This week’s episode features Faigy Wachsman, a talented singer, songwriter, and voice coach. Faigy shares how growing up in a larger body delayed her journey to going public with her music, how school challenged her, and why she believes every child deserves to shine—especially those who don’t fit the traditional academic mold. Faigy also shares her journey with the struggles of infertility. She shares the pain, frustration, and heartbreak of unexplained infertility, as well as the things not to...
Mar 05, 2025•1 hr 15 min
Kathy Kleiner, a survivor of Ted Bundy, joins me today to share her remarkable journey of resilience and healing. Kathy opens up about her life, starting with her battle as a teenager against the physical and emotional toll of lupus, enduring chemotherapy, and later surviving a harrowing attack by one of history’s most infamous criminals, Ted Bundy. In this episode, Kathy recounts the terrifying night she survived Bundy’s violent attack and the powerful steps she took to rebuild her life in the ...
Feb 26, 2025•29 min
This episode continues my conversation with Malky B. If you haven’t listened to part 1 yet, I recommend starting there before joining us for the rest of her story. In this segment, Malky explains why she chooses not to discuss her dating life publicly and shares her thoughts on the concept of attraction. She also addresses how she responds to curiosity about her preferences and discusses the idea of sexual fluidity. We also touch on her unique perspective on religion and how it intertwines with ...
Feb 19, 2025•1 hr 2 min
Single Mom and Entrepreneur Malky B. joins me in this episode. Malky opens up about her journey of self-discovery, starting with how she felt different as a child and how that sense of being "different" ultimately shaped her mission—a mission that applies to everyone, no matter who you are. We dive into the power of stepping into your authenticity, why doing so is crucial, and how her story resonates far beyond the queer community. Malky explores reframing fear and using it as a stepping stone, ...
Feb 12, 2025•1 hr 4 min
Shana Aaronson, the director of Magen , joins me in this episode. Magen is an organization based in Israel that advocates for and supports victims of sexual abuse. Shana is doing extraordinary, vital work—guiding victims through their incredibly challenging journeys and giving them the advocacy they deserve. During our conversation, Shana opens up about her own journey and explains how she first got involved in the fight against sexual abuse, starting with her early exposure to activism as a chi...
Feb 05, 2025•1 hr 54 min
Amy Devan, Founder of the Naveda jewelry line and the NAVEDA Edit joins me in this episode. During this episode, Amy shares her journey and the challenges that have gotten her to where she is today. In this episode, Amy opens up about her unique journey as a child of immigrant parents and how it shaped her identity and adulthood. We explore the relationship between striving for perfection and the sacrifices modeled by her parents, as well as the challenges of being a fiercely independent woman l...
Nov 27, 2024•42 min
In this episode, Dina Presser—a family lawyer and influencer known for her candid discussions on topics ranging from mental health to sexuality—shares an unfiltered look into her life and career. Starting with a childhood marked by frequent school changes and academic challenges, Dina reflects on how these experiences affected her self-worth. She discusses what she wishes her educators had done to support her, highlighting the powerful role schools play in shaping young people. Despite initially...
Nov 20, 2024•1 hr
Rikki Herbst, LCSW, MSEd joins me in this episode and shares her story regarding her religious journey, sexuality, and more. We have an incredibly thought-provoking conversation about sexuality, identity, and the hidden challenges that many women face in close knit or ultra-orthodox communities. Rikki vulnerably shares her unique journey—from her early struggles to express herself to the complex and transformative experiences that shaped who she is today. In this episode, we explore themes that ...
Nov 13, 2024•52 min
Dr. Lahana Vigliano, Doctor of Nutrition, joins Nechami Tenenbaum on this week's episode. Dr. Lahana focuses on helping women balance their hormones and improve their gut health. Dr. Lahana shares her journey and why she decided to get a doctorate in nutrition and establish a private practice for functional medicine nutrition. She discusses why she focuses on the gut and how it's often the root of many issues. She shares how stress affects the gut, tips, and tricks on managing stress, and how an...
Nov 06, 2024•53 min
Lauren Behringer, celebrity esthetician based in New York, wellness expert, and founder of Behrhaus, joins Nechami Tenenbaum on this episode. Lauren launched Behrhaus with her hero product of best-selling and award-winning magnesium products and all-natural and nontoxic skincare essentials. Lauren shares how her childhood playtime choices foreshadowed her adult career choice, how she discovered the benefits of magnesium, how she found natural ways to balance her hormones, and how topical magnesi...
