the girls who gather podcast

walking your own path — with Anna Jepson

Thu, 18 Aug 2022 10:00:00 +0000

Anna Jepson is an art director, writer, designer, photographer, recipe developer and all-around multi-hyphenate. She’s spent the last decade building a career in the food, beauty, and retail industries, but has found her creative home in fashion. She started her own blog about her adventures in cooking, community, and savoring the slow moments called The Féministe – whose mission is to spur us on towards unity, understanding and acceptance through recipes and authentic conversations. She has worked for some of the world’s biggest brands in beauty and apparel, including Sephora. She currently works as Art Director for Old Navy and Gap. New to New York City, she plans to take the next step of her creative calling through the pursuit of filmmaking.

building from the past and for the future — with Sanza Monleon

Tue, 12 Jul 2022 15:29:52 +0000

Lauren speaks with health coach, plant-based chef, architect, digital designer, and new mama, Sanza Monleon, on what it means to build a world for future generations.

Sanza is also the founder of the digital magazine the-eosia.com, and creator of The eosia Lifestyle, a digital magazine that helps busy women to improve their health and wellbeing while taking care of the planet.

using a little to make a lot — with Elizabeth Moore

Tue, 05 Jul 2022 09:30:00 +0000

In this episode, Lauren speaks with writer Elizabeth Moore about how she pursued her dreams, dwells in what she has created, and her creative process of listening and dictating.

Elizabeth is a graduate of Mississippi College and the Columbia Publishing Course at Oxford University. Prior to her time at Oxford, she worked as a writing consultant, content manager, and virtual assistant to authors. She now works for Penguin Random House as a Publishing Associate for Vintage & Anchor Books. Elizabeth’s forthcoming book Liturgies for Hope (Waterbrook), co-authored with Audrey Elledge, will be published on November 1, 2022. Follow her writing at elizabethmoorewriting.com or on Instagram at @elizabethjmoore.

a catch-up session — with Lauren Franco and Noelle Boyd

Tue, 10 May 2022 10:00:00 +0000

A mid-season check-in with our co-hosts Lauren Franco and Noelle Boyd where we talk about where we are as individuals and an organization.

learning to dwell — with Zipporah Baldwin

Tue, 26 Apr 2022 10:00:00 +0000

A believer in turning dreams into realities, and a lover of all things good - Zipporah is a native of Northern Virginia and a recent graduate of Hampton University with a B.S. in Business Management. With her coexisting passions of being her own boss, uplifting women and girls, and sharing her passionate love for Christ, in 2018, Zipporah founded the nonprofit organization of Everyday Esther - an organization dedicated to the core pillars of education, service and sisterhood, and building partnerships with organizations in the Greater DC and Virginia community.

Today, she remains the Chief Executive Officer of Everyday Esther, and has also recently relocated to Dallas-Fort Worth, TX where she now also serves as a Community Specialist at Chirstian Vision - a non-profit ministry dedicated to globally reaching communities for Christ through optimized social media advertising, digital pioneering, and effective Gospel content creation. Zipporah is deeply passionate about youth, community development, marketing, non profit operations and faith-based leadership.

building through language: identity and community — with Dr. Mary Cazabon

Tue, 19 Apr 2022 09:00:00 +0000

In this episode, Ha-Young and Noelle chat with Dr. Mary Cazabón about the ways in which language, verbal or otherwise, forms the way we see ourselves in our communities and in the world.

Dr. Mary Cazabón, Ed.D. is the Assistant Director of the Brockton School Community Engagement Project in Lesley University and a former professor of University of Massachusetts Boston of Applied Linguistics. She was also the former Director for Bilingual/ESL programs at Cambridge Public Schools for K-12 grades from 1994-2008, where she rendered technical services to dual and foreign language programs and instructional programs for ELLs as well as evaluations through her work from 2008 to present at WestEd. She has extensive experience in conducting research and evaluation, and in delivering technical assistance to schools, districts, universities, and state departments of education.

deconstructing and rewriting our norms — with Kat Harris

Tue, 12 Apr 2022 09:00:00 +0000

Kat Harris is the host of The Refined Collective Podcast, author of Sexless in the City, and Founder of the online publication The Refined Woman. She has also been a full-time photographer for over a decade with her work featured in: The New York Times, WWD, Vanity Fair, GQ, Forbes, People, Who What Wear, US Weekly, Glamour UK and more. In everything she does, her goal is to create a safe space to have honest and layered conversations around faith, sexuality, relationships, culture, identity, and everything in-between.

building a more just world — with Haddy Gassama

Wed, 06 Apr 2022 12:52:25 +0000

A passionate advocate with a demonstrated history of working in the fields of Human Rights, Gender Equity, and Immigration Law, Haddy Gassama is currently the National Director of Policy and Advocacy at UndocuBlack Network - a multigenerational network of currently and formerly undocumented Black people that fosters community, facilitates access to resources, and contributes to transforming the realities of those in the black community in order to thrive and lead fulfilling lives.

