Mother's Quest: The Podcast

Hello and welcome to this special solocast, a chance for me to reflect on the first full year of living what I call my E.P.I.C. Life, the first year of the podcast, and what feels like the ending of a first chapter of this journey as I get ready to launch Season Three. After a long winter break, one my son Ryan especially encouraged me to take, I’m back and I’m so honored and excited for what’s to come.  Before recording this solocast, I was interviewed on Sage Hobbs’ Naked Conversations Podcast. She asked me right out of the gate what courage means to me. I encourage you to tune into that conversation when it comes out for the full story on my answer, but in essence I said, “Courage to me is standing in my truth and power, even in the face of fear, for love.”  I love the quest I’ve been on. I love those of you who I’ve met along the journey. And I love this vision for Mother’s Quest and all it stands for. So, I’m bravely recording again, with a commitment along the way to do my best to let go of perfection a

It’s a joy and honor to bring this final episode of Season Two, Episode #34, with my own mother Fran Lieberman and her dear friend Sandy Klasky, who are celebrating their book club’s 50th anniversary. I couldn’t think of a more special way to close this season then reflecting with two women, who are mothers and grandmothers, on the lessons of their E.P.I.C. lives across decades, how they’ve passed on values of social justice to their children and grandchildren, the power of friendship, and of shared experiences, like reading books together, to build community. In this episode, we talk about what shaped my mother and Sandy as they emerged from the stable years of the 1940’s and 1950’s into the tumultuous times of the 1960’s and 1970’s, the ways they sought to have impact beyond their family as women when there were fewer opportunities open to them, how they invested in their own interests and friendships while raising their children, and looking back now, the wisdom and advice they would offer to their younger

It’s an honor and responsibility to share this Episode #33 of the Mother’s Quest Podcast with Sara Mokuria, co-founder of Mothers Against Police Brutality. It’s the third and final in a series I recorded as part of the Women Podcasters in Solidarity Initiative and it comes to you with a call to action to get involved with this issue today.  This episode was dedicated by Collette Flanagan, the founder of Mothers Against Police Brutality, who turned her grief from the loss of her son, Clinton Allen, into fuel for change.  In her dedication, Collette reminded us of our common humanity as mothers and that an insult to one mother is an insult to all mothers. It is this knowing that caused me to record this series after I saw the heart-breaking video of Diamond Reynolds and her then four year old daughter after they witnessed the killing of Philando Castile. Philando was like a father to this little girl, was unarmed and was complying with the police officer’s requests when he was shot. Seeing the trauma and hea

I’m honored to share this episode #32 of the podcast with Chandra Brooks, who has become a friend and a generous thought partner for me in recent months. Chandra is a wife, mother of four, a grandmother, author, entrepreneur and the Northern California Staff Director for SEIU-United Service Workers West.  Born and raised in San Jose, CA, she’s passionate about civil rights, social justice, and improving voter outcomes and civic engagement in communities of color.   She’s also an appointed commissioner for Santa Clara County’s Commission on the Status of Women and Girls, Chair of the Justice and Advocacy Committee and elected Delegate for The California Democratic Party. In 2017 Chandra launched The SocialPreneur, a purpose driven business that prepares potential candidates to run for political office and mentors women to own their power and leadership within their company, business, and/or community. I reached out to Chandra because I wanted to talk with her the week that she released her new book, “Black, Br

I’m honored to share this Episode #31 of the Mother’s Quest Podcast with Kate Schatz, and the second I’m bringing to you this fall 2017 as part of the Women Podcasters in Solidarity Initiative.  Kate is an activist, educator, public speaker, and Bay Area-born-and-bred feminist mama. She’s also a New York Times-bestselling author well known for Rad American Women A-Z and Rad Women Worldwide among others. And, she’s the former Chair of the School of Literary Arts at Oakland School for the Arts, where she taught fiction, poetry, and journalism to 9th-12th graders for many years.  Kate’s also a fierce advocate for social justice who isn’t afraid to use her gift for communication to speak out against racism. In ninth grade, she wrote her first letter to the editor calling out coded racism she recognized in questions parents directed to her during a parent info night. In college, she learned about the intersections of race, class and gender in her Women’s Studies Courses at UC Santa Cruz. And in 2016, she co-found

