PODCAST · news
Formidable Podcast
by Emily Parkhurst
The Formidable Podcast features informational interviews with women leaders on news-driven topics, spotlighting timely and thought-provoking issues facing our world. Learn more at https://beformidable.com/
Episodes
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34 - Maternal Health Breakthroughs with Rashmi Raghavendra
Rashmi Raghavendra is the CEO of Dionysus Health, a precision diagnostics company that is making a test that predicts the likelihood of a woman developing postpartum depression. In this episode, Rashmi discusses how postpartum depression and psychosis have dominated the headlines recently in…
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33 - Working in the Defense Industry with Katherine Roberts and Kimberly Hicks
Brigadier General Katherine Roberts is a retired Air Force leader whose career spanned space operations, national security, and the acquisition of some of the country’s most complex aerospace systems. Kimberly Hicks is the Executive Division Director for Mobility, Surveillance and Bombers in...
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32 - How Leaders Create a Lasting Impact with Allison Dunn
Allison Dunn is the CEO of Deliberate Directions, and one of the country's most sought-after executive business coaches. Over the past 30 years, Allison has coached more than 1,000 business leaders, helping them shift from reactive management to intentional, strategic leadership. She is also the...
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31 - Redesigning End-Of-Life Care with Laura Cassidy
Laura Cassidy is the Interim Services Manager at Recompose — the Seattle-based funeral home pioneering human composting as an alternative to traditional burial and cremation. After two decades working in journalism and content direction, Laura shifted careers during the pandemic to work in grief...
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30 - Dr. Nwando Anyaoku, Physician Executive - Be Bold Now Live Event
Dr. Nwando Anyaoku, pediatrician, executive, and health equity leader, shares her experience and perspective on how representation in medicine matters and how she decided to stop letting fate shape her future and instead became the CEO of Me. This episode is part of a special series in…
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29 - Rowaida Janbaz in conversation with Kristen Smith-Dayley - Be Bold Now Live Event
Kristen Smith-Dayley, attorney and nonprofit leader, talks with Rowaida Janbaz, youth specialist and emerging changemaker. Her story of resilience and determination in the face of enormous adversity is truly inspiring and her positivity in the face of such challenges is a reminder that everyone...
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28 - Rebekah Bastian, CMO at mpathic - Be Bold Now Live Event
Rebekah Bastian is the CMO at mpathic, and an entrepreneur, artist, and writer. Her work sits at the intersection of technology, creativity, and impact. She has a message for us: More women need to be involved in the development and creation of artificial intelligence if we want to see better...
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27 - Lei Wang, Leadership Strategist - Be Bold Now Live Event
Lei Wang, leadership strategist and the first Asian woman to complete the Explorer’s Grand Slam, shares what it really takes to pursue something that feels impossible, before you feel ready. This episode is part of a special series in partnership with Be Bold Now, an annual event focused on women...
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26 - Jen Barnes of Rough & Tumble - Be Bold Now Live Event
Jen Barnes, Founder and CEO of Rough & Tumble, is a driving force behind the growing momentum in women’s sports. She owns two sports bars in Seattle that show women’s sports on all their screens. In her speech, Jen shares the story of why she decided to start Rough & Tumble, and why such a simple...
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25 - Why Music Matters with Shelley Tomberg
Shelley Tomberg is the Director of Development at Music Aid Northwest, a nonprofit dedicated to ensuring every student in Washington state has access to quality music education. Since its founding, the organization has raised over $1.78 million to provide hundreds of schools with instruments,...
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24 - Effective Negotiating and Investing Advice with Coni Rathbone
Coni Rathbone, Of Counsel Attorney at VF Law, is a nationally recognized negotiator and deal-maker specializing in real estate transactions, opportunity zones, securities structuring, and complex business negotiations. In this episode, Coni explains the evolving world of opportunity zone…
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23 - From Tragedy to Entrepreneurship with Chanel Reynolds
Chanel Reynolds founded Get Your Shit Together, a company she launched in 2013 to help people navigate the unglamorous but essential realities of life planning: wills, advance care directives, insurance, money, and all the details we tend to avoid until life forces the issue. Chanel’s work has...
