Voice Is

Welcome to "VOICE (is)" — where we have conversations with people whose voices we love to dive into the good, the bad, and the messy of what makes your voice YOURS. Expect actionable advice about public speaking, confidence, nerves, in-office communication, etc, as well as deeper discussions on what power looks (and sounds!) like, how to let go of perfectionism and use fear to your advantage, and how to show up as your authentic self in a world full of unconscious bias. Vital Voice Training is a voice, public speaking, and communication coaching company founded to help clients communicate with savvy, charisma, and confidence. Whether you are giving a speech, leading a sales appointment or a brand new team, pitching your big idea for funding, or just finding the courage to make your voice heard, co-founders Julie Fogh and Casey Erin Clark’s extensive backgrounds in speech coaching and professional acting give them a unique perspective on what makes people want to listen. For the client, the result is your voice: amplified (not just louder).

JUSTICE with Dahlia Lithwick: Supreme frustration, counting yourself in, and doing the work of democracy 07/19/2023

JUSTICE with Dahlia Lithwick: Supreme frustration, counting yourself in, and doing the work of democracy Julie and Casey sit down with journalist, long-time Supreme Court correspondent, podcast host, and author Dahlia Lithwick to talk about the state of justice (and the state of The Justices) in the US. Along the way, we dig into gendered perception of emotion and what it costs to maintain a “poker face”, the difference between who does the work and who gets the credit, and how we fight for hope in the midst of . . . all of this. TOP TAKEAWAYS: Hear how Dahlia navigates the responsibility of journalists to thread the needle between not normalizing the unthinkable and not dialing everything up to 12 so nothing gets heard. There is enormous frustration and possible marginalization for anyone in the law outside of the “white male norm” . . . AND Dahlia sees that ability to constantly codeswitch as a gift. “It’s actually the power to be in two places at once.” “Who becomes famous and who does the work never perfectly correlates” — in the real world, when solving for huge intractable issues, the “hero narrative” rarely serves us — both because individuals are flawed and institutions are complex, but also because real change comes through the efforts of many, often unsung people. Dahlia Lithwick is a senior editor at Slate, and in that capacity, has been writing their "Supreme Court Dispatches" and "Jurisprudence" columns since 1999. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Harper’s, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, The New Republic, and Commentary, among other places. She is host of Amicus, Slate’s award-winning biweekly podcast about the law and the Supreme Court. Her 2022 book, Lady Justice, was a New York Times bestseller. In 2018, Lithwick the Hillman Prize for Opinion and Analysis. She was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in October, 2018. Purchase here. /episode/index/show/voiceis/id/27511584

VITAL with Julie and Casey: the three crucial elements of your vital voice 05/31/2023

HINTERLAND with Jenn Salvemini: Centering pleasure, new definitions of community, and the oneness of everything 05/24/2023

BEFORE with Julie Fogh: On why and how to prepare for the big speech beyond "just going over your lines one more time" 05/10/2023

WORTHY with Sarah Maclean: Taking up space, fuming elegantly, and the power of romance novels 05/03/2023

WORTHY with Sarah Maclean: Taking up space, fuming elegantly, and the power of romance novels Julie and Casey chat with romance novelist, columnist, and podcast host about the feminist bonafides of the romance genre, using your platform for good, and more diverse characters “stepping out from the margins.” Along the way, they dive into all kinds of ways to take up space and dare to thrive, and Casey tries and fails not to fan-girl too hard. Thank you to our Season 4 sponsor, Armoire! If you're ready to try a new look, Armoire's high-end clothing rental service (full of amazing women-owned brands) will hook you up! For 50% off your first month's rental + a free item, go to and use VOICEIS in the referral box! TOP TAKEAWAYS: There is enormous subversive power in characters who for too long have played the “suffer beautifully and die pitifully” roles stepping center stage, gaining love, sexual pleasure, and personal triumph. The ability to take space — with our voices, bodies, and ideas — often comes down to our own feeling of worthiness. As someone who spent her life being “a little bit too much”, the heroines of romance novels being loved for exactly who they were gave Sarah a path to imagine a world where no one said “couldn’t you just be a bit less.” Writing romance is all about creativity within structure — the contract Sarah has with her readers is “happily ever after”, and she has a treasure trove of tropes to pull from. Finding her own voice and perspective within that structure while accomplishing “reader care and feeding”, is an incredibly applicable lesson for all of us who create. What does your audience want, need, and expect, and how can you deliver that for them with your unique spin? LESSON: Our bodies and our emotions are what separates us from the robots, and your “too much” is the most interesting thing about you. Dare to embrace them. A life-long romance reader, Sarah MacLean wrote her first romance novel on a dare, and never looked back. She is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of romances translated into more than twenty-five languages, a romance columnist and the co-host of the weekly romance novel podcast, Fated Mates. A graduate of Smith College & Harvard University, she lives in New York City. Her new book, Knockout, will be released in August. Website: Instagram: @sarahmaclean Twitter: @sarahmaclean /episode/index/show/voiceis/id/26732724

MICROJOYS with Cyndie Spiegel: On finding joy in the midst of grief, vulnerable keynotes, and what’s on the other side of people pleasing 04/26/2023

