Dear Babygurl: Notes on Life, Leadership, and Liberation

025: Endings & Beginnings

This week, I'm reflecting on the bittersweet beauty of endings and the uncertainty of new beginnings. From my youngest son's elementary school graduation, to relationships that have reached their natural conclusion, to the ways life continually asks us to let go and begin again. This episode is an invitation to honor the chapters that are complete and trust what comes next. If this episode resonated with you, please follow the show, leave a rating or review, and share it with someone you love. Your support helps this little labor of love continue to grow.

024 - From Seed to Voice

On growth, consistency, courage, and becoming This month marks several anniversaries for me: * the first birthday of Dear Babygurl!!!! * the anniversary of my private practice * graduating from my counseling psychology program Most meaningful things begin as seeds. Quiet things. Tender things. Things that don’t yet look impressive on the outside. This episode is for anyone: * building something slowly * learning to trust their voice * resisting hustle culture * tending to a dream without immediate proof * or wondering whether their quiet consistency matters Babygurl…sometimes the life you’re building is growing roots long before you can see the bloom. If this episode resonated with you, please consider: * rating the podcast * leaving a review * sharing an episode * or posting it to your stories Your support genuinely helps this podcast grow 🌱💛

023 - Mothering Beyond Motherhood

Mother’s Day can hold so many things at once. Joy. Grief. Tenderness. Estrangement. Longing. Love. In this deeply personal episode, I explore the idea that mothering is bigger than biology. It’s an energy. A presence. A way of nurturing, loving, protecting, comforting, and holding one another through life. I share reflections on: * my relationship with my mother * growing up between generations and cultures * queerness and coming out in a traditional Mexican household * the complexity of unconditional love * women who mother without having children * and the ways love stretches and reshapes itself across generations I also speak from my work as a therapist conducting consultations with individuals and couples using sperm or egg donors, where I often remind clients that family is not defined by DNA alone. A mother is not only the person who gives birth. A mother is also the one who shows up with love. This episode is for: * anyone with a complicated relationship to Mother’s Day * daughters learning to hold both grief and gratitude * queer folks navigating family and identity * women who nurture others without being recognized for it * and anyone learning how to mother themselves with more tenderness And babygurl… maybe the deepest form of mothering is not just how we love others, but how we learn to finally love ourselves. 💛 🎧 Listen, subscribe, and share with someone who needs this.

022 - Why Conflict Feels So Hard

Why does conflict feel so hard? Why do we replay conversations in our heads, stay quiet when something doesn’t sit right, or say yes when our whole body is saying no? In this episode, we are not talking about how to handle conflict. We are talking about the part most people skip. The why. Because before you can have a courageous conversation, you have to understand what happens inside of you when conflict shows up. In this episode, I share a personal story from my time as Associate Director of Wellness at Power California, an organization born out of a merger that felt like a blended family. Two leadership styles. Two cultures. Oneshared mission. And underneath it all, tension, unspoken dynamics, and the need for a shared language around conflict. That experience led me to develop what I now call Courageous Conversations. A framework I’ve used with organizations, leadership teams, and in high-stakes situations. But this episode is not about the framework. It is about the foundation. This episode invites you to bring compassion to the parts of you that learned to stay quiet to stay safe. Because you are not bad at conflict. You were never taught how to do it. And. You can learn a new way. You can build the capacity to stay present, to speak with clarity, and to move through hard conversations without losing yourself. If you want support working with your nervous system, check out the bonus regulation episodes available in both English and Spanish. These are short, practical tools you can come back to before, during, or after difficult conversations. If this episode resonated, share it with someone who’s been navigating hard conversations, or someone who avoids them altogether. And if you haven’t already, follow the podcast so you don’t miss what’s coming next. 🎧 Listen, subscribe, and share with someone who needs this.

021 - Telling the Truth Without Tearing It Down

In leadership, one of the most difficult skills is the ability to hold complexity. To resist the pressure to simplify. To avoid rushing to defend or dismiss. To stay with what is uncomfortable. Lately, I have been sitting with a question: What does it mean to tell the truth about harm when it involves someone we were taught to revere? In many organizations, especially those rooted in social impact, we like to believe that our values protect us from harm. They do not. We carry the same systems we are working to dismantle. Which means accountability is not optional. It is essential. But accountability is often misunderstood. It is not just statements or symbolic gestures. It looks like: • Naming harm clearly• Creating conditions where people can speak safely• Protecting those who come forward• Examining how power operates in real time• Making changes that shift who holds influence and access It also requires us to ask harder questions: Would we hold someone accountable while they are still in power? Or only after it is safe to do so? In my work as a therapist and leadership coach, I have seen how unaddressed harm does not disappear. It shows up later. In relationships.In burnout.In anxiety.In disengagement. Leadership is not just about vision. It is about responsibility. This moment invites us to lead differently. To center people over legacy.To share power rather than concentrate it.To tell the truth, even when it is difficult. That is not tearing something down. That is building something more honest in its place. 🎧 Listen, subscribe, and share with someone who needs this.