Pretty Powerful Podcast with Angela Gennari

Episode 80: Patti Handy

Having a great financial strategy is so important to creating stability, yet many of us lack confidence or expertise to manage our money and make investments. So what do we do? Money should not be a taboo topic, yet we struggle to talk to our friends about it and are afraid to admit what we don't know. After spending a combined 20 years as a Financial Advisor and Mortgage Advisor, and having countless conversations with women, Patti Handy decided to pursue her dream of Financial Coaching for Women. A teacher at heart, she loves to educate and empower women with money smarts! Patti is a Certified Executive Coach, Certified Life Coach, holds a Real Estate Brokers license and is a published author of four books. Join us for a great talk about the importance of money management. 

Episode 79: Ashley Kalinauskas

For many of us, our pets are family, and few things are as crushing as learning that a family member has been diagnosed with cancer, knowing the battle they have ahead of them. Thankfully we have people like Ashley Kalinauskas, who launched a cancer-battling biotech start‑up that resulted from her graduate thesis project at the University of Notre Dame.
Ashley Kalinauskas is the founder and CEO of Torigen, a biotechnology company helping our furry best friends live longer, healthier lives. Their initial product, VetiVax, is a personalized cancer vaccine that was originally developed to move forward for human clinical studies, but was repositioned to help the millions of dogs, cats and horses after a cancer diagnosis. Ashley has grown the company from an idea on the scientific benchtop, to a company of over 30 employees poised to help grow the animal health industry. Not only is Ashley a brilliant researcher, she is also a keen businesswoman who has successfully raised $16 million in investment funds so that they can continue to develop innovative immunotherapies. 
Ashley has been recognized with numerous awards, such as Forbes 30 Under 30 2020, Animal Health Innovation USA Award 2021, Notre Dame Domer Dozen 2021,  and Hartford Business Journal's 2023 Power 50. 
The first Pretty Powerful Podcast of 2024 kicks off in a big way with this inspiring and engaging conversation!

Episode 78: Scherrie Prince

Building a successful business is naturally the primary focus of every entrepreneur... but how do you then protect what you have worked so hard to build? Scherrie L. Prince is an attorney and asset protection coach who teaches entrepreneurs how to merge their business plan with their estate plan to create a moat around their assets. For over a decade she has taught, led, and counseled entrepreneurs at every phase of their business. Join us for an insightful discussion about asset protection, estate planning, and business planning.

Episoode 77: Annie Delre

Words matter... and the things you tell yourself can determine your future. In the same way, the things that have been told to you by others have probably made the biggest impact on how you see yourself... and if those things were negative, you may have had a difficult time achieving success, or feeling like you deserve it, or you may struggle with low self esteem. I had a fascinating conversation with Annie Delre about Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP) and how to reduce stress in our lives. 
Annie Delre is a nationally board certified Health and Wellness Coach who has worked with hundreds of clients to help them achieve a life of confidence, wellness, and success.
Along with multiple certifications, she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a Master’s degree in Integrative Wellness Coaching. Her master's capstone project was titled "Health Coaching as an Effective Tool for Managing Stress & Anxiety". Annie is certified in multiple modalities: Integrative Wellness Coaching, Life & Success Coaching, Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP), Clinical Hypnotherapy and Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT).
Annie and I had a deep dive discussion about stress, overwhelm, NLP, goal-setting and so much more! 

Episode 76: Shani Bocian

Sometimes we reach a point in life where we are so passionate about something that it causes a complete pivot to a more mission-driven career. Shani Bocian, the Founder and CEO of Allermi, was a teacher prior to pivoting to the medical industry. 
Allermi is the first one-bottle allergy medication tailored to your symptoms. Patients fill out a symptom survey on their website that is reviewed by a physician at Allermi. Then, their customized nasal spray is sent to their door once or on a subscription basis.
Why does this matter? Because 70% of traditional treatment users in the US report dissatisfaction, there’s a record number of allergy sufferers, and we have a shortage of allergists. Shani is passionate about bringing clinically backed treatment that is more affordable, more effective, and easily accessible to allergy sufferers. Join us as we discuss her journey through the healthcare industry, the obstacles Shani faced along the way and her passion for improving the lives of allergy sufferers. 

