In this episode of Heart + Head Work, Rocky and Tessa sit down for a deeply personal and honest conversation about abortion, motherhood, and the complexity of choice.

What begins as a reflection on a recent guest conversation opens into something much more intimate—Tessa shares her own experience with pregnancy loss and abortion, and the emotional, physical, and psychological realities that followed.

Together, they explore what it means to make decisions in moments of uncertainty, the weight of grief, and the anger that can arise when choice is taken away. This conversation moves between the deeply personal and the collective, touching on systems, language, and the importance of compassion in moments that are anything but simple.

At its core, this episode is about autonomy, healing, and the right to navigate our own lives and bodies with dignity.

Together, we explore:
- The lived experience of abortion and pregnancy loss
- Grief, anger, and the emotional aftermath of difficult decisions
- What it means to make a choice in moments of uncertainty
- The impact of language and systems on personal experience
- Why autonomy matters in both motherhood and identity
- How we hold space for ourselves and others through complex experiences

Resources mentioned in this episode:
https://utabortionfund.org

Disclaimer:
This conversation reflects personal experiences and perspectives. Topics discussed may be sensitive for some listeners. We encourage you to take care of yourself while listening and to seek support if needed.

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In this episode of Heart + Head Work, we sit down with Ali, a journalist and community voice deeply embedded in the flow of information, culture, and change.

Together, we explore what it means to stay engaged in a world that feels overwhelming—how to care deeply without burning out, and how to move from reactive outrage into something more grounded, sustained, and meaningful.

Ali offers a powerful reframe: the difference between anger and outrage—and why one may be essential for long-term change, while the other keeps us stuck in cycles of reaction.

This conversation moves from the personal to the collective, touching on media, responsibility, and the deeper systems shaping our lives. At the center of it all is a question many of us are quietly holding:

How do we stay in the work—without losing ourselves?

Together, we unpack:
- The difference between anger and outrage—and why it matters
- How outrage cycles can exhaust and distract us
- What it means to cultivate sustainable emotional engagement
- The idea that our “social contract” may be breaking down
- Media consumption, information overload, and staying informed without burnout
- Finding your role in the midst of complex societal issues
- Why long-term change requires steadiness, not spikes
- How community care and small actions still matter

Resources mentioned in this episode
Utah Abortion Fund
A community-based organization providing financial support and access to abortion care in Utah.

Hotline + support access:
https://utabortionfund.org/

You can also support their work through monthly or one-time donations, helping ensure continued access to care for those who need it.

Find Ali Vallarta at https://saltlake.citycast.fm/

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💬 Join the conversation in our private network on BFF
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✨ And if this episode moved you, sharing it with a friend helps more women find us.

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In this episode of Heart + Head Work, we sit down with Blake Spalding and Jen Castle, executive chefs and founders of the iconic Hell’s Backbone Grill in Boulder, Utah.

For more than 25 years, Blake and Jen have built far more than a restaurant—they’ve built a community rooted in hospitality, advocacy, and a deep commitment to the land and people around them. Their work has become a powerful example of how business can be used as a platform for values, courage, and collective care.

What began as a shared love of food and partnership grew into a restaurant that feeds both the body and the spirit. Along the way, Blake and Jen have used their voices to advocate for environmental protection, community well-being, and the idea that success isn’t measured by profit alone.

In this conversation, they share stories of building a values-driven business, navigating activism as business owners, and redefining what it means to lead with integrity in a complicated world.

Together, we unpack:

- The story behind Hell’s Backbone Grill and how Blake and Jen built their partnership
- Using business as a platform for advocacy and environmental protection
- The courage it takes to use your voice—even when it’s uncomfortable
- Navigating criticism, community pressure, and standing by your values
- How food and hospitality can become a space for connection and healing
- Redefining success beyond money, status, or traditional metrics
- Why small businesses can be powerful centers of culture and change

This episode is thoughtful, bold, and deeply human—an exploration of what happens when people choose to lead with integrity, speak up for what matters, and build something that nourishes far beyond the plate.

Where to find Hell’s Backbone Grill:

Hell’s Backbone Grill
https://www.hellsbackbonegrill.com

Follow Blake & Jen
Instagram: @hellsbackbonegrill

Disclaimer
This conversation reflects personal experiences and perspectives. Every business, community, and leadership journey is unique. We encourage listeners to reflect on what resonates and explore their own path toward meaningful work and impact.

Connect with us!

Continue the conversation with us inside the Maven Network, our private space on BFF:
https://links.geneva.com/invite/af6ecd07-9070-43b7-9629-7aaa166aa131

Follow us on Instagram
@mavenslc

More at → https://www.mavenslc.com

Connect with us!

💬 Join the conversation in our private network on BFF
https://links.geneva.com/invite/af6ecd07-9070-43b7-9629-7aaa166aa131

📲 Follow us on Instagram
instagram.com/maven.community

✨ And if this episode moved you, sharing it with a friend helps more women find us.

More at → mavenslc.com

In this episode of Heart + Head Work, we explore what it means to advocate — not just in big public moments, but in the quieter, everyday ways we use our voice to influence change.

