The Empowered Woman | Storytelling & Women Empowerment

In this episode, Anisha Jennings, founder of Jennings Tech Corner, shares her journey of connecting technology, storytelling, and visibility to help women entrepreneurs grow their businesses. Anisha talks about her background in engineering, teaching, and technology before moving to the United States and starting her own business in 2024. She explains how her natural ability to troubleshoot and solve problems led her to focus on strategic websites, helping business owners create an online presence that builds trust, attracts leads, and clearly communicates their story. Anisha also shares how her podcasting journey began as a way to tell her own immigrant story and eventually grew into a podcast with more than 100 episodes featuring the stories and experiences of other immigrant women.
Anisha also discusses how she supports entrepreneurs with the technical side of their businesses, from building WordPress and Squarespace websites to auditing tech stacks, identifying unnecessary subscriptions, and troubleshooting platforms and systems. She shares details about her five-week podcast launch program, created to help women turn their ideas into launched podcasts without feeling overwhelmed by the technology involved. Whether someone has only an idea, has started gathering the pieces, or simply feels called to share their voice, Anisha encourages them to take action and recognize the impact their story and expertise can have. She also shares her definition of an empowered woman: becoming aware of your gifts, skills, and the impact you are capable of creating, and then having the courage to share them with others.
Connect with Anisha:
Website: www.jenningstechcorner.com
LinkedIn: Jennings Tech Corner
Instagram: @jenningstechcorner
Facebook: Your American Dream
Pinterest: Jennings Tech Corner LLC
YouTube: Anisha Jennings


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Calle Foster is a leadership coach and speaker who helps Millennial and Gen Z women build confidence, strengthen communication, and develop their professional personal brands. She also helps leaders and organizations better understand the four generations currently in the workplace: Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z. Calle explains how each generation's unique social and cultural experiences have shaped workplace behaviors, expectations, and communication styles. From Baby Boomers' institutional knowledge and value for face-to-face connection to Gen X's independence and emphasis on work-life balance, Millennials' role as workplace translators and sandwich-generation leaders, and Gen Z's experience entering the workforce during COVID, Calle offers valuable insight into moving beyond generational stereotypes and creating more supportive, sustainable workplaces.
Calle also shares why empathy and perspective are essential to better workplace relationships, including a powerful story about her husband and his Gen Z intern that demonstrates how quickly assumptions can change when we pause and consider someone else's perspective. She discusses her work with individuals, team leaders, and organizations, helping people build confidence, communicate effectively, demonstrate their expertise, and become more visible in their careers. Calle also introduces her free resource, "5 Everyday Behaviors That Build Credibility and Influence," and shares her powerful definition of an empowered woman: reconnecting with the powerful woman already within you and calling her forward when you need her.
Connect with Calle:
Website: www.callefoster.com
LinkedIn: Calle (Lieppman) Foster
Instagram: @millennialleadershipcoach
 
Let's keep the conversation going!
Website: www.martaspirk.com
Instagram: @martaspirk
Facebook: Marta Spirk
Want to be my next guest on The Empowered Woman Podcast?
Apply here: www.martaspirk.com/podcastguest 
Watch my TEDx talk: www.martaspirk.com/Speaking

In this episode, we're joined by Michelle Gelband, a sex therapist in New York City and the founder of Openly Health, a platform designed to help women navigate sexual health care across every stage of life. Michelle shares how her years working in OB-GYN settings revealed a major gap in conversations around sexual health, pain, pleasure, and intimacy, and how her own experience with endometriosis and a fragmented healthcare system deepened her passion for creating change. She opens up about her personal journey with painful periods, painful sex, advocating for herself as a patient, and the challenges of finding providers who looked beyond the surface to understand what was really happening.
Michelle also shares her vision for Openly Health, which brings providers, resources, education, products, and an anonymous community together in one place so women don't have to search across countless websites to find trustworthy support. She discusses building the platform in beta, gathering feedback from women and providers, navigating the stigma and shame surrounding sexual health, and the realities of being an entrepreneur building something deeply personal and meaningful. Michelle explains how Openly Health aims to make care more accessible, normalize conversations around sex, and help women understand that pain is not something they simply have to accept. She also answers the million-dollar question: What is an empowered woman? Her answer is a powerful reminder that empowerment can mean continuing forward even when doubt, fear, or difficult emotions are present.
Connect with Michelle:
Website: www.openlyhealth.io
Instagram: @openlyhealth | @michellegelband
TikTok: Michelle Gelband
 