MICROJOYS with Cyndie Spiegel: On finding joy in the midst of grief, vulnerable keynotes, and what’s on the other side of people pleasing Julie and Casey sit down for an encore conversation with Cyndie Spiegel, where they get to talk all things “Microjoys”, what it’s like to balance public and private as a shiny person, and touch upon lots of micro-topics from cats to dealing with pandemic weight gain. TOP TAKEAWAYS: Microjoys are not about the size of the joy, but rather its accessibility. Instead of toxic positivity, microjoys allow us to accept that things are as okay as they can be at any moment, but you can find joy anywhere. There is no past place to get back to. Whether it's our pre-pandemic size, a past version of ourselves, or deeply missing an important person, the only way out is through, and you are not the same on the other side. Proving yourself to others can be a fatberg of a time suck . . . notice if you are wasting any time trying to convince someone else of who you are. Try shifting proving yourself to others to proving yourself to yourself. And a bonus tip but one that never gets old: If your pants are too small, buy a bigger size. LESSON: Navigating vulnerability in speeches. About Cyndie: Cyndie Spiegel is a born storyteller–turned–writer; she’s an aspirational voice and an igniter of powerful conversation around self-acceptance, integrity, and joy. She is a former fashion executive, adjunct professor at Parsons School of Design and Fashion Institute of Technology, and holds a masters of professional studies. She is also a TEDx speaker and a certified yoga and meditation teacher. Her honest storytelling, vulnerable self-inquiry, and penchant for swear words have made her a sought-after speaker for conferences, brands, and organizations, and she has been featured in publications such as Forbes, Glamour, Teen Vogue, and HuffPost. She currently lives in New Jersey with her (very handsome) photographer husband, two cats, way too many patterns, and an excessive number of houseplants. She is the founder of Dear Grown Ass Women, an inclusive and highly relatable social community for women 35+, and she is also the author of A Year of Positive Thinking. (Photo credit: Ira James) Author Site: Social: Instagram @cyndiespiegel BUY MICROJOYS! /episode/index/show/voiceis/id/26665191

100 with Julie and Casey: gratitude and communication lessons from four seasons of VOICE(is) 04/12/2023

WILD with Piera Gelardi: the power of play, the ghost of should, and courageous joy 04/05/2023

WILD with Piera Gelardi: the power of play, the ghost of should, and courageous joy Julie and Casey have an encore chat with Piera Gelardi (founder of Refinery 29, creative genius, and now the founder of ) about how play became the focus for her “next chapter”. Along the way, they discuss best practices for better brainstorming, what Piera has learned from her four-year-old daughter, and entering our collective hope punk era by choosing hope, joy, and delight in a dark world. From now until April 15th, we're accepting applications for our signature small group course for women, POWER/PLAY. Thank you to our Season 4 sponsor, Armoire! If you're ready to try a new look, Armoire's high-end clothing rental service (full of amazing women-owned brands) will hook you up! For 50% off your first month's rental + a free item, go to and use VOICEIS in the referral box! TOP TAKEAWAYS: Play is a powerful tool for presence, connection, creativity, divergent thinking, and more . . . and we have to protect the vibes. Trying to commodify it, make play “efficient”, or give it a necessary goal to hit kinda kills it. The Ghost of Should distracts us from our true journeys — and “being taken seriously” wasn’t the right goal for Piera. What we look for, we notice, and what we notice, grows. Creating a practice of looking for wonder, delight, joy, and love doesn’t mean we have to ignore the bad stuff or spiritually bypass ourselves and others. LESSON: A few ways to get out of your head and find the FUN of communication is a creative director, entrepreneur, and speaker passionate about bringing out the creativity in everyone. She co-founded the iconic women’s media brand Refinery29, the experiential property 29Rooms, and recently launched the new play company Wild Things World. She is on a mission to bring more play to every space she enters — starting with yours! Her work has won accolades like Ad Age's "50 Most Creative People of the Year" Entrepreneur magazine’s "50 Most Daring Entrepreneurs and spots keynoting events like SxSW, Create & Cultivate, and Inbound. Outside of her work, she loves performing in storytelling shows, teaching cathartic dance, and making up songs with her 4 year old. /episode/index/show/voiceis/id/26456346

PHOENIXING with Julie Fogh: On burning down, burning out, and the cost of transformation 03/29/2023

CONNECTION with Susan McPherson: On building relationships and community, making people feel seen and heard, and enacting corporate change 03/22/2023

CONNECTION with Susan McPherson: On building relationships and community, making people feel seen and heard, and enacting corporate change Julie and Casey sit down with author, corporate social responsibility expert, and founder of McPherson Strategies Susan McPherson to talk all things connecting. Along the way we touch on the very universal human need to be seen and heard, how relationships can be a vehicle for social impact, and what it means to build community as single women looking to take care of our long term futures. Thank you to our Season 4 sponsor, Armoire! If you're ready to try a new look, Armoire's high-end clothing rental service (full of amazing women-owned brands) will hook you up! For 50% off your first month's rental + a free item, go to and use VOICEIS in the referral box! TOP TAKEAWAYS: Relationship building is a lifetime process, and builds on itself. Changing environments doesn’t mean we leave old relationships behind. Keep nurturing those long standing friendships as much as you grow and nurture new connections. Susan mentions the concept of hosting in her book “The Lost Art of Connecting”. What this means is, you don’t need to be the person in charge of a space in order to host other people in it. Hosting can be a secret super power that allows you to get your grounding in a new situation, as well as a vehicle for making connections from a place of generosity. To quote Susan: “Bringing people together, you're making that magic happen and you are helping people feel seen, heard, and listened to. And I fervently believe that the greatest gift we can give one another is exactly that.” If we can understand the peoples greatest wish is to be seen and heard, and incorporate that into how we interact with them, we build much more fruitful and satisfying connections. It’s extremely disarming without being manipulative. We often think people like us because of what we say, but it turns out talking less and asking questions makes us more likeable. Use that curiosity: understanding other people's perspective grows our empathy and helps us understand both the world and ourselves a little better. LESSON: You can’t “hack” body language. Connect with Susan: Twitter and Instagram: @Susanmcp1 Company: Book: LinkedIn: Susan McPherson is a serial connector, angel investor, and corporate responsibility expert. She is the founder and CEO of, a B-corp certified communications consultancy focused on social impact. She is the author of (McGraw-Hill). Susan has 30+ years of experience in marketing, public relations, and sustainability communications, speaking regularly at industry events including Massachusetts Conference for Women, Worth Women and Techonomy, and contributing to the Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, and Forbes. She has appeared on NPR, CNN, USA Today, The New Yorker, New York Magazine and the Los Angeles Times. Susan is the recipient of Forbes magazine’s and Worth Media’s Worthy100 award. She has also won numerous accolades for her voice on social media platforms from Fortune Magazine, Fast Company and Elle Magazine. Currently, Susan invests in and advises women-led start-ups, including: ., , , , , , and . She serves on the boards of , , and serves on the advisory boards of , , and Additionally, she is a member of the Women and Technology Leadership Group and serves as an adviser to several nonprofits including She’s The First and The OpEd Project. Susan is a Vital Voices global corporate ambassador and a member of the New York Women’s Forum and Extraordinary Women on Boards. She resides in Brooklyn. /episode/index/show/voiceis/id/26310639

