This week on The Social Dialogue Podcast, Shane and Jenna welcome Rachel Greenberg, First Lady of Louisville, Kentucky. 

Before Rachel joins, Shane comes in with a confession: she got kicked out of an IU parent Facebook group over a water bottle. Then Jenna, now a registered New York City voter, is made to raise her right hand and promise not to hound Rachel about city decisions that may or may not have the jurisdiction of her husband - and Shane's childhood friend - Mayor Craig Greenberg. She does not keep that promise (Springdale Road apartments and the Kroger next to the Publix, we're looking at you).

Rachel shares what a day in the life of a First Lady really looks like, from dancing with pom poms to greet kids at a school "Mornings with Moms" event, to cheering on a friend at the Ali Center's Daughters of Greatness program, to catching Knocked Loose and My Chemical Romance at Louder Than Life with the Mayor.

Then we go back in time. Rachel talks about leaving her New England roots for Louisville in 1998 at age 23, building a life and a friend group in a new city (a conversation that hits differently with Jenna now in NYC), and how a career in health administration at Humana turned into teaching ESL. She also tells us about Y'ALL, the student leadership program she started, bringing together two students from every school in Jefferson County: public, Catholic, private, and independent.

And because this is The Social Dialogue, we get into social media: why Rachel keeps a separate First Lady account, why she runs it herself, what it feels like when people have a perception of her without ever meeting her, and why some voices should never be outsourced.

And there's a little history at the mention of Jenna's "first date" with Rachel's son - he was a toddler, she was a few months old. ;) 

Learn more about the YALL high school leadership program Rachel launched: 

https://louisvilleky.gov/government/city-events/youth-ambassadors-leading-louisville-yall

Find YALL on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/louyall/?hl=en

Follow Rachel here: https://www.instagram.com/louisvillefirstlady/?hl=en

Listen now wherever you get your podcasts.

Need help with your company's social media? Reach out at bigvoicesocial.com. 

This week on Great Big Client Conversations, Shane sits down with Terri Page, COO, co-founder, and co-owner of Medical Transformation Center (MTC) in Louisville, Kentucky, and one of Shane's favorite clients and friends.

Terri and her husband, Dr. Carl Page, have built MTC into a cellular medicine practice that meets people wherever they are, whether they're chasing an unresolved diagnosis, training for a 5K, or just want to feel as good as they look. The business is 34 years old, started as a primary care practice back when Terri was working as an accountant to help put Carl through medical school and residency.

Terri walks Shane through how MTC now works with patients in 28 states through deep online health assessments (genetics, gut health, hormones, nutrient deficiencies) and personalized transformation plans, plus the two newer businesses that have grown out of it: Regenavita, their own curated supplement line, and HealthSpan Center, a brand-new space focused on the lifestyle side of health like sleep, movement, stress, and mindset.

Then it gets personal. Terri opens up about growing up the daughter of Filipino and Italian immigrants in small-town Western Kentucky, becoming a teen mom, getting married at 18, and the leadership lessons a self-described people-pleasing middle child has picked up running a family business for over three decades. Oh, and exactly how Carl's trumpet case (and his legs) won her over at band camp.

Listen now wherever you get your podcasts.

Need help with your company's social media? Reach out at bigvoicesocial.com. 

This week Shane is joined by Margarita Lyadova, host of the podcast People Jew Wanna Know, for a conversation that is equal parts fun and fascinating. Margarita is a Ukrainian Jewish refugee who spent part of her childhood as an actual child pop star in Ukraine, think Hannah Montana, complete with an album, a tour bus, and voiceover work for major brands. Then, almost overnight, her family immigrated to Minneapolis as Jewish refugees and she went from celebrity to a kid on food stamps learning English in ESL class.

Margarita opens up about how the Jewish community stepped in to support her family in those early years, and how that experience is what pushed her to eventually start her own podcast three years ago. Now at 150 episodes, People Jew Wanna Know has become one of the most diverse Jewish podcasts out there, and Margarita approaches every episode like the product manager she is by day, researching guests obsessively so she never asks the question they have already answered on five other shows.

Shane and Margarita also get into Margarita's viral "help me find a husband" video, the personal cost of putting her face on social media, and why she believes there is a little bit of good in even the people who seem furthest from it.

Listen now wherever you get your podcasts.

Need help with your company's social media? Reach out at bigvoicesocial.com. 

Carin Parcel traded an 80-hour-a-week career as a Chicago lawyer for a life designing fine jewelry, and this week she joins Shane for another Great Big Client Conversation. Carin is the founder of Carin Susann, a Seattle-based jewelry line built around what she calls "everyday elegance"... pieces special enough for a night out, but classic enough to wear every day.

In this episode, Carin shares how walking past Cartier and Tiffany on Michigan Avenue during law school sparked a jewelry obsession that led her to earn her GIA gemology certification on the side, quietly, while still practicing law. We talk about what actually separates natural diamonds, lab-grown diamonds, and simulants, why she builds every piece with natural stones by default, and the emotional weight of reworking a client's heirloom jewelry into something they'll actually wear. Plus: the return of chunky gold hoops, why colored stones and black metals are having a moment, and the 80s and 90s trends showing up in jewelry right now.

Whether you're drawn to fine jewelry, thinking about redesigning a family heirloom, or just love a good career-reinvention story, this one's for you.

Listen now wherever you get your podcasts.

Need help with your company's social media? Reach out at bigvoicesocial.com. 

Shane sits down with Cincinnati-based journalist and brand strategist Alex Frost, founder of Frost Freelance, for a chat about what actually makes a brand's story land.

Alex has spent 20+ years writing for outlets like the New York Times, Washington Post, Forbes, and Huffington Post, and now helps C-suite leaders and growing companies turn their expertise into real thought leadership. In this episode she breaks down:

• Why most brands skip straight to "we need a blog/PR/social" without ever nailing down their actual message first
• The "backward look" strategy trick: color-coding your content calendar to see what you're actually posting vs. what you think you're posting
• The Hero's Journey framework she uses to help founders find their real story (see link below)
• Why AI is pushing us back toward messy, authentic, uncurated storytelling instead of the "perfect Instagram" era
• How she uses AI in her own business (hint: it's not for writing)
• Her advice for Gen Z and new grads trying to break into marketing and content strategy

Connect with Alex: alexandra-frost.com and on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandra-frost-4763aa189/

Watch the video she mentions in the episode: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hhk4N9A0oCA

Need help with your company's social media? Reach out at bigvoicesocial.com. 

This week's Great Big Client Conversation features Suzanne Sitrin, founder of Blue Birch Consulting and a leadership coach for more than 30 years. Suzanne has been a Big Voice Social client for a few years, and this conversation is packed with the same coaching wisdom she gives her own clients.

Shane and Suzanne dig into what actually separates good leaders from bad ones: setting clear expectations up front, running real one-to-ones instead of annual-review ambushes, and building the emotional intelligence that research shows matters more than IQ for leadership success. Suzanne breaks down her "ask and listen" philosophy, why "busy is not a metric," and how companies set new leaders up to fail by promoting great individual contributors without ever teaching them how to lead people. They also talk through the real gaps between Gen Z employees and the leaders managing them, and what both sides can do to close them.

Whether you're a first-time manager or you've been leading teams for decades, this one is full of practical, no-fluff advice you can use immediately.

Guest: Suzanne Sitrin, Blue Birch Consulting (bluebirchconsulting.com) Topics: leadership development, one-to-ones vs. annual reviews, emotional intelligence, onboarding, Gen Z in the workplace, building a thought leadership brand

Need help with your company's social media? Reach out at bigvoicesocial.com. 

Sorority recruitment can feel overwhelming, confusing, and at times, really upsetting. In this episode, Shane and Jenna sit down with Sloan Anderson, sorority recruitment consultant and founder of Getting the Bid, to talk about what’s really missing from traditional recruitment advice - and what girls actually need to know heading into the process.

Sloan shares her own challenging sorority recruitment experience, how outdated resources left her feeling unprepared, and why she created Getting the Bid as a modern, realistic resource for potential new members. Together, they dive into the importance of preparation that goes beyond outfits - focusing instead on networking, conversation skills, confidence, and finding a chapter that truly fits.

If you (or your daughter) are approaching sorority recruitment, this episode offers honest insight, practical tips, and reassurance that you’re not alone in feeling nervous - and that the right preparation can make all the difference.

Our advice? If you're getting ready to participate in this process and you have no idea what you're doing, trust us: you've never been through something like this before. Get someone who can advise you with solid information and take the stress out of it. If either of us were to go through it again, we'd be on the phone to Sloan at Getting the Bid right now. 

✨ What You’ll Hear in This Episode

• Sloan’s personal sorority recruitment story
• Why so much recruitment advice feels outdated
• The inspiration behind Getting the Bid
• Why networking matters more than most people realize
• How practicing conversations boosts confidence
• Preparing in a realistic (not perfect) way
• What “finding the right fit” really means

🔑 Keywords

sorority life, recruitment, personal experience, modern resources, networking, blog, advice, college life, confidence, getting the bid

Reach Sloan directly at her website: 

https://www.gettingthebid.com/

Or connect with her on Instagram @gettingthebid

Need help with your company's social media? Reach out at bigvoicesocial.com. 

Ever feel like your to-do list is setting you up to fail? This week Shane sits down with Ronna Belinky, founder of Workflows by Ronna, to talk overwhelm, productivity, and why the system that works for your best friend might be wrong for you.

Ronna built her business on a simple idea: teach the process, let people pick their own tool. She and Shane get into monthly vs. weekly planning, why "morning brain" and "evening brain" are not the same person, time blocking around your energy cycles, and the checklist habits Ronna carried over from her years working in TV sitcom production (Will & Grace included). They also swap stories on parenting two very different planners under one roof, and Ronna opens up about how uncomfortable she was showing up on social media when she started her business, and what finally got her in front of the camera.

Guest: Ronna Belinky, Workflows by Ronna Topics: productivity systems, time management, task planning, energy cycles, checklists, small business social media

Need help with your company's social media? Reach out at bigvoicesocial.com. 

Shane and Jenna are back after a summer break, and this time they're not alone. Rachel Applefield — the guest everyone remembers from November — returns to the podcast after spending her entire summer living in Shane's basement between her first and second year of law school. What started as a favor between friends turned into Rachel basically becoming a second daughter, complete with her own Love Island debriefs, Pilates recommendations, and a framed photo status in the family.

Meanwhile, Jenna checks in from her new life as an official New Yorker: her top three restaurants, how she landed a second job at a Pilates studio job on day one, walking everywhere, and what it actually looks like to support yourself post-grad with two part-time jobs instead of the traditional "one job, off the payroll" plan parents picture.

In this episode: how Rachel landed the perfect law internship through a quick phone call, the reality of the post-grad job hunt, Love Island and Call Her Daddy hot takes, and what it's really like when your kid's close friend becomes your friend too.

Rate, review, and share if you enjoyed this one. Follow along on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube.

Need help with your company's social media? Reach out at bigvoicesocial.com. 

When Shane gets on a fandom bandwagon, she is literally driving the bus. From day 1 of learning about the jewelry and the woman behind the brand, she was hooked. And she got Jenna hooked too. 

In this engaging conversation, Meredith Buchwald, founder of MB Styles, shares her journey of launching a successful jewelry business during the COVID-19 pandemic. She discusses the importance of authenticity in social media marketing, the challenges of scaling her business, and the significance of building a community around her brand. Meredith also highlights her collaborations with influencers and her future plans for MB Styles, emphasizing the need for genuine connections in the entrepreneurial world.

Takeaways
Meredith launched MB Styles during the COVID-19 pandemic as a response to her desire to create something meaningful.
Her background in design and merchandising played a crucial role in her business journey.
Authenticity is key in social media marketing; showing up as your true self resonates with audiences.
Building a community around her brand has been essential for growth and customer loyalty.
Meredith emphasizes the importance of finding genuine influencers to promote her brand.
She faced challenges in scaling her business but learned to delegate and seek help.
Collaborations with influencers like Sunny and Jen have been pivotal for MB Styles' visibility.
Meredith's connection with Bethany Frankel opened new opportunities for her brand.
She is exploring new product lines, including clothing, to expand MB Styles.
The brand's success is measured by repeat customers and their love for the products.

Keywords
MB Styles, jewelry, entrepreneurship, social media, authenticity, influencer marketing, business growth, women empowerment, fashion, community, Sunny and Jenn

Need help with your company's social media? Reach out at bigvoicesocial.com.