Stacked Keys Podcast

Six months into stepping into the CEO seat, Rachel Johnson gets a breast cancer diagnosis that would shake anyone’s confidence. Instead of hiding it or letting it define her, she chooses a different path: lead with clear communication, stay grounded in purpose, and use every ounce of agency she can find. Our conversation follows that real-time collision between career pressure, personal fear, and the daily responsibility of running a member-owned electric cooperative.

We talk about what trust actually looks like when the stakes are high: consistency, honesty, and teammates who will speak truth to power. Rachel sh...

Fear has a way of pretending it’s protecting us while it quietly shrinks our lives. We sit down with a bold panel of women to ask one question that hits fast and lingers: why do you choose to do the scary thing? What follows is an honest, human conversation about courage, motherhood, reinvention, and the moment you realise growth rarely feels safe.

Jessica Haberman shares what it’s like to keep showing up as an emergency nurse while raising a family and running a small farm, and why fear management becomes a daily skill. Shellie Phelps talk...

Someone tells you your child has autism and then shrugs like the story is already written. Theresa Lyons refused to accept that. After her daughter’s diagnosis, she did what a lot of parents wish they had the time, training, or energy to do: she went straight to the research, lived in PubMed, and started translating autism science into real decisions families can actually use.

We talk about what the autism diagnosis process really feels like from the inside: the long waits, the stacks of reports, and the gut-punch cycle of red flags that drag on for mo...

You can love writing and still want to quit every week. That tension sits at the center of this Stacked Keys Podcast panel, where we get real about writing and publishing when you’re already juggling a full life. Join a group of women with completely different genres and the same stubborn drive: Tori Stackhouse, a law enforcement officer drafting a fantasy escape as an outlet; Tori Applegate, building a fantasy horror series that unexpectedly holds her religious trauma; Ashley Wall, a children’s book author and publisher at Mom Bear Books creating imaginative adventures that empower kids; and Dr S...

Danielle Frank spent six years in entertainment publicity at Miramax — red carpets, film festivals, the New York media world. At 29, she left it, without another job lined up, because the work no longer felt right. That decision led her into the wine and spirits industry, where she's now spent 21 years, the last 12 with Moët Hennessy.

The conversation centers on a different turning point, though: the end of an engagement, and with it, the path to motherhood she'd expected to be on. Rather than treating that as a loss, she began writing — and thirteen years later, that writi...

Your kid is brilliant, your schedule is chaos, and your old creative self feels like a distant memory, so what do you do with that gap? We sit down with Jamie McMahon, a realist artist known for soulful dog portraits, a former teacher and dance coach, and now a full-time stay-at-home mom of three, to get honest about identity, purpose, and making meaningful work in the margins of real life. 

We talk about the invisible labor of motherhood and why it can feel like you’ve worked all day with nothing to “show” for it, then shift into th...

Why I've Been Missing

If you've noticed the quiet, I wanted to explain it myself instead of leaving it unsaid.

This past season has been full of the sweetest joy — becoming a Granny, soaking up every giggle and new discovery. I'm still right in the middle of it, and I wouldn't trade a minute. And then, in almost the same breath, life shifted. My husband was diagnosed with cancer, and everything overnight started changing. What had been a season of joy became a season that also held appointments, decisions, and a trip to MD...

Fifteen kids in the blended-family mix, a cross-country move, a second marriage, and a mission that refuses to stay quiet. I’m talking with author, speaker, and coach Eileen Noyes about what it actually takes to rebuild your life when faith has been used to control, when your home feels heavy, and when you know you cannot stay stuck on the sidelines of your own calling. 

Eileen shares her path from the pro-athlete world and life as an NFL wife to the painful turn of a first marriage shaped by harmful beliefs that stripped women of voice and...

A lot of people say they want to write a children’s book. Ashley Wall actually did it and then kept going until it became a business. She joins us to talk about the surprising path from middle school math teacher to stay-at-home mom to children’s book author and co-founder of Mama Bear Books, and what it takes to build a real author brand without losing yourself in the process. 