WANTING with Casey Erin Clark: Clarifying, stating, and singing our desires 03/15/2023

CREATIVE COMMUNICATION with Julie and Casey: Seeing possibilities, and how to get out of the “right answer” mindset 03/01/2023

PERCEPTION with Julie Fogh 02/22/2023

ENGAGE with Julie and Casey: Handling questions and comments from your audience with confidence 02/15/2023

BEHIND THE SCENES with Julie and Casey: Crucial prep, big feels, and the power of ice cream 02/08/2023

ENTREPRENEUR with Anjali Bhargava: Being your own boss, navigating minefields, and how to create a product you believe in 02/01/2023

ENTREPRENEUR with Anjali Bhargava: Being your own boss, navigating minefields, and how to create a product you believe in Julie and Casey sit down with Anjali Bhargava, founder of Anjali's Cup, to talk about her journey as an entrepreneur. Along the way they discuss the power of names, the joys and perils of being your own boss, and what it takes to bring your work to the world without losing yourself and what matters. Use the code "voiceis" for 15% off of Anjali's beautiful spice and tea products . Thank you to our Season 4 sponsor, Armoire! If you're ready to try a new look, Armoire's high-end clothing rental service (full of amazing women-owned brands) will hook you up! For 50% off your first month's rental + a free item, go to and use VOICEIS in the referral box! TOP TAKEAWAYS Entrepreneurship means you get to be your own boss. It also means you have to be your own boss. One of the biggest challenges of entrepreneurship is figuring out how you work best: where your time is best spent, whether you work better alone or in a team. Learning to work with instead of against that is crucial. (And get a coach.) The secret to sustainable entrepreneurship? Sleep. Sleep and down time. You NEED that space and regeneration to keep going. Self - Care is sometimes massage and splurges, but the cornerstone is sleep, nutrition, and movement. Entrepreneurship is about choosing how you make money, but it’s also the ability to choose how you want to make impact. Those two things may not be the same thing. When people keep saying your name wrong or avoiding saying your name — use it to name your product. :) LESSON: How (and why) to suck. Made with reverence from the roots up, blends nourish from the inside out. Uniting modern science with Eastern wisdom and a passion for well-balanced, sustainably sourced, organic ingredients; enjoy blends that look as good as they taste and taste as good as they will make you feel. Like a hug in a cup, they are soothing, refreshing, and harmonized to support you. Resilience® Turmeric Elixir, our signature blend, was born from a genuine desire to create something that would nourish the body, nurture the soul, and taste divine. Anjali Bhargava is the founder of Anjali’s Cup, a company grounded in the belief that there is a ton of benefit in nourishing our roots with a bit of daily turmeric. Her blends, including her 2 chai masalas are an easy, safe, and delicious way to do this. Anjali is deeply influenced by her Indian heritage; her relationship to food, wellness, and the art of well-balanced ingredients is infused with the traditions, philosophy, and practice of her family’s culture. Anjali’s reverence for turmeric began as a child watching her mother use the magical golden powder in almost everything. As an adult, she returned to the sacred turmeric root for support during her own health challenges and developed a recipe that was easy to use, versatile, and more potent and delicious than anything she could find in the market. Anjali lives in Harlem, NYC with her rescue cat Elaichi. /episode/index/show/voiceis/id/25799196

HAPPINESS with Stephanie Harrison: Feeling our feelings, the achievement paradox, and the new happy 01/25/2023

HAPPINESS with Stephanie Harrison: Feeling our feelings, the achievement paradox, and the new happy Julie and Casey sit down with happiness expert Stephanie Harrison to talk the science, the soft, and the squishy of how we think about happiness . . . including where we get it wrong, and what to do about that. Thank you to our Season 4 sponsor, Armoire! If you're ready to try a new look, Armoire's high-end clothing rental service (full of amazing women-owned brands) will hook you up! For 50% off your first month's rental + a free item, go to and use VOICEIS in the referral box! TOP TAKEAWAYS We’ve been sold a bill of goods that if you're good enough and successful enough, you’ll be happy; however, trying to achieve ourselves out of being human actually hinders our happiness. Discomfort and challenges are NOT proof that you’re not worthy of happiness — they are part of the human experience. YOU ARE GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOUR OWN HAPPINESS. The old model of "achievement leads to happiness" actually leads to burnout. Burnout is not your fault. It is a collective problem that ultimately needs a collective solution An expert in well-being, Stephanie Harrison founded The New Happy based on her Masters thesis in Applied Positive Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. She has spent the last ten years studying happiness from an interdisciplinary perspective, incorporating perspectives from art, science, philosophy, religious/contemplative studies, and the humanities. Her book, THE NEW HAPPY, is forthcoming from Penguin Random House. Stephanie’s expertise has been featured in Architectural Digest, Brit+Co, Bustle, Design Milk, FastCompany, Forbes, Greatist, The Huffington Post, Paper, Shondaland, Tatler, Well+Good, and Verywell. A regular keynote speaker, her past engagements have included Microsoft, LinkedIn, Degreed, Zendesk, Capital One, Juniper, Eventbrite, Create & Cultivate, and ServiceNow. Prior to starting The New Happy, Stephanie led the well-being program and learning platform for Thrive Global, built a product marketing team that led launches for LinkedIn’s $4B human resources business, and consulted to Fortune 100 companies on their people and HR challenges at Deloitte. She also returned to teach as an instructor at Penn following her graduation. /episode/index/show/voiceis/id/25725591

