Talk To Jess: Conversations With Today's Thinkers, Movers, And Shapers

You may know her as GabiFresh — Gabi Gregg is an entrepreneur, fashion and style blogger, brand ambassador, and creator of her own line of swimsuits for Swimsuits for All. Gabi is a trailblazing pioneer in the plus-sized fashion and women’s empowerment space; she uses fashion as a means to tell stories about loving the skin you’re in and always being true to your authentic self. In this episode, Jess and Gabi talk about building a career post-Recession, being more than the “plus-sized blogger” label, and the message behind her branding. 

This special edition episode is powered by Dove Real Beauty Productions. To celebrate its 60th Anniversary at the Mom 2.0 Summit, we are creating conversations with inspiring women around the evolution of self-discovery and the definition of real beauty. Morra Aarons-Mele is the founder of “Women Online” and the author of the upcoming book, Hiding in the Bathroom: An Introvert’s Roadmap to Getting Out There (When You’d Rather Stay Home). What I love about Morra is that she is a true kindred spirit; she is a fellow podcaster and a fierce advocate for how women in media and pop culture are represented. In this episode, Jess and Morra discuss entrepreneurship while being introverted, successful marketing campaigns aimed at women, and the importance of messages about leadership for young girls.

This special edition episode is powered by Dove Real Beauty Productions. To celebrate its 60th Anniversary at the Mom 2.0 Summit, we are creating conversations with inspiring women around the evolution of self-discovery and the definition of real beauty. Despite not feeling represented in the media around her, Mimi Scarlett’s mother instilled a sense of self-worth in her from a young age — a message she shares with other mothers on her blog, UnlikelyMartha. In this special edition episode, Jess and Mimi discuss entrepreneurship, moms in media, and how to actually enjoy being a mom.

Taylor Barnes is the Director of The United State of Women (USOW), a program created by the Civic Nation to mobilize civic engagement and push the movement forward for gender equality. Five thousand women from autoworkers, to midwives, to CEOs came to D.C. to talk about gender equality at the program’s inaugural summit last year. Taylor’s infectious energy and commitment to helping young women to turn their passion into action is inspiring to all! In this episode, Jess and Taylor discuss the purpose of USOW, the program’s future plans, and the state of gender equality around the world.

To celebrate #FathersDay, I want to share a special #TTJPodcast conversation featuring my dad Michael Weiner.

This special edition episode is powered by Dove Real Beauty Productions. To celebrate its 60th Anniversary at the Mom 2.0 Summit, we are creating conversations with inspiring women around the evolution of self-discovery and the definition of real beauty. Katie Reed is the founder of AMotherThing.com, a blog that shares the uncensored stories of her motherhood journey. In this episode, Jess and Katie discuss how she found great hope and inspiration through building a community that shared their parenting experiences alongside her own. Katie shows her daughter and others that being authentic is necessary when building a community and cultivating confidence.

Jennifer Romolini is the acclaimed editor of websites like Yahoo Shine, HelloGiggles, and most currently, Shondaland.com! She’s spent many years as a writer and creative, and now she’s sharing her not-so-easy journey to success in her new book “Weird In A World That’s Not: A Career Guide for Misfits, F*ckups and Failures.” In this episode, Jess and Jenn discuss how she found a way to create her own lane and shape her career to fit her set of values and her personality, rather than allowing her job to dictate her path.

This special edition episode is powered by Dove Real Beauty Productions. To celebrate its 60th Anniversary at the Mom 2.0 Summit, we are creating conversations with inspiring women around the evolution of self-discovery and the definition of real beauty. Julianna Margulies is an Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning actress. In addition to spending many years playing the feisty head nurse Carol Hathaway on ER and the gorgeously flawed Alicia Florrick on The Good Wife, Julianna is also the proud mother of a little boy. In this episode, Jess and Julianna discuss her honest insights from working in Hollywood, investing in your passions, ignoring tired stereotypes, and raising confident feminist men.

Ana Flores has spent more than 15 years holding various positions in her career in media. Her most notable work is pioneering the first and largest network of Latina digital influencers in the country, formally known as the #WeAllGrow Latina Network. In this episode, Jess and Ana discuss how she shapes culture by increasing representation of Latinas in media and advertising through a network that she built herself from the ground up.

