When Women Fly

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How can we break through our perceived limitations and pursue our ambitions and dreams? How do we manage the assumptions that others project onto us?

Being born without arms has not deterred Jessica Cox from being an ambitious dream chaser. In this episode, Sylvia is joined by Jessica to discuss the remarkable life she's created for herself as a pilot, martial artist, athlete, and keynote speaker. Jessica shares with listeners how we can dig deep and cultivate the resiliency needed to overcome life's greatest challenges.

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent" – Eleanor Roosevelt

Topics Include:

• Leaning into fear
• Adventures in scuba diving and surfing
• The problem with objectifying people with disabilities as brave or inspirational
• Limb differences and rejecting prosthetic arms
• The power of faith, family and prayer
• How the practice of gratitude can reshape your mindset
• The ACCEPT acronym
• and much more...

Jessica Cox earned a Guinness World Record medal for being the first armless pilot in aviation history. She has been featured on programs like Ellen, Oprah Winfrey Network, and the BBC. As a motivational speaker, Jessica teaches how to courageously tackle new challenges with creativity and unrelenting drive.

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Resources Mentioned:
Book – Disarm Your Limits by Jessica Cox
Book – Fearless Filipinas
Movie – Right Footed

Connect With Jessica Cox:
Website – jessicacox.com
Nonprofit – rightfootedfoundation.com
LinkedIn @rightfooted
Twitter @jess_feet
Facebook @CMSofficial
YouTube @rightfootedwoman

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Website – https://www.whenwomenfly.com/
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Email – [email protected]

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How can we take action and make a difference in our communities? What would it look like to live in integrity with our deepest spiritual beliefs?

In this episode, Sylvia is joined by Ashaba Faridah to discuss interweaving our personal and spiritual lives, finding ways to give back and be of service, what flying can teach us about life, and much more.

Ashaba Faridah grew up on the outskirts of Kampala city, Uganda. She is one of a small handful of female pilots in Uganda and is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Bambino Life Foundation, an organization that focuses on promoting girl child education & empowerment. Ashaba was selected to be 1 of 9 women innovators to represent the UN women’s “Impossible to Ignore” campaign in 2019. Recently, she was listed among the most influential women in Africa by The Africa Diversity and Inclusion Center.

Topics Include:
- Being raised as the firstborn of a single parent
- Working as a woman in STEM
- The resiliency and tenacity of women
- Taking ownership of  life
- The qualities of an effective leader
- Living from a place of integrity and authenticity 
- Merging spirituality into intention
- And other topics...
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Resource Mentioned:
Ashaba's TEDx Talk – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T40lTRSageE 
Bambino Life Foundation – http://www.bambinolife.org/

Connect With Ashaba:
You can make a donation to the Bambino Life Foundation by sending money to [email protected] on PayPal. Every donation helps! You can connect with Ashaba on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @bambinolifefoundation or @AshabaFaridah.

Want to connect? Visit us online and signup for the monthly WWF newsletter!
Website – https://www.whenwomenfly.com/
Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Pinterest – @whenwomenfly
Email – [email protected]

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What will it take to raise more women into leadership positions? How can men and women show up as allies to create meaningful and lasting change?

In this episode, Sylvia is joined by Linda Lindquist-Bishop to discuss how we can set up the women of today to be successful in leadership positions, what it means to choose love over fear in our relationships and in our lives, why racing sailboats is the best leadership development strategy, and much more.

Topics Include

• Innate versus learned leadership skills
• Why the best leaders focus on asking good questions
• The importance of clearly defined roles in sport and in business
• The value of diversity in leadership positions
• What it means to strive for excellence and live an extraordinary life
• Taking on life's second mountain
• The connection between voracious learning, acquiring expertise, and success
• Being present with fear
• Dynamic variables in sailing, flying, freedom and life
• The necessity of morning rituals
• Freedom and flight
• And other topics...

