The Power of the Ask

Stop Leaving Money on the Table: What Women Need to Know About Retirement with Marcia Mantell

Marcia Mantell, founder of Mantell Retirement Consulting and former VP at Fidelity Investments, joins The Power of the Ask to talk about what it takes to own your financial future. With 30 years of experience translating complex topics like Social Security and Medicare into language everyone can use, Marcia explores why women still remain disengaged from financial decisions, and how to change that.  Marcia, Lisa, and Precious cover:  * Defining Your Value: When Marcia launched her business, someone told her she couldn't charge her rate. She said, "Watch me." Knowing what you're worth and standing by it is non-negotiable, whether you're negotiating a salary or building a retirement strategy.  * How to Reframe Your Ask: The most powerful asks focus on what the other person stands to lose, a principle Marcia uses with Social Security clients who want to claim early.  * Why Rejection is Critical Data: Marcia has quit three jobs, been told she'd never earn more, and launched a business that just celebrated 20 years.   * Practicing Asking Out Loud: Before a high-stakes conversation, Marcia stands in front of a mirror and asks for what she wants. Hearing your own words builds confidence, and confidence builds momentum.  Important Links: * Savvy Ladies [https://www.savvyladies.org/] (https://www.savvyladies.org/) * Precious Williams' LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/precious-l-williams/] (https://www.linkedin.com/in/precious-l-williams/) * Lisa Zeiderman's LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisazeiderman/] (https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisazeiderman/ * Marcia Mantell's LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/marciamantell/) Important Links for Marcia: * Mantell Retirement Consulting (https://www.linkedin.com/company/mantell-retirement-consulting-inc./) About Marcia Mantell: Marcia Mantell is a nationally recognized retirement expert, speaker, author, and founder of Mantell Retirement Consulting. With over 30 years of experience, she helps individuals and financial professionals understand complex topics like retirement income, Social Security, and Medicare in clear, actionable ways. A former Vice President at Fidelity Investments, Marcia is known for translating technical financial concepts into everyday language that empowers people to make confident decisions about their future. She is a frequent media contributor, podcast guest, and author of several books focused on retirement planning.

The Intersection of Women's Health and Financial Wellbeing with Beth Battaglino, RN

Beth Battaglino, RN, CEO of HealthyWomen.org, joins The Power of the Ask to illustrate how health literacy and financial security are directly connected. Beth draws on more than three decades of women's health advocacy to explain why delaying care, skipping screenings, and staying quiet in the doctor's office can carry real financial consequences. She also shares how she made the boldest ask of her career, turning a hospital's about-to-close nonprofit into one of the country's leading women's health organizations.  Key takeaways from this important conversation:  * Health Literacy and Financial Security Go Hand in Hand: Women who understand their health and act early live longer, work longer, and face fewer financially devastating medical crises down the road.  * Delayed Care Has a Price Tag: Skipping preventative screenings delays diagnosis, increases treatment costs, and can derail a woman's ability to work and earn.  * Ask for the Second Opinion: A second opinion is not a betrayal of your provider. The smartest healthcare professionals encourage it, and the most empowered patients demand it.  * Know Your Numbers (All of Them): Blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose, and Lp(a) are non-negotiables. One simple blood test for Lp(a) can reveal a hidden heart risk most women don't know to ask about.  * Alignment Before the Ask: When building partnerships, Beth leads with shared values, not a wish list. That philosophy has sustained HealthyWomen for 35 years.  Important Links: * Savvy Ladies [https://www.savvyladies.org/] (https://www.savvyladies.org/) * Precious Williams' LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/precious-l-williams/] (https://www.linkedin.com/in/precious-l-williams/) * Lisa Zeiderman's LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisazeiderman/] (https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisazeiderman/ * Beth Battaglino's LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/beth-battaglino-14b6165/) Important Links for Beth: * Healthy Women (https://www.healthywomen.org/) About Beth Battaglino:  Beth Battaglino is the president and chief executive officer of HealthyWomen, the nation’s leading independent, nonprofit health information source for women dedicated to educating women to make informed health choices.  Beth brings a unique combination of sharp business expertise and women’s health insight to her leadership of the organization. She has worked in the healthcare industry for more than 25 years, helping to define and drive public education programs on a broad range of women’s health issues.  Beth launched and has expanded the HealthyWomen brand. As a result of her leadership, HealthyWomen was recognized as one of the top 100 women’s health websites by Oprah magazine and by Forbes, for three consecutive years. HealthyWomen now connects to millions of women across the country through its wide program distribution and innovative use of technology.  She is also a practicing nurse in maternal child health. In addition to her nursing degree, Beth holds degrees in business and public administration from Marymount University.

