Faith Hovde has spent more than twenty years doing one thing extremely well: helping people believe in themselves.

From running a home daycare and building a photography business, to owning a boutique, coaching entrepreneurs, creating coworking community at The Studio, and now working in community relations for Visiting Angels, Faith has built a career around confidence, connection, and purpose.

In this episode of Let's Circle Back to That, Faith joins Heather and Anne for a conversation that moves from cozy traditions and community events to deeper questions about values, alignment, leadership, and how we create lives that actually reflect what matters to us.

You'll also hear about Faith's unforgettable lingerie fashion show that celebrated women of every body type, the importance of intentional relationships (including weekly date nights), and why strong communities start with people who are willing to show up.

Plus:

• Hygge, cozy traditions, and swap swaps

• Favorite Tri-Cities restaurants and date night spots

• Building businesses that empower people

• Supporting caregivers and families through end-of-life care

• What makes an organization truly life-giving instead of soul-sucking

• Vision boards, quarterly goals, and personal alignment

Faith reminds us that the most powerful communities are built when people know their values, share their stories, and invest in one another.

If you're interested in entrepreneurship, leadership, community building, or simply living a more intentional life — this conversation is for you.

🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

If you enjoy the show:

⭐ Follow the podcast

⭐ Leave a rating or review

⭐ Share this episode with someone who loves building community

Proud to be part of the Women in Podcasting Network.

What if the secret to building community isn't building bridges…

…but building fortresses?

This week on Let's Circle Back to That, Heather and Anne sit down with Megan Johnson — theatre director, co-founder of Yes& Productions, and one of the most thoughtful conversationalists in the Tri-Cities arts community.

Megan has spent years directing shows, mentoring young actors, and helping build a theatre company dedicated to producing high-quality productions using local talent.

But when she talks about community, Megan has a surprising philosophy.

She says she's not a bridge builder.

She builds fortresses — places where people feel safe, protected, and like they truly belong.

In this episode we talk about:

• Why The Music Man is secretly about loneliness

• What it takes for an audience to trust a theatre company

• Why gratitude builds strong creative teams

• The reality of producing community theatre

• Why "annoyance is the price we pay for community"

• Learning to love people you didn't choose to be in community with

Plus: Broadway opinions, theatre family chaos, expensive hobbies, Disneyland nostalgia, and why Megan would rather receive meat than jewelry.

At its heart, this episode is about something bigger:

How communities form when people show up, do the work, and care deeply about the people around them.

🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

If you enjoy the episode:

⭐ Follow the show

⭐ Leave a rating or review

⭐ Share it with a theatre lover in your life

Part of the Women in Podcasting Network.

What if the secret to stronger communities is simply gathering more often — and letting people show up exactly as they are?

In this episode of Let's Circle Back to That, Anne and Heather sit down with April Culwell — a connector, ideas person, and champion of community collaboration in the Tri-Cities.

April serves in Leadership Tri-Cities, works with the Tri-Cities Water Follies, and founded the Administrative Professionals Network, which hosts an annual professional development conference celebrating the people who keep organizations running.

From growing up in Guam and Los Angeles to building community in the Tri-Cities, April shares how culture, celebration, and reciprocity shape the way she thinks about gatherings, leadership, and service.

The conversation explores:

• Why community is the antidote to loneliness

• The Pacific Islander tradition of chenchule — social reciprocity and showing up with what you have

• How gatherings become easier when we remove the pressure to host perfectly

• The future of Tri-Cities Water Follies and ideas to make boat race events even more community-centered

• Why volunteers need clear missions and meaningful roles

• The tension between nonprofit work and entrepreneurial solutions

• Why introverts still deeply need community

• The importance of celebrating milestones, culture, and everyday life

Plus, Anne and Heather and April brainstorm some delightfully wild ideas for the Columbia River — including floating buskers, water taxis between events, and maybe even a floating bar.

April reminds us that community doesn't require perfection — just participation.

As Dorothy Day said:

"We have all known the long loneliness. The answer is community."

If this episode resonates with you, share it with someone who loves building community.

And if you enjoy the show, please follow, rate, and review the podcast — it helps more people discover these stories.

Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

This episode is part of the Women in Podcasting network.

