Enjoy this candid and far-ranging conversation with the "Whimsical Women of Impact," Dr. Lilla Bessenyei and Terri Crisp. In this bonus episode, we talk all things CauseGirl as I guest star on their W(h)impact Podcast. Like any good conversation with women, we turn to the real stuff - sex and chocolate, diets and health, how to get our kids to be good humans, why there is so much food waste in the world, and the "quirky stuff" about what makes us tick (stay to the very end for that!). I know you will fall in love with Dr. Lilla's brilliance and Terri's closeted obsession with crafts that may just turn into a cause-worthy venture. And of course, there is a book recommendation. 

For the full show notes and more, go to TheCauseGirl.com. 

Connect with Us!

⭐ Subscribe and follow the CauseGirl podcast and the W(h)impact Podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and never miss an episode! If you love it, don't forget to rate and review our podcasts.
⭐ Connect with Elena here on Facebook and LinkedIn, and @CauseGirlGlobal on Twitter and Instagram.
⭐ Follow the W(h)impact Podcast on Instagram at @whimpact.podcast. Connect with creators @theresa_marieco and @drlillabee and here on Facebook.
⭐ Share your takeaways from this conversation on Twitter and Instagram @CauseGirlGlobal or email us directly at [email protected].
⭐ Want more? Visit the W(h)impact website and TheCauseGirl.com and sign up for more CauseGirl inspo including alerts, events, and more!

As a mom of a transgender teenager, Janet Uradomo is the ultimate expression of love and advocacy, compassion and discovery. In this episode, Janet generously and openly chronicles her daughter Kylee’s journey all the way to their recent visit to the White House, where VPOTUS Kamala Harris told them, “You’re not alone. You will never be alone.” In truth, it takes a village to raise a transgender child. Learn about Janet’s resourcefulness and how she created a team of support for Kylee. You will laugh out loud and cry with us in this Pride-inspired episode that reveals a family’s intimate journey and shows us a thing or two about love. Spoiler alert: your heart will be full after listening.

In honor and celebration of Pride Month, this is Janet’s story …

In this episode…

 ⭐ The early years: from a disappointing Christmas to owning every Disney Princess dress.

 ⭐ It takes a village. Shout out to a teacher and to the manager at the Torrance, CA Justice store (and many other angels along the way).

 ⭐ What you don’t hear in the media. The deets on hormone therapy.

 ⭐ Yes, we did just say that. Bits, and sticks, and balls. Oh my!

 ⭐ Whaaat? A relative also in the trans community!?

 ⭐ And a trip to the White House while we’re at it!

For the full show notes and more, go to TheCauseGirl.com. 

 Connect with Us!

⭐ If you haven’t already, subscribe and follow the CauseGirl podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and never miss an episode! If you love it, don't forget to rate and review our podcast.

⭐ Let’s keep the conversation going! Find Elena here on Facebook and LinkedIn, and @CauseGirlGlobal on Twitter and Instagram.

⭐ Connect with Janet Uradomo via email.

⭐ We’d be so grateful to hear your takeaways from this conversation. Share your takeaways on Twitter and Instagram at @CauseGirlGlobal or email us directly at [email protected] and [email protected]. 

⭐ Want more? Visit TheCauseGirl.com and sign up for more CauseGirl inspo including alerts, events, and more!

What do you do when a mysterious voice says, “you gotta do more?” Non-profit leader Tara Nierenhausen shares her journey to faith-based leadership by answering the call time and time again. From an early age, Tara led with a compassionate heart, bringing home “stray people” and collecting unused items for the homeless. As CEO of Community’s Child, a homeless shelter for women and food pantry for families, she speaks about what to do when the journey becomes hard and what led her from Vancouver to the City of Angels and ultimately to God. Tara is someone you will want to adopt, hug, help and learn from because she is just the real deal.

With God on her side, here is Tara’s incredible story on answering the call…

For the full show notes and more, go to TheCauseGirl.com.

Connect with Us!

⭐ Want more? Visit TheCauseGirl.com and sign up for more CauseGirl inspo including alerts, events, and more!

