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Women Are: Fort Wayne

Women Are: Fort Wayne

Written by: Stephanie Gottesman
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 Women Are: Fort Wayne is a local podcast about the big-picture issues we all face as women. Each week, host Stephanie Gottesman will highlight a different topic – entrepreneurship, motherhood, arts & culture, community building, health & wellness, women’s rights, and more. Join us as we dig deep into the stories of women who’ve built their lives here in Northeastern Indiana. We’ll be hearing about their (often unexpected) journeys to success, the hurdles they’ve overcome, and the tools they’ve learned to use along the way. We’ll also be featuring music by local female artists, sharing info about upcoming events, and giving you all the chance to call in and share some love with the women who are making a difference in your lives.2022 Stephanie Gottesman Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Women are Guiding Young Women From Pain to Purpose

    Women are Guiding Young Women From Pain to Purpose
    Feb 11 2020
    Denita Washington, Adams Township Trustee and Executive Director of Fort Wayne Girlz Rock, joins host Stephanie Gottesman for a conversation about her work empowering young women to find their purpose. For young women, and especially those from hard backgrounds, it can be hard to find a sense of purpose and empowerment. Too many girls slip through the cracks and struggle to find their way. Studies show, though, that one caring adult can make all the difference. Denita Washington is one woman who has shown up as a caring adult in the lives of more than 2000 young women here in Fort Wayne. Denita Washington hosted several of the girls in her program for an interview session with Stephanie Gottesman. From left to right: Deja Eley (17), Trinity Pilot (15), and Jaya Swopshire (15). In this episode of Women Are: Fort Wayne, Washington talks deeply about the history of her organization, the personal experiences that led her to creating safe spaces for young women, and the inspiring programs she’s developed over the years. Her stories are thoughtful, moving, and relatable. She shares her own history of suffering through bullying, and some of the powerful stories of girls who have overcome extreme adversity to find their place in the world. She offers advice to mothers (and mentors) about how to find the healing they need themselves to offer safe spaces for their children, and sends messages of hope and empathy to young people and their families. Several of the girls also joined host Stephanie Gottesman for an interview session, giving them an opportunity to share their own perspective on the program and gain experience interviewing. Toward the end of the episode, Washington shares information on afundraiser the group is having on March 5, 2020. For more information on Fort Wayne Girlz Rock, visitfortwaynegirlzrock.com. They are also on Facebook (Fort Wayne Girls Rock) and Instagram (@fwgirlzrock). After the interview, we were happy to share an announcement for Nicki Meier, our second guest from Season 1. She is now selling her pottery around town at events, and also onher Etsy shop, NiTeMe.Check it out! Today’s song, I’m Free by Pamela featuring Cherelle, is a powerful collaboration between two Fort Wayne women. Pamela got inspired to write this song at a point in her life when she was surrounded by people who gave off negative vibes and it was destroying her inner peace. She says, “It was time to set myself free from the burdens and negativity surrounding me and focus on the importance of self preservation.” Cherelle says that her heart drove her to write her verse. “I was wanting to help and heal everyone in need but at the end of day there was no one I could reach out to and I was only left drained. It was a lot of weight on my shoulders trying to carry everyone's burden while I came out with nothing and so I made the decision to look out for myself first and free myself.” You can find them onTidal, Spotify, and Itunes. You can also find Pamela onFacebook, and Charelle Nightbreed onFacebookandInstagram.  Women Are: Fort Wayne is a production of Monstrous Regiment Media and distributed by WBOI in Fort Wayne. Our show is sponsored by the Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne and Silverbirch Entertainment. This episode was written and produced by Stephanie Gottesman and Traci Henning-Kolberg. Our episodes are recorded at Silverbirch Studio, with an extra thank you to sound engineer Steve Tyler and assistant engineer, Harrison Tyler.  We appreciate you subscribing, rating and reviewing the show on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever else you get your podcasts. You can also visit us atwomenare.us, or follow us onFacebookandInstagram. New episodes are released every two weeks. You can check out other content fromWBOI on Facebook. Until next time...thanks for listening! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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    1 hr and 3 mins
  • Women are Building Community On Our Riverfront