We get practical about self-publishing and indie publishing: the learning curve, the mistakes that cost money, and the mindset shift that saved her time and stress. Ashle...

A kid can go from “safe” to “silent emergency” in seconds and Sarah Quillen has seen enough pools, parties, and parenting blind spots to say it out loud. Sarah is a beloved local swim teacher known as “Miss Sarah”, and she joins me to explain how she teaches real swimming skills fast, why she makes kids go under early, and what her two-week swim boot camp looks like when the goal is confidence plus safety. If you’ve been searching for swim lessons for toddlers, water safety for kids, or drowning prevention advice that doesn’t sugar-coat reality, you’ll get practical t...

A kid falls in the pool and can’t find the wall, that’s when “swim skills” stop being a hobby and become a safety plan. We’re joined by Sarah Quillen, the swim teacher known as “Miss Sarah,” and she explains what she teaches first, why most programs move too slowly, and how a focused two-week swim boot camp can turn panic into real competence. We get into breath control, going underwater, climbing out, and practicing the kind of disorienting falls kids actually experience at parties, lakes, and water parks. 

Then the conversation shifts from water safety to moder...

Tea can be a beverage, sure. It can also be a doorway back to yourself. I’m joined by Sunny Dillard, a watercolor teacher, poet, and tea curator whose work blends Persian tea culture, slow living, and creative practice into something that feels both grounded and brave.

We talk about how her love of tea began in childhood with a grandmother who used herbal blends as medicine and as a way to offer real attention. From there, Sunny shares the story behind her name, the symbolism of the sun in Persian mythology and Sufi tradition, and why id...

A jiu jitsu hobby can change your fitness, your confidence, and your friend group, but buying a pro grappling franchise is a different level of commitment. We’re sitting down with Lauren Barone, the force behind the Philadelphia Phenoms and the first female franchise owner in the Pro Grappling Federation (PGF), to talk about what it really looks like to build a team inside a fast-growing submission grappling league.

Lauren takes us from her early love of martial arts to finding Brazilian jiu jitsu as an adult, then jumping into the deep end of combat sports entrepreneurship. We...

You can do everything “right” and still feel miserable at work, and that gap is trying to tell you something. Christine Tilton joins us to talk about what happens when a successful corporate path stops fitting, and why the bravest career move can be admitting you need something deeper than a title.

Christine’s story runs through journalism, decades in HR and talent acquisition, and a pivot into career coaching and career transition services. We unpack how COVID changed work culture, from remote work expectations to the Great Resignation, the Great Reshuffle, and today’s wave of layoffs...

What if the skincare that finally calmed your child’s eczema became the spark for a purpose-led business? That’s Sarah Brittelle's story—an honest, ground-up journey from a kitchen shea butter blend to a community-backed organic skincare line that keeps integrity front and center. We talk about the real work behind “clean beauty”: sourcing ingredients you can stand behind, pricing with empathy, and surviving the unglamorous parts like melt-prone shipping, insulated boxes, and dry ice experiments that saved the product but smudged the labels.

We also dive into the human side of building something that lasts. Sarah shar...

Grit doesn’t always shout; sometimes it packs snacks, lays out a quilt by the mats, and shows up anyway. We sit down with jiu-jitsu competitor and young mom Jayden Alexander to trace a line from a leaky-roof gym in small-town Mississippi to a high-standard room at 10th Planet Atlanta—and the mindset that made that leap possible. Jayden’s story is raw and practical: training 24 hours a week, serving tables to fund the dream, and raising a four-year-old who knows the gym as home.

What stands out is her shift from emotion to analysis. With coaching from S...

What if the business you built stops matching the person you’re becoming? That haunting friction sits at the heart of our conversation with Breeanna Kay, who walked away from an accounting career, scaled a six-figure wedding photography brand, and then chose a bolder path: weaving spirituality into business as the creator of Rebel CEO.