CURIOSITY with Casey Erin Clark: Shutting down the self-critic and other lessons from Channing Tatum 01/18/2023

EASE with Julie Fogh: On the myth of effort 01/11/2023

CARE with Casey and Julie: Technicolor emotions, building your team, and the power of small goals 01/04/2023

CARE with Casey and Julie: Technicolor emotions, building your team, and the power of small goals Julie and Casey interview each other about the best and worst of the year that was, a different way into goals for 2023, and what they’re excited about for the future. Along the way they get into assembling your personal team, learning how to be a better friend, and lots of ways of looking at the concept of “care”. Thank you to our Season 4 sponsor, Armoire! If you're ready to try a new look, Armoire's high-end clothing rental service (full of amazing women-owned brands) will hook you up! For 50% off your first month's rental + a free item, go to and use VOICEIS in the referral box! TOP TAKEAWAYS: What could change if you asked yourself this question: “What would make this (mood/task/day/moment/action) feel 5% better?” Small goals for the win! One of the most fundamental things we’ve leaned into and accepted this year is the need for a team — for community care, instead of just self-care. Emotions are necessary for communication — they are the crucial information that takes our experience of the world from a line drawing to full Technicolor. And we won’t be debating that emotions are crucial and not something to be “eliminated” at work anymore. is a voice, public speaking, and communication coach, performer, author, entrepreneur, podcast host, and leader in both the entertainment and business worlds. She is a fierce advocate for gender justice and spends her days speaking, teaching, and writing about the power of women’s voices, while seizing fulfilling opportunities to perform on screen and stage. In 2014, Casey and Julie Fogh co-founded , a voice and speech coaching company on a mission to change the conversation about what leaders are “supposed” to sound like and empower everyone to own the power of their full vocal instrument and presence. Casey hails from the cornfields of southern Illinois (where she grew up singing with her family Von Trapp-style) and has a BFA in musical theater from Illinois Wesleyan University. She also coaches musical theater pros of all ages, is a member of SAG-AFTRA and AEA, performed at the 2013 Oscars with the Les Miserables movie cast, and sings with the Grammy-nominated and Tony-honored Broadway Inspirational Voices choir. Recommending books and breakfast restaurants is her love language. Will perform the Lafayette speed rap from Hamilton on demand. is a voice coach and interpersonal communications specialist who works with actors and business leaders helping them navigate their individual tensions and blocks, revealing the personal power and unique and captivating humanity that exists in all of us. Through , Julie and her co-founder Casey Erin Clark blend the toolbox of the professional actor with their powerful frameworks for embracing one's authentic speaking voice to businesses, schools, and organizations all over the country. Julie was raised in Seattle and earned her BA in Theatre and Women Studies from University of Washington. She earned an MFA in acting from Northern Illinois University, a rigorous interdisciplinary curriculum that engaged with the physical body, the emotional life, imagination, use of language, character construction, non-verbal communication and the truth of the moment. She has studied with the Moscow Art Theatre and University of Copenhagen and has studied Meisner Technique with Kathryn Gately, Michael Chekhov Technique with Deborah Robertson, and Movement and Period Style with Lloyd Williamson. She loves YA novels and her cranky rescue cat, Ashland. /episode/index/show/voiceis/id/25507149

SOUL with Tara-Nicholle Kirke: Success, self-discovery, and the journey to self-actualization 12/14/2022

SOUL with Tara-Nicholle Kirke: Success, self-discovery, and the journey to self-actualization Julie and Casey chat with spiritual business coach, author, and founder of Tara-Nicholle Kirke about upgrading to “lick your plate-level” dreams, finding our voices, and how to get to know what we really need to succeed. Along the way, we hear what our shadow selves have to teach us, and the “droplet of god” in all of us. Thank you to our Season 4 sponsor, Armoire! If you're ready to try a new look, Armoire's high-end clothing rental service (full of amazing women-owned brands) will hook you up! For 50% off your first month's rental + a free item, go to and use VOICEIS in the referral box! TOP TAKEAWAYS: Tara-Nicholle describes the big good thing in the universe (god, source, etc., however you define it) as having three ingredients: infinite intelligence, limitless love, and creative power . . . and that droplet of the “god blob” in you is your soul. And no matter what, your soul is coming with you everywhere, even when we TRY to leave it out of the conversation. When Tara-Nicholle unpacked and unlearned all the “palatable polish” that she had been taught all her life and chose to speak her truth consistently, that’s when she found the deepest authority and respect for her work. In fact, it became her trademark in Silicon Valley — as the woman who will tell even the most powerful people the whole truth, and give them the strategy to achieve their goals. Everyone wants to start the process of self-actualization by setting goals and vision, but as long as we’re still caught in a fear or scarcity mindset, we’re only able to set goals driven by that fear. Fear is the root of all self-sabotage — and it’s inevitable when we begin to think bigger. So we gotta learn to ride the wave. LESSON: Superpower and “evil twins” - what’s driving your communication strengths when they go “dark side” — and how to deal. is a globally-recognized author, transformation expert, and spiritual strategist. She helps smart, successful people reach their potential and start living their Big Dreams, by undoing their self-sabotage patterns. As the founder of , Tara has taught over 50,000 people how to stop hiding their light with her Self-Mastery Method toolkit which draws from neurobiology, depth psychology and spiritual law. Tara also wrote the on transformational business and has been featured in , , and . called her the #1 woman Silicon Valley tech companies should add to their boards. /episode/index/show/voiceis/id/25320033

