Liz Garcia is the kind of woman who makes you want to sit up straighter, open a new notes app, and finally do the thing you've been talking yourself out of.

In this second guest interview of the Ages & Stages series, I sit down with Liz — owner of Storage Theory, founder of GW Spice Co., mom of two, serial entrepreneur, and host of The Liz Garcia Show — to talk about what it really looks like to pivot from corporate life into entrepreneurship… and keep going even when it's scary.

Liz shares the "before and after" moment that propelled her family into business ownership, how perfectionism held her back (until it didn't), and why she believes you should go to worst-case scenario… and ask yourself if you'd survive it (spoiler: you would).

This episode is for the woman who's been feeling the nudge to make a change — but needs a little courage, a little honesty, and a reminder that you are capable of more than you believe.

• Liz's journey from graphic design → insurance → sales → entrepreneurship

• The pivotal life moment that lit a fire under her and her husband to "just start"

• Why perfectionism keeps so many women stuck and how to loosen its grip

• A behind-the-scenes look at building an e-commerce brand

• How Liz thinks about fear: go to worst case scenario and see if you'd survive it

• The question that guides her major decisions: "Will I regret not trying?"

• The power of putting yourself in rooms you don't feel ready for

• Why Liz believes we should create what we wish existed, especially in the Midwest

• The constant she's learned through every age and stage: "I'm capable of more than I believe."

• Liz on Instagram: @lizgarcia.me

• Storage Theory: @storagetheory

• Storage Theory website: storagetheory.com

• Liz's podcast: The Liz Garcia Show

• 1 Million Cups (mentioned in episode): local weekly entrepreneur meetups (check your city's chapter)

In the very first guest interview of the Ages & Stages series, Molly sits down in person with Carley Kintzle a senior at Iowa State University studying agricultural communications and public relations, a cattle exhibitor, the founder of Wild Orchid Co., and a photographer who picked up a camera… and ran with it.

Carley's story is a reminder that you don't have to pick just one lane. From starting a jewelry business in high school (despite never having made leather earrings before) to landing a dream role with Corteva while still in college, Carley shares what it looks like to say yes to opportunity, lean into mentorship, and use networking as a tool, even when it feels uncomfortable.

This conversation is full of energy, practicality, and a message every woman needs: challenges aren't a stop sign, they're often the thing that fuels our growth.

• Why Carley started Wild Orchid Co. during COVID (and what her mom said first!)

• The power of being multi-passionate and embracing it instead of fighting it

• How Carley's mentors stretched her (even when she wasn't sure she was ready)

• Why networking matters more than you think and how to do it without being "weird"

• What the cattle showing circuit taught her about leadership, work ethic, and confidence

• How she landed her dream role while still in school

• What success means to Carley in this stage of life

• The mindset that keeps her moving forward

• The one line she wants every listener to remember: "Just go for it."

• Follow Carley: @carley.kintzle

• Wild Orchid Co.: @wild_orchid_co

• Website: wild-orchid-co.com

• Follow Molly: @mollyknuth

• Email Molly: [email protected]

As we step into a brand new year, this episode opens the Ages & Stages series with a personal reflection from me, Molly.

In this solo episode, I looks back across my own life — from childhood curiosity and creativity, to achievement-driven adolescence, to motherhood, entrepreneurship, burnout, and a more grounded, intentional season of leadership.

Rather than rushing toward what's next, this episode invites listeners to slow down, reflect on what each age and stage has already taught them, and consider how those lessons shape who you are becoming.

This conversation sets the tone for the weeks ahead, where I will sit down with women at different ages and stages of life to explore leadership, identity, ambition, legacy, and meaning.

If you're entering 2026 feeling reflective, hopeful, or ready to lead from a steadier place — this episode is for you.

• Why this season of life feels less about proving and more about impact

• How childhood curiosity and creativity shape adult leadership

• The hidden lessons in ambition, achievement, and burnout

• What motherhood taught me about presence, rhythm, and partnership

• Why there are no true "dividing lines" between life stages

• How skills from earlier seasons still serve us today

• The intention behind the new Ages & Stages podcast series

• My word of the year — and how it's already shifting my mindset

• An invitation to reflect on your own age, stage, and season

• The Found Podcast with Molly Knuth

• Connect with Molly on Instagram: @mollyknuth

• Email Molly: [email protected]

This episode is a little different — and honestly, it might be one of the most important ones I've ever shared.

Instead of one long-form interview, you're getting four mini-interviews with women who are quietly (and powerfully) making their communities better — through nonprofit work, community organizing, and the kind of "someone has to do something… so I will" leadership that changes everything.

These women were listener-nominated, and every story proves the same thing: You don't need a massive following or a fancy title to make a difference. You just need the willingness to notice a need… and participate in the solution.

