Alex and Claire sit down for a raw and honest conversation with each other about their experiences balancing babies and careers. They hold nothing back when talking about the challenges and the beauty of motherhood, family, careers, mental health, and identity.

Dr. Cassidy Freitas is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and mom to three with a virtual private practice based in San Diego where she offers therapy to California parents navigating fertility, pregnancy, postpartum and parenting young children. She hosts the top-rated wellness and parenting podcast Holding Space and shares supportive tips and strategies for millennial parents over on Instagram @drcassidy.

Entrepreneur, real estate investor and Founder and CEO of Moniker Group, Ryan Sisson, sits down with Claire + Alex to talk about his eight companies and ten brands specializing in everything from event design and custom-made furniture to coworking spaces, a coffee company, cocktail catering, a retail store, and more. We chat date nights, mental health, how COVID changed his operational systems for the better and most importantly, how artists are the inspiration for all that he does. 

Born in Tijuana, Mexico and raised in Chula Vista, California, Angelica Sele (née Barragan) has always been inspired by the artistry of beauty and skincare, but lacked a connection to the established beauty standards and marketing prevalent at the time, especially as a young Latina woman.

Her first foray into the beauty industry was by way of leading beauty retail chain, Sephora, where she spent six years (in San Diego) ultimately working her way up to a managerial position. She moved on to fulfill her dream of entrepreneurship, motivated by the independence it would bring and the opportunity she envisioned for a more personalized, inclusive product shopping experience — for people of all ethnic backgrounds.

She earned her esthetician license in 2011 and with the support of her family purchased the tools of the trade (wax pot and magnifying lamp). Angelica B Beauty was founded the following year, in the back of a small salon in North Park, where her waxing technique and results-driven facials quickly grew a devoted following. Just four years later, she moved Angelica B Beauty into a new, larger space (initially one treatment room) which eventually grew to encompass four service rooms, lobby and an office. Plus, a retail boutique (one of the first in San Diego to offer “clean” products), to assuage a burgeoning community of clients.

Today, Angelica B Beauty is located in South Park and has expanded its services to include clinical facials, lash lifts and tanning, with the goal to support all women in the pursuit of feeling their best, empowered selves.

When she’s not in the studio, Angelica enjoys making memories with her husband and two children, and developing and mentoring future estheticians.

On today’s episode of not a parenting podcast we speak with scout Sobel, author of The emotional entrepreneur. She’s the founder of Scout's agency a pr agency that gets women as guests on pocasts, and cohost of okay sis podcast. she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in her early twenties and at the time we recorded this episode, she was 20 weeks pregnant. she talks to us about navigating mental health while pregnant and taking ownership of your own destiny. 

Kia Edwards is a humanitarian, activist, EDUpreneur, a wife, and a mother of two young boys. The pandemic left her family scrambling to navigate her son’s autism diagnosis in a virtual learning world. The experience lead her to found champion Instructors, named after her son Aseem which means Champion, it’s a company that solves diverse educational and training needs virtually or in person.

Claudette Zepeda is a powerhouse matriarch and culinary creative currently serving as a food and beverage consultant. This San Diego-based chef is known for her fearless culinary style and bold approach to regional Mexican cuisine. In her role as Consulting Chef of VAGA located in San Diego's North County, Zepeda oversees its creative vision, authoring a love letter to her hometown with a menu that celebrates local flavors and influences. Most recently, Zepeda garnered national acclaim for her time as the executive chef and partner behind El Jardín, a regional Mexican restaurant in the area.

During her tenure, El Jardín received a glowing review from the New York Times, inclusion on Esquire’s 2018 Best New Restaurants, and recognition from Michelin on their 2019 Bib Gourmand list. Zepeda was named both Eater San Diego and San Diego Union Tribune’s Chef of the Year in 2018, and was a James Beard Best Chef West semifinalist in 2019. Prior to El Jardín, Zepeda was chef de cuisine at Javier Plascencia’s celebrated Bracero, and competed on Top Chef Season 15 and Top Chef Mexico Season 2.

In 2019, Zepeda founded Viva La Vida, LLC., establishing micro businesses with single mothers throughout Mexico’s seven regions to import their heirloom ingredients previously unavailable in the U.S. Through Viva La Vida, Zepeda helps Mexican women support their families without sacrificing their safety. Named for a famous Frida Kahlo quote, the company celebrates the colorful life Mexicans lead, with plans to grow into a multi-unit concept dedicated to helping women break from generational poverty. You can catch her on the upcoming Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend premiering on Netflix June 15. Zepeda is a single mother to two teenagers named James and Hailey who keep her grounded and motivated. 

Bibi Fell is a plaintiff trial lawyer, primarily practicing in the areas of catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death, and is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). Membership is extended by invitation-only to lawyers who have demonstrated extensive trial experience, civility and professionalism. In 2018, Bibi was one of three finalists for Consumer Attorneys of San Diego’s "Trial Lawyer of the Year" award. She has also been selected to be a member of The National Trial Lawyers: Top 100 Trial Lawyers, the Daily Journal’s Top 100 Women Lawyers, and Super Lawyers.

Bibi is mother to three daughters, two of whom she co-parents with her ex-husband. After receiving the devastating news that her youngest daughter had cancer, Bibi traveled to Ohio to get the best treatment, all while leading major trials on Zoom during the pandemic. Once they returned home to San Diego, her partner and husband came out as transgender and together, they have worked to allow authenticity in their family journey. Their family continues to work together to overcome the obstacles that come their way, all led by this dynamic, brilliant and forward-thinking mother and San Diegan. 

Shellie Baxter started Our Genetic Legacy (OGL) in 2018 in response to her frustration with the lack of recognition and the disenfranchisement of BIPOC Americans in American history. OGL creates projects that expose and publish lost family legacies of BIPOC Americans in order to diversify, correct and expand the current history of the United States to include all Americans. Ms. Baxter's own family legacy story, knowing the struggles her ancestors overcame for her to even exist, ignites her passion to help others find their legacy.

Under the umbrella of OGL, Shelli has world tirelessly to produce “We The People: Teaching U.S. History Through the Ancestral Stories of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.” This textbook is a 100% BIPOC-authored and edited U.S. history book written by the BIPOC pioneers of the U.S. It will be the first U.S. history book that uses DNA to integrate the stories of everyday BIPOC into the official storyline of the United States of America. Additionally, in 2023, she will be launching We The People (a virtual museum), where they will be introducing a design contest for a $10,000 prize. Additional details can be found here. 

Exhibitions of historical sites significant in BIPOC California history will be produced by the DRONe Project, Descendants Recovering Our Names, a paid workforce development program. The program was created for young women ages 16 to 18 living in San Diego, Calif. who want to become drone pilots and work as digital historic preservationists skilled in the use of LiDAR-enabled drones. LiDAR uses lasers and light to create visual images of the earth's surface that are invisible to the naked eye. Participants will use the same technology that was used by National Geographic to recover lost Mayan civilizations in Guatemala.

Additional information can be found here. They are currently accepting applications for 20 spots. Applications must be confirmed through an online interview process and the application period will remain open until the confirmed capacity is reached.

Lastly, Shellie runs The History Makers' Workshop, and will begin conducting workshops with 8th- and 11th-grade students beginning late June 2022 at Hoover High School in partnership with First Gen Scholars. Shellie is mother to two hard working women and has spent most of her life as a stay-at-home mother to the girls. This is her story.