Becoming licensed to practice law in Washington D.C., she has since worked with organizations such as the National Immigrant Justice Center and the Washington College of Law International Human Rights Clinic, and represented survivors of torture from sub-Saharan African countries in their asylum proceedings.

In this episode, Noelle chats with Haddy about her work as a lawyer and advocate in building a more just world.

You can find more of Haddy's writing here, and UndcouBlack statement on termination of Title 42 here.

the invisible work of dreaming — with Nathalie Mansueti Stratton

Tue, 29 Mar 2022 10:00:00 +0000

Nathalie is a co-founder of Hearth Display and product builder passionate about design and technology. She’s led product design for B2C fintech and two-sided marketplace products and led design for global construction teams. Nathalie holds her Master’s in Architecture and Design and is an expert in design thinking, UI/UX, product strategy, and project management. As a first generation immigrant, Nathalie understands the desire to belong and the importance of building a solid foundation from scratch - in both her community and career.

foundations of forgiveness — with Ale Siekmeier

Tue, 22 Mar 2022 11:00:00 +0000

Ale Siekmeier is a life coach, relational health expert, and founder of multiple businesses, including Between A+B, a relationship coaching business that she runs with her husband, Ben as well as her most recent endeavor, The Nett, a boutique match-making business based out of New York City. Ale is also a teacher, leading a course throughout the year called the Healthy Soul course, and she travels to speak, teach, and coach throughout the country.

But for Ale, much of her current endeavors came from what she experienced growing up, having struggled for many years with trauma-induced shame and self-hatred, and eventually finding breakthrough. In this first episode of Season 3 of the podcast, we speak to Ale about how she has been able to lay a healthy foundation in both her personal and professional lives.

healthy leadership and communication — with Nancy Jernigan

Wed, 09 Jun 2021 09:00:00 +0000

In our last episode of the season, Lauren and Morgan chat with Dr. Nancy Jernigan about how to manage interpersonal expectation, and the importance of maintaining personal mental health in order to foster healthy leadership and relationships. Nancy is a recognized ministry leader and teacher, passionate about developing and multiplying leaders. She holds multiple degrees and certifications - from her Master of Arts in Ministry to her PhD in pastoral ministry with an emphasis in leadership Leadership. Nancy serves alongside her husband Jeff as the President of the Hidden Value Group focusing on education and humanitarian aid around the world. Bringing healing, health and hope to organizations and schools. As a lead consultant in the non-profit and higher educational industries, Nancy works with Stanton Chase Los Angeles serving clients in Orange County, CA and Los Angeles. Nancy also serves as a leadership expert with an emphasis on mental health and beating stress and burnout for WELCOA. (Wellness Council of America) as well as a member of the AAS Taskforce for Improving Mental Health Access to Resources for Veterans.

conversation as a medium of healing and solidarity — with Farah Jabir and Amelia Lim

Tue, 01 Jun 2021 09:00:00 +0000

This week, Carin and Noelle chat with Farah and Amelia, about health and solidarity in the Asian-American community. Farah and Amelia are co-directors of Ingrained NY, a video portraiture series dedicated to amplifying intersectional, diverse, and often overlooked voices and stories of New York’s Asian diaspora. Amelia is a freelance documentary filmmaker and producer who has worked on projects like Netflix’s Amend: The Fight for America and Quibi’s Nightgowns with Sasha Velour. A Chinese-Malaysian, Amelia is proud to call both Malaysia, where she was born and raised, and New York, where she has been living for the past six years, her home. Farah Jabir is a director, writer and producer based in New York and Kuala Lumpur. She is a fellow at Mentorship Matters and most recently her feature pitch Tigers Don’t Sleep was selected as a finalist at IMPACT X Netflix. She is in pre-production for her short film Kokomo, shooting later this summer. Her work places a heavy focus on empathy and intimacy.

fostering sisterhood — with Elom Fiawoo

Tue, 25 May 2021 09:00:00 +0000

Noelle joins Lauren in this episode to chat with Elom Fiawoo about building and sustaining relationships and the importance that community serves in each of our lives. A native-born Ghanaian, Elom moved to the UK at the age of 12 and lived there for 13 years before returning back to Accra, the capital city of Ghana and her place of origin. Today, she has founded and runs a women’s-focused, faith-led community that is mostly based in Accra, named Heart to Heart, which exists to encourage vulnerability, transparency and friendship as a way of life for the women around them. Their goal is to leave behind pretense, let go of unhealthy expectations, take off any masks that might be worn and anything that bars one another from connecting with what matters the most: God and His people.