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22 - Creating Real Value with AI Tools with Jackie Schafer
Jackie Schafer is the Founder and CEO of Clearbrief, the leading litigation drafting platform built directly inside Microsoft Word. Jackie was named 2025 Innovator of the Year at the Legalweek Awards, and the American Bar Association honored her as a 2025 Legal Rebel for developing AI tools that...
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21 - Shaping Communities and Leadership with Mary Fialko
Mary Fialko is the Director of Real Estate Development at Skanska. A “recovering architect”, Mary's curiosity about how buildings shape communities ultimately pulled her from design studios into the world of commercial development. Mary shares her perspective on the shifting realities of…
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20 - Reinvention and Finding Purpose with Shana Ayabe and Kisha Imani Cameron
Shana Ayabe and Kisha Imani Cameron co-host The Exit Interview | On Air, a podcast about bold career moves and reinvention. They share how they're creating the kinds of conversations they wished had existed when they were navigating their own career turning points: raw, honest stories from people...
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19 - Diverse Leadership in the AI Revolution with Liat Ben-Zur
Liat Ben-Zur has served in pivotal roles at some of the world's most influential companies, including Microsoft, Qualcomm, and Philips. She now advises companies and boards on AI product ethics, strategy, and growth. Tune in to hear Liat discuss the importance of having diverse leaders at the…
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18 - Justice and Visibility for Afghan Women with Friba Rezayee
Friba Rezayee is the Founder and Executive Director of Women Leaders of Tomorrow, a Vancouver-based, non-profit organization dedicated to empowering Afghan women and girls. Born and raised in Kabul, Friba made history in 2004 when she became the first Afghan woman to compete in the Olympic Games....
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17 - Leading with Curiosity with Leigh Morgan
Leigh Morgan is the Founder of Imaginal Leadership Strategies and a former global executive with experience spanning biopharma, philanthropy, higher education, and community activism. Leigh details how she’s learned to navigate complexity and lead change across vastly different sectors — and why...
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16 - Unlocking Student Potential with Lynne Varner
Lynne Varner is the CEO of Washington STEM, a nonprofit working to ensure that every student in Washington — regardless of race, gender, income, or geography — has access to a meaningful STEM education and a clear path to economic mobility. Lynne shares the barriers students face when exploring...
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15 - Empowering Refugee and Immigrant Women with Ming-Ming Tung-Edelman
Ming-Ming Tung-Edelman is the Founder and Executive Director of the Refugee Artisan Initiative (RAI), a Seattle nonprofit that empowers refugee and immigrant women through skill-building, sustainable manufacturing, and micro-business development. Ming-Ming shares how her family's immigration…
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14 - Reimagining Postpartum Care with Stephiney Foley
Stephiney Foley is the Founder and CEO of Yuzi Care, the first personalized, AI-powered marketplace for postpartum care. Stephiney shares how her own delayed diagnosis of postpartum depression sparked her journey from careers in big tech and the military into maternal health innovation. The...
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13 - Amplifying Women's Voices with Shari Graydon
Shari Graydon is an award-winning author, speaker, and advocate with 30 years of experience. She serves as Catalyst for Informed Opinions, a Canadian organization working to amplify women’s voices in media, politics, and public discourse. Shari unpacks the systemic barriers that continue to...
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12 - Empowering Women Entrepreneurs with Kate Isler
Kate Isler is the Co-founder and CEO of WMarketplace, an economic development company with a mission to equip women entrepreneurs with the tools, knowledge, and resources they need to thrive in the digital economy. Kate shares how the idea for WMarketplace grew out of the shift to online shopping...
