Main Street Moxie

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Janine has been flexing her moxie muscle throughout her life. In every phase of her career, she has identified her strengths and pursued roles that would build on them. Her path has been a moxie mix of serendipity and strategy and an openness to embrace the opportunities presented to her. Janine also sees connections between people and the organizations she serves throughout her impressive public relations and marketing career. Through her creativity and vision of what’s possible, she creates synergy.

Janine has held a succession of positions in marketing/public relations and development, including Press Officer of Harrods (in London); Executive Vice President, Head of Corporate Communications, and a member of the Operating Committee of Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising; founder and President of Saatchi & Saatchi Public Relations; and founder and CEO of her own eponymous marketing public relations agency specializing in luxury goods, healthcare and not-for-profit. Her clients included Kiehl’s, Shiseido Cosmetics, The Platinum Guild, The Capital Grille, Time Inc., Johnson & Johnson, McNeil Consumer Products, Mayo Clinic and the Weizmann Institute of Science.

Having sold her public relations agency and “retired,” Janine and her husband relocated from New York City to Miami.  She now serves on the Board of Trustees of Miami City Ballet and does pro bono marketing consulting for PAMM and Baptist Health. She is a member of the Century Association, Cosmopolitan Club, Economics Club of New York, Penn Club of New York City and, with her husband, Fisher Island Club and Yale Club of New York City.

This episode of Main Street Moxie is proudly sponsored by Elyse Harney Real Estate and Kindred Property Care.

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Chef Faye Hess has the winning recipe for moxie. She mixes love, joy, curiosity, fearlessness, resilience, and gratitude to produce a moxie souffle that won’t collapse. In this episode, Faye explores how she came to her love affair with food and how cooking for herself and others has been a foundation for her happiness and growth. She embraces failure as an opportunity to learn and forges into the unknown with incremental steps and lots of reflection.

Faye currently cooks for private clients and runs residential cooking programs in Italy, Spain, France, and soon, Sicily. In her past careers, she prepared food in the film and television industry and co-founded several restaurants, including LIC Brick and 51st Bakery and Cafe. She also wrote and produced a radio show called “In the Kitchen” hosted on New York City’s WBAI radio station, and was a contestant on Chopped. 

Besides cooking, she loves writing and has authored blogs and screenplays, taking ballroom dancing lessons, and living and traveling abroad. Her recent experience with breast cancer caused her to embrace life on a deeper level, seeking out adventures and people that feed her spirit. 

This episode of Main Street Moxie is proudly sponsored by Kindred Property Care and North East Ford.

Resources

Faye Food website

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Michael oozes moxie and uses his passion for the stage to help others cultivate their own. He believes educating people of all ages in the theater arts is empowering, cathartic, and fosters empathy—and moxie.

He loves drama—on the stage. And he loves the community that surrounds it. He has found his bliss at this intersection of community and theater and derives energy and inspiration from the constant collaboration the theater requires and being known to those who surround him. 

Michael is the Associate Artistic Director and Director of Education of the Sharon Playhouse in Sharon, CT. He first performed on the stage of the Playhouse when he was 10 years old, and it brings him immense joy to now be a member of the staff. He wears many hats at the Playhouse, including teacher, director, actor, and playwright. Directing credits at the Playhouse include Pride and Prejudice, A Midsummer Night's Dream, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Elf, Jr., Frozen, Jr., and Marie Antoinette, starring Lauren Ambrose. For the 2023 summer season, Michael will be directing the mainstage production of Oliver.

His performance credits at the Sharon Playhouse include Tony Whitcomb in Shear Madness (Broadway World CT Award - Best Performer in a Play, Berkie Nominee - Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play) Cogsworth in Beauty and the Beast, Mordred in Camelot, and Bobby in A Chorus Line.

As Director of Education, Michael has initiated in-school performing arts residencies at Indian Mountain School, Sharon Center School, and Housatonic Valley Regional High School (HVRHS) and partnered with Project SAGE. Michael co-created and directed the play #BraveSpace, which premiered at New York University's Forum on Ethnodrama. 

Michael has conducted masterclasses and delivered speeches nationwide, most notably as a keynote speaker for The Educational Theatre Association's  Theater In Our Schools Initiative. In 2022, he was his high school alma mater's commencement speaker.

This episode is proudly sponsored by Kindred Property Care and North East Ford.

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For Kelley, moxie involves seeing the gaps and finding ways to fill them. She strategically uses her considerable skills to create something that adds value and beauty to the world. Then she goes for it, bringing others along to develop collaborations and community.

When Kelley moved to the Berkshires over 20 years ago, she decided the area needed a film festival. A huge film fan since childhood, thanks to her parents, she set out to bring her vision to life. At her kitchen table, she sketched out the plan. She spoke with other film festival organizers and attended a handful of film festivals to make her vision a reality.

She set to work, combing the local community and persuading people and organizations to step up and partner with her. Step up they did–contributing time and talent, resources, and venues, and the Berkshire International Film Festival (BIFF) was born in 2006. 

