In this episode, Liz speaks with Reshma Saujani, the founder of two non-profits, Girls Who Code, which is one of the largest nonprofits in the country with the mission to close the gender gap in technology, and the Marshall Plan for Moms, a new initiative Reshma created dedicated to transforming workplaces and the government to better support mothers and families. Reshma is also the author of three books – and her most recent is Pay Up: The Future of Women and Work and Why It’s Different Than You Think. In this conversation, Liz talks to Reshma about her own personal evolution during the pandemic, why she wants to create a workplace that’s built for women, not just men, and her framework for change.

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In this episode, Chris Bright, the Director of Public Training at the Trevor Project, the world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ youth, talks to Liz about her transition journey, what growing up was like for her, and why she decided to become a foster parent. Chris also explains what a welcoming and supportive conversation around identity and gender with your kids can look like – and what she’s learned from her experiences about the power of unconditional love, presence, and acceptance.

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As the first LatinX woman to co-direct a Disney animated feature, Charise Castro Smith – who also wrote the Academy Award-winning Encanto – faced a lot of self-imposed pressure (not unlike Louisa, one of the memorable characters she brought to life in the film). In this conversation, she talks to Liz about the imposter syndrome she overcame when working on Encanto, how her priorities radically shifted after she became a mother, and what it was like to bring to life her memorable film during COVID, from her home. She also talks about the similarities between main character Mirabel and herself – and how the animators even modeled Mirabel’s hair after her own.

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In this special bonus episode of This is Motherhood, host Joyce Brewer speaks with Kimberly Seals Allers, the creator of Black Breastfeeding Week, the Irth app, which is a helpful birth resource and community for BIPOC mothers, and host of the Birthright podcast, which highlights stories of joy and healing in Black birth. She is also a leading writer and commentator on birth, breastfeeding and the intersection of race, policy and culture. In this episode, Kimberly talks all about her experience as a BIPOC single mother and how it informed her vision to transform the experience of motherhood for BIPOC women – and why she wants to eradicate racial disparities in birth and breastfeeding and bring joy to all mother’s birth experiences.

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In this special bonus episode of This is Motherhood, host Joyce Brewer speaks with Dr. Kameelah Phillips, an OBGYN, lactation consultant, and advocate for eradicating racism in medicine. Dr. Philips runs her own private practice, Calla Women’s Health, and in this conversation, Joyce and Dr. Phillips discuss racial disparities in maternal healthcare, the health issues that moms of color should be particularly aware of, and how BIPOC moms can best advocate for themselves with medical providers to take control of their health.

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In this week’s special bonus episode of “This is Motherhood,” Emmy Award-winning TV journalist Joyce Brewer checks in with Cheli English-Figaro Co-Founder and President Emerita of Mocha Moms, the premier voice and support group for mothers of color. After Cheli English-Figaro left a successful career as an attorney to be a stay-at-home mother, she looked actively for a community of Black mothers – she and her Co-Founders turned that community she built into Mocha Moms. Mocha Moms now has more than 100 chapters in the U.S. Joyce talks to Cheli about their decisions to become a stay-at-home mother and why they think their families initially reacted with shock, why mothers of color need support systems and communities throughout their motherhood journey, and why all mothers are “working mothers,” whether they get paid for it or not.

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Dr. Mona Delahooke has more than 30 years of experience as a clinical psychologist caring for children and their families. Now, in her latest book, Brain-Body Parenting, she shares her radical new approach to parenting based on her clinical experience as well as the most cutting edge research in neuroscience and child psychology. In this episode, she talks to Liz about what it means that parents share a nervous system with their child and unpacks the idea of “co-regulation.” She also explains why the concept of “the body budget,” is one of the most important neuroscience discoveries – and why science reinforces the idea of restoring “the village” to mother’s lives.

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Alex Elle is an author, breathwork coach, and a writing to heal facilitator. She’s the author of multiple beautiful books, poetry, and affirmations – and has built a community of 1.3 million followers on Instagram. She also hosts the Hey Girl Podcast. In this conversation with Liz, Alex talks about her personal journey with IVF and what she and her husband learned from the experience. She also talks about her idea of self care as community care – a powerful concept about how caring for ourselves and that nurturing practice can actually lead to generational healing that has a ripple effect on our community. Alex also shares helpful advice for anyone interested in doing their own healing work tapping into their creativity.

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In this week’s special bonus episode of “This is Motherhood,” host Joyce Brewer speaks with Jamie Jones, a childbirth educator at Birthsmarter, a doula, a pre- and postnatal corrective exercise specialist, and a certified personal trainer. Jamie’s birth experience and her experience with postpartum depression led her to switch careers, so she could help support other women through the pre-and post-birth experience. Since then, she’s learned so much and Jamie explains why it is so important for BIPOC moms to advocate for themselves when giving birth – she also shares tactics and tools they can use to combat postpartum depression and explains how new moms can motivate themselves to move their bodies during a very exhausting time.

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Dr. Hansa Bhargava is a Board certified pediatrician, Chief Medical Officer at Medscape Education, and mom of two. Now, she has a new book – Building Happier Kids: Stress-Busting Tools for Parents – where she shares actionable steps parents can take to reduce the stress and mental health challenges impacting our children.  Liz talks to Dr. Bhargava about what the evidence says about the basics of healthy eating, sleeping, and unscheduled free time. They also talk about the reset in Dr. Bhargava’s own household benefited both her and her children.

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