⭐ Let’s keep the conversation going! Find Elena here on Facebook and LinkedIn, and @CauseGirlGlobal on Twitter and Instagram.

⭐ Find Tara Nierenhausen and Community’s Child on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and on Instagram @CommunitysChild.

⭐ We’d be so grateful to hear your takeaways from this conversation. Share your takeaways on Twitter and Instagram at @CauseGirlGlobal or email me directly at [email protected].

⭐ If you haven’t already, subscribe and follow the CauseGirl podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and never miss an episode! If you love it, don't forget to rate and review our podcast.

Ad exec and Latina powerhouse Yareli Esteban shares her insights on multiculturalism, its impact on organizations and businesses, the role of women in the workplace, and how to support future generations. Her experience connecting brands to communities based on macro trends from the 2020 U.S. Census and other data show us a hopeful glimpse into the future. From being the first Latina and often only Latina in the room, learn how Yareli is now paying it forward, paving the way for girls to have a voice and for gen Z’ers (the most ethnically diverse and largest generation in American history) to overcome the pressures of the day.

Visit the CauseGirl website for the full show notes and more.

Let's Stay Connected:

⭐ If you haven’t already, follow the CauseGirl podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and never miss an episode! Don't forget to rate and review our podcast.

⭐ Connect with Yareli Esteban and her amazing impact work on LinkedIn and at www.strategar.com

⭐ Let’s keep the conversation going! Find me here on Facebook and LinkedIn, and @CauseGirlGlobal on Twitter and Instagram.

⭐ We’d be so grateful to hear your takeaways from this conversation. Share your take-aways on Twitter and Instagram or email me directly at [email protected]

⭐ Want more? Visit TheCauseGirl.com and sign up for more CauseGirl inspo including alerts, events, and more!

After each of our shows wrap, we continue to think about what’s been shared, the advice, the unbelievable journeys and experiences of the CauseGirls we speak with each month. And even with all of their unique differences and backgrounds, there is a common theme that’s occurring. That all we need to do is look around us, and the opportunities to help someone or even create a movement, are right there in front of us. In this first solocast of the season, I reflect on this theme by sharing a remarkable story about a teacher who says yes to an unusual and unlikely request from a student. You will not believe what happens! 

About this Episode

For 20 years, Paloma Lopez has been dedicated to building healthy and sustainable food systems and programs for companies like Kellogg and Clorox where she had incredible success designing programs that had social and environmental impact. After a departure from corporate life and a 10-month stint travelling the world, she felt the call to become a greater vessel for change in the food industry that puts people and nature in the center of design and decision-making. Now as co-founder of Future Fit Foods, Paloma is changing the way we source, package and consume convenience foods, through her new product line, called SUPPAS.

With discipline, bravery, and purpose as her tailwinds, Paloma practices what she preaches: the Time is Now…

 In this episode…

⭐ In the wake of the Boulder, CO wildfire tragedy, a reminder that time is precious

⭐ Where it all began: picking oranges and wild asparagus with her sister in Spain

⭐ The gap: a lack of home-cooked, nutritious foods for people’s fast-paced lifestyles

⭐ Discipline is a core value of what matters; through consistency, we see achievement 

⭐ A 10-month global sabbatical inspires Paloma to look into the past for the future of food

⭐ Who is the CEO? What it’s like running a start-up with your spouse

⭐ What the Incas and NASA have in common

⭐ Beyond recycling: closed loop, composting and packaging return solutions

For the full show notes to this episode, visit TheCauseGirl.com.

Call to Action

Be brave and be the change we want to see in the world.

The time is now. Whatever is in your heart, get on it right away! Even if it’s a small step toward your goal, like making a phone call. You can only make it happen when you make space for it.

Know what your sources of energy are in life. When you are going uphill or against the stream, you’re going to need a lot of energy to get back on track and not give up.

Connect with Us!

⭐ If you haven’t already, follow the CauseGirl podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and never miss an episode! Don't forget to rate and review our podcast.

⭐ Let’s keep the conversation going! Find Elena here on Facebook and LinkedIn, and @CauseGirlGlobal on Twitter and Instagram.

