What We Made Possible

On today’s special episode, I’m excited to share a heartfelt cross-post from my conversation with the brilliant Didi Paterno on her podcast, Transit Thursdays. This one is truly close to my heart. We explore the dance between finding light in moments of loss, community connection, and what it really means to be rooted as a Filipino American in a world that can feel both unfamiliar and full of possibility.

My former coaching client Didi interviews me and I get to share more about my personal journey, from growing up in a multigenerational Filipino household in Jersey City, serving as a landing place for new immigrants, to stepping into advocacy and leadership roles that often felt like pushing against heavy winds. I open up about navigating the challenges of working in under-resourced BIPOC organizations, grappling with feelings of burnout and searching for stability, especially during turbulent times. Through it all, I share how mentorship from within my own community helped me pivot from simply surviving to truly thriving.

We chat about my evolution from working as an advocate to becoming a coach, and what it’s meant for me to find (and offer!) light through coaching, not only as an individual practice but within groups and whole communities. Loss, I’ve learned, is not just about what is taken but also what becomes possible: a rediscovery of self-worth, a reclaiming of agency, and an opening for deeper connection.

If you’ve felt stuck, heavy with loss, or unsure how to step forward, let this episode serve as a gentle invitation: together, we can find the little lights that guide us home, anchoring ourselves in community, courage, and hope. Thank you for joining us on this journey—no matter where you are, you’re not alone.

About Didi Paterno:

Didi is a Filipino-American writer, tarot card reader and your vedic astrology ate (elder sister). She is also host of the Transit Thursdays: A vedic astrology tutorial podcast, where she hopes to shine a little more light on ourselves through the stars as we transit through our lives.

Where to Find Didi Paterno:

Instagram:@didipaterno

Facebook: Didi Paterno

Transit Thursday podcast on Spotify

Important Links: https://linktr.ee/didipaterno

Website: http://didipaterno.com

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On today’s episode, I sit down with one of my mentors, Carey Peters. She is a powerhouse in coaching and a living example of what’s possible when we lean into healing, transparency, and bold new steps. Carey shares her incredible journey from believing she could only ever be an actor, scraping by, to co-founding and building six businesses and certifying over 40,000 coaches around the globe. Along the way, she opens up about moments of self-doubt, navigating transitions, and the surprising magic that happens when we finally realize: we have a choice.

We talk vulnerably about what it feels like to be in the messiness of change: moving through big identities, letting go, and grieving what’s been while opening to what’s next. Carey’s candor around imposter syndrome, business fears, and the rawness of growth is a gentle reminder that the people we look up to are human too. I found so much hope in her story of being supported by coaches and mentors, embracing faith, and centering creative practice—even when she wasn’t sure who she was becoming.

If you’re in a season of transition, wondering if you belong, or feeling apprehensive about showing up as your realest self, this conversation is a warm invitation to pause and reflect: What possibilities am I not seeing yet? How do I want to choose myself today?

Take a listen, notice what resonates, and let yourself get curious—what’s newly possible for you and your community right now?

About Carey Peters:

Carey Peters has founded or co-founded 6 businesses, exited 2 and played a key role in taking them from startup to revenues totaling over $220M, including Holistic MBA and Health Coach Institute, which have trained 40,000+ health and life coaches in 100+ countries.

Carey and Stacey Morgenstern created Health Coach Institute’s “Become A Health & Life Coach” (an ICF CCE-accredited dual Health and Life Coach certificate training) flagship program, which teach students Health Coach Institute’s proprietary Habit Change Coaching skills and how to use those skills to create lucrative coaching businesses.

Carey guest-starred in 25 episodes of the Yahoo web series “Reluctantly Healthy”, hosted by actress Judy Greer, and has been featured in Forbes Magazine, New York Magazine, Fitness Magazine, The Chicago Tribune, The Huffington Post and more.

Currently based in Chicago, Carey holds a BFA in Acting from DePaul University. She lives with her husband and her beautiful 9 year old daughter. Outside of work, Carey enjoys theater, music, art and stand-up comedy.

Where to Find Carey Peters
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/careypetersofficial/
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/careypeters/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/carey.peters/

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On this episode, I sit down with Daphany Rose Sanchez, the passionate Brooklyn-born climate justice leader behind Kinetic Communities Consulting (KC3). Together, we get real about what it means to build radical, community-rooted change—especially when the old systems don’t make space for us.

Daphany openly shares her journey from growing up in NYC public housing, to storming through the world of energy consulting as a young woman of color, to founding KC3 out of a blend of anger, hope, and a deep belief in possibility. We talk about hustling through long, exhausting days, battling external barriers and internal expectations, and what it takes to unlearn that survival is the only way forward.