Hello and welcome to this Episode #30 of the Mother’s Quest Podcast, a conversation I’m releasing for the second time with healer, artist, healthcare advocate and mom to two incredible girls Nancy Netherland. Between the hurricanes and the continuing devastation in Puerto Rico, the mass shooting in Vegas, and most recently the wildfires near where I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, I know so many people are struggling with how to find gratitude and meaning in the midst of adversity. I noticed myself coming back to the lessons I learned about finding magic, even in the most challenging circumstances, from Nancy’s stories about her and her daughters in this episode, originally #10. In our conversation, we explored how Nancy’s parents instilled a sense that anything is possible, something she has needed to draw on as she faced the loss of her husband and the serious, chronic illnesses of her daughters. And, she shared how she and her girls cultivate generosity and pay that generosity forward through something

I’m excited to share this Episode #29 of the Mother’s Quest Podcast with renowned work/life wellness expert, intentional mom, bestselling author, and so much more – Samantha Ettus. Sam is the author of The Pie Life and The Pie Life Planner which is a playbook for working moms who want to balance the seven “slices” of a delicious life which includes career, health, relationship, children, community, friends and hobbies. She’s also raising two strong independent girls and a feminist son along with her husband in Los Angeles. Sam specializes in helping people thrive professionally and personally. Since earning her undergraduate and MBA degrees from Harvard, she’s coached thousands of professionals who aim to perform at the highest levels. She’s a bestselling author of five books, the CEO of Work Life Love, an entrepreneur, and Tedx and keynote speaker. She has also hosted a weekly nationally syndicated radio show and has appeared on Good Morning America, NBC Nightly News, Access Hollywood, CNN and The TODAY Show

Hello and welcome to Episode #28 of the Mother’s Quest Podcast that I’m bringing to you at the start of the Jewish New Year. The holiday kicks off a ten day period, known as the Days of Awe, between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the day of Atonement.   This time of year, regardless of your religious faith, is a season of reflection and renewal, as our children get settled into a new school year and the leaves begin to change color. I wanted to take advantage of this time to turn inward and create an opportunity for change not only for myself but also for members of the Mother’s Quest Community. I decided to reach out to mindful mother, Edie Rafael Brotman, author of the book “Mussar Yoga,” to learn from her how she approaches self-improvement through blending the ancient Jewish practice of Mussar and the ancient Eastern practice of Yoga. Edie’s book was a trusted resource in a Mussar class I took a few years ago. I was enthralled by the process and know that the experience planted seeds for Mother’s Quest. S

Hello and welcome to Episode #27 of the Mother’s Quest Podcast and the first of several I’ll be sharing for an initiative I’ve launched called Women Podcasters in Solidarity. The Initiative is a commitment I’ve made, alongside some other amazing women podcasters, to raise awareness and dollars to uncover and dismantle the ways racism, both conscious and unconscious, are impacting our society. I planned the Initiative after viewing the haunting video of Philando Castile’s death and of his girlfriend Diamond Reynolds and her young daughter in the back of the cop car in its aftermath. But, the events of Charlottesville since then have brought another level of urgency to this effort. I’m so grateful that I found Nicole Lee, an incredible African American woman and mother, as our first guest on this topic, to light the way for how we as mothers, and especially those of us who are white women like myself, can take steps to make a difference, beginning with our own children and our own communities. Nicole is a strat

Welcome to this episode #26 of the Mother’s Quest Podcast, “Surrender and Embracing Difference” with TiLT Parenting for Differently-Wired Kids founder Debbie Reber. This conversation about seeing diversity as an asset, valuing and embracing difference, couldn’t come at a better time. Debbie Reber is the founder of TiLT, an online destination aimed at helping parents raising differently-wired kids do so from a place of confidence, connection, and peace. She’s also host of the TiLT Parenting Podcast, a life coach, speaker and a New York Times bestselling author of books aimed at raising self-esteem for young girls. Before becoming a writer, Debbie worked in children’s television, for a relief and development organization and at UNICEF. Despite this long list of accomplishments, perhaps the greatest thing Debbie has done is become parent, advocate, homeschooler and champion for her own son Asher who is 13, has Aspergers, ADHD and is profoundly gifted. After years of struggle with Asher, Debbie and her husband to