Episode 75: Laura Bowers

We all wish we could be more efficient with various projects, but Laura Bowers has actually created a formula for it. Laura Bowers is the CEO of The PMO Boss. After 20 years of leading projects and teams she has witnessed some of the best and worst practices out there. She then took that knowledge and developed a streamlined approach for implementing and managing a project management office (PMO), using the B.O.S.S. Method, and bet on herself as an entrepreneur. 
As she states, "entrepreneurs are great visionaries, but not so great at sticking to a plan", and truer words have never been spoken! Join us for an insightful conversation about how to make life and work a little more manageable. 

Episode 74: Natalie Guzman

There's no doubt that automation of tasks has saved a ton of time and effort... some of us remember the days when we would need to write and mail checks to pay bills and then balance our checkbook manually... yeah, those days are thankfully behind us! But Natalie Guzman has figured out how to automate almost everything as a family manager, virtual assistant, entrepreneur and busy mom.
Natalie's story is truly inspiring. She is a former foster kid turned CEO and has a passion for helping entrepreneurs create their dream businesses online.
Natalie Guzman became a virtual assistant in 2015 after her job told her she had two days to give birth, and then she would have to return to work. She immediately started her virtual assistant business to make money from home, on her terms. When she decided to turn her side hustle into an agency, it hit 6 figures in 3 months. 
Now Natalie owns Nadora, an all-in-one system for entrepreneurs to build the back end of their business with the support of a virtual assistant team while raising her family in southwest Florida. Not only is she using her talent for finding efficiencies to make money, she is effectively saving her clients money as well. 
 

Episode 73: Carrie Pierce

Carrie Pierce is a true Renaissance woman, who continues to find new outlets for her creative talents. Carrie has over twenty years of experience in Publishing, Radio & TV as a renowned make-up artist and actress. She is also a published author and ghostwriter. She began crafting quality stories from the heart that contain important life lessons in her children's book, Abby Apple Tree, and was named a finalist for an Eric Hoffer Award. Her publishing house, Morgan Pierce Media & Publishing, is a publishing house where authors don't have to worry about their manuscripts being censored or changed to fit the current mainstream narrative. And her subscription letter service delivers thoughtfully penned letters twice a month to women who suddenly find themselves alone after a major life change later in life. Join us on this episode of the Pretty Powerful Podcast as Carrie shares insight from all facets of her journey.

Episode 72: JJ DiGeronimo

Most of us have struggled with the question.... "Is this what I am supposed to be doing with my life??" at some point. On this episode of the Pretty Powerful Podcast, JJ DiGeronimo helps people to navigate this question by bringing mindfulness into the conversation. A woman in tech turned award-winning author, JJ DiGeronimo, shares energy practices and empowering strategies that listeners can use to create more impact! With new levels of awareness, JJ shares a more spiritual side of her life that undeniably strengthens her mission to empower women at work and in life. Conditioned to look outward, JJ juggles a variety of external validations, such as titles, salaries, and relationships intermingled with self-doubt, negative self-talk, and demanding schedules. These same pressures lead many women to ask, “am I enough?”, “What am I doing?” or “Is this it?” With over 20 years in the tech industry, she is no stranger to navigating the twists and turns of moving from entry-level positions to leadership, and now she is focusing on unleashing leadership and insights from within!

Episode 71: Irena Azaraev

I hear from people so often that they have always wanted to take the leap into being an entrepreneur, but they are afraid to leave their comfortable corporate position. Irena Azaraev decided to get uncomfortable, leave her great job with a large retail chain, and pursue her dream of bringing people safe and practical solutions to treat aesthetic and medical conditions.... in the middle of the pandemic! Irena launched BYou Laser Clinic against the odds and the advice of everyone around her, and her risk paid off tremendously. BYou Laser Clinics now has several locations in New York, and has started franchising into additional markets. Listen to Irena as she discusses her journey, and passion for helping everyone feel confident in their skin.