Let's keep the conversation going!
Website: www.martaspirk.com
Instagram: @martaspirk
Facebook: Marta Spirk
Want to be my next guest on The Empowered Woman Podcast?
Apply here: www.martaspirk.com/podcastguest 
Watch my TEDx talk: www.martaspirk.com/Speaking

In this inspiring conversation, Lori Mayberry, Executive Director of Get Out the Vote PAC, shares her unexpected journey from working behind the scenes as an operations manager to becoming the public face of a growing political organization. Lori explains how the passing of her business partner and the organization's founder, Steve, pushed her into a leadership role that required her to learn fundraising, politics, communication, and organizational leadership along the way. She also discusses how her own experience as someone who once had many questions about politics shaped the way she communicates with voters. From voter outreach and education to fundraising and building recurring donor support, Lori explains how her organization uses targeted communication, texting, phone calls, and digital advertising to help people understand elections and participate in the voting process.
Lori also reflects on the organization's grassroots beginnings, its growth, and the impact of strategic voter outreach and donor support. She shares lessons from her experience supporting races in Virginia, the importance of building relationships and coalitions, and the many ways people can contribute beyond making a financial donation. At the heart of the conversation is the idea of an empowered woman as someone who is willing to learn, grow, step outside what she already knows, and take on challenges even when they feel unfamiliar. Lori's story is a powerful reminder that leadership and empowerment can come from being willing to dig in, learn something new, and grow into the role that life places in front of you.
Connect with Lori:
Website: www.gotv.vote
LinkedIn: Lori Mayberry
 
Let's keep the conversation going!
Website: www.martaspirk.com
Instagram: @martaspirk
Facebook: Marta Spirk
Want to be my next guest on The Empowered Woman Podcast?
Apply here: www.martaspirk.com/podcastguest 
Watch my TEDx talk: www.martaspirk.com/Speaking

In this episode, Cathy Derksen shares her unexpected journey from a career in medical genetics and financial planning to creating multi-author books that give women the opportunity to become published authors. Cathy explains how becoming an author herself in 2019 sparked a passion for helping women share their stories, wisdom, experiences, and lessons with the world. Through her multi-author books, each featuring approximately 20 women around a shared theme, Cathy creates opportunities for women to build confidence, connect with a global community, and amplify what they are doing in their lives and businesses. She also shares how authors receive support throughout the writing and publishing process, from developing their chapter and editing to professional publishing, marketing, and opportunities for visibility.
Cathy also shares inspiring stories of women who initially believed their stories were not important enough to share, only to discover the powerful impact their words could have on others. She discusses how participating in a multi-author book can become a starting point for women who eventually want to write their own books, build a platform, or expand their visibility. Cathy's work has grown into a larger community through her Women's Wisdom and Impact Collective, connecting authors from her various books through networking and spotlight opportunities. At the heart of Cathy's message is the belief that an empowered woman takes ownership of her passions and goals, gives herself permission to embrace new possibilities, and remembers that it is never too late to start something new.
Connect with Cathy:
Website: www.inspiredtenacity.com
LinkedIn: Cathy Derksen
Instagram: @inspired_tenacity
Facebook: Cathy Derksen



Let's keep the conversation going!
Website: www.martaspirk.com
Instagram: @martaspirk
Facebook: Marta Spirk
Want to be my next guest on The Empowered Woman Podcast?
Apply here: www.martaspirk.com/podcastguest 
Watch my TEDx talk: www.martaspirk.com/Speaking