fellowship across distance and difference — with Noelle Boyd

Tue, 18 May 2021 09:00:00 +0000

As we move into our topic of relational health, our Global Leadership Director right here at [gather], Noelle Boyd, comes to share with us her love for people and her experiences navigating community and relationship-building across continents. Noelle is a recent alumna from New York University, having completed her BA in Anthropology and minor studies in Global Public Health. She currently holds the titles of Communications Coordinator at Jerusalem Peacebuilders - a nonprofit dedicated to peace-building that crosses cultures and faiths both in the US and in the Middle East. Throughout her early career, Noelle has cultivated a diversity of experiences in areas from team leadership and development, event and program coordinating, non-profit capacity building, public speaking, dialogue facilitation, as well as social science and public health research. Her current professional interests include exploring innovative sustainable development efforts and overlaps between both the sub-Saharan West African and black American contexts, as part of the global black Diaspora, through public health, social justice, advocacy, and environment.

prioritizing rest and repair — with Jess Hudson

Tue, 11 May 2021 09:00:00 +0000

This week, we chat with sleep consultant Jess Hudson on the topics of sleep guilt and setting healthy sleeping habits that work for you. Jessica Hudson is a certified Pediatric Sleep Consultant at SleepShop with a passion for helping families create a happy & healthy home through sleep. As the mom of three children, Jessica quickly learned the importance of good sleep for the health of her babies, her own health and her marriage. They all thrive when everyone is well rested. A researcher at heart, thanks to a journalism background, she immersed herself in studying health and wellness. Over the years she’s learned even more about the value of sleep on health, as well as other tips and tricks for staying healthy as a busy mom, using nutrition to increase milk supply, and helping moms get the energy they all need to survive life with little ones.

confronting and overcoming illness — with Vanessa Jones

Tue, 04 May 2021 09:00:00 +0000

At 19, Vanessa Jones was diagnosed with lymphoma. After two years of radiation and chemotherapy, Vanessa returned to school and shortly after was officially declared to be in remission. She graduated in 2018 with a degree in Public Health, of which was inspired by a newfound desire to learn more about health in light of her experience with cancer. She is now an Administrative Assistant at Stevens Early Learning Center in the DC Public school system (DCPS). In her current position at DCPS, she is still applying her Public Health studies in gauging and catering to the needs of students and their families within the community. In addition to her administrative duties, Vanessa serves as the Administrator of Medication (ALM) for the school’s health center, and as the Homeless Student Liaison identifying students in need and providing them with backpacks, Metro passes, and additional resources.

nourishing the body and soul — with Rachel Snyder

Tue, 27 Apr 2021 09:00:00 +0000

Lauren speaks with long-time friend and private chef, Rachel Snyder, about her relationship with food and personal battle with disordered eating. Rachel shares her journey of learning how to enjoy the moment and be present in relationships at the table. Rachel began her career in PR, but a few years ago, decided to take a step of faith in launching her own business as a private chef. Now, she is the owner and chef of Rachel Snyder Hospitality, and loves to host pop-up dinners all over NYC to create connections and relationships between people in a crazy, busy city where that can sometimes be so hard. In addition to her curated pop-up dinners, Rachel also specializes in private, in-home dinner parties and artistic grazing tables. In her previous career, Rachel spent years counseling restaurants and chefs as a publicist, securing stories and recipes in The New York Times, New York Magazine, WSJ and more.

perspectives of self-worth — with Megan Hoffman

Tue, 13 Apr 2021 09:00:00 +0000

Our conversation this week was with Megan Hoffman about body image, journey-oriented change, and touches on the topics of agency, accountability, and the importance of community. Megan was a contestant on USA’s Biggest Loser, and was the at-home winner of the show's reboot season in 2020. Megan is currently a model, keynote motivational speaker, and author who primarily focuses on personal development, health & wellness, and body positivity. She has been a leader in the fitness industry for over a decade and after overcoming her own weight-loss battle has made it her life’s passion to help others break free from self-imposed limitations. Megan is currently pursuing her dreams working on a motivational book called “Worthy” and exploring fiction options as well.

