Hearth2Heart

Season Finale: What 5 years of podcasting taught me about Belonging & The Fires We Lit Launch

After five years and more than 55 conversations, Gayathri reflects on what listening to other people’s stories has changed in her—and what those stories have taught her about belonging.The episode arrives as Campfire Kinship prepares to launch The Fires We Lit: Illustrated Stories of Women Reimagining the Rules, a new anthology created by 25 women connected to STEM and innovation. Gayathri explores how the book carries forward many of the questions first gathered around the Hearth 2 Heart podcast, while leaving space for what the podcast—and the stories still waiting to be told—may become next.

Reimagining the Rules of Money and Belonging | Shivika Sharma

What if belonging did not require us to arrive with all the answers?

In this episode of Hearth 2 Heart, Gayathri Shukla sits down with Shivika Sharma, Investment Advisor at Sharma Wealth, Richardson Wealth, for a conversation about the pressure to appear knowledgeable, the dreams we quietly learn to dismiss, and what that reveals about the intersection between money and belonging.

Together, Gayathri and Shivika explore a pattern that reaches far beyond simple financial planning. They consider the inherited ideas of responsibility and success that shape our choices—and what becomes possible when we ask not only what is practical, but what we genuinely want.

The conversation also connects with the upcoming launch of The Fires We Lit: Illustrated Stories of Women Reimagining the Rules, where Sharma Wealth is one of the sponsors. Like the stories in the anthology, Shivika invites listeners to question prescribed paths, reclaim the ability to dream, and imagine a future that feels like their own.

Resources mentioned:

Sharma Wealth, Richardson Wealth

The Fires We Lit Launch

www.campfirekinship.com

When Stories Echo: How to Listen with Courage

What does it mean to carry a homeland in your body - through land, food, memory, grief, joy, and story?

In this episode, Gayathri Shukla sits down with Dr. Izzeddin Hawamda, a Palestinian educator, storyteller, peace and conflict scholar, and founder of Sadaa – صدى, a storytelling initiative rooted in personal narrative, community dialogue, and human connection. Together, they explore what it means to tell stories that are often flattened by headlines, conflict, or politics. Izzeddin shares memories of Palestine and reflects on storytelling as a bridge for humanization - not only as a communication tool, but as a powerful act of dignity, resistance, and belonging.

This conversation invites listeners to consider the responsibility of story listening: what changes when we stop asking people to make their stories more comfortable, and instead allow ourselves to be moved toward deeper care, reflection, and action? At the heart, it is about the stories that echo across displacement, the kitchens that become places of belonging, and the courage it takes to keep telling the truth with love.

Resources mentioned:

IG: Sadaa.echoes

Dr. Izzeddin Hawamda’s storytelling and education work

www.campfirekinship.com

Leading Through Story: Immigrant Women in Engineering | Claudia Gomez-Villeneuve and Sara Mighan

What does it mean to lead through story—especially when your path into engineering has been shaped by family expectations, immigrant identity, gender, caregiving, language, and the pressure to keep proving yourself?

Recorded live at the CCWESTT Conference in Calgary, this special Hearth 2 Heart episode features a panel conversation with Claudia Gomez-Villeneuve, Sara Mighan, and host Gayathri Shukla on the lived experiences of immigrant women in engineering. Together, they explore what often sits beneath the surface of career advancement: being told women “don’t belong” on site, returning from maternity leave to a demotion or vanished role, discovering pay gaps, learning the unwritten “politics of engineering,” and why immigrant women need better pathways to P.Eng. recognition.

This episode is a reminder that gender equity in engineering cannot be separated from intersectionality and belonging—and that sharing our stories can help make the invisible rules visible for those coming next.

Reclaiming Your Worth Through Telling Your Story | Serena Arora

How do you tell your story—when the world keeps asking you what you are, instead of who you are? In this episode of Hearth 2 Heart, Gayathri Shukla sits down with author, yoga therapist, and Ayurvedic practitioner Serena Arora to explore a deeply personal journey of identity, lineage, and coming home to oneself. Drawing from her book Unbound, Serena shares what it means to grow up navigating mixed identity, cultural expectations, and the lifelong search for belonging.

Together, they unpack:

- The tension between “immigrit” and “immiguilt”—and how grit and guilt both shape our choices

- What it means to carry (and eventually put down) the invisible “backpack”

- Why belonging is not something to become, but something to just be

- How generational patterns live in us—and how we begin to consciously shift them

- How telling your story can help you find alignment

This conversation is both grounding and expansive—a reminder that belonging is not found in a place, a title, or a path…but in the quiet, ongoing practice of returning to yourself.

