wrote about how humans want to turn avoid and avoid conflict, struggle and stress but these are exactly the adversities we need to seek out and continue to put ourselves in front of to learn how to overcome our fears and rewire our brains to learn to find flow in any task.  Eliza introduces tools and techniques she implements in all her classes, trainings and programs to teach her students how to change their thought process when they feel stuck.