Oct 30, 2024•52 min
Melissa Shannon Kelly joins Nechami Tenenbaum on this week’s episode. Melissa shared how she got started in her career, how she created her bestselling extension line, and how she manages to be an entrepreneur, hair stylist, and single mom. She talks about how to prioritize time as a business owner, hiring and retaining employees, challenges she faced growing her business, some of the secrets to her success as a business owner, and what you can learn from her as a leader. Melissa also shares her...
Oct 16, 2024•41 min
Annabelle DeGrazio, lawyer turned entrepreneur joins me in this episode. She shares how and why she pivoted from working as a lawyer to starting her own successful business, Taja Collection. Annabelle talks about some tough times she experienced in her personal life while building her business, including having two miscarriages in a row. She talks about taking care of herself and getting back up during challenging times, shares advice for new business owners, and what she would advise women who ...
Oct 09, 2024•40 min
Lauren Larkin, licensed NYC therapist and content creator, joins Nechami in this episode. Lauren shares how her childhood personality and way of connecting to others transferred over to her adult life and career as a therapist. She shares her own struggles with an eating disorder and career pivot and how your career trajectory doesn’t have to be linear, contrary to what we’re taught. Lauren discusses how she determines how much personal information she shares with her clients and her overall bou...
Oct 02, 2024•49 min
This episode features fashion designer and stylist Talya Bendel, whose work has been seen on Netflix, Daily Beast, Warner Brothers, and more. During this episode, Talya shares her journey and how she pivoted from wanting to be in the spotlight as a singer to following a different dream to become a successful fashion designer. Talya delves into the topics of passions and pivoting in life and shares some great advice for working moms who have both career and family goals. She talks about how not e...
Sep 25, 2024•57 min
Michal Oshman joins me in this episode. Michal is a TedX Public Speaker, Bestselling Author of “What Would You Do if You Weren’t Afraid,” has worked as an executive for household name brands like Facebook and TikTok and has trained hundreds of leaders in tech. Michal shares her journey and talks about how fear was one of the most fundamental parts of her life growing up. She shares how she worked on overcoming fear and anxiety and talks about the importance of finding your purpose to make a diff...
Sep 18, 2024•50 min
Devorah Kigel, inspirational speaker, educator, and Jewish dating coach, joins me in this episode. She has successfully coached over 300 women to get clarity in their dating life and marry their husbands. She recently wrote her book, “Marry a Mensch Timeless Jewish Wisdom for Today’s Single Woman.” During this episode, Devorah shares her own dating journey and talks about how she became a dating coach before it was trending. She talks about the balance between feeling unattached and not desperat...
Sep 11, 2024•1 hr 12 min
This episode features Christy Cashman, an author, actress and producer and the founder of YouthINK, a not-for-profit that provides a platform for youth arts in Ireland and the US. Christy shares when her passion for horses began, how she made the decision to claim the "horse real estate" in her family, and what it was like as the youngest girl with nine siblings. Christy shares lessons she learned from not reaching her goals at the beginning of her career that prepared her for life. She also dis...
Sep 04, 2024•49 min
Ayelet Polonsky, Inspirational Speaker, Life Coach, Therapist, and creator of The Think Big Podcast, joins me in this episode. Ayelet shares her journey, how she lived in India for six years, immersed in Hinduism with a spiritual guru, and ended up where she is now, connected to her roots of Judaism. Ayelet talks about the life-changing moment she realized she had to change her life and her first powerful manifestation experience. Ayelet discusses how we’re co-creators with God and breaks down t...
Aug 28, 2024•56 min
Dr. Robyn Koslowitz , Post Traumatic Parenting Psychologist, shares the traumatic event that influenced her field of choice as a Psychologist focusing on Post-Traumatic Parenting. Dr. Robyn breaks down the definition of PTSD and trauma and shares how PTSD affected her and why it took so long for her to realize that she had experienced PTSD. Dr. Robyn shares how you can parent your inner child and come to a place of healing, how your child can have PTSD without it being obvious, and how to make s...
Aug 21, 2024•56 min
This episode features Danielle Jacobs, a talented comedian, actress, singer, and dancer. Danielle shares her honest and raw story of where she comes from, her childhood, and the difficult life experiences that formed who she is today. Very often, we look at people who are more public and assume that we know about their makeup and background because of how they seem- if you look at Danielle, you might assume that she has a perfect life; she's talented, beautiful, and funny. When you hear this epi...