In this compilation, you'll meet:

• Callie FitzGerald — founder of Centrally Rooted Mission + Mindful Musicians (building confidence and brain-health skills through music)

• Molly Schreiber — founder of Mindful Minutes (bringing yoga + mindfulness practices into schools, healthcare, shelters, and more)

• Dee McKenna — community leader and organizer of the Woodbury County Fair Bonus Sale (investing in youth through 4-H & FFA premium support)

• Nicole O'Dell — board member for the Bernard Playground Project (building an accessible community space and rallying a small town to do the "impossible")

And at the end, I'll give you a 14-day challenge to help you turn inspiration into action.

• Why community impact rarely starts with a "grand plan" — it starts with noticing

• How Centrally Rooted + Mindful Musicians teach resilience and confidence through music

• The "five parts of practice" behind Mindful Minutes and how mindfulness becomes a life skill

• How the Woodbury County Bonus Sale works — and why it matters for the future of agriculture and youth development

• The story behind the Bernard Playground Project and the power of phased momentum

• Practical ways to support these missions (donate, volunteer, subscribe, spread the word)

• Molly's 14-day challenge: support, thank a helper, or nominate a community leader

• Centrally Rooted

• Mindful Musicians

• Mindful Minutes

• Woodbury County Fair + Bonus Sale Info

• Bernard Playground Project

• Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque

• Nominate a future community helper: [email protected]

• Instagram: @mollyknuth

Whitney Sanger isn't just a nonprofit founder — she's a mother of seven, a Dubuque native, a communications and storytelling pro, and the kind of woman who sees a gap and refuses to accept "that's just how it is" as an answer.

In this conversation, Whitney shares the very personal journey that shaped her relationship with food, and how that journey eventually turned into Project Rooted — a nonprofit built on the belief that nutrition isn't only about what's on the plate… it's also about connection, dignity, community, and hope.

We talk about the moment that sparked her curiosity (a simple school birthday lunch), the pushback she faced when she started asking bigger questions, and what it looked like to launch a nonprofit in early 2020 — and then pivot fast as the pandemic hit. You'll also hear how Project Rooted has evolved over the last five years, including their incredible Rooted Box program that's helping first graders build a relationship with fresh, local food in a way that's joyful, empowering, and deeply human.

If you've ever felt a nudge to do something meaningful in your community — but you weren't sure where to start — Whitney's story will light something up in you.

• Whitney's early relationship with food — and how healing changed everything

• Why curiosity is often the beginning of meaningful work

• The birthday lunch that sparked the idea for Project Rooted

• How she found the right co-founder and built an aligned board

• What it looked like to launch in 2020… and pivot into immediate community impact

• The "Notes of Hope" that continue to anchor every program

• How the Rooted Box program works (and why kids LOVE "Rooted Box Day")

• Whitney's advice for anyone with a big idea that feels scary to say out loud

• What Whitney has found about herself: confidence + empathy

• Project Rooted

• Volunteer opportunities in Dubuque: volunteerdbq.com

This week's episode of The Found Podcast isn't about a flashy brand or a viral business story. It's about a woman you'll probably never see on a billboard, but whose work is changing lives quietly, consistently, and deeply in rural Eastern Iowa.

In this episode, Molly sits down with Sarah Palmer, an English Language Learning (ELL) teacher in the Western Dubuque Community School District. For the past 18 years, Sarah has been teaching language, yes—but also welcoming refugee and immigrant families, connecting them to food, furniture, transportation, and community support, and modeling what everyday service can look like in a small town.

You'll hear about students arriving with only what they could carry, the growing diversity in rural Iowa schools, and how public educators often become the "first point of contact" for families navigating a brand-new system and culture.

This conversation is an invitation: to see the hidden work being done around you, to recognize the power of simple acts of service, and to ask how you might bring your own gifts to the needs in your community.

• How Sarah "fell into" English language teaching and discovered it was absolutely her calling

• The shift from a handful of ELL students to 40+ on a roster—and a rural school district filled with global diversity

• What it means to be the first trusted connection for families arriving with almost nothing

• The unseen ways public schools support families: food, clothing, furniture, rides, and more

• Stories of partnering with local organizations like Resources Unite, food pantries, and community foundations

• The cascade effect of one gift—a car, a bike, a bed—and how it can change an entire family's trajectory

• How growing up in a family of service shaped Sarah's worldview and the way she's raising her boys

• Why acting as "the connector" matters just as much as being the direct giver

• Practical ideas for how you can serve in your own community (even without a big budget or a lot of time)

• Resources Unite (Dubuque-area support + connections)

• Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque

• Connect with Molly: @mollyknuth

As we enter December and close out the final month of 2025, this episode brings our year-long exploration of restored, intentional female leadership full circle. We've spent the past twelve months talking about presence, friendship, boundaries, nervous system health, community spaces, and the internal work that helps women lead sustainably.

This month, we're turning our attention outward—to the communities we belong to.

In this episode, Molly shares a deeply personal story of her own evolution as a community volunteer: from an enthusiastic, overcommitted "young mom with a mission" to a thoughtful, seasonally-aware leader who has learned how to give back without losing herself (most of the time, anyway). I talk about the boards I have served on, the projects I've helped lead, the burnout that followed, and the moment I finally gave herself permission to step back.