Breaking Free from Calladita Culture: How First-Gen Women Can Reclaim Their Voice and Worth with Pam Covarrubias

Leadership coach, somatic practitioner, and Café con Pam podcast host Pam Covarrubias joins The Power of the Ask to talk about what keeps high-achieving first-generation women stuck, silent, and overworked, and what it takes to break free. Pam introduces the concept of Calladita Culture, the inherited system of silence and submission that conditions women to stay small, underpay themselves, and perform for approval rather than lead from truth. She walks through her Unmute & Reclaim Method and explains why certainty, not confidence, is the real foundation of lasting change.  Pam, Lisa, and Precious explore:  * Certainty Before Confidence: Confidence without roots won't hold. When you know who you are and what you want without needing external approval, confidence follows naturally.  * How Your Body Keeps Score: If you're getting sick after every work trip or only resting when forced, your body is sending a signal. Learning to listen is the first step toward change.  * The Five Wounds of Calladita Culture: Silence, worth, power, and the other wounds underneath this system show up as both over- and underperformance. Awareness is where healing starts.  * Why Woleness-Based Leadership Starts with Self-Knowledge: The best leaders don't borrow a style. They do the inner work to understand how they lead best, then build from that place.  * One Somatic Step You Can Take Today: Place your hand on your chest, slow your exhale, and ask your body what you're carrying that's stopping you from asking for what you want.  Important Links: * Savvy Ladies [https://www.savvyladies.org/] (https://www.savvyladies.org/) * Precious Williams' LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/precious-l-williams/] (https://www.linkedin.com/in/precious-l-williams/) * Lisa Zeiderman's LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisazeiderman/] (https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisazeiderman/ * Pam Covarrubias's LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/pamcovarrubias/ Important Links for Pam: * Pam Covarrubias's Website: https://www.spreadideasmovepeople.com/ About Pam Covarrubias: Pam Covarrubias is a leadership coach, podcast host, and somatic practitioner… but what she really does is help first-gen high-achievers break up with performance culture and lead from presence instead of proving. She is also the creator of the Unmute & Reclaim™ Method and Calladita Culture® frameworks built for women who are tired of biting their tongues, betraying their bodies, and burning out just to belong. Through her coaching and consulting work, she has partnered with big brands and organizations, helping teams and individuals lead from wholeness instead of burnout.   Through nervous system regulation, somatic healing, and cultural deconditioning, she helps women stop hustling for their worth and start leading from wholeness. And she has spent a decade using her podcast, Café con Pam, to elevate Latine voices and people of the Global Majority, dismantling the BS conditioning that keeps us playing small. Because before there’s confidence… there’s certainty. And Pam believes, certainty lives in the body.

