In this powerful episode of The EMBER Project Podcast, I sit down with Jessica Brooks Woods for a conversation that goes far beyond statistics and into the systems that shape maternal health outcomes in this country. We talk honestly about maternal health equity, bias in healthcare, and why young mothers, especially Black and Brown mothers, continue to face disproportionate risk despite decades of awareness.

Jessica shares the deeply personal story that led her into this work, including her mother’s traumatic birth experience and how being unseen and unheard in the medical system leaves lasting scars. Her story is a sobering reminder that maternal health crises are not rare, and they are not accidents. They are the result of systems that fail to listen.

Throughout our conversation, we unpack why maternal and infant mortality rates remain unacceptably high, why bias is often the deciding factor in outcomes, and how stigma and dismissal affect young and teen mothers in particularly damaging ways. Jessica explains why these disparities are not biological, but engineered, and why listening, dignity, and accountability matter more than any new technology.

We also explore the critical role employers play in maternal health, from benefits design to access to care, and why leaving these conversations solely to hospitals and policymakers will never be enough. Jessica challenges us to think differently about responsibility, leadership, and what real advocacy looks like when lives are at stake.

For young and teen moms listening, this episode carries a clear message, you matter, your voice matters, and your experience does not disqualify you, it equips you. For healthcare leaders, employers, and policymakers, this conversation is a call to stop asking women to survive broken systems and start building systems worthy of mothers.

This episode of The EMBER Project Podcast is both a year in review and a look ahead to what it truly takes to build something meaningful.

I reflect on a year of extraordinary growth for EMBER, from a packed first fundraiser and community-wide support to real, tangible impact for young mothers. I also share the personal cost behind the scenes, losing the job that represented her security and identity, selling the home she worked two jobs to afford, and navigating depression while continuing to lead.

This conversation challenges the idea that leaders must always be strong, reminding us that winners get tired, heroes stumble, and course correction is not failure, it is growth. I celebrate what was accomplished, including mobilizing volunteers, providing educational resources that helped a young mom graduate on time, and cast a bold vision for 2026 with plans for childcare support and the future IGNITE Campus.

This is an honest conversation about leadership without perfection, resilience without pretending, and how community turns sparks into steady flames.

In this episode of The EMBER Project Podcast, I’m joined once again by my friend Ra’Cole Taltoan, CEO of Rockbrook Business Services, LLC, accountant, nonprofit strategist, and community advocate, for an honest conversation about holiday debt, tax refunds, and financial recovery.

The holidays may be over, but for many families the stress lingers. January has a way of bringing everything into focus, credit card balances, tight bank accounts, and the quiet fear that shows up when you start wondering how you’re going to recover from it all.

Ra’Cole and I talk openly about why so many families slide into holiday debt, not because they are irresponsible, but because of love mixed with limited options. We discuss guilt, comparison, emotional spending, and the pressure mothers feel to create meaningful memories for their children even when money is already stretched thin.

This conversation is grounded in lived experience. We share stories from our own lives about relying on tax refunds to catch up on bills, paying utilities ahead when possible, and learning financial survival strategies out of necessity. Ra’Cole introduces the idea of quiet fear, that constant background worry so many parents carry, especially after Christmas.

We also talk through practical questions that come up every year, where to start when money is already tight, how to recover from holiday debt without making things worse, how to think about tax refunds, and how to balance paying down debt with building a small safety net. Throughout the episode, we return to the importance of letting go of guilt, understanding what kids really remember, and making small, sustainable choices that support both financial and emotional well being.

If you’re listening and feeling overwhelmed, behind, or ashamed about your finances, I want you to hear this clearly. You are not bad with money. You are not failing your children. You are doing the best you can in a system that was not built to support mothers, especially young mothers.

Recovery does not require perfection. It requires honesty, support, and one small step at a time.

About My Guest

Ra’Cole Taltoan is the CEO of Rockbrook Business Services, LLC. She is an accountant, nonprofit strategist, and community advocate whose work focuses on financial healing, stability, and systems for women and young mothers.

Learn more about Ra’Cole and her work at

https://www.rockbrookbusinessservices.com

About The EMBER Project

The EMBER Project is a nonprofit dedicated to supporting early mothers through mentorship, education, career development, and financial empowerment. We believe early motherhood should never define the limits of a woman’s future, and that when mothers rise, families rise. Learn more about our work at www.TheEMBERProject.org

The holidays are supposed to be joyful… but for so many early mothers, they are heavy, overwhelming, and emotionally draining. In this powerful two-part conversation, Susan explores the truth behind holiday burnout with both a mental health expert and a young mother living it in real time.

First, clinical mental health counselor Nicki breaks down what really happens to our bodies and minds during the holiday season — the guilt, the comparison, the emotional load, the pressure to “look like a good mom,” and how stress slowly becomes burnout. She explains emotional, physical, and mental burnout in clear, accessible language, and gives simple tools for grounding, rest, and resetting when the season feels too heavy.

Then, a mother of five and a brand-new grandmother, shares her vulnerable story of reaching out for help this Christmas because finances were tight and expectations felt overwhelming. She opens up about embarrassment, guilt, the mental toll of financial strain, breaking traditions, and what it felt like when people stepped up to support her family. Her honesty reminds all of us that asking for help is an act of strength, not shame.

