Heart on My Sleeve: A podcast with Susie Cohen

Annette Dresser is person who strives to always achieve at a high level. Raised in a big Irish family on Mercer Island, Annette's talents and determination enabled her to achieve athletic success as a division 1 tennis player in college and success in her career climbing the corporate ladder at Nordstrom to become an Executive VP. Annette left work to focus on her two sons, one who faced challenges with addiction. She began working again to afford her son's treatment and continues to thrive working in the men's luxury clothing space. After facing unthinkable tragedy, she tries to fill each day helping others and living life to its fullest. Annette's story is one of opportunities taken, determination, hope and loss.

@annette.dresser

J.Hilburn Custom-Made Men’s Clothing

Seattle's Union Gospel Mission | Seattle's Union Gospel Mission

In this episode, podcast producer Jill Friedman interviews Susie where she tells stories of growing up in Plainview, NY, how her childhood friendships with her "home girls" are unbreakable bonds and how moving to Seattle was a huge challenge for her. She shares what brings her joy, how she gives love to others and how spending time with her family and her friends is the most important thing to her. She talks about how she developed her love of fashion, how she found a love for fashion resale and how shopping feeds her soul. Susie gets candid about entering therapy and how she is a chronic overthinker.

Reuven Carlyle's success in life was not a forgone conclusion. Reuven shares with Susie stories of his childhood poverty, growing up with a single mother who lived a true hippie lifestyle in the 1960s, searching for mentors to provide him guidance and stability, and the opportunities he sought out that changed his life. He grappled with the duality of his reality and knowing that life could be very different. At 15, Reuven recounts how he left his childhood home and became a page in Washington D.C. for Senator Warren Magnusson, Scoop Jackson and even for Speaker Tip O'Neill. Through his experiences, he developed a deep commitment to civil service, ultimately becoming a powerful Washington state congressman and senator. Reuven is passionate about foster care and climate responsibility, which he dedicates his career to addressing. Hear about his wife Wendy and their four children, and how he is deeply grateful every day for the blessings in his life. This is an exceptional conversation.

Find Reuven Carlyle:

@reuvencarlyle

www.earthfinance.com

www.treehouseforkids.org

Claudia Longo is 25 years old and has already lived an extraordinary life. At the age of 18, Claudia was heading to the University of Washington to play soccer after being recruited as a high school sophomore, when she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Listen as Claudia shares how she went on to play for UW at the highest level, how the community around her helped her to manage her illness and how she is now creating a community for other young adults diagnosed with MS with her organization MS Impossible. She candidly talks about the reality of living with the disease and how she is inspired everyday by people and purpose to make the world better.

Find Claudia and her organization:

www.ms-impossible.org

@claudia_longo2

@_ms_im_possible

Tiffany Wendel has been a well-known stylist for over 18 years and has been in fashion for over 35 years. She talks to Susie about her childhood as an identical twin, growing up with divorced parents on different coasts, how all of her family members are creative and how she got into fashion. Tiffany gets real about her changing body size, shares insider styling tips including how to pack for travelling, figuring out your "core vibe" and explains why fit is so important. Tiffany talks about dating and meeting her husband on Bumble and what it's like to be a parent of twins being a twin herself. Tiffany talks about the tremendous amount of loss she's suffered recently and how she carries those loved ones with her. A really inspiring episode!

Insta: @tiffanywendelstylist

www.tiffanywendel.com

Meet Rhonda Banchero, athlete, wife, mom of 3 and fashion lover. Susie and Rhonda dive deep into what it was like being a 12-year-old girl who was 6'1'' tall, becoming a pioneer in women's basketball, and how she learned how to manage her deficit mindset to become someone who tries to stop to smell the roses. She shares details about her family life, being in a biracial marriage and about raising her very athletic kids, including her oldest son Paolo Banchero, one of the NBA's top players. She talks about her passion for her current career and how important it is to give back. She also shares stories about her love of fashion and how inclusive sizing has been a challenge for her.

Peter Chung is an American success story. Born in South Korea and immigrated with his family when he was 2 to the United States, Peter grew up in Washington with a unique blended family. He tells Susie about the lessons his Norwegian grandfather taught him and about the work ethic his father instilled in him. He shares his career journey as a salesman and how he landed in the car industry, ultimately owning dealerships. He talks about how living his faith made him able to lead authentically and why it's so important that his dealerships are good members of the community. Peter's entrepreneurial spirit shines in this episode.

www.toyotaoftricities.com

LinkedIn: Peter Chung

email: [email protected]

Meet Jill Handaly, a dear friend of Susie's. Jill is a speech pathologist who works with children with autism and apraxia of speech. Originally from Houston, Jill talks about the challenges of moving to Seattle, raising her kids far from family and implementing the lessons imparted to her by her grandparents and parents that she carries with her every day. She uses creative outlets to get her through her tough times, including caring for her husband during his battle with cancer. She shares why she loves her job and the children she helps. She bonds with Susie over their need to connect with people and, of course, their love of shopping.

Harold Kelsie and Susie met when Harold delivered packages to Susie's showroom as her UPS driver. He teased her about her New York accent and they were instant friends. In this episode, Susie chats with Harold about how he became a UPS driver, what a day in his life looks like, how his faith and family keep him going every day and how organization is the key to his success. He shares special and funny delivery stories from his career of 38 years.

Laura Van Horne is an accomplished mixed media artist and Seattle gallery owner who joins us to talk about how she pivoted from her speech therapy career to becoming a full-time artist. She chats with Susie about childhood art projects, how creating art helped her through challenges as an adult, the bold pitch she made to the Seattle Art Museum, how she started her own gallery and what a day in the life of an artist looks like. Her passion for her work shines through in this episode.

www.lauravanhorneart.com

www.grayskygallery.com

@lauravanhorneart