Horror Artist and Prop Builder with Steph Strensrud
Release Date: 10/13/2022
Rebecca Nurse and The Danger of Being Human: The Salem Witch Trials and What They Reveal About Us
Real Women's Work Podcast
This episode is part of Podcasthon, a global podcasting event spotlighting meaningful causes and stories that matter. What happens when fear becomes belief—and belief becomes certainty? In this episode, I speak with Kathryn Rutkowski, president of the Rebecca Nurse Homestead, about one of the most devastating stories from the Salem witch trials. Rebecca Nurse was a 71-year-old woman, deeply respected in her community, who was accused, tried, and executed for a crime she did not commit. But this conversation doesn’t stay in 1692. As we explore Rebecca’s story—her arrest, her quiet...
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What Happens When We Start Talking About Dying with Laura Cleminson
Real Women's Work Podcast
What if talking about death actually helped us live better? In this episode of Real Women’s Work, Jen Keefe sits down with Laura Cleminson, a death doula and founder of the Pre-Dead Social Club, where people gather to talk openly about mortality, dying, and what matters most in life. Laura’s work began after walking alongside her mother through the dying process. That experience opened her eyes to something many of us never learn: we often face death without the language, awareness, or confidence to navigate it. Instead of avoiding these conversations, Laura helps people...
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Brenda Sullivan, Gravestone Girls Part 2
Real Women's Work Podcast
Some people find their calling in the most unexpected places. And for Brenda Sullivan, that calling happened… in the cemetery. In this two-part conversation, I'm joined by the fascinating, funny, wildly knowledgeable founder of The Gravestone Girls — cemetery artists and historians who are helping people all over the country reconnect with history, symbolism, mortality, and the stories literally carved into stone. I first discovered Brenda's work a couple of years ago when my daughter and I attended one of her talks at a library here in New Hampshire. I honestly didn't know...
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Brenda Sullivan Founder, Gravestone Girls
Real Women's Work Podcast
Some people find their calling in the most unexpected places. And for Brenda Sullivan, that calling happened… in the cemetery. In this two-part conversation, I’m joined by the fascinating, funny, wildly knowledgeable founder of The Gravestone Girls — cemetery artists and historians who are helping people all over the country reconnect with history, symbolism, mortality, and the stories literally carved into stone. I first discovered Brenda’s work a couple of years ago when my daughter and I attended one of her talks at a library here in New Hampshire. I honestly didn’t know what to...
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Wendy Peirce Vice President of Sales, Alnoba Leadership and Team Development
Real Women's Work Podcast
Some places change you the moment you arrive. Alnoba is one of them. In this conversation, Wendy Peirce, Vice President of Salles, shares how her path led her to Alnoba—and why this land, this work, and this community feel so deeply alive. What begins as a leadership and team development retreat quickly reveals itself as something much more: a space where nature, spirituality, and real human connection come together in a way that’s hard to put into words… but impossible to forget. We talk about the vision of Alnoba’s founders, Alan and Harriet Lewis, and their deep reverence for...
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Life Coach for Mums with Trisha Gudka
Real Women's Work Podcast
We have all heard the term "Life Coach" but what does it actually mean? What does a LIfe Coach do? Trisha Gudka was at a dangerous point in her life. The joy was gone. As a mom of two young children the expectations and realities did not line up. This led to unhappiness and depression. She was at a critical moment. Fortunately, Trisha was able to find resources, tools, and practices that brought her out of deperession and into happiness, joy, and love. Now, she spends her life helping other mums who want it do the same. This interview is so relatable. We all know the moment of responding...
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Cheryl Holling, Podcast Host and Voice Talent
Real Women's Work Podcast
Yes, Cheryl Holling talks about what it was like to create a podcast out of thin air and bring it to a multiple award winning pocast. Yes, Cheryl talks about her exiting work as a voice talent. This conversation veers deeper. In her incredible, love-filled voice, Cheryl offers us practical inspiration on how to offer kindness to those who are having a hard time. Her experience with her two pocasts; 19 Stories and The Voice Kitchen meld together beautifully to remind us why belonging matters, how kindness and love can positively shape a life, and the importance of staying flexible. Listen...
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Sasha Graham, Host, Sports Will Save Us All Podcast
Real Women's Work Podcast
Not a sports fan? No worries—this episode is still absolutely for you. Sasha Graham, former Walt Disney executive and Oregon farm kid turned award-winning podcaster, joins me to talk about what it really means to live a life that feels good, positive, and meaningful. Her podcast, Sports Will Save Us All, has earned multiple awards and now sits in the top 2% of podcasts globally. I wasn’t just curious about how she built all this as a fellow podcast host—I was curious as someone who’s ambitious, but who sometimes lets self-doubt get in the way. So when our conversation quickly turned...
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What I Learned from the Women of the Salem Witch Trials
Real Women's Work Podcast
In this episode, I step back from interviewing and instead reflect on what I learned while hosting my three-part series on the Salem witch trials. These conversations left a mark on me—deeply, unexpectedly—and today I’m sharing the insights that stayed long after the microphones were turned off.
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Kathryn Rutkowski, President, The Rebecca Nurse House
Real Women's Work Podcast
Rebecca Nurse hauntingly accepted her fate at the gallows with little objection. She was 71 years old — frail, devout, and undeserving of the cruelty that met her. Her story is one of the saddest and most human of all the Salem Witch Trials. In this episode, we focus on one life lost amid the hysteria — and in doing so, the conversation goes somewhere I never expected. Yes, we talk about who Rebecca was, the circumstances surrounding her conviction, and how Kathryn Rutkowski, President of the Rebecca Nurse Homestead, works to preserve and share her story. But about twenty minutes in, the...
info_outlineYou know those people who have no idea how inspring their life is? Whose stories and choices are so powerful they shift the way we understand life? That's not what I was looking for when I considered who might be an awesome guest for October.
Yes, talking with Steph Strensrud hits all the horror marks; man eating plants. Zombies. Edgar Allen Poe. Horror cons. They are all in here.
What hadn't occurred to me though is what it took for Steph to create a life that centered her passion for horror. That like all creative pursuits, Steph had to learn to listen to herself. Trust her gut. Get still. Let her creative self lead her where she needed to go.
This episode is chock full of not only poignant words of wisdom, but stories and choices from Steph's own life that illustrate what it looks like to truly follow your passion. To trust that it will get you exactly where you are supposed to be.
Funnily enough, this episode about horror is spectacularly beautiful. Until I started following Steph I wasn't able to see the beauty in horror. I missed the art. Let the "scariness" of it all stop me from looking.
I am so thankful to Steph for opening my eyes to a part of the creative world I was missing. And also for taking time to share her extraordinary journey with us- a journey that led her to living a life full of beautiful horror.
Listen in to see what I mean.