There’s so much heart in this conversation: how Daphany learned to honor her own boundaries, lead through trust (not just grit), and bring her full, unapologetic self to a sector that desperately needs new voices. She reminds us that we don’t have to twist ourselves into knots to drive change—sometimes, slow reflection and centering our communities is the most radical move.

Throughout our chat, we explore what it looks like to build a team rooted in care, real representation, and the belief that technical skills are important, but lived experience and self-trust are just as necessary.

If you’ve ever doubted that you belong at the table, or wondered whether you can show up as yourself while making systems-level change, this episode is your permission slip. Let’s reflect together: What’s possible for you, your community, and your healing if you trust yourself—just a little more?

Tune in, and step into what’s possible with us.

About Daphany Rose Sanchez:

Daphany Rose Sanchez is a Brooklyn-born climate justice leader dedicated to building affordable communities. As the founder and Executive Director of Kinetic Communities Consulting (KC3), she champions equitable clean energy solutions for historically excluded neighborhoods. Daphany grounds her leadership in lived experience, resilience, and heart. She moves with a deep belief that real change starts with connection, belonging, and honoring community wisdom. Whether she’s driving policy, designing programs, or amplifying voices, Daphany leads with grit, grace, and an unwavering commitment to justice, healing, and possibility.

Where to Find Daphany Rose Sanchez:
Website: http://www.kc3.nyc
Instagram: @kineticcommunities
LinkedIn (Personal): Daphany Rose Sanchez
LinkedIn (Organization): Kinetic Communities Consulting
Facebook: Kinetic Communities Consulting
Diverted Power: DivertedpowerDiverted Power | Racial Discrimination’s Role in Undermining the Clean Energy Transition.

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In today’s episode, I sit down with Dr. Diana Hernández—a trailblazer, advocate, and proud native New Yorker—to unpack what’s truly possible when we challenge the old narratives about wealth, power, and community.

Diana and I revisit the moment over a decade ago when she, my professor at Columbia, first cracked open my mind to who gets to claim the words “wealthy” and “homeowner.” We dig into her journey: from rolling up her sleeves to rehab forgotten buildings in her community in the Bronx, to leading ground-breaking research on energy insecurity, a struggle affecting nearly half of U.S. households but so often hidden in shame and silence.

She shares how ambition isn’t just about accumulation, but about intention: about building until you feel satisfied, and then making space for others. We talk about her new book, Powerless, which not only names but illuminates the deep impact of energy insecurity and how it’s within our collective power to solve it.

If you’ve ever wondered how your story or your community fits in the bigger fight for justice, or how to know when “enough” is truly enough, this conversation is for you. Diana’s wisdom is a gentle invitation to reimagine what’s possible, grounded in lived experience and hope for change.

Let’s open ourselves to new possibilities, honor our own power, and hold space for the voices and solutions that have always existed within our communities.

About Dr. Diana Hernández:

Dr. Diana Hernández, a tenured Associate Professor at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, is the Founding Principal Investigator of the Energy Equity, Housing, and Health Program and co-Director of the Energy Opportunity Lab at the Center on Global Energy Policy.

Dr. Hernández is a pioneering sociologist and leading authority on energy insecurity, a concept she defined and operationalized through groundbreaking mixed-methods research. Rooted in community engagement and policy innovation, her work addresses systemic barriers to energy access for disadvantaged populations and tests promising interventions. She is author of Powerless: The People’s Struggle for Energy (with Jennifer Laird, Russell Sage, April 2025), the first major book on energy insecurity in the U.S. 

Where to Find Dr. Diana Hernández:
Website: http://drdianahernandez.com
Instagram: @hotandcold_nyc
Book, Powerless: The People's Struggle for Energy: https://www.amazon.com/Powerless-Peoples-Struggle-Diana-Hern%C3%A1ndez/dp/087154914X

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On today’s episode, I’m speaking to my fellow women of color leaders, especially those who know what it’s like to endure toxic work environments or survive in predominantly white institutions. Maybe you’ve found yourself working twice as hard, navigating a maze of microaggressions, and watching others get promoted while you’re left doing the heavy lifting. And now, after finally landing in a position of power, or maybe even creating your own seat at the table, everything suddenly feels heavier than expected.

 Let’s talk about overcorrection. I open up about the emotional labor, the struggle to avoid hierarchy at all costs, and how the desire to lead differently can sometimes backfire, leaving you and your team confused or burned out. Together, we unpack why these behaviors are not personal failures, but deeply human and understandable responses to the systems we’ve survived. The tools that protected us before aren’t always the ones that let us thrive now.

 You’ll hear stories from my coaching practice, like the leader so committed to protecting her team she ended up isolated, and how clarity (not just care) was what everyone really needed. I walk us through real strategies for shifting from reaction to intention: leading with both empathy and direction, sharing power with structure, and building liberatory leadership rooted in justice and care.

If you’re feeling stuck, know you’re not alone. I invite you to listen in, breathe, and imagine: What could leadership look like if it was shaped by your values, not your wounds?

