Michelle Lee is an award-winning marketer and editor, mother, writer, and founder of Monologue, a marketing and PR agency based in NY/LA. She was the editor in chief of Allure and Nylon magazines, global marketing VP at Netflix, and she sits on the board of Gold House as well as on the Advisory Council of Act to Change, which are organizations that propel and protect the Asian Pacific community. Michelle shares how being ruthlessly bullied as a child stayed with her into adulthood, expressing as...
Oct 31, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Season 2Ep. 4
Dani Coleman is the Director of Training and Head Trainer at Pvolve, a science-led workout method that combines low-impact functional fitness with resistance-based equipment. She trains none other than Jennifer Aniston, as well as all of us who join in studio or through the Pvolve app. Dani’s story is rooted in her biracial identity as both Japanese and Caucasian, which she recognizes is both a place of privilege and a place of isolation. I think anyone raising mixed race kids like my family is ...
Oct 16, 2023•50 min•Season 2Ep. 3
I am really excited to welcome Kim Saira to the podcast. Kim is a somatic healer and coach whose work is focused on Asian women and femmes. In our conversation, Kim gives advice on how to protect your nervous system from triggers through somatic clearing practices and she also shares her thoughts on how to find the right therapist or coach. We talk about the dismantling of our internalized assumption of the model minority myth and the impact these last few years of the rise in Asian hate crimes ...
Oct 03, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Season 2Ep. 2
Welcome to Season 2 of Voices on the Side! We have some really exciting guests for you this season, starting with Michelle Li. Michelle is a mother, writer, journalist, news anchor, and she co-founded The Very Asian Foundation, whose mission is to shine light on Asian experiences through advocacy and celebration. Michelle is a transracial Korean adoptee who grew up in middle America, literally jumping hay bales. She shares about how her unique identity shaped her understanding of her culture and...
Sep 19, 2023•57 min•Season 2Ep. 1
Our final episode of the season is a conversation with Lynn Liou, who has always been a fiercely proud ABC — American Born Chinese. Lynn is a mother, an entrepreneur, lifestyle expert working with brands like Hermes and Burberry, and even—an actual queen! She was Miss LA Chinatown. Lynn has always exuded a deep self-confidence, an ownership of and comfort in who she is. Knowing more of her story now, I see how the warm and loving relationship she had with her parents had everything to do with ho...
Jul 11, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 8
My guest today, Dr. Jasmine, is a mother, clinical pharmacist, maternal mental health advocate, and writer. Her essays on postpartum depression and healing have been featured on sites like Motherly and Psyched Mommy. As a Taiwanese American, she has a particular interest in writing about the AAPI experience of motherhood and mental health. I want to offer the TRIGGER WARNING that we talk about mental illness and suicidal thoughts , and we ourselves get pretty emotional as we speak about this sea...
Jul 03, 2023•1 hr 11 min•Season 1Ep. 7
Today’s conversation with Nicole Wong is really cool because Nicole is Asian American and her parents are Chinese, but their family’s roots actually go back for generations not in China but rather in New Zealand. So while Nicole grew up looking similar to someone like me and while we both had immigrant parents, we experienced marked differences when it came to identity, confidence, and belonging. We talk about what it means to be white-washed, making assumptions based on what someone looks like,...
Jun 26, 2023•55 min•Season 1Ep. 6
Today I’m talking to Mandana Biscotti. Mandana is an Iranian American filmmaker, mother, and a fellow Californian. She is a storyteller through and through, passionate about sharing her culture's truth, history, and beauty. We talk about the patience that is required in the creative process, the women in her family who instilled in her a deep connection to her identity, and raising mixed race children. Mandana's directorial debut — The Voice of Dust and Ash — was on the Oscars Shortlist and was ...
Jun 19, 2023•51 min•Season 1Ep. 5
In this episode, I sit down in New York City with Sweta Doshi. Sweta is the founder of Bubbsi, a coconut oil-based skincare line for babies. In this conversation, Sweta takes us through her childhood in Alabama, visits back to our respective motherlands, and birthing both children and a brand. We talk about food being the carrier of culture, the duality of life inside and outside the home, and what it’s really like to create and run your own business. Please enjoy this refreshingly honest conver...
Jun 12, 2023•1 hr 30 min•Season 1Ep. 4
Today we have an incredibly inspiring and joyful conversation with Betina Gozo. Betina is a mother, Nike Global Trainer, podcast host, and author. A proud Filipina, Betina grew up witnessing what her strong, immigrant mother went through so that Betina could have the privilege of wanting more in life. We talk about her journey of finding her person, the duality of motherhood, and the responsibility she feels to the AAPI community, particularly to her fellow Filipinos. You’ll get an inside peek a...
Jun 05, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 3
In our second episode, I am delighted to bring you Grace Kim James. Grace is the Head of Marketing at Atlantic Records, representing artists such as Missy Elliott, Lizzo, and FKA Twigs. Grace is a fellow Korean American and we get into so many topics pertaining to what it means to be Asian in America. We go there with the uncomfortable but urgent matter of racism against Asians. Ultimately, this episode is an homage to our immigrant parents, whose sacrifices and strength we admittedly took for g...
May 30, 2023•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 2
Welcome to our very first episode of Voices on the Side. I am incredibly excited to share with you my conversation with my first guest, who just happens to be my sister in law. Ayshea McCormack is the founder of The Small Home, a collection of beautifully-crafted interior, lifestyle, and clothing pieces, handmade by artisans from all around the world. She has two daughters—my gorgeous, extremely beloved nieces, and what you see on her impeccably curated Instagram actually depicts her real life, ...
May 22, 2023•52 min•Season 1Ep. 1