attending to pain and trauma — with Rhiannon Bell

Tue, 06 Apr 2021 09:00:00 +0000

This week, Lauren and Morgan chat with Rhiannon Bell about healing from personal and collective experiences of trauma. Rhiannon (Rhia) is the Global Director of Aftercare at A21, a global 501c3 NPO that helps fight against human trafficking. As Director of Aftercare, she oversees the aftercare of survivors of human trafficking who enter the A21 program in Greece, Bulgaria, Ukraine, South Africa, Thailand, Cambodia, and the U.S. Previously, Rhia was a clinical psychologist for 9 years at the Psychology Cafe Clinic located in Australia, where Rhia grew up. As a clinical psychologist, Rhia was excited about her opportunity to join A21 as she felt it combined her passion for justice, purpose, and professional skills.

practicing mindfulness and meditation — with Yael Shy

Tue, 30 Mar 2021 09:00:00 +0000

This week, Lauren and Morgan sat down to chat about mindfulness and meditation with Yael Shy. Yael is the CEO of Mindfulness Consulting and an adjunct professor at New York University. Previously, Yael was Senior Director at NYU Global Spiritual Life and Of Many Institute for Multifaith Leadership. She was also the founder and director of MindfulNYU, the largest campus-wide mindfulness initiative in the United States. Yael authored an award-winning book, What Now? Meditation for Your Twenties and Beyond. She has been featured on Good Morning America, CBS News, and Fox 5 News, as well as in Time Magazine, Real Simple and the Harvard Business Review. Yael has over a decade of teaching and consulting experience and nearly 20 years of meditation practice experience in Zen, Jewish, and secular contexts. Yael is also a contributor to the Ten Percent Happier mindfulness app.

healing is a journey — with Taylor Palmby

Tue, 23 Mar 2021 09:00:00 +0000

We are so excited to launch season two of the podcast, Be Well, where we are talking about what it means to pursue wellness and healing in our lives. In this episode, co-hosts Lauren Franco and Morgan Barney talk all things mental health, healing, and wellness with our friend Taylor. Taylor Palmby is the Director of Communication at HeartSupport, a Non-Profit that helps people who are living with mental health struggles. Taylor is an incredibly gifted communicator and has extensive experience as an editor at Babe.net, Curb Magazine, Moda Magazine, and the Tab, along with numerous other publications. In 2021, she will complete her Master's degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Fordham University. Taylor has a passion for helping people heal and advocating for mental health awareness and sexual assault prevention. Prior to joining HeartSupport, Taylor volunteered as a crisis text line counselor. This episode is full of wisdom and practical help when dealing with mental health. TW: sexual assault.

Taylor's Instagram

trauma & trust - Tina Choi

Tue, 15 Dec 2020 13:00:00 +0000

Today’s episode is with Tina Choi, a certified Mental Health Therapist and Clinical and Mental Health counselor. She obtained her Masters in Clinical and Mental Health Counseling from Wheaton College, and her work today involves specifically carrying out AAPI (or Asian American and Pacific Islander) social justice advocacy, specifically utilizing anti-racism education strategies and the empowerment of women entrepreneurs and voices in the business world. Her specialities lie in addressing the challenges of depression, anxiety, trauma and recovery, while also acknowledging and seeing the importance of an individual’s intersectional identities in their growth and development. We chatted with Tina about mental health, growth, trauma, visibility, and the female voice in the mental health space. She gave us some very practical insight on dealing with trauma, walking in healing, and the importance of having good people in our lives. We hope you also gain wisdom from this incredible woman, and are encouraged by her just as we were.

identity & internet - Gisel Marmolejo

Tue, 08 Dec 2020 10:00:00 +0000

In today’s episode, we sit down with another one of our very own here at [gather] - Gisel Marmolejo, a leader on our Resource Development and Finance teams. She currently works for Google, and spoke to us candidly about being a young, Latina woman in the tech space, and the way in which she is passionate about creating equity in tech literacy, especially in communities of color. She is an NYU alumni, graduated from the Stern School of Business with a B.S. in Marketing and B.A. in Psychology dual degree. Intermingled with her passion for mentorship in the tech and business space, as well as rethinking how we engage with resources in the digital space to create opportunities for traditionally underserved populations, Gisel is also deeply passionate about travel, food and fellowship. She has followed our journey here at [gather] practically since the very beginning and is a veteran of our mission. We were so blessed by this chat with Gisel today, and we hope you will be, too!

personhood & practice - Camisha Kibble

Tue, 01 Dec 2020 10:00:00 +0000

In today’s episode, we sat down and chatted with another woman of action - soon to be Dr. Camisha Kibble. Having completed a BA in Psychology and a MA in Clinical Psychology, Camisha now has a Doctorate of Psychology in Clinical Psychology in progress at Wheaton College, where she is also now a faculty member in her field. She holds several awards and honors, and has trained her sights on the work of mental health advocacy, awareness and application specifically in underserved populations and communities of color. She is deeply passionate about the spoken and written word, the impacts of community on individual mental health and identity wholeness, and beyond. We are so excited to have her join us for today’s episode!