⭐ Find Paloma Lopez and Future Fit Foods on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and on Instagram @FutureFitFoods.

⭐ We’d be so grateful to hear your takeaways from this conversation. Share your takeaways on Twitter and Instagram or email me directly at [email protected].

⭐ Want more? Visit TheCauseGirl.com and sign up for more CauseGirl inspo including alerts, events, and more!

Small business super-fan, Laura Clise shares the motivation behind her Seattle-based social enterprise and tech start-up, Intentionalist. Making up for lost ground as an LGBTQ youth in search of belonging, she pursues what really matters: creating connections to one another and community through her work. Laura reveals her dorky-side and we talk post-college a cappella groups, nerdy fashion, and how to order chocolate in any country as well as what makes her such a force for good: the incredible vision she holds for how we can all be more intentional with our dollars to foster greater inclusion and belonging. And who doesn’t love to talk about eating, drinking and shopping? We touch on allyship in support of the #StopAsianHate movement and she shares her journey and advice and even a holiday gift guide for intentional giving to diverse and businesses local and beyond. ‘Tis the season!

Here to teach us how to spend like it matters, this is Laura Clise’s story:

In this episode…

⭐ Nerd alert! Pocket squares and college a cappella. You’re welcome.

⭐ Learnings from a coming of age and coming out experience before Jojo or Ellen

⭐ A broad framework for allyship and where we go from here for the AAPI community

⭐ The power of a grandma with a successful small business gives rise to intergenerational wealth and Intentionalist

⭐ What happens when you run out of excuses not to try and are brought face-to-face with your deepest insecurities. Oh yeah, and Apple.

⭐ This surprising new source of inspiration that is hyper-local 

⭐ How to start an impact opportunity

More About Laura Clise
Laura is the Founder & CEO of social purpose enterprise and tech startup Intentionalist. She led a successful corporate career in sustainability and other roles and has worked for the U.N. Global Compact, Intel and the Business for Social Responsibility just to name a few.  She is a frequent speaker on sustainability, diversity and inclusion, energy/climate change topics. In 2021, Laura was named to the Puget Sound Business Journal (PSBJ) Power 100 list, which recognizes people changing the public discourse and inspiring meaningful change in their industry and community. 

Intentionlist's 2021 Holiday Gift Guide here.
 
Full Show Notes and more at TheCauseGirl.com

Connect with Us!

⭐ If you haven’t already, follow the CauseGirl podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and never miss an episode! Don't forget to rate and review our podcast.

⭐ Let’s keep the conversation going! Find Elena here on Facebook and LinkedIn, and @CauseGirlGlobal on Twitter and Instagram.

⭐ Find Laura on LinkedIn, @Intentionalist_ on Twitter and Instagram.

⭐ We’d be so grateful to hear your takeaways from this conversation. Share your takeaways on Twitter and Instagram or email me directly at [email protected].

⭐ Want more? Visit TheCauseGirl.com and sign up for more CauseGirl inspo including alerts, events, and more!

Enjoy this conversation with CauseGirl Deesha Dyer, who shares her remarkable path to the White House without having a single connection, fancy degree or even linear path. Instead, she used her background in community organizing and hip-hop culture. From the working-class city of brotherly love, Deesha shows us how to lead with genuine heart and live by a just-do-it work ethic. From her last ride on Air Force One, you’ll hear the story of how she keeps the inner-critic at bay with her formula for success, which includes giving herself the grace to learn. 

Here to teach us about going for it, this is Deesha’s story.

In this episode…

 ⭐ Where it all began: Philly, hip-hop culture and lifting up women

 ⭐ The most non-traditional path (maybe ever) to the White House

 ⭐ Never underestimate the power of a vision board

 ⭐ Turning a passion into full-time public service and social-work

 ⭐ Wisdom from the White House years & Deesha’s formula to live by

 ⭐ How to build the talent pipeline for black girl students interested in big careers

 ⭐ Deesha’s top lessons on social media, mental health and change

 
More about Deesha Dyer

Deesha Dyer is an award-winning strategist and community organizer most known for her public role in serving as the White House Social Secretary for U.S. President Barack Obama from 2015 to 2017. She has been a CauseGirl all her life, having been a community organizer at the height of the HIV / Aids epidemic in Philadelphia as a young girl. More recently, she co-founded BeGirl World, an organization that empowers teen girls through global education and travel and The Black Girl 44 Scholarship, which financially supports black female college students interning in politics or public service in cities across the country. She now serves as founder and CEO for Hook & Fasten, a consulting firm for social impact.