Rocky Donati and Tessa Arneson sit down with business leader and advocate Natalie Caddis and communications strategist Jenna Smith for a conversation about leadership, storytelling, and the surprising ways small moments of courage can ripple outward.

Through personal stories and lived experience, Natalie shares what it was like to step into leadership of her family’s manufacturing company during a time of uncertainty — navigating real financial pressure while learning how resilience, creativity, and persistence can reshape what’s possible. Jenna brings a communications lens to the conversation, offering insight into how stories, relationships, and follow-up can open unexpected doors — even leading to moments that feel almost impossible.

Together, this episode explores the ways advocacy shows up in business, leadership, and daily life. From navigating crises to pitching ideas, connecting with media, and building relationships that matter, the conversation reveals how influence is often built through consistency, curiosity, and the willingness to keep showing up.

Rather than presenting advocacy as something reserved for activists or public figures, this episode reframes it as a practice — something we can all cultivate in our work, communities, and relationships.

Together, we unpack:
- What advocacy really looks like in everyday leadership
- How storytelling can shape influence and open unexpected opportunities
- The role of persistence and follow-up in building meaningful connections
- Why relationships often matter more than credentials or authority
- How moments of pressure can reveal the leaders we’re becoming
- The small actions that can create surprising ripple effects

This episode is an invitation to reflect on the ways your own voice — and your willingness to use it — might shape the conversations, opportunities, and communities around you.

Connect with us

Continue the conversation with us inside the Maven Network, our private space on BFF

Follow us on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/mavenslc

More at → https://www.mavenslc.com

✨ And if this episode moved you, sharing it with a friend helps more women find us.

Connect with us!

💬 Join the conversation in our private network on BFF
https://links.geneva.com/invite/af6ecd07-9070-43b7-9629-7aaa166aa131

📲 Follow us on Instagram
instagram.com/maven.community

✨ And if this episode moved you, sharing it with a friend helps more women find us.

More at → mavenslc.com

In this episode of Heart + Head Work, we explore what it means to listen — really listen — to the quiet intelligence within.

Rocky Donati and Tessa Stuckey sit down with Jennifer Mulholland for a deeply embodied conversation about soul knowing, presence, and the moments in life when we’re called to leap before we have all the answers. Through story, reflection, and lived experience, Jennifer shares how learning to trust the body’s wisdom has shaped her path — from athletics and corporate leadership to healing work, entrepreneurship, and guiding others back to themselves.

This conversation weaves together themes of integrity, intuition, and the courage it takes to slow down in a world that rewards speed and strategy. Jennifer opens up about listening through the body, navigating major life transitions, and learning to distinguish between the voice of fear and the quiet clarity of soul speak.

Rather than offering formulas or fixes, this episode is an invitation — to soften, to notice, and to experiment with presence in small, accessible ways.

Together, we unpack:
- What it means to listen to the body as an inner compass
- The difference between strategy-driven decisions and soul-led ones
- How slowing down creates access to clarity, healing, and alignment
- Why sensation, expansion, and contraction can be powerful guides
- The role of space, silence, and attention in meaningful change
- How trusting the next step — without knowing the whole path — can transform a life

This episode is an invitation to remember your wholeness and reconnect with the wisdom that’s already within you.

Resources Mentioned:
Jennifer Mulholland
Embodiment guide, speaker, and coach
Website: https://jennifermulholland.com/

Disclaimer:
This conversation reflects personal experience and perspective, not medical, psychological, or therapeutic advice. Everyone’s body, nervous system, and healing journey is unique. We encourage you to consult a qualified medical or mental health professional before making decisions related to your physical or emotional health.

Connect with us!

💬 Join the conversation in our private network on BFF
https://links.geneva.com/invite/af6ecd07-9070-43b7-9629-7aaa166aa131

📲 Follow us on Instagram
instagram.com/maven.community

✨ And if this episode moved you, sharing it with a friend helps more women find us.

More at → mavenslc.com

In this episode of Heart + Head Work, we explore the moment you realize something in your life isn’t aligned — and you can no longer pretend it is.

Rocky Donati and Tessa Arneson share a candid, behind-the-scenes look at a season when momentum, opportunity, and growth began to pull them away from alignment. What looked exciting and expansive at first slowly became heavy, complicated, and unsustainable — not because the idea was wrong, but because it wasn’t right for them.

Through the story of launching a boutique hotel alongside building Maven, Rocky opens up about the emotional and relational cost of saying yes to something that didn’t fit, the tension of recognizing it in real time, and the courage it took to finally admit the truth.

This conversation moves through overwhelm, avoidance, grief, partnership, and ultimately relief — a return to integrity that reshaped how they make decisions today.

Rather than offering productivity formulas or growth hacks, this episode asks a deeper question:
How do you know when something is truly aligned?

Together, we unpack:
- The subtle ways misalignment can hide inside “good opportunities”
- What happens to the body and relationships when we override inner knowing
- Why external success doesn’t equal internal clarity
- How honest conversations can restore connection and direction
- The difference between what works and what’s right
- A simple framework Rocky used to recognize where her energy truly belonged

This episode is an invitation to listen more carefully to yourself, even when the answer requires a hard change.