Together, these conversations shine light on both sides of holiday burnout — the psychology behind it, and the lived experience of mothers who are doing the best they can with what they have.

If you’ve ever felt like the holidays demanded more than you could give, this episode will remind you:You are not alone.You are not failing.
And support exists for you.

In this powerful solo episode, I open up about my very first Christmas as a young single mom. I talk honestly about what it looked like to try to create a magical holiday with almost no money, a handful of used toys, super cheap decorations, and Christmas cookies paid for with food stamps. I share the pride I felt saving $180 in a Christmas Club account, the deep shame that came when some of the gifts weren’t age appropriate, and how heavy the pressure felt to make everything look perfect for my daughter, even when I was falling apart inside.

I also explore how holiday burnout hits early mothers differently. We already walk into the season feeling like we’ve disappointed people, like we have something to prove, like we have to make up for becoming moms “too soon.” I talk about how the myth of the perfect holiday — the matching pajamas, the perfect tree, the Instagram-ready moments — wasn’t even around back then, and thank goodness, because the weight of comparison would have crushed me even more.

This episode sets the stage for Part Two, where listeners will hear more from Nicki and from a mom who recently reached out online asking for Christmas help. Her honesty adds an important layer to this conversation about shame, survival mode, and the reality of trying to hold your family together during the holidays.

If this episode touches you, please check out our work at www.theEMBERproject.org.

In this episode of The EMBER Project Podcast, I sit down with my guest Mary, who became a mother just days before her fifteenth birthday. For the first time publicly, Mary shares how she navigated early motherhood, judgment, and a medically fragile newborn while fighting to build a life that no one believed she could achieve.

Mary describes adding years to her age to avoid the reactions of strangers, leaving high school to take her GED, and working long hours to support herself and her daughter. She explains how she found independence before turning eighteen, managed her finances with determination, and avoided public assistance because she feared reinforcing the stereotypes placed on young mothers.

Listeners will hear how Mary used temporary jobs to build experience, found stability in bookkeeping, and later attended college with her daughter by her side. She talks about the decade she spent working full time, parenting, and taking classes, and how stubbornness and common sense fueled her through exhaustion and setbacks. Mary also shares how her master’s degree helped save her job during the recession and reflects on the pride her family felt as she built a career that defied every prediction made about her future.

Her story is one of grit, growth, and quiet strength. It reminds us that early motherhood does not define a woman’s potential. Mary’s journey is a powerful example of what happens when determination meets opportunity and how support, confidence, and critical thinking can change the entire trajectory of a life.

At The EMBER Project, we believe in the potential of early mothers and their right to rise. Thank you for listening and for supporting this mission.

Please visit us at www.theemberproject.org to learn more.

In this powerful episode of The EMBER Project Podcast, I sits down with Lakeyta Johnson, a woman who turned years of bullying, isolation, and emotional abuse into a mission of self-love, faith, and healing.

Lakeyta shares her journey from being a teenager bullied for her body and skin tone to finding validation in an older man’s attention, a relationship that led to pregnancy, heartbreak, and years of emotional pain. Through deep self-reflection, faith, and the determination to break generational cycles, she transformed her life and founded Shattered but Not Broken, a nonprofit teaching young women self-worth, confidence, and spiritual healing.

Together, we talk about the long-term impact of bullying and body shaming, the way childhood neglect and emotional hunger shape early relationships, and the courage it takes to leave emotional abuse and choose self-worth. They also explore grieving loss, rediscovering identity, and learning to love yourself again, and how faith and surrender became the turning point in her transformation.

Lakeyta opens up about her 130 pound natural weight loss journey through intentional living and intuitive eating, and the creation of Shattered but Not Broken, an organization devoted to helping girls understand that they are enough, just as they are.

This episode will touch your heart, challenge your perspective, and remind you that healing is possible, even from the deepest wounds.

Follow Shattered but Not Broken:Facebook
TikTokInstagram

or contact Lakeyta by email at Sbnbnonprofit@gmail.com

Support The EMBER Project:
www.theemberproject.org

In this powerful and deeply personal episode, I sits down at my kitchen bar on a rainy day with my friend Shannon, a woman whose story is equal parts heartbreak and healing. Shannon grew up in a home marked by alcoholism, violence, and fear, carrying burdens no child should bear. At just eighteen, she became a mother longing for love and stability. What followed was a journey through grief, trauma, resilience, and rediscovery.

Together, Susan and Shannon explore the generational scars left by abuse, the impact of losing her father to suicide, and the desperate hope that motherhood could finally bring unconditional love. Shannon opens up about rebuilding her life through therapy, setting boundaries with a toxic parent, quitting cigarettes, joining the PTA, rescuing animals, surviving long COVID and severe sleep apnea, and learning to see herself as worthy of love and peace.

This episode is raw, honest, and redemptive, a reminder that healing is possible and that even when the past tries to smother your light, you can still rise and shine.

Content warning: This episode talks about abuse, alcoholism and suicide.

To find out more about The EMBER Project, please visit us at www.TheEMBERProject.org. There you will find links to volunteer, donate or take the first step in changing the future of your family.