Linda Lindquist-Bishop is a world champion athlete, strategist, and president of Courageous Thinking Inc. In 1995, Linda made history as a member of America3, the first all-women's team to compete in the America’s Cup–the Super Bowl of sailing. Linda was awarded Glamour Magazine’s ‘Women of the Year’ in 1995 with America3, and was honored by Lifetime Television in 1997 as one of the ‘Top 100 Women of the Century.’
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Resources Mentioned
Courageous Thinking Inc. – http://www.cgthink.com/
Rising Tide Leadership Institue – http://www.4risingtide.org/
Linda Lindquist-Bishop's TEDx Talk – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCtCYDQipM0

Books Mentioned
The Archer by Paulo Coelho
The Four Spiritual Laws of Prosperity by Edwene Gaines
Team of Teams by Stanley McChrystal, Tantum Collins. David Silverman, and Chris Fussell
The Clarity Field Guide by Benj Miller, and Chris White
My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers
The Daughters of Yalta by Catherine Grace Katz

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Website: https://www.whenwomenfly.com/
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Sylvia is joined by dance ethnologist, flying trapeze artist and executive coach Dr. Edy Greenblatt, Ph.D., to discuss what people get wrong about work-life balance and burnout. Edy shares with listeners what flying trapeze and dance can teach us about business and relationships, what we can do to avoid burnout, why we should learn to work with our fear rather than against, and much more. 

Topics include:

• Defining resilience
• Work as enrichment to life vs. work as depleting
• The myth of work-life balance
• Why we need to reframe fear
• How the flying trapeze changes everything
• Identifying the activities that deplete and restore us
• Investing in meaningful relationships
• And other topics...

Dr. Edy Greenblatt, Ph.D., PCC is a transformational coach-educator, resilience pioneer, integration visionary, and entrepreneur.  As Founder and President of Execu-Care Coaching & Consulting, Inc. she creates radically innovative interdisciplinary, multi-method interventions that help leaders, teams, and organizations learn, grow, laugh, and energize while they rise to meet demanding performance goals.  Her blended solutions can include interactive classroom sessions, aerial arts and flying trapeze, embodied and peer coaching, world dance, WATSU, coach supervision, ethnographic analyses, interactive online support, and offsite resilience retreats.
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Resources mentioned:
Flying Trapeze Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLaUz9dh0HU
Book – Restore Yourself by Edy Greenblatt
Book – The Female Advantage: Women's Ways of Leadership by Sally Helgelson
Book – Women Don't Ask by Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever
Multi-Media Series – Fusion: How World-Class Innovators Create the Unexpected by CJ Meadows

Connect with Edy:
LinkedIn – @dredygreenblatt
Email – [email protected]
Website – https://edygreenblatt.com/

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In this episode of When Women Fly you'll meet first-generation Alaskan and distinctively awesome person, Jamie Klaes, Director of Aviation for Alaska EXCEL, a nonprofit that provides resources and skills for rural youth across Alaska. She also flies Medevac missions to rural villages in remote areas and is a backcountry flight instructor in remote Alaska – on floats and skis. She was a dog sledding guide, Former Mayor of Bettles and spent summers as tour pilot around Denali, the largest mountain in the world from base to top.
 
This is a conversation about the cultural divide between rural and urban life, what she's learned about generational trauma by living and working with indigenous Native Alaskans, the thrill and challenge of speed riding, and much more.

Topics Include:

• Growing up in Bettles, Alaska at Latitude 66, above the arctic circle
• Ins and outs of a tiny rural fly-in only village in Alaska
• Drawing strength from the loss of loved ones
• Evolving identities through phases of life
• Seasonal work and international travel
• Yoga and flying
• Indigenous Native Alaskan resourcefulness 
• Alaska EXCEL
• Cultural and generational trauma
• Speed riding - a 3-D skiing experience
• The value of the 10,000' perspective when aloft
• And other topics...

