When we first meet a person, or even after we have become familiar with them as they currently “are”, we usually have no idea what came before. How did they get to where they aretoday? What other experiences played a role in their current selves? That’s what is so fun for me in doing these podcasts; hearing the life experiences that build the people around us.

Today’s guest is a good example of this. Everyone in Princeton certainly knows who Michelle Pirone Lambros “is”;she’s one of our Council Members. We know what she strives for: strong businesses, better transit and accessibility,creating a more livable community, and on and on. And we see her at countless events, supporting local organizations. But that is her public persona. I was delighted to learn about the historic Michelle, and an impressive history it is!

From her Italian roots, growing up in Princeton, to building political connections and businesses in California and Florida, and creating unbelievable entrepreneurial endeavors (food festivals anyone?) in Mexico and Kuwait; her story is one of energy, ideas and purpose! Very inspiring!

I am so glad Michelle went full circle, ending up back here in Princeton, and using that “Type A” energy to tirelessly serve our community!

Please join us in our conversation!

I am very excited to share my latest conversation with all of you! Today’s guest is Marc Uys, Executive Director of the Princeton Symphony Orchestra. To be honest, I am a music appreciator, but one with zero musical talent myself. So, talking with Marc was a bit intimidating!

But we had a wonderful conversation, and I could have talked with him for hours! (I think perhaps I did…) I learned of Marc’s origins in South Africa and his passion for the violin from the age of three! My listeners will learn, as I did, of Marc’s fascinating and “dogged” (you’ll get the reference when you listen) musical path through university. Marc tells us of the importance of his time with the South African Youth Orchestra, and later his formation of the Sontonga Quartet. You need to check out some of their recordings at Soundcloud.com. Beautiful! (Google it)

Marc shares how he ultimately ended up in the States, not only performing as a violinist, but as a sought after “harp hauler”! Through joining Symphony in C, a high caliber training orchestra in Philadelphia, Marc met Rossen Milanov, PSO's Music Director, which is how he ended up at the Princeton Symphony Orchestra. We are so glad he did!

Of course, you’ll have to listen to hear the rest of the story...so please join us in our conversation!

To find out more about the Princeton Symphony Orchestra and its programs, go to www.princetonsymphony.org.

Along with listening to the Sontonga Quartet as mentioned above, I also recommend you look for Buskaid. This is a music school dedicated to teaching less privileged musicians in South Africa. During COVID, Marc and the PSO introduced the Princeton community to this wonderful organization through a series of remote concerts. Brilliant! You can find information at www.buskaid.org.za. You can find performances on YouTube.

Once again, my connections have come through with a wonderful guest! A previous guest, Carol Golden, and friend Shelly Yedlin, both had a role in my meeting up with Liz Lempert. Of course, I already knew a bit about Liz because she had been the mayor of Princeton a few years back.

I discovered that, of course, there is so much more to Liz’s story than her stint (albeit great for Princeton!) as Mayor. Liz shares with us her path from California, including Stanford, Oxford, the New York Times DC bureau, Cyc (early AI), NPR’s “Living on Earth”, Princeton Township Committee, Camp Obama and of course, her tenure as Mayor of Princeton Municipality. We learn of her care for the wellbeing of all, with a particular focus on affordable housing. Of course, the story doesn’t stop there and ultimately our paths crossed. (Thank goodness!)

Liz says she’s been so fortunate over the years as each step of her journey seemed to lead to something amazing. I imagine she has lots of bruises because she often said she needed to “pinch herself” to make sure she wasn’t dreaming!

But you’ll have to listen to hear the rest of the story...so please join us in our conversation!

Today’s guest, Jamie Kyte Sapoch, is a self-described nonprofit junkie”! I was so grateful to have an opportunity to learn from her, as my nonprofit experience over the last couple of years has been a bit baffling to me!

Jamie is truly an expert in the field of running a not for profit, from governance to capital campaigns, to just working well with teams of truly caring and smart people. Her experience started in DC during the 80’s working with Common Cause on arms control and campaign finance reform. So inspired by the work and the people, she was bitten by the non-profit bug.

Listen in while we talk about her roots in New Jersey, her path from being an art major to the world of nonprofits; from working within organizations such as the Watershed Institute, to overseeing the distribution of major grants at the Bunbury group, to consulting as a board coach and strategist, to doing executive searches. Quite a journey and quite a career!

I was particularly taken by her description of convincing donors to participate in a capital campaign. Rather than looking at is as an imposition, she described it as “giving them a gift, by aligning what’s important to them with the opportunity to help it grow.” Genius!

Jamie advises us to remember “it’s not about you”, to never stop learning and to always search for ways to make a difference. That’s certainly the path she’s chosen.

We had a great conversation! Please join us!

A few of the organizations Jamie has been involved with include:

The Watershed Institute: www.thewatershed.org

• “Keeping water clean, safe and healthy is the heart of our mission.”

T.A.S.K. Trenton Area Soup Kitchen www.trentonsoupkitchen.org

The Burke Foundation www.burkefoundation.org

• The Burke Foundation invests in transformative early childhood initiative to build a cycle of opportunity across generations.

The Chubby’s Project www.thechubbysproject.org

• We are a hyperlocal nonprofit dedicated to food justice and building connections within the Hopewell community.

I feel so lucky that my office was right across the street from the home of today’s guest, because with his wave and a smile, we became acquainted and later, I am happy to say, friends.

