Women Making Moves

Women Making Moves — S7Ep13: Stephanie Nyarko on Making AI Work for You

Guest: Stephanie Nyarko — AI educator, product leader, LinkedIn Learning instructor, founder of Adesia AI and the "This AI Tool Does That" community.

Show Notes

1:29 — Why everyone's blaming layoffs on AI Stephanie breaks down how AI is replacing tasks (not entire roles), why companies are shrinking headcount, and how AI infrastructure costs are also driving cuts.

4:19 — Upskill or get left behind Stephanie on why anyone in a repetitive-task role needs to become the person who builds the automation, and the Amazon example of senior engineers still approving AI-generated code.

5:24 — "We've always been automating" — the history isn't new Amy reflects on her product management days (2017–2018) and how the push to automate is familiar; Stephanie agrees but explains how AI 10X's the output compared to tools like Zapier.

7:30 — Let the machines do the heavy lifting Amy proposes that AI could free humans to focus on human connection and judgment. Stephanie agrees — human judgment becomes more valuable, not less.

11:26 — Ethical AI, bias, and what we feed the machine Amy raises the problem of human bias being baked into AI. Stephanie explains that bias is amplified from underlying training data and must be solved at the root — starting with what we put online.

15:52 — Stephanie's mission: moving people from AI curiosity to AI capability Stephanie shares her goal of helping a million people build real leverage with AI — not just watching tutorials, but actually building.

20:51 — Content repurposing automation Stephanie describes her workflow: transcribe podcasts automatically, define brand voice, and let AI transform episodes into LinkedIn posts, reels, and more — with a human in the loop.

32:23 — Where to find Stephanie LinkedIn, LinkedIn Learning, YouTube (Stephanie Nyarko — "thisaitool"), Skool community, thisaitool.com, and adesia.ai.

Rachel Hunt, founder of Freedom School Co. and host of the Cyclebreakers Podcast, joins Amy Pons to discuss reconnecting to Indigenous roots, ancestral healing, manifestation through a trauma-informed lens, and cultural appropriation.

Amy and Rachel explore the "collective remembering" happening right now — the magic, intuition, and ancestral wisdom that gets trained out of us as children, and how reclaiming it can reshape our relationship to ourselves and the world. They dig into the power of ancestral land, honoring the places we live even when they aren't our own, and how to engage respectfully with cultures other than our own without appropriating them.

The conversation also unpacks the physical and emotional toll of ignoring your calling — from toxic workplaces to health crises — as a catalyst for spiritual awakening, and offers a trauma-informed take on manifestation that goes deeper than "ask, believe, receive." Rachel closes with candid guidance on navigating cultural appropriation in spiritual spaces and staying rooted in authenticity.

Whether you're on your own path of reconnection or simply curious about the intersection of trauma, healing, and Indigenous wisdom, this episode offers real, grounded insight into unlocking your own magic.

• 0:00 — Introduction: meet Rachel Hunt, indigenous employee empowerment consultant & Cyclebreakers podcast host
• 1:40 — What the Cyclebreakers podcast amplifies; creating safe space for Indigenous voices
• 3:28 — Unlocking childhood "magic" and reclaiming intuitive gifts after corporate life
• 4:56 — Rachel's reconnection journey to her Indigenous lineage and ancestry
• 7:23 — Honoring the land you live on vs. cultural appropriation
• 10:12 — The power of ancestral land connection and privilege of access
• 14:07 — Why society disconnects us from magic and the "collective remembering"
• 17:28 — Rachel's call from Creator during a ceremony in Tulum, Mexico
• 19:10 — Dark nights of the soul, free will, and destiny/blueprint
• 23:22 — Hitting rock bottom in the body: toxic workplace, illness as awakening
• 27:16 — Overview of Freedom School: Indigenous empowerment, subconscious & somatic reprogramming
• 31:48 — Radical trust in self, somatic intelligence, and intuition
• 34:47 — Rachel's LinkedIn post: "Manifestation is everywhere, and a lot of it misses the point"
• 40:15 — Discerning true desires vs. surface-level wants
• 41:06 — How to avoid cultural appropriation and find authentic spirituality
• 44:25 — Where to find Rachel: LinkedIn, Instagram (@freedomrach), Cyclebreakers Podcast, freedomschool.co
• 45:10 — Closing remarks

Connect with Rachel Hunt

• LinkedIn: Rachel Hunt
• Instagram: @freedomrach
• Podcast: The Cyclebreakers Podcast (new episodes every Thursday — YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts)
• Website: freedomschool.co

Connect with Amy Pons

• LinkedIn: Amy Pons
• Instagram: @women_making_moves and utm_magicschool
• Website: Unlock the Magic

Women Making Moves is for personal use only and general information purposes, the show host cannot guarantee the accuracy of any statements from guests or the sufficiency of the information. This show and host is not liable for any personal actions taken.

