Vivian McCormick is a lawyer-turned-entrepreneur, and co-founder of Wilet, a linen company based in Vancouver.

In this final episode of season one, Vivian shares her winding path from corporate law to building a bedding brand from her living room, and eventually selling it in a landmark acquisition. She gets candid about the stubbornness that kept her going, navigating a COVID sales surge, the quiet shame of financial hardship, and what it really means to let go of fear.

Learn more about Vivian here: https://shopwilet.com/pages/our-story

ABOUT YOUR HOST

Amanda Kao (she/her) is the founder and CEO of The Bad Academy, an organization that creates and produces workshops for women taught by women with the intention of teaching women to be more self-sufficient and self-confident, but, more importantly, to have more fun! Before founding Bad Academy, Amanda worked as an HR and Operations consultant for tech, social and environmental justice, and various start-ups. She is passionate about building community and continues to find opportunities to bring people together. Since founding Bad Academy in 2019, Amanda has produced and organized over 300 workshops and events and has been hired as a speaker and facilitator for brands and organizations including Arc'teryx, Lululemon, UBC, the TED Conference, Live Nation, TD Bank and more on topics relating to women's advocacy and business.

To learn more about The Bad Academy visit thebadacademy.com or follow along on social @thebadacademy

WARNING: This episode discusses Medical Assistance in Dying. Please take care while listening.

What does it really mean to age well, and who's helping us get there? In this episode, Amanda sits down with Michelle LeBlanc, a gerontologist and strength coach whose work spans two seemingly opposite worlds: helping women build strength across their lifespan, and supporting people through palliative care and grief.

Michelle unpacks what gerontology actually is (spoiler: most people have no idea), why palliative care isn't the same as end-of-life care, and how her path from a government desk job to the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging set her on a mission to reframe how we think about getting older.

Learn more about Michelle here: https://www.betastrengthcoaching.ca/about

ABOUT YOUR HOST

Amanda Kao (she/her) is the founder and CEO of The Bad Academy, an organization that creates and produces workshops for women taught by women with the intention of teaching women to be more self-sufficient and self-confident, but, more importantly, to have more fun! Before founding Bad Academy, Amanda worked as an HR and Operations consultant for tech, social and environmental justice, and various start-ups. She is passionate about building community and continues to find opportunities to bring people together. Since founding Bad Academy in 2019, Amanda has produced and organized over 300 workshops and events and has been hired as a speaker and facilitator for brands and organizations including Arc'teryx, Lululemon, UBC, the TED Conference, Live Nation, TD Bank and more on topics relating to women's advocacy and business.

To learn more about The Bad Academy visit thebadacademy.com or follow along on social @thebadacademy

What does it really mean to hold power, and why do so many of us run from it? In this episode, we sit down with Andrea Reimer, former Vancouver City Councillor and affordable housing champion, for a deeply honest conversation about power, identity, and making change from the margins.

Learn more about Andrea here: https://www.citizenandrea.ca/

ABOUT YOUR HOST

Amanda Kao (she/her) is the founder and CEO of The Bad Academy, an organization that creates and produces workshops for women taught by women with the intention of teaching women to be more self-sufficient and self-confident, but, more importantly, to have more fun! Before founding Bad Academy, Amanda worked as an HR and Operations consultant for tech, social and environmental justice, and various start-ups. She is passionate about building community and continues to find opportunities to bring people together. Since founding Bad Academy in 2019, Amanda has produced and organized over 300 workshops and events and has been hired as a speaker and facilitator for brands and organizations including Arc'teryx, Lululemon, UBC, the TED Conference, Live Nation, TD Bank and more on topics relating to women's advocacy and business.

To learn more about The Bad Academy visit thebadacademy.com or follow along on social @thebadacademy

What does drug policy have to do with human rights? Everything, according to Ann Fordham, Executive Director of the International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC), a global network of NGOs advocating for evidence-based reform.

Joining us from Amsterdam, Ann traces her unlikely path into drug policy advocacy: from a master's degree in human rights to a chance conversation about harm reduction that completely changed how she understood drugs, criminalization, and the failures of the global drug control system.

Learn more about Ann here: https://idpc.net/team/ann-fordham

ABOUT YOUR HOST

Amanda Kao (she/her) is the founder and CEO of The Bad Academy, an organization that creates and produces workshops for women taught by women with the intention of teaching women to be more self-sufficient and self-confident, but, more importantly, to have more fun! Before founding Bad Academy, Amanda worked as an HR and Operations consultant for tech, social and environmental justice, and various start-ups. She is passionate about building community and continues to find opportunities to bring people together. Since founding Bad Academy in 2019, Amanda has produced and organized over 300 workshops and events and has been hired as a speaker and facilitator for brands and organizations including Arc'teryx, Lululemon, UBC, the TED Conference, Live Nation, TD Bank and more on topics relating to women's advocacy and business.

To learn more about The Bad Academy visit thebadacademy.com or follow along on social @thebadacademy

In today's episode, Amanda sits down with butcher Taryn Barker.

What does it take to open a butcher shop at 22 with zero business experience? Just ask Taryn Barker. Growing up in Langley, BC in a family that cooked everything from scratch, Taryn started working the counter of a local butcher shop at 15 and never really left the industry.

