Like A Mother

Dr. Susan O'Malley is pretty awesome. With her thick New York accent, this lifelong underachiever, secretary with no more than a high school diploma, set out at age 30 to become a physician. She did it. In this interview, I interview this amazing, charming woman who did not let her age, marital or family status or the zillions of naysayers hold her back from her mid-life dream of medicine.   Dr. Susan O'Malley shares about: How she got over her low-self image to preserver through rejection from every medical school in the country, and eventual acceptance and matriculation at 35 Romantic disappointments Powering through one of the most rigorous academic paths as a single mom of a newborn to become an emergency room physician. Her eventual move to cosmetic medicine and entrepreneurship with the opening of Sonas Med Spa in Connecticut The power of physical beauty Dating as a single mother What she does with her money Her daily schedule while in medical school while raising her tiny son Listen to her gush about

Really excited about this episode! Media mogul, political pundit, single mom and Forbes' 'Most Powerful Woman,' Arianna Huffington joins me on this awesome episode to talk about her New York Times bestselling book, The Sleep Revolution: Transform Your Life, One Night At A Time. After the show, Arianna emailed to say our conversation "felt like talking to an old friend" — and I agree. In this Like a Mother episode, the Huffington Post co-founder and editor-in-chief and I dish about: The indisputable, powerful, cannot-ignore science quantifying why sleep is really key to health, wealth and happiness. How we could all save so much money and energy on beauty treatments if we just chilled out and got regular Zs (Jane Fonda and Jennifer Anniston told Huffington sleep was the key to their ageless looks). Huffington's own rock-bottom of sleeplessness— waking in a pool of her own blood, having passed out in a bout of extreme exhaustion. The expensive professional mistakes Huffington made as a result of lack of sleep.

When Tiara Caldwell gave birth to her twins, she was distraught when hospital staff kept the newborns from her for more than 11 hours. Nurses assumed that she didn't want to nurse. She felt she was discriminated against because she is African American, and she was a young mom. "They assumed that because of my age and race, I wouldn't want to nurse," she said. Caldwell, now 28, had her fight daughter at 19, and twins three years later, used her anger and heartbreak over the negatives in her birth experience to become a doula and lactation consultant. Today, no longer in a relationship with her kids' father, and on top of her staff job at a hospital, she is launching her own doula, birth education and lactation consultation business, Crowned and Cradled (LOVE THAT NAME!). The business aims to serve millennial moms, especially low-income and minority women. Her business plan includes a mentorship program to support other, new doulas and lactation consultants.  This service is sorely needed. More U.S. women are d

A few months ago I was thrilled when the lovely woman I was chatting with at an industry event introduced herself as Loretta McCarthy managing partner, Golden Seeds. I knew about Golden Seeds, which was the first angel-seed network that exclusively supports women-lead companies, founded 12 years ago in 2005.  McCarthy, former executive VP and CMO at Oppenheimer Funds, and VP of Marketing at American Express, knew first-hand how sexist the corporate world was, and saw this play out in startup world.  While half of businesses in the United States were started by women, just 17 percent of startups that get funding are led by a woman, and Bloomberg found that just 7 percent of companies that received $20 million or more in funding between 2009 and 2015 were owned by women. Companies founded by women also get an average of $77 million compared with $100 million for male-led startups. The startup paygap is real.  Golden Seeds is changing that. In its 12 years, the organization has grown to 300 investors who have in

  I do yoga. Believe in therapy (in some cases. Lead a horse to water, you know?). Try to eat organic and have had my sanity saved by acupuncture. I pray, try very hard to make ecological decisions at every opportunity, and respect most practices that help you on your spiritual journey. However, despite knowing and accepting the value of medication, I have never really done it. Except for those last 10 minutes vegging in yoga class, the benefits of quieting one's mind.  Then, I read Rebekah Borucki's new book, You Have 4 Minutes to Change Your Life: Simple 4-Minute Meditations for Inspiration, Transformation, and True Bliss. Tall order, that title. But it works. This book is one part memoire, in which Rebecca, founder of the wholistic lifestyle blog Bexlife.com (with whom I share a book agent, the lovely Wendy Sherman!), digs into her early life, including a childhood wracked with poverty and fundamentalism that discouraged her spirituality for years, bad relationships and a life of general chaos. These stori

On this Like a Mother episode I interview film maker Ginger Gentile, whose latest project is called Erasing Family, a documentary about parental alienation, focused on the now-adult children who grew up without knowing a parent, siblings, or extended family thanks to the wishes of another parent, and likely the motions of a court system. Parental alienation affects millions of families, with one third of children whose parents divorce or separate losing all contact with one parent. But parental alienation goes beyond missing out on a relationship with one parent. Parental alienation means lost relationships with siblings, extended family and friends. The reasons for this human rights travesty are complex, and unfair court systems, unstable, angry parents can be blamed.  But to stem parental alienation requires a drastic paradigm shift in this country, one that stops celebrating mothers as the default better parent, a stopping of upholding stay-at-home mothers as superior to working mothers, and gets away from

