Jules (they/them), founder of Hair for Humans, and their father, Brian (he/him), a pastor, reflect on Jules’ experience growing up as a transgender person, before and after transitioning. Brian recalls early moments, like strong resistance to wearing dresses, and a persistent feeling that something about Jules wasn’t fully visible. Jules also shares the in-between years – marked by anxiety, disconnection, and charting unknown territory – before finding a way to reconnect with their body and feel at home in themselves, a shift that ultimately changed everything. Brian reflects on how his work in the ministry mirrors Jules’ work behind the chair as a hairstylist, both centered on listening deeply and creating safe spaces for people to discover how to show up in the world authentically. Together, they explore how support – through the coming out journey and beyond – wasn’t about having all the answers, but about showing up with trust, curiosity, and a willingness to grow alongside each other.

Jules Heron is the founder of Hair for Humans, providing hair services to people who struggle to feel seen or heard in the hair industry. They are passionate about creating transformational short haircuts and teaching their craft to others via group and individual classes.

Brian Heron is a minister, author, pilgrimager, and proud father of a trans human. In his semi-retirement, he blogs and is working on a book that explores the intersection of religion and culture – both lessons and thoughts on what’s ahead. He joyfully plays guitar and writes music.

Shanti Joy Gold is a professional coach, 30-year corporate warrior, and member of the LGBTQIA+ community. She understands the unique challenges faced by those who feel like outsiders, and guides underrepresented people to confidently thrive in their careers by being fully themselves.

👉 Try Shanti’s Thriving Assessment here to get clarity on where you’re excelling, and where you can increase fulfillment, joy, and impact.

Other stories shared by Jules, Brian, and Shanti:

• Reflecting on a Home Depot moment that heightened Jules’ awareness of being newly perceived as a white male — and the “obligation to be one of the good guys” that came with it.
• Choosing values over moment-to-moment feelings to make business decisions with greater clarity and alignment.
• Recognizing that strong reactions often reflect internal fears, and choosing self-awareness and conversation as a path to deeper understanding.
• Highlighting the power and skill of listening without judgment, creating space for people to feel seen and discover who they are.

Thanks for listening — and don’t forget to follow, rate, and review! Check out all episodes at storieswehaventshared.com.

CONNECT WITH JULES HERON
Work with Jules!
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CONNECT WITH BRIAN HERON
Brian Work & Blog
Facebook
Buy Brian’s Book

CONNECT WITH SHANTI JOY GOLD
LinkedIn
Spotify playlist
Work with Shanti!

Sue Wicks (she/her) is a New York Liberty WNBA All-Star from the league’s inaugural season and a member of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. She is also a trailblazer for LGBTQ+ visibility in sports who became the first active WNBA player to come out publicly in 2002 and was recently inducted into the LGBTQ+ Hall of Fame. In this conversation, she reflects on building a career in women’s basketball before professional opportunities truly existed, playing for years overseas before the formation of the WNBA created a path to return home and compete in the United States. Sue also shares what it meant to come out publicly — an opportunity she welcomed — at a time when visibility carried real personal and professional risk. Along the way, she reflects on growing up feeling like an outsider and how that perspective shaped her views on leadership, gender, and representation in sports. Today, she sees that outsider lens as a strength — one that allows people to see, build, and sustain things others might miss.

Sue Wicks is the all-time leading scorer and rebounder in Rutgers women’s basketball history, a former New York Liberty WNBA All-Star who played in the league’s inaugural season, and a Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame inductee. Today, she farms oysters and kelp on Long Island as the founder of Violet Cove Oyster Company, a sustainable aquaculture venture.

Shanti Joy Gold is a professional coach, 30-year corporate warrior, and member of the LGBTQIA+ community. She understands the unique challenges faced by those who feel like outsiders and, as an executive coach, guides underrepresented people to confidently thrive in their careers by being fully themselves.

👉 Try Shanti’s free Thriving Assessment here to get clarity on where you’re excelling — and where you can increase fulfillment, joy, and impact.

