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Bart Foster is all about getting outside- out in nature and out of the comfort zone. As the founder of BusinessOutside, a facilitation and training company focused on inspiring and empowering individuals and teams to get outside in nature, he is no stranger to doing things differently and pushing past societal and corporate norms. Bart discusses his journey from corporate sales to entrepreneurship, forging his own bold path forward. For Bart, that means being outside, where he’s discovered that leads to more authenticity and vulnerability, which ultimately builds more trust and better, higher-performing teams. As a facilitator and coach, Bart shares a lot about how to build genuine connections and have deeper conversations with one another. He also emphasizes the importance of gratitude and challenges us to share our own stories of appreciation by sending a short video message of gratitude to someone that has had a positive impact on our lives. So tune in to hear about expanding your own circle of comfort, embracing vulnerability, and creating genuine connections. 

About Bart Foster

Bart Foster is the founder and CEO of BusinessOutside®, a facilitation and training company focused on engaging, inspiring, and empowering individuals and teams to get outside in nature and outside their comfort zones. Bart is an entrepreneur and seasoned global executive who began his career at Kellogg’s and Novartis. After climbing the corporate ladder and building a successful healthcare startup, Bart found his true calling as an advisor, speaker, and coach to executives throughout the world. He lives in Boulder, Colorado, with his wife and two kids. Most mornings, he can be found hiking the peaks above town, usually with someone in tow, discussing business, outside.

Additional Resources

Website: https://bart-foster.com/

Order His Book, Business Outside

LinkedIn: @BartFoster

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About This Episode

Alex Carter knows all about negotiation. Whether that means negotiating for a pay increase, a particular role you want, or a new opportunity, there are keyways to progress forward. But, Alex stresses that no matter what the circumstance, the very first negotiation we have in every scenario is with ourselves. She points out the questions that we often ask ourselves and demonstrates how a simple change in wording can have a huge impact on how we view and overcome challenges. As a speaker, bestselling author of Ask For More, and professor at Columbia Law School, Alex draws upon lessons from her own life to emphasize how being vulnerable is a bold move, to provide tips for overcoming imposter syndrome and increasing your self-worth, and to develop a roadmap for times of transition. There are so many wonderful pieces of advice and takeaways that you can immediately apply to your own life, including questions we can ask ourselves to better understand who we truly are, what we really need, what we really want, and how to get there. So, tune in to hear how to master the most important negotiation you’ll ever have- the negotiation with yourself.

About Alex Carter

Alex Carter is a Clinical Professor of Law and Director of the Mediation Clinic at Columbia Law School, where she has spent over a decade helping thousands of people improve their negotiation skills. She is a world-renowned negotiation trainer for the United Nations, where she has taught dozens of negotiation workshops to hundreds of diplomats from more than eighty nations. Carter graduated with honors from Georgetown University, was a Fulbright Scholar in Taiwan, and received her law degree from Columbia Law School. In 2019, Carter was awarded Columbia University’s highest teaching honor. She lives in Maplewood, New Jersey, with her husband and daughter.

Additional Resources

Website: https://alexcarterasks.com/

Order Her Book, Ask For More: https://alexcarterasks.com/book/

LinkedIn: @AlexandraBCarter

Instagram: @alexandrabcarter

Twitter: @alexbcarter

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About This Episode

Rachel Baribeau is a joystarter, speaker, retired national sportscaster, and founder of I’m Changing the Narrative, a movement dedicated to promoting positive mental health and supporting others in finding their purpose, passion, and platform outside of sport. Through her bold journey, she describes the challenges of being a female in the male-dominated world of sportscasting to launching her own movement through #ImChangingTheNarrative. Along the way, Rachel emphasizes the importance of being authentic to who you are and staying true to your own definition of yourself, instead of listening to how the world defines you. Her passion for mental health and sparking joy shines through in this episode and is also the focus of her upcoming book, Relentless Joy, which publishes in June. Rachel provides tips on infusing more joy into life, both in the short-term and long-term, focusing on soul-care instead of only self-care, and leaning into the right support system to achieve your goals. Tune in to hear the power of relentless joy, kindness, and authenticity and how they can all come together to take your personal and professional life to the next level. 

About Rachel Baribeau

In 2016, groundbreaking national sportscaster Rachel Joy Baribeau penned a piece for GridironNow titled, “College Football is Breaking My Heart.” The game she loved was becoming unrecognizable. Negative news stories dominated the game, and no campus seemed immune. Most broadcasters would have left it at that. Not Rachel.

Rachel developed #ImChangingtheNarrative with student-athletes in mind and a belief that one crooked course made straight is everything. One misstep not taken means one less victim in the world and one less life thrown away because of a split-second bad decision. Rachel now speaks to athletic groups, law enforcement, churches, schools, and corporations about taking back the headlines for good- showing them that they have the power to change the narrative and to find their purpose in life outside of their sport and everyday lives to live lives of Purpose, Passion, and Platform. 