The Kickass Single Mom Grant is a $1,000 gift awarded monthly to a single mom doing something incredible — whether large or small, in her career, business, family, community. The goal is to support women doing amazing things, and share their stories to inspire others.  June's Kickass Single Mom grant winner Sheri Hopkins, a 35-year-old mom of three daughters, who saw the potential for the black-owned business community in her hometown of San Diego.  "Even though San Diego is such a diverse city, I felt like there wasn’t a community that my daughters could say looked like them," Hopkins wrote in her grant application. "Speaking to business owners, they stated no one supported them and eventually their business failed or they were struggling to hold on." Last year, she founded the business association, Black San Diego. With a friend, Hopkins started compiling a list of local businesses owned by African Americans, and hosting networking events that attract more than 200 people, and a Facebook community, that tod

Hundreds of non-profits and government agencies have struggled to permanently turn around rates of sexually transmitted diseases — with little lasting success. But a new startup headed by two female Millennials may be the answer. MyLabBox is an at-home diagnosis testing that promises accurate testing for sexually transmitted infections for the anonymous privacy of your own home — and for the same or lower cost than going to a physician's office or laboratory. Co-founders Lora Ivanova and  Ursula Hessenflow have raised more than half a million dollars in seed funding to bring to market what it says is the most comprehensive home STD testing service in the United States — a service that could move the needle on a massive public health issue, as well as tap into a profitable market.  Last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's STD surveillance report announced that the rates of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis — the three most commonly reported STDs in the nation — jumped between 2014 and 2015,

Ladies!! I am two months in to the Kickass Single Mom project (I grant $1,000 monthly to a mom who is doing incredible things — whether in business, community service, her family, politics, the arts ... essentially a mom who is awesome and inspires me). I am honored to have received more than 1,600 applicants, heard so many amazing stories from 1,600+ gorgeous moms, I have to tell you — I'M OVERWHELMED! Talk about Sophie's Choice ... This month's winner jumped out with her candor, remarkable story, and positive attitude. She wrote: My name is Shawnta Creech and I'm a kick*ss mommy! In 2009, I was a homeless mother of two, living in the one of the worst shelters in Washington, D.C. That year, after being homeless and not receiving proper treatment for severe asthma, I went into complete respiratory failure and underwent emergency tracheostomy surgery. Doctors told me I would be in the hospital for six months before they even began to consider taking me off life support... but this momma is a fighter. I had to

First of all, how random that my colleague Erin Lowrey, leading expert on Millennials and their money and author of the new-this-week Broke Millennial: Stop Scraping By and Get Your Financial Life Together, and fellow money blogger, lives across the street from me in Astoria, Queens?! When we're not hanging out, I sometimes bump into her on the street as she's walking her dog, or going to dinner with her nice boyfriend. Also, totally random, this year both of us have books out with the same Penguin Random House imprint, TarcherPerigee. Also, less random (see what I did there??), we both supported Hillary, and are resistance activists, and co-hosted a post-card writing party in the hood. In this episode, Erin and I talk about what she knows best — How Millennials can thrive financially. This includes: Get out of debt Have an awesome career and financial future Navigate tricky social pickles, like talking about money with your boyfriend or girlfriend, splitting the bill (or not!) with your friends Unless yo

Many companies recognize the challenges of working full-time and raising a family and offer perks to make it a little easier. For instance, BBVA Compass recently announced a partnership with Milk Stork, a service that enables employees who are moms and are traveling on the job to ship breast milk home overnight for a nominal fee. Kate Torgersen, mom and founder of Milk Stork, shares on this episode why companies are inspired to support working parents with these benefits.

A few years ago headlines went bananas when Pew research found that four in 10 families with children lived in households with women who were the sole or primary earner. In 1960 that figure was just 11 percent. About a third of breadwinner moms today are married and the other two-thirds are single moms. Moms who are breadwinners say there are time management and personal relationship challenges that come with the shift in roles. It all comes down to planning and communication, they say. In this Moms Mean Business episode, I interview two women, both of them leaders within their fields, married mothers of two, and Birmingham, Ala., residents who share their personal stories of how they manage the time and headspace pressures of home life, careers and marriage.

