Dining For Women has blossomed into a non-profit organization with thousands of members nationwide. Local chapters of friends get together to eat and learn about the needs of women and girls in international communities. For member, Nancy Stern, it became much more. I spoke with both Nancy and President Beth Ellen Holimon about their experiences with DFW.

If you haven't already, spend some time perusing the Reductress website with headlines like "We Drew These Disney Princesses As Size 10s And Now They Are All Being Harassed On Twitter" or "4 Ways To Make Life Easier For Yourself, and Harder For Everyone Around You." This is the wonderful satirical world of women's magazines co-created by Beth Newell. Not only is she kicking ass on the website, but she's also helping with the Mouth Time podcast and co-authoring How To Win At Feminism: The Definitive Guide To Having It All - And Then Some! She's so busy she had to give birth in a Honda. No joke.

What happens when that isn't how your career unfolds? What happens when your partner's career takes off and yours takes a hit as the supporting half of the duo? How do you maintain your ambition when biology and the unyielding schedules of young children require that you slow down? Hana Schank and Elizabeth Wallace explore these dilemmas in their series for The Atlantic, The Ambition Interviews. It's a great read, so, I asked Hana and Liz to discuss their work with me. I was touched not only by their friendship, but their candor.

Joey Slamon is a lot of things. She's a tv writer and producer (Arrested Development, Those Who Can't, I'm Sorry (http://variety.com/2016/tv/news/im-sorry-trutv-andrea-savage-comedy-1201860639/)). She's a co-creator of the wildly successful live show Public School. She's one of my best friends. She's a Syrian-American. The recent Muslim ban and general climate toward refugees has both terrified and activated her. We got together to discuss our experiences at the Women's March in L.A., what we're doing to make good on the promises we made that day, and how we handle the stress of the current administration in VERY different ways.

In high school, an Indian-American friend of mine came to school with her hands and feet covered in mehndi after wearing it for a family celebration. I thought it was so beautiful, and I asked if she could do it on my hands. She told me I was too white to pull it off. This was my first experience in learning about cultural appropriation. What a gift to be put in my place by someone who knew I didn't have bad intentions, but was kind enough to let me know I was waaaaaay off base. Twenty years later, there's still so much to learn about racism. To learn more about how to combat online racism, I spoke with Terri Kempton of White Nonsense Roundup (https://www.facebook.com/whitenonsenseroundup/). Terri, her bestie Layla Tromble, and their WNR community are putting out racist fires all over the internet.

In 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released new data on the prevalence of autism in the United States. This surveillance study identified 1 in 68 children (1 in 42 boys and 1 in 189 girls) as having autism spectrum disorder (ASD).* One of the first families in my life to deal with severe ASD and a host of other rare and challenging diseases are the Hurleys. They turned their own need for advocacy on behalf of their son, Jackson, into helping thousands of families via J-Jaye's work with Autism Speaks. You can read more about their day to day life, here (https://www.autismspeaks.org/blog/2015/08/20/home-sweet-home-protecting-our-son-autism-our-new-house). J-Jaye talks with me about the help that's available and her own journey as a mom and champion for families facing disabilities. For more than 20 years, she's been a hero to me, and you'll hear why.

Janna Barber isn't your typical preacher's daughter from the South. She's a woman who got a tattoo to mark the loss of two pregnancies. She's an understated warrior who has battled depression off and on for almost 20 years. While she doesn't always have it all figured (hooray for telling the truth!), she's winning the war with compassion, humanity, therapy, medicine, and faith. To read some of Janna's writing, check out http://rainbowdull.blogspot.com/. This is the last episode of the year, but I'll be back in 2017 to deliver more enthusiasm!

This ep starts with updates on some of my most popular guests - Katie Von Till (Heartbreak Part 1 (http://www.theenthusiasmenthusiast.com/2016/05/11/heartbreak-part-1-with-katie-von-till/)), Kim Evey (Road To Adoption (http://www.theenthusiasmenthusiast.com/2016/05/25/the-road-to-motherhood-with-kim-evey/)), and Lauren Koenig (Pregnancy Loss (http://www.theenthusiasmenthusiast.com/2016/08/02/pregnancy-loss-with-lauren-koenig-maribeth-ayers-stickel/)). Next, I talk with Paula Kweskin all about her documentary Honor Diaries (http://www.honordiaries.com/) and the Censored Women's Film Festival (http://www.censoredwomen.com/). This episode is dedicated to the memory of Qandeel Baloch.

In a decade, how does one go from being a teenager with little to no options for the future to being an invited guest of the White House? This is the story of D'Jamel Young. He's a trans activist, model, and actor. He's also a former military intelligence officer for the Army. As someone who's learned from his mistakes and open about his experiences, he shares how he got to this place in his life which he describes as his best yet.

Check out his community website: http://transl8tion.us/

The super fun ladies of the First Timers (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/first-timers/id1118707499?mt=2) podcast Angie Greenup and Julie Fishman are my guests for this go round. What happens when 3 straight married women hang out in a closet and talk about their fantasies? Well, none of these fantasies involved shoes. Or helicopter rides. Or food on our bodies. What do real women want? What do moms fantasize about? I'll give you a hint: it's not often reflected in media.

(Also, they were kind enough to host me on their show, so look for episode #18 (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/18-first-time-you-were-too/id1118707499?i=1000375333749&mt=2) with special guest, me!)