In our 29th episode, Darren and Margie Fink, founders of Transfiguring Adoption (a Florida non-profit organization), share their passion for supporting foster youth, adopted children, and their caregivers. Learn how they help caregivers use books, movies, video games, and everyday play to help children process past trauma.

Darren & Margie Fink are the co-founders of nonprofit Transfiguring Adoption. They bring over a decade of experience in helping traumatized kids. Margie has a degree in psychology and has created curriculum for training parents and professionals. Darren has authored multiple children’s books. While two of their adoptive children have grown, they currently live in Orlando with their youngest two adoptive children.

Contact Information
Darren’s Email: darren@transfiguringadoption.com

Transfiguring Adoption Information
Website: www.transfiguringadoption.com
Social Media: @TransfigurAdopt (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok)

Magical Creatures Book
Website: www.magicalcreaturs.com
Social Media: @magicalcreaturs (Facebook and Instagram)

Special Gift from Darren and Margie Fink
Special Gift: One free month of premium media review service
Coupon code: 1STFREE
www.transfiguringadoption.com/subscribe

29. Darren And Margie Fink on Resources for Adoptive Families

In episode 30, Katherine Marie shares her experiences as a breast cancer survivor who teaches us valuable lessons about breast cancer awareness, early screening, balancing life after a cancer diagnosis, and moving forward. Hear how her journey empowered her to help others through Inspired Vitality LLC, which encompasses cancer coaching and speaking services. Katherine partners with individuals diagnosed with cancer, whether in treatment or post-treatment, to help them navigate the challenges brought about by a diagnosis. Speaking topics, at the core, are about taking action and Katherine speaks to a wide variety of audiences through podcasts and on the stage.

Katherine Marie is a speaker and a holistic health coach who says that cancer does not define her, but it has shaped her. In 2015 her stage 3 breast cancer diagnosis served as a springboard to help others through their own challenges, and she shares insights on the stage, through numerous podcasts, and her YouTube channel. During coaching and while speaking, Katherine uses her relatable experience and training with the Institute for Integrative Nutrition to inspire and guide people in identifying goals and taking action.

Resources from the Interview 
1. Chemo Go-bag Checklist, available for FREE at: https://inspiredvitality.life/
Inspired Vitality Website: https://inspiredvitality.life/
2. Resource Guide, ABLE: The Four Step Strategy Taking You From Pain, Grief and Fear to Living: 
https://mailchi.mp/96df64ac6812/able-the-four-step-strategy-taking-you-from-pain-grief-and-fear-to-living
3. Complimentary Consultation: https://inspiredvitality.life/contact/

Follow Inspired Vitality and Katherine Marie
1. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InspiredVitalityMN
2. Twitter: https://twitter.com/InspiredMN
3. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherine-marie-831300179/

30. Katherine Marie and Life after Breast Cancer

In Episode 31, Bill Cohen, provides dementia advice and support for caregivers of family members with dementia. Most resources for dementia, including Alzheimer’s, focus on the patient and not on the caregivers. However, many people have to shift their lives to become caregivers to their loved ones while learning the best care strategies along the way. Bill helps us find the best resources to help our loved ones and provides us with tools and strategies to help us reduce our stress, save time and expenses, and balance our personal, professional, and caregiving lives. 

Bill Cohen is a caregiver support group leader and speaker, an Alzheimer's Association volunteer, a Certified Senior Advisor (CSA)®, and the owner of Cohen Caregiving Support Consultants. His loving and talented mother, Sheila, lost her home to Hurricane Katrina. Then, she lost her health, ability to create beautiful art, and, ultimately, her life due to Alzheimer's. For almost 10 years, Bill was her primary caregiver and advocate, not just her elder son. Now he dedicates his life to empowering other caregivers so that they can lead healthy balanced lives while caring for their loved ones.

Resources from the Interview
 1. Company Website: Cohencaregivingsupport.com 
 2. Bill Resources and Contact Info: https://linktr.ee/CohenSupport
 3. Instagram: @cohencaregivingsupport  
 4. Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/billcohensupportgroup/

32. William Cohen on Supporting Dementia Patient Caregivers

Mary-Catherine LaBossiere, a registered dietitian and owner of Defy Nutrition, where she helps individuals repair their relationship with food and develop sustainable, healthier nutrition habits. Listen to the episode and learn about our relationship with food, emotional eating, and strategies to live a healthier life. 

