In this episode, we sit down with community mentor and advocate Akella Clore to talk about foster care, creativity, connection, and what it really looks like to support others while carrying your own challenges.

Akella shares her journey as a mother of nine, a former foster parent, and the founder of Colorful Creations, a program built around confidence, art, and youth empowerment. We explore her passion for working with teens, the emotional realities of caregiving, and the quiet strength behind the smile she’s known for.

The conversation opens up into emotional masking, burnout, the importance of healthy boundaries, and why community plays such a vital role in recovery. Akella also reflects on the experiences that shaped her, the kids who changed her life, and how creativity helps young people find their voice.

This is a warm and honest discussion about resilience, belonging, and the power of showing up for one another through both the easy and the messy parts of life. It’s a reminder that healing grows stronger in community.

🔗 Learn more about Akella or your contact via email
For more information about the Green Phoenix or if you'd like to join me as a guest on a future episode please don't hesitate to shoot me an email.

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In this episode, we talk with professional networker Sara Branch about connection, community, and why networking is far more than business cards and elevator pitches.

Sara shares her transition from corporate life to building a networking franchise and developing her own curriculum to help business owners connect with clarity and confidence. We explore social awkwardness, storytelling, mindset shifts, and why structure can create freedom for both introverts and extroverts.

The conversation moves beyond business into belonging, examining how face-to-face interaction builds trust, why community matters for mental health, and how learning to relate to others is truly a life skill.

This is an honest discussion about reframing networking from transaction to relationship and rediscovering the power of authentic connection.

🔗 Learn more about Sara and Branch Consulting Group or connect with her on LinkedIN

For more information about the Green Phoenix or if you'd like to join me as a guest on a future episode please don't hesitate to shoot me an email.

⁠Contact Us⁠.

In this episode, we talk with mindset coach Andy Robinson, founder of LFG Mindset Consulting, about identity, trauma, and what it really means to choose your next chapter.

Andy shares his path from serving in the United States Marine Corps to surviving a life-changing injury during Operation Iraqi Freedom and rebuilding his life with intention. His experience led him to a simple but powerful realization. When we do not have a clear vision for the future, it is easy to get stuck in circumstance instead of shaping what comes next.

We explore how early beliefs influence our mindset, why identity struggles are so common, and how people can begin to rewrite the patterns that hold them back. The conversation touches on neurodivergence, communication, and the importance of support systems in healing and growth.

This is an honest and grounded discussion about resilience, self-definition, and learning to see possibility after loss. If you are navigating change or questioning who you are becoming, this episode offers practical insight and an encouraging reminder that you have a say in what comes next.

🔗 Learn more about Andy and LFG Mindset Consulting