In this episode of Women Making Moves, host Amy Pons sits down with Trishia Domingo — confidence coach, award-winning model, and multidisciplinary leader — for a deeply personal conversation about identity, healing, and what it really means to feel at peace. Trishia shares how her work as a confidence coach centers on helping people, especially women, reconnect with the "magic" and brilliance that often gets conditioned out of them from childhood onward. The two explore how societal expectations shape girls from infancy, how generational patterns get passed down and challenged, and why the new generations are unlearning inherited beliefs about who they're allowed to be.

The conversation turns to Trishia's work with the Eldest Daughters Collective, a racial healing justice organization supporting eldest and only daughters — many of them children of immigrants — who carry disproportionate emotional and logistical responsibility within their families. Trishia and Amy dig into the invisible weight of emotional labor, the exhaustion of hyperindependence, and why learning to receive support is just as important as giving it.

0:00 — Intro: Welcome to Women Making Moves, meet Tricia Domingo (confidence coach, model, Face of CBMA winner)

0:34 — Tricia's background in healthcare tech, Eldest Daughters Collective, Dream Photo House, Filipina on the Rise

0:53 — What is a confidence coach? Unlocking the "magic" in people

2:12 — How conditioning chips away at confidence starting in childhood

3:48 — Energetic conditioning from birth, generational shifts (Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, Gen Z)

6:57 — Growing up in a "be seen, not heard" household; intergenerational healing

7:46 — Rethinking divine feminine/masculine — "the new human energy"

9:36 — What is the Eldest Daughters Collective? Origins and mission

11:52 — Hypervigilance, hyperindependence, and emotional labor of eldest daughters

15:34 — Women bearing the emotional load of the household ("expense report" thought experiment)

16:58 — Layoffs as a hidden gift; finding your own truth center

17:28 — Defining racial healing within the Eldest Daughters Collective

18:47 — What's next: new membership model, Shutterfest modeling, future YouTube channel

20:00 — "Find calm in 5 minutes a day" — breathwork, tactical pauses, and ADHD

22:30 — Finding "okayness" from within instead of external validation

25:15 — Why people avoid revisiting painful memories, and how coaching holds space

27:42 — Bridging ego and soul; releasing suppressed emotional energy

30:27 — Do you really want peace? Uncovering the deeper desire behind stated goals

33:50 — Grown adults still living by their parents' rules — "is that still true for you?"

36:11 — Where to find Tricia: Instagram @atasteoftrishia, thrivewithtrisha.com

36:33 — Closing thoughts and gratitude

Menopause Care, Misinformation, and Advocacy: Nurse Betsy Returns

Amy Pons welcomes back repeat guest Elizabeth “Nurse Betsy” Kelly, a board-certified adult geriatric primary care nurse practitioner with extensive ICU/ER experience, work with Doctors Without Borders in Ethiopia and Malawi, and 13 years serving nursing home patients at Sinai Chicago.

They discuss rapid changes in midlife women’s health education and access to menopausal hormone treatment, emphasizing that the 2002 WHI study was widely miscommunicated, fueling fear of breast cancer and leaving many boomer women without treatment. Betsy explains that starting menopausal hormone treatment within 10 years of the last period can be protective, that transdermal estrogen reduces clot risks compared with oral forms, and that care is individualized; she notes FDA-approved indications and the lack of coverage and research for testosterone in women. They also address misinformation, holistic approaches alongside Western medicine, key supplements (magnesium, vitamin D, omega-3, L-methylfolate), and close with advocacy concerns about a 2026 federal student loan rule deeming nursing not a professional degree, restricting access to graduate programs.