Mary-Catherine LaBossiere, MPH, RD, LDN is a registered dietitian, military spouse, and the owner of Defy Nutrition. She started her career in obesity and diabetes clinical research while earning her Master of Public Health. Mary-Catherine then transitioned to working in behavioral health, where she learned the role of nutrition in mental health. Mary-Catherine is now a full-time entrepreneur who helps individuals learn how to eat like human beings and develop healthier relationships with food. Mary-Catherine has presented on a variety of topics, including Nutrition for Performance, Managing Stress Eating for Optimal Digestion, Emotional Eating for the Busy Entrepreneur, Incorporating Intuitive Eating Principles into Macro Tracking, and Calorie Counting, and more. She enjoys educating others and facilitating both in-person and virtual workshops to make nutrition easy and sustainable. In her free time, Mary-Catherine loves being active and exploring the outdoors with her husband and their dogs. 

Defy Nutrition helps individuals repair their relationship with food and develop sustainable, healthier nutrition habits. They do this through the provision of nutrition counseling and personalized meal plans that are made custom for you, your goals, and your food preferences. Defy Nutrition also offers group programs and workshops both virtually and in person. 

Resources from the Interview
 1. Free Snacking Guide:  www.defy-nutrition.com
 2. Grocery Shopping Workbook: https://defy-nutrition.com/product/groceryworkbook/
 3. Book a complimentary consult: https://p.bttr.to/3Aq5BFm
 4. Defy Holiday Food Guilt Program: https://defy-nutrition.com/defy-holiday-food-guilt

Information about the Business (Non-Profit)
 1. Website: https://defy-nutrition.com/
 2. Email: defynutrition@gmail.com
 3. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/defy.nutrition/ 
 4. Facebook Page: https://facebook.com/defynutrition 
 5. Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/DefyNutrition

33. Mary-Catherine LaBossiere on Repairing Our Relationship with Food

In Episode 34, Jacquie Bird teaches us about spiritual wellness. Learn about ways to enhance the mind-body connection, how to move through a difficult situation, and how to institute "calm" within yourself and the life around you. 

Her company, Jacquie Bird, Spiritual Wellness, offers products and services that support, guide, and empower the individual to live better and enjoy a more peaceful life. Her entire platform and intent are in mindfulness, personal growth, stress and anxiety relief, and management.

In her first life, she was in the performing arts as a dancer, singer, and actress on Broadway, TV, Film, and stage along with being a writer, choreographer, and teacher of dance. Over time, she began to step away to create gemstone jewelry and along the way, she started learning about the myriad benefits of working with gemstones and copper. As everything is connected in our paths, she began to resonate with the power and benefits of sound as she was drawn to Tibetan Singing Bowls and other polyphonic instruments, noting how important sound is to our WellBeing. Eventually, she chose to blend and combine all her healing experiences and knowledge into her own wellness platform, Jacquie Bird, Spiritual Wellness, of which her StressBusters Guided Meditation plays a big role.

Resources from the Interview
 1. Website: https://www.jacquiebirdspiritualwellness.com
 2. Instagram: @JacquieBirdSpiritualWellness  
 3. Facebook: www.facebook.com/JacquieBirdSpiritualWellness 
 4. LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jacquiebird00
 5. YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/JacquieBirdSpiritualWellness 
 6. Email: jacquiebirdspiritualwellness@gmail.com

Additional Resources Available on Jacquie Bird’s Website
 1. 4-week eBook and audiobook series “7 Daily Thoughts & Mantras 4 Mindfulness - Keys 4 Stress Relief & Personal Growth”
 2. Guided meditation videos and music
 3. Private and group StressBusters Guided Meditation sessions, a system developed using sound, breath, aromatherapy, gemstones, and movement
 4. End of The Month Guided Meditation online classes that fall on the last Sunday of the month



Summary of the Interview Transcript:

Introduction and Reintroduction of Jackie Bird (0:00)
Speaker 1 introduces Jacqueline Pena and welcomes Jackie Bird from Jacquie Bird's Spiritual Wellness. Jackie reflects on their journey and the role of creativity in life.

Overview of Jackie's Book and Philosophy (2:18)
Jackie introduces her book, "28 Daily Thoughts and Mantras for Mindfulness," focusing on calm, clarity, presence, and self-care.

The Importance of Self-Care and Mindfulness (3:01)
Jackie discusses intentional self-care and how her book makes meditation accessible, with practical examples for managing challenges.

Addressing Reactions and Personal Responsibility (8:42)
Jackie shares a story about improving her relationship with her landlord through mindfulness, emphasizing the importance of taking responsibility for actions and reactions.