Finding Your Money Zen with Manisha Thakor

Financial thought leader and author Manisha Thakor joins the show to share her approach to financial health and emotional wealth. With over 30 years of experience in financial services, Manisha provides a clear roadmap for dismantling the cultural pressure on women to be perfect. She discusses the core principles of her book, MoneyZen, and explores how women can reclaim their power by asking the right questions of their employers, their partners, and themselves.  You’ll hear Manisha discuss:  * The Perfection Trap: Why the societal expectation for women to be perfect prevents them from asking for raises, and how to embrace the bravery required to advocate for your worth.  * Joy-Based Spending: A practical exercise to audit expenses and identify where life energy is being drained by social obligations or costs that offer no emotional return.   * Financial Compatibility: The necessity of discussing money values early in relationships to ensure long-term alignment and stability.  * The Reality of Wealth: Why assuming net worth based on outward appearances is a mistake and how to stop comparing yourself to a curated image.  Important Links: * Savvy Ladies [https://www.savvyladies.org/] (https://www.savvyladies.org/) * Precious Williams' LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/precious-l-williams/] (https://www.linkedin.com/in/precious-l-williams/) * Lisa Zeiderman's LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisazeiderman/] (https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisazeiderman/ * Manisha Thakor's LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/manishathakor/) Important Links for Manisha: * Manisha's Books Link: (https://moneyzen.com/my-books/) * Money Zen Website: (https://moneyzen.com/) About Manisha Thakor: Manisha Thakor has worked in financial services for more than thirty years, with an emphasis on women’s economic empowerment and financial well-being.  A nationally recognized thought-leader in this space, Thakor has been featured in a wide range of publications, including the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, NPR, PBS, CNN, Real Simple, and Women’s Health. In her most recent book, Money Zen, she breaks down the personal, cultural, and societal forces that have led us to falsely believe we can never have, do, or be enough, and shows us a fresh new path toward “MoneyZen”—her joy-based approach to living a life rich in financial health and emotional wealth.

Cultivating Confidence and Global Beauty Standards with Andi Assebian, MSN, AGNP-C

Entrepreneur, nurse practitioner and Manhattan medspa founder Andi Assebian, MSN, AGNP-C, joins the podcast to share her journey from the Ivory Coast to the heart of New York City’s aesthetic medicine scene. Drawing from her extensive background in physiology and perioperative nursing, Andi discusses how she built a practice that supports anatomy-driven beauty standards. She shares the stark reality of navigating the medical field as a woman of color and the determination required to scale a business while raising a family.  You’ll hear Andi discuss:    * The Global Mirror: How growing up in the Ivory Coast and living across France and Canada shaped her view of beauty as a tool for identity and community rather than a quest for perfection.  * Precision Under Pressure: Andi shares insights from her time as an operating room nurse, exploring how that high-stakes environment still dictates her meticulous approach to patient safety and treatment plans today.  * Anatomy-Driven Aesthetics: Why she travels the globe to learn techniques that focus on balance and harmony over simple volume, and why the best aesthetic work should remain undetectable.  * The Courage to Ask: How asking for support and networking allowed her to expand from a single room to a thriving Midtown Manhattan practice in just two years.  * Rapid Fire Favorites: From the French classic Coq au Vin to the skincare trend she wants everyone to stop immediately.  Important Links: * Savvy Ladies [https://www.savvyladies.org/] (https://www.savvyladies.org/) * Precious Williams' LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/precious-l-williams/] (https://www.linkedin.com/in/precious-l-williams/) * Lisa Zeiderman's LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisazeiderman/] (https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisazeiderman/ Important Links for Andi: * Andi Assebian, MSN, AGNP-C's Site: https://dermartisan.com/ About Andi Assebian, MSN, AGNP-C's: Andi is a board-certified Nurse Practitioner with extensive experience in medical aesthetics. She received her Bachelors in Physiology from University of Calgary, Nursing degree from Duke University, and Masters as a Nurse Practitioner from New York University.   She began her career in the operating room at Yale University hospital as a Perioperative Nurse and transitioned to NYC to work with world-class plastic surgeons and aesthetic practitioners. Andi founded Derm Artisan to share her passion and vision for a MedSpa – one built on an unwavering commitment to care, excellence and empowerment.   Andi has lived in France, Canada, U.S., the Ivory Coast. Her appreciation for different cultures, beauty standards, and people of all backgrounds is deeply reflected in the makeup of Derm Artisan. She is an avid learner and travels the globe to stay on top of the latest techniques and technologies. Andi currently lives in NYC with her husband and baby boy.   She enjoys spending time with family and friends, traveling, and is fluent in French a language that connects her to her roots and enriches the welcoming, multicultural spirit she brings into her practice each day.