    Women are Building Community On Our Riverfront
    Jan 28 2020
    Megan Butler, the Program and Events Manager for Riverfront Fort Wayne, joins host Stephanie Gottesman to discuss the development of Promenade Park and the Hello, New Park event last August. It was hard to leave the house last summer without seeing signs for the Hello, New Park event. The three-day celebration welcomed Allen County residents to Promenade Park, and the new riverfront attraction has quickly become a favorite gathering place. Megan Butler played a central role in introducing the community to their new park – she likes to say that the event was her baby. And rightfully so. Butler spent more than a year planning the event, and two years before that researching ideas for a weekend that was not just groundbreaking for our region, but completely unique and inspired by events from across the globe. In the first episode of Season 2 of Women Are: Fort Wayne, Butler talks a bit about how our culture has seen a decrease in social capital, a concept discussed in the bookBowling Alone by Robert D. Putnam. shares how she chose to study politics because she wanted to make the most positive impact possible on her community. She has faced many challenges on her path to success, including a hard childhood and a devastating divorce that left her struggling to feed herself and her two boys. Her best advice to women struggling through their own divorces is to find something that is completely their own. For Butler, she focused on learning skills that nobody could ever take away from her – skills she’s now used to make a huge impact on the city she lives, works, and plays in. Butler shares a deep look into what it took to create the Hello, New Park event, some of the incredible inspirations she drew from, and some of the challenges she faced. She shares stories of how the community came together to pull off an ambitious weekend with three days of programming. Approximately 35,000 people attended, and the community response was staggeringly positive. She described the weekend as the community’s first date with their new park, and wanted to touch people’s hearts and set the precedent for the next 10-20 years of the riverfront. Toward the end of the episode, Butler shares some ofwhat’s coming up for Phases 2 and 3of the Riverfront Development project, and what her role is now that the park is open. She also shared some of the programs that are coming up at Promenade Park now that its open. For more information about events along the Riverfront, visit http://riverfrontfw.org/. They are also on Facebook (Riverfront Fort Wayne) and Instagram (@riverfrontfortwayne). After the interview, we were excited to share an announcement for Alexandra Hall, our first guest from Season 1. A children’s book she illustrated – The Zookeeper by Jessie Strock– is now available for purchase on Amazon. Check it out! Our featured songthis episode is Moon Dance by Elle/The Remnant. This all-female group has been making music together for more than 8 years. They started out as 3 friends and grew to 6 women as their songwriting capabilities evolved. All of their songs are original lyrics and music, and they have a deep love for unique storytelling. They believe that music should nourish, inspire and share stories worth telling. You can find them onSpotify,and can find upcoming shows on theirFacebook. Women Are: Fort Wayne is a production of Monstrous Regiment Media and distributed by WBOI in Fort Wayne. Our show is sponsored by the Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne and Silverbirch Entertainment. This episode was written and produced by Stephanie Gottesman and Traci Henning-Kolberg, and edited by Adam Blackburn. Our episodes are recorded at Silverbirch Studio, with an extra thank you to sound engineer Steve Tyler and assistant engineer, Harrison Tyler.  We appreciate you subscribing, rating and reviewing the show on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever else you get your podcasts. You can also visit us atwomenare.us, or follow us onFacebookandInstagram. New episodes are released every two weeks. You can check out other content fromWBOI on Facebook. Until next time...thanks for listening! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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    1 hr and 5 mins
  • Women are Moving Toward Zero Waste

    Women are Moving Toward Zero Waste
    Aug 27 2019
    This week in our season finale, Jodi Leamon joins us for a conversation about the work she does helping Fort Wayne learn toreduce, reuse, recycle, and compost their waste. Jodi is theSustainability Coordinator for the Allen County Department of Environmental Management and founder of the local chapter of Food Rescue US. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science and a Master’s in Biology. In the episode, she talks about her work and why it’s important on both local and global scales. The conversation gets into the science of trash, and why adopting better practices is vital. She defines big words like circular economy, sustainability, and even goes into what zero waste actually means, then finishes off by sharing with us her Top 10 Ways to Move Toward Zero Waste.  We talk about two documentaries: Anthony Bourdain’sWasted, which talks about the epidemic of food waste in society today, andPlastic China, a Chinese documentary about a family that processes plastic recycling in extreme poverty. Much of the trash they process comes from America. We also talked about a blog calledMinimum Viable Planet. For more about the Allen County Department of Environmental waste,visit their website, and make sure to follow them onFacebookand Instagramfor tips on improving your own practices. To learn more about Food Rescue US,visit their websiteand check out theirFacebook.  And here’s Jodi’s column for Input Fort Wayne. This week,Rosalind & The Wayare back with a new song, “Blood On My Hands.” You can find their music on iTunes andSpotify, as well asFacebookand Instagram. We are thrilled to announce this week that we’re going to be partnering withInput Fort Wayne. If you’re not familiar with them, check them out for awesome stories about exciting things happening in Northeastern Indiana, and make sure to follow them onFacebookandInstagram.  We’d like to send a VERY special thanks to our sponsors, Steve Tyler and Radiance of Silverbirch Studios for giving us a space to record and helping us sound amazing. Thank you also to Rosalind & the Wayfor our gorgeous intro music, to Traci Henning-Kolberg for editing out our mistakes and making us sound fantastic. And to YOU for listening and supporting our project! We’ll be back in a few weeks! <3 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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    1 hr and 23 mins
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