Sandi Klein's Conversations with Creative Women

Horticulturist/gardener Hannah Cortazzo is a transplanted New Yorker (no pun intended!). Growing up on a rare private property within the preserved lands and river system of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways in Missouri, Hannah says she never took nature for granted. Her love of plants, flowers and trees is on display in her workplace - the magnificent Conservatory Garden at New York City's Central Park. Its 6-acre Italian, French and English gardens are filled with 27 flowering plants, shrubs and trees. Spend the next half hour as Hannah shares the transformative effect a garden can have in our everyday lives.

The National Museum of Women in the Arts, in Washington, D.C. is the only major museum dedicated solely to celebrating the creative contributions of women. Founded in 1987, NMWA not only champions women artists, it also directly addresses the gender imbalance in presenting art worldwide. Susan Fisher Sterling has been with the NMWA since 1988 when she was hired as an associate curator. In 2008, she was named Director. Susan has built her career and the stature of the museum around the message of equity for women through the example of excellence in the arts. Tune in as she shares what that's been like and what's in store as NMWA prepares to celebrate its 30th anniversary.

Founded in 1992, The Innocence Project is the #1 organization working for criminal justice reform in the United States. To date, 344 people have been exonerated by DNA testing, including 20 who served time on death row. Deputy Director Meryl Schwartz leads the work of the legal team, policy advocates and research staff. It's a perfect match. Meryl has always focused on issues rooted in income inequality, criminal and juvenile justice, education reform and youth and workforce development. Tune in to this not-to-be-missed conversation.

TD Mitchell shares her passion and talent for storytelling and advocacy through several channels. She is perhaps best known as a writer and story editor for the acclaimed TV series "Army Wives." TD is also a playwright. The world premier of "Queens for a Year," which opened the 2016-2017 season at Hartford Stages, focuses on four generations of women who served in the Marine Corps. The play is riveting, thought-provoking and sobering. We cover a lot of ground in 30 minutes.

Kristine Bendul's career has crossed over from ballet, to Broadway to dance companies, to music videos, film, television and teaching. Oh, she's also a published children's book author. Kristine's journey is a fascinating, heart wrenching and clearly rewarding one that she shares openly and honestly. Tune in for yet another no-holds barred conversation with a multi-dimensional, creative woman.

Meet Ashley Nicole Black, the Emmy-nominated comedy writer/correspondent for Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, which in case you didn't know, is not only the first political talk show hosted by a woman, but has THE most diverse writing staff in late night history!  Ashley began her comedy career at Second City in Chicago after earning a Masters in performance studies at Northwestern. She dropped out of a PhD program to pursue comedy and the rest is history! Sit back, tune in and let Ashley make your day!

A music teacher since 1980, Lisha Lercari is the driving force behind Music and the Brain, a hands-on program that teaches public school children to read and play music through classic keyboard instruction. Neurological research links music and cognitive development, so when children receive sequential music instruction, it impacts their proficiency in language, reading, math, etc. Since this music teacher on a mission founded and created Music and the Brain in 1997, hundreds of thousands of youngsters in grades K-5, have benefitted from the program, in schools throughout New York City, as well as other cities in the U.S. and abroad.

Her face may not be familiar, but her voice is. A successful and much-in-demand versatile voice over artist, Debbie Irwin's the voice of the Statue of Liberty, has been featured on countless radio and tv commercials, sales and marketing videos, corporate and medical narrations, on hold message and phone prompts, as well as live announcing and museum audio tours. Listen in as Debbie talks about her varied and versatile career.

Meet Ferne Pearlstein, yet another creative women with a long list of credits behind her name. A prize-winning cinematographer, Ferne's also a writer/director, producer and editor whose films have been shown nationally and internationally. Her most recent feature documentary, "The Last Laugh," features among others: Mel Brooks, Carl and Rob Reiner, Sara Silverman, Susie Essman and Auschwitz survivor Renee Firestone. The film explores what is and is not off-limits in comedy and includes rare archival footage of cabarets in concentration camps. "The Last Laugh" had its world premier at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival. There's plenty to talk about, so get comfortable and tune in!