Other stories shared by Sue and Shanti at the campfire:

• Remembering the newspaper clipping about Rutgers winning a women’s championship that convinced her she would play there — even before she’d seen women’s basketball at that level.
• Admitting that even after decades of success in professional basketball, she still sometimes shrinks herself in certain environments after a lifetime of self-regulation.
• Reflecting on how her focus later in her career shifted from individual performance to leadership and ambassadorship in women’s sports.
• Observing that women often develop a unique skillset because they’re constantly asked to unpack and explain their thinking in ways men often aren’t.
• Explaining why oyster farming became a new chapter after her professional basketball career — and why working on the water feels freeing, with no gender roles.

Thank you for listening! Tune in to all episodes for stories and insights on navigating your career as an outsider — and on the impact of allyship. Don’t forget to follow, rate, and review!

Learn more about the podcast at storieswehaventshared.com

CONNECT WITH SUE WICKS
Violet Cove Oyster Co. Instagram

CONNECT WITH SHANTI JOY GOLD
LinkedIn
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Book a Free Discovery Call
Work with Shanti!

In this episode, Shanti Joy Gold (she/her) sits down with her freshman-year roommate, Caren Lissner (she/her) — a news editor, reporter, essayist, and published novelist. Caren recently began sharing how housing insecurity and financial instability shaped her upbringing, including periods of living out of her car during college summers without anyone knowing. Caren shares what it was like to grow up navigating poverty alongside a parent’s mental illness, and how hiding those realities became a necessary way to cope. The conversation explores themes of outsiderhood, resilience, creativity, and the pressure to hustle quietly in an effort to break the cycle of instability. Caren reflects on how she never let go of her dreams, leaning into creativity as a way to heal herself and support others — and how determination and persistence shaped a path that finally felt like her own.

Caren Lissner is a news editor and reporter who currently writes for local news websites. Her humorous and serious essays have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Atlantic. Her first novel, Carrie Pilby — an independent coming-of-age comedy-drama — was adapted into a feature film. She is currently working on a memoir, How We Became Homeless, which chronicles downward mobility from the 1980s to today.

Shanti Joy Gold is a professional coach, 30-year corporate warrior, and member of the LGBTQIA+ community. She understands the unique challenges faced by those who feel like outsiders and, as an executive coach, guides underrepresented people to confidently thrive in their careers by being fully themselves.

👉 Try Shanti’s free Thriving Assessment here to get clarity on where you’re excelling — and where you can increase fulfillment, joy, and impact.

Other stories shared by Caren and Shanti at the campfire:

• Reflecting on the gradual unraveling of stability — from living modestly in a suburb to her mom’s mental illness quietly taking its toll over time.
• Sharing how publishing her Pennsylvania Gazette essay created space for others with similar financial insecurity to reach out and feel seen.
• Describing how Caren worked her way out of poverty one job at a time, squirreling away money and continuing to take small steps toward supporting herself and her family.
• Offering her belief that everyone’s story matters, and that telling it can help someone else feel less alone.

Thank you for listening! Tune in to all episodes for stories and insights on navigating your career as an outsider — and on the impact of allyship. Don’t forget to follow, rate, and review!

Learn more about the podcast at storieswehaventshared.com

CONNECT WITH CAREN
Read Caren’s Work
Penn Gazette Essay "Close Your Eyes"
Buy Carrie Pilby - The Book
Watch Carrie Pilby - The Movie
Instagram

CONNECT WITH SHANTI JOY GOLD
LinkedIn
Instagram
Podcast Spotify playlist
Book a Free Discovery Call
Work with Shanti!

