Going Indie: How Jennifer Barnwell Built a Home for Boutique Hotels

Going Indie: How Jennifer Barnwell Built a Home for Boutique Hotels

Jennifer Barnwell didn't plan to end up in hotels — but a nudge from her older sister at Cornell changed everything. Today she's the President of Curator Hotel & Resort Collection, a membership platform she launched in the middle of a global pandemic to champion the independent and boutique hotels that go it alone. In this episode, Jen pulls back the curtain on what it actually takes to build something new in a tough industry, how Curator helps small properties compete with big brands, and why being an 'indie rebel' is more than just a tagline. In this episode: • What Curator Hotel & Resort Collection does — and why it exists • How independent hotels compete with major brands using collective leverage • The Airbnb and OTA distribution question every boutique property faces • What it was really like to launch a business during COVID-19 • How the K-shaped economy is affecting the hospitality industry right now • The technology improvements that are changing the hotel guest experience • The career path she didn't see coming — and the sister who changed it • Her honest advice to her younger self: take risks, travel more, find a mentor #WhatSheDoes #WomenInHospitality #BoutiqueHotels #IndependentHotels #WomenInBusiness #HospitalityIndustry #CuratorHotels #Podcast

Finding Balance: A Physician Assistant’s Root-Cause Approach to Aging & Longevity

What does a Physician Assistant who's spent 25 years in medicine wish more people understood about hormones, aging, and feeling like yourself again? Elizabeth Vogstrom breaks down perimenopause, bioidentical hormone therapy, DNA genetic testing, and root-cause medicine — and shares the personal health crisis that changed everything. #WhatSheDoes #HormoneHealth #Perimenopause #BHRT #LongevityMedicine

She Built the Village: Britt Riley on Haven, Working Parenthood, and Rewriting the Rules of Childcare

What if the answer to the childcare crisis wasn't a policy fix — it was a building with a community membership? Britt Riley is the founder and CEO of Haven, an integrated childcare, coworking, and fitness space designed for working parents — where kids learn downstairs while parents work upstairs, all under one roof. What started as Britt's own frustration with the impossible juggle of career and parenthood became one of the most innovative care models in the country. In this episode, Britt talks about leaving her marketing career to build something that didn't exist yet, surviving a pandemic six months after opening, growing Haven through franchising without losing its soul, and why the childcare industry is long overdue for a rethink. This one is for every parent who has ever felt torn in half. And for every founder who built their way out.

How Dr. Nicole Alioto Turns Data Into Impact and Built a Career in Education Consulting

What if you could measure anything — even the things that feel impossible to pin down? That's exactly what Dr. Nicole Alioto has spent nearly 30 years helping schools do. As the founder of Alla Breve Educational Consulting, a two-time TEDx speaker, a podcast host, and author of Your School Sucks: Why Schools Fail to Measure Up and What To Do About It and the new You Can Measure Anything, Nicole has a gift for making data feel accessible, actionable, and even fun (her words), and we believe her. In this episode, we sit down with Nicole to talk about how she moved from a social psychology PhD into transforming small and rural school districts, why student voice is the most underused data point in education, what parents can actually do if they think their school is falling short, and how AI is changing the classroom in ways nobody fully predicted. If you work in education, parent school-aged kids, or just believe data should drive better decisions, this one is for you.

From Paicoma to Congress: Rep. Luz Rivas on STEM, Risk Taking, and Opening Doors for the Next Generation

What happens when a girl from Pacoima who learned to code in fifth grade ends up in the United States Congress? We sit down with Representative Luz Rivas — engineer, educator, nonprofit founder, and the only Latina in Congress with a STEM background — to talk about the winding, unplanned path that took her from MIT to Motorola, from founding DIY Girls to the California State Assembly, and now to representing California's 29th Congressional District in Washington, D.C. Rep. Rivas opens up about what it's like to be a freshman in Congress, how she was elected by her peers as the Freshman Leadership Representative, and why relationship-building across the aisle may be the most underrated skill in politics. She also gets real about the financial realities of serving in public office — managing two households on a congressional salary — and why she believes the key to being a great leader is hiring people who know more than you do. Whether you're interested in STEM careers, women in leadership, public service, or simply what a day in the life of a congresswoman actually looks like, this episode will leave you inspired to take your next big risk — even when it's scary.