What happens when a former newspaper reporter pivots into Communications and PR… and then becomes one of the biggest champions for women's health and community leadership in the Tri-Cities?

In this episode of Let's Circle Back to That, we sit down with Staci West — former Tri-City Herald reporter turned communications leader at Battelle/PNNL and Bechtel — to talk about legacy, menopause, mentorship, and what it really means to support women.

We circle back to:

• Growing up Seattle-focused and learning to love the Tri-Cities

• Why the Women in Business Conference (800–900 attendees!) matters more than ever

• How menopause is a justice issue — and why we deserve research dollars

• Bone density, colonoscopies, DEXA scans, and investing in long-term health

• Why teenage years are critical for bone health

• How to be a GOOD volunteer (and why flaking helps no one)

• Using nonprofits to build your portfolio and career skills

• Curly hair tips (yes, including blue perms)

• Why subtitles are now mandatory

• Legacy thinking after 50

• Exposing kids to trade unions, nonprofits, and broader career pathways

We also shout out powerful local leaders like Michelle Whitney, Abbey Cameron, Bo Ruff, and organizations making waves in women's advocacy.

If you've ever wondered:

– Why we don't talk enough about menopause

– How to mentor the next generation

– How to volunteer strategically

– Or how to build community intentionally

This episode is for you.

🎧 Listen now and don't forget to rate, review, and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Every review helps us grow this community beyond the Tri-Cities.

#CircleBack

What does urban planning have to do with generational wealth? More than you think.

In this episode of Let's Circle Back to That, we sit down (in a massage chair, naturally) with Jet Richardson — Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity Tri-County Partners, urban planning enthusiast, former Peace Corps volunteer, and one of the most civically engaged leaders in the Tri-Cities.

From "eyes on the street" and the evolution of South Richland to medieval city cores in Estonia, Jet connects the dots between city design, homeownership, and long-term community health.

We talk about:

• Why starter homes matter (and why we don't build them anymore)

• The impending million-unit housing deficit in Washington State

• How Habitat homes have generated over $60 million in local wealth

• Urban planning lessons from Senegal, Chicago, DC, and Finland

• Why resistance to change actually means people care

• What effective service should really look like

• The power of transparency and trust in nonprofit leadership

• Why Habitat needs "a bajillion" volunteers

Plus: Anne's old bedroom studio tour (VHS player included), Ewan McGregor admiration, Disney lighting Carlsbad Caverns, moats in Richland, and reindeer for dinner.

Jet reminds us that community isn't accidental — it's built.

🎧 Listen now and join the conversation.

⭐ If you love leadership, cities, and real community-building, rate & review to help new listeners find us.

💬 Share this episode with someone who cares about the future of where we live.

#BelieveInPodcasts

"The most effective way to do it is to do it." — Amelia Earhart

In this episode of Let's Circle Back to That, Anne and Heather sit down with Natalie Abersfeller for a thoughtful, wide-ranging conversation about confidence—how we build it, lose it, and learn to find our stride again in new seasons of life.

We kick off with a new intro segment featuring a leadership quote and a guessing game, then dive into big questions: Do busy people really get more done? What role does hustle culture play in our confidence? How do postpartum changes, hormones, aging, and comparison quietly reshape our expectations of ourselves?

Natalie and Anne reflect on a decades-long friendship that truly began with a high school car accident by, the power of cross-generational communities like PEO, and why gathering people is more than a personality trait—it's a way of creating confidence for others. We also talk communication tools from therapy, learning to receive constructive feedback, and how family norms shape the way we handle conflict and connection.

Then Natalie takes us into the world of barrel racing—how she found the sport later in life, the camaraderie among women riders, what it takes physically and mentally to compete, and why confidence is built one ride at a time. From caring for horses to racing by fractions of a second, this community is rooted in support, resilience, and showing up.

We wrap things up with a cozy cookie taste test that ties together food, family, memory, and community—because confidence can grow in the smallest, sweetest moments too.

🎧 Listen now and circle back with us.

💬 What's something you did before you felt ready?

⭐ Rate, review, and share to help new listeners find the pod.

We said we'd circle back- so here we are.