This special edition episode is powered by Dove Real Beauty Productions. To celebrate its 60th Anniversary at the Mom 2.0 Summit, we are creating conversations with inspiring women around the evolution of self-discovery and the definition of real beauty. Nicola Yoon is a mother, a mentor, and the author of two bestselling YA books, “Everything, Everything,” and “The Sun is Also a Star.” She has a deep desire to tell big stories around female characters that all readers can relate to. In this episode, Jess and Nicola discuss why it’s extremely important for every little girl to see herself as the hero of a story.

This special edition episode is powered by Dove Real Beauty Productions. To celebrate its 60th Anniversary at the Mom 2.0 Summit, we are creating conversations with inspiring women around the evolution of self-discovery and the definition of real beauty. Karen Walrond is an author, photographer, a former attorney, and engineer, a speaker, AND a coach; the perfect example of the “Yes, AND” woman. She has a gift for helping people find the beauty both inside and around us and which has e a huge impact on our self-esteem. In this episode, Jess and Karen discuss how she helps women and girls learn to thrive through their passions, leadership, and self-motivation.

Jess partnered with Dove Real Beauty Productions to take the Talk to Jess podcast on the road – all the way down to the Mom 2.0 Summit in Orlando, Florida! She captured insightful conversations with powerful women about raising confident children, building engaged communities, increasing media representation, and learning to love the skin you’re in. This special edition episode also marks the first anniversary of our Talk to Jess podcast! Jess reflects on one year of her guest’s willingness to share their struggles, risks, and reasons “why” behind the world-changing work they do every day.

Nicola Yoon is the author of two bestselling YA novels “The Sun is Also a Star” and “Everything, Everything” (in theaters May 19th) which have touched millions of readers. In this episode, Jess and Nicola discuss how she creates diverse characters that are truly reflective of real, ordinary people and their real interests, instead of relying on stereotypes or tropes. For any aspiring creatives listening, Nicola also shares advice from the lessons she’s learned on her journey from bestseller all the way to the box office.

Dr. Knatokie Ford is the founder and CEO of Fly Sci Enterprise, LLC, an innovative consulting organization that delivers science to people through creative content, focusing on presenting the “cool” and relatable aspects of STEM. In this episode, Jess and Knatokie discuss how she found her path in STEM that ultimately led her to the position of Senior Policy Advisor at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) during the Obama Administration. Today, Knatokie is focused on leading an extremely important conversation about how our media and entertainment represent diversity in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. 

After working the advertising industry for almost 30 years, Kat Gordon saw first-hand how the lack of female creative directors at ad agencies (at that time, just 3% of creative directors were women) impacted the way women were depicted in advertising media. In this episode, Jess and Kat discuss how she turned her love for writing into a career in creative advertising and the growth of inclusion that she’s built for her industry along the way. Once Kat realized what was happening to female creatives from inside the ad-world, she connected with people who supported her mission and trailblazed a movement to take the percentage of women in creative advertising beyond 3%.   

After spending 13 years as an aerospace engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab, Tracy Van Houten is on a mission to fight the Trump agendas from her very own seat at the table. She recently decided to run for a House seat in the 34th District of California Special Election. In this episode, Jess and Tracy discuss the path she took that has led her from being a woman in rocket science to aspiring to be a woman in political science. Learn how she got her campaign for office off the ground (and how you can run, too), and what she plans to do if she is elected to Congress on April 4th.

Muslim voices have been silenced in mainstream media, but Amani Al-Khatahtbeh, the founder of MuslimGirl.com, is building a platform for amplification. In this episode, Jess and Amani jump right back in for a “part two” of their conversation from our last episode. This time, Amani is getting real about Islamophobia, intersectional feminism, and how we can all be better allies to Muslims during a Trump presidency.

Muslim voices have been silenced in American media, but Amani Al-Khatahtbeh, the founder of MuslimGirl.com, is building a platform for amplification. In this episode, Jess and Amani discuss how she turned her passion for sharing her voice into the first Muslim-business to be featured on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list.

Some people simply go to work to get a job done, but Vivian Odior is deeply invested in the social impact of her work as a Senior Brand Manager. In this episode, Jess and Vivian discuss her unique career path to Brand Manager and how she uses her passion for helping girls live a healthy lifestyle as fuel to create brand marketing messages that push our culture and society forward.

Author and entrepreneur Samantha Ettus is an expert on creating work-life balance. Her most recent publication of “The Pie Life” sparked a lot of conversation around the idea that moms shouldn’t step away from their careers to raise their children. In this episode of Talk to Jess, Sam & Jess dive deeper into some of the work-life balance philosophy expressed in her book and why she feels it’s best to protect her children from the sexism prevailing in this year’s election.