You'll also hear how to bring your gifts, energy, and leadership into your community in ways that honor your capacity, why service doesn't have to be huge or flashy to be meaningful, and how even small acts of care ripple out more than you think.

• Molly's personal stories of serving on local boards, capital campaigns, and community revitalization projects

• What I learned from burnout, resentment, and stepping away

• Malcolm Gladwell's 3 criteria for "meaningful work" and how they apply to volunteering

• The shift from "lifelong service clubs" to "short-term, high-impact" volunteer models

• Ideas for serving your community in ways that fit your season of life

• Real examples of women who made big change through small acts (cookie fundraisers, concert series, park lighting, youth leadership)

• Why your leadership belongs—even if your gifts look different than someone else's

• Practical questions to help you discern where and how you are called to serve right now

• "You don't have to change the world for your service to be meaningful and valuable."

• "Some seasons are for rolling up your sleeves. Some seasons are for amplifying others. Both are service."

• "When women bring ideas into community spaces, change happens faster and it sticks."

• Malcolm Gladwell, Outliers (for the three keys to meaningful work)

• Previous Found Podcast episodes on community, leadership, and intentional living

• Connect with Molly on Instagram: @mollyknuth

• Share this episode with someone doing good work in your community

This week on The Found Podcast, we're trading strategy for stories and KPIs for giggle fits.

To celebrate Thanksgiving and our November theme of family for the ambitious woman, I invited two of the biggest influences in my life and leadership to join me on the mic: my sister, Jessica Ryan, and my mom, Kathy McAllister.

This episode is…unhinged in the best way. We swap stories about handmade Halloween costumes, soda cans secretly stashed in dresser drawers, hiding Dad's favorite candy, President's Day "mystery trips," and the legendary Mother's Day "Guilty Pleasure" road trip. We talk about the chaos of motherhood, what's different from the generations before us, and how much we all rely on humor to make the hard parts lighter.

If you need something cozy and familiar in your ears while you bake pies, drive to Grandma's, or hide in the pantry from your kids for five minutes of peace—this one's for you.

Underneath all the laughter, there's a quiet throughline: ambitious women need people who know where they came from, cheer them on, and don't mind making fun of them (lovingly) along the way.

• "The influences in my life, I feel like you guys have always taught us that things are just better when they're fun."

• "Not everything has to be so serious. And even when it is serious, it's okay to bring a little levity to the situation."

• "That's what we need as ambitious women—we need our cheerleaders, our support system, the people who remember where we came from and aren't afraid to make fun of us along the way."

• Connect with Molly on Instagram: @mollyknuth

• Listen to more episodes of The Found Podcast: https://mollyknuthmedia.com/podcast/

• Share this episode with a friend who needs a laugh this week!

Today's episode feels extra special — because I finally got to sit down in person with someone I've admired online for months: Mandy Webber of the Wildly Intentional Podcast.

She drove from West Branch, Iowa, to my home office in Cascade, and what started as a podcast interview turned into a three-hour, soul-filling conversation about motherhood, homesteading, family culture, learning (and unlearning), running a business from your values, and choosing a life that's deeply rooted in intention.

We recorded a double-pod, so you'll hear the Found-side of our interview today, and you can catch the second half over on Mandy's podcast, Wildly Intentional.

If you don't know Mandy yet, you're in for a treat. She's a maverick mom of three, a homesteader, a maker, a family culture builder, and one of the most curious, energetic, truth-telling women I've met. Mandy helps people unlearn the noise of modern life and return to rhythms that actually matter — whether that's rethinking school at home, preserving 50 pounds of tomatoes, or bravely starting something from scratch.

This conversation is honest, warm, hilarious, grounding, and full of gems you'll carry with you.

Settle in. This one's good.

• Take Mandy's Quiz: https://www.wildlyintentional.com/quiz

• Wild + Rooted Seasonal Journal & Planner: https://www.wildlyintentional.com/shop/p/wild-rooted-winter

• My episode on Mandy's podcast, Wildly Intentional: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6J19AhLH0FCMSE1RU7ArNb?si=y64gMjh_ScqmqqI-ocNOrQ

This week on The Found Podcast, we're continuing our November series on family — and we're going right into the tender middle: motherhood.

Because motherhood changes everything.

Your time. Your nervous system. Your calendar. Your priorities. Your sense of self.

And if you're an ambitious woman on top of that? It changes the way you define success, too.

In this solo episode, I talk honestly about what it looks like to be a mom who loves her kids deeply and a woman who has dreams, goals, clients, and callings. We'll name the myths, talk about the invisible labor, and tell the truth about "balance" (spoiler: it's more recalibration than perfection).

You'll hear:

• why you don't have to choose between being a "good mom" and a "good business woman"

• the emotional load and backward-planned days no one sees

• how ambition can actually make us better mothers

• questions I ask myself when I'm doing too much: What am I trying to prove? To whom? Does it even matter?

• a different way to measure motherhood — not by output, but by alignment

This one's for the mom with toddlers on the floor, the mom of teens in 47 activities, the mom navigating IVF, the mom with grown kids… and the woman who still wants something for herself.