A Lesson on Commitment with Rich Nichols
Voice Lessons Podcast
In this , Rich Nichols talks about fighting for equal pay for the US Women's soccer team. Rich shares insights into what it takes to stand up to the entire US Soccer Federation and why women are just people who get things done without any ego involved. Nichols was the catalyst for the USWNT quest for equal pay and created and executed the strategic media strategy that catapulted the teams push for “equal pay” to the top of international, domestic, and social media coverage and transformed the women on the USWNT into reputational pioneers for social and economic change. VOICE LESSONS...
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A Lesson on Mindfulness with Dr. Ellen Langer
Voice Lessons Podcast
In this Lesson On Mindfulness, Dr. Ellen Langer, known as the "mother of mindfulness," shares her profound insights on mindfulness, its impact on our lives, and how it enhances leadership, especially for women. Dr. Ellen J. Langer is the author of more than two hundred research articles, and thirteen books including the international bestseller Mindfulness; The Power of Mindful Learning; On Becoming An Artist, and Counterclockwise: Mindful Health and the Power of Possibility; The Art of Noticing; and most recently, The Mindful Body: Thinking Our Way to Chronic...
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A Lesson on Doing What You Love with Allison Eden
Voice Lessons Podcast
In this , Allison Eden talks about her journey as a celebrated creator in the world of glass mosaics. Allison shares insights into her creative process, the evolution of her career, and how passion drives her success. VOICE LESSONS SHOWNOTES: VOICE LESSONS ON INSTAGRAM:
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A Lesson on Sharing Your Stories with Renee Bracey Sherman
Voice Lessons Podcast
Renee Bracey Sherman is a Chicago-born writer and reproductive justice activist committed to the visibility and representation of people who have had stigmatized experiences. In this episode, we discuss why it’s so important to share your own story, how you can stand strong in speaking your truth, and how you can embrace the collective hug of support that comes along with joining a movement for change. Because your voice and story matters.
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A Lesson On the Courage of Choice with Merle Hoffman
Voice Lessons Podcast
Merle Hoffman is an internationally known leader in the struggle for women’s rights, opening one of the first abortion clinics pre-Roe in 1971. Throughout her activism career spanning over 50 years, Merle's mission remains the same; for women to fight for their own reproductive choices and to recognize that each individual woman can make a profound decision for her own life, and has the right to speak up for that choice. You just have to practice courage.
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A Lesson On Saying It with Sugar with Becca Rea-Tucker
Voice Lessons Podcast
Becca Rea-Tucker has been "saying it with sugar" since 2018 and now more than ever, this feminist baker is helping to shift the conversation and inspire change around women's issues by using a more unconventional platform: cakes.
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A Lesson On Creating Joy with Jennifer Freed
Voice Lessons Podcast
Jennifer Freed, Ph.D, M.F.T. is a psychological astrologer who believes that your cosmic DNA serves as a roadmap for your life. Even when we are experiencing oppression from our societies, if we learn to embrace our past traumas, use our unique gifts to create change, and incorporate movement into our day each day, we can make joyful choices that allow us to show up for ourselves and others during times of hardship.
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A Lesson On Belonging with Dr. Sarah Gaither
Voice Lessons Podcast
“What are you?” It’s a question Dr. Sarah Gaither was asked a child growing up mixed race. Now she studies the effects of that question and others related to identity at Duke University's Identity & Diversity Lab. In this episode on belonging, we talk about identity denial, identity accessibility, and why she’s using her own multiracial identity to help create a more inclusive world.
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A Lesson On Seizing Your Upgrade with Dr. Louann Brizendine
Voice Lessons Podcast
Dr. Louann Brizendine was among the first to explain why women think, communicate, and feel differently than men. Now she’s on a mission to rebrand the “M" word: Menopause.
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A Lesson On Forgiveness with Ronit Plank
Voice Lessons Podcast
Ronit Plank's mother left to follow the Indian mystic, some would say cult leader Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (also known as Osho) when she was five years old. Through the process of writing her memoir, When She Comes Back, Plank rewrote her definition of forgiveness.
info_outlineEight-year-old Bellen Woodard is the only African-American girl in her third-grade class in a Virginia school. After a moment coloring made her feel unimportant, she had an idea to change the conversation by giving the “skin-color” crayon a new meaning. This idea has evolved into a movement and business called “More than Peach” that is giving people across the country a way to talk about identity, race, and inclusion and inspiring girls, and women, to use their voice for change.
TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE:
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What adults get wrong about little girls.
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What happened in Bellen’s classroom and how she changed an uncomfortable conversation?
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What is the “More than Peach” project?
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Why Bellen isn’t afraid to speak up.
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What are Bellen’s Palette Packets?
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How Bellen has helped 2000 classrooms with her multi-cultural kits.
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What it means for Bellen to be inducted into the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.
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Bellen’s advice from her mom.
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How Bellen dealt with a first grader teasing her about her hair.
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What makes an idea shift and turn into a movement?
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How girls can lead at any age
#LESSONUP:
(3:04) Every time we would color in school, they always ask for the skin color crayon and we all just knew that, oh the skin color crayon is crayon language for the peach crayon, not really thinking about what we were doing.
(4:00) And then when I told my mom about this, she said: “how about you give them the brown crayon next time?” And I said, “I don't want to do that. Instead, I want to ask what color they want as it could be a number of any colors.” And that's what I did. And then everyone started actually telling me, “I want the peach crayon or I want the brown crayon.”
(5:14) I want kids to feel like they can be kids and not feel excluded and have the best options. And how I'm doing that is I have my pallet packets, which include multicultural items and my very own, “More than Peach” crayons coming in June. I actually deliver them to schools and now I'm donating to senior centers because they can't see their families due to COVID-19, because they're more at risk. Everyone should be able to color.
(5:30) My big goal is to get this not just around the country but maybe even around the world so people can know that they have their own skin color and it's okay if the peach one or brown one doesn't actually match you and if it doesn't, you can actually say something.
(7:02) We went into the Virginia Museum of History & Culture Museum and they decided to put one of my palette packets on display and a More than Peach tee shirt to be at the museum forever and ever. And that's really good because when I'm older, maybe people can start doing their own More than Peach project, making sure other people know that there's a skin color for everyone.
(8:58) I need younger kids to stop asking for the skin color crayon, always assuming to get the peach crayon and actually telling them I want this... I actually want the peach crayon.
(10:34) Be you. You are brilliant, be brilliant. And just know that if you want something to change, you should be the change and don't just hold it in for a long time. If it really bothers you, then make sure you say something because people may not think it's weird. They may actually think about it and say, you're right. I could imagine having the same hardship.
(13:19) Maybe God made my hair crazy because I'm also all over the place, my hair is also all over the place. And how many of you will actually have matching personalities with their hair?