Melissa Skeet is a Diné advocate and speaker who’s using her own story of survival to bring awareness to Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP). In this episode, she and Kara talk about skating across the country to break the silence, finding purpose through pain, and using your voice even when it's hard. They explore trauma, advocacy, and what it means to heal in public.

Chapters:

(00:00:01) – Why Melissa Is Skating Across the United States

(00:03:10) – From Survivor to Advocate to Athlete

(00:07:30) – How Roller Skating Became a Healing Practice

(00:11:00) – Understanding the Crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons

(00:17:30) – The Role of Law Enforcement, Media and Systemic Erasure

(00:22:00) – What the Red Handprint Really Means

(00:27:00) – Generational Trauma and Cultural Recovery

(00:34:30) – How to Support Her Mission and Why It Matters

The Powerful Ladies podcast, hosted by business coach and strategist Kara Duffy features candid conversations with entrepreneurs, creatives, athletes, chefs, writers, scientists, and more. Every Wednesday, new episodes explore what it means to lead with purpose, create with intention, and define success on your own terms.

Whether you're growing a business, changing careers, or asking bigger questions, these stories remind you: you're not alone, and you're more powerful than you think.

Explore more at thepowerfulladies.com and karaduffy.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What happens when three generations of women raise each other to lead? In this episode, Kara talks with Kendra Laine, Nancy Eaton, and Grandma Donna about parenting, entrepreneurship, and building legacy through values. It’s a joyful, honest look at what power looks like in a family of strong women, and how wisdom travels across generations.

Chapters:

(00:00:01) – Meet the Three Generations of Powerful Ladies

(00:04:00) – Party Grandma, Instagramma, and the Birth of a Family Legend

(00:10:15) – Building a Business When Leadership Is in Your DNA

(00:16:30) – How ADHD and Curiosity Led Kendra to Entrepreneurship

(00:22:00) – Making Power Normal: How Family Shaped Their Confidence

(00:28:30) – Redefining Success and Leadership at Every Life Stage

(00:33:10) – Choosing Friends, Building Community, and Holding Standards

(00:38:00) – What Each Woman Wishes for the Others and for Herself

The Powerful Ladies podcast, hosted by business coach and strategist Kara Duffy features candid conversations with entrepreneurs, creatives, athletes, chefs, writers, scientists, and more. Every Wednesday, new episodes explore what it means to lead with purpose, create with intention, and define success on your own terms.

Whether you're growing a business, changing careers, or asking bigger questions, these stories remind you: you're not alone, and you're more powerful than you think.

Explore more at thepowerfulladies.com and karaduffy.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Astrologer KJ Atlas helps people make decisions by reading the stars. In this episode, Kara and KJ explore how location astrology, birth charts, and planetary timing can reveal insights about career, home, and identity. They also discuss chronic illness, intuition, and why KJ created the Grove Almanac to make astrology practical, accessible, and powerful.

Chapters:

(00:00:01) – Why Astrology Is Like Weather and Why It Matters for Business

(00:04:00) – What Is Locational Astrology and How It Can Change Your Life

(00:10:15) – Healing Through Movement, Location, and Self Knowledge

(00:16:30) – The Power of the Lilith Archetype and Owning Your Shadow

(00:22:00) – What Most People Get Wrong About Astrology and Mercury Retrograde

(00:28:10) – Building the Grove Almanac and Redefining Astrology for Modern Life

(00:34:30) – Planning, Pitching, and Finding Strength in Self Awareness

(00:40:00) – How Astrology Helps You Know Who You Are and Show Up Fully

(00:46:00) – How to Work With KJ and Start Using the Grove Almanac

The Powerful Ladies podcast, hosted by business coach and strategist Kara Duffy features candid conversations with entrepreneurs, creatives, athletes, chefs, writers, scientists, and more. Every Wednesday, new episodes explore what it means to lead with purpose, create with intention, and define success on your own terms.

Whether you're growing a business, changing careers, or asking bigger questions, these stories remind you: you're not alone, and you're more powerful than you think.

Explore more at thepowerfulladies.com and karaduffy.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kristin Middleton started Bougie Gougies at age 60 after years of making her signature French cheese puffs for friends and family. In this episode, she talks with Kara about turning a homemade snack into a gourmet frozen food business and what it means to become a first-time founder later in life. They explore entrepreneurship, food manufacturing, and why resilience, joy, and female friendship are just as important as the product.

