The Catalyze Podcast

In this episode of The Catalyze Podcast I interview Marjorie Warkentin. Marjorie Warkentin spent most of her working career as a nurse in a healthcare setting. As a woman that has a heart wired to care for others you can also find her spending time giving back to her community.

She has actively supported overburdened families with young children, while also dedicating her time to creating community development as well as facilitating healthcare leadership development. Marjorie has also been a trailblazer in many areas of her life, one being the main income earner for her household, providing for her husband and three children way before that was a common situation. She also started running marathons in her fifties which inspires others to do the same. Marjorie has not let retirement slow her down. After leaving her full-time nursing career, she has embraced a new role of being a speaker, author and life coach.

Marjorie is a life-long learner with a passion for connecting theory to the practical applications that lead to transformation. With her wealth of experience and broad perspective on life, she is able to share her

wisdom in accessible and inspiring ways.

In her second half of life, Marjorie is a glowing example of the life that is possible when you combine curiosity, compassion, and kindness with a willingness to be vulnerable and explore life's moments with a

beginner's mind and playful spirit. She is passionate about modelling a life that can be lived with lightness and flow as she has learned to trust herself and be at peace with uncertainty.

Marjorie is a wife, mother, and grandmother who lives in Abbotsford, BC.

In our episode we talk about her upcoming book "Saying Yes to Life" and what it means to say yes to life, the power of play, connecting to your inner wisdom, writing and journaling practices you can engage with, and so much more!

You can find Marjorie here:

Website: http://www.marjoriewarkentin.com/

Instagram: @marjoriewarkentin

Facebook: @marjorie.warkentin

On this episode of The Catalyze Podcast I interview Dr. Brittani James and Dr. Brandi Jackson, twin sisters, physicians and co-founders of a pre-med mentoring website called Med Like Me. Born in Twinsburg, Ohio, the twin doctors graduated from Cornell University in 2010, before attending medical school. Dr. Brandi graduated from Northwestern University’s Feinberg School and Dr. Brittani graduated from the University of Michigan Medical School. Both attended residency at the same hospital- the University of Illinois at Chicago. Brandi became the chief resident of psychiatry and Brittani the chief resident of family medicine.

Today Dr. Brandi is an attending psychiatrist and assistant professor at Rush University Medical Center. Dr. Brittani is an attending family medicine doctor and assistant professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Both treat underserved patients on Chicago’s south side.

Dr. Brandi and Dr. Brittani created Med Like Me as a source of advice and practical information for underrepresented minorities who are interested in becoming physicians. The doctors answer reader-submitted questions and provide an insight about the journey. Their mission is simple- to make the path easier for the next generation of diverse doctors, and in so doing, change the face of medicine as we know it.

You can find them here:

Website: medlikeme.com

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @medlikeme

Twitter: @medlikeme

In this episode of The Catalyze Podcast I interview Hailey Jonoubeh. Hailey Jonoubeh is an intuitive tarot reader, empath, and healer. After being given her first deck at 12 years old, tarot soon became a passion that she has dedicated her life to ever since. Hailey’s tarot readings are geared toward helping you along your journey of self-healing and empowerment. It is her life’s work to help usher you through your own powerful transformation to authentic and aligned living. Her reading style is gentle, straightforward, and intuitively channeled through spirits and guides. As a multi-ethnic person of color, who is also first-generation American, Hailey offers a unique and inclusive perspective on the tarot for anyone who is new or familiar with it. Often incorporating elements of the arts in her readings, Hailey’s intuitive practice is inspired by music, nature, and film.

Our conversation covers Hailey's journey into tarot, channeling, being an empath, connecting with your intuition, archetypes, and so much more! 

You can find Hailey Jonoubeh here:

Website: https://www.denvertarotwitch.com/

Instagram: @denvertarotwitch

In this episode of The Catalyze Podcast, I interview Elliott Cisneros of The Sum. During our conversation we discuss the importance of doing one's own inner work, allyship, how to stand in solidarity with other's, using one's privilege in allyship, and his work with The Sum.

Elliott comes from a bi-cultural, biracial background with his father's line coming from Hispano ancestry in what is now New Mexico and his mother's people coming originally, from the Mayflower. This internal crossroads of diversity and power was one of the sparks for his passion for his learning and work at an early age.

Elliott began his teaching career on the Navajo reservation in special education. He directed a school district transition program serving students with disabilities for 8 years and went on to direct the Human Rights Office for the City or Fort Collins. He taught social justice classes at Naropa University for 6 years, and worked as a school principal both at a predominantly Latino elementary school, and at a progressive experiential middle school. He founded The Sum in 2006 (www.thesum.org).