More than six years and 60-plus campuses later—and as a victim of domestic violence herself—her message now heavily encompasses self-love, joy, mental health, being a king, queen, or royal every day of your life, and interpersonal relationships. When she is not traveling to speak or teach, Rachel adores naps, dancing in her kitchen, museums, and history, and trying to spread joy on a daily basis. Of all the titles she goes by, she loves wife and bonus mom the most. She lives in Florida with her family and fur-children.

Additional Resources

Website: https://www.imchangingthenarrative.org/

Learn More About the Joystarters Club

Pre-Order Rachel’s New Book Here

Instagram: @RachelBaribeau  @imchangingthenarrative

Twitter: @CTNkingandqueen

Facebook: @ChangingTheNarrative

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About This Episode

Michelle Emmick’s superpower is connecting with people and that is exactly what she does through Ask Us Beauty, her digital and print magazine built to educate, empower and inspire individuals on everything related to beauty and wellness. In this episode, Michelle describes her journey in the beauty industry, starting in sales and operations within medical aesthetics then co-founding a consultancy for those interested in cosmetic procedures to now running Ask Us Beauty. Michelle describes defining beauty on your own terms, putting mental wellness above all. She explains how the right mindset is essential for any type of transformation, and she also gives advice on how we can each find and create alignment, establishing the right balance between all the important areas of our lives. These sentiments are also explored in Michelle’s book, Blue-Collar Beauty: Confessions of a Plastic Surgery Coach. Tune in to hear how to identify the right time for a change and how to create alignment in your own life by surrounding yourself with a supportive network and making time for what is most important. 

About Michelle Emmick 

Michelle Emmick spent 20 years of her career working in the field of medical aesthetics as a sales and operations leader. Seeing a critical need in the market for transparency when it came to elective procedures, in 2018 Michelle co-founded MyCoachMD, a virtual consultation platform that provided consumers education and support prior to having a cosmetic procedure. She shared her experiences inside her bestselling book, Blue-Collar Beauty: Confessions of a Plastic Surgery Coach.  

Off the success of her book, Michelle wanted to expand her message and challenge the mainstream by promoting truth, transparency, and a positive message. In 2021, Michelle co-founded Ask Us Beauty, a quarterly digital and print magazine with content designed to educate, empower, and inspire individuals on all things beauty and wellness. Whether it's through products, services, procedures, or personal brands, Ask Us Beauty challenges the status quo and brings together people of all backgrounds to share their stories and experiences, leaving you with inspiration to live your best life.  

Michelle’s charismatic and heart-led approach to life has landed her conversations and connections with some of the most famous celebrities in the world like Robin Roberts, Christie Brinkley, and Marc Cuban. Michelle recently joined on as a Co-host with She’s a 10….times 5, a podcast that shares the “A-Ha” moments of learning, reflection, inspiration and of course, always fun.     

Additional Resources

Website: www.askusbeautymagazine.com

Instagram: @askusbeautymagazine 

LinkedIn: @askusbeautymagazine 

Twitter: @askusbeautymag

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About This Episode

In this episode, Carleen Haylett not only shares her bold professional moments, including the launch of her own ed tech company in 2020 to support school-aged kids, but also her bold personal moments, including moving to Italy in her late thirties and making the conscious decision to be a single mom. In 2009, Carleen needed a reset after her divorce and latest professional experience, so she sold her condo, put everything in storage, and bought a one-way ticket to Italy, where she would live for the next two years. She talks about overcoming fear and having to push through negative self-talk to go after what she really wanted and find the next step that was right for her new path forward. Fast forward a few years and after being inspired by her own experience as a single mom, Carleen founded her own company, EnrichedHQ, a virtual marketplace of educational and life skills-building programs for school-aged children in the 4th grade and up. Carleen discusses how she built up that bold muscle to become comfortable in the not knowing, especially through journaling and building self-awareness within. Tune in to hear about how Carleen was able to push through fear to make bold choices that brought her to Italy and also led to her starting her own company. 

About Carleen Haylett

Carleen Haylett is the Founder and CEO of EnrichedHQ, a marketplace of educational and life skills-building programs for school-aged kids. Her mission as a single mother and professional is to provide solutions to help families, especially mothers, thrive in their work and homelife. Carleen has spent 20+ years in enterprise technology leadership roles spanning development, sales, marketing and product development to help global enterprises address their most pressing technical challenges. Bringing together her personal and professional experiences has allowed her to successfully build EnrichedHQ to support working families. 

