Thriving Outside the Box

Season 2 of Thriving Outside the Box comes to a close. In this short solo finale, Dr. Kim reflects on the process of making this season — what she learned, what emerged along the way, and what she wasn't expecting the conversations with her guests to reveal. She shares gratitude for the amazing guests and listeners who showed up, replied, shared, and received this season's offerings, and she sets up what's coming in Season 3, returning early 2027. A quiet, grounded wrap to a season about building outside the box — and the community that makes building anything possible.

A special thank you to Hitz Muzic Group, LLC for the sound engineering and production support that has made Season 2 of Thriving Outside the Box what it is.

Resource

Chateau D'Orquevaux International Artist & Writer's Residency, Orquevaux, France

Work With Dr. Kim

Schedule a complimentary consultation.

Credits

Host: Dr. Kimberly Grocher PhD, MA, LCSW, ACC, RYT

Music: Gregory Brooks, Jr.

Sound Engineer: Hitz Muzic Group, LLC

www.kimberlybondsgrocher.com | [email protected] | @drkimbgrocher

Dr. Kim welcomes Simona Badger, LCSW — Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Forensic Social Worker, psychotherapist, and educator with over 17 years of experience at the intersection of mental health and the legal system. Simona conducts immigration mental health evaluations and provides expert witness testimony for Asylum, Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), T-Visa cases of trafficking, U-Visa, Extreme Hardship, and Cancellation of Removal cases. She has trained hundreds of mental health professionals nationwide to conduct forensic immigration evaluations and testify in legal proceedings.

In this conversation, Simona shares the story of finding her calling — a path that has been outside the box for her both professionally and culturally — and what it means to do this work during unprecedented times. She and Dr. Kim explore the mental health toll on immigrant communities right now, what forensic immigration evaluation actually looks like, and why this work matters at the intersection of clinical care, advocacy, and the legal system. Simona also shares about the FIMHE 2026 Forensic Immigration Mental Health Evaluators Summit, taking place virtually on Saturday, October 17 — an interdisciplinary conversation bringing together professionals across mental health, medicine, immigration law, education, forensics, advocacy, and community leadership. The summit is open to all. Whether you're a clinician, an advocate, or someone trying to understand what we're living through, this episode meets the moment.

Guest Links

Website: https://www.sbempowerment.org

FIMHE Summit Registration

LinkedIn

IG: @sbempowerment

Credits

Host: Dr. Kimberly Grocher PhD, MA, LCSW, ACC, RYT

Music: Gregory Brooks, Jr.

Sound Engineer: Hitz Muzic Group, LLC

www.kimberlybondsgrocher.com | [email protected] | @drkimbgrocher

Some of you have been quietly running on armor for so long, you forgot that you can put it down. In this solo episode of Thriving Outside the Box, Dr. Kim names what the armor actually costs — mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually. She speaks to the weight of building outside the traditional path, the compounded cost for Black professionals navigating systemic racism, and the interpersonal weight of envy and jealousy that shows up when your excellence becomes visible — sometimes with real consequences.

Referencing Dr. Jason Arday, Nolan Wells, the Black players in the World Cup, and the recent losses of Black women in the U.S. workforce over the last 18+ months, Dr. Kim traces the pattern that runs through them all: excellence and achievement do not insulate you from the weight. Sometimes they intensify it and "traditional" wellness practices by themselves are often not enough to meet the challenge. She shares from her own life and professional experience on what actually sustains.

Supportive resources

Therapy for Black Girls: therapyforblackgirls.com

Therapy for Black Men: therapyforblackmen.org

Melanin & Mental Health: melaninandmentalhealth.com

The Loveland Foundation: thelovelandfoundation.org

Open Path Collective: openpathcollective.org

Win With Black Women: winwithblackwomen.com

988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: call or text 988

Credits

Host: Dr. Kimberly Grocher PhD, MA, LCSW, ACC, RYT

Music: Gregory Brooks, Jr.

Sound Engineer: Hitz Muzic Group, LLC

www.kimberlybondsgrocher.com | [email protected] | @drkimbgrocher

Some of the most powerful care doesn't exist yet — until someone decides to build it. On this episode of Thriving Outside the Box, Dr. Kim sits down with Naa Adoley Pappoe, LMSW — psychotherapist, emotional wellness and stress management specialist, speaker, and multi-brand founder. Naa is the founder of the Single Moms Club and Curated Kids. Her work centers Black and Brown women navigating infertility, motherhood, and the demands of everyday life.

Together, Dr. Kim and Naa unpack what it means to redefine success and wellness on your own terms — moving beyond traditional therapy models into community, conversation, and real-life support. Naa shares how she built an ecosystem of care by combining her clinical practice with the Single Moms Club and Curated Kids, and what it looks like to thrive as a single mother while building multiple purpose-driven brands. She speaks candidly about creating spaces that don't exist — including community for single mothers — and what it means to lead from lived experience. And she names the deeper reframe she is guiding women toward: choosing sustainability over survival, and building lives that feel grounded, intentional, and aligned. If you are building something — a practice, a family, a life — that doesn't look like what came before, this conversation is for you.

Guest Bio

Naa Pappoe is a psychotherapist, emotional wellness and stress management specialist, speaker, and multi-brand founder whose work sits at the intersection of emotional wellness, maternal mental health, and identity. She specializes in supporting Black and Brown women navigating infertility, motherhood, and the demands of everyday life, with a focus on shifting from survival to intentional, sustainable wellness. Through her clinical practice and the Single Moms Club, she has built an ecosystem of support designed for women navigating motherhood, healing, and life's transitions. A post-graduate certified infertility counselor and field practicum advisor at Hunter College, she brings both clinical depth and lived experience to every space she enters. Her mission is to shift the culture around women's wellness from crisis management to grounded, intentional living — and to build the systems that make that possible.

Guest Links

Instagram: @naapappoelmsw & @iamsinglemomsupported

Curated Kids Concierge: linktr.ee/curatedkidsco

Website: www.naapappoe.com

Standing Credits

Host: Dr. Kimberly Grocher PhD, MA, LCSW, ACC, RYT

Music: Gregory Brooks, Jr.

Sound Engineer: Hitz Muzic Group, LLC

www.kimberlybondsgrocher.com | [email protected] | IG @drkimbgrocher

This week on Thriving Outside the Box, Dr. Kim welcomes Letitia Gottashe — author, educator, child and family advocate, and CEO of Letitia Gottashe Consulting Group LLC. Across more than 35 years in education, parent engagement, and community advocacy, Letitia has been building bridges between schools, parents, and communities so that every child can thrive. In this conversation, Letitia shares her life story and her journey, what it means to be doing this work in "retirement," and a powerful reading from her upcoming memoir, No One Heard My Silence. Letitia will kick off her three-city pre-launch book tour at the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago on August 12, 2026 — with an author talk and panel on childhood trauma, child abuse, domestic violence, healing, and hope.

Guest Bio

Letitia Gottashe is the CEO and Founder of Letitia Gottashe Consulting Group LLC, a Westchester MWBE social impact company, and the developer of LG Educational Consulting Services. Her mission is to strengthen the bridge between schools, parents, and communities through the arts, education, and advocacy so that every child can thrive academically, emotionally, and socially. For over 35 years, she has worked in Head Start, Daycare, and Title I programs — championing parent engagement as the key to student success. Her upcoming memoir, No One Heard My Silence, shares her journey of resilience through trauma and serves as a call to action for healing, education, and advocacy.

Upcoming Event

Three-City Pre-Launch Book Tour: No One Heard My Silence — Chicago Kickoff

Wednesday, August 12, 2026 · 6:00–7:30 PM

Obama Presidential Center, Herman Petty Room · Chicago, IL

Author talk and panel on childhood trauma, child abuse, domestic violence, healing, and hope.

Event Tickets

Guest Links

Facebook: @LetitiaGottashe

Instagram: @LetitiaGottashe

Support Resources

IF YOU NEED SUPPORT

📞 Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline: 1-800-422-4453 (24/7, free, confidential)

📞 National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233 or text START to 88788

📞 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: call or text 988

🌐 RAINN (National Sexual Assault Hotline): 1-800-656-4673 or rainn.org

You are not alone. Support is available.

Credits

Host: Dr. Kimberly Grocher PhD, MA, LCSW, ACC, RYT

Music: Gregory Brooks, Jr.

Sound Engineer: Hitz Muzic Group, LLC

www.kimberlybondsgrocher.com | [email protected] | @drkimbgrocher

Most women entrepreneurs are not having the full financial conversation. In this special co-hosted episode of Thriving Outside the Box, Dr. Kim is joined by Alex Davis, CPA, CFP® — known as The Wealth Strategist — for an honest conversation about the patterns they keep seeing in their work with women business owners: the numbers being avoided, the money stories running the show, the emotional weight quietly shaping every financial decision. Together they unpack why wealth is a wellness issue, why women entrepreneurs cannot design what is next without knowing their financial picture, and how the intersection of money and well-being drives every choice you make in your business — whether you are aware of it or not. They also share the story behind Wealth, Water & Wellness — the immersive experience they are co-facilitating in Clearwater Beach, FL on August 21-22, 2026 — and why they built it specifically for the accomplished woman who has done the outer work and is quietly ready to do the inner one.

Guest Bio

Alex Davis is a CPA, CFP®, and the founder of AGA Tax & Consulting Services. Known as The Wealth Strategist, Alex helps women entrepreneurs, high-earning professionals, and business owners see their full financial picture with clarity and confidence — combining technical expertise with the emotional intelligence to meet clients where they actually are. She is the co-facilitator of Wealth, Water & Wellness alongside Dr. Kim.

Guest Links

AGA Tax & Consulting Services

Instagram: @thewealthstrategist_alex

Wealth, Water & Wellness

Standing Credits

Host: Dr. Kimberly Grocher PhD, MA, LCSW, ACC, RYT

Music: Gregory Brooks, Jr.

Sound Engineer: Hitz Muzic Group, LLC

www.kimberlybondsgrocher.com | [email protected] | IG @drkimbgrocher

Sheryl Hatwood decided, at a specific moment in her life, to turn things around. What came next — the healing, the faith, the framework she built — is a masterclass in what it means to build a real relationship with yourself. In this episode, Dr. Kim talks with Sheryl — corporate leader, entrepreneur, wellness coach, author, producer, and founder of TRUCE Natural Living — for a testimony of what that inner work looks like when it is lived, not theorized. Sheryl shares how a history of trauma and abuse led her to that turning point, anchored by faith, education, and inspired by Iyanla Vanzant's writing. She walks us through the five pillars of TRUCE — Truth, Resilience, Understanding, Choice, and Elevate — and the framework that continues to shape her leadership, her wellness brand, and her life. Together, Dr. Kim and Sheryl explore why so much of what we are sold as self-care isn't self-care at all, why reinvention requires self-trust, and why self-love is the foundation every extraordinary life is built on. If you are designing a career, a business, or a life on your own terms, this conversation is a must-listen.

Guest Bio

Sheryl Hatwood MPA, B.Sc, MHFA is a corporate leader, entrepreneur, author, producer, and wellness coach dedicated to helping people live with purpose and authenticity. As the founder of TRUCE Natural Living and TRUCE by SH, she creates products and experiences that encourage individuals to embrace truth, self-care, and personal growth. Sheryl is also the first Black President in the 127-year history of The Manor Club of Pelham, where she championed community engagement, inclusion, and organizational excellence. Through her work in the community, her message inspires others to build themselves and one another, and to thrive beyond limitations.

Guest Links

TRUCE Natural Living

TRUCE by SH

Sheryl Hatwood

Instagram & Facebook: @sherylhatwood, @trucebysh and @trucenaturalliving

Credits

Host: Dr. Kimberly Grocher PhD, MA, LCSW, ACC, RYT

Music: Gregory Brooks, Jr.

Sound Engineer: Hitz Muzic Group, LLC

www.kimberlybondsgrocher.com | IG: @drkimbgrocher

What if the most important part of a conversation happens before you ever say a word?

In a world where the art of conversation is being lost in all the noise, I wanted to share a practical, inside-out framework for having conversations that actually count — drawn from my years of experience as a psychotherapist, executive coach, and simply being a human in relationship with other humans. Inside the episode I breakdown:

• the three stages of powerful communication
• the rare gift of being deeply heard-and how to give it to others

Whatever your role, personal or professional, you cannot lead without being able to communicate in a way that allows you to hear and be heard. Powerful communication isn't just a leadership skill, it's a life skill.

Listen in!

Credits

Host: Dr. Kimberly Grocher PhD, MA, LCSW, ACC, RYT

Music: Gregory Brooks, Jr.

Sound Engineer: Hitz Muzic Group, LLC

What happens when a career in film leads, unexpectedly, to a career in psychiatry? In this episode of Thriving Outside the Box, Dr. Kim sits down with Dr. Daniel Knoepflmacher — psychiatrist, educator, and host of the podcast On the Mind — for a conversation about the winding path that brought him from film school and trailer editing to medicine and mental health. As the child of South American immigrants, Daniel has always been drawn to culture, human stories, and meaningful connection. He shares how those threads have run through both of his careers, why he believes human connection is at an all-time low, and how story might be one of our most powerful tools for restoring it. A rich conversation about identity, reinvention, and the things that make us human.

Guest Bio

Dr. Daniel Knoepflmacher is the Director of the General Psychiatry Residency Program at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medicine, the Vice Chair for Education in the Department of Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medicine, and host of the podcast On the Mind. Dr. Knoepflmacher brings his unique background from a prior career in the film industry to his work as a psychiatrist, consultant, educator, and administrative leader. His past pursuits in a creative field and high-pressure business environments have informed his empathic approach to treating individuals struggling with personal, professional, academic, and artistic challenges. Overseeing the education, training, and mentorship of dozens of psychiatric trainees, he champions a humanistic approach to psychiatry, where residents learn to provide compassionate treatment in a training environment that is inclusive, intellectually stimulating, clinically comprehensive, and collaborative. He is also committed to educating the public about mental health through his podcast, public speaking, and appearances on television and radio.

Guest Links

Podcast: On the Mind

Weill Cornell Medicine — Department of Psychiatry

Credits

Host: Dr. Kimberly Grocher PhD, MA, LCSW, ACC, RYT

Music: Gregory Brooks, Jr.

Sound Engineer: Hitz Muzic Group, LLC

www.kimberlybondsgrocher.com | [email protected] | IG @drkimbgrocher

Self-advocacy is one of the most misunderstood skills we have — often confused with entitlement, self-centeredness, or being "too much".

In this solo episode, I make the case that self-advocacy is not only a critical leadership skill but one of the deepest expressions of self-love and self-care. Self-advocacy has a ripple effect. When we advocate for ourselves, we create permission and possibility for others to do the same. Woven throughout the episode is a voice note I recorded in real time during a solo trip to Paris — an unfiltered, in-the-moment account of what self-advocacy actually looks and sounds like when it's happening. Raw, personal, and pragmatic at the same time.

Credits

Host: Dr. Kimberly Grocher PhD, MA, LCSW, ACC, RYT

Music: Gregory Brooks, Jr.

Sound Engineer: Hitz Muzic Group, LLC

www.kimberlybondsgrocher.com | [email protected] | IG: @drkimbgrocher