The Virginia Badass Podcast

In this episode, Candice and Michelle speak with Major General (US Army, Retired) Donna Barbisch who is an expert in health policy and pandemic planning. She shares her thoughts on the current state of affairs as well as life in the military as a woman and her volunteer work with National Security Leaders for Biden.Learn more:National Security Leaders for Biden

In this episode, Candice and Michelle share their thoughts on Ruth Bader Ginsburg and her legacy.Read More:"Your Spouse is Your Glass Ceiling" -- Marie Claire"The Class of RBG" -- Slate

In this episode, Candice and Michelle talk about Kamala Harris as the recently selected Democratic Vice Presidential candidate.

In this episode, Michelle and Candice speak with Alyia Gaskins and Katie Leonard who are the hosts of the podcast, Checkbox Outreach, about systemic racism in America today. How do we have the hard conversations we must have if we are going to move forward? Badass of the Week: Weijia Jiang Learn more:Tamika Butler's Blog  

In this week's episode, Candice and Michelle speak with Linda Kaufman, who in the early 2000s was the plaintiff in a lawsuit that challenged Virginia's bar on her adoption of a child from DC on the basis of her sexual orientation.  Linda was raised in Loudoun County and is a retired Episcopal priest, and shares wisdom learned from her activism. 

In this week's episode, Michelle and Candice speak with Julie Jakopic, one of the country's top organizational and leadership development consultants.  She is the President/CEO/Founder of iLead Strategies, an organizational development firm that strengthens leadership effectiveness.  Julie is also committed to public service and has served on numerous boards and commissions in Alexandria, VA.  She's also active in Virginia politics, having run for office and served on a number of campaigns, as well as the board of Virginia's List, a political action committee dedicated to electing more Democratic women in Virginia. And check out our international women leaders Badasses of the Week.

In this week's episode, Michelle and Candice speak with Chelsea Anders about her advocacy efforts after having a daughter with physical disabilities.  Chelsea's family moved back to Texas from Virginia and she talks about the staggering differences in services available to parents and starting her own business, Lubbock Moms Blog.

In this week's episode, Michelle and Candice speak with Tricia Dunlap of Dunlap Law PLC about the challenges small businesses, especially micro businesses, face under well-intentioned but problematic provisions of the recently passed $2 trillion CARES Act and Paycheck Protection Program, as well as the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.   Tricia has some experience living through intense adversity and uncertainty and offers some advice on making it through these scary times.  We end on a high note with a shoutout to a whole lot of Badasses of the Week.  For more helpful information for small and micro businesses, visit Dunlap Law's dedicated covid-19 resource webpage.

In this week's episode, Michelle and Candice look for some good news stories during the current pandemic. Michelle highlights key elements in the most recent coronavirus aid bill that help workers and small business owners. Candice highlights some delightful treats we have seen from artists over social media. She also highlights the work of local small businesses to think creatively and finding ways that both support their workers and local community, including Cheesetique, a local restaurant and cheese market that has launched "Family Meal Alexandria" to support local hospitality workers. Candice and Michelle riff on their current video streaming habits, including Tiger King (Netflix), Stranger Things (Netflix), and Star Wars (Disney+). Our Badass of the Week is Rep. Katie Porter. Her recent effort during a hearing with the CDC chief that had him under oath commit to paying for coronavirus testing was nothing short of heroic.More:Steve Martin on the banjo (Twitter)Patrick Stewart's sonnets (The Hollywood Reporter)Shaker & Spoon Cocktail Box

This week, Candice and Michelle speak with Jennefer Witter of the Boreland Group about how businesses can manage communications, media relations and even networking during times like the current coronavirus pandemic. Jennefer recently released a Tedx Talk on Implicit Bias, providing insight in how we each can look inward and address unconscious (implicit) biases we might have.Learn More:The Little Book of Big Pr: 100+ Quick Tips to Get Your Business Noticed by Jennefer Witter (Amazon)"Tips on Business Communication During Times of Crisis" by Jennefer Witter (LinkedIn)Implicit Bias Project (Harvard)

This week, Michelle and Candice speak with Cristina Diaz-Torres, a candidate for Arlington County School Board, about issues facing education today, include equity issues, teacher pay, and data, including a shoutout to Leslie Knope of Parks & Recreation for "people who care loudly". Our Badass of the Week, are the women of Mexico who bravely stayed home  on March 9th to protest violence against women in their country.This week, Michelle and Candice speak with Cristina Diaz-Torres, a candidate for Arlington County School Board, about issues facing education today, include equity issues, teacher pay, and data.

In this episode, Candice and Michelle analyze the state of the Democratic presidential primary after Super Tuesday's results.

In this episode, Candice and Michelle look back at last year's scandals with Virginia's Governor, Lt. Governor, and Attorney General, and discuss the burdens placed on women when an elected leader remains in office after being the subject of credible allegations of sexual assault.