Additional Resources

Website: https://enrichedhq.com/

Instagram: @EnrichedHQ

Twitter: @_EnrichedHQ

Facebook: @EnrichedHQ

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About This Episode

Founder of Inspiro Tequila, Mara Smith has had several bold moments along her journey. Initially a lawyer then a corporate strategist, Mara became a stay-at-home mom after her twins were born prematurely. After a few years, she was wanting a clean tequila and noticing that the wants and needs of the female consumer were not being addressed from companies selling spirits. So she decided to create her own. After breaking into the spirit industry, Mara now leads the female-powered team behind Inspiro Tequila and also provides support and mentorship for other entrepreneurs through The Purple Bicycle Project. Tune in to hear how to grow your network, not just within your own industry but across other sectors as well, and how to break into a new industry with your own company. 

About Mara Smith

Mara Smith is a former attorney, corporate strategist and stay-at-home mom who is the founder of Inspiro Tequila. Mara began her legal career at a large law firm in Chicago before joining the corporate strategy team at a Fortune 500 Company. After her twins were born prematurely, Mara decided to leave the corporate world to focus on her family. She never stopped thinking about what was next. Mara always envisioned running her own company and in February of 2020 she set out on her journey to create a new tequila brand.

Mara started drinking tequila when she was looking for a clean, gluten-free spirit that fit into her active lifestyle. She searched for a tequila brand that was additive-free with a look, taste and aroma that appealed to her, and thoughtful female consumers like her. That perfect tequila did not exist, so she decided to create one. The goal was not just to create a one-of-a-kind tequila, it was also to bring another female perspective to the spirits industry.  Women are involved in every aspect of Inspiro Tequila's process from creating the taste profiles to getting bottles on the shelves. As a female founder, Mara’s mission is to inspire and support other women on their entrepreneurial journeys through financial support and mentoring.  

Additional Resources

Website: https://inspirotequila.com/

Learn More About The Purple Bicycle Project

Instagram: @inspirotequila

Twitter: @inspirotequila

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About This Episode

Music has the unique power to bring people together and that is exactly what DJ Graffiti does at both in-person and virtual events. His ability to play the right music at the right time has captured the attention of not just audiences but renowned artists like Beyoncé, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Big Sean, and Jay-Z. But beyond his musical talents lies an equally impressive background in marketing, including degrees from the University of Michigan Business and Law Schools. He excels as a marketing strategist who specializes in helping companies increase their online engagement so they can reach their full potential, and he is taking his DJ skills into the enterprise corporate event space. Combining his experience and passion for both music and marketing has made DJ Graffiti into a formidable force determined to put good into the world. Tune in and get ready for an engaging conversation about the power of music to not only bring people together but to also bring us through the hard times just as much as the good.  

About DJ Graffiti

Voted 'Best DJ in Detroit' by Real Detroit Weekly, DJ Graffiti has shared stages in person with Snoop Dogg, Beyoncé, Eminem, Jay-Z & J Cole. In response to COVID-19, he pivoted to creating virtual, in-person and hybrid experiences for a growing list of enterprise brands including Amazon, Cisco, GitLab, Campbell’s and Nike. In addition to his DJ duties, the entrepreneur formally known as Martin L. Smith is an alum of both the University of Michigan Business and Law Schools. As a marketing strategist he specializes in helping companies increase online engagement to improve their bottom-line goals. In 2001 he co-founded a marketing company that grew to manage digital marketing campaigns for companies such as T-Mobile, Hennessy and Toyota. In 2015 the company re-branded as Overflow, a digital agency providing a comprehensive suite of marketing services to help businesses predictably and repeatedly acquire clients. Whether music, business, or more regularly an abundance of both, DJ Graffiti aka Martin L. Smith is positioned to lead, while others take notes.

Additional Resources

Website: https://www.djgraffiti.com 

Listen to DJ Graffiti’s Mixes

Instagram: @DJGraffiti

LinkedIn: @DJ Graffiti  

Twitter: @DJGraffiti 

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About This Episode

For Toiya Sosa, it’s all about the people. The relationships in our lives are the most important part of everything we do. Throughout her personal life and professional career in mass communication and public affairs to now as the Chief Diversity Officer at a large health system, she has learned that communication is at the heart of it all. Engaging in meaningful conversations across different perspectives is imperative for real change to be made, and Toiya draws from her own personal experiences to pinpoint this. Her recently published children’s book, Strangetop Hill, echoes this sentiment as well, focusing on how our differences can be some of our greatest attributes. As she discusses her bold moments and learnings along the way, Toiya also addresses how our boldness changes over time and how some decisions become easier and some become harder to make as we get older. Above all, Toiya emphasizes that it is important to share our own stories to help inspire others and foster the relationships in our lives. 

