Episodes

How do you help someone you love through a crisis without losing yourself in the process? If you've ever had a child who's struggling, you know how quickly their struggles can consume you. You research, you make the calls, you worry, and you lie awake wondering whether you're doing too much, not enough, or the wrong thing entirely. Michele has been that parent. In this episode, she and Liz sit down with the two women who came into her life when she needed them most: Holly Driscoll and Kacy Si...

What would you feel if you stopped carrying the weight you don't need? For Michele, Amy's forgotten suitcase turned into a lesson about baggage of every kind. In this Spark Short, Michele and Liz unpack their conversation with architect Amy Conner-Murphy of ACM Design. Liz shares what surprised her about how two architects approach a home, starting with the client's story and history. Michele tells the story of the seven-year-old who toured her parents' house and asked, "Is this the only hous...

What would you leave behind to get on the plane? For Amy Conner-Murphy, the answer was her suitcase, and it changed how she sees everything. Michele's friend Amy Conner-Murphy is an architect, interior designer and founder of ACM Designs in Asheville, North Carolina. She's also a mom of two, a gardener, a watercolor painter, a runner, a cyclist and a dog lover. Amy shares the childhood memory she pieced together decades later: watching from her crib as her granddaddy built a bathroom onto the...

Before kids go back to school, they get a physical and their shots. So why aren't we checking on their mental health too? In this Spark Short, Michele and Liz unpack their conversation with Dr. Maria Montoro Edwards, President and CEO of Maternal and Family Health Services. Michele has worked alongside Maria as the architect of the circle of care, and she shares what makes Maria such a decisive leader. They talk about the full-circle moment of a woman whose family once used WIC now running the l...

Why is it so hard for women to ask for help? Dr. Maria Montoro Edwards thinks it’s because we believe we have to be Wonder Woman. Michele and Liz sit down with their friend Dr. Maria Montoro Edwards, President and CEO of Maternal and Family Health Services. MFHS provides health care, nutrition, education and support to more than 100,000 women, men and children across 17 counties in eastern Pennsylvania. Maria is the oldest of eight siblings, all with names starting with M, and she studied to ...

Would you leave a dangerous home if it meant leaving your dog behind? Liz isn't sure she would be able to, and that's why this conversation stuck with her. In this Spark Short, Michele and Liz unpack their conversation with Lisa Fuller of the SPCA of Luzerne County and everything it changed for them. Michele walked in picturing the cartoon dog catcher and the pound, and walked out with her view flipped a complete 180. Liz was surprised to learn the SPCA runs almost entirely on community donat...

What really happens after an animal comes through the shelter door? Lisa Fuller has been rescuing animals since she was a kid growing up with a dad everyone called Dr. Doolittle. Today she chairs the board of the SPCA of Luzerne County and opens her home to senior and hospice dogs so their last chapter is a happy one. She has seven at home right now. In this conversation, Liz and Michele go behind the scenes of animal rescue, and it is a lot more than adoptions. Lisa walks through hoarding an...