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro

01:23 Why Womens Health Matters Now

02:35 Why Betsy Is Back

04:28 WHI Study and Lost Generation

07:34 Modern MHT Benefits

17:30 MHT vs HRT Explained

22:18 Testosterone and Insurance

26:42 Healthy Masculinity and Energy

33:12 Holistic Care Meets Medicine

36:12 Supplements That Help

41:52 Avoiding Wellness Snake Oil

43:07 Where to Find Betsy

44:18 Final Advocacy Call

Find Nurse Betsy on Instagram and Facebook @Stay In Your Cortex, and at https://stayinyourcortex.com

Thank you for tuning in to Women Making Moves, be sure to rate and subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast platform and follow along on Instagram and Bluesky. Visit Amy at Unlock the Magic, and follow on Instagram and LinkedIn.

Women Making Moves is for personal use only and general information purposes, the show host cannot guarantee the accuracy of any statements from guests or the sufficiency of the information. This show and host is not liable for any personal actions taken.

Wayfinding Moms: Conscious Parenting, Cycle-Breaking, and Finding Your Inner Compass

Host Amy Pons of Women Making Moves interviews Dr. Priyanka Venkataraman, a board-certified OBGYN, life and parent coach, and founder of Wayfinding Moms, about helping parents understand their nervous systems, break generational patterns, and build emotionally safe homes.

They discuss “remembering” an inner truth center/inner compass, leaving mainstream career molds after breaking points, and how grief and discomfort can guide healing and course-correction. Dr. Priyanka describes conscious parenting as doing internal work to recognize triggers and projections from upbringing and ancestry, regulate the nervous system, and teach children emotional resilience and compassionate leadership rather than chasing quick behavior fixes. She shares creating “the village,” a monthly community gathering for women, and offering a 12-week group parenting program, and provides her website, wayfindingmoms.com, for calls and registration.

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro

02:02 Cycle Breaking and Lineage

04:22 Remembering Your Path

05:35 Inner Compass Wayfinding

07:39 Magic School and Truth

09:29 Parenting Without the Noise

10:18 Truth Center and Alignment

13:19 Grief and Course Correcting

14:59 Feeling Triggers to Heal

16:03 Ignoring the Body in Medicine

17:38 Breaking Point and Surrender

19:03 Ego After Leaving Work

19:57 Remembering What Matters

20:32 Earth School Talk With Kid

22:59 Wayfinders And Matriarchy

23:41 Building The Village

26:01 Lighthouse Healing Paradigm

27:46 Cycle Breaking And Boundaries

34:41 Conscious Parenting Explained

38:15 Schooling Choices And Values

40:17 Where To Find Wayfinding

Thank you for tuning in to Women Making Moves, be sure to rate and subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast platform and follow along on Instagram and Bluesky. Visit Amy at Unlock the Magic, and follow on Instagram and LinkedIn.

Women Making Moves is for personal use only and general information purposes, the show host cannot guarantee the accuracy of any statements from guests or the sufficiency of the information. This show and host is not liable for any personal actions taken.

Women Making Moves — Episode: Audacity and Authenticity

Guest: Sandhya Sudhakar — Certified Coach, Enneagram Practitioner, Speaker, Facilitator, Founder of Self At Work, and Host of the Working Your Way podcast.

Host: Amy Pons — Founder of Unlock the Magic Coaching, Healing and Magic School

Episode Summary: Amy sits down with Sandhya to explore what it means to show up authentically in the workplace and in life. They discuss the courage it takes to be direct, the tension between practicality and audacious dreaming, and how to navigate discomfort in a way that leads to real growth.

Key Topics Discussed:

• Audacity as a guiding word — Sandhya shares why she chose "audacity" for 2026 and how she's learning to dream bigger and care less about others' perceptions.
• Directness vs. palatability — Both Amy and Sandhya reflect on being told to "achieve the same but be nicer," and the impossible double standard women face in the workplace.
• Self-abandonment and trade-offs — A nuanced conversation about when to walk away from misaligned work and when financial safety takes priority, and the long-term cost of forsaking yourself.
• The learning zone — Sandhya breaks down the comfort zone / learning zone / panic zone framework and how to discern good discomfort from harmful discomfort.
• Generational dynamics at work — How Boomers, Millennials, Gen Z, and Gen Alpha each play a role in reshaping workplace culture.
• Enneagram in teams — How Sandhya uses the Enneagram to help high-achieving leaders diagnose team dynamics and lead more effectively.
• Speaking up and truth-telling — Amy shares a personal story about confronting inappropriate behavior and the backlash that followed.