We trace the early climb—long drives, relentless learning, and a thriving creative practice—then step into the moment everything tilted. After losing her sister to violence, Breeanna began noticing signs, asking deeper questions, and embracing spirituality as a practical guide. That awaken...

What does it take to leave a two-decade career in social services and step into a university classroom with your compassion intact? We sit down with Monica King, a former case manager turned instructor in human development and family studies, to explore how real-world practice can transform how we teach, learn, and serve. Monica shares how she builds courses that prioritize student autonomy and executive function, why she invites current events and policy debates into class, and how she balances flexibility with clear boundaries when the midnight texts come in.

This conversation travels from the nuts and...

Start with a hunch, bet on yourself, and learn fast enough to outrun fear. That’s the energy Crystal Washington brings as she walks us through her journey from high-performing corporate marketer to entrepreneur, technologist, and futurist whose client list spans mom-and-pop shops to Microsoft and Google. She doesn’t sell hype; she teaches people how to think clearly about technology, remove jargon walls with humor, and take intentional steps that actually move the needle.

We dig into the difference between being nice and being kind, and why boundaries are essential if you want your work to alig...

What if the hardest topics in life became the ones that made you feel most alive? We sit with researcher, professor, and mom Jenn Sorotovich as she traces an uncommon arc—from teaching adult development and death and bereavement to coordinating an ALS clinic—and explains how grief, grit, and real-world practice reshaped her idea of success. The stories are intimate and vivid: a hospice patient savoring the warmth of a hand on her arm, another insisting on lipstick before the day begins. These moments don’t just tug at the heart; they rewire how we value time.

Je...

A love story rerouted a career—and built two purpose-driven businesses along the way. Meet Rebecca Nichols, the horticulture grad who fell for antiques, church pews, and the wedding world, then teamed up with her husband Jeffrey to grow both Tea Olive Designs and a community swim school that’s changing lives. From that first trailer of rented pews to crafting floral designs across Alabama, Rebecca shares how she scaled to 32 weddings a year, learned to say no, and now curates experiences where logistics, beauty, and empathy meet.

We dig into the behind-the-scenes moments most people never see...

Start with a simple promise: make the software not suck. That’s Elizabeth Anderson’s north star as CEO and co-founder of Lunar Lab, where she pairs human-centered design with ethical strategy to build products that people actually use. We dig into how she and her co-founder left toxic tech during the pandemic, learned sales with a stack of library books, and created a B Corp that treats impact as a requirement, not a tagline.

Elizabeth walks us through her product playbook: invite every wild feature idea, then slice to a focused MVP using value–effort prioritization. She ex...

What if richness isn’t a bigger house but a fuller table? We sit with pediatric nurse, homeschool mom, and Salted Oak founder Vanessa Mulligan to explore how faith, family, and craft weave into a life centered on connection. Vanessa opens up about choosing a homeschool hybrid that gives her girls community while preserving slow mornings at home, and why moving from bedside nursing to an inpatient education role restored her energy without losing purpose. The conversation gets real about resistant readers, social media pressure, and the loud inner critic that tells moms to master everything. Vanessa’s antidote is d...

Grief doesn’t end; it changes shape. That truth sits at the heart of this conversation with Tara Accardo, a grief and soul purpose coach who lost both parents within six months and later a beloved pet. She shares how her world collapsed, how it slowly softened, and why the goal isn’t to “get over it” but to carry it better. We talk about the secondary losses no one warns you about, the pressure to return to normal, and the small rituals that protect your energy when you’re holding space for others.

Tara explains how she blends...

What if the most important career tool isn’t a credential, but the courage to ask better questions? That’s the thread that runs through this conversation with Cecy Brooks—associate professor, former retail leader, and relentless student of how families make financial choices and how emerging adults grow into confident adults.