Now in its 17th year, BIFF is a staple of the Berkshire-area cultural season. It has expanded to other film and cultural events in partnership with other organizations throughout the year. The Festival showcases independent films from around the world and creates a space for independent filmmakers and film fans to experience the visual medium and forge creative relationships. The 2023 season boasts over 75 narrative and documentary features and short films to a growing audience of over 4,000. 

Kelley began her career as a press manager at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. While living internationally, she was an art museum docent; owned an art gallery in Frankfurt, Germany; consulted with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra; and launched herself as a professional photographer in Hong Kong. 

She has won numerous awards, including the She's Got Moxie! Award (Berkshire Festival of Women in the Arts); Berkshire Trendsetter (1Berkshire); 25 Most Influential People (Berkshire Magazine). BIFF has also garnered recognition as one of the Top Ten Events in Massachusetts (Best of New England, Yankee Magazine, multiple years); one of the 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World (MovieMaker Magazine). 

She is an active community member and has served on various boards and committees, including Jacob's Pillow, Tanglewood, Shakespeare and Company, IS183, Austen Riggs, and Construct, Inc.

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Clem’s moxie starts with his mother’s efforts to keep him alive and safe from the Nazis in Poland during World War II. As a child, Clem witnessed his mother’s fierce bravery and moxie in the face of Nazi atrocities, alongside the kindness of Catholic nuns in the convent where he was hidden for two years.

After the war, Clem and his mother immigrated to the United States to start anew in New York City. He became a psychologist and psychoanalyst and has maintained a private practice for over 35 years.

In 1969 he cofounded the National Institute for the Psychotherapies, an organization dedicated to training in relational psychoanalysis and integrative psychotherapy. The Institute's students provide low-cost, high-quality therapy to patients of all backgrounds. He currently serves on its board of directors. 

Part of Clem’s moxie is in how he works through his childhood trauma and shame. He helps others find self-acceptance and peace through his clinical practice. He believes that being in relationship with others is the key to healing and wholeness.

He has published books and articles on dream interpretation and psychotherapy and a memoir When the Birds Stopped Singing, in which he explores the trauma and tragedy that he lives with to this day. Clem writes that he acknowledges “that along with the privilege of survival comes the obligation to live one's life to its fullest and honor those who did not survive."

He is a sculptor and portrait photographer and finds his creative life part of his healing and self-expression. He contributed a chapter to the book The Power of Witnessing, entitled “My Lost Father,” in which he explores the creation of a life-sized sculpture of the father he lost at the age of four and never knew.

He is a volunteer lecturer at the Museum of Jewish Heritage: A Living Memorial to the Holocaust.

For more information, visit Clem's website.

This episode of Main Street Moxie is proudly sponsored by Associated Lightening Rod and Thorunn Designs.

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Jenny’s moxie is like a snowball that keeps getting bigger! She adds a bit more moxie with every opportunity and experience she encounters. She has worked to improve the lives of others in ways that use her skills and talents while also getting out of her comfort zone and building her own capacities as well as those of the organizations and communities she serves. Having amassed a wealth of knowledge and expertise, Jenny believes in sharing what she has learned with others to help them find their own version of moxie.

Jenny is President of Berkshire Natural Resources Council, a county-wide land conservation organization in Western Massachusetts. Since joining the organization in 2018, Jenny has more than doubled the size of the staff to focus more broadly on strategic land conservation goals addressing climate resiliency, habitat protection, and public access; developed a new focus on farmland and ensuring farmers have access to affordable land; and worked to ensure that people from all backgrounds and abilities feel welcome and can enjoy and appreciate the Outdoors.

In 2001, Jenny became the Executive Director at the North East Community Center based in Millerton, NY, and serving Eastern Dutchess County and nearby communities in Connecticut. She developed a small village-based organization into a county-wide leader in food security, youth development, and transportation.

Before moving to Sharon, CT in 1998, she lived in New York City, where she spent nearly ten years at Creative Arts Workshops for Kids, a grassroots organization that provided holistic, long-term programs and care for homeless and formerly homeless children and their families in East Harlem. While there, Jenny raised funds, developed tutoring programs, conducted art workshops, mentored and trained volunteers, and eventually served as their Executive Director. In 1997 she moved to Sesame Workshop (creators of Sesame Street) where she developed parenting content for the website and helped design the user interface.

Jenny’s career began at the National Audubon Society in New York; she then became the assistant director of the Council on the Environment of New York City (now known as GrowNYC), where she supported their initiatives in office waste reduction, community gardens, environmental education, and the well-known Greenmarket.

She has served on many nonprofit boards; written theater, dance, and film reviews for regional publications; and is an accomplished painter of landscapes, portraits, and other subjects. Her work has been exhibited in the Berkshires and the Northampton, MA area.

This episode is sponsored by Elyse Harney Real Estate and North East Ford.

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Part of Nadim’s brand is moxie. 

He has founded, built, and led three major businesses: Sadek Wynberg Research, a qualitative research agency; Inish Turk Beg, an island off the coast of Ireland from which he built an award-winning whiskey, food, and music brand; and ProQuo AI, the first AI-driven brand management system. 