After James Fields drove his car into a crowd in Charlottesville VA, killing Heather Heyer and injuring 40 others, Elliott moved to Charlottesville, in a camper. Here, he has started The Sum Study Center to support people's internal learning and empowerment across the full political spectrum (Alt-right to Antifa). He has partnered with the Heather Heyer Foundation to create a youth program called Heyer Voices (www.heyervoices.org). Elliott founded an intentional community that represents a cross-racial, multicultural, interfaith and queer collaboration called Araminta Village (www.aramintavillage.org). And he has established a faith community, and faith community model based on the "sacredness of welcome to all" called The Welcome Circle (www.thewelcomecircle.org). He is currently working on two books: “The Power of our Differences” and “Sex and Social Justice.” In alignment with the Power of Difference Model which he developed in collaboration with Dr. Carla Sherrell, Elliott designed the Power of Difference Assessment (online), created the Power of Difference Video Project, and pioneered the online Power of Difference Online Certification.

You can find Elliott here:

Website: www.thesum.org

In this episode I speak with Margo Tirado.

Margo Tirado is a Psychotherapist, Emotional Habits Coach, and Professional Speaker with over 25 years of clinical experience. She specializes in developing gender-specific therapeutic insights that empower women to cultivate and honor the power of their voices. She is a sought-after speaker, having developed a series of workshops which focus on empowering women to amplify their voices. Margo just gave her first TEDx talk at Grant Park Chicago- How to Quiet a Shame-Producing Toxic Voice. She is the co-creator of the DASH Conference for Women, an adjunct professor at Huntington University, and the author of the forthcoming book, The Ten Habits of Empowered Women.

In this episode, we talk about inner power and owning it, self-awareness, finding your voice, fear, rocking the boat, the "feminine experience," and her soon-to-be-released book The Ten Habits of Empowered Women.

You can find Margo Tirado here:

Website: https://www.margotirado.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MargoTirado.MA.LCPC/

TEDx Talk: https://www.margotirado.com/tedx-talk/

In this episode, I discuss the research behind why gratitude can improve your overall well-being and simple practices you can do to embrace gratitude!

In this episode I discuss the power of stories. Through examples, research, and exercises I dive into the way stories impact us on a collective and individual level.

In this episode, I speak with Tanay Tatum-Edwards.

Tanay Tatum-Edwards is the founder and CEO of FreeCap, an investment firm leveraging the power of capital markets to reform the criminal justice system. Prior to FreeCap, Tanay worked in business development and marketing for MicroVest Capital Management, where she developed a lifelong commitment to using investment strategies to create systemic social change. She founded FreeCap as a way to use the tools she learned through impact investing to address criminal justice inequities head-on. Tanay is the recipient of multiple fellowships, including an Echoing Green Black Male Achievement Fellowship, a Fulbright ETA to South Africa, and the Ann Cornelisen Language Fellowship to Ecuador. She also holds a BA in Africana Studies and Sociology from Vassar College and an MA in Law and Diplomacy from The Fletcher School at Tufts University.

In this episode of The Catalyze Podcast, Tanay Tatum-Edwards and I talk about FreeCap, the prison industrial complex, divestment, impact investing, the policing of brown and black bodies and so much more!

You can find Tanay here:

Website: https://www.freecapfinancial.com/

Instagram: @tanaytatum

In this episode of The Catalyze Podcast, I speak with Jo Tucker. Jo Tucker, MA Ed., is a guide, healer and educator specializing in grief resolution. Her own healing journey began in earnest when she realized that her unprocessed grief of losing her father had her life at a standstill, swinging between debilitating numbness and overwhelming anxiety.

In the wake of that loss she has emerged a Reiki Master with over a decade of practice, a certified coach and Trauma Resolution Specialist, completing an intensive 6-month training under renowned Trauma Educator, Rachael Maddox.

In 2018, Jo lost her mother unexpectedly and is more driven in her mission than ever. She is determined to destigmatize grief and provide women with the tools to not only survive great pain, but thrive.

In this episode, Jo and I converse about grief, finding one's voice, privilege within voice, worthiness, creating regenerative healing, trauma-informed approaches to healing, reiki, and so much more!

You can find Jo here:

Website: https://jo-tucker.com/

Instagram: @jotuckercoach

In this episode of The Catalyze Podcast I speak with Len Necefer.

Len Necefer, Ph.D., is an assistant professor with joint appointments with the American Indian Studies program & the Udall Center for Public Policy. In addition, he is the founder & CEO of Colorado-based outdoor apparel company NativesOutdoors. His research focuses at the intersection of indigenous people and natural resource management policy. He recently co-directed the film “Welcome to Gwichyaa Zhee” about the Gwich’in fight to protect the Arctic Refuge. In his spare time Len is an avid outdoor adventurer using rock/ice climbing, high altitude & ski mountaineering, and type 2 fun to convey stories focused on environmental activism & indigenous history. His work has appeared in the Alpinist, the Climbing Zine, Outside Magazine, Climbing, Patagonia’s Cleanest Line.

In this episode, we discuss how he started Natives Outdoors, how he first got involved in outdoor spaces, outdoor recreation and access, why relationship to land is particularly important for Indigenous peoples, storytelling, and so much more.

You can find Len here:

Website: https://natives-outdoors.com/

Instagram: @lennecefer or @nativesoutdoors

You can watch "Welcome to Gwichyaa Zhee" here:

https://www.gwichyaazhee.us/