In this Season 2 Circle Back episode of Let's Circle Back to That, hosts Anne and Heather revisit the questions, pop-culture debates, historical curiosities, and community conversations we promised to research during past interviews—and then promptly moved on from.

From Bridgerton hot takes, Queen Charlotte fact vs. fiction, and whether people in Regency-era ballrooms smelled (spoiler: probably), to Broadway puppetry that doubles as a full-body workout, Fiji's deeply communal culture, theatre chaos involving elephants and tigers, and the psychology of reality TV, this episode is curious, funny, and unexpectedly thoughtful.

We also explore:

• What "never underestimate the power of a small group of people" really means

• Why so many Tri-Cities nonprofits seem to have been born in the mid-1990s

• How much community involvement is sustainable in adult life

• What motivates people to serve—and when it's okay to pull back

• And why sometimes adulting just means doing things we don't enjoy

Plus: rapid-fire questions for Anne, the return of Dear Abbey, Dear Heather, and plenty of joyful side quests along the way.

🎧 Listen now and tell us what you want us to circle back to next.

⭐ Rate, review, and share to help new listeners find the show.

What does it really mean to build community—and who are we responsible for when we do?

In this episode of Let's Circle Back to That, we sit down with Liz McLaughlin, a Certified Fundraising Executive and Chief Development Officer for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Benton and Franklin County, to talk about compassion in action. From growing up with powerful examples of generosity to shaping a career rooted in service, Liz shares how philanthropy is about far more than fundraising—it's about prevention, accountability, and lifting communities from the ground up.

Along the way, we circle back to cross-country skiing and downhill mishaps, Spokane (Bloomsday) nostalgia, Broadway's Suffs, Main Street USA moments, Bunco friendships, and why sometimes the best thing you can do is just start—even if it's not perfect yet.

If you've ever wondered how to help, where to give, or how small actions create lasting change, this conversation will stay with you.

🎧 Listen now, and if this episode resonates, rate, review, and share it with someone who believes in showing up for others.

Some growth begins with trust—not in yourself, but in something steady enough to carry you.

This week on Let's Circle Back to That, we sit down with Cynthia MacFarlan, founder of TROT – Therapeutic Riding of Tri-Cities, to talk about what happens when individuals are given the chance to trust a horse—and how that trust unlocks confidence, communication, and possibility.

Cynthia shares stories from over 12 years of therapeutic riding, from a shy, nonverbal child learning to step forward, to riders whose families witness abilities they've never seen before. We talk about why horses are such powerful partners, how rotary movement and neuroscience support growth, and why the impact of equine therapy shows up far beyond the arena.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why trust comes before confidence

• How therapeutic riding supports physical, emotional, and communication growth

• What families notice when their loved one realizes they can

• The role of volunteers and quiet consistency

• Cynthia's transition into "inspirement," not retirement

• And why riders never age out—only horses do

Plus—frozen pizza vs. Texas Roadhouse, Texas Roadhouse butter, and dreaming about what comes next.

🎧 Listen now on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

⭐ If this episode resonates, please rate, review, and share—it helps new listeners find the show

What if we stopped normalizing feeling terrible—and started asking better questions about our health?

In this episode of Let's Circle Back to That, we sit down with Emily Nielsen, certified nutritionist (CN), certified nutrition specialist (CNS), and founder of a thriving integrative health practice built entirely without debt while navigating burnout. Emily shares her journey from nearly dying in her twenties to rebuilding her health, her career, and her life—starting from her basement and growing into a full multi-practitioner practice.

We talk about:

• Why nutrition is medicine (but never the whole story)
• Rapid Aging or "reverse puberty" and how to cushion the symptoms instead of fighting your body
• Chronic illness, trauma, identity, and why some brains feel safer staying "in the hole"
• Preventative care vs. waiting until you're sick enough to deserve help
• Why community is a measurable health metric
• Parenting teens, food freedom, and being a "nutrition detective"
• The Wednesday Waffle 🧇—and how intentional connection can change your relationships

If you've ever felt stuck in your body, overwhelmed by health advice, or curious how art and science can meet to support total wellness—this episode is for you.

🎧 Listen now on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

⭐️ Rate, review, and share with someone who wants to live well for the long game