Resources Mentioned:
Jamie's Website – http://www.jamieklaes.com/
Alaska EXCEL – https://alaskaexcel.org/
Book – Stealing Fire by Steven Kotler, Jamie Wheal
Book – The Raven's Gift by Don Rearden

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This week, to celebrate Earth Day, Sylvia is joined by Shannon Switzer Swanson, a National Geographic Explorer, marine social ecologist, and surfer to probe the intersection of storytelling, research, art and science. They talk about modern-day "Exploration"and the role of women and the BIPOC community in redefining it. Shannon is not discouraged or dissuaded by the complexities in her work with conservation and she continues to ask difficult questions, such as: “Can coastal communities manage their resources in ways that both sustain prosperous livelihoods and a healthy environment.”  What is the win-win formula?

Fun fact: Shannon is grand daughter to one of the pioneering women pilots of the mid-1900s.

Topics Include:

• Photography, storytelling, and research
• How our perception of time affects choices around sustainability
• What it means to be a modern-day explorer
• Female role models
• Extensive field research in Central Sulawesi
• Building trust and participatory research methods
• National Geographic programs and getting your start
• Maintaining relationships while traveling
• Balancing work and family life
• Advice for women adventurers
• And other topics...

Resources Mentioned:
An interactive website for folks interested in knowing where aquarium fish come from and how to keep an aquarium that doesn’t harm the world’s reefs, check it out at https://reeftoaquarium.com/.
Book: Femininities in the Field: Tourism and Transdisciplinary Research

Connect with Shannon:
Instagram: @ShannonSwitzerSwanson
Twitter: @S3Oceans
Facebook: @S3Oceans
LinkedIn: @shannonswitzerswanson
Interview with Shannon

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In this episode, Sylvia is joined by Melissa Burns, a professional aerobatic pilot, display skydiver, B.A.S.E. Jumper and mom. As a pilot and athlete, she was the youngest female member of the United States Unlimited Aerobatic Team in history and competed for 10 years. Melissa was named the Fastest Woman in the World at the World Champion Wingsuit Jumping Race in Norway and has numerous Skydiving World Records. She is Assistant Professor of Aeronautical Science at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, migrates between Alaska and Florida and takes on her role as mom as passionately as any of her pursuits. 

In this conversation, they touch on the power of female role models, finding clarity in life and work, motherhood, taking risks as an extreme sports athlete, and much more. 

Be sure to check out the podcast website, Melissa’s website and our posts on social to see her stunt work and incredible shots of her flying, living, playing and pushing the edge of women in extreme sports.

Topics Include:

• Early influences from Melissa's aviatrix grandmother
• Aerobatics and skydiving
• Making the US Unlimited Aerobatic Team at 22 years old
• Assessing risks in extreme sports
• The cost of living on a show circuit and burn out
• Being a role model for young women
• Leveraging your platform to inspire others
• Transitioning into motherhood, choices and professional life
• World travel and gratitude
• Neurodiversity and education
• Setting goals, moving forward, enjoying the journey
• And other topics...

Resources Mentioned:
Website: https://www.sportsgal.com/
Website: https://www.flyingadventurestm.com/
YouTube Video: World First: Melissa Andrzejewski, Sketchy Andy Lewis, & Jimmy Fitzpatrick take the Desert!

Books Mentioned:
Book: Resonant Leadership by Richard E. Boyatzis and Annie McKee 
Book: Alone on the Wall by Alex Honnold
Book: The Push by Tommy Caldwell
Book: ROAR by Stacy Sims and Selene Yeager

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IG: @whenwomenfly
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In this episode, Sylvia is joined by Canadian Sasha Gollish, professional runner, performance engineer, speaker and educator. They discuss lessons on and off the track, balancing work and play, diversifying your sport, making choices not sacrifices, navigating academia as an educator, deconstructing personal narratives, daily doses of nature and adventure, and much more.

Sasha also loves to ski and is passionate about making fast turns on the track and on the slopes. She shares what the metaphor of flight means personally and its reference on her tattoo. Sasha is a flying member of the Haute Volée Oiselle running team and teaches at the University of Toronto.