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In this mini companion episode, I speak directly to funders whose support is crucial for nonprofits doing equity and justice work—especially in this shifting and sometimes precarious political landscape. If you fund organizations working with communities of color, immigrants, coalitions, or environmental and racial justice causes—this one’s for you.

We’re not sugarcoating it: times are tough. Funders, you’re facing big choices. How you show up in 2025 will either reinforce the status quo or help reshape what’s possible for all of us. Drawing from insights by the Building Movement Project, I share five key leadership shifts nonprofits are making: from certainty to adaptability, individualism to collective power, authority to trust, perfectionism to experimentation, and productivity to well-being.

But here’s where clarity (and hope!) truly come in: your funding approach isn’t just about checklists or deliverables—it’s about building trust and resilience in the communities you care about. I invite you to consider concrete ways to support these shifts, like offering unrestricted, multi-year funding, resourcing well-being as essential, and fostering spaces for collaboration and learning.

If you’re feeling stuck or unsure of your next move as a funder, let this episode light the path forward. I hope you walk away with clarity—and the courage to fund with care, empathy, and an eye toward liberation. Let’s reimagine what’s possible, together. And as always, I’d love to hear your thoughts and keep this conversation going.

Resources Mentioned:
Building Movement Project FAQ: https://email.buildingmovement.org/hubfs/FAQ%20for%20EOs.pdf?hsCtaAttrib=186681037124

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In today’s episode, I share the urgent shifts I believe are needed for leadership this year, especially in times that feel so uncertain and, at times, overwhelming. Together, we explore five key transformations that can keep our organizations, and our hearts, resilient and grounded.

I’m inviting you into a real conversation about moving from the illusion of certainty to bold adaptability, and from isolating individualism back into the collective power that has always been our roots. We talk about releasing old patterns of authority in favor of deep trust, and shifting from a place of ego to true transparency, vulnerability, and collaborative action.

You’ll hear coaching stories, from the leader frozen by losing funding, to the advocate burning out under pressure, and the manager who finally put rest at the heart of her culture. We get honest about perfectionism (aka fear in a cute dress), and the freedom that comes with giving ourselves and our teams permission to experiment, learn, and grow.

If you’re leading in nonprofit, social impact, or simply care deeply about community, this episode is for you. We name what’s hard, and we also tap into what’s possible. My hope is that you walk away feeling seen, less alone, and maybe even a little more courage to bring your people along for the journey.

I invite you to pause and reflect: Which leadership shifts are calling to you right now? And how might you show up, not perfectly, but powerfully, for your team and your community?

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In this episode of What We Made Possible, I delve into the struggles many leaders face with low morale in their teams. We've all been there, right? Like pulling everyone behind you while feeling utterly exhausted. But it doesn't have to be all about productivity. It's about genuinely caring for your people.

I'll share real-life coaching strategies and stories to help you to reenergize your team. We'll discuss: clear expectations where everyone knows what engagement means, moving from a task-checking mindset to meaningful check-ins, and giving feedback that fuels motivation rather than deflates it. It's been a game changer for the leaders I work with, and I hope it's the same for you.

So, how do you want your team to show up? Which of these small shifts resonates with you? 

Let's shake off that morale slump and create a culture where people are excited to show up and do their best work. 

If this episode hits home, I want to hear from you! Share your thoughts, or reach out if you're ready to bring these strategies to life in your organization.

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On today’s episode of What We Made Possible, I’m taking you behind the scenes of my own career pivot—from working in DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) to becoming a full-time coach. We get into it: the reality of DEI being dismantled, the ways I’ve navigated change management and policy work to support supplier diversity, and why DEI was never about liberation—just harm reduction.

And with so many DEI roles being slashed, I’ve had to rethink my path too. From government to Broadway to coaching, I’m finding new ways to help people build spaces of their own.

This episode is for anyone wondering: What now? It’s about adapting, reimagining, and finding new ways to do the work—on our own terms. Join me as I share stories of resilience and possibility. Let’s dream beyond the tables we’ve fought to sit at—because what if we built our own? Tune in and let’s figure it out together.

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On today's episode, I dive into the story of how I faced imposter syndrome and lost $10,000 as a result.

Imposter syndrome isn’t an illness, but rather internalized oppression that tells us we don't belong, often when we're stepping into roles of greater power or transitioning into new environments.

I share my journey as I grappled with self-doubt while taking on a leadership position within an office of diversity in New York City government. Despite initially denying a promotion and second-guessing my abilities, I realized that I had been doing the work all along. It only took a nudge from my boss and a shift in my mindset to embrace my worth and step into the role confidently.

Let’s explore how self-belief can transform our opportunities, aligning ourselves with purpose. I invite you to reflect on your own experiences and ask, "Am I allowing imposter syndrome to hold me back?"

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