ALIGNED with Janna Meyrowitz Turner: Seeing connections, maximizing impact, and the power of personal brand 12/07/2022

ALIGNED with Janna Meyrowitz Turner: Seeing connections, maximizing impact, and the power of personal brand Julie and Casey sit down with personal brand expert, activist, and president of Synastry Capital to talk about making the impact you want to make and how to align your life and resources. Along the way, they discuss strategic language within movements, creating the world you want for your kid, and how the journey sometimes only reveals itself when you look back. Thank you to our Season 4 sponsor, Armoire! If you're ready to try a new look, Armoire's high-end clothing rental service (full of amazing women-owned brands) will hook you up! For 50% off your first month's rental + a free item, go to and use VOICEIS in the referral box! TOP TAKEAWAYS: For Janna, personal brand is about more than your public-facing persona — it’s about aligning your time, money, and relationships to create the life and the impact you want. And particularly with that “time” piece, you gotta get brave about figuring out how you want to spend your time, and how to ask for what you need. Big complex movements for justice could really use a PR person — because sometimes we need to reexamine the language we need to use to be understood by the folks we need to call into the movement. We need language that helps people hear us. It can be really uncomfortable to a lot of people to promote yourself, your ideas, your skills, etc. . . . but just as uncomfortable is the feeling of being under-actualized and unfulfilled. “Branding yourself isn't about self-promotion. Branding yourself is about maximizing your impact and maximizing your opportunities — because if you don't, if you're not out there being yourself and doing all the things that make you, you, then you're not creating space for others to do that.” LESSON: Myth-busting the elevator pitch . . . and how to feel like a human instead of a walking, talking commercial. is an advisor, angel investor, and strategist focused on systems change, leadership development, and communication in all its forms, in every direction. She has been building values-aligned networks for over 20 years across the public, private, and social sectors. She started her first company, Style House, at the age of 23 in 2006. Style House became an award-winning public relations and brand strategy firm over the next 16 years, advising global brands from Estee Lauder to the WNBA, with a strong focus on the female consumer whose economic and political power is wielded both as primary household purchaser and as the largest voting bloc in the US. Today Janna’s cross-sector impact vehicle, Synastry Capital, houses her investing, advising, and advocacy work. Her signature Personal Brand Alignment offering, conducted 1:1 and through keynotes, workshops, and group facilitation, is a blend of leadership coaching, spiritual centering, and talent management, designed to build personal and professional narratives that maximize happiness, impact and earning potential. Janna is also the co-founder of VCs for Repro, a coalition of venture capital firms united in support of abortion access, and sits on the board of A Call To Men, a national violence prevention organization providing training and education on healthy manhood for communities of men and boys. /episode/index/show/voiceis/id/25251576

SENSUAL with Darshana Avila: The pleasures of your body, the erotic as more than sexual, and the collective power of feeling good 11/30/2022

SENSUAL with Darshana Avila: The pleasures of your body, the erotic as more than sexual, and the collective power of feeling good Julie and Casey sit down with Erotic Wholeness coach Darshana Avila to discuss pleasure as a nutrient, a “more than sexy” definition of erotic, the importance of self- AND community care, and the ultimate cure for burnout. Along the way, we get into why the Powers That Be don’t want us to be embodied — and how staying connected to and feeling pleasure in your body may be one of the most powerful ways we can disrupt oppressive systems. Check out our brand new VVT Workbooks! TOP TAKEAWAYS: “Erotic” as Darshana defines it is encompassing of sexuality, but so much more: our bodies as sensors, our world as full of sensory experiences, and our creativity and life force and desire and connection. “Wholeness” is about the work of knowing, exploring, and integrating all of our humanity. The body / brain disconnect is systemic — we’re told that we ARE our brains, our productivity, our striving, etc, and that our bodies are only for utilitarian purposes. The principle weapon of systems of oppression is disconnect from the body. When we disconnect from the body, we disconnect from pleasure, and pleasure is an essential nutrient. The “cure” for burnout is about building up resources in and for your nervous system — and that requires, once again, turning toward our bodies. While our nervous system is definitely a “brain thing”, our entire bodies are enervated by this system. It also requires turning toward our communities and relationships . . . this is something we simply can’t do for ourselves. LESSON: How (and why) to find pleasure in creating sound with your voice. is nurturing a culture of Erotic Wholeness. As an internationally recognized speaker, coach and facilitator, Darshana supports women and couples in exploring and reshaping their relationships to intimacy, sex and eroticism. She created the Map to Erotic Wholeness to weave together a somatic, justice-oriented and relational style of guidance, rooted in nature-based and trauma-informed wisdom. Erotic Wholeness is a path to personal liberation in service to our collective sexual liberation. Darshana believes “we are erotic by nature.” Known for her grounded, candid and loving approach, Darshana meets people in some of the most tender parts of themselves. Her methods breakdown barriers, unlock a greater authenticity and enjoyment and provide a pathway to realize your innate erotic power. Combining the laboratory of her own life with extensive study and a decade of profound private practice experience, Darshana is dedicated to changing the way we talk, think, and act when it comes to sex and eroticism. Darshana has been interviewed by several groundbreaking podcasts, and can often be found sharing the stage with other experts and influencers on IG Live. In October 2021, she was featured on the Netflix Series: Sex, Love & goop. /episode/index/show/voiceis/id/25177500

