Solace and the City

BONUS EPISODE! Words cannot express how excited and humbled I feel to be sharing this episode with the amazing Solace and the City community. I had the opportunity to speak with my beautiful friend Brookie McIlvaine about the work she is doing for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s Project 2025. The goal of this initiative is to reduce the suicide rate by 20% by the year 2025. We talk about some crazy stats that underlie the suicide epidemic pervading our country and then touch on the ways in which the AFSP plans on saving the most lives in the shortest amount of time. I’m also thrilled to be coupling this episode with the launch of a collaboration with Beach Beads by Em! All profits made from these bracelets will be going to Brookie’s fund for Project 2025!

https://afsp.donordrive.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.personalCampaign&participantID=2320947

This week I'm sharing my conversation with the Founder and CEO of Inception, a dynamic new approach to mind and body wellness.  Inception is a mental health gym that's changing the ways we think about exercise and emphasizing the irrefutable connection between physical and mental well-being.  During this episode, David talks to me about the story behind Inception and the various over avenues he explore before its launch.  Some of the technologies they employ are:

Flotation Therapy, a zero-gravity experience that enables the mind and body to experience thorough rest and relaxation

NeurOptimal Brain Training an advanced neuro-feedback system that works with your brain in real time

Magnesphere™ System that achieves profound relaxation through extremely low-level electromagnetic fields (EMF).

Don't worry!  David breaks down what each of these means.  I really think you all will enjoy this episode as much as I did recording it!  You can learn more about David by following him @mrdavidmccullar and check out the Inception website at: http://inceptionep.com/

I had such an incredible conversation with Natasha Tiwari that I am humbled to be sharing with you all!  Natasha Tiwari is an award winning Psychologist, Entrepreneur, Mentor Investor.  She is also a licensed yoga teacher and psychotherapist, and she combines her command of strategy with he knowledge of neuroscience, the unconscious mind and ancient wisdom both with private clients, and to propel her own entrepreneurial successes, and the successes of those who she counsels and mentors.  She has been featured by BBC World, Glamour, GQ, Marie Claire, The Telegraph, The Guardian, London’s Evening Standard, Huffington Post, and others.  I felt incredibly empowered after speaking with Natasha, and I think that every single listener will take something from this episode.  You can learn more about Natasha by following her on Instagram @iamnatashat and by visiting her website natashatiwari.co.uk,

This week I am SO excited to share my conversation with Ben Greiner.  Not only is he an amazing friend, but he also is the founder and CEO of an absolutely incredible organization, TalkAboutDepression.org!  After receiving a troubling text from a friend, Ben realized that there aren't many online tools that support the friends and family of those in crisis.  The TAD Project provides an online resource that uses the same approach 9-1-1 operators use when receiving a suicide-related call.  Ben is truly a role model for anyone with loved ones who are struggling with depression.  To learn more about his organization, you can go to https://talkaboutdepression.org/ and follow @thetadproject on Instagram.

This week I am SO excited to share my episode with Connor Saeli from Season 15 of The Bachelorette!  I have always been fascinated by the psychological aspect behind reality TV, specifically The Bachelor franchise.  It's thus safe to say that I was pretty pumped to speak with Connor!  We talk about his journey on Hannah Brown's season as well as his brief time on the spinoff show, Bachelor in Paradise.  We also discuss how the show is much like a psychological study done by Dr. Arthur Aron at SUNY Stony Brook, which I've linked below for my fellow sociology nerds.  Finally, Connor explains ways he's managed to stay positive during difficult points of his life and offers advice to those who may be struggling.  To keep up with Connor, you can follow him at @consaelaway and check out his new business @saelwellness!

This week I am so excited to share my conversation with the iconic Ali Kriegsman, Co-Founder and COO of Bulletin!  For those who don't know, Bulletin is a curated wholesale marketplace filled with the most coveted brands.  Since launching in 2015, Bulletin has helped hundreds of female- and minority-led brands access physical retail space for the very first time, unlocking one of the most powerful commerce channels at their disposal.  Ali talks about the obstacles that she and Alana Branston faced when they started their company and offers tips to inspiring entrepreneurs on how to stay sane while building a business.  As you will notice in the episode, Ali is also incredibly well-spoken, which lends itself well to the fact that she is also a writer!  Her book, How to Build a God Damn Empire, comes out in April of 2021.  To learn more about Ali and Bulletin, you can follow @alikriegs and go to Bulletin.co.

This week I sat down with Dr. Daryl Appleton, a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and Fortune 500 Executive Coach!  I have been wanting to bring on a professional therapist as a guest for so long, and I truly feel that I hit the jackpot when I got connected with Dr. Appleton.  We talked about how her interest in crime shows spiked her interest in mental health and eventually led her to starting a private practice where she offers counseling to a variety of clients, from twenty-somethings to CEOs!  Dr. Appleton also gives a strong case for why everyone should go to therapy, something I have been advocating for SO long!  

If this conversation spikes your interest in getting started seeing a counselor, you can get 10% off your first month of BetterHelp by going to trybetterhelp.com/zoe.  Can't wait to hear all of your thoughts!

I have been thinking a lot about how to use my platform to support the Black Lives Matter movement without taking up media real estate that could be put towards more effective educational resources. I think that I speak for many of my fellow white allies in that I really want to be having conversations to get a better understanding of the black perspective, but I also acknowledge that this relearning process is a privilege. I thus feel incredibly grateful for the opportunity to catch up with my friend Jordan Bonner to have a conversation about race reconciliation. I hope you all take something away from this episode, and I really would love to hear any thoughts or feedback. Lastly, I encourage my white friends to continue amplifying black voices in any way that you can. Much love, Zoe :)

Happy Memorial Day everyone!  Today I am SO excited to share my conversation with Lindsey Boylan, a Democrat running against Jerrold Nadler for Congress in NY's 10th District.  Lindsey served as Deputy Secretary of Economic Development, appointed by Governor Cuomo. In that role, she oversaw The Office of Storm Recovery where she led disaster relief efforts for NewYork in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. She was also responsible for the housing portfolio where she secured hundreds of millions of dollars for public housing.  Lindsey has a series of plans to help New York, and the nation, through this public health crisis and deal with the aftermath.  She also is a HUGE mental health advocate!  In this episode, Lindsey shares why mental health is such a large part of her platform and why it is so personal to her.  Ultimately, mental health has no party and it doesn't discriminate on race, gender, sexual orientation, country of origin, etc.  For this reason, I think that anyone will benefit from listening to my conversation with Lindsey.  If you want to learn more about her campaign, you can visit https://lindseyboylan.com/