I’m excited to bring this Episode #25 of the Mother’s Quest podcast to you with a podcasting leader, mentor and community builder extraordinaire- the insightful and passionate, Elsie Escobar. A podcaster herself since 2006, at the time of this recording, Elsie is getting ready to be inducted into the Academy of Podcasters Hall of Fame at the upcoming Podcast Movement conference. Among many accomplishments, she’s being recognized for her two impactful shows about podcasting The Feed – The Official Libsyn Podcast and She Podcasts, the podcast for women about podcasting and new media from the woman’s point of view. Elsie has a lot to say about podcasting… she’s a self-proclaimed die hard podcast junkie, who especially loves to help women like myself find clarity and power in our voice and shift the narrative to focus on the things that matter most, not the numbers or downloads, but the transformative power of podcasting and expanding our podcasting audience. Elsie and her She Podcasts partner Jessica Kupferman h

Hello and welcome to this Episode #24 of the Mother’s Quest Podcast. I’m so honored to bring you this important and powerful conversation today with Elizabeth Cronise McLaughlin, who through her daily Resistance Lives on Facebook, guides thousands of us with a voice of reason and optimism during the twists and turns of today’s political landscape.  Known as a “celebrated career coach” and “fearless entrepreneur” Elizabeth, a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University with a J.D. from George Washington University Law School, transitioned from a fifteen year career as a Wall Street securities litigator and trial lawyer to found The Gaia Project for Women’s Leadership. The organization offers virtual and live programming that cultivates leaders from the ground up to to grow what they call “New Paradigm Women’s Leadership.” Elizabeth is also a mindful mother. No matter how full her life gets leading women around the globe or fighting for our democracy, she prioritizes bringing presence and focus to her two children

I’m excited to bring you this Episode #23 of the Mother’s Quest Podcast. I’m just back from an amazing week at one of my most favorite places, UCLA’s Bruin Woods Family Camp in Lake Arrowhead, where I felt like I had an amazing reset…a chance to unplug and notice some patterns from a fresh perspective. It’s so perfect then, that I came back to put the finishing touches on this episode with author of the Miracle Morning for Parents and Families, Lindsay McCarthy. I’ve been wanting to have Lindsay on the podcast for a while now; I knew I had a lot to learn from her about how to change my relationship with mornings, but I didn’t realize our conversation would inspire a collaborative 30 day Mother’s Quest Miracle Morning Challenge that will start Monday, July 17th. Lindsay is a wife and homeschool mom of two kids. She is the co-author of The Miracle Morning for Parents and Families, has a facebook community of the same name, and is creator of GratefulParent.com where she blogs. Lindsay and I have a lot in common

I’m excited to share this episode #22 with Kalika Yap, a serial entrepreneur, inventor, intentional mother, and business leader. She’s received tremendous recognition for her accomplishments, including being honored by the Anti-Defamation League, serving as a panelist with Magic Johnson on an Urban Economic Forum hosted by the Obama White House, and currently leading as the President of Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO) Los Angeles Chapter. Kalika is from more humble beginnings. She came from a big family born in the Philippines in the time of Martial Law that then moved to a low income community in Hawaii. Growing up, she had strong influences from her mother who is a teacher and her father who is an entrepreneur. Along with her husband, she now imparts these family influences or “Ohana” and a focus on “Core Values”  to her two daughters, 10 and 8 years old. She's currently starting a company with her daughters, prompted by a school project, called Conscious Kids, a mindfulness resource for children. Believin

Welcome to this very special Father's Day edition of the Mother’s Quest Podcast! In honor of Father’s Day, I’m so excited to bring you this conversation with a friend, former colleague, mindful father to two children, and a champion for underserved youth in Los Angeles --someone who I admire deeply-- Tony Brown.   Tony Brown is the Executive Director of Heart of Los Angeles, also known as HOLA, where he has touched the lives of thousands of children, helping to break the cycle of poverty, and replacing it with opportunity. We met when we were both just out of college, working together at HOLA, where we instantly became friends and felt we were part of a family. In a nurturing environment that really does feel like family, HOLA provides underserved youth near downtown LA with exceptional programs in academics, arts, and athletics, empowering them to develop their potential, pursue their education, and strengthen their communities. Tony has served as the executive director at HOLA since 2007 and has spearheaded