Resources mentioned:

Serena Arora’s book, Unbound: An Immigrant Daughter’s Journey of Reckoning, Unraveling Shame, and Reclaiming Her Worth

www.serenaarora.com

https://www.campfirekinship.com/

Between Worlds: Navigating Identity and the Stories We Carry | Lina Bahlawan & Yemi Adefulu

What happens when two people from vastly different cultures come together not just to share stories, but to write a book about the in-between spaces of identity?

n this Hearth 2 Heart episode, host Gayathri Shukla speaks with Lina Bahlawan and Yemi Adefulu, co-authors of Adventures of a Migrant Heart, about the surprising friendship that sparked their book—and the deeper lessons it holds for reimagining inclusion. Together, they explore:

- Why storytelling with someone (not just about someone) creates a new kind of empathy

- How curiosity and compassion can disrupt stereotypes—without losing complexity

- The power of unlikely friendships to bridge global perspectives and lived experience

- Why choosing collaboration over competition is a radical act, especially in systems shaped by scarcity

This episode is a refreshing reminder that sometimes, the best way to understand someone else’s story… is to co-write a new one.

Resources mentioned:

https://www.amazon.ca/Adventures-Migrant-Heart-Yemi-Adefulu/dp/196761668X

https://www.yemiadefulu.com/

https://www.campfirekinship.com/

What does it take to thrive as an immigrant woman—not just survive?

In this episode of Hearth 2 Heart, Gayathri Shukla speaks with Najah Al-Atassi, founder of Al-Atassi Leadership Consulting and its Peaks Program, about the emotional resilience, bold dreaming, and grit it takes to build a life—and leadership—on your own terms in Canada. Through heartfelt storytelling and sharp insights, Najah shares:

- Why informed optimism gives way to informed realism—and how to stay motivated

- How rejection, assimilation pressure, and “Canadian experience” myths can erode confidence

- The power of perspective, networks, and beginner’s mindset in transforming your journey

- What allies can actually do to support immigrant women—without assuming superiority

- And why courageously being yourself is the first step to belonging

Whether you’re new to Canada, navigating career transitions, or leading workplace inclusion, this episode is your reminder to dream boldly—and support others to do the same.

Resources mentioned:

https://www.alatassileadershipconsulting.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/najah-al-atassi/

https://www.amazon.ca/Landed-Transformative-Stories-Canadian-Immigrant/dp/B0B7PSHKMR/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

https://www.campfirekinship.com/

What does it mean to feel at home—across lands, timelines, and technologies?

This New Year special features an openhearted dialogue, where host Gayathri Shukla and guest Stanley Opara weave together their personal stories of migration, identity, and imagination. From oil-rich Nigeria to the majestic Rockies, this episode journeys through the past, present, and future, exploring:

- What it means to belong to a place, to people, and to oneself

- How stories shape our sense of home

- The impact of climate change on belonging

- The risks and possibilities AI poses for human connection

- Why humility, resilience, and hope are more urgent than ever

This episode is an invitation to slow down, reflect, and come home to yourself, wherever you are.

Resources mentioned:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-immigrant-story-podcast/id1555915922

https://www.linkedin.com/in/stanleyopara/

https://www.amazon.ca/Landed-Transformative-Stories-Canadian-Immigrant/dp/B0B7PSHKMR/

https://www.campfirekinship.com/

What does it mean to lead with empathy in a world that seems increasingly polarized and divided?

In this episode of Hearth 2 Heart, Gayathri Shukla sits down with Dr. Vidya Chamundeswari - senior scientist at Eupraxia Pharmaceuticals and Chair of the Board at Lotus STEMM (2021-2025) - for a heartfelt conversation on unlearning silence, navigating identity in the workplace, and leading with courage and care.

Together, they explore:

Why empathy is a strategic strength, not the so-called soft-skill or weakness

The tension of holding power and vulnerability - building on insights from the Breaking Barriers project at Lotus STEM

Why “you shouldn’t have to be brave to belong”

Tune in for this rich and reflective conversation on people-first leadership.

Resources mentioned in episode:

Lotus STEMM Breaking Barriers

https://campfirekinship.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/vidya-chamundeswari-n/

What does it mean to belong when your lived experiences are not always reflected in the very systems meant to support your growth? In this episode of Hearth 2 Heart, Gayathri Shukla sits down with Dr. Golnaz Golnaraghi, founder of Accelerate Her Future, for an intimate and powerful conversation about the career development experiences of Indigenous, Black, and racialized women in the workplace.

Drawing from key findings of a national research project funded by the Government of Canada’s Future Skills Centre, they unpack career development needs and gaps, as well as promising practices and opportunities shared by women across sectors—pointing to what’s already working and what must shift. This episode invites us to reimagine career development for greater belonging.

Resources mentioned in episode:

https://accelerateherfuture.com/insights-and-resources/research/

https://golnazgolnaraghi.com/
and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgcQiLM5rSk

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36780282/

https://www.instagram.com/campfire_kinship/

https://campfirekinship.com/