In this episode, Candice and Michelle speak with Krysta Jones, Founder and CEO of Vote Lead Impact. Among her current efforts, she has led the charge to help elect more African-American women and men to public office across the country. She has created a database of resumes for political candidates looking to increase the diversity of their campaign staffs. She is working with the Brandywine River Museum of Art on their Suffragist Centennial exhibit.  Find more: A Seat at the Table: A Guide To Finding Your Voice As An Advocate And Political Leader by Krysta JonesKate Forbes delivers Scottish budget (Daily Mail)

Candice and Michelle speak with Suzie Carmack, PhD, executive well-being coach, thought partner and well-being campaign designer; Assistant Professor in the Department of Global and Community Health at George Mason University; and CEO of YogaMedCo about her mission to transform the ways we work today, so that we can all move out of work-life imbalance and into well-being.  Suzie is the author of three books: Well-Being Ultimatum, Genius Breaks, and Coaching for Well-Being.  

In this episode, Candice and Michelle talk with Linda Sperling, former candidate for the Board of Supervisors, Fairfax County. She talks about the challenges of running as a first time candidate, including the higher bars that can be set for women candidates. We talk about the recent article about swing voters in Politico. And our Badass(es) of the Week are J. Lo and Shakira who rocked the half time show at Super Bowl 2020.Read more:An Unsettling New Theory: There Is No Swing Voter (David Freedlander, Politico)Watch: J. Lo and Shakira dazzled at the Super Bowl halftime show (Alex Abad-Santos, Vox)Cheer on Netflix

This week, Candice and Michelle talk about how the average person can advocate on behalf of an issue that's important to them with their state legislature and on Capitol Hill. Michelle shares her recent visit down to Richmond, and Candice shares tips, including her favorite walking shoes. There is also a rant about the Harvey Weinstein trial and defense attorney Donna Rotunno. Our Badass of the Week is State Senator Louise Lucas from Portsmouth.Read more:The Virginia General Assembly websiteThe U.S. Congress websiteHarvey Weinstein’s defense strategy is wretched (Monica Hesse, Washington Post)Senator Louise Lucas's official website

In this week's episode, Candice and Michelle speak with Anne Beverly, a Resident in Counseling who started her own practice, the Bluebird Counseling Center, in McLean. She talks about good habits for emotional wellbeing. From saying no--the difference between a people pleaser vs. a generous giver to the practice of intuitive eating, which has the side benefit of giving someone agency in other aspects of their life. We discuss "Trump Stress" as well as the increase in anxiety that occurred during the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation. Lastly, our Badass of the Week are the activists who helped get the Equal Rights Amendment passed in the Virginia General Assembly, making Virginia the 38th state to ratify the ERA.CORRECTIONS: Anne wanted to correct two statistics she mentions. The diet industry is worth $72 billion, not $7 billion; and, counseling residents must do 3,400 hours of therapy, not 4,000.Learn more:The Magic of Not Giving a F*** (TEDx Talk)Bluebird Counseling CenterWhy You Don't Need a New You This Year (Learning to Bloom Blog)The Death of the Calorie (1843 Magazine)Intuitive Eating (Website)

In this week's episode, Candice and Michelle talk about several key pieces of legislation that are being considered in this year's General Assembly session down in Richmond, especially around the repeal of right to work, an increase in the minimum wage, and a bevy of laws around affordable housing. They also have a rant about this year's Oscar nominations, the Turing Award. In the good news arena, women are getting a chance to shine. Last year's MASTERS awards saw an all female sweep in this school-age nationwide STEM competition. The Hugo Awards had an almost full female sweep of its awards as well. Our Badass of the Week: Michelle Williams following her call-to-action Golden Globes speech calling on women everywhere to start voting in their own self interest!Interested in learning more?HB 153: The repeal of right to work (Carter)HB 151: Accessory dwelling units (Samirah)HB 152: Single family housing residential zoning (Samirah)HB 3: LGBTQ protections in fair housing (McQuinn)HB 6: Source of Income protections in fair housing (Bourne)HB 7: Land use application protections related to fair housing (Bourne)HB 99: Family abuse victim protections in fair housing (Rasoul)SB 66: LGBTQ protections in fair housing (McClellan)SB 638 Affordable housing near Metrorail stations (Surovell)The 2020 Oscar nominations are all about white men. But it could be worse! (Washington Post)Why Have So Few Women Won the Most Important Award in Computing? (Slate)Women Swept the Hugo Awards-again (The Verge)Girls Sweep All 5 Top Awards At National STEM Contest for Middle Schoolers (ABC News)Evicted by Matthew Desmond

In this episode, Candice and Michelle talk with Lisa Sales, Chair of the Fairfax County Commission on Women about the Equal Rights Amendment and Virginia's expected ratification this upcoming General Assembly Session. Learn more at https://varatifyera.org. We also highlight our first 2020 Badass of the Week, Kelly Marie Tran.