Topics Include: 

• Finding space to discover your passions
• Balancing being a scientist and an athlete
• Performance training and lessons from the track
• Connecting with the outdoors
• The stories we tell ourselves about ourselves
• Connecting to our bodies
• Antifragility and resiliency systems in engineering 
• Facing the fear of death
• Collaborating with Oiselle
• Investigating our spiritual nature
• The connection between risk and kindness
• And other topics...

Resources Mentioned:
https://www.sashagollish.com/
https://www.oiselle.com/

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Website: https://www.whenwomenfly.com/
IG: @whenwomenfly

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Sylvia is joined by Lindsay Bourgoine, the Vice President of Programs and Operations for Protect Our Winters, POW, a community of athletes, scientists, creatives, and business leaders advancing non-partisan policies that protect our world today and for future generations. Have you ever wondered how your passion for the outdoors can help save it? They discuss how individuals influence collective change, the impact of leveraging athletes' authority on the environment, the opportunities within diverse perspectives with a common goal, the complexities of policy and activism, steps toward change and much more. 

Topics Include:

• Growing up in Maine, the White Mountains, and the Appalachian Mountain Club
• Navigating transitions in life, planning and pivoting
• Studying law and policy 
• Connecting with Protect Our Winters
• Why climate is the apex issue of our times
• How professional athletes can leverage influence to fight climate change
• The "Outdoor State" and how it can influence policy
• How 2020 taught us about collective action and collective impact
• Challenging assumptions people make about us
• The power of unusual allies and voices
• Making policy cool and accessible
• Fighting apathy
• And other topics...

Resources Mentioned:
Website: http://www.protectourwinters.org
IG: @protectourwinters
Books Mentioned:
A Mind Spread Out by Alicia Elliott
This Radical Land: A Natural History of American Dissent by Daegan Miller

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In today's episode, Sylvia is joined by Melissa Lowe to talk about being a pioneer in the sport of skydiving. She shares openly how she has integrated entrepreneurship, skydiving, yoga and family with her history, personal struggles, lessons on what has worked and a unique perspective on role models, mentors and confronting angst and fear. They talk about comradery and loss in a tight-knit community, and much more. Melissa holds 23 skydiving world records and is a licensed pilot, yoga instructor, author, and mom. 

The Sugar Alpha Chronicles are a series of books based on the life of the late skydiving pioneer and Melissa’s father, Roger Nelson's life as a drug smuggler, iconic figure in the sport of skydiving, family man, and eventually a convicted felon. He wrote these books while serving his 5 year prison sentence and smuggled them out of prison where after his death, Melissa was able to finish the project and get them published. A decade’s worth of research and finding out truths of her past as a drug smuggler's daughter this series brought the memoirs into fruition.

Topics Include:

• Growing up in a skydiving community drop zone
• Being a drug smuggler's daughter
• Breaking away from family mold
• Getting sober and resetting identity
• Influences from learning and practicing yoga
• Stability and instability as a young adult
• The experience of flying with your body
• Processing loss 
• Wingsuit flying, Freestyle, Freefly and competition 
• Highlight Pro Skydiving - the all-female demonstration jump team
• Mission and media
• World records, attempts and other successes
• Entrepreneurship and leadership
• And other topics...

Resources Mentioned:
https://melissa-lowe.com/about/
Melissa's Books:
Sugar Alpha: The Life and Times of Señor Huevos Grandes and
Charlie Bravo: Descent into Darkness and Danger
Originally written by Roger, the series were not published until years after his death when Melissa picked up the dusty manuscript and turned them into books. Melissa had to fill in some gaps through interviews of people involved in Roger’s life to finish up this true story of Roger’s adventures. 

Book mentioned:
Eat Wheat: A Scientific and Clinically-Proven Approach to Safely Bringing Wheat and Dairy Back Into Your Diet by John Douillard

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Website: https://www.whenwomenfly.com/
IG: @whenwomenfly