In 2019, Deesha became a Resident Fellow for the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics and completed a two-year tenure at the Ford Foundation. She has received the NAACP Image Award and The Root named her 1 of 100 most influential African-Americans. 

For the full Show Notes to this episode, visit TheCauseGirl.com. 

Connect with Us!

⭐ If you haven’t already, follow the CauseGirl podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and never miss an episode! Don't forget to rate and review our podcast.

⭐ Let’s keep the conversation going! Find Elena here on Facebook and LinkedIn, and @CauseGirlGlobal on Twitter and Instagram.

⭐ Find Deesha Dyer on LinkedIn, @DeeshaDyer on Twitter and @DeeDyer267 on Instagram, and DeeshaDyer.com. 

⭐ We’d be so grateful to hear your takeaways from this conversation. Share your takeaways on Twitter and Instagram or email me directly at [email protected].

⭐ Want more? Visit TheCauseGirl.com and sign up for more CauseGirl inspo including alerts, events, and more!

Hello CauseGirl and welcome to our third episode with Lebanese-Syrian activist and community organizer Farah Salka, who teaches us how to unnormalize the injustice we see. In the face of war, inhumane conditions and injustice, Farah is doing an inside job fearlessly advocating for migrant women and domestic workers in Lebanon. Her superpower of asking questions and going deeper show us how to find inspiration around us, raise the voice of others, build strength across communities, and even find joy. No matter what society you live in, I hope you will draw many parallels in Farah’s experience living in Lebanon like I did. Farah is on fire in this episode with her words of wisdom. 

Here to teach us how to be a global citizen and activist, this is Farah’s story.

In this episode…

⭐ Is being called resilient a double-edge sword?

⭐ The inspiration: Farah’s childhood experience with domestic workers

⭐ Women (Yes, Women!) at the forefront of all activism and organizing in Lebanon

⭐ The necessity of unnormalizing daily harm

⭐ Self-care in the form of pandemic cats, travel, and a situation with sad music

⭐ Learning kindness and compassion through travel

⭐ Why happiness shouldn’t be the goal in and of itself and 1,000+ words of wisdom

More about Farah Salka

Farah Salka is co-founder and Executive Director of the Anti-Racism Movement of Lebanon. She runs the Migrant Community Centers of Lebanon where she works on organizing with migrant communities, asylum seekers and migrant domestic workers, around issues of racism, xenophobia, justice and labor justice. She helps them navigate the unjust sponsorship system called Kafala.

Farah serves in a leadership capacity with the A-Project in Lebanon, the Doria feminist fund in the MENA, and Mama Cash, the oldest international fund supporting women’s, girls', trans groups and feminist movements.

She has been featured in the Huffington Post for the Anti-Racism Movement and was named one of the top Arab women you need to know by The Wellness Project. 

She holds a BA in Public Administration and Political Science from American University of Beirut and a Master’s degree in Human Rights Law from the University of Malta.

Farah now adds “Official CauseGirl” to her impressive list of credentials.

For the full show notes to this episode, visit TheCauseGirl.com.

Connect with Us!

⭐ If you haven’t already, follow the CauseGirl podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and never miss an episode! Don't forget to rate and review our podcast.

⭐ Let’s keep the conversation going! Find Elena here on Facebook and LinkedIn, and @CauseGirlGlobal on Twitter and Instagram.

⭐ Find Farah Salka here on LinkedIn and @Salkation on Twitter and @Salkaa on Instagram.

⭐ We’d be so grateful to hear your takeaways from this conversation. Screenshot or share your takeaways with us on Twitter and Instagram or email me directly at [email protected].

⭐ Want more? Visit TheCauseGirl.com and sign up for more CauseGirl inspo including alerts, events, and more!