We chart Cecy’s unconventional path from engineering to family science, and why a sharp mentor, a detailed plan, and honest self-inquiry made that pivot possible. She explains how years in retail taught her to read people, exposed the real trade-offs behind 60-hour weeks, and ultimate...

What does it actually look like to rebuild when life burns to the ground? We sit down with Krystal Casey, a widowed mother of five and the founder of Flight of the Phoenix Collective, to trace a hard, honest path from trauma to alignment. Krystal shares the moment everything changed—a disclosure, swift action, and the devastating aftermath—and the single sentence from a nurse that reframed her future: you can’t prevent every wound, but you can model what comes next.

From there, we dig into the practical spine of her work: your nervous system is the op...

Ready to rewire how you think about competition, confidence, and community? We sit down with jiu-jitsu competitor and water plant operator Aylissa St. John for a candid, energizing conversation about going first—on the mat and in life—and why you should never leave your story to a referee’s perception. From teen wrestling to modern tournaments, Aylissa breaks down how shifting from reactive to proactive changed her results and her mindset. She details a favorite sweep that needs refining, the sting of stalling calls, and the simple rule that keeps her grounded: set the pace, don’t surrender it.
...

What happens when a ballerina-turned-cinematographer trades film sets for flower beds—and discovers her legacy in petals, patience, and parenting? We sit down with Cait to explore how a creative life survives strikes, pandemics, bunnies with big appetites, and the beautiful chaos of raising two boys while growing a business from the backyard.

Cait brings hard-won wisdom from the gig economy: money swings, momentum matters, and progress is built in inches. She opens up about choosing stay-at-home seasons for the early years, teaching kids through a vegetable patch and muddy windows, and why “earning the bath” is a sign...

Ever wondered what perseverance sounds like at 4 a.m. in a cold barn? Meet Anita “the Goat Lady” Andrews, who runs a five-acre Alabama dairy with 120+ goats, Jersey cows, and a work rhythm tuned to full udders and empty stomachs. We explore how once-a-day milking protects long-term herd health, why fly control is real preventive medicine, and what it takes to read an animal’s nonverbal cues before trouble hits. Anita’s path runs from training horses to breeding parrots to building a teaching herd for Auburn University vet students, where hands get dirty and learning gets real outside the perf...

What if the most powerful thing you do today is move toward someone in pain—gently, on purpose, and with tools that actually work? That’s the heartbeat of our conversation with Monica Brown, a coach, crisis‑line veteran, ER patient care specialist, and mother of five who rebuilt her life around “forwarding support” instead of frantic fixing.

We explore how soul care differs from self‑care, and why the former changes your baseline. Monica walks us through trauma‑informed yoga, nose‑only breathing to trigger the parasympathetic system, and a simple eight‑domain check‑in she uses when overwhelme...

Jessica Sanders takes us behind the judicial bench to reveal the path that led her from tough prosecutor to compassionate district court judge. With disarming honesty, she shares the delicate balance between upholding the letter of the law and honoring her own sense of justice – sometimes making decisions that feel personally difficult but legally necessary.

Having served Autauga County for over two years as District Court Judge after a decade-plus career as a prosecutor, Jessica offers a rare glimpse into what makes an effective judicial temperament. "I have to continue to study for the rest of my li...

In this episode of Stacked Keys Podcast, host Amy Stackhouse interviews Rebekah Harrison, a fine artist from Woodstock, Georgia. Rebecca shares her journey into the art world, the struggles of balancing different creative avenues, and her passion for connecting personally with her collectors. They discuss the challenges and rewards of being a creative business owner, the importance of pursuing personal passions even as a mom, and the value of mentorship and self-kindness. Rebekah also touches on how pivotal moments, like during COVID, allowed her to embrace her dreams and pursue art full-time. They explore the dynamics of family life...

What if the secret to exceptional leadership isn't about having all the answers, but about making others feel truly seen and heard? In this vibrant conversation with Neen James, the self-described "velvet bulldozer" shares her remarkable journey from growing up in a caravan in Australia to becoming an internationally sought-after executive coach and speaker.