DIRTY with Jackie Carpenter: On disaster clean up, being a dirty girl, and facing your shit 11/17/2022

DIRTY with Jackie Carpenter: On disaster clean up, being a dirty girl, and facing your shit Julie and Casey sit down with Disaster Clean up expert Jackie Carpenter to talk all things dirty. Along the way they discuss how taking things off the beaten path can be a pathway to success, gathering your team, and building success off messes no one else wants to touch. Thank you to our Season 4 sponsor, Armoire! If you're ready to try a new look, Armoire's high-end clothing rental service (full of amazing women-owned brands) will hook you up! For 50% off your first month's rental + a free item, go to and use VOICEIS in the referral box! TOP TAKEAWAYS Earning respect takes a combination of showing up and doing the work, knowing when to assert yourself, and when to sit back and learn. You can’t demand respect. Opportunities don’t always wear name tags, require a fancy degree, or get good grades. (When a business lands in your lap, don’t talk yourself out if it, TAKE IT. ) We're not cutting good at cutting ties with consultants or employees that need to go because we're scared. We don't really know how to break up with somebody. If the relationship isn’t working, isn’t additive, or you’ve moved beyond it, it’s necessary to learn how to break up. Our struggles, needs and obstacles are an inherent part of our story. You get to define what’s a dirty little secret, what holds power over you, and how you get to share your story. Ask for help. We are not meant to figure out every situation for our selves. Sometimes asking for help, while it can feel like admitting failure, is actually the fastest way to get things on track, personally and in business. Being a person people can count on means having people YOU can count on. LESSON: You don't get to choose your moments. Jackie Carpenter is the CEO and owner of Ideal Restoration in San Francisco, focusing on emergency response for commercial properties in the San Francisco Bay Area. She joined Ideal in 2006 and ultimately purchased Ideal from her parents in her early 20's. She’s gained hands-on experience in all aspects of the business working in a variety of field and operations roles including running large projects, complex abatement projects and managing sensitive infection control environments. Today, she leads with that insight to address client needs, drive innovation, and shape the company’s future through a talented leadership team. Outside of work Jackie enjoys coaching and mentoring small business owners, travel, unique dining experiences, trekking and hiking. Ideal Restoration: /episode/index/show/voiceis/id/25038345

VALUE with Lena West: Scaling service, marketing with integrity, and moving beyond “girlboss” 11/09/2022

VALUE with Lena West: Scaling service, marketing with integrity, and moving beyond “girlboss” Julie and Casey sit down with Lena West (a unicorn in the business coach space) to talk what it means to stand in your value. Along the way we rehash the Girl Boss era, dig into integrity and being of service, and hear about finding a medical team that actually works for you. TOP TAKEAWAYS: The Girl Boss movement and the “create more places for women in leadership” movement aren’t the same thing. Girl Boss was about branding and youth and hustle, but not much beyond that. It was a formula more than a movement. When you give someone a formula (in business or, in voice work) you take their individuality out of the equation. Predatory business practices like false scarcity are both ridiculous (you sold out of virtual seats? really?) and damaging. Start doing the work to get people to trust you so that they want to voluntarily, not from a manipulation standpoint, but voluntarily do business with you and give you their money from a wholehearted place instead of FOMO. Maybe it’s less about charging “what you’re worth” and more about charging for the impact or transformation you are contributing to your clients. You’ll know what makes you feel compensated AFTER you do it for too little money. Transformational pricing is less about the YES than it is about reminding folks that YOUR TIME and YOUR ENERGY are not free. LESSON: Don’t try to Miss Cleo your audience — on not trying to predict how your audience will respond. Lena L. West’s razor-sharp business acumen is the well-hewn result of more than a decade of hands-on experience in digital transformation and strategic business growth. As an award-winning serial entrepreneur, writer, keynote speaker, inclusive business growth strategist, independent filmmaker, and grant maker, this truth-telling business advisor is often referred to as an “entrepreneur’s secret advantage”. She shows experienced, self-funded, service-based founders and entrepreneurs how to learn, love and leverage their inner CEO and build a business that loves them back. Lena is the Founder of CEO Rising®, a virtual business accelerator dedicated to transforming principled solopreneurs into CEOs by providing them with the three growth tools they need most: coaching, community, and cash...so they can build ethical, profitable, and sustainable businesses. CEO Rising® was intentionally founded to disrupt the landscape of business coaching by providing affordable access to business coaching -- all without resorting to the prevalent, yet commonly accepted, predatory practices of false scarcity, false urgency, and marketing manipulation. Lena is also the visionary creator of CEO DNA®, a personalized inventory that uncovers a founder's specific CEO leadership archetypes and style. She has written for American Express, Fast Company and Entrepreneur and has spoken for notable organizations such as American Express, Wharton School of Business, SCORE, National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI) and Syracuse University. She sits on the Advisory Board of The Feminist Coaching Academy and is an Alum Ambassador of The Op Ed Project. An honorary highlight of her career was speaking about diversity, equity, and inclusion in digital media on Capitol Hill and at the United Nations. Lena’s internationally acknowledged expertise has led to winning several business awards, among them: The Hall of Femme, BuzzFeed’s Most Influential Influencers, The Women’s Congress’ Entrepreneurial Champion for Women in Business and NCWIT’s Entrepreneurial Hero. Her life’s work is to prove once and for all that service-based businesses can indeed scale. Her mission is to expand what's possible for self-funded founders of service-based businesses by pairing reinvented coaching, community, and funding models with increased digital media representation. /episode/index/show/voiceis/id/24960123