Chapters:

(00:00:01) – From Freezer Snacks to a National Business

(00:04:15) – Bougie Gougies and the Story Behind the Recipe

(00:09:00) – Starting a Business at 60 and Building Something of Her Own

(00:16:30) – Mental Health, Depression, and Rebuilding Twice

(00:22:30) – Female Friendship, Mentorship, and Big Support Energy

(00:28:00) – Getting Out There and Learning to Sell Herself

(00:33:30) – New Flavors, Gluten-Free Experiments, and What’s Next

The Powerful Ladies podcast, hosted by business coach and strategist Kara Duffy features candid conversations with entrepreneurs, creatives, athletes, chefs, writers, scientists, and more. Every Wednesday, new episodes explore what it means to lead with purpose, create with intention, and define success on your own terms.

Whether you're growing a business, changing careers, or asking bigger questions, these stories remind you: you're not alone, and you're more powerful than you think.

Explore more at thepowerfulladies.com and karaduffy.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kim O’Hara is a book coach and publishing consultant who helps people write the story they’ve been afraid to tell. In this episode, Kara and Kim talk about the emotional and professional journey of writing a book, why visibility is so difficult for high-achieving women, and what it really means to be heard. They explore memoir writing, publishing timelines, and how writing your truth can help others heal.

Chapters:

(00:00:01) – Powerful Ladies Stop Questioning Their Decisions

(00:04:15) – From Hollywood to Healing: Why Kim Became a Book Coach

(00:10:10) – Book vs. Bestseller: The Real Purpose of Writing

(00:17:30) – The Most Powerful Women Are the Most Reinvented

(00:23:10) – When It’s Time to Let Go and Move On

(00:28:00) – Coaching the Person, Not Just the Book

(00:34:00) – Permission to Be Happy, Wealthy and Seen

The Powerful Ladies podcast, hosted by business coach and strategist Kara Duffy features candid conversations with entrepreneurs, creatives, athletes, chefs, writers, scientists, and more. Every Wednesday, new episodes explore what it means to lead with purpose, create with intention, and define success on your own terms.

Whether you're growing a business, changing careers, or asking bigger questions, these stories remind you: you're not alone, and you're more powerful than you think.

Explore more at thepowerfulladies.com and karaduffy.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Adeline Perez went from corporate burnout to stand-up comedy in a journey that transformed her voice and confidence. In this episode, she talks with Kara about the fear of public speaking, people pleasing, and how making fun of corporate life became her gateway to healing. Adeline’s comedy about toxic workplaces and emotional boundaries has gone viral, and her new book tackles these themes head-on. If you’ve ever been afraid to be seen, this is the story of what can happen when you finally speak up.

Chapters:

(00:00:01) – From Corporate Shyness to Comedy Stardom

(00:04:15) – Finding Her Voice on Stage and Online

(00:09:00) – Why Comedy Is a Tool for Healing and Shame Release

(00:13:30) – Yoga, Intuition and Trusting Your Gut

(00:17:00) – How She Landed a Book Deal on Toxic Management

(00:22:30) – Social Media Strategy and Professional Growth

(00:28:15) – Standing Up for Yourself Without Losing Yourself

(00:34:45) – Speaking Hard Truths With Humor and Heart

(00:40:00) – What's Next for Adeline and Her Mission to Help Others Speak Up

The Powerful Ladies podcast, hosted by business coach and strategist Kara Duffy features candid conversations with entrepreneurs, creatives, athletes, chefs, writers, scientists, and more. Every Wednesday, new episodes explore what it means to lead with purpose, create with intention, and define success on your own terms.

Whether you're growing a business, changing careers, or asking bigger questions, these stories remind you: you're not alone, and you're more powerful than you think.

Explore more at thepowerfulladies.com and karaduffy.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Maggie Larkin Hicok helps leaders grow their influence from the inside out. In this episode, Kara and Maggie talk about workplace culture, coaching executives, and what it means to be a goofball that gets results. They also dig into values-based leadership, curiosity as a superpower, and why real power doesn’t require a title.

Chapters:

(00:00:01) – Influence Without Authority and the Reputation Story

(00:04:15) – Coaching the C-Suite on Values and Culture

(00:10:10) – When Values Don’t Align and What to Do About It

(00:16:30) – From Archeology Dreams to Executive Coaching

(00:22:00) – Be a Goofball That Works: Humor as a Superpower

(00:29:30) – How Curiosity Can Change Your Leadership Style

(00:34:45) – What Island of the Blue Dolphins Taught Her About Power

(00:40:00) – The Media, the Truth, and Curating What Influences You

(00:46:15) – Do What You Love and He’ll Show Up: A Words With Friends Love Story

The Powerful Ladies podcast, hosted by business coach and strategist Kara Duffy features candid conversations with entrepreneurs, creatives, athletes, chefs, writers, scientists, and more. Every Wednesday, new episodes explore what it means to lead with purpose, create with intention, and define success on your own terms.