In this episode, Shanti Joy Gold (she/her) sits down with Felix Sutherland (they/them), a white, queer, nonbinary, autistic coach whose work is shaped by their lived experience. Felix shares their stories of self-recognition around identity and neurodivergence - along with the relief, grief, and clarity that surfaced as they began to understand and share themselves more fully. The conversation explores allyship, including the advice to stay present and engaged when discomfort arises. Felix discusses themes of masking, workplace safety, and the emotional labor required to navigate systems not designed with neurodivergent or nonbinary people in mind. They also reflect on how overcompensating through perfectionism and overachievement leads to deep exhaustion, and how cultivating self-trust supports a shift toward work that is aligned, joyful, and sustainable.

Felix Sutherland helps high-masking and late-/un-diagnosed autistic and ADHD folks sort through the identity crises that come with understanding your brain for the first time in adulthood. They offer coworking sessions, 1:1 coaching - and more - to help people build more joyful relationships with themselves and others.

Shanti Joy Gold is a professional coach, 30-year corporate warrior and member of the LGBTQIA+ community. She understands the unique challenges faced by those who feel like outsiders and, as an executive coach, guides underrepresented people to confidently thrive in their careers by being fully themselves.

👉 Try Shanti’s free Thriving Assessment here to get clarity on where you’re excelling - and where you can increase fulfillment, joy, and impact.

Other stories shared by Felix and Shanti at the campfire:

• Recounting the range of reactions Felix experienced after sharing their pronouns at work, from support to subtle resistance.
• Sharing how an unexpected layoff disrupted ideas of safety at work and, in the end, offered a sense of freedom.
• Exploring what the words “queer” and “nonbinary” mean to Felix - and their experience of how others within the LGBTQIA+ community relate to the language
• Learning about Felix’s passion for roller derby and what the sport is actually about (hint: not throwing elbows).

Thank you for listening! Tune in to all episodes for stories and insights on navigating your career as an outsider — and on the impact of allyship. Don’t forget to follow, rate, and review!

Learn more about the Stories We Haven’t Shared podcast at storieswehaventshared.com

CONNECT WITH FELIX
Work with Felix!
Instagram
Facebook
Mailing List
Coworking

CONNECT WITH SHANTI JOY GOLD
LinkedIn
Instagram
Podcast Spotify playlist
Book a Free Discovery Call
Work with Shanti!

In this episode, Shanti (she/her) welcomes Ally Sunberg (she/her), a marketing leader and long-time LGBTQ+ workplace advocate. Ally shares her journey of embracing her bisexual identity and navigating what it means to show up authentically in her career. She unpacks the tension between how she naturally presents, her discomfort with traditional “femme” business attire norms, and the assumptions that often lead her into repeated coming-out moments - whether about her sexuality or the significant age difference with her wife. She reflects on formative career experiences - from early conversations about her identity to leading her company’s Pride Employee Resource Group (ERG) - that shaped her confidence and her commitment to creating safer spaces for others. She explores how identity, family, and resilience intersect, and how embracing the dynamic “messy middle” has helped her grow as a leader and a person.

Ally Sunberg is a corporate strategist and marketer who leads the development of innovation pipelines for consumer products - from early-stage ideation through feasibility and execution. She is a values-driven leader committed to inclusive leadership and creating space for others to thrive. Ally believes that insight and empathy are as essential as data and discipline.

Shanti Joy Gold is a professional coach, 30-year corporate warrior and member of the LGBTQIA+ community. She understands the unique challenges faced by those who feel like outsiders and, as an executive coach, guides underrepresented people to confidently thrive in their careers by being fully themselves.

👉 Try Shanti’s free Thriving Assessment here to get clarity on where you’re excelling - and where you can increase fulfillment, joy, and impact.

Other stories shared by Ally and Shanti at the campfire:

• Reflecting on the ongoing “scanning” LGBTQ+ people navigate, and how her daughters inspire her to show up without hesitation.
• Recounting the emotional labor of repeated coming-out moments and how leading the Pride ERG helped her take control of her narrative.
• Exploring how marathon training teaches Ally to break life into small, manageable moments.
• Sharing the layered experience of being in a same-sex relationship with a significant age gap.