Disclaimer
This conversation reflects personal experience and perspective, not financial, legal, or therapeutic advice. Every business, partnership, and life circumstance is unique. We encourage you to consult appropriate professionals before making major decisions.

Connect with us!

💬 Join the conversation in our private network on BFF
https://links.geneva.com/invite/af6ecd07-9070-43b7-9629-7aaa166aa131

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instagram.com/maven.community

✨ And if this episode moved you, sharing it with a friend helps more women find us.

More at → mavenslc.com

In this episode of Heart + Head Work, we explore sex, fantasy, and desire through the lens of presence, safety, and self-trust.

Rocky Donati and Tessa Arneson are joined by Dr. Stormy Hill, a mental health occupational therapist and intimacy coach, and Courtney Stookey, founder of Lovebound Library—Utah’s first romance-only bookstore—for an honest, playful, and deeply grounding conversation about what desire is really trying to tell us.

Together, they explore why sex is one of the most talked about—and most repressed—topics in our culture, how shame and performance disconnect us from our bodies, and what becomes possible when curiosity replaces judgment. From romance novels and fantasy as tools for exploration, to nervous system safety and sexual sovereignty, this episode invites listeners to slow down and listen inward.

Rather than offering answers or prescriptions, this conversation centers presence: learning to notice what’s alive in the body, what feels safe, and what we’re genuinely drawn toward—without pressure to act or perform.

Together, we unpack:

- Why sex is culturally obsessed over and simultaneously suppressed
- What it means to ask, “What actually turns me on?” for the first time
- How fantasy and romance can offer information—not instruction
- The role of safety, the nervous system, and the body in desire
- Reclaiming sexuality as something personal, not performative
- Why curiosity and imagination can be powerful tools for self-connection

This episode is thoughtful, warm, and unexpectedly fun—an invitation to approach desire with more honesty, softness, and trust.

Resources Mentioned:
Dr. Stormy Hill
Intimacy Coach & Mental Health Occupational Therapist
https://lovedeeplab.com/

Courtney Stookey Owner of Lovebound Library
Utah’s first romance-only bookstore
https://www.loveboundlibrary.com

Rocky and Tessa's book picks from Lovebound Library:
Heather's Pick: A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston
Rocky's Pick: Black Rose and Blood Orange by Karina Halle

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/loveboundlibrary

Disclaimer:
This conversation reflects personal experience and perspective, not medical, psychological, or therapeutic advice. Everyone’s body, nervous system, and healing journey is different. We encourage you to consult a qualified medical or mental health professional before making decisions related to your physical or emotional health.

Connect with us!

💬 Join the conversation in our private network on BFF
https://links.geneva.com/invite/af6ecd07-9070-43b7-9629-7aaa166aa131

📲 Follow us on Instagram
instagram.com/maven.community

✨ And if this episode moved you, sharing it with a friend helps more women find us.

More at → mavenslc.com

In this episode of Heart + Head Work, we explore what happens when everything goes quiet.

Rocky Donati shares her experience attending a 10-day Vipassana silent retreat—a meditation practice centered on awareness, equanimity, and learning to see reality exactly as it is. With no phone, no speaking, no reading, and more than 11 hours of meditation per day, the retreat created an environment designed to strip away distraction and invite a direct encounter with the self.

What unfolded wasn’t bliss—it was pain. Intense, sustained physical pain that became the gateway to something far more transformative: a deep reconnection to the body, an understanding of sensation versus reaction, and the realization that presence isn’t about feeling good—it’s about being fully with what is.

Rocky opens up about what it means to sit with discomfort instead of trying to escape it, how chronic pain and dissociation can disconnect us from ourselves, and why learning to observe without reacting can change how we move through every part of life.

Together, we unpack

• What a 10-day Vipassana silent retreat actually looks like (schedule, structure, and expectations)
• Why Rocky experienced intense physical pain while others did not
• The difference between sensation, reaction, and equanimity
• How chronic pain, dissociation, and healing are deeply connected
• What it means to witness yourself without trying to fix or change anything
• Why presence creates now benefits—not just future ones
• How this practice continues beyond meditation and into daily life

This episode is honest, embodied, and deeply human—an invitation to explore presence in whatever way meets you where you are.

Resources Mentioned

Vipassana Meditation (as taught by S.N. Goenka):
https://www.dhamma.org

https://www.pasava.dhamma.org/

Disclaimer

This conversation reflects personal experience and perspective, not medical, psychological, or therapeutic advice. Everyone’s body, nervous system, and healing journey is different. We encourage you to consult a qualified medical or mental health professional before making decisions related to your physical or emotional health.

Connect with us!

💬 Join the conversation in our private network on BFF
https://links.geneva.com/invite/af6ecd07-9070-43b7-9629-7aaa166aa131

📲 Follow us on Instagram
instagram.com/maven.community

✨ And if this episode moved you, sharing it with a friend helps more women find us.

More at → mavenslc.com