Aug 14, 2024•1 hr 16 min
Chloe Bayliss, a talented Australian actress and dancer, joins me in this episode. Chloe shares her incredible journey, starting as a dancer at age three, and the challenges she faced when she was diagnosed with lupus and chronic kidney disease. Chloe opens up about living with an invisible illness, offering insights into how to support friends or family members who might be struggling with similar conditions. She also discusses the initial difficulties of managing her disease in secret and why ...
Aug 07, 2024•1 hr 9 min
Sury Neuman is a talented artist with a fantastic sense of humor! Sury shares her journey from being agnostic to the incredible story of how she regained her faith. She shares the incredible story of how her husband faced potential time in prison and was saved by divine providence. She talks about how she chose to live a different life from how she grew up as a chassidish girl in Williamsburg. Sury also talks about misconceptions people have about Chassidim due to how they’re often portrayed on ...
Jul 31, 2024•58 min
Dr. Clara Surowitz is a popular OBGYN based in Lakewood, NJ, and Jersey Shore. Dr. Surowitz shares how her childhood personality impacted her future career choice. She shares stories of when she delivered a baby on her couch in her playroom and a premature baby in her patient's car. She also talks about work-life balance, the importance of having help- and how no one can do it all. She talks about how her own birthing experiences contributed to her empathy as a provider, how she delivered babies...
Jul 24, 2024•1 hr 3 min
Jodi Harrison Bauer is a renowned fitness guru, top-semi finalist, and oldest sports-illustrated swim model and entrepreneur. During this episode, Jodi shares her story, how she lost friends after her divorce, how she embraced change, her boss's disrespectful and ageist comments, and how she proved him wrong. She talks about why she competed in Sports Illustrated and how all the major news outlets were reaching out to her, from the NY Post to People magazine and Good Morning America, and how she...
Jul 17, 2024•58 min
This episode features Fay Brezel, who is an Entrepreneur and founder of Okclarity.com, the online mental health and wellness directory platform for the global Jewish community. You may be familiar with Fay from the show Jewish Matchmaking, and I am so excited to have her on this episode. Fay shares how she started as a therapist, why she founded OkClarity, and her goal of making therapy cool. We talk about healthy vulnerability and the ripple effect it has on relationships and safety. Fay shares...
Jul 10, 2024•1 hr 6 min
Mimi Minsky is a talented writer and storyteller I’ve been following on Instagram and gain a lot from her perspectives and thoughts. Mimi shares how the loss of her brother as a young child shaped her development as a teenager and then as an adult. She talks about how she struggled with an eating disorder as a teenager and young adult. She delves into her journey of healing and how this eating disorder experience had a part in shaping her, but it’s not a part of who she is today. We also talk ab...
Jul 03, 2024•1 hr 9 min
Ricki Steiner shares her evolution from being a headstrong kid to who she is today. She talks about being comfortable in her own skin, not caring what other people think of her, and how she developed healthy boundaries contrary to how she was raised. Ricki shares why she initially began posting on Instagram and sharing her life, advice for protecting yourself and your boundaries if you’re going through loss or grief, how to be there for your friend who’s going through loss, why she started shari...
Jun 26, 2024•1 hr 17 min
Daisi Jo Pollard, Model, and Entrepreneur, shares her story and talks about some of the heavy events that shaped her childhood, including being dropped off at social services by her mom at one point. Daisi shares what it’s like for her as a multi-racial woman and how it affected her upbringing with family, as well as continues to affect her socially today. She talks about her experience with colorism, how she chooses to function in the world as a multi-racial woman, how she deals with stereotypi...
Jun 19, 2024•1 hr 20 min
Julia Christine Velotas has been featured on numerous TV shows and magazines, including the hit reality TV show REHAB: Party at the Hard Rock Hotel . Her first book is just The Tip: Memoir of a Las Vegas Bottle Server . During this episode, Julia shares the behind-the-scenes of her bottle serving days to show by example not to judge a book by its cover. Often, we make assumptions about people based on their jobs or careers. There's often so much more beneath the surface and different reasons why...
Jun 05, 2024•57 min
Adina Burstyn is the Founder and Owner of Adina B Salon in Baltimore, Maryland. During this episode. Adina talks about how, as a child, she struggled academically in school and was bullied and advice she would give to parents whose children struggle in school. She talks about the grief process of her divorce and the unexpected things she had to learn as a single mom. She shares how she dealt with the judgment she faced during her divorce and the concept of knowing your truth and not owing anyone...
May 29, 2024•47 min