Thirteen years later, she's still cutting, still building community, and still proving that what you might think of as a stereotypical butcher is well overdue for a rethink.

Learn more about Taryn and The Little Butcher here: https://www.thelittlebutcher.ca/pages/about

ABOUT YOUR HOST

Amanda Kao (she/her) is the founder and CEO of The Bad Academy, an organization that creates and produces workshops for women taught by women with the intention of teaching women to be more self-sufficient and self-confident, but, more importantly, to have more fun! Before founding Bad Academy, Amanda worked as an HR and Operations consultant for tech, social and environmental justice, and various start-ups. She is passionate about building community and continues to find opportunities to bring people together.Since founding Bad Academy in 2019, Amanda has produced and organized over 300 workshops and events and has been hired as a speaker and facilitator for brands and organizations including Arc'teryx, Lululemon, UBC, the TED Conference, Live Nation, TD Bank and more on topics relating to women's advocacy and business.

To learn more about The Bad Academy visit thebadacademy.com or follow along on social @thebadacademy

Writer and essayist Mandy Catron joins us to talk about what it means to turn your most vulnerable experiences into art. Best known for her viral New York Times "Modern Love" essay; the one that sparked a book, a media whirlwind, and, spoiler, a real-life relationship.

We dig into her path from aspiring visual artist to creative nonfiction writer, the moment she realized fiction wasn't her lane, and how she approached romantic love like a research project after her parents' divorce rattled everything she thought she knew. We also get into her Substack, The Loneliness Project, and why even someone surrounded by friends can still feel deeply alone.

Learn more about Mandy here: https://www.mandylencatron.com/about

ABOUT YOUR HOST

Amanda Kao (she/her) is the founder and CEO of The Bad Academy, an organization that creates and produces workshops for women taught by women with the intention of teaching women to be more self-sufficient and self-confident, but, more importantly, to have more fun! Before founding Bad Academy, Amanda worked as an HR and Operations consultant for tech, social and environmental justice, and various start-ups. She is passionate about building community and continues to find opportunities to bring people together.Since founding Bad Academy in 2019, Amanda has produced and organized over 300 workshops and events and has been hired as a speaker and facilitator for brands and organizations including Arc'teryx, Lululemon, UBC, the TED Conference, Live Nation, TD Bank and more on topics relating to women's advocacy and business.

To learn more about The Bad Academy visit thebadacademy.com or follow along on social @thebadacademy

In today's episode, Amanda sits down with AI educator and advocate El Wong to unpack the complicated, fascinating, and sometimes terrifying world of artificial intelligence.

From gender bias in AI systems to fears about privacy, job loss, and misinformation, El explains why women and underrepresented communities need to be part of shaping the future of technology instead of resisting it altogether. They discuss practical ways beginners can start using tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude, while also exploring the emotional side of AI adoption.

Learn more about El's work here: https://www.superpowerswithai.com/

ABOUT YOUR HOST

Amanda Kao (she/her) is the founder and CEO of The Bad Academy, an organization that creates and produces workshops for women taught by women with the intention of teaching women to be more self-sufficient and self-confident, but, more importantly, to have more fun! Before founding Bad Academy, Amanda worked as an HR and Operations consultant for tech, social and environmental justice, and various start-ups. She is passionate about building community and continues to find opportunities to bring people together.Since founding Bad Academy in 2019, Amanda has produced and organized over 300 workshops and events and has been hired as a speaker and facilitator for brands and organizations including Arc'teryx, Lululemon, UBC, the TED Conference, Live Nation, TD Bank and more on topics relating to women's advocacy and business.

To learn more about The Bad Academy visit thebadacademy.com or follow along on social @thebadacademy

Welcome to The Bad Academy.

In our first episode, Tracy Theemes joins the podcast for an honest conversation about money, confidence, and the emotional baggage so many women carry around finances. Tracy shares how her experiences shaped the way she thinks about wealth, power, and self-worth. The conversation dives into why money is way more about psychology than math, how social conditioning impacts women’s financial confidence, and why building wealth starts with understanding yourself first.

Learn more about Tracy here: https://sophiawealthacademy.com/about-sophia-wealth-academy/tracy-theemes/

ABOUT YOUR HOST

Amanda Kao (she/her) is the founder and CEO of The Bad Academy, an organization that creates and produces workshops for women taught by women with the intention of teaching women to be more self-sufficient and self-confident, but, more importantly, to have more fun! Before founding Bad Academy, Amanda worked as an HR and Operations consultant for tech, social and environmental justice, and various start-ups. She is passionate about building community and continues to find opportunities to bring people together.
Since founding Bad Academy in 2019, Amanda has produced and organized over 300 workshops and events and has been hired as a speaker and facilitator for brands and organizations including Arc'teryx, Lululemon, UBC, the TED Conference, Live Nation, TD Bank and more on topics relating to women's advocacy and business.

To learn more about The Bad Academy visit thebadacademy.com or follow along on social @thebadacademy

Welcome to The Bad Academy!

Each week, Founder Amanda Kao sits down with women who break rules, challenge expectations, and build careers on their own terms.

From financial advisors and AI experts to butchers, our guests share the real stories behind their careers: the risks they took, the obstacles they faced, and the lessons they learned along the way.

Join us on June 5! And follow along on social media @thebadacademy or visit thebadacademy.com