Where to Find Sandhya:

• Website: selfatwork.com
• Podcast: Working Your Way (available on YouTube and all audio platforms)

Where to Find Amy:

• Website: https://unlockthemagic.org
• Instagram
• LinkedIn

Closing Thought: "Having less so I could do more — simplifying, and going much bigger with fewer things." — Sandhya Sudhakar

S7 Ep7 — Dr. Tamara Beckford

Women Making Moves Podcast

Host: Amy Pons, Founder of Unlock the Magic Coaching, Healing and Magic School

Guest: Dr. Tamara Beckford — Board-certified emergency medicine physician, bestselling author, international speaker, and founder of Truly Balanced Wellness Care

Episode Summary: Amy sits down with Dr. Tamara Beckford to explore the intersection of traditional medicine, holistic healing, and the powerful journey women experience through perimenopause and menopause. They discuss reclaiming the magic of womanhood, honoring the body's natural cycles, the importance of slowing down, and building an intentional life beyond the "go, go, go" mentality.

Topics Covered:

• 3:23 Perimenopause — embracing the biological experience
• 5:49 Slowing down & the "to-feel list"
• 8:04 Sound baths, sacral womb healing & energy work10:00Healing beyond traditional medicine & the power of timeframes
• 14:57 Heart disease as a silent killer in women
• 18:26 Women pushing through pain & learned endurance
• 21:43 Generational shame around menstruation & naming your womb
• 25:04 Menopause as reemergence — wisdom, not decline30:00Writing your own story & challenging "I have to"
• 33:22 Dr. Tamara's telemedicine practice & expanding to 4 states
• 35:14 "Intentional outweighs impressive" — building a slower, richer life
• 41:02 What patients truly want — time, compassion, listening
• 44:00 Advice for finding the right care provider
• 47:06 Closing remarks — fierce, ferocious, and forging the next path

Key Quotes:

• "How do you wanna feel?" — Amy on replacing the to-do list with a "to-feel list"
• "Intentional outweighs impressive every single day." — Dr. Tamara Beckford
• "Our body sheds, prepares, and renews for the next phase — over and over." — Dr. Tamara

Where to Find Dr. Tamara Beckford:

• LinkedIn: Dr. Tamara Beckford
• Facebook: Dr. Tamara Beckford
• Instagram: Dr. Tamara Beckford
• TikTok: @trulybalancedwc

Featured In: Fox 26, Forbes, Yahoo Finance, Voyage Houston, LinkedIn News, Rolling Out Magazine, Kevin MD

Books: Made For More, Made For More Too, Thriving After Burnout

Practice: Truly Balanced Wellness Care — concierge telemedicine for menopausal care, hormone balancing, and weight care (serving Texas, Michigan, Georgia, and Iowa)

Where to Find Amy, Women Making Moves, and Unlock the Magic:

• LinkedIn: Amy Pons, Unlock the Magic, Magic School, Women Making Moves
• Website: https://unlockthemagic.org
• Instagram: Unlock the Magic and Women Making Moves
• TikTok: @chicagosfavewitchycoach

Please leave a rating and review on your favorite platform, thank you!

The Future of Working Motherhood: Flexibility, Ambition, and Real Support After Maternity Leave

Amy Pons hosts Alexa Starks, maternity leave coach and founder of Executive Moms, to discuss reshaping maternity leave and return-to-work experiences and the findings from Executive Moms’ Future of Working Motherhood 2026 report.

They reflect on the need to deconstruct harmful workplace systems, the lack of support for mothers returning from leave, and how simple supports like mentorship can improve retention.

Alexa shares key data: 40% of women leave their job within a year of returning from maternity leave, yet 97% would stay if truly supported; the report also found no “ambition gap,” with mothers reporting equal or greater ambition after having kids. A major takeaway was that flexible work design (remote/hybrid/part-time) mattered more than longer leave. Alexa also previews a TED Talk in Rotterdam and the launch of Mothered Magazine.

