Leaders of Hope

Jackie Leonard is a storyteller, teacher, and community builder dedicated to empowering the voice of all women, because she believes this is the way to create a better world. With an MFA in Creative Writing and a writing group of her own, Write Beside Her, Jackie is deeply invested in telling her story in her own words and helping other women do the same.

When Jackie became a mom, she realized there was nowhere to go to read stories that resonated with her real-life experience, so she created a new magazine called Motherscope. The third issue, Radical Mama, just came out and my mom, sister, and I are lucky enough to have our photography and writing featured on its pages.

Today, Jackie and I talk about the importance of women’s voices, how the pandemic has served her writing practice, and behind-the-scenes into the making of Radical Mama. And now, your Leader of Hope for the week, Jackie Leonard!

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This week’s guest is Kylie Harber: a self-proclaimed multi-passionate creative. We first bonded over our shared love of writing, and over the years I’ve witnessed her equal talents as an artist, photographer, designer, and senior landscape architect. Kylie works at a local design office in Brisbane, Australia, while growing her business, Tiny Giraffe, featuring custom hand-drawn line art.

In today’s episode, Kylie gets vulnerable to the challenges of quarantine and how the world falling apart somehow gave her new boldness to take big risks in honor of her dreams. The rewards have been remarkable - I can’t wait for you to hear from Kylie herself. Here’s your Leader of Hope for the week: Kylie Harber!

Today’s guest is Kelsey Overstreet: fine artist, jewelry designer, serial entrepreneur, teacher, mother, and founder of the Fucking Fierce Artist Circle.

The first months of the pandemic rocked Kelsey’s business world: 2020 was fully booked with in-person art fairs and pop-up shops to sell her paintings and jewelry. However, this wasn’t Kelsey’s first time facing great challenges. She learned from her experience in the 2008 recession and decided to CHANGE THE NARRATIVE from fear to commitment and contribution.

Seven months later, it has been amazing to see Kelsey’s resilience shining through these challenging times. She committed herself to continue showing up for her studio time no matter what. She leaned into the story of her Hope Necklace which became a bestseller online. She has shifted her energy from in-person events to her online shop and has become a master at curating beautiful photography with personal storytelling. Here’s your leader of hope for the week, Kelsey Overstreet!

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Today’s episode is Part 2 with Lauren Duke: author of the forthcoming memoir, Shithouse, and founder of Gather Encinitas. If you haven’t listened to part one, you can find it here.

The first half of this conversation was about the spiritual journey of 2020 and the second half focuses on the nitty-gritty details of how Lauren’s businesses are evolving. Every second is worth listening to. Enjoy!

KEY TAKEAWAYS: 

-Lauren discusses how her privilege has allowed her to step back, see the bigger picture and ask, “what can be more useful right now?” with her businesses. 


-How can Lauren best serve her mission? Right now it means subletting the brick-and-mortar space (unusable for community gatherings during COVID-19) to a new 501C, Encinitas4Equality, to support allyship with BIPOC neighbors in Encinitas.


-We talk about how Be Well has transformed from a co-working/workshop/yoga space into a community acupuncture clinic that makes Chinese medicine available to everyone. 


-Lauren and I discuss the lack of diversity in Encinitas and how my eyes have been opened to the prevalence of systemic racism in Southern California.  


-We talk about the new addition of Gather Yosemite and the greater dream to create a network of mental health retreats around the world. 


-Lauren reveals the ups and downs of writing her first memoir, “Shithouse,” which focuses on breaking free from our histories and family patterns. 


-We have the power to dismantle transgenerational trauma and inherited narratives to become ourselves. 


Dive deep into Lauren’s transformation journey over the past six months. Listen here:

Lauren’s Information:

Website:  https://www.gatherencinitas.com/

Social Handles:

IG: https://www.instagram.com/dollieduke83/ & https://www.instagram.com/gatherencinitas

Kirsten’s Information:

Website: https://kirsteninc.com/

Social Handles:

Today’s guest is the one and only Lauren Duke: a talented entrepreneur, yoga teacher, community leader, and writer. We first met about 3 years ago when I was right in the middle of a rock bottom moment and Gather became my safe haven for healing heartbreak and moving trauma out of my body. Gather was a thriving community yoga space on the 101 that became my home away from home for yoga classes, wellness workshops, pop up markets, and dance parties. When Lauren took over the space next door to create Be Well, a women’s co-working space, I was all in. These spaces were my connection to self-care practices and like-minded community during one of the hardest times of my life - they were my lifeline.

And I looked up to Lauren tremendously for her ability to speak her truth without apology, teach with passion, and create without fear.

Today, Lauren’s businesses look very different than they did in January 2020, and this interview talks about she is evolving with the times while honoring her original mission to promote mental health in our community.  I’m living in SF and Lauren is living in Ojai now, but I still call the Encinitas community OUR community, because it is.

I thought about this conversation for days after we recorded it. Lauren brought up so many ideas and insights that helped me find a deeper understanding of the personal and collective experiences of 2020, and she posed questions that made me think deeply about the greater systems we’re living in. Lauren is super smart, curious, bold, and honest - and she’s not afraid to challenge your ways of thinking.

The first half of this conversation is about the spiritual journey of 2020 and the second half focuses on the nitty-gritty details of how Lauren’s businesses are evolving. Every second is worth listening to - here’s today’s Leader of Hope, Lauren Duke!

Dive deep into Lauren’s transformation journey over the past six months. Listen here:

Lauren’s Information:

Website:  https://www.gatherencinitas.com/

Social Handles:

IG: https://www.instagram.com/dollieduke83/

Kirsten’s Information:

Website: https://kirsteninc.com/

Social Handles:

In this episode of Leaders of Hope, I talk with Monica Urick: a dear friend and fellow small business owner in San Francisco. She is the one-woman show behind Monkei Miles, a children’s resale shop that has become a family favorite in the Sunset district and beyond. We discuss how the pandemic has radically altered her business model and how she quickly evolved to keep her business alive. There are so many incredible bits of wisdom peppered throughout this conversation, including my favorite quote from Monica: "I've taken the word 'pivot' out of my dictionary. Now I call it RESILIENCE."

It’s here! My very first podcast episode features a longtime dear friend and teacher of mine, Sarah Pascual. This powerful woman has been a prominent yoga teacher in San Francisco for over a decade, and before the pandemic, she had a full schedule of in-person private and public classes. She also had two international retreats on the books for 2020, one of which was sold out. We talk about how the shelter-in-place order gave Sarah a moment for sacred pause and how she used this time to find her edge as a teacher and how it has shaped her sense of self and her business.

Key takeaways:

Dive deep into Sarah’s transformation journey over the past six months. Listen here:

Sarah’s Information:

Social Handles:

Kirsten’s Information:

Website: https://kirsteninc.com/

Social Handles: