The James Protin Podcast

Stephanie Samolovitch walked into Chicco Baccello and immediately stole our hearts. If you don’t know our guest for Episode #33 of the podcast and her mission…you must watch this show. 

Stephanie is the Founder and Executive Director of Young Adult Survivors United, the health and wellness community for young adult cancer survivors, aged 18-39 when diagnosed. 

YASU’s comprehensive model provides emotional and mental health, social, and financial support that enhances young adults’ quality of life. Stephanie’s advocacy focuses on prevention, increased awareness, and most effective ways to support this unique cancer population. 

Stephanie is a member of the Southwest PA Cancer & Environment Network, a UPMC Hillman Cancer Center Community Advisory Board Member, and an active advocacy representative for the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network. 

Few people in my life have reached straight into my heart like Stephanie. Her story is transformative and inspiring. As always, the visually inclined can watch it all go down on YouTube, or you can catch us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and your platform of choice.

Our guest for Episode #32 of the podcast is Phil Bourque “The Old 29er”. Phil was a member of the Penguins teams which won the Stanley Cup in the 1990–91 and 1991–92 seasons. Bourque currently works as the color commentator alongside Mike Lange for Penguins radio broadcasts. 

His professional career started with disappointment when he wasn’t selected in the NHL Entry Draft; instead, he was signed as a free agent by the Pittsburgh Penguins on October 4, 1982. Despite being I drafted, he worked his way onto the club and played in 477 NHL games over a 12 year career. 

You don’t have to be a hockey fan to pull something out of this show. Phil’s story is one we all can relate to. With Captain Hack Cadwallader in the co-host chair, we changed things up a bit for this show, filming the show from the ARC Human Services Gallery Space in Canonsburg. 

#podcast #PenguinsHockey #NHL #StanleyCup 
#LiveLoveLearnPrayInspire

Inspired by those who use music as a language to uplift, our guest for Episode #31, Jessica Lee sings messages of faith, hope and love and often reflects on this quote of Mother Teresa: "I am a tiny pencil in the hand of a writing God, sending a love letter to the world."  

Jessica is an American Jazz & Blues singer with a unique voice influenced by Jazz, Blues, Rhythm & Blues and Inspirational music.  She performs "Classic," "Contemporary" and "Crossover" Jazz & Blues, and has produced shows with innovative, customized themes for charity performances and for concerts at theaters, festivals, jazz & blues clubs, arts centers and country & urban clubs throughout the country.  

Jessica has had the pleasure of writing, recording and performing with wonderfully talented musicians, including a long collaboration with guitar great Mark Strickland and with some of her favorite Jazz mentors.

Dedicated to passing the Jazz & American Music art form on to the next generation, Jessica teaches through private studio and through certain arts centers, including virtually.

Jessica also dedicates herself to the study of Music, Mindfulness & Healing and has earned certifications in Sound Healing, Music & Mindfulness, Health Rhythms Facilitation (through Remo Drums), and Rhythm & Healing. 

As always, the visually inclined can watch it all go down on our YouTube, and of course you’ll find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and your favorite podcast platform.

We’ve reached a milestone on the podcast, today is Episode #30. Once again, we’re at Chicco Baccello in Canonsburg. We have a great show today…a serious show regarding what I think is the most devastating epidemic in this country, addiction. 

Our guests are Melissa Migliaro, Rachel Shuster and Meghan Scichilone. 

Melissa brings over 14 years of a diverse background that has prepared her to serve as a resourceful independent consultant in the Pittsburgh area. She combines her previous experience in social work, marketing, and community outreach with previous skills as Founder and CEO of Metamorphosis, her own Wellness Company, to serve a wide range of people and communities.

As a self-starter and entrepreneur, Melissa prides herself on her ability to form long-standing relationships to help connect people with the resources and other people to advance their personal and business goals. She has the ability to provide quick turn-around results for her clients and brings a refreshing and charismatic energy to her audience.

As an avid runner in the Pittsburgh area, Melissa also enjoys cross training with weight lifting, swimming and biking. She also surrounds herself with other health and wellness experts in the area and strives each day to learn something new. She credits her diverse background as being the reason she is able to provide helpful advice to her clients and reach a wide population.

Rachel is a Certified Addictions Registered Nurse (CARN) and a Certified Allied Addiction Professional (CAAP) native to Western Pennsylvania. After earning her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) from Waynesburg University in 2012, she began her nursing career as a critical care nurse and also taught nursing part-time as a clinical instructor before transitioning to her current specialty of addictions nursing. Rachel has worked in a variety of settings including as the charge nurse of an outpatient office-based addiction treatment clinic and as the site nurse of a residential treatment program for young-adults and now works as an Addiction Specialist for Highmark Wholecare. 

Rachel is a person in long-term recovery from a substance use disorder and enjoys speaking publicly about her experience and journey as a healthcare professional in recovery. In 2021, Rachel published an article in the Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services detailing her experience with and recommendations for improving alternative-to-discipline programs for nurses with substance use disorders. 

She was selected as an honorable mention for Pittsburgh Magazine’s 2019 Excellence in Nursing Awards due to her work in the field and in her community as an addictions nurse and advocate and was awarded a 2021 Pittsburgh Recovery Award as a Recovery Pathway Supporter. Rachel is a member of various professional organizations including the International Nursing Society on Addictions (IntNSA) and has previously served on the Board of Directors as the 2019-2021 Secretary. 

Meghan is a full time Realtor with 20 years of sales experience in a variety of fields from SaaS to advertising. Meghan is a graduate of The College of Charleston where she played Division I volleyball. She holds many real estate certificates and is consistently ranked top 3% nationwide in sales. Meghan is the President/Founder of The Michael Douglas Foundation whose mission is to educate parents and children about the dangers of drug use. 

The Foundation has donated over $50,000 to local organizations such as The Matilda Theiss Center which specializes in helping children and families dealing with mental health issues. The Foundation was founded after Meghan lost her brother, Michael, to an accidental overdose in 2016. She and her family use The Foundation to ensure Michael's legacy is a positive one and in the hope that others do have to suffer the same immeasurable loss.

The heart and soul of this podcast is personal transformation. Our guests share stories from their personal journeys that are compelling, inspirational, and at times improbable. Our guest for Episode #29 is Alia Wiant.  

Alia’s story is all of those. She is your typical middle aged woman, happily married to the love of her life and raising her four children. Most people know Alia as a kind and genuinely happy person…and she is. To the world outside at least. 

What you don’t see is the silent battle being waged inside…a battle she deals with daily. 

This one is going to have you shaking your head in amazement, nodding your head in agreement…and maybe even shedding a tear. Alia pulled us out of our comfort zone. 

We covered some serious topics such as:

•Blending a blended family
•Divorce
•Depression and anxiety
•Depression doesn’t look sick
•Stigma surrounding mental health
•Cardiomyopathy 
•Being given an expiration date at 21

This show exceeded my expectations and I already knew her story. Alia tells her story in a way that is vulnerable, sometimes raw, and above all else authentic. 

As always, the visually inclined can watch it all go down on our YouTube, and of course you’ll find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and your favorite podcast platform.

September will be the busiest month for the podcast since we started. We have 8 shows scheduled to record over the next few weeks. Our guest for Episode #28 is George Stark. George is the Director of External Affairs for Coterra Energy, Inc. 

In this role, George directs external and internal outreach including government affairs, advertising, media relations, corporate social responsibility, and communications campaigns. 

He also oversees efforts in building community relationships and furthering workforce development and natural gas utilization within the industry.
 
In addition to his roles on several oil and natural gas industry organizations, George currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Pittsburgh Airport Area Chamber of Commerce and the Community Foundation of the Endless Mountains.
 
George is a Pennsylvania guy, a Mon Valley guy. Most importantly, he is a man of faith and a family man. Simply put…George gets it. As an old Charleroi Cougar, this is a show I’ve been looking forward to. Because George is a an old Monessen Greyhound. 

For those who may not know, Charleroi vs Monessen is one of the state's oldest high school football rivalries going back to 1907. This is one of our best conversations to date. 

Today’s show will publish Sept. 12th on our YouTube Channel, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and your favorite podcast platform.

Our guest for Episode #27 of the podcast is Cori Wamsley, CEO of Aurora Corialis Publishing, works with business owners who have a transformational story to share. She helps them quickly and easily write and publish a book for their brand that helps them create a legacy and be seen as an expert while building a relationship with the reader. 

Cori has 18 years’ experience as a professional writer and editor, including 10 years with the Departments of Energy and Justice and four years as the executive editor of Inspiring Lives Magazine. She also wrote eight fiction books and one nonfiction book, The SPARK Method: How to Write a Book for Your Business Fast, and contributed to two anthologies. 

Her newest book, Braving the Shore, was published in June of 2022. Cori is a speaker, offering topics in writing for your business, book writing, and publishing.

As always the visually inclined can catch it on YouTube and you can it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or your go-to platform for podcasts.

Our guest for Episode #26 of the podcast is legendary Pittsburgh guy Allen “The Talking Machine” Levine. Al spent over 30 years at the Pittsburgh Press (Post Gazette) newspaper and has been a serial entrepreneur his entire life. 

He is the founder, producer, and host of Pittsburgh Sportsline on Bethel Park Public Access TV. Allen now has over 700 shows published on YouTube. Al is a people person and his knowledge of sports is unparalleled. His ability to bring people together for a cause is evident in the many local sports figures, musicians, business owners, and entertainers that have appeared on his show. 

Allen is blessed, a few years ago, without warning , he was told he was in Stage 4 kidney failure. He was the recipient of a new kidney from his son and through the life-saving transplant was given a new lease in life. 

This was a far ranging conversation, and this show is unlike any other we’ve done to date. I don’t think Nick and I have ever laughed this much. Allen is a true Pittsburgh guy and I’m honored to call him a friend. 

As always the visually inclined can catch it on YouTube and you can it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or your go-to platform for podcasts.

This week on the podcast Nick and I are back in the Mon Valley with my friend Steve Toprani joining us at His Place Coffee, Community and More. And great to have Jack back in the co-host chair. Always A great conversation when I get together with either one of these guys…but the three of us together was epic. 

Steve is General Counsel and Director of Risk Management for WG Tomko, Inc. and has had a successful legal career in the public and private sectors. Notably, he has served as Washington County District Attorney and as General Counsel for Roy Jones, Jr. Presents/TNT Promotions. 

He is a graduate of California University of PA and Duquesne University School of Law. Steve is one of us…a Mon Valley guy who is well traveled and has a unique perspective on a variety of topics that are topical in our society today. 

Simply put, there is something in this conversation of interest to everybody.

As always the visually inclined can catch it on YouTube and you can it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or your go-to platform for podcasts.

For Episode #24 of the podcast we welcome Eric McKenna to the show. Eric’s story is full of twists and turns. His life has been a life based on self-reliance, yet full of good fortune and good people. And a life always centered around music.

There have been several defining moments on Eric’s journey; the death of his only sibling, Brian McKenna, in June of 1996 due to a drug overdose, resulted in a seismic shift in his life philosophy. 

In 1999 Eric left corporate America and launched Boogie Street Guitars, an online-only, worldwide guitar sales and design company.  For 15 years, BSG was a journey that could not have been scripted. 

2013 brought the conclusion of Boogie Street Guitars. It was time for the next chapter. Eric became a PA licensed Realtor. It was the perfect career choice. Driven by my fascination with people and the desire to be of service, being a Realtor was a perfect fit.

Fast forward to March of 2019 and the launch of THE ERIC MCKENNA PROJECT.  EMP is the 'Anti-Soundbite'.  Filmed and recorded in the Boogie Street Studio, EMP is a full production video and audio podcast.  EMP is not a commercial endeavor.  The show has no sponsors. With no agenda nor outside influence, the conversations on each episode of EMP are relaxed, unscripted, unfiltered and truly authentic.

The essence of the show is to provide the format for real, physical conversation. To put away the screens and devices and simply talk with one another.

Eric lives with his wife Natalie in Coraopolis with their dog Jinx, in a turn of the century home that's always busy with Natalie’s 3 children, Sierra, Damian and Saffron and his 2 children, Austin Major and Gwendolyn Leigh. 

Eric is a natural storyteller and I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation. The visually inclined can watch it all go down on YouTube. As always, the podcast streams on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and your platform of choice.