Thank you for listening! Tune in to all episodes for stories and insights on navigating your career as an outsider — and on the impact of allyship. Don’t forget to follow, rate, and review!

Learn more about the Stories We Haven’t Shared poscast at storieswehaventshared.com

CONNECT WITH ALLY
LinkedIn

CONNECT WITH SHANTI JOY GOLD
LinkedIn
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Book a Free Discovery Call
Work with Shanti!

In this episode, Shanti Joy Gold (she/her) sits down with Chris Ruden (he/him) - keynote speaker, powerlifter, disability advocate, and competitor on The Rock’s Titan Games. Born with a limb difference and later diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, Chris shares how he spent years perfecting the art of hiding - keeping his hand in his pocket, wearing a glove, and meticulously planning ways to blend in. He talks about the weight of ableism, both external and internal, and how unlearning it required facing layers of shame and self-protection he didn’t know he carried. What followed wasn’t a sudden transformation, but a steady reclamation - and the belief that difference itself can be a source of power. Chris also shares how curiosity - his own and others’ - opens the door to inclusion, connection, innovation, and unlocking the best version of ourselves.

Chris Ruden is a transformational keynote speaker, change management expert, author, and disability inclusion advocate. He leverages his story of overcoming adversity to help organizations build trust and resilience - bringing his message of “creating your world without limits” to impact people around the world.

Shanti Joy Gold is a professional coach, 30-year corporate warrior and member of the LGBTQIA+ community. She understands the unique challenges faced by those who feel like outsiders and, as an executive coach, guides underrepresented people to confidently thrive in their careers by being fully themselves.

👉 Try Shanti’s free Thriving Assessment here to get clarity on where you’re excelling - and where you can increase fulfillment, joy, and impact.

Other stories shared by Shanti and Chris at the campfire:

• Exploring how lasting change grows from small, winnable moments that build confidence - encouraging risk-taking and opening the door to possibilities.
• Recounting the middle-school moment when a classmate’s cruel taunting set off years of hiding and self-doubt.
• Discussing that habits are not identity - and the freedom that comes from knowing we can choose differently at any moment.
• Reflecting on a period of numbing that ended with a little girl’s unfiltered love - sparking a cascade that led Chris to share his disability publicly.

Thank you for listening! Tune in to all episodes for stories and insights on navigating your career as an outsider — and on the impact of allyship. Don’t forget to follow, rate, and review!

Learn more about Stories We Haven’t Shared at storieswehaventshared.com

CONNECT WITH CHRIS
Work With Chris!
LinkedIn
Instagram
YouTube
Book - The Art of Changing Course
Book - The Upper Hand

CONNECT WITH SHANTI JOY GOLD
LinkedIn
Instagram
Podcast Spotify playlist
Book a Free Discovery Call
Work with Shanti!

In this episode, Shanti Joy Gold (she/her) sits down with chef Anita Lo (she/her), a gay, Asian, gender-nonconforming woman, Michelin-starred culinary innovator, Food Network competitor, and pioneer in contemporary-American cuisine. Anita reflects on growing up as a person of color and outsider in the Midwest: the taunts she endured, the resilience they fueled, and what it means to succeed on her own terms in an industry eager to define her. She shares how kitchens became a place of belonging despite their relentless pace and demands, and how her intersectional identity shaped her approach to her culinary journey. The conversation closes with the Thrive Takeaway: be tenacious, believe in yourself, and keep moving toward what makes you happy.

Anita Lo is a multiple-award-winning chef, restaurateur, cookbook author - and the first female chef to collaborate on a White House State Dinner. She is currently the Culinary Director of Stylus, a private club on the Lower East Side dedicated to the ephemeral arts (opening early 2026). She also hosts culinary tours around the world with Tour De Forks, a luxury travel company specializing in custom-designed epicurean adventures.

Shanti Joy Gold is a professional coach, 30-year corporate warrior and member of the LGBTQIA+ community. She understands the unique challenges faced by those who feel like outsiders and, as an executive coach, guides underrepresented people to confidently thrive in their careers by being fully themselves.