Now, Nadim is building a fourth organization as CEO of NeuroTech Group AI, which combines psychology with AI to better fulfill human needs. This new endeavor navigates the intersection of neuroscience and curating an individual’s brand ecosystem. It brings efficiency to business and effectiveness to marketing. 

In this episode, Nadim also explores other aspects of his secret sauce. He muses on his creative process and how he creates momentum and energy for an idea. His life philosophy centers on being kind, doing no harm, gratitude, curiosity, and bringing a laugh into the mix. 

Born to an Egyptian father and an Irish mother, Nadim lived the life of a third culture kid in diverse places such as Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Malaysia, Indonesia, and later Barbados and Antigua. Those experiences have informed his worldview and approach to life.

Nadim enjoys playing and listening to music and founded Off the Shelf records and dabbles in the Irish flute. He channeled his love of motorcycles into Boss Bikes Club, where you can see Nadim traveling across the globe and hopping on a bike to take in the local flavor. He is the brand ambassador for Oxford Talks.

This episode is sponsored by Elyse Harney Real Estate and North East Ford.

Resources

Nadim Sadek Website
Neurotech Group AI

Boss Bikes Club - YouTube

We are what we choose | Nadim Sadek | Oxford Talks

The Secret Millionaire - Nadim Sadek

Secret Millionaire - 'Look Back' by Nadim Sadek, John Concannon, and John FitzPatrick

RTE Nationwide on Inish Turk Beg with Nadim Sadek

Nadim Sadek introduces music from Inish Turk Beg - The Brilliant Series

Life's eXchanges: Nadim Sadek at TEDxTeddington

Irish Arts Center

Social Media

LinkedIn Nadim Sadek - Co-Founder & CEO - NeuroTech Group AI | LinkedIn

Twitter Nadim Sadek (@nadimsadek) / Twitter 

Instagram @nadimsadek • Instagram photos and videos

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Leo believes moxie can benefit from solid financial planning and a long-term approach. Taking risks feels less risky when you know your big picture and are clear about your life and fiscal priorities.

In this episode, Leo shares his financial planning, entrepreneurial, and life philosophy, all of which can be traced back to working in his parents' hardware store in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania. 

Leo always knew he wanted to be in business for himself. He began his professional career in public accounting with Coopers & Lybrand. Gradually, his focus narrowed to personal financial planning, and along the way, he accumulated the credentials of CPA, CFA, and CFP®. 

When Leo couldn’t find the right investment advisory firm to join, he started his own. That’s when he and Milt Stern met and discovered they had similar visions. Leo and Milt agreed to team up for their next investment client and put their ideas into practice. The rest is Bridgewater Advisors, where he is co-founder and managing partner.

Leo has served as an instructor in portfolio management at the New York Institute of Finance, has been a member of the Board of Governors at the University of Scranton Alumni Society, and has been a member of the AICPA Investment Committee and The Greenwich Roundtable.  Barron's magazine has recognized Leo as one of the country's Top 100 Independent Investment Advisors.

This episode is proudly sponsored by Elyse Harney Real Estate and North East Ford.

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Lora Karam and Bev Canepari are unlocking the riches of Connecticut one town at a time through their website, blog, and social media platform, Unlocking Connecticut. 

In this episode of Main Street Moxie, Lora and Bev discuss their joyous exploration of the fabulous small businesses, stores, food and dining, art and culture, recreation and natural beauty, and events and people of the Nutmeg State–and beyond. 

In this episode, they explore their origin story, their belief in the power of the Universe and a synched Google calendar, and their admiration for the small businesses that are the bedrock of the towns they explore. 

Lora and Bev’s exuberant moxie shines as they describe their pivotal train journey, where they mused about sharing what they love about where they live with others. They immediately began taking baby steps to make it happen. 

They have grown Unlocking Connecticut and expanded its content over the past eight years. Lora and Bev are now unlocking towns in other states and countries. Their goal is always the same: to have local–and now global–fun and help others do the same.   

Lora is all about the visual. She is a photographer who captures the people and settings in images. Bev is the wordsmith, describing their outings and adventures. Together they bring zest and enthusiasm and make moxie fun!

Website: https://unlockingconnecticut.com/

Facebook: Unlocking Connecticut

Instagram: @unlockingconnecticut

Email: [email protected] and [email protected] 

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We are thankful for so much this year! And Thanksgiving is the perfect time to show that. In this mini-episode, we talk about what we’ve learned from guests about gratitude and moxie.

We also briefly explore the science of gratitude, how it benefits our well-being, and the power of saying thanks in our personal lives and workplaces.

We offer a heartfelt thank you to our sponsors over the past year, including Elyse Harney Real Estate, North East Ford, Oblong Books, Kneller Insurance Agency, Associated Lightening Rod Company, Hammertown, Catskill View Weddings, and Thorunn Designs.

We are indebted to our fabulous guests for sharing their moxie with us and suggesting how others can take small steps to amp up their moxie.

And, of course, we are grateful for all of you who listen to Main Street Moxie! You’re the reason why we’re here.

Visit this mini episode's show notes at our Main Street Moxie website for links to resources about gratitude.

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