About Toiya Sosa

Toiya Sosa is Chief Diversity Officer at Riverside Health System where she is responsible for the ongoing development, implementation, and oversight of the organization's diversity, equity, and inclusion strategy. Prior to this role, Sosa was a community leader and public affairs leader at GEICO where she had oversight of partner relations and philanthropic investment, media relations, and government relations for the VA, NC, TN region. Sosa is a Director for the Urban League of Hampton Roads, Tidewater Chapter of the VA Center for Inclusive Communities, Chair of the United Way of South Hampton Roads African American Leadership Society, a member of CHIEF, and Co-Chair of the Virginia UNCF Leadership Council. Sosa has been recognized with the 2022 UNCF M.A.S.K.E.D. Award, the 2020 Tidewater Humanitarian Award from the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities, the James V. Koch Award from the Urban League of Hampton Roads and was named to the Inside Business Power List from 2019-2021. Sosa holds a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communications from Norfolk State University, a Master of Business Administration from Strayer University, and a Master of Arts in Law from Regent University. Sosa was trained by the National Diversity Council as a Certified Diversity Professional (NDCCDP).

Additional Resources

Linked-In: @ToiyaSosa

Order Her New Children’s Book, Strangetop Hill

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As a healthcare executive with experience across multiple areas of expertise, including population health, physical therapy and business, Urvashi Bhatnagar shares her passion for incorporating sustainability in all that we do. From the beginning of product creation and design through end of life, there are a myriad of opportunities to make decisions that not only support our environment but support human health. The ideas presented in her new book written with co-author Paul Anastas, The Sustainability Scorecard: How To Implement And Profit From Unexpected Solutions, can be applied to any industry because of the underlying messages of innovation and performance. Urvashi discusses how we must expand our definition of performance beyond functionality to include health. She also explains how to create ideal metrics that serve you in the short-term and long-term, while also addressing keys to change management and encouraging positive behavioral changes within an organization or population. Tune in to hear Urvashi’s bold journey to eliminate the silos impeding innovation and health within the realm of sustainability and healthcare.

About Urvashi Bhatnagar

Urvashi Bhatnagar is a healthcare executive whose career spans clinical care in PM&R, published research, advocacy and strategy and operations consulting for leading healthcare organizations. As a mission-driven population-health and sustainability expert, she has over fifteen years of healthcare leadership experience working with clients to bring new and innovative solutions to market that advance access and delivery of care, advance health outcomes and leading population health portfolios for leading health systems to underserved communities, and create data-driven approaches to advancing health equity. 

Bhatnagar holds an MBA from Yale University and a Doctorate of Physical Therapy from Boston University. She is a Certified Clinical Instructor for DPT students and has served as faculty during the American Congress of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in 2021 and has served as an invited speaker at the United Nations in 2020. She believes global wellness can be achieved through sustained and intentional investment in products and processes that are designed to be inherently sustainable and capturing value from the triple bottom line advantages that sustainability offers. Along with Paul Anastas, Bhatnagar is co-author of the new book The Sustainability Scorecard: How To Implement And Profit From Unexpected Solutions. 

Additional Resources

Linked-In: @UrvashiBhatnagar

Order Her New Book, The Sustainability Scorecard

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About This Episode

Sondra Sutton Phung is living proof that saying yes to new opportunities can lead to the best outcomes. She has built her career at Ford Motor Company, continuously growing and advancing all the way to Global Chief Product Marketer. A pivotal decision when she was 25 years old led her to move to Japan, an experience that would not only elevate her career but also lead to lifelong friendships and transformational learnings about patience, authenticity, and building partnerships. She now works as the Marketing General Manager for electric vehicles, which have become a true passion of hers with their vast positive impact. Sondra’s bold journey emphasizes that true human connection surpasses all geographical and cultural differences. She encourages everyone to find their tribe, including a mentor and an advocate, that can support and guide you along the way. Tune in to hear Sondra’s incredible journey around the world, embracing opportunity, innovation, and human connection along the way.

About Sondra Sutton Phung

Sondra Sutton Phung is the Global Chief Product Marketer who led a team that delivered over $1B of profit for Ford Motor Company's iconic SUV portfolio. Recently named Marketing General Manager for Electric Vehicles, she leveraged her STEM & HBCU education to create her transformational, data-driven marketing approach. Her perspective impacts millions in the Automotive Tech Industry. Featured in Forbes, Fortune, Authority Magazine, and other globally recognized leadership publications and podcasts, Sutton Phung is reducing the learning curve by sharing how leaders can accelerate their results. Sutton Phung currently serves on the Executive Board of Jack and Jill of America, Oakland County, and the Cultural Arts Board for the City of Novi. She also serves as Executive Champion for DEI at Ford Motor Company, Corporate Recruiter/Mentor to first-generation college students via Ford's 1st Gen Program, and Co-founder of the Dr. Melvin Webb STEM Endowment at Clark Atlanta University. Sutton Phung holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and a Master of Science in Mathematics from Clark Atlanta University.

Additional Resources

Linked-In

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