The Power of Self-Relationship and Forgiveness (11:52)
Jackie introduces "Forgiveness Friday," focusing on self-forgiveness and moving forward.

Visualization and Manifestation (23:04)
Jackie shares the importance of visualizing goals and raising one’s vibration to attract positive experiences, highlighting the importance of finding joy.

Advice for Listeners and Final Thoughts (32:58)
Jackie advises self-kindness and self-awareness, returning to the book's role in promoting peace and growth.

Conclusion and Resources (40:25)
Speaker 1 thanks Jackie for her insights, discussing the book’s practical applications and providing resource information. The episode ends with a reminder of the importance of self-care and mindfulness.

34. Jacquie Bird on Spiritual Wellness

In Episode 35, Dawn teaches us how to rethink financial and tax planning for small businesses and how we can use the power of financial planning to grow our small businesses.

Patton Accounting is a remote accounting firm on a mission to empower more small business owners. Patton Accounting is all about teaching and doing because the company believes knowledge is power. Patton Accounting offers bookkeeping, tax, and CFO services as well as DIY help and online education. The team tries to be friendly and approachable because it wants to make your finances fun!

Dawn is a business coach, a financial educator, and an accountant. As a fellow entrepreneur, she understands the struggle of wearing multiple hats. Even more so, as a working mom, she can relate to juggling the business and the babies. She knows it's a lot - a lot of work, a lot of learning, and a lot of fun. Her favorite part about running a business is being able to connect with other small business owners. So if you're reading this and you own a business or are thinking about starting a business, reach out and tell Dawn hi!

Resources
 1. Website: www.pattonaccounting.net
 2. Free Resources: wwww.pattonacconting.net/resources 
 3. Instagram: @_dawnpatton_ 
 4. Email: Dawn@PattonAccounting.net

35. Dawn Patton on Financial Planning for Small Businesses

In Episode 36, Prajakta Apte teaches us about gut health and how gut imbalance is connected to many different other symptoms and health problems. Listen to the episode to learn more about gut health and create better gut balance that leads to a healthier life.

Prajakta is a registered dietitian and yoga teacher working in the field of nutrition for almost 20 years. She specializes in gut health, helping people who are struggling with digestive issues resolve their problems and live symptom-free lives. Her clients learn how clean eating, the right food choices, and a healthy lifestyle can help with the connection between mind and body.

More Information about Prajakta’s Company:
Right Nutrition Works, is dedicated to helping you create a healthier lifestyle by offering evidence-based personalized nutrition counseling for YOU. That means we treat YOU exclusively, offering nutrition and health roadmaps based on your needs and goals, not on broad recommendations. We treat people for different medical conditions like diabetes, weight loss management, kidney disease, management for high cholesterol, and various gut problems. We help people feel better by addressing and treating the root cause(s) to their problems and holistically helping them restore their health and wellness.

Resources from the Interview:
 1. Website: www.rightnutritionworks.com
 2. Facebook: www.facebook.com/rightnutritionworks
 3. Instagram: @rightnutritionworks

36 - Prajakta Apte on Gut Health

In Episode 37, Nicolette teaches us the foundational aspects of starting and growing a business. She starts with advice for the business owner, the key asset in the business, and then shows how that foundational, personal work with the business owner leads to the creation of the right type of business for that person. 

Nicolette is a business strategist and a wine enthusiast. Her day job involves helping small businesses develop their ideas and concepts. She considers herself to be an idea factory. She is great at seeing the bigger picture and loves discovering new projects and causes. As a creative person, she is quick to jump into new adventures and experiences. When it comes to wine, her focus is on helping people learn to love and understand wine in the way that she does. She feels that wine is something that brings joy to people and allows them to tap into parts of their personalities that they haven’t explored before. So making wine more relatable is a core part of Nicolette enjoying it as well.

Nicolette is the founder of the Spark Ideas Group, which is PASSIONATE about developing entrepreneurs and their ideas. Spark Ideas specialize in the coaching and development of entrepreneurs at all levels, from incubation to startups ready to go to market. They help clients build and implement  Innovation and Entrepreneurship strategies, as well as subsequently pair them up with resources within the entrepreneurship network for further development. 

Resources from the Interview
 1.  Website: sparkideasgroup.com
 2.  Instagram: instagram.com/nicoletteonideas
 3.  Twitter: twitter.com/nickionideas 
 4.  Facebook: facebook.com/nicoletteonideas 
 5.  LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/nicolettec
 6.  Free Business Modeling Course: https://www.udemy.com/course/beginners-business-modeling

37 - Nicolette Chinomona on the Foundation for a Successful Small Business

In Episode 39, Ellen Wong discusses her work in helping women with high functioning anxiety (a) be calm, (b) feel free, and (c) live happily. Listen to her interview and learn some great tips to help you with burnout, anxiety, negative self-talk, and imposter syndrome.