Lance Liverman is a true man of the community! He has worked passionately for the benefit of those in need. In fact, his community service has been so impactful, the mayor of Princeton has named a day after him; February 25, 2024, is officially Lance Liverman Day!

Like most of my guests who are involved in community service, Lance got an early start helping others. It was part of his family ethos to care for others and throughout his life, he has taken it to the next level.

Lance tells us about his life and how it led him to serve the community of Princeton in many capacities, especially related to his passion for affordable housing. His positive attitude, gratitude for what he has, and desire to share his bounty are evident in his story. And as he says, giving back gives him a natural “high”!

We had a great conversation and I hope you’ll listen in!

My connection to today’s guest is yet another example of how each person we meet exponentially broadens our network. I am getting less and less lonely and more and more inspired with each episode and conversation!

Join me as I talk with Nathalie Nelson, CEO of Womanspace who I met through Joan Bartl, who I met through…never mind, you get the picture! Womanspace is a wonderful organization, founded in 1977 by Barbara Boggs Sigmund, providing safe haven and resources to victims and families impacted by domestic violence here in Mercer County, NJ.

Nathalie shares the story of how her family emphasized hard work, education and most importantly volunteering and giving to those in need. This became a passion for Nathalie and factored heavily in her decision-making process as she chose her paths in education, career and life.

Her strength in Human Resources (people skills and caring all rolled into one) led her to Womanspace and ultimately the role of CEO. She shares with us how Womanspace does outreach, trains its response team, works with local administrations, hospitals and police officers, provides counseling, safe housing, programs and more to victim/survivors of domestic and sexual abuse.

It is important but taxing work. Nathalie, as a leader, emphasizes the importance of self-care to everyone on the Womanspace team. And although her schedule is intense, she is careful to set an example through meditation and time spent with friends and her wonderful family.

Please listen to this episode and if you know of anyone in Mercer County who needs these services, please have them reach out.

The number is (609)394-9000 and is answered by actual human beings 24/7! Check out their website at https://womanspace.org/.

I’m particularly excited about this episode because it embodies the very reason I started this podcast: to create connections! The purpose of this episode, along with telling a wonderful story, is to help someone launch her own podcast. And I made a new friend in the process!

Karen Kowalski, one of today’s guests, is an Occupational Therapist. She reached out to me because her clients’ stories about not only overcoming disabilities, but actually using them to springboard into new opportunities were so inspirational, she felt moved to get them out into the world. Her chosen medium is a podcast, although she hopes to include video. It will be called “Adjusting the Lens – Unbidden Triumphs”. So our podcast today is essentially a practice run toward that launch.

With Karen is one of her friends, Jen Orlick. It’s her amazing journey we’ll hear about today. Jen shares the story of her ovarian cancer diagnosis and how the treatments caused unexpected disabilities. As she struggled to learn new ways to live her life as fully as possible, an inspiration hit her.

Jen tells us how a childhood love of toy mice helped her to think outside the box. She went far beyond the typical therapy exercises focusing on regaining cognitive and motor skills. Her project started as building a house for the mice, but it evolved far beyond that. Jen has created an entire mouse world, complete with individual personas for each mouse, (Szusy, her husband Ralph, et al), activities, travel, environments, and even a following that spans the nation and an ocean! There is a move afoot to create their own Instagram account. That’s the story we’ll hear today.

We hope you’ll enjoy listening to this episode as much as we did recording it, and are inspired to watch for the launch of Karen’s podcast in the fall of 2024.

Please enjoy our conversation!

Check out my Facebook Page at I’m Frickin’ Lonely.How About You to see pictures of Szusy, Ralph, Szusy’s siblings, and the mouse house.

In this episode, I spoke with Paula Flory, an amazing woman who parlayed a huge shock…her Stage III breast cancer diagnosis…into a catalyst for creating a joy-focused method of care. Recognizing her own un-filled needs during treatment and recovery, Paula’s wheels (literally) started turning. This led to her creation of Move Over Breast Cancer, (MOBC) a fully mobile breast cancer support organization, complete with a beautiful van, fit out to provide breast cancer services in a spa-like setting. But that’s not all! We’ll hear about all the breadth of supportive programs Paula has created to help those facing what she faced. She considers MOBC “the face of hope” for her family of women fighting breast cancer.

Paula shares with us the story of her upbringing in New Jersey and her path through university, focusing on psychology and counseling. Give a listen as she tells us about her study abroad run-in with her ex-boyfriend. And her experience when serving as a counselor during grad school at NYU will pluck your heart strings. But there is a clear link between the skills and experience she developed during those years to her current mission.

After Paula’s diagnosis, the treatment and staying strong for her family took all the strength she had. But her experiences planted the seed that ultimately led to creating of Move Over Breast Cancer. She tells us how the idea came to her, how she found funding (during the pandemic no less!), how she found the van, and ultimately how MOBC’s services blossomed into something so much more. Her fellow survivors and current fighters have truly become a family! What an inspiration!

Make sure to watch her interview on The View. It’s available on YouTube and the link is at her website. There you can hear more of her story, see the van, and meet some of the women she has helped.

We had such a fun time recording this episode. Please enjoy our conversation!

Paula encourages anyone in our region with breast cancer or a with loved one with breast cancer to reach out. Information can be found at her website:

https://moveoverbreastcancer.org/

Paula kept a blog throughout her treatment to keep friends and family informed of her progress, but also as a form of personal therapy. She used a site called CaringBridge:

https://www.caringbridge.org