CANNABIS with June Johnson: On the State of the Cannabis Union… and Throwing a Great Party 11/03/2022

CANNABIS with June Johnson: On the State of the Cannabis Union… and Throwing a Great Party Julie and Casey chat with June Johnson, cofounder of Collective High, about the Cannabis Industry, the racist origins of the war on drugs, and along the way get to hear the magic behind what makes a great party and what modeling and being a CIA agent have in common. Thank you to our Season 4 sponsor, Armoire! If you're ready to try a new look, Armoire's high-end clothing rental service (full of amazing women-owned brands) will hook you up! For 50% off your first month's rental + a free item, go to and use VOICEIS in the referral box! TOP TAKEAWAYS: Cannabis has been used safely for a very long time, and is not only used to get high- there are a ton of other benefits, no high necessary. The origins of the war on drugs, specifically Marijuana, come from a racist and xenophobic decision of one powerful man to start associating cannabis with Mexico by calling it “Marijuana”. The ins and outs of how an industry built on what used to be a crime that disproportionately affected Black people morphed into an industry that is disproportionally benefitting white people. Lesson: “I don’t want to Lean In, I just want to Lay Down”. The power of laying on the floor, and five minutes in which to do nothing. June Johnson is a model & advocate. She has been featured in numerous beauty & fashion campaigns and on the runway for various fashion weeks. In addition to modeling, she is also the Co-Founder of , a woman-owned company that provides cannabis education through highly conceptual events & experiences in an effort to eradicate the stigma around cannabis use. Their events sit at the intersection of cannabis, art, music, food, fashion, & sustainability. Her goal is to create impactful changes & cultural representation within the fashion & cannabis spaces. Prior to producing cannabis events, June created successful events for brands such as Paul Smith, Hennessy, Moët & Chandon, Deleón Tequila, Anastasia Beverly Hills, Fred Segal, adidas, Shiekh Shoes, etc. Though she has experience in numerous verticals, she specializes in producing events in the fashion, cannabis, entertainment, art & culture scenes & has curated parties for exclusive clients during NYFW, NBA All-Star, Outside Lands, & The Grammy's. After moving to Los Angeles to continue her career in events, branding + PR, June worked for two high-profile boutique PR firms that helped further her understanding and knowledge of the industry. This experience allowed her to take her knowledge and apply it to starting her own company for 8 successful years. By the spring of 2019, she began working as the event curator, social media manager, brand manager & community manager for one of the Bay Area’s premiere delivery marketplace for cannabis goods. The pursuit of joy led June to follow her passion & move to NYC to continue modeling, working on Afrofuturist projects, and curating one-of-a-kind cannabis events through her Co-Founded company, Collective High. /episode/index/show/voiceis/id/24894441

INCLUSION with Ruchika Tulshyan: Goldilocks problems, breaking the binary, and building better systems 10/26/2022

INCLUSION with Ruchika Tulshyan: Goldilocks problems, breaking the binary, and building better systems Julie and Casey chat with (author, speaker, and founder of ) about , how to handle feedback (giving it and receiving it), and the gift of discomfort. Along the way, we dive into some of our favorite big subjects (authenticity, executive presence, etc.) and why the most important question to ask is: “for whom?” Thank you to our Season 4 sponsor, Armoire! If you're ready to try a new look, Armoire's high-end clothing rental service (full of amazing women-owned brands) will hook you up! For 50% off your first month's rental + a free item, go to and use VOICEIS in the referral box! TOP TAKEAWAYS: What do you do with conflicting feedback (the “Goldilocks” problem — “you’re too strong / you’re not strong enough” etc)? Feel your feelings, investigate it, think about it, check in with your tribe . . . and then remember that you’re existing within biased systems, and you can still stand in your power. When it comes to the “big subjects” like authenticity, leadership, executive presence, the operative question is “for whom?” i.e, “For whom is this the “right” kind of authenticity?” The foundation of so much discomfort is coming to terms with the fact that the world is not binary – that two things can be true at the same time (“I have experience marginalization AND I have privilege” or “my intentions were good AND I caused harm to another person”). We first have to learn to live with that complexity, and then additionally we have to learn how to communicate it. LESSON: Discomfort and confidence can (and probably will) exist at the same time. And . . . what if a little imposter syndrome is a good thing? is the best-selling author of (MIT Press). The book was described as “transformative” by Dr. Brené Brown. She’s also the founder of Candour, an inclusion strategy practice. A former international business journalist, Ruchika is a regular contributor to The New York Times and Harvard Business Review. As a keynote speaker, Ruchika has addressed audiences at organizations like NASA, Pixar, Google and the U.S. Congress. Ruchika co-wrote a paradigm-shifting article, for Harvard Business Review, with Jodi-Ann Burey. The article was named among 20 most impactful HBR articles of all time. Best of all, people all over the world have said it helped change their relationship with the concept of imposter syndrome! She was selected to Thinkers50 Radar 2019 and Hive Learning's Most Influential D&I leaders list in 2019 and 2020. Ruchika is an active investor in various women-founded ventures, including Armoire, Graham & Walker VC and Backstage Capital. A self-declared Singaporean foodie, Ruchika has lived in four countries and currently calls Seattle home. Follow Ruchika: Twitter: @rtushyan Instagram: @rtulshyan LinkedIn: Ruchika Tulshyan /episode/index/show/voiceis/id/24806922

LESSONS FROM CORPORATE with Casey and Julie: 3 huge opportunities to level up in your leadership communication 06/08/2022