After years of living with high-functioning anxiety, Ellen eventually reached a tipping point after two hospitalizations related to burnout. Although she appeared like she "had it all together,” she struggled internally with never-ending negative self-talk, perfectionism, and imposter syndrome. Determined to find a solution to high-functioning anxiety, Ellen combined her clinical expertise, love for women's psychology and her travels to the happiest countries on earth to learn about happiness. 

As a Naturopathic Doctor, Self-Talk Transformologist®, and founder of The Joy Avenue, Ellen works with women to transform their overwhelm, worry and anxiousness into calm and confidence. But what she's most passionate about is helping women create joy in every aspect of their lives, one thought at a time. 

Resources from the Interview
 1.  Website: https://drellenwong.com
 2.  Email: Ellen@drellenwong.com
 3.  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ellen.wong.332
 4.  Instagram: @thejoyavenue 
 5.  Free High Functioning Anxiety Quiz: https://drellenwong.com/quiz

39 - Ellen Wong on Alleviating Anxiety and Finding Happiness

In Episode 41, Eva Vennari shows us the power of using natural healing that is drug-free, trend-free, and fad-free. Join us as we talk about avoiding burnout, improving our immune systems, finding the right balance in life, taking ownership of our health, and keeping things simple for long-term success.

Eva Vennari teaches worldwide how to navigate complementary medicine and coaches chronically fatigued high-performers virtually as their secret weapon to stay in the game without burnout. It's science-based, no trends, no fads, and no drugs... ever. As a result, the immune system boosts and allows for the best productivity. She is the founder and CEO of The Elevate Institute, a cutting-edge health coaching firm specializing in Mineral Balancing. She is the Creator of REVEAL – a hair analysis technique that lets you understand what exactly your body needs to heal and rejuvenate. For Corporate/Entrepreneur Wellness Programs she offers EVOLVE ACADEMY where she introduces experiences bringing ancient wisdom to today's lifestyle.

At The Elevate Institute, it’s believed that if you give the body what it needs it will heal itself. This isn’t a new concept. It’s one that seems forgotten, however. With the adoption of the chemical revolution that has brought so many people to rely on pharmaceuticals, we’ve negated the power of what’s so beautifully available to us by design – our own internal pharmacy, intuition, and integrity.

Feel great in your body! Through the Elevate Institute, Eva teaches innovative solutions for sensitive people who want natural healing: drug-free, trend-free and fad-free.

Resources from the Interview
1. Website: https://theelevateinstitute.com
2. Business Email: info@theElevateInstitute.com
3. Eva’s Email: Eva@selfnc.com
4. Book a Free 20-Minute Call with Eva: https://outlook.office365.com/owa/calendar/SELFNutrition@selfnc.com/bookings/
5. Listen to “When Doctors Say We Don't Know: on iTunes and everywhere podcasts can be heard

41. Eva Vennari on the Power of Natural Healing

In Episode 82, Dr. Steve Rios invites us into the vibrant world of The Oly and Opi Series and shares how children’s literature can inspire deeper conversations with kids. The Oly and Opi Series is a collection of children’s books that celebrate representation and encourage critical thinking. These books are designed to adapt to young readers’ development—whether it’s through interactive storytelling or sparking thought-provoking discussions as they grow.

Dr. Steve J. Rios is nationally known for his work promoting academic success for children and youth in foster care and those experiencing housing insecurity. He began to write children’s books to help young people understand they can succeed in life, no matter what challenges they face.

Steve believes storytelling is a powerful tool for connection, providing moments for families to bond while exploring important themes like parental absence and identity. Through his writing, he reminds us that kids are capable of understanding far more than we often give them credit for.

Whether you're a parent, teacher, or simply someone who loves children’s literature, this episode will leave you inspired to embrace meaningful conversations with the young ones in your life.


RESOURCES FROM THE INTERVIEW
 1. Website: DeepSeaMedia.org
 2. Free Book Samples: DeepSeaMedia.org/books
 3. Instagram: @Olyandopi
 4. Book Links: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Steve-J.-Rios-Ed.D./author/B09MF92QFT?ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

82. Steve Rios on Books with Purpose: Empowering Foster Youth with Oly and Opi

Coffee and an Interview with Dr. Jacqueline Peña

Related tracks