starting & sustaining - Haley Bossart

Tue, 24 Nov 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Haley, a graduate from High Point University, is the founder and CEO of On Point Magazine, an online digital magazine for young college students to inspire one another through fashion, entertainment, travel, health, wellness. She also launched a mentorship program for college women, to help them grow personally and in their leadership. In this episode, we chat about what it has been like for Haley to start an organization, how to sustainably grow and pursue her vision, build a team, and navigate next steps. We hope that you’ll be inspired by the wins and wisdom that Haley has to share in today’s episode, we know we are!

neighborhoods & narratives - Joanna Taft

Tue, 17 Nov 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Joanna Taft is a passionate public speaker and innovative community builder. She is the Executive Director of the Harrison Center for the Arts in Indianapolis - propelled by her interest in exploring the effects and implications of cultural and economic gentrification in America’s urban spaces, as well as the need to address social issues through the invocation of the arts. She is also the creator of Pre-Enact Indy - an urban project set out to imagine what neighborhood development and growth would look like without the damaging effects of displacement and divestment upon historically invested and founding communities. It was an honor to get to sit down with Joanna and speak with her for today’s episode on what it means to dream, deconstruct, and and do.

empowerment & empathy - Sarah Little

Tue, 10 Nov 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Sarah Little is a model, journalist, and the founder of More to Her Story - an online digital platform that exists to share women’s stories from all over the world, especially in Middle Eastern countries where these narratives are often silenced or cancelled out. Today’s episode touches on the importance of telling our stories and gathering narratives as a form of building community.She has moved around the world many times in her life, and we discuss with her how each of these experiences has helped to shape who she is today and the work that she is after. We were so inspired by Sarah’s story and work, and we hope you will be, too! Follow what she is up to on instagram @sarlittlez and check out her work with More to Her Story here.

creativity & capacity - Echo Chen

Tue, 03 Nov 2020 10:00:00 +0000

This week, we sit down with [gather]’s very own - Echo Chen - Creative Director and Co-founder here at [gather], for a chit chat about her life, creative process and journey to finding and forging community for herself, here in New York City. She shares her insights as an illustrator, storyteller, woman of faith, environmental sustainability and social justice activist, plant mom and beyond. As she shares bits of her personal journey and challenges, it’s just what we needed to hear as we dive deeper into our Identity series this fall. On today’s episode, Echo’s insights and wisdom are sure to inspire and remain evergreen for our [gather] girls for years to come. Check out her work with SeaStraws Co and follow what she is doing on Instagram @echothegecko, and on her website!

platform & positioning - Elena Taber

Tue, 27 Oct 2020 09:00:00 +0000

Elena Taber is a YouTuber and content creator, a world-traveler and story-teller. In this episode, we talk about how she began her YouTube career, how she has managed and grown her platform to now 500k followers, and how she stays true to who she is despite pressure. We discuss her travels growing up, how being raised around so many different cultures shaped her perspective, and we also got an inside look at what it really looks like to work a 9-5 as a YouTuber. We also got to hear more about Elena’s heart, passion and hope for the future. Inspired, aesthetic and authentic, we hope that you enjoy this dialogue with Elena as much as we did! // Follow what she’s up to on instagram at @elenataber and on YouTube here.

origins & obstacles - Lauren Franco

Tue, 20 Oct 2020 09:00:00 +0000

Our guest today, and our very first one ever, is the root and heartbeat of [gather] itself - our very own Executive Director and Founder, Ms. Lauren Franco. She is a New York University graduate - having studied Human Rights, Public Policy, and Media and Communication. She’s worked in numerous human rights organizations, traveled across the world to work in anti-human-trafficking, with refugees, and other areas of justice, and most recently has started working at the US Department of Justice. [gather] was the seed that Lauren was intent on sowing into the soil of her time in New York City, always envisioning a space of welcome and authentic woman to woman connection. Now, [gather] has grown into a full-fledged non-profit organization, spanning six locations (and counting) across the country, and in this episode we talk about how it all began, how Lauren learned to build a team, and what the challenges and triumphs have been along the way. We are so glad to have the opportunity to have her showcase her story and journey, connecting with our listeners and memorializing the [gather] origin story for years to come.\\ Follow what she's up to on instagram: @laurenfranco_ and www.whatsthelodown.com \\ Episode hosted by Noelle Boyd, Music by Hannah Pendergast.