👉 Try Shanti’s free Thriving Assessment to get instant clarity on where you’re excelling - and where you can increase fulfillment, joy, and impact: shantijoygold.com/take-the-thriving-assessment

Other stories shared by Anita and Shanti at the campfire:

• Recounting Anita’s sweltering first kitchen job, where illness and exhaustion gave way to the realization she was exactly where she wanted to be.
• Taking the leap to open the award-winning restaurant, Annisa - and why creative freedom outweighed stability.
• Reflecting on the joy and focus found in the “Tetris rhythm” of the kitchen line.
• Sharing Anita’s quirky passions - from mushroom foraging to unicycling - that fuel her artistry and joy.

Thank you for listening! Tune in to all episodes for real stories and practical insights on navigating your career as an outsider - and on the impact of allyship. Don’t forget to follow, rate, and review the podcast!

Learn more about the Stories We Haven’t Shared podcast at storieswehaventshared.com

CONNECT WITH ANITA
Tour de Forks
Stylus
Instagram
LinkedIn
Anita’s Cookbooks
More About Anita

CONNECT WITH SHANTI JOY GOLD
LinkedIn
Instagram
Podcast Spotify playlist
Book a Free Discovery Call
Work with Shanti!

In the Season 2 premiere, host Shanti Joy Gold (she/her) sits down with her dad, Rondavid Gold (he/him), to revisit the moment she nervously came out to him. They reflect on how Rondavid met the news by prioritizing Shanti’s happiness, a response that quickly replaced fear with unconditional love and modeled true allyship. The conversation also acknowledges that while Rondavid's acceptance was immediate, many loved ones need time to adjust to reframed expectations - and that patience and grace are part of the journey. Shanti shares how years of secrecy shaped her leadership style, and how bringing her full self to work transformed her career, her teams, and their results. The episode closes with the inaugural Thrive Takeaway, revealing why ‘be yourself; everyone else is already taken’ is a powerful way of operating in work and life.

Rondavid Gold is a retired ad guy who spent 50 years as a copywriter, partner and CEO providing advertising, marketing, branding and PR for clients. He’s a Veteran, published author and active musician. Due to his many interests, a dedicated exercise routine (initiated by his wife) and multiple philanthropic/volunteer efforts, he’s one heck of a busy retired guy.

Shanti Joy Gold is a professional coach, 30-year corporate warrior and member of the LGBTQIA+ community. She understands the unique challenges faced by those who feel like outsiders and, as an executive coach, guides underrepresented people to confidently thrive in their careers by being fully themselves.

👉 Try Shanti’s free Thriving Assessment to get instant clarity on where you’re excelling - and where you can increase fulfillment, joy, and impact: shantijoygold.com/take-the-thriving-assessment

Other stories shared by Shanti and her Dad at the campfire:

• Reminiscing about the Yankees rain-delay conversation where Shanti shared why she didn’t plan to have kids - and Rondavid’s evolving thoughts on grandparenthood.
• Remembering Shanti’s stepmom’s light-bulb moment of acceptance and understanding.
• Recounting how Shanti strongly resisted a sales path, until an internship revealed unexpected enjoyment and launched a decades-long career.
• Talking about a charity concert around a historic Rachmaninoff piano - and sharing a perfectly-timed Dad joke.

Thank you for listening! Tune in to all episodes for real stories and practical insights on navigating your career as an outsider - and on the impact of allyship. Don’t forget to follow, rate, and review the podcast!

Learn more at storieswehaventshared.com

CONNECT WITH RONDAVID GOLD
Book - Because of Eve (Thriller)
Book - Selling (Without Selling)...With Wife, Carol
Rondavid Performs “Shanti and Me”
Rondavid's Website
The Project R Story from Ep. 14
Tuesdays With Shanti’s Dad

CONNECT WITH SHANTI JOY GOLD
LinkedIn
Instagram
Podcast Spotify playlist
Work with Shanti!