01:09 Coaching and Paradigm Shift

03:02 Aha Moments in Corporate

05:22 Maternity Return Support Systems

06:48 Report Findings and Retention Stats

09:02 Ambition Gap Myth Debunked

11:43 Burnout and Hands On Work

13:54 Workplace Bullying and Boundaries

15:20 Surprising Data on Flexibility

16:56 Flexibility Tops Requests

17:15 Ambition And The 97 Percent

17:52 Survey Logistics And Reach

18:34 Return To Office Pushback

20:51 Why Leaders Cling To Control

22:42 TED Talk And Moving Abroad

25:04 Launching Mothered Magazine

27:04 Super Bowl Holiday Hypocrisy

28:46 Advice For The 97 And 40

31:06 Where To Find The Report

31:32 Feminine Strength Closing

Find the 2026 'Future of Working Motherhood' report along with key updates from Executive Moms here, and follow Alexa on LinkedIn and Instagram.

Thank you for tuning in to Women Making Moves, be sure to rate and subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast platform and follow along on Instagram and Bluesky. Visit Amy at Unlock the Magic, and follow on Instagram and LinkedIn.

Women Making Moves is for personal use only and general information purposes, the show host cannot guarantee the accuracy of any statements from guests or the sufficiency of the information. This show and host is not liable for any personal actions taken.

What Stability Really Requires: Breana Grayson on Bipolar Disorder, Stigma, and Support at Work

Amy Pons hosts Women Making Moves and interviews writer Breana Grayson about living with bipolar disorder, what “stability really requires,” and the stigma and misunderstandings that still surround bipolar (“one of the ‘scary ones’”).

Breana explains that medication is essential for her but not sufficient; stability also involves therapy, psychiatric care, consistent sleep, exercise, diet, and enjoyable practices like writing, guitar, and “therapy based kind of yoga,” and she defines stability as moving through life without derailing relationships or work.

They discuss how menstrual cycles can affect symptoms, Breana’s use of cycle tracking and astrology to document patterns, and her diagnosis process at 25 through an intensive outpatient program after work and relationship difficulties. Brianna argues remote and flexible work are not favors but protect productivity, and she advocates proactive workplace support, education, and community so people don’t handle bipolar alone.

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro

00:47 Stability and Root Chakra

01:22 Bipolar Stability Routine

02:22 Redefining Normal

03:46 Yoga and Creative Coping

04:33 Bipolar Stigma Myths

05:46 Cycles Hormones Astrology

08:51 Sharing Her Story at 26

09:23 Diagnosis at 25

10:32 Screening and Medication Risks

11:58 Childhood Signs and School Support

14:58 Remote Work as Accommodation

17:51 Workplace Support Strategies

20:37 Mental Health Across Generations

25:21 Advice Find Community

27:04 Where to Follow and Closing

Dr. Nelva Lee on School Choice, Vocational Pathways, and Housing Solutions in Georgia

Host Amy Pons welcomes Dr. Nelva Lee—healthcare and academic leader, former board appointee, author, and Georgia Superintendent of Schools candidate—who discusses the bleak realities of healthcare and education and her focus on solutions.

Lee describes Concrete Build Financing, a crypto company backed by real estate aimed at countering private equity’s rent hikes by converting commercial multifamily properties into rent-to-own condos to promote stability, equity, and dignity. In education, she advocates expanding Georgia’s Promise Scholarship Act so more families—including homeschool and private-school families—can access broader learning environments, and she proposes every student graduate with both a diploma and a trade certificate.

She cites post-COVID learning gaps, top-heavy education budgets, low reading and math proficiency rates, and calls for basics like phonics, targeted resources, and holding back non-readers by second grade. She also critiques HOPE Scholarship “bait and switch,” urging lower maintenance requirements and a college “star system,” and encourages limiting news, cultivating hope, and volunteering.

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro

01:13 Healthcare and Maternal Gaps

02:59 Crypto Real Estate Housing Plan

06:31 School Run and Voucher Expansion

10:36 COVID Learning Loss and Resources

15:25 Vocational Skills Over College

22:21 Hope Scholarship Reform Ideas

27:19 Hopeful Action and Volunteering

31:59 Where to Find Dr Lee

32:23 Final Thanks and Wrap Up

Find all of Dr. Nelva's work on her website and follow along with her campaign!

Thank you for tuning in to Women Making Moves, be sure to rate and subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast platform and follow along on Instagram and Bluesky. Visit Amy at Unlock the Magic, and follow on Instagram and LinkedIn.

Women Making Moves is for personal use only and general information purposes, the show host cannot guarantee the accuracy of any statements from guests or the sufficiency of the information. This show and host is not liable for any personal actions taken.