NICE with Fran Hauser: Building better relationships at work and niceness as a superpower 05/18/2022

NICE with Fran Hauser: Building better relationships at work and niceness as a superpower Julie and Casey chat with author, speaker, and angel investor Fran Hauser (author of Embrace the Work, Love Your Career and Audible's Best Business Book of 2018, The Myth of the Nice Girl) about building relationships, rejecting the idea that being nice makes you weak, how to stand up for yourself, the difference between "nice" and "people pleaser", and why founders need to take care of themselves. Thank you to our Season 3 sponsor, Armoire! If you're ready to try a new look, Armoire's high-end clothing rental service (full of amazing women-owned brands) will hook you up! For 50% off your first month's rental + a free item, go to and use VOICEIS in the referral box! TOP TAKEAWAYS: Being successful in business is all about relationships You don't have to choose between being nice and being strong. If you're a founder/entrepreneur, are you jumping ahead to business model, marketing, partnerships, etc. before making sure you have an awesome product that consumers are delighted by? You’re skipping the most important step. Taking a breath, taking the time and energy to care for yourself and others makes the WORK better. Compassion for ourselves and for other people makes us more productive, not less, and we need to bring more of it into our professional lives. You don’t need to be the smartest kid in fifth grade (i.e. have all the answers all by yourself). Build out your community and your network. Nice is a superpower - its "evil twin" is people-pleasing. Know the difference, and know when to stand up for yourself. Mini-Lesson: How to embrace your "toos". Articles referenced: On the culture of over-work, and how it holds both women and men back - Gender bias in performance reviews - Vague vs specific feedback - is an author, keynote speaker and startup investor at the intersection of women’s empowerment, career fulfillment, and collective wellbeing. As a long-time media executive, Fran has always championed the power of content in shaping culture, educating the public, and driving awareness of important issues. She is the best-selling author of which has been translated into six languages and was named “Best Business Book of the Year, 2018” by Audible. Fran’s new book, , is quickly becoming the go-to for women seeking more joy and fulfillment in their career. Fran regularly speaks at conferences and organizations to help women build careers they love while staying true to themselves Fran has invested in over 30 female-founded companies across CPG, media & publishing, and wellness. She also serves as an LP in the Female Founders Fund. Her writing, speaking and investing is informed by 15 years spent in media, from startups where she played an integral role in the $525mm sale of Moviefone to AOL, to ultimately rising the ranks at Time Inc. to President of Digital where she led innovation, acquisitions and digital expansion for powerhouse media brands People, InStyle, Entertainment Weekly, Essence, and People en Espanol. Fran has been the recipient of the Fairy Godmother Award from Girl Be Heard, the W Award from the YWCA of the City of New York and has been included in lists from Business Insider's "30 Women In VC to Watch" to Refinery29’s “Six Most Powerful Women in New York City's Tech Scene”. She has been featured on TODAY, CNBC, Fortune, TIME, Fast Company, Forbes, Vogue.com, Ad Age, Oprah.com and more. In 2020 Fran channeled her lifelong love of books into an Instagram platform @FransBookshelf focused on the joy of reading -- both the escapism and the celebration of diverse ideas that can change the world. Fran serves on the board of directors of the Foundation for Bedford Central Schools and is an advisor to Helpusadopt.org and LiveGirl. Fran is a summa cum laude graduate of Pace University. She resides just outside of NYC with her husband and two sons. /episode/index/show/voiceis/id/23153372

LOSS with Rebecca Soffer: Finding humor, connecting with community, and moving through grief 04/27/2022

LOSS with Rebecca Soffer: Finding humor, connecting with community, and moving through grief Julie and Casey chat with Rebecca Soffer, journalist, author, and cofounder of , about the complicated journey and taboo subject of grief. Along the way, they get into how Rebecca found her “dead mom” community and what it taught her, dealing with ambiguous loss, what not to say to people who are hurting, our enormous world-wide moment of collective grief, and how to move THROUGH, not “move on”. Thank you to our Season 3 sponsor, Armoire! If you're ready to try a new look, Armoire's high-end clothing rental service (full of amazing women-owned brands) will hook you up! For 50% off your first month's rental + a free item, go to and use VOICEIS in the referral box! TOP TAKEAWAYS: Nothing is more isolating that feeling like you have to play “normal” and hide your grief because of the taboo around discussing loss. Because grief affects every corner of your life, it becomes the backdrop for so much of what’s going on. The first step to dealing with grief may be simply TALKING about it . . . but there’s no “zero vulnerability” way to do that. There is no “correct” thing to say to someone who is grieving, so you’re off the hook for the perfect response, if that’s keeping you from reaching out to someone. Particularly, the fear of “accidentally reminding someone” or bringing up their loss is misplaced . . . they know. They remember. That said, anything that smacks of a “fix it” mentality is probably not welcome. Just as there is no correct thing to say to a grieving person, there’s no “correct” way — or even time — to grieve. There is room for humor and lightness too. Mini-Lesson: Better things to do when a friend is hurting than “fix it”. Rebecca Soffer is cofounder of Modern Loss, a global movement offering creative, meaningful, and practical content and community addressing the long arc of grief. She is also coauthor of the book Modern Loss: Candid Conversation about Grief. Beginners Welcome. (Harper Wave, 2018) and an internationally recognized speaker on loss and resilience. She writes regularly across media, including the New York Times, Glamour, NBC, and CNN. Rebecca is a Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism alumna and a Peabody Award–winning former producer for The Colbert Report. Rebecca and her husband and sons split their time between New York City and The Berkshires. For more information visit . Twitter: @rebeccasoffer @modernloss Instagram: @rebeccasoffer @modernloss @runningpressbooks Facebook: /episode/index/show/voiceis/id/22929713

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