Hello and welcome to this episode #20 and the first in Season Two of the Mother’s Quest Podcast!  This week’s guest, Kathleen Shannon, embodies the qualities of an independent, hard-working feminist. She also has this incredible generosity and openness and has impacted so many women, including myself, by sharing her experiences as a mother and an entrepreneur.    Kathleen is the co-founder of Braid Creative & Consulting and the co-host of one of my favorites, the Being Boss podcast for creative entrepreneurs. Through her work at Braid Creative and Being Boss she has helped thousands of creative entrepreneurs from all over the world authentically brand and position themselves as creative experts, cultivate confidence in their business, and blend more of who they are into the work they do. When she's not podcasting, writing a book, or shaping her next newsletter she's hanging with her husband Jeremy and their toddler Fox.    In this episode, Kathleen reflects on the impact her mother’s total adoration and

I’m excited to share this special Mother’s Day episode of the Mother’s Quest Podcast! I originally envisioned this episode as a season one finale, with highlights from every episode of season one, but it ended up taking shape differently (even better in my opinion!) and became what will be an ongoing series that we’re calling “E.P.I.C. Guideposts.” Living an E.P.I.C. life has become a guiding framework for Mother’s Quest. So often as mothers, we invest so much of ourselves in our children and their dreams, that we let our own fade to the background.  My mission with Mother’s Quest is to become the hero of my journey and the author of my story while providing inspiration, coaching and community to help you do the same.  EPIC captures this idea of creating a life filled with the things that matter most. It’s also an acronym mnemonic for the guideposts that I believe help us live such a life while we’re raising our children.  So, for this episode, we decided to highlight moments from season one, selected fr

I’m so honored and excited to bring you this Episode #18 of the Mother’s Quest Podcast with a very special guest, my own son Ryan Neale. One of the great lessons I’ve learned is the importance of marking milestones and honoring endings so that you can thoughtfully open a new chapter. As Ryan approaches his bar mitzvah in April, becoming a “Jewish adult” and entering his teens, we decided we would spend his thirteenth birthday together, going on a “milestone hike” ‘and then recording an episode of the podcast at a recording studio in San Francisco. It was a magical day of reflection, revelations for both of us, and a lot of laughter. I’m honored to bring highlights of all of that to you through this episode. You’ll hear Ryan share eloquently and honestly about his appreciation for the support that helped him conquer his developmental delays, how his own fears manifest in his life today, and how, in his next chapter, he wants to trust more and move through his fear. Because, he says, he wants to live with a Y

I’m excited to bring you this conversation with Danielle Dutton, acclaimed Margaret the First author, whose own mother instilled an appreciation for reading and education early in her life. Danielle and I spent many family holidays together growing up because our mothers have been life-long friends. But, it’s been years since I’ve spoken with Danielle and it was such a joy to hear about the E.P.I.C life she is living. Danielle is the author of three books, most recently Margaret the First, based on the life of Margaret Cavendish, a 17th century Duchess who wrote and published poems, plays and other works during a time when “being a writer” was not an option for most women.  In addition to being an author herself, Danielle also co-founded, with her husband, the independent press called Dorothy, a publishing project. The press came from her own desire to create more space for innovative works by female authors. It is named for her great aunt, a librarian who drove a bookmobile through the backroads of Southern

The value of putting yourself in someone else’s perspective, with compassion, is something that this week’s guest, filmmaker and activist Paola Mendoza, consciously creates through her storytelling. And, boldly moving forward through difficult times is something Paola talks passionately about-- as she reflects on how she moved from feelings of failure after the election and rose up, channelling those emotions into a passionate co-creation of the Women’s March--what became the largest world-wide gathering in history. In addition to being a key organizer and the Artistic Director of the Women’s March on Washington, Paola is an acclaimed actress, director, screenwriter, and author. She was recently named one of Filmmaker Magazine 25 New Faces of Independent Film for her body of work which includes Refinery 29, BROKEN TAIL LIGHT, FREE LIKE THE BIRDS, and Z for ZENDAYA. She made her narrative directorial debut with the film she wrote, starred in and co-directed about her mother, Entre Nos, which had its world p