Whether you're growing a business, changing careers, or asking bigger questions, these stories remind you: you're not alone, and you're more powerful than you think.

Explore more at thepowerfulladies.com and karaduffy.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Shubnum Khan is a South African author, illustrator, and Muslim woman writer whose journey to creative freedom was anything but expected. In this episode, she talks with Kara about growing up in a conservative Muslim community, how travel opened her imagination, and why storytelling has the power to heal. They discuss her viral travel memoir, her breakout novel The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years, and how writing helped her find a life that felt like her own.

Chapters:

(00:00:01) – Writing, Politics, and Finding Her Place as a Brown Woman in South Africa

(00:03:15) – Studying English, Starting Over, and Finishing Her First Novel

(00:06:00) – Choosing Writing Over Art and the Dream of a Graphic Memoir

(00:09:00) – Boundaries, Confidence, and Letting Go of People Pleasing

(00:11:30) – Fighting to Travel Alone and Why Seeing the World Changed Everything

(00:15:00) – Grief, Rejection, and the Choice to Stay Soft

(00:20:30) – Single Women, Storytelling, and the Lives We Don’t Usually See

(00:27:00) – Her Breakout Book, U.S. Tour, and What’s Coming Next

The Powerful Ladies podcast, hosted by business coach and strategist Kara Duffy features candid conversations with entrepreneurs, creatives, athletes, chefs, writers, scientists, and more. Every Wednesday, new episodes explore what it means to lead with purpose, create with intention, and define success on your own terms.

Whether you're growing a business, changing careers, or asking bigger questions, these stories remind you: you're not alone, and you're more powerful than you think.

Explore more at thepowerfulladies.com and karaduffy.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kelli Heald is a meditation coach and wellness entrepreneur who turned personal loss into a practice that now helps others heal. In this episode, she and Kara talk about grief recovery, brain science, and how meditation can be a lifeline in the face of chaos. They explore starting a wellness business later in life, raising a daughter with Down syndrome, and why meditation is for every body, not just the calm and focused ones.

Chapters:

(00:00:01) – Why Meditation Felt Impossible, until It Didn’t

(00:04:15) – Surviving Loss and Rebuilding as a Single Parent

(00:10:30) – Traumatic Menopause, Healing, and the Search for Peace

(00:13:45) – Starting a Business From Her Living Room and Garage

(00:18:00) – What Science Says About Meditation and the Brain

(00:22:00) – Gratitude, Energy and Shifting Your Mental State

(00:28:00) – Raising a Child With Down Syndrome and Planning for the Future

(00:33:30) – What Powerful Ladies Means to Her and How You Can Get Started

The Powerful Ladies podcast, hosted by business coach and strategist Kara Duffy features candid conversations with entrepreneurs, creatives, athletes, chefs, writers, scientists, and more. Every Wednesday, new episodes explore what it means to lead with purpose, create with intention, and define success on your own terms.

Whether you're growing a business, changing careers, or asking bigger questions, these stories remind you: you're not alone, and you're more powerful than you think.

Explore more at thepowerfulladies.com and karaduffy.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What if aging wasn’t something to hide, but something to celebrate? Debra Granich is the CEO of the Red Hat Society, a global community for women over 50 who want to age joyfully, loudly, and on their own terms. In this episode, she and Kara talk about rejecting ageism, embracing visibility, and how play and friendship can change your health. They explore how the Red Hat Society has grown into a movement for senior women across the world, and how its members are shaping new narratives around aging.

Chapters:

(00:00:01) – What Is the Red Hat Society and Why It Matters

(00:03:30) – Pro-Aging, Royal Colors, and the Power of Visibility

(00:07:00) – Why Recess Is Healthier Than Exercise

(00:10:45) – Confidence, Representation, and Saying Yes After 50

(00:13:30) – Fighting Ageism, Partnering With Hollywood, and Changing the Narrative

(00:17:00) – Community, Travel, and Creating Space for Women to Be Themselves

(00:21:30) – Rewriting the Rules of What’s Possible at Every Age

(00:25:00) – How to Join or Start a Red Hat Chapter Near You

(00:28:30) – Why Joy Is the Best Medicine

The Powerful Ladies podcast, hosted by business coach and strategist Kara Duffy features candid conversations with entrepreneurs, creatives, athletes, chefs, writers, scientists, and more. Every Wednesday, new episodes explore what it means to lead with purpose, create with intention, and define success on your own terms.

Whether you're growing a business, changing careers, or asking bigger questions, these stories remind you: you're not alone, and you're more powerful than you think.

Explore more at thepowerfulladies.com and karaduffy.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices