VIRGIN.BEAUTY.B!TCH

Kate Brookes (a.k.a. Transister Mom) is an award-winning TV reporter/anchor turned producer/filmmaker who, as field produced for The Discovery Channel, has interviewed celebrities like Beyonce to Barbara Walters. She's written for Today.com, and emcees galas, live events, and webcasts for non-profits and Fortune 500 companies. As a mom to one 13-year-old son and one 13-year-old transgender daughter, Kate is engaged in the trans community at home in NYC and nationwide, producing videos for the Ackerman Institute's Gender and Family Project, and formalizing her role as a trans ally and advocate bringing her heartfelt message of hope, acceptance. Her family story chronicled in her book, Transistor: Raising Twins in a Gender-Bending World, is a key resource for parents of a trans child. "The key messaging for any parent I talk to is around the fact that your support is protective. Don't burden a young person with educating us."

Laurin Mayeno is an equity and justice consultant and author of a banned children's book. Laurin grew up in a mixed-race environment with no books to help her understand her mixed-race identity. As a mother, she was doubly devastated when her nonbinary queer child had no resources to help them affirm who they were. Watching her child struggle with loneliness and isolation and being mistreated by other children and adults, Laurin wrote a story about a little boy wanting to dress up on Halloween as a princess. Shortly after "One of a Kind Like Me/Único como yo," was on bookshelves and gaining popularity, it made the front page in Columbus County, North Carolina. A local newspaper reported the book was being banned for being age-inappropriate. "When you ban my book, you say that a nonbinary queer child like mine doesn't belong in your schools or communities. My question is, what is the appropriate age for kids learning about love and acceptance?”

Juliane Bermann has credentials as a technical writer, book coach, ghostwriter, and editor. And it's through her written words we learned about her in a Huffington Post article titled: My Mom Would've Been Thrilled To Know I Was Queer. Instead, I Stayed Closeted For 25 Years. Juliane wrote the piece because she rarely sees stories like hers that address the complex reasons why people self-closet, even in LGBTQ+ friendly environments. Juliane's story is less about being queer and more about finding herself as a human being. It's about the messy, ugly path to self-discovery and the stories we tell ourselves about who we think we are supposed to be.

Stephanie Clarke is a most amazing woman. Her fiery red hair is a hint to her temperament as a speaker, facilitator, author, sacred ceremony hostess, Law of Attraction life coach, and a spiritual leader self-ordained as the Irreverent Reverend. As an Afrikaner wanting to help South Africa heal from its legacy of apartheid, Stephanie founded that country’s first multiracial church. She bravely shares that journey in her first book —The Misadventures of an Irreverent Reverend, A Spirited Guide for Rebels and Renegades. Her follow-up — The Sex Goddess, debunking the Mythology of God and Sex, is an autobiographical review of a woman awakening to both her sexual and feminine power. The book brings healing to the divide between sexuality and spirituality, God and flesh, and between human and the divine. Her conversation brings an attitude adjustment to women everywhere.

Lee Wind (he/him) is an Author and the Founder of the award-winning Blog I'M HERE. I'M QUEER. WHAT THE HELL DO I READ? Lee's Blog has over 3 million page loads from over 100 countries! Lee holds a master's degree in education from Harvard and writes stories to empower kids and teens to be their authentic selves and change the world. In 2022 we had Lee as our guest for PRIDE month and learned that he and his husband of more than 25 years have a grown daughter. With that knowledge, Lee was the first name that came to mind when I had this thought [slash] question — what happens to our idea of motherhood as exclusive to a woman when two men are parenting a child? What is motherhood when a female is not part of the family picture? This conversation is very personal and intimate, and we feel privileged to have learned so much from Lee. We hope you will, too. This is the perfect transitional conversation for us as we exit May — Motherhood Month and enter June — PRIDE month.

Dr. Maria Rothenburger is a fertility therapist and coach who has been through the harrowing journey of infertility. For over six years, Maria and her husband tried in vein to start a family but it only brought depression, anxiety, and intense marriage struggles. Eventually, they agreed the process wasn’t worth the pain or that was tearing their relationship apart, so they decided to be child-free until changing their minds to pursue adoption. Dr. Maria used her personal experience to write her #1 Bestselling book, Transcending Infertility: 9 Keys for Improving Fertility, Creating Miracles, and Being a Better Human and she hosts a weekly Podcast, Miracles Happen Fertility. Dr. Maria offers invaluable Fertility Keys learned from her experiences and action steps to guide couples through their own struggles with infertility.

Katie Nave is a freelance writer; she's penned articles for Newsweek, Huffington Post, and other top-notch publications. She works at being effective as a mental health advocate; she's a successful professional pediatrician in one of the world's biggest metropolis — New York, but the role Katie struggles with most is the one she once thought would be her most natural, being a mom. Katie reflects on her feelings of inadequacy as a mother in a powerful article she wrote titled My Daughter's Common Problem Made Me Feel Like A Failure As A Mom. Katie's also open about her feelings of guilt as a single mom and how hard it is to keep from falling into the "I'm a shitty mom" sinkhole. This is a candid conversation about the often unspoken truth of motherhood.

Melissa Leon is a 20-year corporate finance professional, small business owner, bestselling author, mother of three, and the self-proclaimed Efficiency Bitch. Melissa uses the word B.I.T.C.H. as an acronym to define the five areas she focuses on for women to live life by their own design: Bank, InBox, Time, Connection, and Harmony. Her book was written to help ambitious women stop wasting time, money, and all their awesome potential and become an Efficiency Bitch — a strong, unstoppable woman who is always growing and pursuing her dreams, big or small. The goal of Efficiency Bitch is to support women in doing the RIGHT things – not ALL the things.

Alexandra Mislin is passionate about educating others on how to analyze human behavior to motivate others to act in their interest. Currently, she’s an Associate Professor at American University's Kogod School of Business and teaches various courses in Negotiation and Management in the Department of Management. Her research and study outline how trust and emotions, race and gender, affect negotiation and conflict management. Alexandra is also the author of the Medium article, 5 Tips for Women to Negotiate a Higher Salary: Practical Tips for Getting the Salary or Promotion You Want.

Women face a unique set of financial challenges. Women have more hidden costs in their daily lives, like the pink tax, and the potential for more financial setbacks in the future, including the gender pay gap. Around the globe, women are generally less educated about personal finance – partly due to perceptions that finance is a "man's issue." This week we welcome Mariska Reinerink, Certified Behavioural Money Coach, Holistic Financial Planner, and Founder of MONEY WELLNESS. Mariska combined her finance and healthcare expertise into the Money Wellness approach that helps her clients transform their money story into one of freedom and confidence! "As a Financial Advisor and Certified Behavioural Money Coach, I not only help people figure out their finances and come up with financial and cash flow plans, but I also help people redefine their relationship with money."