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11 - Adding a Human Touch to Healthcare Technology with Gena Cook
Gena Cook is the founder and CEO of Kaliper Health, whose mission is to improve population health through integrated screening, multidisciplinary technology, and a guided patient experience. The company's initial focus is early detection of lung cancer, one of the deadliest forms of cancer. Gena...
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10 - Crisis Communications and Leadership with Ashley Huston
Ashley Huston is a strategic communications executive who has navigated industry and organizational change for leading global brands. In this episode, Ashley gives us an in-depth look at one of the most high-stakes moments of her career: serving as the crisis communications lead for the Wall…
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9 - Impact Investing with Justina Lai
Justina Lai is the head of impact investing strategy for Laird Norton Wetherby, a Seattle-based personal wealth advisory firm. In this episode, Justina discusses her personal journey into impact investing, the challenges faced by the industry, and how investors from all financial situations can...
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8 - Immigration, Entrepreneurship and the Economy with Tahmina Watson
In this episode, we sit down with Tahmina Watson, an immigration attorney based in Seattle who has become a fierce advocate for immigrant entrepreneurs who want to stay in the U.S. to start and run their businesses. Watson explains the state of immigration in the country, how the issue will…
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7 - The Potential and Limits of AI in Health Care with Yin Ho
Biotechnology and health care executive Yin Ho has a unique background: She got an MD from Yale and was an emergency physician, but then decided to switch gears and went and got an MBA from Harvard. While that combination created challenges for her career, it actually set her up well for this...
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6 - Lessons from a Pilot on Pushing Through the Discomfort with Julie Ann Thiele
Alaska Airlines Base Chief Pilot Julie Ann Thiele had to overcome some significant challenges on her way to the cockpit — including a serious case of motion sickness. She also faced sexism in the industry. Now, Thiele is a leader among pilots and is working to encourage more women and people of...
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5 - Why an Astronaut Taught Her Team to Frost a Cake with Cady Coleman
Former NASA astronaut and retired Air Force Colonel Cady Coleman has been to space three times and spent nearly six months on the International Space Station, an experience most people will never have. But Cady is more grounded than you'd think. In this episode she shares insights into leadership...
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4 - Networking and Why Women Need to Schmooze with Shelly Lombard
Shelly Lombard had a highly successful career in a very challenging industry, working in distressed debt for the big banks. But when she wanted to transition away from that, she found out her network wasn't as strong as she'd hoped. So she started Schmooze, offering master classes and events for...
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3 - Creating Truly Inclusive DEI Policies with Emily Cantrell
In this episode, we hear from Provail Interim CEO Emily Cantrell, who shares her perspective on the best ways to support people with disabilities and create a DEI policy that is truly inclusive. She also shares her experience with racism and her own racial identity, and her story of recovery…
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2 - Speaking with Confidence in the Boardroom with Connie Collingsworth
Connie Collingsworth spent 22 years at the Gates Foundation as the chief legal officer and chief operations officer. She also serves on a variety of corporate and nonprofit boards. In this episode she shares what it was like to work with larger than life personalities, including Bill Gates…
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1 - Climate Change and a Crisis in Chocolate with Jean Thompson
In this first episode of the Formidable Podcast, we sit down with Seattle Chocolate CEO Jean Thompson to discuss the crisis facing chocolate makers as cocoa bean prices soar and climate change decimates prime cocoa-growing regions.
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
The Formidable Podcast features informational interviews with women leaders on news-driven topics, spotlighting timely and thought-provoking issues facing our world. Learn more at https://beformidable.com/
HOSTED BY
Emily Parkhurst
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Formidable Podcast have?
Formidable Podcast currently has 34 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Formidable Podcast about?
The Formidable Podcast features informational interviews with women leaders on news-driven topics, spotlighting timely and thought-provoking issues facing our world. Learn more at https://beformidable.com/
How often does Formidable Podcast release new episodes?
Formidable Podcast has 34 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Formidable Podcast?
You can listen to Formidable Podcast on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Formidable Podcast?
Formidable Podcast is created and hosted by Emily Parkhurst.
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