  Women make up half the overall workforce, but they account for only a quarter of the positions in information technology, or IT, according to global consulting giant Deloitte.   In this episode, I interview Scarlett Sieber, Senior Vice President of New Digital Businesses at BBVA and former Chief Operating Officer & Co-Founder of tech startup Infomous, who frequently speaks on topics of innovation, women and technology. Also, we hear from single mom Nicole Smith, founder and CEO of Flytographer, a travel photography platform included in that 10 percent of female-founded tech startups, and three years later is reports multiple 7-figures in revenue. We talk about:

So it’s fitting that Samantha Ettus’ latest book, The Pie Life: A Guilt Free Recipe for Success and Satisfaction, is described as “the ultimate self improvement play book for women.” On this Working Moms Mean Business episode, Ettus offers up some practical suggestions for thriving in all the areas of your life— kids, romance, career, community, friends, and hobbies — in order to be a full, dynamic person. The essence of her message is that by honoring and nurturing each of these areas of life, you can be invigorated, healthy, and happy, and create positive energy.  

Starting and building a company is not for the faint of heart. But the abundance of success stories out there support the notion that mothers are often incredible mothers of invention. “Moms are great at starting businesses, because all day long we are discovering unmet needs in the market that can be fulfilled with new products,” says Nicole Feliciano, founder of the seven-figure lifestyle platform, Momtrends, and author of the recently published Mom Boss: Balancing Entrepreneurship, Kids and Success. Feliciano is interviewed in this episode. If you want to launch and build a business, listen this advice from Feliciano and mom of six Ayo Ogun-McCants who owns Afro-vegan haircare line Soultanicals.

It’s little wonder Rachel Cruze is a financial educator. Her dad is Dave Ramsey, a best-selling personal finance expert and host of a wildly popular radio show, whose financial recovery story is well-known. Ramsey says in his mid-20s his net worth of more than $1 million, but he also had millions in debt. That debt caused him to lose everything and he filed for bankruptcy. Ramsey and his family recovered through a commitment to living a frugal, no-debt life. His experiences helped him develop his formula for smart money management, which has been shared in classes and coaching sessions across the nation. Cruze, a married mom of one, is now successful in her own right as a financial wellness speaker and New York Times best-selling author. Her most recent book is Love Your Life, Not Theirs by Rachel Cruze: 7 Money Habits for Living the Life You Want.

Surveys consistently find that the majority of mothers want to work (part-time is ideal, they tell researchers), but affordable, quality child care is often cited as the No. 1 reason they stay out of the workforce. On this podcast episode, guest Jennifer Owen, editorial director of Working Mother Media, and director of the Working Mother Research Institute, discusses creative and practical ways to navigate child care. Here are some of her tips: Brainstorm with friends and other parents in your community about creative, cooperative solutions to childcare challenges, including taking turns watching each other’s children during school days off and nanny shares. Research after-school and summer options at area park services, YMCA, community centers, and houses of worship. Never lose sight of the big picture. If you or your spouse decides to stay home, make sure you maintain your skills, network and earning potential.  

A 2014 Pew Research Center study found that 60 percent of Americans believe children are better off when a parent is at home, and only 21 percent of adults say the trend of more mothers of young children working outside the home has been good for society. Therein lies the paradox of our time: While a majority of Americans believe that children fare better when their mothers stay home full-time, the majority of American moms work. But take heart, working moms: Science is on our side. Studies show mothers, children, and marriages benefit when moms work and earn. Harvard's Kathleen McGinn's research found that women whose mothers worked outside the home are more likely to have jobs themselves, are more likely to hold supervisory responsibility at those jobs, and earn higher wages than women whose mothers stayed home full time, according to a new study. Men raised by working mothers are more likely to contribute to household chores and spend more time caring for family members. The findings are stark, and they ho

Over the past 15 years, labor market participation for U.S. women in their prime working years has been on a steady decline, reversing the growth trend of the previous 20 years. In this Working Moms Mean Business episode, BBVA Compass economist Amanda Augustine, co-author of a recent study analyzing the shift, explains her findings, why this trend matters, and what can be done to reverse it

Successful people often give credit to their mentors for their triumphs. But where do you get one of these magical career guides? And once you find one, how do you make the most of the relationship? On this episode, Patrice D’Eramo, vice president of the Americas Field Marketing Organization for Cisco Systems, talks about the importance of mentoring for women in their lives and careers. D’Eramo is a member of the leadership council of Million Women Mentors (MWM), a nonprofit initiative aimed at increasing the number of high school girls pursuing undergraduate STEM degrees, and improving workplace retention of women through mentoring programs. “We’re not born with a book on how we are going to be successful in life. A lot of it is by learning, by observing, by reading,” says D’Eramo. “Mentors have been critical in my success. I’ve looked at mentors in a couple different areas — whether it’s been the types of jobs they have had, the types of leaders they are, and working moms — those have been the general categ