Standing at just 4'10" and almost always dressed in her signature hot pink, Neen brings extraordinary energy to every room she enters. But her true superpower lies in what she calls "contagious confidence" – walking into any space with the assumption that everyone wants to...

What happens when life's unexpected turns lead to your most fulfilling path? Abbie Weldon never planned to leave her 11-year teaching career or enter real estate, but when her surprise third child arrived, everything changed. 

In this heartfelt conversation, Abbie reveals how she transformed a desire to be home with her baby into a thriving real estate career built on authentic relationships. "I want real estate built by relationships," she shares. "You're not just a number on my ranking report." This philosophy drives her unique approach—selling the stories and possibilities of homes rather than just listing fea...

From being told she might never walk or talk to becoming a genetic counselor who helps families navigate similar journeys, Ashlyn Stackhouse Bolen's story exemplifies finding purpose through personal struggle. As a pediatric genetic counselor at UNC Chapel Hill, Ashlyn works with families seeking answers about their children's complex medical conditions—a role shaped by her own childhood health challenges.

Sixteen hours after birth, Ashlyn suddenly lost the ability to suck, swallow, and maintain muscle tone. Doctors warned her parents she might never develop normally, suggesting they consider institutional care where "she could pass peacefully." Instead, they fo...

What happens when a physicist with a master's degree in chemistry falls in love with an IT professional from an olive-producing family? Marianna Devetzoglou extraordinary journey from city life to becoming "the crazy girl in the olive groves" illustrates how following unexpected passions can transform your entire existence.

The turning point came during a family dinner when Marianna tasted her future mother-in-law's homemade olive oil. That singular moment sparked curiosity that evolved into Oleosophia—a family business connecting people worldwide to authentic, high-quality Greek olive oil through immersive tastings and direct relationships. Rather than selling bulk oil to...

What does it mean to truly walk your own path while supporting others on theirs? In this fabulous conversation with Kristie Chandler, we explore the delicate balance between personal growth and professional leadership.

Kristie shares her fascinating journey from growing up in the hospitality business (complete with a family restaurant and a bed and breakfast in Natchez, Mississippi) to becoming an educator specializing in human development and family science. Her story reveals how seemingly disconnected experiences—from hospitality to residence hall director to orientation leadership—weave together to create a unique professional journey.  "No job is a waste...

What happens when everything you've built crumbles and you're left to rebuild from scratch? Stephanie Watts knows this journey intimately. Once a successful nurse and pharmaceutical developer, her life took a devastating turn when severe illness struck, eventually diagnosed as Lyme disease after years of misdiagnoses and deteriorating health.

In this deeply moving conversation, Stephanie reveals how rock bottom became the foundation for something beautiful. "I realized through all of this that no one was going to come save me," she shares with remarkable candor, detailing her path from survival mode to thriving. After spending decades trying...

Niki Tsekareas never thought a retreat to Greece would completely transform her life, but that's exactly what happened. In this deeply personal conversation, she opens up about the moment she realized she needed more than her identity as "Niki Peter's wife" or "Georgios' mom" – she needed to rediscover herself.

With remarkable candor, Niki shares her journey from feeling lost to launching her own interior styling business at age 44. "I wasn't doing things that were giving me purpose," she explains, describing how she transformed a spare bedroom into a dedicated workspace filled with plants, journals, and reminders to st...

Behind every thriving small business stands a woman with a powerful story—a journey marked by purpose, passion, and perseverance in the face of doubt. In this special Small Business Month episode, we reunite with three extraordinary entrepreneurs who've been transforming their visions into reality.

Dr. Kuanita Murphy shares how her digital publication, Rural Leader Magazine, emerged from a pivotal moment when academic doors closed, revealing her true calling to spotlight talent from overlooked small communities. Her powerful tagline, "What you do matters," has been driving her mission since 2014.

Theodora Miller takes us th...